MarketBeat: Week in Review 1/3 – 1/7

The first week of 2022 was a mostly down week for the markets. The selloff accelerated when the Federal Reserve indicated it was likely to be more aggressive on the timing of its first interest rate increase. The market is also just beginning to digest the lackluster 199,000 jobs that were created in December. However, an increase in labor force participation as well as a historic rise in wage growth will continue to make the case for rate increases. Next week will mark the kickoff of another round of earnings reports with many of the big banks reporting late in the week. And the MarketBeat team will continue to watch over the stocks and stories that are moving markets.

Articles by Sean Sechler                                                                                                                                                                

Many economists say the economy will continue to be in a period of expansion in 2022. If that’s the case than Sean Sechler reminds investors that it will bode well for cyclical stocks. And Sechler gave investors three picks for cyclical stocks that look compelling in 2022. Not surprisingly these are among the biggest names in commodity, construction and financial stocks.

Articles by Jea Yu                                                                     

The omicron variant is shaking up the travel and leisure industry and that has continued the selloff in Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) stock. But Jea Yu points out that the company has little exposure to Macau, and for that reason along with trading near its 52-week low, makes the stock an opportunity for risk-tolerant investors. From a stock that’s near its 52-week low to a stock that’s near its 52-week high, Yu was looking at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) which Yu believes may still be considered a cheap stock despite doubling its share price in 2021. However, investors may want to wait for a pullback before adding shares. And Yu was also writing about the current consolidation in shares of Wendy’s (NYSE:WEN) stock. The company has been showing solid year-over-year growth, but that isn’t being reflected in the company’s share price yet which Yu believes makes WEN stock a buy for opportunistic investors.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

One of the best ways to look for potential opportunities is to look for stocks that are receiving upgrades from the analyst community. As Thomas Hughes writes, “…when the analyst’s sentiment is trending higher or lower it can really move price action.” With that in mind, Hughes gave investors his reasoning as to why three of the top upgraded stocks in 2021 are likely to continue that performance in 2022. And speaking of upgraded stocks in 2021, Hughes was bullish on Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) because it appears analysts may be underestimating the company’s growth potential. And Hughes was also looking at the healthcare sector and offered two healthcare stocks with double-digit upside that will continue to benefit from a growing, aging population that spends more on  healthcare.

Articles by Sam Quirke

Largely due to perceived high valuations, the tech sector has been getting particularly hard hit in the latest market sell-off. But as Sam Quirke points out, this is one time when investors can find good stocks that may be oversold and offered investors three tech stocks to buy after their current dip. Quirke was also looking at Uber (NYSE:UBER) stock which has been rallying hard in the last month. The stock is also benefiting from recent analyst upgrades. As Quirke points out, UBER stock still carries a risk premium but growth-minded investors may find it to be a good pick in 2022.

Articles by Chris Markoch

Sometimes the best way to look for stocks that are likely to outperform the market is to look at those that underperformed in the prior year. That isn’t always the case but as Chris Markoch points out there are several stocks that were knocked down at some point in 2021 that may be due for a recovery in 2022 due to having trends in their favor. Markoch was also looking at high-volatility stocks because these are the stocks that have the potential to make large price swings and set investors up for quick profits. Markoch offers three high-volatility stocks that are also benefiting from analyst upgrades.

Articles by Kate Stalter

Kate Stalter is reminding investors that growth expectations for 2022 are going to be lower than in the “easy comps” of 2021 to 2020. But growth-minded investors still have some solid picks and Stalter offered three stocks that are setting up for more growth in 2022. Stalter also turned her attention to fertilizer stocks. Despite erratic producer prices, this still appears to be a segment that will show strong growth in 2022. And Stalter offered three fertilizer stocks that should have strong revenue growth and are giving off strong technical signals. And Stalter was also writing about Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) after the company reported better-than-expected delivery numbers. That should help TSLA stock continue the momentum it built in the last quarter of 2021.

Articles by Melissa Brock

Melissa Brock acknowledges that there are a range of outcomes for the economy in 2022. With that in mind, investors are looking for sectors that will stand out.  And Brock gave readers two sectors that should be strong in 2022 regardless of how the economy performs. And speaking of 2022, Brock wrote about many of the trends that influenced the market in 2021 and cautioned investors to not expect a repeat performance in the current year. One of those trends was the rise of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). As Brock points out, many of the SPAC companies that went public are underperforming the market. With that in mind, Brock gave investors a couple of alternative investment options to consider.