Bank of America said many buy-rated stocks still have plenty of room to run. The company said these companies are must-holds heading into the final weeks of 2024. Citi analyst Ebrahim Poonawala recently said not to take any chances with the banking giant. “In the wake of Trump’s victory, investors viewed Citi as riskier globally relative to peers, which also appears to have hurt Citi’s stock performance (correctly, in our view),” however, the investment bank said , this stock is worth buying. Poonawalla said he believes there will be a series of positive catalysts in the coming months as the incoming Trump administration could be a boon for the stock. “Our expectations for a more balanced/predictable regulatory environment should have a significant positive impact on Citigroup…” he wrote. Poonawalla also raised his price target on the stock to “It’s time to take another look at Citi,” he said succinctly. Don’t get too hung up on shares of the management consulting group and government contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton analyst Mariana Perez Mora said in a recent note to clients. “We believe BAH is at the forefront of enabling cyber and artificial intelligence implementation to meet the increasingly complex mission requirements of a variety of government customers,” she wrote. Perez-Mora said Boz remains well-positioned because “A technology-driven workforce drives the growth of defense, Intel and civilian” industries. The company acknowledged that investors remain concerned about the company’s profit margins following its latest earnings report. However, with cost controls and recruiting rebounding, those concerns now look overblown. “Given the high-quality work that BAH continues to produce, we expect to continue to maintain strong margins,” she said. Meanwhile, Booz’s stock was “full steam ahead: civil, intelligence, defense,” she continued. Affirm Affirm’s “fundamentals are firing on all cylinders,” the company wrote of the fintech payments platform. Analyst Jason Kupferberg said the company has plenty of growth catalysts in the coming months and enjoys “scarcity value” as the only publicly traded buy now, pay later company. “We believe BNPL (buy now, pay later)’s value proposition to consumers and merchants remains strong, and expect BNPL to continue to capture share in the broader e-commerce market,” he wrote. Kupferberg also praised The company’s differentiated products and strong relationships with many major U.S. merchants. Additionally, the company believes Affirm can thrive if interest rates fall and is a beneficiary of a loose regulatory environment. “Given these dynamics, we see upside potential in our near-term forecasts. Citi “It’s time to re-examine Citi. ….Investors believe (correctly, in our view) that Citi is performing well relative to its peers on a global basis.” Risks are higher, which also appears to be hurting stock performance post-Trump. ….Our expectations for a more balanced/predictable regulatory environment should have a significant positive impact on Citigroup…”We believe BAH is in a good position. Supporting the cutting edge of cyber and artificial intelligence implementation to meet the increasingly complex mission requirements of a variety of government customers. …We expect continued strong profits given BAH’s continued high-quality work… Full Speed Ahead: Civilian, Intelligence. , Defense. Confirming that “fundamentals are firing on all cylinders… Given these dynamics, we see upside potential in near-term estimates… Scarcity value coupled with new growth catalysts… We believe BNPL’s value proposition remains strong for both consumers and merchants and expect BNPL to ServiceNow continues to gain share in the broader e-commerce market. Reiterate Buy/Top Pick. The growth business is firing on all cylinders. Solid execution and end customer demand across the broad ServiceNow suite of applications drove another strong quarter of growth and improvement. . . . Impressive incremental growth is also on the horizon. Newer customer and employee workflow products have achieved sustainable growth in key growth areas, demonstrating ServiceNow’s success in resonating with today’s and long-term customers. Make the right investment in the category.
