For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 30, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Robinhood Markets, Inc.
HOOD
, Tesla, Inc.
TSLA
, Apple Inc.
AAPL
, Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
and Walmart Inc.
WMT
.
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Buy These 4 Popular Robinhood Stocks Ahead of 2022
Much has been written and discussed about the controversial investing platform Robinhood this past year, especially since it began the frenzy around meme stocks. The online investing platform, despite being around for some time now, gained popularity relatively recently, at the beginning of the ongoing pandemic, after it popularized commission-free trading.
The phenomenal growth that Robinhood stocks have witnessed in the recent past has had a lot to do with this feature. It attracted a lot of retail investors, particularly, first-timers and young ones looking to pursue high-growth opportunities. Retail investment hit new highs in 2021, thanks to Robinhood.
The platform only had around 500,000 investors back in 2014. By the end of Q3 2021, it had
22.4 million users
.
Robinhood is a known hit among risk-leaning investors and this is evident from the fact that they happily bet on the short-squeeze stocks when the meme frenzy was at its highest. One should, however, take note of the fact that not all Robinhood investors are risk-happy. Some of them prefer the good ol’ plain vanilla stocks that have strong fundamentals.
As a matter of fact, now that much of the meme frenzy appears to have cooled down, investors have turned their focus toward fundamentally strong stocks. Nevertheless, we expect some of the Robinhood-generated momentum to continue in 2022. Not every stock suggested by the platform lacks strong fundamentals though.
To that end, we bring to you four Robinhood stocks that you must bet on next year. These are
Tesla
,
Apple
,
Microsoft
and
Walmart
.
Investors should focus on those stocks that not only have strong earnings but have also been performing well in the stock market. Following market trends is another key to raking in big gains.
Some market watchers are wary of the Omicron variant and are anticipating lockdowns ahead. Parts of the country are already witnessing a spike in cases due to community transmissions. Despite being highly contagious, a group of investors expects the variant to remain pretty mild, though.
On the other hand, the Fed, in order to rein in inflationary pressure, plans to hike interest rates three times in 2022. This is likely to pose a threat to the much-anticipated economic recovery next year. Investing in fundamentally strong stocks, therefore, should be the ideal move.
Tesla
“Meme Lord” Elon Musk’s Tesla needs no introduction. Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), this auto-giant has gained 56.6% over the past year, surpassing the
Automotive – Domestic
industry’s rise of 22.6%. Robust demand for its Models 3 and Y EVs has been buoying Tesla’s revenues. TSLA achieved record levels of production and deliveries, despite a chip crunch, in the third quarter of 2021.
Tesla has also started ramping up volumes of Models S and X. With China being the biggest EV market, Tesla’s Shanghai factory is buoying its revenue prospects. Steadily increasing automotive as well as energy generation and storage revenues have also been boosting earnings prospects.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TSLA’s current-year earnings has been revised 15.4% upward over the past 90 days.
You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Microsoft
Microsoft dominates the desktop PC market, with its operating systems used in the majority of PCs across the world. MSFT has outperformed the S&P 500 in the year-to-date period (+54.7% vs. +30.2%) and carries a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
MSFT has been benefiting from strength in its Azure cloud platform as well as rapid global digital transformation. Continuation of remote work due to the pandemic as well as an increased adoption of hybrid working models have been supporting Teams’ user growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSFT’s current-year earnings has been revised 5.1% upward over the past 90 days.
Apple
Another tech giant that Robinhood recommends, deserves attention next year — Apple. AAPL has outperformed the S&P 500 in the year-to-date period (+35.9% vs. +30.2%) and carries a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Apple has been benefiting from momentum in the Services business, strong adoption of Apple Pay and a growing Apple Music subscriber base.
Robust performances of iPhone, iPad, Mac, Wearables and an expanding App Store ecosystem have also been raking in gains for Apple. AAPL’s Services and Wearables businesses are expected to drive top-line growth in fiscal 2022. The Services portfolio currently provides around 745 million paid subscribers to Apple.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAPL’s current-year earnings has been revised 1.9% upward over the past 90 days.
Walmart
Walmart has been gaining from its sturdy comp sales record, which is evident from the fact that it has been posting positive comp sales in the U.S. division for 29 straight quarters. Carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), the retail giant has gained 2% in the past six months, surpassing the
Retail – Supermarkets
industry’s rise of 1.6% in the period.
Walmart continues to benefit from its omni-channel endeavors as well as last-mile delivery capabilities. This was visible in its third-quarter results, wherein both top and bottom lines improved year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WMT’s current-year earnings has been revised 1.3% upward over the past 90 days.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss
.
This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit
https://www.zacks.com/performance
for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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