Buy 5 Stocks With 125% Plus YTD Returns and More Upside Left

U.S. stock markets have performed fairly well year to date despite remaining coronavorus-stricken in the last nine and a half months. The three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — are up 4.8%, 12.6% and 36%, respectively. Additionally, the small-cap specific Russell 2000 Index is also up 11.2% year to date. The mid-cap centric S&P 400 is up 6.8% so far this year.

Wall Street's broad-based impressive performance defying the COVID-19 outbreak globally and the resurgence of infections is unmatched in major global bourses. A series of recent positive developments on the coronavirus treatment front has significantly strengthened market participants' confidence in risky assets like equities.

A Growing U.S. Economy

The first tranche of the coronavirus-aid package — CARES ACT — came to an end in July. Despite the absence of any new stimulus, the U.S. economy has grown in the last three months albeit at a slow pace.

On Oct 29, the Department of Commerce reported that the GDP jumped a record high of 33.1% at an annualized pace after plunging 31.4% in the second quarter. On Nov 27, Adobe Analytics reported that online spending on Thanksgiving soared 21.5% year over year to reach a new record of $5.1 billion. Last year online sales were $4.2 billion.

Adobe Analytics expects Black Friday sales in the range of $8.9 billion and $10.6 billion and online sales for the full holiday season to reach up to $189 billion. On Nov 23, the National Retail Federation said that it expects holiday sales during November and December to rise between 3.6% and 5.2% year over year.

In absolute terms , the figure will be between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion. Last year, holiday sales had increased 4% to $729.1 billion. The last five-year average was 3.5%. Notably, online and other non-store sales are projected to soar 20% to 30% amounting to between $202.5 billion and $218.4 billion this year. Last year, this was $268.7 billion.

Volatility Likely to Remain Subdued

The stock-market volatility is likely to remain subdued in the days to come. This is evident from the COBE VIX reading  — popularly known as the best fear-gauge of Wall Street. In a nutshell, the VIX indicates market's expectation of a 30-day forward-looking volatility based on the near-term S&P 500 Index options (both puts and calls).

On Nov 27, the VIX closed at 20.84, its lowest closing since Fed 21. During intraday trading, the fear gauge touched a low-level of 19.51, marking its first reading below 20 since Feb 21.

The volatility index has fallen a massive 97.6% in the past month. Moreover, at its current level of 20.84, the VIX is well below its 50-day and 200-day moving average data of 27.40 and 32.29, indicating that markets are likely to remain stable in the near term.

Our Top Picks

We have narrowed down our search to five stocks based on four criteria. First, we have selected tech behemoths (market capital > $10 billion) as these companies have a well-established business model and strong brand value. Second, these stocks have skyrocketed more than 125% year to date.

Third, all these stocks have strong growth potential and witnessed robust earnings estimate revisions in the last 30 to 60 days, indicating solid business prospects. Finally, each of our picks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks year to date.

 

The Trade Desk Inc. TTD is a provider of technology platform for advertising. Ad buyers create, manage and optimize data-driven digital advertising campaigns using its cloud-based technology platform.

The Zacks Rank #1 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 27.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 48.3% over the last 30 days. The stock has soared 236.1% year to date.

Wayfair Inc. W is one of the world's leading online sellers of home goods products, consisting of furniture and home decor. The Zacks Rank #2 company has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 615% over the last 30 days. The stock has rallied 188.4% year to date.

Shopify Inc. SHOP provides a cloud-based multi-channel commerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and internationally.

The Zacks Rank #2 company has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 1.6% over the last 7 days. The stock has jumped 160.1% year to date.

The Boston Beer Co. Inc. SAM produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. Aside from its flagship Samuel Adams Boston Lager beer, it offers various beers, hard ciders and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard Hard Cider and Truly Hard Seltzer brands.

The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 63% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved by 21.2% over the last 60 days. The Zacks Rank #2 stock has appreciated 138.6% year to date.

NVIDIA Corp. NVDA is gaining decent market share among the gaming service providers. The strong line up of advanced graphics cards has made it a favorite graphics card provider among PC makers. Datacenter presents solid growth opportunity for the company. NVIDIA’s GPUs are rapidly gaining from the proliferation of artificial intelligence.

The Zacks Rank #2 company has an expected earnings growth rate of 66.8% for the current year (ending January 2021). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 5.8% over the last 30 days. The stock price has advanced 125.4% year to date.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>

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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (SAM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Wayfair Inc. (W) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Shopify Inc. (SHOP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
The Trade Desk Inc. (TTD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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