Investors kicked off 2022 in a swirl of uncertainty, including the Federal Reserve’s move to tighten monetary policy, rising inflation and tension between Russia and Ukraine.
Indeed, these factors so unsettled the market, the major indexes ended the prior week firmly in negative territory.
Finding long-term stock picks in this new age can be challenging; TipRanks, a financial data aggregation website, offers investors the insight they need to navigate these turbulent times.
Here are five stocks that some of Wall Street’s top analysts like for the long term.
ON Semiconductor
This earnings season is proving the performance and execution of semiconductor stocks. ON Semiconductor (ON) posted strong quarterly results and raised its guidance, but analysts were most enthused by its expanding gross margins. (See ON Semiconductor Earnings Data on TipRanks)
Christopher Rolland of Susquehanna is one of these bullish voices, expressing that ON “remains one of our highest conviction names, owning to their constructive set-up and self-help story.” The semiconductor manufacturer’s segments were accelerated by robust action across automotive and industrial end markets.
Rolland rated the stock a Buy and raised his price target to $75 from $65.
The analyst added that ON’s management expects the company’s silicon carbide (SiC) business to double this year and the next. SiC is a more advanced compound than typical silicon, and it’s widely thought to be the next generation of chip technology.
Stating that the company is “transitioning from a commodity power management provider to a value-add supplier in high growth markets,” Rolland said that ON’s outlook will depend largely on its ability to continue manufacturing as efficiently as possible.
The company has been divesting from unnecessary assets in attempt to reduce operating expenditures, such as with the sale of its Belgian plant.
Of the more than 7,000 analysts in TipRanks’ database, Rolland ranks as No. 4. He has been successful 84% of the time when picking stocks and has returned an average of 51.6% on them.
Snap
Advertising revenues are critical to many social media platforms. After Apple’s privacy changes, many investors have been concerned about the effect on companies like Snap (SNAP). The stock traded downward since its October 2021 earnings, and fell precipitously after Meta Platforms posted unfavorable results. However, Snap bounced back the following day, reporting solid revenues and high engagement.
Brian Fitzgerald of Wells Fargo said that SNAP posted revenues up 42% year-over-year and daily active users were up 20% over the same period. These numbers come in as rather impressive against the tough comparisons of late 2020 performances. (See Snap Risk Analysis on TipRanks)
Fitzgerald rated the stock a Buy, but he lowered his price target to a more modest $60 from $75.
The analyst highlighted the return of SNAP’s core advertiser business. Moreover, high levels of engagement were noted in Snapchat’s discovery page, games and spotlight features.
The spotlight feature is intended to be SNAP’s answer to TikTok. It’s particularly successful in India, where TikTok has been banned outright.
Hypothesizing that Snap “remains well positioned to compete for user attention,” Fitzgerald sees high potential for upside in a historically discounted stock.
Fitzgerald is ranked as No. 104 out of over 7,000 financial analysts on TipRanks. He has been correct on 59% of his ratings, and they have netted him an average return of 42.4% on each.
Riot Blockchain
Along with the rest of speculative assets, bitcoin has seen its fair share of volatility in recent weeks. The mainstream cryptocurrency took a nose dive in mid-January, further denting miner stocks, such as Riot Blockchain (RIOT).
However, this is just a blip in the long run. Throughout the quarter, Riot has been making moves to expand its hash rate — that is, the amount of computing power a network uses to process transactions — and increase its block rewards. (See Riot Blockchain Stock Charts on TipRanks)
Delineating the details of this development is Darren Aftahi of Roth Capital Partners, who explained that RIOT’s expansionary plans include not only new mining equipment, but transformers and facilities as well. All of the company’s heavy investments point toward a higher bitcoin output and thus elevated revenues.
Aftahi rated the stock a Buy, and he calculated a price target of $46.
Expanding its network has not been free of obstacles, as the company had to overcome shipping delays and installation challenges in order to ramp up its hash rate. Now, Aftahi writes that RIOT is expecting about 8,000 new machines to become operational this month, along with several high-voltage transformers for its Whinstone facility in Texas.
This move will essentially double the facility’s power capacities.
TipRanks maintains a ranking of No. 212 for Aftahi, noting his success rate of 40% and his average return per rating of 43.1%.
Spotify
Though Spotify Technology (SPOT) has been grappling with the ongoing Joe Rogan saga and artist boycott, the company managed to report quarterly earnings beats. Brian White of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co has a positive outlook on the streaming giant.
He mentioned that SPOT is seeing strong acceleration in its podcast segment and its advertising revenue, an initiative which the company has heavily invested in. After over a week of uncomfortable media coverage, Spotify has committed to sticking with its controversial podcast host, although White is unconvinced that this will be the last controversy surrounding Rogan. (See Spotify Website Traffic on TipRanks)
Nevertheless, White remains bullish on the stock, rating it a Buy and adding a price target of $240.
He wrote that Spotify has provided healthy guidance. The analyst noted that the company is “riding a favorable secular trend, enhancing its capabilities, tapping into a large digital ad market, and expanding its audio offerings.” These factors helped drive the streaming service platform to 24% revenue gains year-over-year, surpassing its Wall Street consensus estimates.
Along with many tech and growth-related stocks, SPOT has fallen considerably over the last few months. The stock is down over 30% in 2022, potentially providing would-be investors with an attractive entry price on the shares.
Out of more than 7,000 analysts, White is ranked as No. 136. He has been successful when picking stocks 68% of the time and returned an average of 32% on his choices.
Lyft
The worst might be in the rearview for Lyft (LYFT) as states begin lifting the restrictions they imposed for the omicron variant. The ride-sharing company’s quarterly revenues managed to beat Wall Street consensus estimates. (See Lyft Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks)
Dan Ives of Wedbush published a report following the earnings release, writing that LYFT has already begun to see rebounding demand, as well as strong driver supply after slight pandemic related impacts. He argues that omicron’s challenges have peaked and that the company is poised for upside now that the tough quarter is over.
Ives rated the stock a Buy, and he provided a price target of $50 per share.
The analyst was enthused by Lyft’s performance, noting that the firm “generated its first positive EBITDA fiscal year as it benefited from strong margin leverage as a result to cost improvements.”
In addition to projected elevated mobility, LYFT has been making vertical investments beyond its core business, and it has partnered with Delta Air Lines for travel initiatives. Ives discussed a “sticky network” of products for Lyft users, such as its involvement with bikes, scooters, auto rentals and Lyft Maps. These kinds of integrations make it more difficult for consumers to leave the platform.
On TipRanks, Ives is ranked as No. 178 out of over 7,000 expert analysts. He has been correct on his ratings 61% of the time, and he has averaged returns of 33.3% on each one.