After a tumultuous two-plus years, you likely know how the stock market can change at the drop of a hat. Unexpected jumps and drops can create uncertainty for even the most seasoned investor.
9 Stocks To Keep an Eye on in 2022
To help guide your investing decisions, here are some of the best stocks to buy and keep an eye on for 2022.
1. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)
Alphabet Inc., a multinational technology company with headquarters in California, is best known as the parent company of Google. Alphabet’s business segments include Google Services and Google Cloud.
The Google Services segment of Alphabet Inc. includes Gmail, YouTube, Search, Google Play, Chrome, Android and Google Maps. The Google Cloud segment serves enterprise customers with analytics and infrastructure platforms and collaboration tools.
The stock trades under two tickers: GOOG for Class C shares, and GOOGL for Class A shares, which afford investors voting rights.
- 52-Week Price Range: $2,127.46-$3,042.00
- Current Price: $2,233.33
- Market Cap: $1.468 trillion
- Dividend Yield: N/A
2. Medifast Inc. (MED)
Although not as popular as some other companies on this list, analysts say Medifast is a promising growth stock. The multilevel marketing company sells and distributes foods for weight loss. Medifast remains undervalued, making it a good option for investors.
With the success of its coach-driven wellness approach, the company decided to phase out the stand-alone Medifast diet program and instead continue support for customers through its holistic health brand, OPTAVIA, which offers coaching and other benefits not offered by Medifast.
- 52-week Price Range: $156.09-$336.99
- Current Price: $166.87
- Market Cap: $1.921 billion
- Dividend Yield: $4.03%
3. EOG Resources Inc. (EOG)
EOG Resources is a U.S.-based natural gas and oil producer. It is one of the best stocks to buy now since it’s benefiting from high inflation and geopolitical events that have inflated gas prices. The company operates in Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom North Sea, China and other international regions.
- 52-Week Price Range: $62.81-$132.35
- Current Price: $128.07
- Market Cap: $75.012 billion
- Dividend Yield: 2.46%
4. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Microsoft has made it to the list of the best stocks to buy in 2022. Being a giant in the software and cloud computing market, Microsoft has constantly cranked out cash flows through its Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud and More Personal Computing segments.
Two of the main reasons for investing in Microsoft stock are that the company’s cloud transformation is paying off heavily, and Azure cloud services generate impressive revenue.
- 52-Week Price Range: $243.00-$349.67
- Current Price: $260.65
- Market Cap: $1.949 trillion
- Dividend Yield: 0.98%
5. LCI Industries (LCII)
LCI Industries manufactures and distributes original and aftermarket components used in recreational vehicle manufacturing and related industries such as manufactured and modular homes, trains and boats. Based in Elkhart, Indiana, LCI is likely to benefit from the continued strong demand for RVs.
In fact, the RV Industry Association predicts that 2022 will be the second-best year ever in terms of RV unit deliveries — with 2021 being the best year on record.
- 52-Week Price Range: $96.32-$163.33
- Current Price: $109.26
- Market Cap: $2.777 billion
- Dividend Yield: 3.96%
6. Visa Inc. (V)
Visa is a credit card company that offers solutions, including financial services, to individuals and businesses. The company’s shares have been relatively stable.
As international travel returns to more normal levels, Visa is expected to see a spike in its stock price since it charges a high fee on international spending.
- 52-Week Price Range: $186.67-$252.67
- Current Price: $207.56
- Market Cap: $439.236 billion
- Dividend Yield: 0.75%
7. ASML Holding NV (ASML)
ASML Holding is a Dutch company that manufactures machines for chip production. It is the largest manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, or EUVs, and has a dominant position in this niche market, with a significant share globally. The company engages in developing, marketing, producing, selling and servicing semiconductor equipment systems.
- 52-Week Price Range: $509.55-$895.93
- Current Price: $554.61
- Market Cap: $223.287 billion
- Dividend Yield: 1.18%
8. Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors (FTAI)
If pandemic-era supply-chain bottlenecks have proven anything, it’s how dependent the global economy is on keeping people and products moving.
Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors provides services on five continents through three operating segments: Aviation Leasing, which leases aircraft and engines; Jefferson Terminal, which handles crude oil and refined products through its terminal in Beaumont, Texas; and Ports and Terminals, which operates deep-water ports on the Delaware and Ohio rivers.
- 52-Week Price Range: $16.74-$34.79
- Current Price: $19.27
- Market Cap: $1.911 billion
- Dividend Yield: 7.14%
9. Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG)
Cheniere Energy is an energy infrastructure company focused on producing liquefied natural gas. The company cleans, secures and provides LNG to energy trading companies, utilities and integrated energy companies worldwide.
- 52-Week Price Range: $80.06-$150.00
- Current Price: $131.11
- Market Cap: $33.32 billion
- Dividend Yield: 1.01%
How To Find the Best Stocks To Watch
Thousands of stocks trade on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange alone — and there are even more stocks on other exchanges around the world. This can make it quite difficult for investors to find the best stocks to look out for.
Analyzing Stocks
One of the best ways to determine if a stock is worth buying is by checking the CAN SLIM system. The CAN SLIM system shows you how to analyze a stock, what is unique about a particular company and its industry, and when might be the best time to buy.
Stocks are traded on exchanges like any other commodity or asset in which price is determined by supply and demand. Certain factors, such as the company’s performance, geopolitical factors and the general market sentiment affect the supply-demand ratio in the stock market.
Investors who think the stock price will rise buy shares in the hope of profiting from an increased share value. Investors who think the stock price will decrease are less interested in buying the shares, so they want to sell their shares. All of these transactions lead to changes in share prices.
The CAN SLIM Investing System
The CAN SLIM system considers all these things to identify stocks that are poised for growth. The acronym CAN SLIM, as described by Investor’s Business Daily, stands for:
- C: Current quarterly earnings
- A: Annual earnings growth
- N: New product or service
- S: Supply and demand
- L: Leaders vs. laggards in the industry
- I: Institutional ownership
- M: Market direction
The CAN SLIM system considers the quarterly and annual earnings of a company to determine the direction its stock price will go. If there’s a change in market direction or the company introduces a new product or service, the CAN SLIM system also bases the strength of the stock on these aspects.
Institutional ownership refers to entities such as pension plans, insurance companies, mutual funds, government bodies and banks. Since these professional investors have experienced analysts researching stocks for them, their investment in a stock is considered good news. Simply put, if more institutional sponsors are investing in a stock, it means the stock is expected to do well.
The “M” of CAN SLIM is extremely important. Almost all stocks follow the direction of the market. If there’s a confirmed uptrend in the market, that’s when you should invest in a stock.
It’s also important to remember that the stock market changes very quickly. Therefore, you should keep a close eye on the prices of stocks you’ve invested in and any news surrounding them.
Good To Know
When searching for the best stocks to buy now, you should have a clear idea of what you’re looking for. A growth stock, for example, is expected to have a higher rate of return than a blue-chip dividend stock. Besides the stock type, consider trends in earnings growth, debt-to-equity ratio, company strength, the company’s dividend division method and the price-earnings ratio.
Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.
Data is accurate as of May 23, 2022, and is subject to change.