Investors are fortunate to have access to a universe of stocks that they can buy or sell at any given time. Sometimes, however, limiting your options can be a powerful exercise. It can force you to compare one name to another, or force you to decide if now's the time to be buying anything. Doing this can dramatically -- and helpfully -- shrink the number of stocks on your radar.
Here's a rundown of the only three stocks I'd consider stepping into before the end of 2024. It's no coincidence that each ticker is currently down from its respective highs, either. Shares of these great companies are even more compelling when priced at a discount.
1. The Coca-Cola Company
It's been a tough past three months for shareholders of The Coca-Cola Company(NYSE: KO). The company sold 1% fewer cases of drinks last quarter than it did during the same quarter a year earlier, mostly because people are balking at recent price increases. The stock's subsequently down 14% from September's peak -- and that's a lot for this particular consumer goods ticker.
This rare, oversized pullback is a buying opportunity for anyone who can see the bigger picture for the beverage giant, however. Given enough time, things will be fine.
You're certainly familiar with the company's namesake cola, but it offers so much more than that. Minute Maid juices, Gold Peak tea, Dasani water, and Powerade sports drink (just to name a few) are all part of the Coca-Cola family. It's got something to meet consumers' ever-changing beverage preferences.
This obviously doesn't mean every quarter is a winner. Give it time, though. It's a steady grower and a reliable earnings engine. Not only has Coca-Cola been able to pay a quarterly dividend for decades now, it's been able to raise its annualized dividend in each of the past 62 years. This continued growth is also a testament to the company's advertising savvy, along with its brands' enduring marketability.
In many ways, The Coca-Cola Company's ongoing success is the result of its sheer dominance of its markets, which has successfully woven many of its brands into the fabric of our culture.
It may never be a high-growth name, to be clear. It's an unstoppable slow-growth company, however. Between Coke stock's long-term price progress and continued dividend growth, this ticker's turning plenty of patient investors into millionaires. The tumble since September is a great opportunity to step in at a discount.
2. Uber Technologies
A decade ago, the idea of a company hiring a bunch of strangers to use their own cars to ferry other strangers from point A to point B seemed outrageous. Now ride-hailing is commonplace. Just last quarter, Uber Technologies' (NYSE: UBER) drivers gave 161 million rides, turning that into $11.2 billion in revenue. That's up 13% and 22% (respectively) year over year, extending a well-established growth streak.
More of the same is in the cards, too. Analysts say market-leading Uber's top line is on pace to improve 17% this year, en route to nearly 16% growth next year.
That's still just the beginning. The longer Uber -- along with its rival Lyft -- are around, the more mainstream ride-hailing becomes. Straits Research believes the global ride-hailing market is set to grow by more than 11% per year through 2032, in fact, with Uber's all-important North American market accounting for much of this growth. Same-day logistics and food delivery are also now big growth engines. Uber's delivery business grew 16% during the quarter ending in September.
None of these are the core reason you'll want to buy Uber while shares are down nearly 30% from October's high, however. Far more bullish is the fact that Uber is now consistently profitable, and increasingly so. Last year's bottom line of $0.87 per share is expected to improve to $1.89 this year, en route to earnings of $2.31 per share next year. The business model's viability is more than proven enough. It could continue successfully scaling up for years.
The kicker: The analyst community's current consensus target of $90.89 is 50% above the stock's present price. The vast majority of them also rate Uber stock a strong buy right now. They're not only undeterred by the stock's recent weakness, they're viewing it as an opportunity.
3. Iovance Biotherapeutics
Finally, add Iovance Biotherapeutics(NASDAQ: IOVA) to your list of stocks to buy in the last month of 2024. It's not a household name -- at least, not yet. But 2025 could be the year this company moves into the spotlight, pushing its stock higher as a result.
Just as its name suggests, Iovance is a biopharma company. Its flagship drug is a skin cancer treatment called Amtagvi. Like many other biopharma stocks of its ilk, this one's been ebbing and flowing ever since the therapy first started showing promise years ago, well before it won its first FDA approval in February of this year.
The problem? By the time that long-anticipated approval materialized, investors had lost interest. Shares are down more than 50% from that news-driven February peak, and knocking on the door of a new 52-week low.
You can use this unlikely disconnect between the drug's developmental progress and Iovance stock by stepping into a new position when the company's growth prospects have never been more promising.
Iovance's expected revenue of between $160 million and $165 million for the fiscal year ending this month is expected to roll in at somewhere between $450 million and $475 million in the coming year. Most of that growth will come from Amtagvi, one of only two drugs the company makes and markets. While this still won't drag Iovance Biotherapeutics out of the red and into the black, it does put the company on pace to swing to a profit in 2027. And as veteran investors can attest, sometimes progress toward profitability is enough in and of itself in the meantime.
There's still above-average risk here, to be sure. But cancer-fighting Amtagvi is the real deal with real potential. Although it's only approved for one use right now, it's currently being tested in 12 other drug trials. Investment research outfit GlobalData says enough of these trials will pan out to potentially produce annual revenue in excess of $1 billion by 2030. A bunch of other investors could finally start to see and believe in this possibility beginning in the coming year, as Iovance reports a few more quarters of strong growth.
Should you invest $1,000 in Coca-Cola right now?
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James Brumley has positions in Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Iovance Biotherapeutics and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
