Over Thanksgiving, the omicron variant appeared on the world’s radar, and stocks responded with large, one-day losses. Uncertainty and volatility have continued into the beginning of December, and renewed coronavirus headwinds may induce short-term losses for the airline, lodging and restaurant industries.
But there’s still a lot to excite investors in the economy right now.
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The recently passed $1 trillion dollar infrastructure plan includes $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations, with the goal to have 500,000 public stations by 2030. Consumer spending jumped 1.3% in October, shaking off sharp deceleration during the third quarter from the delta variant. And the acceleration towards the metaverse and big data has opened the door for seismic opportunities for data storage companies in the long-run.
With these dynamics in mind, here are three hot stocks to buy now that play off these trends:
— Canoo Inc. (ticker: GOEV)
— Intuit Inc. (INTU)
— Pure Storage Inc. (PSTG)
Canoo Inc. (GOEV)
Recently, the electric vehicle space has been a sea of soaring stock prices, high valuations and headline-driving companies.
Tesla Inc.’s (TSLA) market capitalization of more than $1 trillion exceeds Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), the second-most-valuable automaker, by more than $700 billion. Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN), a startup, boasts a market capitalization of more than $90 billion, exceeding soon-to-be rivals General Motors Co. (GM) and Ford Motor Co. (F). And in the past quarter, Lucid Group Inc. (LCID) and Fisker Inc. (FSR) are up more than 150% and 30%, respectively.
These larger players aside, Canoo is one hot electric vehicle stock that has flown under the radar. Founded in 2017, the startup’s fleet includes a futuristic “lifestyle vehicle” targeted for consumers, as well as plans for a multi-purpose delivery van and pickup truck by 2023.
A string of exciting announcements has put the stock up about 35% over the past month.
In late October, Canoo partnered with Panasonic Corp., which produced the first Tesla battery, to supply batteries for its lifestyle vehicle. “This agreement is a solid incremental positive for Canoo,” Roth Capital Partners analysts Craig Irwin and Andrew Scutt write in a recent research report. “We see Panasonic as hands down the world leader in electrochemistry,” they remark.
In mid-November, Canoo announced it was accelerating production to begin before the final quarter of 2022. It also revealed an under-construction factory in Oklahoma and plans for a new corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The rationale: In return for the move, Canoo anticipates $100 million of state and local financial incentives, along with an additional $100 million in vehicle orders from state and local universities.
Canoo’s market capitalization of $2.7 billion is low relative to its electric vehicle peers. If the good news continues and the company can meet production goals, this leaves ample room for the stock to run.
Intuit Inc. (INTU)
Next among the hot stocks to buy now is Intuit. Known for its tax and accounting software TurboTax and QuickBooks, the stock recently delivered outstanding first-quarter results to start its 2022 fiscal year.
[See: Upgraded Stocks to Buy.]
The company easily exceeded consensus earnings-per-share expectations of 97 cents, delivering EPS of $1.53. Revenue climbed to $2 billion, up 52% year over year.
In light of these results, Intuit raised 2022 full-year sales growth guidance to the 26%-to-28% range. The stock is up about 8% in the past month and 80% for the year to Dec. 2.
Credit Karma, acquired in December 2020, is known for offering free credit scores and will bolster Intuit’s consumer finance platform. The acquisition contributed $418 million to 2022’s first-quarter revenue and drove much of the top-line growth.
What’s more, in November 2021, Intuit completed its acquisition of MailChimp, an all-in-one email marketing platform for small businesses. Along with QuickBooks, which streamlines accounting systems, Intuit appears well-positioned to package the two offerings and develop a powerful services ecosystem geared toward small businesses.
Shares of INTU were trading near $670 as of Dec. 2. Analysts at Deutsche Bank hold a price target of $780 on Intuit stock and “view Intuit as a leading edge FinTech platform company with a competitive data advantage that will continue to create superior customer (and partner) delight.”
Pure Storage Inc. (PSTG)
Last among the hot stocks to buy now is Pure Storage, an all-flash-based storage provider for the booming data management industry. It aims to create a modern data experience that encompasses cloud infrastructure, services and management solutions at an enterprise-wide scale.
A recent blockbuster earnings report caused the stock to jump 13% in a single day, helping it reach an all-time high. Revenue hit $562 million, rising 37% year over year. The company also added 345 new customers, up 12% year over year, bringing total global customers to more than 9,500, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
While competitors, such as Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) and NetApp Inc. (NTAP), may have larger market share, greater name recognition and more financial resources, this rapid growth puts Pure Storage on pace to quickly make up ground.
“Pure’s 100% focus on flash-based storage, its rapid innovation cycle enabling it to bring new technologies first to the market, along with its very high customer satisfaction, are helping Pure stay ahead of the curve,” reads a November JPMorgan Chase & Co. research report.
What’s more, the big-data-as-a-service market — whereby corporations “rent” storage space from a data manager — is estimated to grow from $12.7 billion in 2020 to $93.5 billion by 2028, according to a recent report by Fortune Business Insights.
“With a growing subscription business that remains underappreciated, a strong market environment and a growing opportunity outside traditional on-premise customers, we believe PSTG remains undervalued,” Deutsche Bank noted in a Nov. 16 research report. The stock has gained around 13% in the last month and 37% year to date.
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3 Hot Stocks to Buy Now originally appeared on usnews.com
