It is that time of year again. Time to look back and review how we did in the markets. With markets doing so well, many small investors are eager to jump in and invest in the markets. However, for most it’s more of a wish than reality. Most investors don’t know what stocks to buy and simply play the indexes and buy when everyone else does…
A list of the best stocks to invest in 2021. This post will give you top ten stocks to invest in. You can find 10-20 stock prices that are worthy to invest for any investors. Make sure you know how to buy stocks online.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)
The Walt Disney Company is yet another household name on the list. Even if you’ve never been to Disney World or DisneyLand, you likely grew up watching Mickey Mouse or another Disney character bouncing around on your television screen.
Moreover, if you’re like most millennials who have cut the cable cord and chosen to stream entertainment, you’ve at least heard about Disney+, if you’re not already one of its growing number of subscribers.
When it comes to investing in the company, there are two big reasons you may want to consider diving in:
- COVID-19 Recovery. Disney felt quite a bit of pain as a result of COVID-19. Without consumers wanting to travel, its theme parks, hotels, and cruise lines have been struggling. The company’s theme parks and travel attractions are open. Although Disney hasn’t officially updated its capacity allowance, capacity has increased to about 50%, according to TheDisInsider. Around the world, however, consumers dream about going to Walt Disney theme parks, and considering the state of the COVID-19 crisis, demand is likely to boom ahead when capacity restrictions are relaxed, leading to a significant rebound.
- Streaming Entertainment. One of the major drivers in Disney’s recent stock growth has to do with its activities in the streaming entertainment space, which it has knocked out of the park. Launched in November 2019, Disney+ had more than 116 million subscribers as of September 2021, up from 86.8 million in December 2020 and 60.5 million in early August 2020.
Between a likely recovery in Disney’s travel-related business and incredible growth in the company’s streaming entertainment business, the company is firing on all cylinders.
Although it’s never a good idea to blindly follow analyst opinions, it is helpful to use their opinions as a source of validation for your own. When it comes to The Walt Disney Company, analysts seem to love the stock: 19 analysts currently cover it, with 16 rating it a Buy and three rating it a Hold with an average price target of $217 per share, representing the potential for more than 17% growth over the next year.
All in all, Disney has struggled from time to time, but you can never count the stock out. The company has a history of pivoting and making changes that are best for its growth and its investors. That’s not likely to change. The Walt Disney Company has plenty of potential for dramatic growth ahead.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA)
Alibaba’s prospects have been deeply hurt this year by something outside its locus of control: the Chinese government. The e-commerce giant is one of a handful of large tech companies Chinese regulators are taking antitrust action against, along with Tencent and JD.com (JD). The initial public offering of its fintech affiliate, Ant Group, was scrapped late last year – still no word on when that might be on the table again – and then, in April, China issued Alibaba a record $2.8 billion fine for alleged anticompetitive behavior. That said, it’s not all bad news: Considering its gargantuan size, BABA is still growing by leaps and bounds, with revenue rising 34% year over year last quarter. Shares trade for less than 24 times earnings, so long-term investors who believe China’s regulatory push will subside in time have a great opportunity to buy while negative sentiment has put pressure on the stock price.
YTD returns: -15.6%
Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (LOW)
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s is simply a well-run, rock-solid business with good future prospects. Even after advancing more than 19% year to date, shares trade at a modest 16 times forward earnings, a nearly 30% discount to larger rival Home Depot’s (HD) forward P/E of 22.5. Home improvement stores are in boom times, with the combination of a hot housing market and a surge in do-it-yourselfers fixing up their all-too-familiar habitats during the pandemic. This is showing up in the company’s financials, with comparable-store sales in the April quarter jumping 25.9%. Always keeping an eye on returning capital to shareholders, Lowe’s bought back $3.1 billion of its own stock in the fiscal first quarter and paid $440 million in dividends. A dividend aristocrat that has been raising its dividend payout annually for more than 25 years, Lowe’s has ample financial flexibility to raise its dividend, which now sits at a 1.7% annual yield, for years to come.
YTD returns: +19.7% (including dividends)
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)
Netflix, like many others on this list, is a household name. The company rose to fame by giving consumers the ability to stream entertainment, rather than buy it or subscribe to cable services. In fact, the company is known as one of the pioneers of streaming video.
As with other home entertainment stocks, COVID-19 proved to be a positive for the company, resulting in increased subscribers, revenue, and earnings. However, early 2021 wasn’t so great for the company.
As competition continues to flood into the space, many wondered if the company had what it takes to maintain its leadership position. Its stock suffered steep declines from mid-April through mid-May.
However, those declines proved to be short-lived, with the stock currently trading above early-year highs.
Although it has made up for the losses, there’s a strong argument that there’s plenty of room left in the recovery, especially with Netflix continuing to pour cash into the development of exclusive content.
Moreover, the concept of cord cutting isn’t expected to dissipate any time soon. In fact, as the cost of cable services continues to climb and consumers focus on saving money, cord cutting is likely to continue.
Sure, there’s plenty of competition on the playing field, but it’s hard to bet against a pioneer, especially one with a long history of investing in content, technology, and marketing strategies that have yielded fruit.
Maybe that’s why analysts love the stock. Of the 33 analysts covering the stock, 23 rate it a Buy, seven rate it a Hold, and only three rate it a Sell. The average price target of $617.93 represents the potential for nearly 5% gains over the next year. Moreover, considering the strong growth the stock saw over the past month, and stellar second quarter results, analysts are likely to update their price targets in the positive direction relatively soon.
All told, Netflix has competition to contend with, but as it continues to develop market-leading content, offer services at competitive prices, and expand its membership base through effective marketing strategies, the stock has plenty more room for growth.
Nautilus Inc. (NLS)
The poor man’s Peloton (PTON), Nautilus is a home exercise equipment company with a handful of brands under its umbrella, including Bowflex, Schwinn and the Nautilus line of products. Heading into August’s earnings release, Nautilus has already reported two consecutive record-breaking quarters to start the year, with revenue soaring 81.7% and 119.9% year over year, respectively. This pace of growth is unsustainable moving forward, as demand for home workout and connected fitness equipment should normalize as the pandemic wanes and gyms become a more acceptable option. The stock’s slide this year is due to inflated expectations that Nautilus didn’t meet earlier this year, but now the bar seems exceptionally low. Nautilus trades for eight times forward earnings, but backing out $3.58 per share in cash, its forward P/E is closer to six. Nautilus’ market capitalization of roughly $450 million makes it the smallest company on this list and the most potentially volatile. At these levels, it still looks attractive.
YTD returns: -21.8%
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA)
NVIDIA isn’t necessarily a household name — that is, unless you’re a tech junky. However, if you use technology at all, there’s a strong chance you are an end user of the company’s products.
The company is the inventor of the Graphics Processing Unit, or GPU, a computer chip that was designed to expand the capabilities of computers and game consoles to provide improved graphics for the end user.
However, the GPU has gone far beyond what NVIDIA probably ever expected it would.
Today, the company’s high-tech computer chips are used in various servers and data centers. Given the company’s dominance in the data-center space, chances are its chips are being used in the server that’s feeding you the content you’re reading right now.
As technological innovation continues, GPUs are becoming increasingly important. Over the years, the company has proven that through continued innovation, its chips are likely to stay on top of the competition.
Moving forward, these chips are going to become more ingrained in day-to-day life, playing important roles in the development of artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and other technologies of the future.
Now might just be the perfect time to get involved.
NVIDIA completed a four-for-one stock split on July 20, when shareholders received four shares at a quarter of the current price in exchange for each single share they own. The move is far more than cosmetic.
With the stock trading over $800 per share, access to the stock has been limited for those with less money to invest. The split effectively cut the price of each single share by 75%, bringing it down to around $200 and making it a more accessible price for investors with smaller portfolios.
This move worked wonders, leading a rush in demand for the stock and resulting in a spike in value.
In any case, NVDA is a stock well worth watching. Not only is the company a pioneer in the high-end computer graphics and processing space, it continues to innovate, consistently staying one step ahead of the competition and making the stock one worth watching closely.
Sonos Inc. (SONO)
The best year-to-date performer among the best stocks to buy for 2021 is Sonos, the sleek speaker company dedicated to the growing market of the “connected home,” a subset of the much larger Internet of Things phenomenon. The thesis with Sonos going into this year, similar to the logic behind the Lowe’s pick, was that consumers would willingly spend money on sprucing up and improving their homes during a time of work-from-home policies and shutdowns. Heading into its next earnings report, Sonos has already strung together two straight record-setting quarters, with year-over-year revenue growth of 15% and 90%, respectively. The company recently raised fiscal 2021 guidance, which assumes that Sonos will account for only 9% of the $18 billion premium home audio market, giving it plenty of runway for expansion in the years ahead.
YTD returns: +46.5%
United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL)
United Airlines is a pure COVID-19 travel recovery play. With control over 12% of the United States domestic air travel market, it’s a name you likely know well or at least have heard of.
The airline industry has been suffering for some time. Who wants to be breathing recycled air thousands of feet in the air in a metal tube with hundreds of people they don’t know during the COVID-19 crisis? Nobody, that’s who.
Like all other publicly traded airline companies, United Airlines lost billions of dollars in 2020. These dramatic losses have led to a seriously low share price, which will prove to be a massive undervaluation as the travel sector continues to recover.
That could happen sooner than you think.
Vaccines have been administered to consumers for some time, with more than 179 million Americans fully vaccinated according to Google. The availability of these vaccines increases by the day. The COVID-19 new case trend slowed significantly early this year, with growth in case counts falling to levels that haven’t been recorded since before March 2020. While there has been somewhat of a resurgence in cases, many believe that thanks to the widespread availability of vaccines, the second wave of the virus will be short-lived.
That’s great news for airlines and any other stock in the travel industry.
As COVID-19 cases continue to wane, people aren’t just going to be more likely to travel, they’re going to be itching for it. If you’re like most people, you’ve been stuck in your house for a year. Maybe you decided to abort the annual vacation plans, you haven’t seen your family much, and you’re going stir crazy. So, what do you need?
A vacation!
As soon as the pandemic is largely under control, consumers are going to start traveling again, and I’m expecting to see a big boom in the sector. Moreover, considering the economic impact of COVID-19, consumers are probably going to be looking for the best deals they can get on travel, which bodes well for United because it’s a discount airline.
At the same time, while Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines have already begun their recovery in a big way, United Airlines has only seen minimal growth since mid-pandemic lows. Its stock has seen the slowest recovery in the industry since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an extreme undervaluation that would be hard for most value investors to ignore.
Not to mention, Southwest Airlines has been forced to cancel several flights as a result of a workforce shortage, which gives its competition — namely United Airlines — an opportunity to jump in and pick up the slack.
There’s no guarantee that COVID-19 will be under control any time soon, nor a guarantee that the travel industry will recover in the near term. However, all signs point to these being the most probable outcomes, making United Airlines a stock that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Newmont Corp. (NEM)
As a gold and copper miner, Newmont tends to be a good hedge against uncertainty, something that has been prevalent since the pandemic began. Newmont’s year-to-date returns are lackluster, but mainly because gold itself is down about 8% in 2021. If the Delta variant continues to wreak havoc in the U.S., it’s possible that the precious metal – considered a safe harbor in times of market turmoil – begins to outperform again, but if it’s smooth sailing for the remainder of the year, expect NEM to underperform. Income investors will applaud Newmont’s 3.7% dividend yield, the highest on this list.
YTD returns: +1.6% (including dividends)
Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE: BIO)
Given current times, the medical sector garners quite a bit of conversation. While the majority of focus is being placed on companies working to develop vaccines and therapeutics for the coronavirus, a huge opportunity is emerging surrounding the technology that makes the development of these products possible.
Bio-Rad Laboratories doesn’t develop vaccines or therapeutics. Instead, it focuses on providing other companies in the biotechnology space with the technology, documentation, and equipment needed to develop new therapeutics and vaccines.
This puts the company in the perfect position.
For some time now, the U.S. has been going through an evolution in medicine. New technologies have given experts an understanding of how the human body ticks like never before, paving the way for the development of cures for some of the world’s most devastating conditions.
Just 30 years ago, hepatitis C was a death sentence. Today, it can be cured. The same goes for a wide array of ailments for which advancements in medicine have led to cures or better treatments.
For all of this to happen, clinical trials must take place and equipment and data must be acquired. As such, companies like Bio-Rad Laboratories realize high levels of demand.
As of the second quarter of 2021, revenue came in at $715.93 million representing year-over-year growth of more than 30%. As the medical community works to solve more significant problems, the company’s leading products and services will continue to experience high levels of demand.
At the moment, only one analyst covers the stock, but that coverage carries a Buy rating and a price target of $930 per share, representing the potential for more than 15% growth in the stock over the next year.
All told, Bio-Rad Laboratories offers up a long list of in-demand products in the biotechnology space. With expectations for a continuation of the recent innovation in the medical space, there’s no reason to expect any slowing in the company’s growth, making it a stock that’s hard to ignore.
Ford Motor Co. (ticker: F)
Often when companies announce major investments – the mergers and acquisitions space comes to mind – shares of those companies fall. Ford, however, announced the single-largest manufacturing investment in its history in September, and the stock immediately rose on the news.
Investors applauded the scale and focus of Ford’s newly unveiled $7 billion plan to build three U.S. battery factories, as well as its first U.S. assembly plant in multiple decades. The plant will crank out Ford’s iconic F-series pickup trucks – except they’ll be electric.
Electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry, so old-school Ford’s aggressive push into the space is being welcomed by long-term investors. After unveiling the all-electric F-150 Lightning in May, shares gained 17% through the end of September.
And even after rallying more than 60% in 2021, the stock still trades for less than 7 times forward earnings, compared to the S&P 500 average of more than 20. With sales growth expected to clock in at about 10% in 2021 and roughly 20% in 2022, the fairly priced Ford looks like one of the best stocks to buy for October.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Another e-commerce company that took its time becoming profitable was Amazon, which turned in its first profitable year in 2003, nine years after its founding.
Amazon earned its spot among the top stocks to buy for October for a few reasons. First, it continues to execute, innovate and grow rapidly quarter after quarter. Second, shares have barely budged over the past year despite this, rising a paltry 4% next to a 1-year gain of 28% from the S&P 500.
This is, plain and simple, a chance to get in on a world-class name at a decent price. Markets may be hesitant to reward AMZN under the new leadership of CEO Andy Jassy, but in truth he proved his capabilities over years at the helm of cash cow and cloud computing powerhouse Amazon Web Services – plus, founder Jeff Bezos is still chairman of the board.
Amazon’s latest product unveiling, which included new Ring and Alexa offerings, also introduced the company’s first smart robot, Astro, which can roam around the home, play music, act as a security lookout, offer video conferencing and do everything Alexa-enabled devices can.
The $999 bot is the first in a series of such robots Amazon has planned, and represents why even at a valuation of $1.7 trillion, Amazon continues to place value on innovation.
Lennar Corp. (LEN)
Homebuilder Lennar also looks like an attractive portfolio addition, for both macroeconomic and company-specific reasons.
Zooming out, LEN stock should benefit from a red-hot housing market, which saw the fourth consecutive month of record-setting growth in home prices in July, as the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index surged 19.7% year over year.
Not only are home prices skyrocketing, but a big reason is a paucity of supply, ensuring that homebuilders like Lennar stay busy for the foreseeable future. Secular trends like relocation and millennials buying homes aren’t going away, and Lennar also has a leading position in hot markets like Charlotte, North Carolina; Phoenix; Orlando, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Miami, among others.
Berkshire Hathaway
Last and certainly not least by market cap is Berkshire Hathaway, the $630 billion diversified holding company and financial conglomerate.
A perennial contender for one of the best conservative stocks to buy, Berkshire is run by perhaps the greatest investor of the 20th century, Warren Buffett.
While famous for its market-walloping stock portfolio, Berkshire’s extensive ownership of insurance companies and energy businesses make it look particularly compelling in today’s inflationary – and soon to be rising-rate – environment.
Buffett famously adores insurers, which can profit by investing the premiums paid by customers before they have to pay them out as claims. Insurers can generate more income from those investments as rates rise. Rising rates are also good for banks and financials generally, a sector where Berkshire has large interests.
And the energy sector is famously resilient in inflationary times (rising commodity prices don’t hurt), shielding the company from the pain that sectors such as tech can feel when the dollar starts losing more of its value.
Berkshire, although it doesn’t pay a dividend, has aggressively bought back its own stock in recent years, reducing its share count by about 5.2% in 2020.
Conclusion
The stock market is a never-ending puzzle that you can’t help but love. One day a price goes in a direction that you expected, and the next it doesn’t. Here I have made a list of 10 stocks which I think will survive in the years to come. If done well, these stocks can make you a rich man or woman in near future.