Certain stocks have experienced exponential growth over the past year.
Sectors such as buy now pay later, cryptocurrencies, and cybersecurity remain red hot. Therefore, stocks with exposure to those areas have run far in 2023. Ironically, many of the best performing stocks continue to fly under the radar, receiving little attention in the financial press.
But investors shouldn’t shy away from these strong performers. Especially since many have catalysts brewing, they are likely to send their share prices even higher in the year ahead. Let’s delve into three growth stocks to buy and hold this coming year.
Affirm Holdings (AFRM)
Shares of buy now pay later company Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) are up an incredible 457% in 2023. In fact, they are running circles around nearly every other stock.
AFRM stock just got another boost. Its buy now pay later option will be added to self-checkout kiosks at Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stores. The share price jumped 15% higher on news of the expanded relationship with Walmart. So, this provides a new catalyst for the stock heading into 2024.
Affirm Holdings will offer buy now pay later service, allowing consumers to pay off purchases in installments at over 4,500 Walmart locations. Already, consumers had been able to choose AFRM’s payment option when shopping on Walmart’s website. Beyond Walmart, Affirm Holdings has partnerships in place with other major retailers and e-commerce companies. Those include giants such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Shopify (NYSE:SHOP).
BlackRock (BLK)
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) is the world’s biggest asset manager with more than $9 trillion under management. Shares have performed well in 2023, gaining 12% and outpacing many other financial securities.
However, the company has a major catalyst on the horizon. It’s looking at the expected approval of its spot Bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded fund (ETF). News just broke that senior executives with BlackRock met with both the Nasdaq exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss approval of the Bitcoin ETF.
Media reports are citing a publicly disclosed memo from the SEC that mentions the meeting.
“The discussion concerned The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d),” the memo states. Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) concerns the regulatory guidelines for the listing and trading of commodity-based securities. Analysts are taking news of the meeting as a sign that the SEC is preparing to approve BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. And, this much-anticipated nod means it could start trading on the Nasdaq exchange in early 2024.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF reportedly already has a ticker symbol: IBIT.
Zscaler (ZS)
Cybersecurity is smoking hot, so that means the stock of Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) is also. The cybersecurity firm has seen its share price more than double in 2023 (up 103%) as demand escalates.
Recently, the company reported better-than-expected financial results that showed continued growth, raising its forward guidance. Analysts and investors have applauded the earnings print, pushing ZS stock up 17% in the last month alone.
For its fiscal first quarter, Zscaler reported earnings per share (EPS) of 67 cents, which was well above analyst forecasts of 49 cents. Revenue totaled $496.7 million, up 40% from a year ago and ahead of the $473 million expected on Wall Street. Zscaler said that its billings rose 34% to $456.6 million during the latest quarter, which beat consensus estimates of $441 million. Looking ahead, the company forecasts revenue of $507 million and EPS of 58 cents for the current quarter. Both numbers beat consensus views.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.