While Amazon and Apple continue to offer investment opportunities, the latest list includes two new names from the software and real estate sectors.
J.P. Morgan has published its monthly analyst focus list of top stocks, based on the strategies of “near-term, growth and value.”
There were two new entrants on the list: cloud software giant Salesforce (CRM) – Get salesforce.com, inc. Report, under the growth category, and residential real estate broker Realogy (RLGY) – Get Realogy Holdings Corp. Report, under the value category.
As for Salesforce, “We see the potential for Salesforce.com’s Q4 results to outperform
lowered expectations,” J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Murphy wrote in a commentary. He said the company is “at the center of digital transformations and driving multi-year compounding of the topline at scale, while delivering considerable cash flow.”
In addition, Murphy is “encouraged by the results of our recent fourth-quarter partner and customer surveys, which signaled healthy end markets and better forward-looking indicators than investors might have expected,” he said.
Looking at Realogy, it has an “improving balance sheet,” wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Anthony Paolone. He also cited stock buybacks, a return to investing in the business and better-than-expected 2022 earnings guidance.
“Our structural view on housing is positive,” he said. And Realogy has a “very low multiple at sub-6 times EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] and cash flow,” Paolone said.
Other companies appearing on the list are:
Bank of America (BAC) – Get Bank of America Corp Report and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) – Get Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Report for near-term opportunities.
Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report, Apple AAPL, semiconductor company Broadcom (AVGO) – Get Broadcom Inc. Report, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY) – Get Eli Lilly and Company Report, Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Microsoft Corporation Report and railroad company Norfolk Southern (NSC) – Get Norfolk Southern Corporation Report for growth; and Construction equipment company Caterpillar (CAT) – Get Caterpillar Inc. Report, General Motors (GM) – Get General Motors Company Report, and McDonald’s (MCD) – Get McDonald’s Corporation Report for value plays.
