We finally made it to 2024. Last year was one to remember, with the threat of inflation pushing the economy to the brink of recession. But the economy proved resilient and artificial intelligence became all the rage. The market looks primed for a great 2024, so we should look at A-rated stocks to buy.
This will be a fascinating year for investors. The AI market is maturing, with more companies rolling out new features to take advantage of advances in generative AI.
It’s a presidential election year in the U.S., which always makes for an interesting backdrop. Geopolitical tensions with the U.S., Russia and China persist, and conflict continues in the Middle East and Ukraine. Cryptocurrency prices are on the rise once again.
I’m looking for some outstanding blue-chip names to anchor my portfolio for 2024. The A-rated stocks to buy on this list are some of the biggest in the world and the “Magnificent 7” stocks are well-represented.
While the world can change from quarter to quarter, I’m confident that these A-rated stocks to buy are solid choices to begin 2024. Each of them has an “A” rating from the Portfolio Grader, meaning they have more-than-adequate revenue growth, earnings performance, momentum and positive analyst sentiment.
Let’s start 2024 on a strong note, shall we?
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) looks like it will have a monster year. Its new Instinct MI300X accelerators have enough computing power to handle generative AI, which will let AMD finally compete in the space (against the next company on this list).
AMD also is getting high marks for its Ryzen 8040 Series processors for laptops, which are expected to improve the performance of AI applications by as much as 60%.
AMD stock jumped by 129% in 2023. While it’s never realistic to expect back-to-back 100% gains in a stock price, AMD should see strong sales with its new AI products.
AMD generated earnings for the third quarter of $5.8 billion, up from $5.5 billion a year ago. It issued guidance calling for $6.1 billion for the fourth quarter, making it one of the A-rated stocks to buy with room to run.
AMD stock gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Nvidia (NVDA)
It’s no secret that Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was one of my favorite and highly rated stocks for 2023. As we kick off 2024, I see no reason to remove the chip maker from its lofty perch on this list of A-rated stocks to buy.
Nvidia already has the lion’s share of the market for graphics processing chips, and its earnings in 2023 reflected massive growth. Q3 revenue was up 206% from a year ago to $18.12 billion. And Nvidia’s market cap soared to $1.2 trillion, making it the sixth-largest publicly traded company on the planet.
Not bad. But what does Nvidia have in store for an encore?
The stock price has been flirting with $500 for several weeks but has lacked the ability to overcome the barrier for any long stretch. Tech stocks pulled back a little later in the year, but I expect those short-lived headwinds.
Nvidia is already one of the “Magnificent Seven” and it should start seeing revenue of more than $20 billion per quarter in 2024. It gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Amazon (AMZN)
Here’s another of the Magnificent Seven. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has a dominant position in the U.S. economy, becoming the second-largest company in the world by revenue.
While it’s most known as a retailer, Amazon is also seeing tremendous growth in its AWS cloud computing segment and digital advertising division.
Meanwhile the company has done a much better job under CEO Andy Jassy of being more efficient and cutting overhead expenses than it was under founder Jeff Bezos. That allowed Amazon’s profits to return to enviable numbers, securing its top-rated position in the Portfolio Grader.
Net sales for the third quarter were $143.1 billion, up 13% from a year ago, with net income of $9.9 billion (94 cents per share), up from $2.9 billion and 28 cents per share a year ago. Sales for the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, are expected to be between $160 billion and $167 billion.
AMZN stock gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Microsoft (MSFT)
The final Magnificent Seven name on our list is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company’s stock price jumped more than 50% in 2023, powered by excitement over generative AI and its close association with OpenAI and ChatGPT product.
Microsoft now uses AI and generative AI to power many of its products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. And it’s just getting started.
And it’s a cash-generating machine. Microsoft generated $211.9 billion in revenue for its 2023 fiscal year and $73.4 billion in profit. That gave it more than $72 billion in cash on its balance sheet, which is more than enough to continue its massive investments in AI – and to buy out a promising company that fits with Microsoft’s business model.
While Microsoft is drawing some unwanted attention from U.S. and U.K. regulators over its relationship with OpenAI, I still like MSFT stock in 2024. It gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Marathon Digital (MARA)
With the price of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) topping $45,000 and up more than 65% over the last three months, Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) stock is even more appealing.
Marathon is a top miner of Bitcoin, producing 1,151 of the digital currency in November. Production for the month was up 144% from a year ago.
The company produced 3,490 Bitcoin in the third quarter and sold roughly two-thirds of that amount to fund its operating costs for the quarter. Bitcoin production was up a whopping 467% from a year ago.
Marathon also recently closed on two new mining sites, one in Texas and one in California. These will add 390 megawatts of capacity to its operations. The purchase is a change in strategy for Marathon, which owned 584 megawatts of capacity before the transaction, but 97% of them was hosted by third parties.
Marathon hopes that owning its own sites will allow it to expand while reducing costs.
I like it when A-rated companies figure out a way to be even more efficient. And with Bitcoin prices on the rise, Marathon looks even more appealing. MARA stock gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Riot Platforms (RIOT)
You don’t have to go all-in with Marathon to invest in cryptocurrency. The next two names on the list are also ideal investments for 2024.
First, we have Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), a Bitcoin mining company that owns and operates the largest Bitcoin mining facility in the U.S. In November it produced 552 Bitcoin, an increase from 458 a year ago. And it sold 540 tokens for an average price of $36,278.
Now that Bitcoin is up over $45,000, sales in December and January will be even better, setting Riot up for an outstanding fourth quarter – and a very promising Q1 of 2024.
Riot Platform currently holds more than 7,300 Bitcoin on its balance sheet, so the company is getting more profitable every day that Bitcoin rallies.
RIOT stock gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Coinbase Global (COIN)
Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) is another way to play the crypto space without buying cryptocurrency. The company is a top digital wallet, which allows its customers to buy, sell and hold more than 230 different types of cryptocurrencies.
And as Bitcoin and other cryptos are soaring in price, more investors will use Coinbase to manage their accounts and try to get in on the opportunity.
Bitcoin was up 170% in 2023 and the other top crypto, Ethereum (ETH-USD), rose by 95% on the year. Cryptocurrencies have been on a nice run since Wall Street began betting that interest rates will fall in 2024. And now that the Fed has hinted there will be at least three rate cuts this year, cryptos appear poised for a solid year.
If you aren’t comfortable investing in cryptocurrencies directly, stocks like Riot, Marathon and Coinbase are excellent alternatives. All three will see their prospects rise and fall on crypto sentiment – but be wary that this is also a pretty volatile space, so make sure you are comfortable taking on some extra risk with these names.
COIN stock is up nearly 160% over the last three months and gets an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had long positions in NVDA and MSFT. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article had long positions in NVDA, BTC-USD and ETH-USD. The staff member did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.