Do you have your holiday wish list finished? Did you remember to add A-rated stocks? Stocks may not be the typical gift, but they’re practical and can be life-changing, especially A-rated stocks with a long-term outlook.
Let’s be clear: A-rated stocks are the best of the best, as rated by the Portfolio Grader, a free tool that evaluates all stocks in the market. Receiving A-rated stocks can be just the gift you need to push your portfolio higher. If you’ve not finished your holiday shopping, then there’s nothing wrong with gifting some A-rated stocks to your loved ones. When the returns come in, they’ll surely thank you.
Toyota (TM)
Toyota (NYSE:TM) is Japan’s largest automaker and a perennial member on any list of A-rated stocks tp buy. But now it looks even better as it’s making sensible strides to compete in the electric vehicle space.
Toyota’s EV sales in October topped 304,000 – up 38.4% from a year ago. For the first 10 months of the year, Toyota sold 2.78 million EVs, or nearly 33% of Toyota’s total sales.
Make no mistake, EV sales are what’s fueling Toyota right now. October saw a 38% increase in EV sales, but gas-powered vehicle sales remain far below last year’s levels.
Toyota isn’t standing still. It announced a deal in October to work with LG Energy Solutions to get EV batteries, and its promoting efforts to increase the life cycle of batteries through reuse and recycling.
Revenue for the company’s fiscal second quarter of 2024 was $145.4 billion, up 24% from a year ago. TM stock is up 38% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Netflix (NFLX)
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the so-called OG of streaming services. Once upon a time, it did battle (and vanquished) video stores and chains such as Blockbuster. It then transitioned into a DVD-by-mail service before launching its streaming efforts.
Back in the day, Netflix pretty much had the streaming space to itself, although it struggled as competing services launched and drew away eyeballs.
What I love about Netflix is that it met the challenge head-on, and it made some tough decisions. Previously, it turned a blind eye to password sharing, but in 2023, it started monetizing those customers. Sharing accounts outside the household incurs an additional $8 monthly fee.
The change was dramatic, as Netflix is seeing millions in new subscriptions. The company saw 8.8 million in paid net additions in the third quarter, helping drive the company’s revenue by 8% from a year ago.
NFLX stock is up 53% in 2023 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
DraftKings (DKNG)
DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) is a top sports wagering site. The sports book stock had an amazing run higher from its launch until mid-2021 before the bottom fell out. But 2023 has been a rebirth for DraftKings stock, which is showing gains of 210% on the year.
Keep in mind, this company is still finding its legs. It’s still building out its network and trying to scale (and that can be a slow process because the company needs to wait for individual states to legalize sports betting so people can use the platform.
Forecasts indicate DraftKings will report net losses this year and next. However, the company also expects to achieve positive EBITDA in the 2024 fiscal year as it solidifies its balance sheet.
Revenue for the third quarter of 2023 showed revenue of $790 million, up 57% from a year ago. Monthly unique players increased to 2.3 million, up 40% from Q3 2022.
DKNG stock looks like an extremely good bet. It gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Coinbase Global (COIN)
Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) is one of the most well-known digital wallets you can buy. It also appears to be one of the best stocks on the market today.
Coinbase has become a popular way to buy, trade and hold cryptocurrencies. There are over 230 tradable cryptocurrencies on the Coinbase platform. Users trade $76 billion in digital assets each quarter.
That’s an impressive figure, particularly when considering that cryptocurrencies have lost their luster over the last couple of years. Scandals such as the failure of FTX (and the subsequent conviction of its founder on fraud charges) cast a lot of doubt about the future of investors’ holdings.
But Coinbase is seeing growth. The company has a net loss through the third quarter but still expects to see positive adjusted EBITDA for the full year.
Revenue for the third quarter was $623 million, up from $576 million a year ago. The company posted a net loss of $2 million for the quarter, which was much better than the $545 million it lost in the same quarter of 2022.
COIN stock is up 280% in 2023 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Uber Technologies (UBER)
Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) is a transformative company. It completely disrupted the taxi industry through its rideshare service that connects drivers and passengers on an app.
Then Uber got into the food delivery business through its Uber Eats app and that’s been a success, too.
Now Uber is taking a big, well-deserved step. On December 18, Uber will join the S&P 500 under the Industrials sector. The change is being made as part of the S&P 500’s effort to rebalance every quarter to match its market capitalization range.
But for Uber investors, it’s a potential windfall. Adding Uber to the index means that anyone operating an index fund will buy UBER stock shares. That will keep Uber’s winning streak alive.
The company saw revenue in the third quarter of $9.3 billion, up 11% from a year ago. Gross bookings were up 21%, and monthly active platform consumers were up 15% from a year ago.
Uber stock is up 145% in 2023, and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Salesforce (CRM)
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is a cloud-based software company. Its platform helps businesses manage sales, marketing, customer service and workflows.
The customer relationship management software provides customers with a central location to track and manage client information, making it easier for sales, marketing and other teams to communicate about clients.
Its Einstein platform uses generative artificial intelligence to assist customers and helps customize client interactions.
Revenue in the fiscal third quarter of 2024 (ending Oct. 31, 2023) was $8.72 billion, up 11% from a year ago. Salesforce also reported $1.25 per share profits and returned another $1.9 billion to shareholders through repurchases.
CRM stock is up 87% in 2023 and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) is a data analytics company that provides artificial intelligence and machine learning software for public and private sectors. Its platform has a broad use in the military, but private sector companies are also turning toward Palantir’s products.
The company has a contract with the Pentagon worth up to $250 million through 2026 to help the military entities scale up its AI and machine-learning capabilities. This contract is worth up to $250 million through 2026.
Palantir earned $251 million, up 23% from a year ago, in the third quarter from private sector clients. Its private sector growth has been outpacing government sector growth in recent months. Government revenue was up 12% to $308 million.
Overall revenue in the third quarter was $558 million, up 17% from a year ago.
PLTR stock is a good play for investors looking for a way to capitalize on growth in AI. The stock is up 168% this year and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier and the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article had long positions in PLTR. Neither held (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Consumer Discretionary, Cybersecurity, Automotive, Electric Vehicles, Financial, Fintech, Communications, Media, Streaming
