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There’s no bad time to buy A-rated stocks. But if you want to be richer than you are now, one of the best things you can do for yourself this June is to invest in A-rated stocks and watch the returns come in.
When I’m talking about A-rated stocks, of course, I’m referring to the rankings assigned to all stocks by the Portfolio Grader. Stocks get “A” ratings based on their earnings performance, growth history, analyst sentiment and momentum.
You have a much better chance to make money with A-rated stocks than with those that have a poor rating, so I always use the Portfolio Grader as a tool when I’m looking at new stocks, or when its time to rebalance my portfolios.
June is the perfect time for this exercise. We are approaching the end of the second quarter, which is an ideal time to check on your portfolio to see how it’s performing compared to the general market.
June is also a time where many companies announce quarterly earnings and issue or reaffirm guidance for the rest of the year. That’s important information for any investor, especially for those of us looking at A-rated stocks.
The stock market continues to be strong this year, carried primarily by tech stocks.
You don’t want to lose out on the opportunities that the markets offer this June, so I encourage you to review your holdings versus the Portfolio Grader and look to optimize your holdings. If you’re looking to make a change, these seven stocks are ideal selections.
Nvidia (NVDA)
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I can’t tell you how many times over the course of the last year I led off a series of recommendations with the semiconductor maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). But if you’re a skittish investor, you may be nervous about the recent dip this company saw.
Don’t be.
Following another great earnings report and the company’s successful 10-for-1 stock split, Nvidia extended its mammoth run to a market capitalization of $3.3 trillion and was briefly the No. 1 company in the world in terms of market capitalization.
But then we saw a dip — roughly 13% over three trading sessions, and some people started saying that the NVDA bubble was finally popping.
They were wrong — NVDA is already climbing its way back up. And Nvidia hardly represents a bubble. This is a company that makes that powerful semiconductors that handle the most complex computer operations, including machine learning, generative artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
Nvidia has a massive market share in making these chips, with even better products in the workflow to be released over the next few quarters.
That’s why analysts from Bank of America and Jefferies are still touting NVDA stock, and why you’re going to see Nvidia continue to gain new highs in 2024.
NVDA stock is up 154% in 2024 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI)
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Some company has to make the server infrastructure that allows companies who are buying up NVDA chips to package them together and so they can run generative AI.
That’s where Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), or Supermicro, comes in.
SMCI took a hit recently as its stock price fell from nearly $1,200 to less than $800. But the stock is already rebounding, helped in no small part by Nvidia’s strength and the bullish sentiment that surrounds it.
The company is also making some key moves, such as collaborating on building a large AI data center in Japan, and it’s work into building “Direct Liquid Cooling” servers that would offer energy cost and environmental advantages over those that utilize traditional fan-based cooling systems.
If you’re kicking yourself for not buying SMCI when it was under $800, don’t fret. This company has a long path ahead of it and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go back over $1,000 and re-challenge its previous highs.
SMCI stock is up 196% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
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I love a good stock split, because they instantly increase the liquidity of a stock by making shares more affordable.
The share price decreases as the total number of shares increase, so while an individual investor still has the same position in the company, the number of shares they have increase.
For example, when Nvidia had a share price of $1,200 and did its 10-for-1 split, an investor with a single share of NVDA stock suddenly had 10 shares valued at $120 each.
That brings us to Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), which more than topped Nvidia’s trick. Chipotle just completed an amazing 50-for-1 split, bringing the share price from $3,283 to roughly $65.
But if you had a single CMG share, you now have 50 of those beauties, and you know the price is going to be climbing again.
Chipotle is one of the best restaurant stocks on the planet, with more than 3,400 locations dishing out its freshly made Tex-Mex fare.
Second-quarter results won’t be out until late July, but the company had a solid first quarter with revenue of $2.7 billion rising by 14.1% from a year ago. Chipotle also reported that comparable restaurant sales were up an impressive 7% and operating margins rose from 15.5% to 16.3%.
CMG stock is up 45% in 2024 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Meta Platforms (META)
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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is the owner of some of the most popular social media and advertising platforms on the planet, including Instagram, Facebook, Threads and WhatsApp.
While many call Meta purely a social media company, it will always be an advertising powerhouse in my book — especially considering that it saw roughly 98% of its revenue come from advertising in the first quarter.
Meta’s advertising is so popular because they do it right. Meta has amassed an amazing amount of data about its users, including hobbies and interests, locations and their social networks. They use that information to allow advertisers to precisely target offerings to the people who are most likely to buy a product.
Meta is also making an effort in the AI world with Meta AI, a large language model that would be capable of answering queries, solving problems and performing other functions on Meta’s platforms.
Meta will continue to be a workhorse for your portfolio. The stock is up 44% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Dell Technologies (DELL)
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That brings us to Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL), which is truly a legacy technology company. The company made its name as a manufacturer of computers laptops and mobile devices, but its future is in AI as well.
Nvidia has a key partnership with Dell, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang touts that Dell’s large server business makes it easier for companies to get into AI.
Dell and Nvidia are working hand-in-hand to create an AI factory that would help xAI, the artificial intelligence venture fronted by Elon Musk, create an AI supercomputer to power the Grok chatbot, among other things.
Musk says that Dell will assemble half the racks that are going to be used for the xAI supercomputer. Supermicro is also involved in the effort.
All this will be important for Dell stock moving forward. DELL is up 83% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Netflix (NFLX)
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Just a few years ago, I think it would have been fair to have legitimate concerns about Netflix.
The company seemed to have hit a wall — subscription growth was weak, other streaming services were taking off, stripping Netflix of some of its most popular content (such as the Star Wars franchise, the Marvel franchise and hit sitcoms like Friends and The Office).
But wow, did Netflix turn things around, or what?
The biggest move that it made was ending the password-sharing practice that Netflix had long turned a blind eye to. It recognized that its platform was still desirable, and that people were willing to pay for it.
So it instituted an $8 surcharge for people who were sharing their accounts with someone outside of their platform — kids in college, former roommates and ex-romantic partners, for instance.
That left customers with the choice of paying the surcharge or allowing those external household members to get their own accounts. Both decisions are a win for Netflix.
Earnings in the first quarter showed revenue of $9.3 billion, up from $8.1 billion a year ago. Global streaming paid memberships hit 269.6 million, up 16% from a year ago, and net income was $2.06 million, up from $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2023.
Netflix is still special and still growing, and it’s the premiere streaming service on the market. The stock is up 38% in 2024 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Eli Lilly (LLY)
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Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) isn’t a tech stock, but its made what may be one of the most popular breakthroughs of the decade. The biotech company created a drug that’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help people lose weight.
Zepbound is an injectable drug that won FDA approval in November 2023 and is geared to the 42% of the U.S. population that are classified as obese. The drug in Zepbound, tirzepatide, is also used in another highly successful Lilly product called Mounjaro, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes.
While Lilly is now pouring billions of dollars into expanding its manufacturing facilities to produce Zepbound and Mounjaro, the company has another amazing drug around the corner.
An FDA panel voted unanimously in favor of the company’s donanemab drug, which would be used to treat Alzheimer’s. The full FDA still needs to give final approval, but that’s fully expected to happen soon.
These catalysts make LLY stock a must-own for 2024. Eli Lilly stock is up 55% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had long positions in NVDA, SCMI and LLY. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
On the date of publication, the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article had long positions in NVDA and SCMI. The staff member did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
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