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While most analysts forecast a “soft landing” with no recession in the coming months, there’s less consensus over what the market will look like in the second half of 2024. That leaves investors to wonder which stocks to place their bets on. Needless to say, it’s important to keep a close eye on the market and make your own judgments.

Investment opportunities can come from many different sectors, and you should remain vigilant to find the best investment options for you and avoid expensive mistakes. Read on to learn about top stocks to buy now.

Here’s a quick list of the best stocks to buy this year:  

When companies have a strong leadership team, strong sales, a large audience and a good growth market, they offer solid long- and short-term opportunities for investors. Here are some to consider investing in this year.

California-based ServiceNow operates a cloud-based platform called Now that helps enterprises digitize and optimize their processes and workflows. The company boasts roughly 7,700 customers, and about 85% of Fortune 500 companies use its services.

In the second quarter of 2024, ServiceNow exceeded earnings, adjusted-profit and subscription-growth expectations. Total revenues have grown in each of the last 12 quarters.

Among 34 analysts polled by Yahoo Finance, 13 rate it a “strong buy” and 17 rate it a “buy.” Zacks rates it a “hold” and gives it a style score of “A” for growth.

Qualcomm is a major player in the wireless industry and a leader in the 5G and chipset market. While not without competition nipping at its heels, Qualcomm is a blue chip stock with a 21-year history of increasing dividends, currently yielding 2.01%.

QCOM’s price took a hit last year because of falling demand for smartphones at a time when the industry at large was carrying excess inventory. However, Qualcomm has beat earnings estimates every quarter for the last four quarters.

Of 23 analysts polled by Yahoo Finance for October, three rate the stock a “strong buy,” seven rate it a “buy” and 13 recommend holding. Zacks gives it a “B” for growth, and it rates the stock a “buy.”

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In the 13 years since Uber’s rideshare platform debuted in San Francisco, the company has expanded into food and package delivery as well as freight transportation. While not without controversy over issues like rider safety and employment status of its drivers, Uber serves over 10,000 markets in over 70 countries worldwide — including tourist hot spots like Spain and Greece, where it also provides water transportation services to vacationers.

Uber has more than recovered from the pandemic era, which saw share prices drop to as low as $20.35. Shares are up 29.93% year to date and over 86% for the year. Of 51 analysts watching the stock, 10 rate it a “strong buy,” 35 rate it a “buy” and six recommend holding. The 12-month price target is $88.90, about 10% higher than the Oct. 22 closing price of $80.41.

To measure stock performance, analysts and investors should take into account the stock’s potential and ability to increase its shareholders’ wealth during an estimated period. Here are some of the best-performing stocks to keep an eye on.

Chipmaker Nvidia performed well in 2023, more than doubling its total revenue from the quarter ended on Jan. 31, 2022, to the quarter ended on Jan. 31, 2023. Diluted earnings per share grew from $1.74 to $11.93 over the same period. Shares are up 233.49% over the past year.

Some analysts believe the stock has gone about as high as it’s going to, but the consensus rating is “moderate buy,” according to MarketBeat. Additionally, a long list of investment houses maintained or reiterated “overweight,” “outperform,” “buy” and “strong buy” ratings in October.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is already a market leader in search, cloud computing and online advertising, and it promises to play a similar role in artificial intelligence. While shares were slow to recover from market declines in 2022, they’ve mostly trended upward ever since and are currently trading near all-time highs. They seem poised for further gains despite challenges like competition from Microsoft in the rapidly developing generative AI industry.

Thirty-eight out of 43 analysts rate GOOGL a “strong buy” or “buy” with a price target of $200.20. Shares closed at $165.14 on Oct. 22.

While Meta’s investment in the metaverse hasn’t paid off yet, a push to position itself at the forefront of artificial intelligence is coming on the heels of major cost-cutting measures, including the elimination of 21,000 employees.

Meta stock trended upward for roughly 18 months before dipping in April, and it’s again on the rise. A few analysts rate the stock a “hold” or “sell,” but 60 of the 68 polled by Yahoo Finance call it a “buy” (39) or “strong buy” (21). Zacks rates it a “buy” and gives it an “B” for growth.

When considering stocks, value investors tend to choose those trading for less than what they’re worth. The strategy includes measuring fundamental business metrics against the stock price with the hopes the price will rise alongside the company’s worth. Here are some of the best value stocks for 2024.

It might seem counterintuitive that the world’s most expensive stock could be considered a good value, but consider this: Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company for businesses representing dozens of brands in industries as diverse as insurance, freight rail transportation, utilities, furniture, confections, batteries and recreational vehicles, to name a few, and it’s helmed by one of the world’s most successful value investors.

Diversified earnings and excellent management bode well for patient investors. Plus, Berkshire Hathaway is flush with cash it can use to gobble up growth stocks and buy back shares.

Berkshire Hathaway shares are up over 27% since the beginning of the year. Of course, most will still have to buy a fractional share of the stock, which closed at $692,600 on Oct. 22, or pick up budget-priced Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway for about $461.45.

JD.com Inc. describes itself as a “technology and services enterprise with supply chain at its core.” With over 1,600 warehouses, the Chinese company is involved in industries spanning retail, healthcare, property development, insurance and more.

JD.com has beaten consensus earnings predictions for at least the last four quarters. Share prices are up 64.13% compared to a year ago, analysts think the stock is undervalued. Of 37 analysts polled by Yahoo Finance, 32 rate it a “buy” or “strong buy.” Shares are currently trading at just 14.09 times earnings.

Formerly known as Wyndham Destinations, Travel + Leisure is a hospitality products and services company that operates vacation ownership and travel and membership segments in the U.S. and internationally. The company has benefited from the return to travel, with vacation ownership making an especially strong showing.

In its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release for 2023, Travel + Leisure reported 5% revenue growth year over year, thanks to strong performance in vacation ownership, the company’s core business. The strong performance has continued in 2024, with TNL beating analyst forecasts for revenue, net income and earnings. The board recently approved a 50-cent dividend increase.

Of 12 analysts polled by Yahoo Finance, five rate the stock a “buy” and three rate it a “strong buy.” The average price target is $52, about 14% above the Oct. 22 closing price of $45.44. TNL pays a 4.40% dividend and has a low 8.61 price-earnings ratio that suggests the stock is significantly undervalued.

This company’s stock faltered last year but regained its traction in the first quarter of 2024 — a trend that was bolstered by a full-year earnings surprise for 2023. Earnings surpassed estimates again in Q1 and Q2, prompting Devon to increase its annual production guidance in each of those quarters’ earnings announcements.

Of 32 analysts who watch the stock, 23 rate it a “buy” or “strong buy” and nine recommend holding. Devon pays a $2.00 dividend yielding 4.99% and has a low 7.11 P/E ratio. Shares could be undervalued, considering the $52.06 price target, according to Yahoo Finance, with the current price hovering below $40.

The stock market is in constant evolution, and those looking to invest need to pay close attention to its frequent ups and downs. When looking to invest in new stocks and diversify your portfolio, do your research and evaluate what’s best for you in the long run.

The guide above is meant to give you some insight into some of the best options in the stock market nowadays. Be aware that these conditions may vary over time.

Experts recommend investing in stocks over bonds if your goal is growth and you have a strong appetite for risk. Although stocks are more volatile than bonds, historically, they have produced larger long-term gains. If investing in individual stocks is too risky for you, consider a mutual fund that invests in a basket of growth stocks.

John Csiszar and Daniela Rivera-Herrera contributed to the reporting for this article.

Data was compiled on Oct. 23, 2024, and is subject to change. Information on analyst ratings was sourced from Yahoo Finance and MarketBeat unless otherwise indicated.

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