Are These The Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks To Invest In Right Now?
When it comes to answering the question of what stocks to buy today, consumer discretionary stocks could be standing out in the stock market now. For the most part, this section of the market is in an interesting spot, to say the least. On one hand, there are the latest weekly initial jobless claims to consider. The latest claims sit at 230,000, versus expectations of 200,000. On the other hand, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sees the U.S. economy withstanding rising interest rates and ‘short-lived’ effects from Omicron.
Now, what could all of this have to do with consumer discretionary stocks might you ask? Well, in essence, consumer discretionaries are cyclical stocks. This means that they often grow when the economy is doing well. Even with the jobless claims figures coming in slightly above estimates, they are still holding near pandemic-era lows. Not to mention, this is amidst a labor shortage. As such, some would consider this a sign of strength in the job market and overall economy now. Therefore, as the economic recovery takes place, most would want to jump on top names in the industry.
If anything, investors are also spoilt for choice when it comes to consumer discretionary stocks now. For instance, we could look at the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) and Enphase (NASDAQ: ENPH). For TSM, global demand for its semiconductor chips continues to drive steady growth. This is evident as the company posted solid year-over-year gains of over 21% in terms of quarterly revenue. Elsewhere, Enphase got a rosy update from Guggenheimanalyst Joseph Osha. Osha upgraded ENPH stock from a Neutral to a Buy rating. After considering all this, could one of these consumer discretionary stocks be worth watching in the stock market today?
Top Consumer Discretionary Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] In January 2022
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL)
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
- Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN)
Delta Air Lines Inc.
First up, we have Delta Air, one of the world’s oldest airlines in operation and a legacy carrier in the U.S. It is a global airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability, and customer experience. In fact, the company was named by J.D. Power & Associates as the No. 1 airline in its 2021 North American Satisfaction Study. Delta is also the first airline to commit to becoming carbon neutral on a global basis by focusing on carbon reductions and removals. DAL stock currently trades at $41.88 as of 11:12 a.m. ET.
Today, the company reported a strong quarter and showcased a strong recovery. Diving in, Delta reported an adjusted pre-tax income of $170 million for its December quarter. It also beat analyst estimates with an adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.22 on adjusted operating revenue of $8.4 billion.
Despite rising coronavirus cases associated with the Omicron variant, the company expects March quarter revenue to recover to 72% to 76% of 2019 levels. It comes as the new variant is expected to delay the demand recovery for 60 days, but the company is confident in a strong spring and summer travel season, with significant pent-up demand for consumer and business travel. This comes as Delta’s operations have stabilized over the last week and returned to pre-holiday performance. With that in mind, is DAL stock worth investing in right now?
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Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft is a consumer discretionary company that sells a wide variety of tech products and services. From one of the most popular operating systems in the world, Microsoft Windows, to its line of gaming hardware, the Xbox Series, the company is certainly a tech titan. MSFT stock currently trades at $312.56 as of 11:12 a.m. ET and is up by over 45% in the past year alone.
On Wednesday, the company announced new research and technology to empower millions of frontline workers. In detail, its Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Viva have seen exponential growth per month by frontline workers during this pandemic. The company is partnering with Zebra Technologies to deliver the Teams Walkie Talkie app on a wide range of Zebra mobile computers. This includes a push-to-talk button to access Team Walkie Talkie functionality on Zebra devices. Its Viva Learning app allows frontline employees to discover and track learning content right from Teams, making it easier for the company’s workforce to stay up to date on required training.
In November, it published an article on how medical companies like Novartis (NYSE: NVS) are searching for breakthrough medicines powered by AI. This is part of a collaboration with Microsoft to get medicines to patients faster. Through AI, the company can shorten the time taken to carry out testing and experiments from years to weeks or even days. Given this piece of information, is MSFT stock a consumer discretionary stock to add to your portfolio?
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Coinbase Global Inc.
Last but not least, we will be taking a look at Coinbase Global. To highlight, the company operates one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms worldwide. Notably, Coinbase currently serves over 73 million verified users across more than 100 countries globally. For a sense of scale, the company has $255 billion in assets on its platform. Furthermore, it also boasts a quarterly trade volume of $327 billion. Now, COIN stock currently trades at $231.26 a share as of 11:12 a.m. ET.
More importantly, Coinbase does not seem to be slowing down on the operational front anytime soon. As of today, the company is buying FairX, a crypto futures exchange. It is important to note that FairX is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In other words, it essentially sells crypto derivatives. Through the current acquisition, Coinbase is looking to bolster its portfolio with this offering. Also, the company is looking to make crypto derivatives more accessible to retail and institutional clients alike.
According to Coinbase, the development of a transparent futures market is “a critical inflection point for any asset class.” Ideally, the firm hopes that this will further incentivize participation in the overall crypto-economy. With Coinbase aggressively leading the charge in global crypto adoption trends, would you consider COIN stock a buy?
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