In late 2018, financial markets tumbled on concerns regarding rate hikes, trade tensions and slowing global economic growth. The biggest victims in that market sell-off were growth stocks, which essentially required low rates and continued healthy global growth to sustain their valuations. Those things were being called into question in late 2018. As such, many of the market’s high-flying glamour stocks fell 20% or more.

Sentiment has changed sharply in 2019. Stocks had a huge, decade-large rebound rally the day after Christmas. Stocks have remained on an uptrend ever since because the Federal Reserve has sounded a much more dovish tone regarding rate hikes, U.S. and China trade talks are progressing well, and the U.S. economy appears to still be quite strong.

All in all, the risks which plagued markets in late 2018 are easing in early 2019. As they have, financial markets have rallied, and growth stocks — which were the biggest losers in late 2018 — have been among the biggest winners in early 2019.

This trend should continue. As bullishness returns to the market, money will continue to flow into growth stocks, and growth stocks will outperform.

With that in mind, let’s take a look a 10 growth stocks that could win big as markets rebound in 2019.

Shopify (SHOP)

Source: Shopify via Flickr

One growth stock that should perform well in both 2019 and over the next five to 10 years is Canadian based e-commerce solutions provider Shopify (NYSE:SHOP).

The long-term growth narrative supporting SHOP stock is quite promising. E-commerce is the future. More than that, decentralized e-commerce is the future. Today, the e-commerce market is dominated by a few big players. That won’t remain the case forever. Eventually, everyone and anyone in the retail world will have a digital footprint, and that means that over the next several years, there will be a huge influx of new digital retail operations.

Shopify provides the building blocks for those digital retail operations. As such, Shopify’s addressable market should grow by leaps and bounds over the next several years. Considering Shopify is the head-and-shoulders leader in this space, huge growth in the addressable market will translate into huge growth for the company. Reasonably speaking, huge growth at the company will lead to huge gains for SHOP stock.

The stock is already up over 25% since bottoming on Christmas Eve. Thus, a near-term pullback is healthy here and now. But that pullback should be bought, because the stock will ultimately head way higher in a multiyear window.

Tesla (TSLA)

Source: Shutterstock

Next up on this list is one of the more controversial names on Wall Street, but nonetheless one that represents huge upside potential in a multiyear window.

There has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over the past several quarters. But in the big picture, Elon Musk has remained at the head of the company, Model 3 production and delivery ramp has been wildly successful, the company has managed to turn a profit, international expansion is progressing as planned and cash burn issues are no long front and center. Those are all positive developments. As such, Tesla stock is currently at the upper tend of its 52-week trading range.

This strength in Tesla stock will persist in the long term. At its core, this company is at the center of a huge electric vehicle growth narrative that will inevitably and perhaps rapidly sweep across the globe over the next several years. As it does, Tesla will announce more vehicles with better prices, and the company will grow its market share dramatically. Revenue growth will huge. Profit growth will be huge. Tesla stock will march higher.

Tesla stock is up 16% since Christmas Eve. That’s a pretty big rally. Much like Shopify, a near-term pullback is warranted. But, also like Shopify, that pullback is a buying opportunity, since long-term growth trends imply massive multiyear upside.

Square (SQ)

Source: Via Square

One of the biggest losers in late 2018 was payments processor Square (NYSE:SQ). But, that also means that this stock has an opportunity to be one of the biggest winners in 2019.

Square is at the heart of tomorrow’s commerce world, which will inevitably be cash-less and dominated by card and digital payments. Right now, Square dominates on the physical card payment side of things. The company is famous for its payment processors, which allow essentially any retailer with a smartphone to accept card payments. Go to any mall or street market. You will see Square machines everywhere.

The proliferation of these payment processors will continue over the next several years as cash becomes increasingly less used. But, that’s just one peg of this growth narrative. The other peg has to do with e-commerce. For a long time, Square didn’t really have an e-commerce presence. Until now. The company recently launched an in-app payments system that looks very much like PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL). In so doing, the company has plunged itself into the e-commerce growth narrative too, and only added more firepower to the long-term growth narrative.

Square stock is up over 30% since Christmas Eve. That’s a huge rally. A pullback is warranted here. But, much like the other stocks on this list, pullbacks in Square are buying opportunities.

Salesforce (CRM)

Source: Shutterstock

A discussion of big-growth stocks has heavy overlap with a discussion of cloud stocks, and if you were to have a discussion regarding cloud stocks, that conversation would likely be dominated by Salesforce (NYSE:CRM).

CRM stock is truly at the heart of the cloud and data revolutions. Salesforce leverages data and analytics to deliver robust cloud solutions to enterprises that want data-driven insights on their customers. In this sense, the company takes data and turns it into insights via cloud solutions. That promises to be one of the most valuable processes in a world defined by Big Data.

There’s a lot of competition in this space, but Salesforce has time and time again squashed the competition. Despite rising competitive threats and tougher laps, revenue growth at Salesforce has hardly slowed over the past several years. Back in 2014, revenues grew by 33%. In fiscal 2018, revenues grew by 25%. They are projected to grow by more than 25% this year. Resilient revenue growth in a secular growth industry implies that this company has huge long term potential.

CRM stock is up 22% since Christmas Eve. But, it remains well off its all time highs, and technical indicators don’t scream overbought. As such, this stock has more runway to the upside in the near to medium terms.

Trade Desk (TTD)

Source: Shutterstock

Programmatic advertising is the future of the entire advertising industry, and the company at the forefront of the programmatic advertising revolution is The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD).

Ads used to be transacted through individuals and firms. You call somebody, you discuss, you negotiate a price and then you have an ad. Now, ads are bought and sold by computers. This computed-powered ad buying is called programmatic advertising. It’s the future. Through leveraging AI and data, programmatic advertising makes ad buying and selling quicker, more convenient and cheaper than ever before.

In this space, Trade Desk has emerged as a clear leader. But Trade Desk only has a $6 billion market cap. The global advertising industry measures in at $1 trillion. Eventually, all $1 trillion worth of ads will be transacted programmatically, and most of that programmatic spend will happen through Trade Desk. Thus, this is a small company attacking a huge market, and that implies huge gains ahead for TTD stock.

Right now, the stock is up 27% since Christmas Eve, and is entering a near-term overbought position. Thus, a near-term pullback is likely in the cards. But, much like other pullbacks in this stock before, the next pullback will simply be a buying opportunity. 

Netflix (NFLX)

Source: Vivian D Nguyen via Flickr (Modified)

Despite weakness in the stock, the long term bull thesis surrounding streaming giant Netflix(NASDAQ:NFLX) is only getting stronger every day.

The Netflix growth narrative is all about two things: cord cutting and content. So long as consumers cut the chord and pivot to streaming, and so long as Netflix’s content is superior to content offered by streaming peers, Netflix’s subscriber base will grow. Prices will go up without churn, too, and margins and profits will explode higher.

Those two trends are progressing favorably for Netflix. The cord-cutting trend isn’t slowing. If anything, it’s accelerating. Moreover, Netflix’s content isn’t getting worse. Again, if anything, it’s only getting better, thanks to recent hits like Bird Box and Black Mirror. As such, the two long-term growth trends here remain favorable, meaning that the long-term bull thesis on NFLX stock is only gaining credence and visibility.

NFLX stock is up a whopping 52% since Christmas Eve. This stock has fundamentally supported upside from here. But it is technically overbought, and needs to cool off and consolidate before taking another leg higher.

Roku (ROKU)

Source: Shutterstock

Among the biggest losers during the market sell-off in late 2018 was streaming player maker Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU). But the growth narrative underlying the company only strengthened in late 2018, thus implying huge rebound potential in 2019.

Much like Netflix, there are only two trends that matter in the long run with Roku: cord cutting and competition. As stated earlier, the cord cutting trend is only accelerating. That means more streaming subscribers than ever, and more streaming services than ever, too. All those subscribers need a content-neutral centralized aggregation system to curate and access all those streaming services. As such, so long as consumers keep cutting the cord, demand for Roku devices will head higher.

On the competition front, Roku has tons of competition. But, the company still commands 40% share in the streaming device market and 25% share in the smart TV market. So long as the company can defend its market leadership position, Roku will continue to convert the lion’s share of cord cutters into Roku ecosystem users.

ROKU stock is up nearly 50% since Christmas Eve. The stock needs to cool off and consolidate here. But, once that consolidation period is over, this uptrend will resume for the duration of 2019.

Twilio (TWLO)

Source: Web Summit Via Flickr

While many other growth stocks remain well off their all-time highs, cloud giant Twilio(NASDAQ:TWLO) is right near its all-time high, and that’s a testament to the strength of this company’s underlying growth narrative.

Over the past several quarters, Twilio has emerged as the uncontested leader in the rapidly growing and potentially huge Communication Platforms-as-a-Service (CPaaS) market. The CPaaS market largely consists of companies that are integrating real-time communication into their services. This market promises to be huge to continuous shifts towards cloud-based communication, personalized customer experience and digital engagement.

Twilio is growing its customer base and revenues rapidly in this secular growth market. They also have a 95%-plus retention rate and very high gross margins. Put that all together, and this company has all the ingredients to be a big time winner in a long-term window.

TWLO stock is just below all-time highs today. This resilience is impressive, and it means that the stock hasn’t rallied as much as the other stocks in this list over the past two weeks. As such, you don’t have any near term overbought conditions, and now could be as good a time as any to load up for the long haul.

Nvidia (NVDA)

Source: Shutterstock

Once high-flying chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) saw more than half of its value wiped out in late 2018 thanks to near-term inventory, growth, and margin issues. But, in the big picture, those issues are overstated, and NVDA remains one of the best growth stocks in the market.

The growth narrative at Nvidia is all about AI and data. Recent numbers suggest there is absolutely zero slowdown in those businesses. All businesses related to AI and data, including the data-center and automated driving businesses, reported record numbers and huge growth last quarter. Instead, all the issues with Nvidia have to do with a pop in cryptocurrency mining demand that created inventory issues which will take time to work through.

Nvidia will inevitably work through those issues. Once they do, the narrative will re-focus on this company’s long term growth drivers in AI and data. Those drivers have been very strong, are still very strong, and will remain very strong, given secular shifts towards data-driven decision making and automated technologies. So long as those drivers remain strong, NVDA stock will head higher.

NVDA stock is up 20% since Christmas Eve. That’s a solid rally. But, the stock isn’t flashing any overbought signals. As such, it looks like this rally can and will continue in the near term.

Amazon (AMZN)

Source: Shutterstock

The world’s most valuable company — Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) — is also one of the market’s most attractive and promising growth stocks.

We all know Amazon for its e-commerce and cloud business. Between those two businesses, Amazon has a ton of long term growth potential as e-commerce becomes the global retail norm and cloud becomes the enterprise norm.

But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Amazon. The company also has a $10 billion and rapidly growing digital advertising business with presumably sky-high margins. There’s the offline retail business, which started with bookstores, moved to Whole Foods and will eventually include thousands of convenience stores and potentially even Target (NYSE:TGT). There are also potential multi-billion logistics and pharmaceutical businesses in the pipeline. Between all these growth opportunities, it’s easy to see that Amazon is still in the early innings of arguably the market’s biggest and most exciting growth narrative.

AMZN stock is up 20% since Dec. 24. But, it’s also still 20% off recent highs. Thus, while a near term pullback is warranted and healthy, this stock still has plenty of room to rally in a medium to long term window.

As of this writing, Luke Lango was long SHOP, TSLA, SQ, PYPL, TTD, NFLX, ROKU, NVDA, AMZN and TGT. 

The end of last year brought something not seen in a while—a bear market. As a result, many investors were reeling as stock prices—particularly in the tech industry—massively declined. However, when stocks decline, there is one silver lining that benefits cash-rich investors: cheap stocks.

Many of the best stocks are now trading at low prices. Moreover, when companies with cheap stocks maintain or improve their growth rates, many investors often look to buy their shares. As we begin the new year, the following cheap stocks have those characteristics, leaving them well-positioned to skyrocket in the coming months and years.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Bank of America (BAC)

More than ten years after the financial crisis, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is again on a list of cheap stocks. BAC has come a long way since it fell to $2.50 per share at the height of the crisis. Now, it trades at almost $29 per share. Moreover, it resumed annual increases of its dividend in 2014. Today, it returns 60 cents per share of dividends to its shareholders each year, yielding about 2.1%.

However, the forward price-earnings ratio of about ten is what really makes BAC one of the best stocks. The multiple is well below the stock’s five-year average of about 19.

Also, companies whose stocks have single-digit PEs rarely generate double-digit profit increases, but BAC is in that category. Wall Street analysts on average expect the bank’s profits to rise 10.6% this year. Moreover, according to the consensus estimate, BAC’s average annual profit increase over the next five years will be 20.7%.

The stock fell in 2018 amid a number of headwinds. Among these headwinds were the declining results of its investment banking unit, the negative market environment and fears of an inverted yield curve.

However, amid these headwinds, Warren Buffett continues to buy BAC, indicating that the Oracle of Omaha considers it to be one of the best stocks in the market. Also, one can likely assume BAC has become his favorite bank stock. He now has a bigger position in BAC than in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), which used to be his favorite bank stock. Assuming the economy doesn’t nose dive, investors can, like Buffett, profit handsomely from one of the best stocks to buy in the market, BAC stock.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: CannTrust (CNTTF)

Although it’s not among the more inexpensive stocks in the S&P 500, Canadian cannabis company CannTrust (OTCMKTS:CNTTF) makes the cheap stocks list because it’s inexpensive compared to its peers in the marijuana industry. Unlike most cannabis companies, CannTrust is already profitable, and CNTTF stock has a forward price-earnings ratio of about 29.8. In an environment in which an industry leader, Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), trades at 100 times its sales, CNTTF is a screaming bargain and one of the best stocks in the market.

Canadian marijuana stocks have suffered from a “sell the news” phenomenon since the companies’ principal product became fully legal in their home market.

However, CannTrust is poised to benefit from many trends. For one, it has applied for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Joining the Big Board should open up CNTTF stock to a new class of investors. Secondly, although cannabis remains on the list of Schedule 1 drugs in the U.S., the recent legislation that legalized hemp should give all Canadian marijuana firms a foothold in the U.S. market.

The company’s focus on pharma also provides the stock with another potential catalyst. CannTrust sent its first shipment of cannabis oil to Denmark in the third quarter of 2018. It has also entered the Asia-Pacific market, through a partnership with Australia-based Cannatrek. Consequently, even if the company fails to meaningfully penetrate the U.S. market, it still can benefit from overseas expansion.

Furthermore, even though CannTrust’s valuation is lower than that of its major peers, its growth should remain strong for the foreseeable future. On average, analysts predict that its profits will increase by almost 155% this year, making CNTTF a very cheap stock, despite its forward price-earnings ratio of nearly 30. As CannTrust moves into other developed countries and possibly the U.S., a revived interest in cannabis should enable its valuation to catch up with that of its peers.

Cheap Stocks to Buy: Intel (INTC)

Few PC-era stocks have suffered as much as Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has. Once the world’s largest chip maker, Intel stagnated as consumers increasingly turned away from PCs. Intel’s PC-era peers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and even AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) built new business lines and resumed growing. However, INTC stock continued to languish. The high turnover of its top management, as well as security-related issues, also weighed on Intel stock.

However, INTC looks ready to again become one of the best stocks to buy in tech. The company has invested heavily in data-center technology. As a result, its Data Center group appears poised to overtake its PC Client group in size over the next few years.

Due to Intel’s purchase of Mobileye, INTC has become a leader in the autonomous-vehicle market. That, along with the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) products, should help INTC stock rise. And as the advent of 5G makes more advanced applications possible, Intel will benefit even more from these trends.

INTC is a cheap stock due to its price-earnings multiple. It trades at a forward PE ratio of about 10.6, showing that investors have yet to fully appreciate Intel’s comeback.

Due to a temporary glut of chips, Intel ‘s profit growth will be slow this year. However, its profits should resume growing by double-digit percentage rates in 2020. Once investors begin to realize that Intel has resumed a leadership role in the tech industry making it one of the best stocks in the market, it should again command valuations comparable to its peers in big tech.

Source: Investor Place

The sharing economy is thriving because it offers consumers a faster, more efficient, and often cheaper, service or product. At its core, the sharing economy encompasses a new business model that in some industries, such as ride-sharing, is disruptive, and in others is complementary to current businesses. And, in yet others, the sharing economy is a brand new opportunity that is solving big problems and generating consumer demand. But what exactly is the sharing economy?

Sharing Economy Size, Sectors, and Drivers

Merrill Lynch estimates the size of the sharing economy at $250 billion with an addressable market of $2 trillion. They also identify a number of sectors that are being impacted by the sharing economy, including transportation, travel, food and retail among others. I’m sure you’re familiar with Uber (Nasdaq: UBER, pre-IPO), as the company has basically become the poster child for the rise of the sharing economy.

The sharing economy was birthed by a combination of big data, powerful platforms that run algorithms utilizing that big data, and the ever increasing power of the smartphone. Did you know Amazon is a card carrying member of the sharing economy? In addition to being one of the largest online retailers in the world, the company also matches buyers and sellers of goods through programs like its Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) program.

If you’re like most people you don’t even know that half of the items you buy on Amazon are sold by a third party, and not Amazon itself. Using big data and advanced algorithms, Amazon not only recommends products to you as a buyer, but recommends products for sellers to supply, and can even provide a discount to fees charged to sellers for hot products it is trying to have listed on the Amazon site. And, these products which Amazon may or may not warehouse, and may or may not ship to you the consumer, are actually more profitable for Amazon than products it maintains in inventory and ships itself.

But it’s not just retail and transportation where the sharing economy is proliferating. In a report on the sharing economy BCG points out an example of a new sharing business formed by Mahindra and Mahindra (OTCMKTS: MAHMF). Mahindra, based in India, is one of the largest tractor manufacturers in the world. But, only 15% of India’s 120 million farmers even use mechanical equipment. To meet the needs of this underserved market Mahindra, “could have created lower-cost products by removing features or sacrificing quality. Instead, it created a sharing platform, Trringo, which allows farmers to rent equipment made by Mahindra (and even by its competitors) by placing a call.”

Finally, the World Economic Forum (WEF), in an article published just last week, highlights two of several drivers of the sharing economy which should continue to propel it forward. First, the WEF points out that ⅔ of global disposable income in the next ten years will be controlled by women.As the WEF states, “Women are already among the most ardent sharing-economy customers, and the growth of the “she-conomy” is likely to further boost this.” And Second, the WEF believes the sharing economy will play a vital role in reshaping the lives of a growing number of retirees. As individuals look to age in place and minimize disruption to their daily lives, companies already at work in the sharing economy will provide a means of earning income as well as provide care for those in need.

Let’s look at a few stocks that are already public and provide a way to invest in the sharing economy, as well as a few that are scheduled for IPOs in 2019.

GrubHub (Nasdaq: GRUB)

GrubHub is the quintessential sharing economy stock. The food delivery company not only delivers food from your favorite restaurant, but puts in place the entire order and delivery platform for restaurants it partners with. This has allowed non-delivery focused restaurants, on the mom and pop scale all the way up to the Taco Bells of the world, to add another revenue stream to their business model.

While the stock has pulled back in-line with the recent market selloff, the company is hitting on all cylinders. As CEO Matthew Maloney stated in their most recent earnings call, “We added more new restaurants to our network in the third quarter than any other quarter in the history of Grubhub. Our diners now have over 95,000 restaurants to choose from…” Revenue in the third quarter grew 52% year-over-year, with earnings growing 41% on a year-over-year basis. The company is projected to grow earnings an average 26% per year over the next 5 years.

The company’s stock had become a little overheated, and the recent pullback gives investors a second bite at the apple at a much better price. In addition to the stock pullback, another catalyst which makes the company attractive right now is the fact that they are beginning to realize economies of scale. This allows their marketing to be more effective, and is reducing their cost per order. Lastly, the recent addition of YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) as a partner should further accelerate growth.

Match Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MTCH)

Match Group owns and operates several dating and relationship sites including Tinder, Match, OKCupid and Hinge. The company has over 57 million users of its apps globally, and was the highest grossing app in the Apple Store in 2017. The company is clearly dominating the dating app space and has built a critical mass of users which makes it difficult for competitors to infringe on the company’s market.

Match used the network effect to build out its user base with a savvy “hot or not” marketing campaign. The company’s range of apps now covers a broad spectrum of the population, from young people looking for casual social interactions to established career adults looking for long-term relationships. Match has mastered the big data world of dating, and has built a platform that is both user friendly and profitable. Revenue at their flagship Tinder brand was up close to 100% year-over-year in the latest quarter, and subscriber growth was up 61%. Earnings grew over 126% over the past year.

Match also suffered in the market selloff, and is in the process of recovering from an earnings miss last quarter, but has already recovered much of its losses. The company has a few specific catalysts that make it a good buy now. First, it is increasingly moving users to paid subscribers by adding additional relevant features to its paid subscription model. Second, the company is using data it already has to bring new products to market focused on narrower niches, making the experience more relevant for the user. And third, the company continues to enhance its algorithm to provide a better experience for users and find a relevant match on first use of its product, a major goal of the company.

Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG)

Before discussing some of the IPOs that are scheduled for 2019, I feel I would be remiss if I did not also mention Booking here. While I understand the stock is high priced, trading around $1,650, the valuation is fairly compelling. The stock currently has a PE of 19, is expected to grow earnings 16% per year on average over the next 5 years, and has profit margins of almost 20%.

Booking is not a pure sharing economy play, but does have over 5 million unique sharing economy listings on its site. This allows Booking to be an all-in-one offering for those unsure if they want a traditional hotel stay or a shared house, apartment, etc. I believe at these levels, and with a number of shared listings, Booking deserves a look as a sharing economy competitor.

Potential 2019 IPOs

Finally, I’d like to talk for just a moment about two potential sharing economy IPOs that may come public in 2019. Following on my mention of Booking Holdings, is sharing economy stock Airbnb (Nasdaq: AIRB).

Financial data is limited on companies that aren’t yet public, but we have a sense of the numbers from various media reports and piecing together data from reported private investments. Airbnb lists a little over 4 million unique properties ranging from houses to apartments to treehouses to tents, in a range of normal to exotic locations. The company was reportedly profitable for the second year in a row in 2018, after making $100 million on revenue of $2.6 billion in 2017.

While we’ll have to wait for the exact numbers to determine if the stock is a buy when it goes public, one of the things I like about the company is its innovative nature and the fact that it is not resting on its laurels as a “real estate rental” company. As CEO Brian Chesky puts it, “…people who misunderstand Airbnb, they tend to just see a bunch of real estate. But of course, if you look a little deeper, what you’re going to see are three million people — our hosts — and that’s in many ways, really, what you’re buying.”

One great example of this is the company’s Experiences business. Experiences provides travellers, or anyone for that matter, with a range of activities they can engage in when on vacation, or visiting a specific area. The “experiences” are hosted by Airbnb rental hosts, and the business is now doing over 1.5 million bookings per year. I would suggest that as the IPO nears and you are performing your due diligence on the company, look at the company and possible growth in its component parts, as opposed to viewing it simply as another online rental platform.

The final sharing economy stock I’d like to put out there is Lyft (Nasdaq: Lyft) Lyft is also projected to go public in 2019. Lyft has filed confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC as of early December 2018 concerning its IPO. A private funding round in 2018 valued the company at $15 billion, and the financial media recently valued the projected IPO at between $18 and $30 billion. Lyft reportedly had revenue of $563 million in the third quarter of 2018, losing $254 million in the same quarter.

In my view Lyft is benefitting from being second to market behind Uber. Lyft management has learned from the Uber experiences with unsatisfied drivers and regulatory challenges and has been able to avoid much of the bad publicity that has befallen Uber. If you’ve taken a Lyft ride recently, and had conversations with the driver (many of whom worked previously for Uber) like I have, you’ve heard how they were very unhappy with Uber and like driving for Lyft much more.

One of the things I like about Lyft is what appears to be a relatively aggressive move toward autonomous vehicles, which will increase margins by eventually eliminating the need for a driver altogether. In October, Lyft announced it was acquiring augmented reality (AR) company Blue Vision Labs. The company will join with an already robust autonomous vehicle initiative within Lyft, its Level 5 autonomous car division. The company is working closely with Ford (NYSE: F) to put an autonomous hybrid on the road as well.

The sharing economy is in its early stages with an abundance of growth ahead. Whether you prefer already established companies like GrubHub, Match, or Booking, or are looking forward to IPOs from Airbnb or Lyft, exposure to sharing economy stocks should be a part of your diversified portfolio.

Source: Investors Alley

Although stocks have experienced a rough ride in 2018, some stocks still have a big chance to shine through year-end. The best stocks to buy now go above and beyond the normal growth prospects. While looking for these kinds of investments, I examined six of the best stocks to invest in, all with huge upside potential and support from the Street’s top analysts.

The best way to find these stocks is with TipRanks’ Top Analyst Stocks tool.

Why? Well, the tool reveals all stocks with strong buy ratings from Wall Street’s best-performing analysts. You can then sort the stocks by upside potential to pinpoint compelling investing opportunities.

At the same time, I was careful to avoid stocks that have big upside potential simply because share prices have crashed recently. Check the price movement over the last three months to be sure shares are moving in the right direction.

With that being said, let’s get straight down into taking a closer look at these six stocks to buy now — all of which I believe look undervalued.

Stocks to Buy Now: Cloudera (CLDR)

Big-Data cruncher Cloudera (NYSE:CLDR) has upside potential of 100% say the Street’s top analysts! Currently, the stock is trading at $11.37 but analysts see it hitting $22.88 in the coming months. The stock has experienced some volatility this year, but it is now in a very promising setup. Indeed, since its downturn in April, Cloudera has surged 50%!

Michael Turits, a five-star analyst from Raymond James, reiterated his Cloudera “buy” rating yesterday at $24.

We can see from TipRanks that this ‘Strong Buy’ stock has a lot of Street support. Indeed, in the last three months, CLDR has received five buy ratings, including an upgrade from D.A. Davidson.

Stocks to Buy Now: Dave & Busters (PLAY)

The hybrid game arcade and restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) scored a rebound this year, but more upside is to come. Specifically, analysts expect 20.5% from the current share price — all the way from $59.18 to $71.29.

However, Maxim Group’s Stephen Anderson is more bullish than consensus — he believes the stock can soar to $71. Even though the stock has experienced some short-term sales volatility, he says that valuation remains very compelling.

Ealier, Anderson described PLAY stock as “deeply inexpensive relative to Casual Dining Peers” and ultimately: “Our core thesis on PLAY, which is comprised of; (1) high-margin entertainment revenue growth; (2) robust unit expansion; and (3) longer-term comp growth of at least 2%, remains intact.” PLAY should also benefit big-time from the upcoming tax reform.

In the last three months, PLAY has received an impressive seven consecutive buy ratings. As a result, the stock has a ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus. Out of these ratings, five come from best-performing analysts.

Stocks to Buy Now: CBS Corp (CBS)

Media stock CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) can climb nearly 20% in the next 12 months, say top analysts. This would see the stock trading at nearly $70 versus the current share price under $60.

Just a couple of days ago, Imperial Capital’s David Miller reiterated his “buy” rating. This was accompanied with a very bullish $71 price target. Miller expressed positivity in the outlook following strong fundamentals from “positive initiatives” put in place by the former CEO.

Previously, Benchmark’s Daniel Kurnos said, “that the demise of Network ad revenues is greatly exaggerated.” He even says that this bearish talk is overshadowing “the positive traction CBS is seeing in its ancillary revenue streams.” The underlying business model is very strong and “the pressure on the media sector has created a buying opportunity for the content leader.”

Meanwhile, out of nine recent ratings on CBS, six are buys. This means that in the last three months only three analysts have published hold ratings on the stock.

Stocks to Buy Now: Neurocrine (NBIX)

Neurocrine Biosciences’ (NASDAQ:NBIX) top analysts believe this biopharma still has serious growth potential left to run in 2019. Specifically, the Street sees NBIX rising from $87.17 to $137, or 57.16% upside.

The Street is buzzing about Neurocrine’s Ingrezza drug. This is the first FDA-approved treatment for adults with tardive dyskinesia (TD). A side effect of antipsychotic medication, TD is a disorder that leads to unintended muscle movements. Stifel analyst Paul Matteis is very optimistic, reiterating his recommendation with a price target at $140.

Encouragingly, the stock has received no less than 10 consecutive buy ratings from analysts in the last three months. Seven out of the 10 of these buy ratings are from top-performing analysts.

Stocks to Buy Now: Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI)

Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI) is one of the U.S.’s largest and most diversified television station operators. SBGI stock has had a rough 2018, but top analysts see strong upside potential ahead.

Benchmark Capital previously named SBGI as one of its Best Ideas for 1H18. Five-star Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos says “We see SBGI as one of the best values in the entire media landscape.” He is now eyeing $38 as a potential price target, a double-digit gain from its current perch of $30.37.

According to Kurnos, Sinclair has multiple upcoming catalysts over the next six months. This includes the pending mega-deal between Sinclair and Tribune. Sinclair is currently waiting for regulatory approval for the $3.9 billion takeover that would give Sinclair control of 233 TV stations.

Top analysts are united in their bullish take on this strong buy stock. In the last three months, five analysts have published buy ratings on Sinclair.

Stocks to Buy Now: Laureate Education (LAUR)

Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) is the largest network of for-profit higher education institutions. This Baltimore-based stock owns and operates over 200 programs (on campus and online) in over 29 countries. Analysts believe impressive upside is on the way. Currently, this is still a relatively cheap stock to buy at just $14.99.

Barrington analyst Alexander Paris, just today, reiterated his “buy” rating on LAUR stock at $20, meaning upside of 34%!

Previously, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Shlomo Rosenbaum notes that Chile’s election result is a “material positive” for Laureate. He says new President Sebastian Pinera is less likely to support legislation for free post-secondary education- the prospect of which has dampened prices to date. Rosenbaum currently has an $18 price target on the stock.

Overall, Laureate certainly has the Street’s seal of approval. The stock has scored four top analyst buy ratings recently. This includes a bullish call from one of TipRanks’ Top 20 analysts for 2017, BMO Capital’s Jeffrey Silber.Pay Your Bills for LIFE with These Dividend Stocks

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S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: FedEx (FDX)

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) is seemingly one of those S&P 500 stocks that faces an Amazon threat. Critical shipping partners at first, Amazon has made some noise about starting their own courier division. Understandably, the implications worry investors, but FDX is still a long-term buy.

We just need to consider that FedEx is an $81 billion enterprise. Rival UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a $120 billion enterprise. While it’s true that Amazon dwarfs both these stalwarts, even disruptive CEO Jeff Bezos must watch his expenditures. As he’s busy taking over disparate industries, he must ensure that his investments make economic sense.

While Amazon can toy around with their various internal courier solutions, it shouldn’t drastically impact FDX. The company, along with UPS, has a virtually impenetrable network. To duplicate that wouldn’t make financial sense.

Moreover, e-commerce sales represent a consistently increasing portion of total retail sales. Although Amazon dominates this sector, they’re not the only players. With several brick-and-mortars incorporating their own online channels, I like FDX for longer-term, reliable growth despite its recent quarterly miss.

S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Goodyear (GT)

Among the most-recognized S&P 500 stocks, Goodyear (NASDAQ:GT) is one of the more contrarian opportunities. You can tell this simply by looking at its price chart. Year-to-date, GT shares are down nearly 25%.

My frequent readers probably expect me to say something like GT has stabilized over the last several weeks. You’re right, and it has. Since the beginning of July, GT stock is up over 4%. Although that’s nothing to write home about, it provides some reassurance as the company approaches its Q3 report.

Admittedly, the day-to-day movements for GT stock are difficult to determine. But I’m encouraged that since the five years or so following the Great Recession, Americans have driven noticeably more miles. I expect this trend to continue, especially because our labor market has improved for the educated and upwardly mobile.

Undoubtedly, GT is a risky play due to its prior weak performances. But broader trends suggest that this volatility is a profitable opportunity.

S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Home Depot (HD)

A significant and tragic reason why Home Depot (NYSE:HD) dominates the business news media is Hurricane Florence. The storm has already taken many lives, and intractably, several more families must undergo the rebuilding process. No matter how you cut it, HD revenues will experience a bump up.

Some might view that as an opportunity to profit off HD stock. But as I argued in a prior write-up for Home Depot, the trading benefits are inconclusive. In some cases, HD does rise immediately during major storms. But the data does suggest that particularly devastating storms tend to hurt HD in the nearer-term.

I don’t recommend trading HD based on Florence. If anything, these are one-off occurrences that are difficult to gauge. But more importantly, Home Depot has a business that’s largely immune to Amazon’s intrusions.

That’s especially the case for storms and other emergency events. Customers are not going to comparison shop online for necessary supplies. And even in non-emergency situations, Home Depot provides unparalleled conveniences.

S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is one of the most renowned defense contractors among S&P 500 stocks. It’s also having a surprisingly weak year. Despite a burst in bullish sentiment recently, LMT has gained only 7.3% YTD. For the record, this is just a hair under the S&P 500 index.

In my opinion, LMT is not getting the respect that it deserves. I understand that President Trump boasts consistently about allegedly thawing relations with North Korea. Earlier this year, Trump met North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in an unprecedented summit.

While I respect the President for taking some kind of action, I’m also firm that I don’t trust North Korea. Nor do I trust the maniacal “dear leader” Kim. Sorry, but not sorry.

How does this play into LMT stock? Simple: more than ever, we must demonstrate a show of force. This is physically best done through our advanced fighter jets. There’s nothing quite like buzzing around our enemies’ airspace, and letting them know we can physically do the business.

Admittedly, it’s an immature tactic, but it works. LMT allows us to flex our muscle but still maintain diplomatic channels. In this complicated geopolitical environment, LMT is easily a longer-term buy.

S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Raytheon (RTN)

Should a conflict ever escalate into a hot one, I’d like to own Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) as a hedge. Known primarily for its smart missiles and guidance systems, RTN is one the most relevant defense contractors today.

Don’t get me wrong: physical warcraft, as I mentioned for Lockheed Martin, is still a critical component of our military diplomacy. However, the modern battlefield has become increasingly asymmetric. A terrorist with a homemade explosive can wreak untold damage. Or a lone hacker could bring a powerful economy to its knees.

This transition also means that powerful militaries with extensive physical assets are vulnerable to asymmetric attacks. To alleviate this problem, RTN produces next-generation weapons systems, such as combat drones. Such technologies allow military operators to conduct operations in hard-to-reach, inhospitable terrain.

The other invaluable benefit is that it keeps our men and women in uniform out of harm’s way. Especially in this ever-evolving world, having some exposure to RTN simply makes sense.

S&P 500 Stocks to Buy: Altria Group (MO)

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) has simply not had a good year in 2018. Since the January opener, MO has shed 9.5% in the markets. The biggest concern for investors is that Americans are smoking far fewer cigarettes than ever.

The “good news,” though, is that American smokers are gravitating toward e-cigarettes or vaporizers. These products heat the tobacco flavoring near the point of combustion, but not beyond it. The resultant plumes are much cleaner and have noticeably fewer chemical byproducts, such as carbon monoxide.

Of course, vaporizer companies compete with big tobacco, but the comparison isn’t worth discussing. MO is a multibillion-dollar enterprise. As a whole, experts predict that the vaping market will hit $27 billion in value. Relative to Altria’s market capitalization of nearly $118 billion, that’s nothing.

Moreover, MO has invested significant resources into its heat-not-burn devices. Although similar in principle to vaporizers, Altria’s products are made by smokers, for smokers. The experience is much more attuned to what natural-cigarette aficionados prefer.

So don’t butt-out MO stock. This is an underappreciated contrarian opportunity.

As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Get your hands on my most comprehensive, step-by-step dividend plan yet. In just a few minutes, you will have a 36-month road map that could generate $4,804 (or more!) per month for life. It's the perfect supplement to Social Security and works even if the stock market tanks. Over 6,500 retirement investors have already followed the recommendations I've laid out.

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Source: Investor Place