Everyone is stressing about the FAANG stocks right now. But there are some other stock plays that are looking very attractive even in this choppy market. Not only that but you don’t have to pay three-digit sums to make some sweet returns. It’s time to look outside the box at some cheap stocks you won’t regret. The best way to find these stocks is to use a screener, that way you can open up your investing horizon to a much wider stock pool.

Here I used TipRanks’ Stock Screener to find these 10 cheap stocks. Essentially, I looked for 1) stocks with a ‘Strong Buy’ top analyst consensus; 2) serious upside potential (i.e. over 20%). And on top of this each one of these stocks comes in at under $30. Basically a bargain! Note that the consensus is based on ratings from the last three months, so the consensus is pretty up to date.

Let’s take a closer look now:

Cheap Stocks to Buy: First Data Corp (FDC)

“You Can’t Be Serious; Shares Too Cheap To Ignore” exclaims five-star Oppenheimer analyst Glenn Greene (Track Record & Ratings) on this financial stock. One of the largest payment processing companies in the world, First Data Corporation (NYSE:FDC) offers retailers card and mobile payment acceptance capabilities for online and point-of-sale transactions.

Greene reiterated his Buy rating on the stock on November 14. His $27 price target indicates upside potential of over 50%.

“After reviewing 3Q18 results, and speaking with management, we remain optimistic regarding FDC’s growth trajectory and believe the post-quarter stock reaction (-17% since 10/26 vs. +2% for S&P 500) has been largely overblown” the analyst wrote. Both FDC’s intermediate term growth/profitability outlooks and deleveraging thesis remain intact.

At these levels he views shares as ‘very compelling’, with a roughly 35% discount to peers.

Overall FDC- a ‘Strong Buy’ name- has received 17 recent buy ratings vs just 3 hold ratings. This comes with an average analyst price target of $27 (51% upside potential). Interested in FDC stock? Get a free FDC Stock Research Report.

Stocks to Buy: ANGI Homeservices Inc (ANGI)

Chances are you know of ANGI Homeservices Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGI) — the world’s largest digital marketplace for home services. The company is the result of a major tie-up between Angie’s List and IAC’s HomeAdvisor.

The big news is that ANGI has just reported its best quarter since the merger. “ANGI’s 2017 [earnings] goal of $270 million initially faced investor skepticism,” wrote Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson (Track Record & Ratings) on November 9. “Yet management delivered on its goal while driving revenue outperformance.”

“Having demonstrated the margin potential, management believes it is prudent to reinvest organically and via M&A (i.e. the Handy acquisition) to drive the next phase of growth in a $400 billion total addressable market” the analyst wrote. Handy Technologies Inc is a New York-based startup offering small tasks at fixed prices.

Patterson has a buy rating on the stock and a $23 price target. With shares down over 5% in the last five days, his price target suggests 24% upside potential lies ahead. (However note that the stock is still up 60% year-to-date.) In total this ‘Strong Buy’ stock has received 5 recent Buy ratings and 1 hold rating. Get the ANGI Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Altice USA Inc (ATUS)

Cable stock Altice USA Inc (NYSE:ATUS) is currently trading at ‘frankly ridiculous’ levels argues top Pivotal Research analyst Jeff Wlodarczak (Track Record & Ratings). Indeed, his $25 price target translates into juicy upside of over 40%.

The logic for the fall in cable stocks in 1H was fundamentally flawed, says the analyst. “As these concerns reasonably have cleared up the stocks have rebounded substantially a trend we expect to continue into the seasonally strongest results of the year (4Q/1Q).”

Plus, you have to remember that cable’s best-in-class, high-margin data product (70% EBITDA margins) gives them the ultimate hedge against competition and most anything else that rears its head (including a potential slowing economy).

And as for ATUS specifically, the Pivotal analyst says “investors seem to think that weakness at former parent Altice Europe’s French operations mean the Altice operating strategy cannot work in the U.S. when the reality is that France remains, arguably, the most competitive market in the world.”

He isn’t alone in this bullish take on the stock: ATUS scores 100% Street support. This is with a $25 average analyst price target (40% upside potential). Get the ATUS Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Williams Companies Inc (WMB)

Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) boasts 33,000 miles of pipelines — including America’s largest-volume and fastest- growing pipeline — providing natural gas for clean-power generation, heating, and industrial use.

According to the company, demand for natural gas is tremendous and continues to grow. This is because gas is cleaner, less expensive and more efficient than other fuels capable of meeting around-the-clock energy demand.

“We think Williams is well positioned to benefit from demand-driven Northeast gas projects around Transco, solid NE G&P volume and cash flow growth, low-capex GOM upside, and more control of liquids downstream the Rockies” opines Top 50 RBC Capital analyst T J Schultz (Track Record & Ratings).

He has a Buy rating on the stock with a $36 price target (43% upside potential). Looking forward, Schultz believes Williams can grow EBITDA by 10% in 2019. After 2019, he forecasts mid-to-high single digit growth, supported by new projects coming online and growth on legacy assets.

Overall, 7 analysts have published Buy ratings on WMB in the last three months, vs just 1 hold rating — giving the stock its ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus. This is with a $33 average analyst price target (31% upside potential). Get the WMB Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Smartsheet Inc (SMAR)

Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR) calls itself the leading work execution platform. Essentially, it helps organizations move from idea to impact — fast. Shares are already up 35% over the last six months. But don’t worry there’s still plenty of upside lined up ahead.

When you consider the market opportunity SMAR faces, you understand why this stock still looks cheap. Apparently there are now 865 million “knowledge workers”, which is a big TAM [total addressable market] for a company with “only” 4.2 million users.

“We remind investors that when growth software stocks are at the foothills of a large TAM opportunity the stocks almost always work for the simple reason that you don’t have any contravening evidence that says the company won’t scramble its way to the top” notes Canaccord Genuity’s Richard Davis (Track Record & Ratings).

Fresh from the company’s upbeat user conference and analyst day, he calls execution ‘exemplary’ and cites the new $1 billion revenue target in 4-6 years.

Overall this ‘Strong Buy’ stock has received only Buy ratings in the last three months. These six analysts have an average price target of $36 (34% upside potential). Get the SMAR Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Trupanion Inc (TRUP)

Everyone loves pets, and one stock out there is benefiting from our growing pet obsession.

Welcome to Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP), a pet insurance provider for cats and dogs in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Trupanion has just smashed Q3 earnings results, earning it a full set of Buy ratings from the Street. “Off the leash” cheered RBC Capital’s Mark Mahaney (Track Record & Ratings) on November 9. He continued: “We view TRUP’s top-line results as encouraging, with EBITDA and pet growth continuing to outperform expectations.”

In short, Trupanion ticks all the boxes for the RBC analyst. Here’s a stock with a large growth opportunity (estimated to be about $3-5B+) in an under-penetrated market (less than 1%) with a robust growth profile, a differentiated business model, and a very strong management team.

The conclusion: Trupanion shares represent an attractive investment absent a significant, unexpected slowdown in pet policy growth. As a result Mahaney reiterated his Buy rating on the stock with a $44 price target (70% upside potential). This comes in slightly above the average analyst price target of $42 — which still indicates compelling upside potential of 61%. Get the TRUP Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

True, retail stocks are facing challenging circumstances right now. But could American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) be the exception? Both Citigroup and Wedbush firms have just upgraded AEO from Hold to Buy. They are predicting sizable upside potential of 33% and 43% respectively.

Right now AEO is down ~30% since reporting 2Q earnings at the end of August. The stock has been painted with the same brush as most other retail stocks. But according to the Street, investors are missing a big factor in the AEO bull story.

“But AEO has something that others don’t — one of the most attractive growth concepts in retail (Aerie)” argues Citigroup’s Paul Lejeuz (Track Record & Ratings). “Aerie is taking market share in the lingerie market with consistent double-digit comps and significant growth potential… And with the recent sell-off, we believe the market is not giving AEO the credit it deserves for Aerie.

He believes Aerie is worth ~$2BN, implying the core AE biz is valued at 3.1x EV/EBITDA, which is overly pessimistic. Indeed, six analysts have published recent Buy ratings on AEO stock. So no sell or hold ratings here. Get the AEO Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Pattern Energy Group Inc (PEGI)

Renewable energy stocks are perfectly positioned to capture the ongoing transition from carbon-based power systems. A transition estimated to be worth a whopping $10 trillion. And Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI) is one of these stocks. The company owns and operates 12 wind power projects in the U.S., Canada and Chile.

Plus the stock is currently looking super cheap — especially when you factor in that this is a top-quality dividend stock. “With a dividend yield of ~9%, we continue to believe PEGI is significantly undervalued” cheers Oppenheimer’s Colin Rusch (Track Record & Ratings).

He believes the stock is set up for ‘superior performance.’ Moreover, “We believe its underwriting practices are in line with industry best practices and its wind resource modelling capabilities are among the industry leaders.”

With 100% Street support, analysts are predicting upside potential of 20% from current levels. Get the PEGI Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Evolent Health Inc (EVH)

Evolent Health Inc (NYSE:EVH) sells software and consulting services to help healthcare providers, like hospital systems, offer care at lower costs. This is particularly important given the ongoing shift to value-based payments systems. From a Street perspective, this is a first-class stock with a lot of potential.sup

In the last half year, EVH has received only buy ratings from the Street. And in the last three months alone, we are looking at 8 top analyst buy ratings. The best part: with an average price target of $33, analysts see prices spiking over 38% in the coming months.

“We continue to be encouraged by the momentum in the transition toward risk-based reimbursement and by EVH’s position to gain from it” says five-star Oppenheimer analyst Mohan Naidu (Track Record & Ratings). He reiterated his buy rating with a $31 price target on November 7. Plus the recent acquisition New Century Health adds nicely to numbers and moves estimates higher for Q4.

He says: “Evolent is one of the few vendors well positioned to help health systems that intend to transition to risk-based reimbursement models. The systems need significant help… While there is competition, we believe EVH is differentiated in its proven ability, technology offerings, service and credibility in helping organizations make the switch successfully.” Get the EVH Stock Research Report.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: The Medicines Company (MDCO)

Last but not least on our cheap stocks list we have The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO). This is a company with the potential to deliver a blockbuster drug for cholesterol management.

B Riley FBR analyst Madhu Kumar (Track Record & Ratings) recently initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating citing the firm’s lead drug, PCSK9 RNAi drug inclisiran (developed in conjunction with Alnylam Pharma (NASDAQ:ALNY)).

He says inclisiran “has the potential to disrupt the management of high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.” This helps explain the analyst’s very bullish $70 price target. From current levels this means shares could explode 250% from current levels!

Kumar recommends keeping an out for results from the ongoing Phase III ORION-9/10/11 trials for inclisiran, guided for 2H19. If the data meets expectations, these results could serve as key positive catalysts for MDCO shares.

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Source: Investor Place

The Thanksgiving holiday — a time for investors to take time off to be with family and friends, celebrating all that we have to be thankful about. But it’s also a time to begin thinking about the winning stocks to buy for 2019.

After a month like October that saw the S&P 500 lose 7%, there are certainly a lot more stocks to consider given the pullback. By comparison, November has been roughly flat so far.

When planning for 2019, it makes sense to consider stocks to buy that have momentum heading into the final six weeks of the year. So, I would recommend stocks that are up 20% over the past month.

According to Finviz.com, there are 145 stocks with a market cap greater than $2 billion that are up 10% over the past month. Here are my seven winning stocks to buy heading into 2019 from that group.

Canada Goose (GOOS)

If you own Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS) stock, you’re no doubt pleased with the company’s returns both in 2018 and halfway through November. Of course, when you’re blowing through analyst estimates and raising your guidance for the year, you’re bound to get a nice updraft in your stock price.

In the second quarter, which ended Sept. 30, Canada Goose had revenue of CAD$230.3 millionand an adjusted profit of CAD$0.46 a share. Revenues were up 34% year over year while adjusted earnings per share were up 59% in the quarter.

More importantly, Canada Goose raised its revenue growth for the year from 20% to at least 30% and adjusted earnings per share growth of 40%, 15 percentage points higher than its earlier guidance.

Equally exciting, Canada Goose announced on Nov. 14 that it’s getting into footwear, acquiring Canadian-based Baffin for CAD$32.5 million.

A triple-threat business with wholesale, retail and e-commerce, Canada Goose is easily one of the top three stocks to buy in North American apparel.

Tesla (TSLA)

Okay, so Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock isn’t tearing it up in 2018 like Canada Goose, but the fact that it’s up for the year is great news for longtime shareholders. After all, it was trading as low as $252 as recently as Oct. 22, 29% lower than today.

That’s what I’d call a recovery.

There’s no doubt that 2018 has been a trying year for the company, but Elon Musk is both a visionary and resilient as all get out, two characteristics necessary to deliver new technology to the world.

“Tesla certainly endured a summer of discontent, what with its troubled Model 3 launch and CEO Elon Musk’s failed go-private scheme and subsequent SEC action and fines,” wrote Business Insider’s Matthew DeBord on Nov. 17. “But the company snapped its season of self-inflicted bad luck in time to turn a rare profit in the third quarter. As it turns out, the timing was excellent, given the impending tech-industry meltdown.”

Indeed it was.

I’ve had my doubts about whether Elon Musk could bring Tesla to the promised land without having a breakdown; he’s proven me wrong and that’s great news if you own TSLA stock.

Heading into 2019 on a high, TSLA stock might be the best investment you can own at this point in the bull market.

Noah Holdings (NOAH)

Noah Holdings (NYSE:NOAH) is a Chinese wealth management company. It’s also one of my favorite Chinese stocks. I’ve been recommending NOAH regularly since 2013.

“In Q2 2018, the company’s ‘Other Financial Services’ grew by 73% to $6.9 million. While that pales in comparison to its wealth management and asset management segments, it’s the future potential of services such as lending and online trading that’s got my attention,” I wrote on Nov. 9. “Eventually, I could see a business that act’s like a three-legged stool, with each division delivering profitable growth.”

The fact is, as China continues to grow, whether we’re talking 8% or 3% GDP growth, Chinese affluent and near-affluent are going to need financial advice.

Noah Holdings has $24.4 billion in assets under management, a network of 1,495 relationship managers, and 287 branches spread across China serving more than 220,000 clients.

As long as China doesn’t give up on some form of quasi-capitalism, Noah Holdings will continue to be a reliable long-term play in my opinion.

HMS Holdings (HMSY)

Businesses that make or save people time or money, as a rule, tend to do well. HMS Holdings (NASDAQ:HMSY), a Texas-based data analytics company that helps save big health plans billions of dollars annually, is no exception.

HMS announced its Q3 2018 earnings report November. Revenues were up 5.1% from Q2 2018 and 22.8% from Q3 2017. Regarding adjusted earnings per share, HMS had sequential growth of 24.0% and year over year growth of 63.2%.

”The record third quarter revenue reflects progress we have made throughout the year on a number of growth initiatives related to our coordination of benefits and payment integrity offerings, as well as the important contribution of our new care management and consumer engagement products,” stated Bill Lucia, chairman and CEO.

Is it any wonder then that HMS stock is up 119% over the past year and 108% year to date? It sure isn’t.

As a result of the strong results announced in early November, HMS raised the low end of its revenue guidance for the year by $20 million to $595 million while increasing the top end by $15 million to $600 million.

If you’re looking for a healthcare stock to bet on in 2019, HMS ought to be at the top of your list.

Autohome (ATHM)

If you live in China and you’re looking to buy a car or truck, new or used, Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) is the information provider to help you make that decision.

Autohome went public in December 2013 at $17 a share. If you bought its stock in the IPO and are still holding, you’re up 327% in the five years since.

I’ll take that kind of return every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Interestingly, Telstra Corporation (OTCMKTS:TLSYY), the Australian telecom company that took it public, sold much of its stock for $1.6 billion in April 2016. Today that would be worth almost three times as much.

However, don’t feel sorry for Telstra. It paid less than $76 million for 55% control of Autohome’s parent back in 2008. As for Autohome itself, its business is doing splendidly.

In Q3 2018, announced Nov. 12, Autohome’s revenues were 34% higher year over year to $275 million while adjusted earnings rose 55% to 90 cents a share. It finished the third quarter with 279 million mobile users, 48% higher than a year earlier.

As I said earlier in November, Autohome might be the best Chinese stock to buy on recent weakness.

Fox Factory (FOXF)

November Return: 40.0%

Fox Factory (NASDAQ:FOXF) is a stock that I wish I would have bought when it first went public at $15 a share in August 2013.

Back then, the maker of bike, ATV and motocross shocks was owned by Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE:CODI), a Connecticut-based investment company that’s part private equity, part asset manager, definitely patient capital.

While Compass Diversified did well on its investment in Fox Factory — it initially invested $78 million — today, if it had hung on to its 19.6 million shares after the IPO, they would be worth $1.4 billion. That’s about half the holding company’s current market cap.

Would’ve. Could’ve. Should’ve.

Fox Factory announced its Q3 2018 results Oct. 31. They were solid with revenues up 38% in the quarter while adjusted net income rose 56% in the quarter.

Investors liked the results, pushing FOXF stock up 18% on the news. It’s now up 32% since Oct. 31 as investors get on board what could be the best momentum play of these seven stocks in 2019.   

Newell Brands (NWL)

In early September, I recommended that investors buy Icahn Enterprises (NYSE:IEP), because its stock was down but not out, having lost 13% in just five days of trading.

My rationale for buying it was that it was oversold with a relative strength index (RSI) of 21 and numerous interesting investments, including a significant stake in Newell Brands (NYSE:NWL), a company that owns Rubbermaid and many others, that’s lost its way.

Carl Icahn has a way of shaking up establishment CEOs and boards to the point where changes are made to extract value for shareholders. In the case of Newell Brands, Icahn brokered a truce between fellow activist investor Starboard Value, himself, and the company.

That was in April.

Although Newell’s board has yet to replace CEO Michael Polk, who has delivered woeful returns since becoming CEO in July 2011, its latest quarterly report released Nov. 2 was much better than analysts were expecting, hence the 36% return in November.

As long as Carl Icahn’s a significant shareholder, NWL has a good chance in 2019.

As of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Sometimes identifying the best stocks to buy can be difficult, but you could do a lot worse than checking out the stocks selected by one of the world’s savviest hedge fund managers — Warren Buffett.

Buffett’s stock picks are a popular source for investors, and for good reason. The billionaire Buffett is many things: He’s among the world’s most successful fund managers, a legendary philanthropist and owns more than 60 companies.

Buffett’s formidable stock-picking ability has given him the nickname “the Oracle of Omaha” and a fortune of more than $87 billion. And now we can track the latest trades of his $191 billion Berkshire Hathaway fund.

Just-released SEC forms reveal a valuable glimpse into stocks Buffett likes (and the stocks Buffett doesn’t like). These are the stocks he poured money into in the second quarter.

Here I also include TipRanks’ stock insights from Wall Street’s best-performing analysts. Does the Street sentiment match Buffett’s latest stock picks — or is he going rogue with his investing decisions? Let’s take a closer look at the top Warren Buffett stock picks now:

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Aug. 17, 2018. It has been updated to reflect changes in the market.

Apple (AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is now by far and away Buffett’s largest investment. After missing the tech sector rally (Buffett recently admitted that he “blew it” by not investing in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) earlier), the Oracle of Omaha has been busy plowing money into AAPL.

Following a 5% increase of AAPL shares, Buffett now holds over $55 billion in AAPL stock. This is about 24% of the total portfolio. Interestingly, it also means Buffett now owns almost 5% of Apple stock.

“I clearly like Apple. We buy them to hold,” Buffett told CNBC in May. “We bought about 5 percent of the company. I’d love to own 100 percent of it … We like very much the economics of their activities. We like very much the management and the way they think.”

And the stock also has the Street’s seal of approval. “Despite Apple achieving the $1 trillion milestone last week, we continue to believe Apple remains one of the most underappreciated stocks in the world with a valuation that remains depressed (13.7x our CY:19 EPS estimate, ex-cash)” cheers top Monness analyst Brian White (Profile & Recommendations).

He added: “Now, Apple is heading into the seasonally strongest time of the year with a new iPhone cycle on the horizon.” Indeed, White’s $275 price target indicates big upside potential of 24%.

In total, however, the stock has a “moderate buy” analyst consensus rating. This is with a $214 price target. See what other Top Analysts are saying about AAPL.

US Bancorp (USB)

Minneapolis based U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) is the fifth largest U.S. bank — and one of the top 10 holdings in the Berkshire portfolio. Following the purchase of almost 10 million USB shares in Q2, Buffett’s USB stake now totals $5.3 billion.

However, Oppenheimer’s Chris Kotowski (Profile & Recommendations) is less convinced. Interestingly, given Buffett’s preference for value stocks, it’s the valuation this top analyst takes issue with. He writes: “USB is one of the “super banks” of the banking industry, and while there is a lot to like about the stock, we think the valuation already embeds it.”

As a result, Kotowski has a “hold” rating on the stock, and tells investors to look elsewhere. “USB is not cheap on either a P/E or price/TBV basis versus peers; given the plethora of cheaper, high-quality franchises trading at a fraction of USB’s TBV multiple, we think there is more upside potential elsewhere in the sector.”

The overall Street perspective also leaves a lot to be desired. In the last three months, the stock has received four hold ratings. This is versus only two more bullish Buy calls. Meanwhile, the average price target stands at $57 (8% upside potential). See what other Top Analysts are saying about USB.

Bank of New York Mellon (BK)

Buffett has now ramped up his holding of this financial stock by 4% to $3.2 billion. This makes Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) the tenth-biggest stock in Berkshire’s portfolio. Although Buffett has held BK since 2010, he began to pour money into the stock in 2017 with two 50% increases. Since then, it has been a constant build up.

Analysts, on the other hand, are evenly divided between Hold and Buy. One five-star analyst in the bull camp is Vining Sparks Marty Mosby (Profile & Recommendations). He sees a compelling investment opportunity right now. “BK currently trades at a 13x price-to-earnings multiple, and we believe its expected earnings per share growth could reduce its multiple down to below 12x. We believe this valuation is too low for a bank currently producing 25% return- on-tangible common equity.”

He concludes, “As a result of earnings growth, multiple expansion, and a 2.1% dividend yield, we are targeting over 15% total shareholder return over the next 12 months.” See what other Top Analysts are saying about BK.

Delta Airlines (DAL)

At the end of 2016, Buffett shocked the market with huge investments in four key airline stocks. Only a few years ago, Buffett called the sector a “death trap for investors.” However, with the industry fast consolidating, he decided to change his tune.

Buffett’s partner, Charlie Munger, explains “It (the railroad industry) was a terrible business for 80 years … but they finally got down to four big railroads, and it was a better business. And something similar is happening in the airline business.”

And one of the four stocks to buy that he particularly likes is Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL). A further $559 million investment in Q2 means Buffett now holds over 63 million DAL shares. This equates to a whopping $3.15 billion investment.

Luckily, Imperial Capital’s Michael Derchin (Profile & Recommendations) expects pricing power in key domestic hubs, improving business yields, and strong international results to boost earnings this year and next. His $68 price target indicates 25% upside potential.

But Stifel Nicolaus’ Joseph DeNardi (Profile & Recommendations) is by far the stock’s biggest supporter. With a $95 price target, DeNardi sees prices spiking a whopping 72%. This top analyst has just calculated that DAL made at least $800 million from frequent flyer programs just in 1H18.

Overall, DAL, a “strong buy” stock, has received eight buy ratings versus just a single “hold” rating. See what other Top Analysts are saying about DAL.

Southwest Airlines (LUV)

Texas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) is the world’s largest low-cost airline carrier. After initiating his $2.1 billion position in LUV, Buffett continued to up the stock in 2017. In Q1, Buffett ramped up the position by 10% with the purchase of 4.45 million more shares. Now the fund has a huge $3.3 billion LUV stake.

LUV shares are currently rebounding after a tricky second quarter. Shares plunged in April following a fatal accident caused by an exploding engine. The accident — the first in the company’s 47-year-old history — cost LUV over $100 million in revenue.

However: “We have recovered at this point,” CEO Gary Kelly told Bloomberg recently. “We have been enjoying very strong close-in demand and close-in revenue for a number of weeks.”

This chimes with Cowen & Co’s Helane Becker (Profile & Recommendations) analysis. “Southwest will have a lingering impact from the discounting and a sub-optimal schedule, but the third quarter appears to be the inflection point as management does not anticipate continued issues into the fourth quarter.”

She keeps her “buy” rating on this “strong buy” stock with a $66 price target (11% upside potential). See what other Top Analysts are saying about LUV.

General Motors (GM)

Buffett is also a long-standing supporter of top dividend stock General Motors (NYSE:GM). After upping Berkshire’s GM position by 2% in Q2, the fund now holds 51 million GM shares valued at $1.6 billion.

While Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been hogging most of the self-driving spotlight, GM is busy making its own mark in this fast-growing space. SoftBank Vision fund recently announced a huge $2.25 billion stake in GM’s self-driving Cruise unit.

Top RBC Capital analyst Joseph Spak (Profile & Recommendations) sees a promising long-term opportunity. This is even though GM has now lowered its 2018 outlook.

He writes “It remains to be seen whether GM can win on the robo-taxi opportunity, but it has a seat at the table. And it’s early enough in the story that we still see a lot of potential for that narrative to take hold and for growth/tech investors to look to GM, increasing demand for the shares and potentially the multiple.”

Right now Spak has a $49 price target on the stock (54% upside). Overall analysts have a “strong buy” consensus on GM. The average analyst price target of $52 suggests shares can climb 63% from current levels. See what other Top Analysts are saying about GM.

Teva (TEVA)

Buffett surprised the market with a big bet on flailing pharma giant Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TEVA) back in Q417. He gobbled up 19 million shares in TEVA, worth about $358 million. Since then, Buffett hasn’t stopped buying.

He picked up a further 21.6 million shares in Q1. And now for Q2 we see another 6% boost to his position (with 61 million shares). This takes his total bet on TEVA to a staggering $1.05 billion.

There’s no doubt this is a risky move. Out of 14 recent analyst ratings, only three are buys. This is versus 10 buy ratings and one sell rating. Oppenheimer analyst Christopher Liu (Profile & Recommendations) is sitting this one out. He has a “hold” rating on the stock due to “base business headwinds.”

Liu explains, “We no longer see a clear path for TEVA to return to growth in a timely manner, and continued pricing pressure in US generics makes us less optimistic its US generic business will meet/ exceed Street expectations in FY2018.”

He is worried that the growth story will be hampered by an ongoing focus on cost cutting/divestments. This is required to ensure it meets its massive $28 billion debt obligations. However, there’s no doubt that Buffett sees the cut-priced pharma as a longer-term rebound stock. See what other Top Analysts are saying about TEVA.

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Source: Investor Place 

As we say goodbye to a strong Q3, it’s time to welcome the seasonally strong Q4. So far, the quarter has had a choppy start, with shares pulling back on rising Treasury interest rates. But don’t let that faze you. “The market is going to be on the defensive for another few weeks, but we think it sets up the year-end rally,” Wall Street’s Jeff Saut, chief strategist at Raymond James told CNBC.

But how do you ensure that you are picking the right stocks to buy for an end-of-year flourish and a lucrative 2019?

Here are 10 top stock ideas. I found these stocks to buy by zeroing in on stock recommendations on TipRanks from best-performing analysts. All these stocks share a “Buy” consensus from the Street and compelling upside potential to match.

Let’s delve in now:

Netflix (NFLX)

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Shares in Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) are down in the last few days. But 2019 promises to give NFLX stock more room to run. Expect a strong slate of original content, international dramas and movies like Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, starring Al Pacino, and Michael Bay’s Six Underground, starring Ryan Reynolds.

Plus the streaming giant has the green light from Goldman Sachs’ Heath Terry (Track Record & Ratings). This five-star analyst believes shares can spike over 30% to $470. “Despite Netflix outperforming consensus estimates for net subscriber additions for the past five years, analyst forecasts continue to understate the company’s future growth, both near and long term, in our view,” Terry explained.

Terry sees out-of-home mobile viewing as a big source of potential subscribers, especially in emerging markets like India. The firm is looking for 30 million net adds in 2019 versus consensus estimates of 25 million.

Even though Terry is notably above consensus, he is far from the most bullish analyst. That award goes to Imperial Capital’s David Miller (Track Record & Ratings). His Street-high $494 price target suggests upside potential of 40%. See what other Top Analysts are saying about NFLX.

Cigna Corp (CI)

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U.S. health insurance stock Cigna Corporation (NASDAQ:CI) has only Buy ratings from the Street right now.

Top 25 analyst Steven Halper of Cantor Fitzgerald (Track Record & Ratings) spies a compelling risk/reward ratio. He has just initiated coverage of Cigna with a $245 price target (16% upside potential).

Word on the Street is that “[a]n attractive franchise gets more attractive.” He sees multiple benefits from the recent $54 billion acquisition of Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX), a large pharmacy benefit manager (PBM).

“In addition to its core franchise in the self-insured market, the company should see strong benefits from the pending acquisition of Express Scripts” he explains. “We believe the transaction, which should close by year-end 2018, is a logical fit, both strategically and financially, with natural synergies.”

Plus Goldman Sachs has just upgraded the stock from Buy to Conviction Buy.

Concho Resources (CXO)

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This is a core Permian Basin large cap with a strong track record of execution. Shares are up 19% in the last month and poised to move higher.

Williams Capital analyst Gabriele Sorbara (Track Record & Ratings) singles out Concho Resources (NYSE:CXO) as a “Top Pick.”

“We believe CXO is positioning for an even better 2019+ with continued execution and further differentiation from its peers with strong oil growth and FCF generation” states Sorbara.

Most notably, large infrastructure spending in 2H18 should allow for large-scale development and acceleration of the RSPP assets in 2019 and 2020. Given this, the Williams Capital analyst reaffirms his buy rating with a $189 price target (19% upside potential).

Similarly Jefferies’ Mark Lear calls the stock “vastly undervalued.” Due to its long-term growth potential and FCF, he sees prices hitting $203 (28% upside).

Overall, this is a stock to buy with 100% top analyst support and a $193 average price target.

VMWare (VMW)

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VMware (NASDAQ:VMW) is the leading provider of virtualization solutions for businesses. This includes data center consolidation and remote management.

“We’re adding VMware to our top picks” cheered top Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron (Track Record & Ratings). Following the VMWorld conference, he ramped up his price target to $180 (15% upside potential).

“With stock trading at ~15x CY19/FCF estimates, we believe there’s still skepticism with respect to VMware’s competitive positioning and ability to grow in the face of a cloud transition. Our checks/meetings indicate otherwise. We’re bullish.”

Indeed, his customer survey points to a double whammy of 1) strong spending intentions and 2) new product uptake. Encouragingly, ~77% of VMWare customers revealed plans to increase spending over the next 12 months vs. none to reduce.

Bottom line: “We’re positive on VMware’s technology and execution, and believe it is now well positioned to be a leader in enabling hybrid cloud deployments.”  See what other Top Analysts are saying about VMW.

Rhythm Pharma (RYTM)

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This biopharma is developing treatments for rare genetic deficiencies that result in life-threatening metabolic disorders.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) has just announced positive updated clinical data from setmelanotide’s Phase II “basket” study. This includes both Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) and Alström Syndrome.

“We continue to think that Rhythm is undervalued for setmelanotide’s potential” cheers Cowen & Co’s Phil Nadeau (Track Record & Ratings). He has just reiterated his Buy rating with a $40 price target. Luckily for investors this translates into over 39% upside potential.

According to Nadeau “Setmelanotide’s impact continues to look durable, with responders maintaining reductions in weight and appetite for over a year.” With approximately 2,500 patients with BBS in the U.S., this could be a major driver of RYTM’s revenue.

Next step: a Phase III study that will include both BBS and Alström patients. By combining both indications, the company expects a more rapid path to approval. The trial is expected to initiate by the end of 2018.

Alexion Pharma (ALXN)

Source: Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) is a “Strong Buy” U.S. pharma best known for its development of Soliris. The flagship drug is already used to treat rare blood disorders. However, it is now expanding into other indications, including NMO. This is a rare central nervous system disorder that has no FDA-approved treatment.

Alexion has just released successful trial data for Soliris in patients with NMO. Citi analyst Robyn Karnauskas (Track Record & Ratings) now models 2025 NMO sales of $1.3 billion with a price target of $195 (43% upside potential).

“NMO data comes as relatively unexpected upside adding another potentially large market & growth opportunity for Soliris & +$4/sh to our PT” comments RBC analyst Kennen MacKay (Track Record & Ratings). He sees shares surging 25% to $170.

The RBC analyst added: “While Soliris expansion does not help skeptics of “pipeline in a product” structure we continue to see ALXN as one of the Large-Cap Biotech companies with the highest growth potential through 2020.”

Boeing (BA)

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“Boeing remains our #1 pick for extended commercial cash upswing” cheers top Cowen & Co analyst Cai Rumohr (Track Record & Ratings). He is forecasting strong EPS/cash flow gains through 2021. Bear in mind that this top analyst has scored highly with his Boeing (NYSE:BA) ratings so far (a 79% success rate and 36% average return per rating).

According to Rumohr, Boeing’s three recent military program wins (MQ-25, Huey Replacement, and T-X), have a combined program plan size of $24 billion.

“T-X will have a meaningful potential foreign market as well as opportunity for sale in a light attack role; and MQ-25 has potential for downstream ISR applications” the analyst states. He has a $445 price target on BA stock. Even with shares up 10% in the last month, he still sees 15% upside potential ahead.

If we look at ratings from only top analysts the consensus is a firm “Strong Buy.”

Salesforce (CRM)

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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) calls itself the world’s No. 1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform. And right now, CRM stock is basking in the Street’s highest praise. Piper Jaffray’s Alex Zukin (Track Record & Ratings) writes: CRM “is making all the right moves, at the right time, with the right people.”

He has just reiterated his CRM Buy rating following CRM’s Dreamforce conference and analyst meeting. Plus Zukin bumped up his price target from $180 to a Street-high of $190 (23% upside potential).

Moreover, Oppenheimer’s Brian Schwartz sees prices hitting $180 (up from $160 previously). According to Schwartz: “We consider CRM one of the healthiest long-term growth stories in our SaaS/applications software universe.” Indeed, Salesforce has just revised their TAM to $140 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% from the calendar year 2018 to 2022.

He zeroes in on the company’s “upbeat” presentations at the recent analyst meeting. “We found the company’s product updates, partnership news with Apple and Amazon, and overall commentary on the strategy, business trends and opportunities, as positive” Schwartz explains. See what other Top Analysts are saying about CRM.

Energy Transfer (ETE)

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Elvira Scotto (Track Record & Ratings), one of the Top 100 analysts on TipRanks, is betting on the fortunes of Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE:ETE). She sees ETE stock surging 32% to hit $23. Energy Transfer Equities is about to merge with its affiliated master limited partnership Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP). This is a savvy move advises Scotto.

“We continue to view the proposed ETP/ETE simplification transaction positively, and believe the pro-forma entity will have a better cost of capital and the ability to self-fund growth capex” she says. According to Scotto, ETE is on track to achieve its leverage targets by ramping cash flows and reducing debt.

What’s more, the RBC analyst expects the resulting entity to “continue to benefit from growing crude oil production in the United States given its well positioned asset base.” With six consecutive buy ratings, it isn’t just Scotto calling the bull-story on this energy powerhouse. See what other Top Analysts are saying about ETE.

Verastem (VSTM)

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Most notably, Verastem has just announced an early FDA approval for Copiktra (duvelisib). This is a treatment for adult patients with specific types of lymphoma. Post-approval, VSTM signed an exclusive licensing agreement for the drug with CSPC, a leading pharma in China.

Under the agreement, Verastem snaps up $15 million alongside $160 million for additional milestones. It will also receive double-digit royalties on Copiktra sales.

China is a major oncology market with growing incidence of leukemia. Since 2012, China follows Japan as the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market with annual sales of over $122 billion. While historically the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas has been much lower in China than the West, the rate is increasing at nearly 6% per year over the last decade.

“We believe that the latest agreement represents a significant market opportunity for Copiktra, and we believe that CSPC is a great partner for Verastem to develop the drug in China” concludes H.C. Wainwight’s Ramakanth (Track Record & Ratings). See what other Top Analysts are saying about VSTM.

Source: Investor Place