If you have an extra $1,000 sitting in a savings or checking account, one of the best ways to earn a return on that money is to invest in the stock market. If you’re new to investing, buying a low-cost, diversified S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker: SPY), is a relatively low-risk place to start.
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But if you’d rather begin building your own stock portfolio from scratch, here are eight of the best blue-chip stocks to buy with $1,000 that have “buy” ratings from the CFRA analyst team:
| Stock | Implied upside* |
| Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) | 10% |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | 21.6% |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | 16.3% |
| Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) | 7.2% |
| Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) | 7.8% |
| Meta Platforms Inc. (META) | 16% |
| Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) | 17.9% |
| Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) | 22.1% |
*Over April 15 closing price.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft is the world’s largest software company that is best known for Windows, Office and Azure cloud services. Analyst Angelo Zino says Microsoft’s transition to a cloud-based business model and its industry-leading artificial intelligence technology, including its investments in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, will create ongoing growth opportunities for Microsoft in the coming years. Zino says the cloud versions of Office, Teams, Dynamics and other Microsoft programs are gaining traction, and Microsoft has opportunities to further monetize its offerings and grow earnings by integrating additional AI technology. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $455 price target for MSFT stock, which closed at $413.64 on April 15.
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Apple produces the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac computers and other personal computing devices. In addition, its services segment includes its App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and licensing businesses. Zino says Apple’s valuable brand, massive ecosystem, global customer base and high customer retention rates have helped it improve its margin profile. The company is expanding its addressable market while maintaining stable free cash flow generation and aggressively returning capital to shareholders. Zino anticipates rising sales prices and growth opportunities in advertising, bundling and gaming. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $210 price target for AAPL stock, which closed at $172.69 on April 15.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia designs and sells high-end graphics and video processing chips used for desktop and gaming personal computers, workstations and other advanced computing servers and supercomputers. Not only is Nvidia one of the best-performing stocks in the entire market in the past 15 years, its 239% gain in 2023 made Nvidia the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 last year. Zino says adoption of AI technology on a global scale across all industries, countries and companies will be a massive tailwind for Nvidia’s AI chip sales. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $1,000 price target for NVDA stock, which closed at $860.01 on April 15.
Alphabet is one of the world’s largest online search and advertising companies and is the parent company of Google and YouTube. Zino says Alphabet can sustain annual revenue growth of between 6% and 11% through at least 2025. He is bullish on the company’s free cash flow potential and says the stock is attractively valued. Zino says Alphabet has opportunities to apply its industry-leading AI technology to produce new enterprise AI tools, increase sales in its Google Cloud business and improve search and YouTube efficiencies. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $166 price target for GOOGL stock, which closed at $154.86 on April 15.
[READ 5 of the Best Stocks to Buy Now]
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Amazon is the market leader in e-commerce and public cloud services. Analyst Arun Sundaram says Amazon is positioned to generate massive cash flows and profits for investors in the next several years. Sundaram says Amazon is generating the highest growth in its high-margin businesses, including third-party fulfillment, Amazon Web Services and advertising. In addition, he says the company has opportunities to improve efficiency by integrating robotics and increasing automation. Sundaram says Amazon can also enhance its Prime Video offerings and further monetize its AWS cloud services business. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $198 price target for AMZN stock, which closed at $183.62 on April 15.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Meta Platforms is a market leader in social media and online advertising and is the owner of Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Zino says Meta has several attractive growth opportunities, an improving margin trajectory and a compelling valuation. He says cost-cutting measures coupled with growing digital ad spending will help Meta continue to expand margins and grow earnings and free cash flow. He projects an impressive $50 billion in 2024 FCF. He’s particularly bullish on Meta’s growth opportunities tied to Reels, AI technology and the metaverse. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $580 price target for META stock, which closed at $500.23 on April 15.
Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY)
Eli Lilly produces brand-name prescription drugs to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer and neurological disorders. Analyst Sel Hardy says Eli Lilly has several long-term catalysts that make him bullish on the stock, including late-stage therapies Donanemab for Alzheimer’s disease, pirtobrutinib for certain forms of leukemia and lymphoma, and tirzepatide for sleep apnea and cardiology. Hardy says these innovative therapies could perfectly complement the company’s leading commercial drugs, including Trulicity for Type 2 diabetes and Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss. CFRA has a “strong buy” rating and $885 price target for LLY stock, which closed at $750.77 on April 15.
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
Broadcom is a diversified global analog semiconductor supplier. Zino says Broadcom’s networking and switcher business coupled with its application-specific integrated circuit business will make it one of the biggest winners from the global AI infrastructure spending boom. In addition, he says Broadcom will benefit from its recent acquisition of VMware in several key ways, including significant cost synergies, higher-margin software sales, diversification and greater recurring revenue. Zino says Broadcom’s AI opportunities and its long-term chip supply deal with Apple creates significant financial visibility for investors. CFRA has a “buy” rating and $1,600 price target for AVGO stock, which closed at $1,310.69 on April 15.
While AVGO stock may trade for more than $1,000 per share, don’t let that intimidate you — many brokers allow for fractional share trading, allowing you to buy a fraction of expensive stocks like Broadcom and still participate in the percentage returns that full shares earn.
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8 Best Stocks to Buy Now With $1,000 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/16/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
