In a volatile environment, it pays to have a smart portfolio. Which stocks will help investors ride out inflation, rising interest rates, and other macroeconomic headwinds? TipRanks has the answer.
The TipRanks Smart Portfolio allows investors to benchmark their portfolios against the best performing portfolios on TipRanks, and also the average TipRanks Portfolio.
Investors can use this tool to track their portfolios against the Best Performing Portfolios based on asset allocation (both sector-wise and assets-wise), and dividend yield.
Investors can also look at whether their portfolio is riskier by evaluating the beta (a measure of risk) against the beta of the best-performing portfolios on TipRanks. In short, it is a very useful tool to track the performance of your portfolio.
So, which are the stocks that are a part of the Best Performing portfolios on TipRanks? Using this tool, we looked at five stocks that make up the Best Performing portfolios on TipRanks.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)Apple is a top stock in the portfolio of investors on TipRanks and made up 18.3% of the Best Performing Portfolio on TipRanks. Even Wall Street analysts are bullish about the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 23 Buys and five Holds.
While AAPL stock has been under pressure so far this year, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives believes that “the company is setting up for a monster growth cycle over the next 12 to 18 [months] that is not baked into shares at current levels.”
According to Ives, the underlying demand for Apple’s iPhone 13 is strong in both the U.S. and China. As a result, the analyst is upbeat about the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $200 (14.3% upside) on the stock. The average AAPL price forecast of $193.36 implies approximately 10.8% upside potential to current levels.
Even the Crowd Wisdom tool on TipRanks indicates that investors are very positive about the stock. Out of the 115,377 best-performing portfolios on TipRanks, 10.3% of all portfolios hold AAPL.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)Tesla comprises 10.4% of the Best Performing portfolios on TipRanks. Tesla has not been immune to the upheaval in the stock markets and the stock has tanked 15.5% year-to-date.
Ives stated that TSLA stock “has been way oversold over the past few months along with the risk-off mentality among tech investors.” However, the analyst is of the view that the Street “over the past week has started to better appreciate what the seminal launch of Giga Berlin means for the Tesla supply story in 2022 and beyond.”
The analyst has a Buy rating and a price target of $1,400, implying 38.1% upside on TSLA.
Other analysts, however, are cautiously optimistic with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 16 Buys, five Holds, and six Sells. The average TSLA price forecast of $1,063.88 implies approximately 5% upside potential to current levels.
Contrary to investors on the Street, investors on TipRanks are very positive about the stock. Out of 115,377 best-performing portfolios, 1.7% of portfolios have raised their holdings of TSLA in the past month.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)Microsoft makes up 9.9% of the Best Performing portfolios on TipRanks. The stock has not been immune to the stock sell-off in the technology sector in 2022.
Jeffries analyst Brent Thill thinks that the stock is attractively valued at current levels. Moreover, the analyst believes that the tech giant’s operating margins are likely to improve “modestly” over time but “will face headwinds for the next year or two as MSFT invests in the business and laps pandemic-related savings.”
The analyst remains optimistic about the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $400, implying an upside potential of 31.7%.
The stock also gets a resounding Strong Buy consensus rating from the Street based on a unanimous 27 Buys. The average MSFT price forecast of $374.88 implies approximately 23.4% upside potential to current levels.
Investors are, however, very negative about the stock, as indicated by the TipRanks Crowd Wisdom tool. Among the 115,377 best performing portfolios on TipRanks, 8.8% of them hold MSFT. In the past month, 1.2% of these portfolios have reduced their holdings of the stock.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)Amazon is another technology favorite among the best-performing portfolios on TipRanks and makes up 9.3% of such portfolios. The stock continues to remain a favorite of analysts, too.
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak recently analyzed how rising fuel costs could impact AMZN’s shipping costs.
While the analyst lowered his FY 22 and FY 23 EBIT estimate for AMZN by approximately $5.6 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively, Nowak continues to expect “revenue acceleration and margin expansion (even through higher fuel costs) to drive outperformance.”
As a result, Nowak continues to be upbeat with a Buy rating and a price target of $4,200 (27.5% upside) on the stock.
Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of Strong Buy on Amazon based on 34 unanimous Buys. The average AMZN price forecast of $4,185.75 implies approximately 27% upside potential to current levels.
The Crowd Wisdom tool on TipRanks indicates that investors are very positive about AMZN with on average, the stock comprising 14.9% of portfolios of best-performing investors on TipRanks. In the past week, out of 115,377 best-performing portfolios, 0.9% of portfolios have increased their holdings of AMZN.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)Nvidia, the semiconductor giant has seen its stock pop by 15% in the past month. Investors are buying into the stock as it recently unveiled several new hardware products, ranging from CPUs (Grace Superchip), Networking (Spectrum-4 ethernet platform), and Systems (DGX H100) on its Investor Day earlier this week.
J.P. Morgan analyst Harlan Sur also came away bullish on the stock following its Investor Day, and believes that the company stands to benefit from the major trends in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, gaming, and autonomous vehicles with its range of products.
The analyst added that NVDA remains “1-2 steps ahead of its competitors.” Sur reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $350 on the stock.
Rest of the analysts on the Street echo Sur and are optimistic about the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 21 Buys and five Holds. The average NVDA price forecast of $350.22 implies approximately 26.2% upside potential to current levels.
However, corporate insiders seem to be negative about the stock as indicated by the Insider Trading activity tool on TipRanks. In the last three months, corporate insiders have sold NVDA shares worth $4.4 million.
Bottom LineFrom this list, it is evident that the technology sector is a strong favorite among investors and makes up more than 50% of the best-performing portfolios on TipRanks.
Considering that analysts are also bullish or cautiously optimistic about these stocks, it seems that these tech heavyweights are poised to succeed, even in the face of macroeconomic headwinds.
Download the TipRanks mobile app now.
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Read full Disclaimer & Disclosure.
Enterprise behemoth Microsoft (MSFT) has been moving deeper into the consumer entertainment realm of late.
With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) in a deal of around $69 billion, it's hard to ignore the firm's Xbox gaming division, which now has one of the deepest content libraries in the video-gaming scene. Undoubtedly, gaming and consumer entertainment is not a new business for Microsoft, which has been in the industry for over two decades. The success of its Xbox console has been remarkable.
Amid supply chain constraints, though, not every hardcore gamer has been able to get the latest Series X console. Despite this, Microsoft is not just waiting around as it looks to take the gaming world by storm. I am bullish on MSFT stock, as video-gaming growth could be key to taking the sticky service revenues to the next level.
Microsoft Investing in the Future of GamingThe company is running the risk of cannibalizing its Xbox hardware sales by investing considerable sums in its cloud-gaming platform Xbox Cloud Gaming. The platform follows in the footsteps of other players in the cloud-gaming arena, including Google Stadia by Alphabet (GOOG) and GeForce Now of Nvidia (NVDA).
There have been a growing number of firms looking to build gaming consoles in the cloud. Making PC-level gaming more accessible to wider audiences across a wider range of devices is the ultimate goal.
However, the biggest differentiating factor has arguably been the availability of high-quality content. Google pulled the plug on its exclusive releases for Stadia last year in a potential waving of the white flag in the face of Microsoft's gaming empire.
There are major rivals in gaming, but there's always one that stands out as better than the rest. Right now, Microsoft is a pioneer in the gaming scene, with a focus on bringing down the boundaries that separate niche hardcore gamers from the massive casual gamer market.
The casual gaming space is mobile-oriented. As Microsoft invests in its next console, which I believe could replace the current generation of Xbox, gamers will be able to play on any medium they desire. Undoubtedly, the next console is unlikely to take on any physical form through the eyes of consumers.
Microsoft: The King of Gaming Content?It doesn't matter if a firm has the best game-streaming infrastructure on the planet; if there's a lack of content, users will look elsewhere. When it comes to consumer entertainment, content is king. In that regard, Microsoft seems to be the "Netflix (NFLX) of video games" with its Xbox Game Pass service.
Xbox Game Pass offers a library of titles and regularly-scheduled new releases. In many ways, the service seems to be as dominant in the gaming space as Netflix was before rivals flooded into the SVOD space.
The Game Pass service has been a great success with primarily Xbox console owners and PC gamers on the Windows platform. Still, the next frontier of growth could be the most exciting for Game Pass, as Microsoft looks to make its service available to everyone, not just users within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Microsoft isn't trying to make its gaming offering exclusive. It's opening the doors wide, and that could result in a flood of consumers rushing to subscribe to Game Pass.
The Xbox Cloud Gaming platform, formerly xCloud, essentially opens up Game Pass to the entire gaming market. The platform is currently in Beta and is available to those who lack a high-spec gaming PC or Xbox console.
Once its Cloud Gaming service is ready for prime time (keyboard and mouse support is on the horizon), I would look for Microsoft's Xbox business to grow to contribute a larger slice of overall revenues.
The company is doing a lot of things right in the gaming scene. With Game Pass and Cloud Gaming, it's disrupting two services, which combined as one could deliver a one-two gut punch to its long-time rivals Sony (SONY) and Nintendo (NTDOY).
Wall Street's TakeTurning to Wall Street, MSFT stock comes in as a Strong Buy. Out of 27 analyst ratings, there are 27 unanimous Buy recommendations.
The average Microsoft price target is $374.88, implying an upside of 22.9%. Analyst price targets range from a low of $320.00 per share to a high of $425.00 per share.
The Bottom LineWith such deep pockets to invest in its gaming ambitions, I think it will be hard for any firm to catch up with the likes of Microsoft. It has too large a lead.
As Microsoft continues to take share in the gaming space, the company may very well become the king of the "metaverse," or whatever Microsoft desires to call it once cloud-powered virtual-reality gaming experiences become mainstream.
There's a reason why Microsoft has been able to command market-crushing returns for such a long time. It's a disruptive innovator at heart, and it's not slowing down, especially when it comes to the gaming market. For now, I think Microsoft's gaming growth prospects are being heavily discounted.
Download the TipRanks mobile app now
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Read full Disclaimer & Disclosure