Happy New Years everybody! I hope everyone has taken some much-needed time off and enjoyed the long weekend just as much as I did! (aka wine and food lol!)
To kick off the new year I've compiled a list of my top stock picks along with my 2021 S&P 500 predictions. I took all weekend researching all of these companies and will update them periodically. For the sake of time I will not discuss each of these companies individually, but rather my general criteria for evaluating stocks. If you would like an in-depth analysis of any of these companies let me know!!
This week & this month:
My game plan is to continue playing options for this week and maybe the entire month of January if volatility persists. I want to know the results of the Georgia runoff to gauge which stocks I'll add and which ones I'll keep an eye on for a dip before adding. In addition, I'm keeping an eye on China to see how they will retaliate to the delisting of three telecommunications companies from the NYSE. Finally, I want to see progress towards the $2000 cheques on Capitol Hill, will the Grim Reaper block the vote again?
My top stock picks of 2021:
As stated above, I will not discuss each company, instead I will talk about my criteria. The following is a criteria I use to evaluate companies before making any investing choices. My top picks
- Growth: Is the company growing faster than its peers? Are earnings expected to keep growing?
- Innovation: Is the company still innovating and/or creating new products/income streams?
- Momentum: Is the stock price in an uptrend? Is it about to breakout of a pattern?
- Risk: What are the risks involved with owning this company? Does the growth prospect overshadow this risk?
- Future Implications: How will this company make a difference in the future? Is this technology/business model still in its adolescence?
- Leadership: Are they a leader or laggard in their industry?
- Differentiation: Is this company different from the rest? How is this company different? Is this difference enough to shield it from the competition?
- Profitability: Is this company currently profitable or expected to be vastly profitable in the near future? Are they on the right track to profitability? How safe is this/are these income stream(s)?
Almost every company on the list is strong in each of these categories, with the exception of IIPR which is not innovative but rather has high growth prospects and is extremely lucrative, or CRSP which is unprofitable but has a exciting future and life-changing implications (for example)
The honourable mentions all fell short because of profitability, risk, and future implication uncertainties. I still rank them towards outperformance, however the risks, high expectations, and quantitative uncertainty pushed them off the main list
Top Stock Picks of 2021:
- Square (SQ)
- Apple (AAPL)
- Riot Blockchain (RIOT)
- Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP)
- Merck & Co (MRK)
- Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR)
- Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD)
Honourable Mentions:
- Nio (NIO)
- Alibaba Group (BABA)
- Chewy (CHWY)
- Palatir Tech (PLTR)
- FuboTV (FUBO)
- Invitae (NVTA)
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
2021 predictions:
Coming out of the recession, I am quite bullish and have high expectation for the next 5 years. I am looking for revenue growth & EBIT growth along with higher profit margins. Higher profit margins will signal an economies of scale efficiency; a fixed aspect of costs being utilized more effectively. I'm expecting companies to come out of the pandemic more profitable and efficient (effective capital utilization). ROA, ROE, Gross margin, and Profit margin are front and centre.
My S&P 500 growth projections:
Moderate-Bearish: 6-7%
Conservative: 14-15%
Bullish: 21-22%
- My moderate-bearish prediction is if the "bears" are right and we see a correction in the coming 3 months along with COVID-19 complications
- My conservative prediction is if trade tensions and corporate tax rate increases are in the spotlight all year, along with the depreciating dollar
- My bullish prediction is if by the summer we are back to normal with the occasional hiccups throughout the year
***I'm leaning towards an 18-21% growth rate, with equal probability of below 18% and above 22% growth rates***
As always, leave a comment & a like :)
also, let me know your top picks of the year!