Today's stock picks by Michael Hakes - CFA, MBA and The Weekly Buzzing Stocks by Billy Kawasaki are OAK-N, TK-N, BA-N, UNH-N, ACN-N, LVMUY-OTC.
Consulting on new technology rollouts globally for small, medium, and large businesses. Companies are going to need a lot of help implementing generative AI processes. This name is in the sweet spot for that revenue. Companies have to do this or be left behind. Yield is 1.9%.
(Analysts’ price target is $354.04)Behemoth and benchmark in luxury goods. Stock's been weak as consumers have pulled back globally, especially in China and US. Historically over all these cycles, their brands have performed very well. ROIC is very high, and can be sustained even through weak times. Very cheap at 17x PE. Growth is probably 0% this year, but once tariffs come through it will be bullish for the global luxury market.
With so many brands under one banner, very flexible in terms of allocating capital and marketing support to one brand or another. (Price target in euros.) Yield is 2.6%.
He likes to point out that he and his team are research analysts, not portfolio managers. So his "picks" are actually "research highlights" that have come up in his work.
This ETF bubbled to the top of his screen when researching which sectors were less exposed to US revenue sources. Staples are already a bit recession-proof, and this is Canada-focused. Feeds into the narrative of self-sufficiency. ETF fee on this one has been waived until the end of the year.
Can act as a diversifier, moving differently from stocks and bonds in your portfolio. A simple product. Global markets are worried about the trade war, and gold is behaving exactly as it should in that situation. Currency hedged, so it outperformed recently when the USD fell suddenly but the CAD jumped by 5%. One of the cheaper gold bullion ETFs, with a MER ~17-20 bps.
Wait a bit before jumping in. Use a small position, and keep rebalancing.
Developed markets outside NA. Most investors are not diversified enough outside the US and Canada. International markets are on a bit of a tear YTD, up ~14%. Valuations are cheaper in these markets, greater shareholder returns via dividends and buybacks. Soft US dollar helps international markets. MER is 0.70%.
"The AMZN of Latin America", without the cloud business. Largest online e-commerce and payments ecosystem in the region, active in 18 countries. Valuation's not all that bad. The fintech arm is growing faster than the e-commerce side. Shares trending higher since mid-2022. EPS growth rate forecast at 35%. One of the top EM growth stories out there. No dividend.
(Analysts’ price target is $2535.46)Reliable name. Vast network, trusted brand, unmatched scale. Move from cash to digital payments. Consumer spending remains pretty solid in US. Cross-border transactions remain strong. Pretty capital light, which means very strong free cashflows. About 13% annual growth rate, paying a slight premium for the name.
Recently bounced off 200-day MA very nicely, so it's a pretty good technical setup going forward. Yield is 0.68%.
According to Michael Hakes - CFA, MBA and The Weekly Buzzing Stocks by Billy Kawasaki, the best stocks to buy today are OAK-N, TK-N, BA-N, UNH-N, ACN-N, LVMUY-OTC.
Historical bastion of consistency. Last quarter it became inconsistent, with a 12% guidance down on EPS because utilization rates went up (they were unable, for some reason, to calculate this accurately). Just a small improvement in these metrics will boost the stock. 20 years of excellent execution, so this hiccup is a great time to buy. Yield is 2.2%.
(Analysts’ price target is $536.65)