We’re days away from the end of an incredible year on Wall Street. All the major indexes are up by double-digit percentages as we close out 2023. Notably, the S&P 500 runs 24% higher and the Nasdaq 100 is up an incredible 54%. It’s the complete opposite of what investors saw last year.
Yet that’s the thing with sharp market corrections. Bear markets are typically measured in months where bull markets that inevitably follow are measured in years. While no one knows for sure which way the market will go, the following unstoppable stocks for 2024 could just be market movers for your portfolio.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) was actually one stock to successfully capitalize on Big Data. They began to capitalize on the Big Data trend a few years ago, first for the government and later for the private sector.
Big Data was the trend a few years ago that would reshape the future for business. It promised to transform trillions of bits of data into actionable information for companies. Although it didn’t quite work out that way, we’re seeing the same potential with artificial intelligence (AI), which is like Big Data on steroids.
Consequently, the company is now using AI to go even further, launching its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) to speed workflows to customers. It now takes just days to analyze data when it used to take two to three months.
As a result, customers are flocking to Palantir. Commercial customers grew 37% to 181, boosting revenue 23% higher year-over-year. Government sales jumped 12% in the same period. Unsurprisingly, it’s also profitable now for the first time on a trailing 12-month basis. As a result, analysts already see it as “the best pure-play AI name.”
There’s talk that the AI-rally might crash next year. Yet demand is still high and Palantir Technologies is the one to capitalize on it.
SoFi Technologies (SOFI)
When SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) went public in 2021, it brought with it a good deal of hype and hope. But it was primed to fall with a sky-high valuation, no profits, and a business model structured on several shaky pillars. And it fell hard.
While the stock began trading at $20 a share and raced up to over $25, it has been on a long slide lower ever since. Shares fell to around $4 earlier this year. However, it is on its way back, now trading above $10 a stub. There’s good reason to believe 2024 could see the fintech stock soar.
The Federal Reserve paused its aggressive rate hike policy and Chairman Jay Powell even hinted at possible rate cuts next year. Additionally, student loan repayments have begun while loan originations soar. In fact, they doubled last quarter from the year-ago period to $919 million. Home loans were 64% higher. As a result, SoFi is putting together successive quarters of record sales and adjusted profitability.
Its native digital platform helps users navigate a cradle-to-grave ecosystem. A borrower might take out a student loan first, turn to SoFi for a mortgage to buy a home afterward, and then tap one of its personal lines of credit to finance big-ticket purchases.
With that said, SoFi Technologies is a riskier investment. Total household debt in the U.S. is at an all-time high of $17.3 trillion as mortgage, credit card, and student loan debt piled higher. And a recession could topple SoFi’s stock again. And it doesn’t have much of a competitive moat.
Still, macroeconomic indicators are moving in SoFi Technologies’ favor suggesting it it could make the next leg of growth a significant one higher.
Tilray Brands (TLRY)
While marijuana legalization is moving at a glacial pace in the U.S., the switch is gaining speed elsewhere around the world. That should boost Tilray Brands (NASDAQ:TLRY) potential because it has a global footprint ready to take advantage of the opportunities.
Notably, Germany is poised to legalize pot early next year. Both Tilray’s international operations and its Aphria RX facility are located there. Ukraine just legalized marijuana, and U.K.-based Prohibition Partners estimates the global marijuana market can hit $50 billion by 2027.
Still, the U.S. remains the biggest market opportunity for the company. And Tilray won’t realize its full potential until that nut is cracked. It’s moving slowly, but President Biden just expanded the list of pot-related crimes individuals can be pardoned for. The impact is minimal, but it highlights the growing consensus legalization will happen sooner rather than later.
Its shares are up 53% from the lows they hit earlier this year. However, they are still down 14% from where they started 2023. It trades at just a fraction of its book value making it a cheap stock with a lot of potential to soar in 2024.
— Rich Duprey
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Source: Investor Place