MarketBeat Premium Reports

By Thomas Hughes

By MarketBeat Staff

The only thing that can be certain about the 2024 election cycle is another year of mudslinging and rancor among parties. What this means for investors is another year with potentially high volatility and uncertainty in the stock market. The only way to avoid the hassle is to be out of the market, which isn’t viable. Where should investors put their money?

The best option is to pick a diversified portfolio of stocks known to do well following an election. Some sectors, such as housing, healthcare and energy, are supported by both sides of the aisle in one form or another and produce consistent returns over time. After all, that is the goal of investing: making consistent returns over time, which means targeting high-quality names and buying them when they present value.

Past performance is never a guarantee of success because it is impossible to untangle the web of cause and effect that drives the equity market. Targeting stocks with a solid performance history can mitigate volatility and provide a lever for portfolio returns once the election ends, but it is no guarantee of investment gains. Choosing the highest quality names that produce positive cash flow and pay dividends will help ensure success.

MarketBeat's team of analysts have made a list of these stocks that income-oriented investors may want to consider in a special report titled "7 Stocks to Own Before the 2024 Election." Click the link below to get your copy.

By Thomas Hughes

By Thomas Hughes

The short-sellers are making headlines left and right and for more reasons than one. If the news isn’t spotlighting a new short-sell report it’s a major short-squeeze getting the attention. The takeaways for traders are that short-action and the gains that can come with it have never been hotter.

The problem is that it’s very hard to know which stocks to short because shorting is more than just fundamentals or technicals. There is an element of luck, a 6th sense almost, that can’t be denied and not everyone has it. Besides, it takes a lot of guts to go against the grain and short sell a stock. Just because a would-be short-seller sees no value in a highly-valued stock doesn’t mean the market will agree with them when the news leaks out.

Even if you do know which stock to short there’s a new risk in town. Crowd-sourced investment groups are targeting high-short interest stocks and sparking major short-squeezes, the kind that turns billionaires into paupers, and making it very risky if not impossible for average investors to profit from short-selling. That’s why leaving shorting to the professional is a good idea but there are still ways for average investors to profit from the short market.

In the report, Thomas Hughes covers what is short-selling, what is the short-squeeze, and how you can profit from them.

By MarketBeat Staff

In 2024, focusing on value, opportunity, and dividends will be crucial due to the potential market correction. If the correction doesn't occur, sideways index movement is likely. The S&P 500 may produce flat or modest returns. Investors seeking maximum returns should pay attention to technical chart analysis, value, yield, and beta. Stocks at significant support levels offer reliable opportunities, especially those with low beta, which are more resilient in downturns.

Opportunity lies in keeping cash on hand to exploit price dips, invest in undervalued assets, and benefit from dividends. This strategy can reduce the overall cost basis and enhance total returns.

In this report, Thomas Hughes covers the precise sectors and stocks that investors should be watching, which are ready to outperform the broad market, and why you should start investing in them today.

By MarketBeat Staff

By MarketBeat Staff

By MarketBeat Staff

There are more than 7,000 publicly traded companies across the globe, which are covered by more than 400 different brokerages. Each trading day, brokerages collectively issue more than 500 research notes on any number of stocks. Our daily newsletters, MarketBeat Daily and MarketBeat Daily Premium, provide nearly comprehensive coverage on equities research changes on a daily basis.

Learn how to evaluate a stock based on what equities research analysts are saying about it. We provide a list of which brokerages offer the most accurate twelve month price targets and which brokerages' recommendations have historically resulted in the highest 7-day, 30-day and 365-day ROI.

Review our list of which companies have received the highest average ratings from equities research analysts and learn the ratings systems used by more than 150 of the top equities research firms. Get access to dozens of additional resources that will help broaden your knowledge of equities research.

This is our forty-five page investment guide that provides a basic education for making trades using equities research data.

By MarketBeat Staff

After the end of the pandemic, many investors thought the stock market could do no wrong. There were unprecedented levels of government spending. Borrowing money was basically free. Public companies were seeing massive growth and record profits. The stock market could do no wrong.

When interest rates started to rise and government stimulus dried up, the stock market had a wakeup call in 2022 and 2023. We were returning to a more normal economic environment and many thought that a recession was just around the corner. While the market did slow down for a while, the economy never stopped growing despite the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, and political strife. 

The economy has been very resilient for the last few years, but this trend won't last forever. At some point another deep recession will come, like the Great Recession in 2008, and it will likely be caused by something we haven't even foreseen yet. After all, who thought the world would need to shut down due to a global pandemic? And who thought Russia would invade Ukraine?

While we don't know when the next recession will occur, it's good to have a balanced basket of stocks in your portfolio. Yes, you want some growth stocks in your portfolio, but you also want some defensive plays that will thrive during recessionary times. We have learned there are several stocks that have a history of performing well even when the economy does not.

In this special report, we have identified ten companies who are well positioned to help your portfolio not only survive, but thrive, when the stock market does take its inevitable tumble.

By MarketBeat Staff

By Thomas Hughes

So, you’re interested in pot stocks. Let us assure you, it’s an interesting and potentially profitable field of investment but not one without dangers.

To begin with, there are two cannabis markets to be aware of. On the one hand, you have Canada where Cannabis is legal, and cannabis companies operate without fear of government intervention. On the other hand, there is the U.S., where cannabis is still Federally illegal, making operations a bit dicier.

And that’s just the surface layers. When you get below the canopy layer you find two distinct divisions that have a profound impact on operations and profitability. Recreational and medical use. Both recreational and medical use is legal throughout Canada but once again there are hurdles to both in the U.S.

In the report, Thomas Hughes covers both the U.S. and Canadian pot market, that state of local and federal laws, strategies for investing, and why you should care about pot stocks.

By MarketBeat Staff

By Thomas Hughes

By Thomas Hughes

The electric vehicle market is no longer a niche market. What was once just a nod to the green movement is now the driving force of the automotive industry and is still a double-digit growth opportunity for investors.

Think about it; sales of ICE vehicles have rebounded from the 2020 to 2021 lows but remain well below the pre-pandemic level, while EV sales are growing by high-double-digits.

However, investors should be cautious. This is a shift in technology we're talking about, not a new growth market, which is why it is such a tough environment to invest in. The new tech may be hot, but the long-time OEMs are in the best position to win over the long term.

A secular shift is driving the strength of the market. The shift is away from ICE and fossil fuels into sustainable technology. That includes EV vehicles of all varieties but ultimately is a technological shift, not a new industry, so profitability matters more than growth. The major OEMs are already in place and in the best position to produce EVs at scale and show a profit.

In this free report, MarketBeat analyst Thomas Hughes covers the regulations around EV, who's who in the industry, and all about battery technology. Click the link below to get your free copy.

By Thomas Hughes

By Chris Markoch

The growth of defined contribution plans (e.g. 401(k) plans) is allowing many Americans to be more prepared for retirement than ever before. Approximately 50% of Americans participate in some form of retirement plan. And the next generation of retirees will be the first to rely on the income from these plans as the primary source of their retirement income.

But other statistics are more sobering. For example, the 2009 National Consumer Survey on personal finance finds that over 64% of American’s don’t think about retirement planning. And a 2019 retirement survey by GOBankingRates found that 64% of those surveyed expected to retire with less than $10,000. And of that number, 45% said they had no money set aside for retirement.

That means there’s never been a more important time for investors to have a plan. But even when individuals have a plan, they must avoid the common mistakes that can leave them short of their retirement goals.

In the report, Chris Markoch gives investors time-honored strategies to help build a solid retirement nest egg no matter where they are in the planning process.

By MarketBeat Staff

Today, we are inviting you to take a free peek at MarketBeat's proprietary, exclusive and up-to-the-minute list of 7 Energy Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever.

These stocks have had solid earnings for decades and continue to have incredible long-term prospects.

Many of these companies might appear to be nothing special at first glance. Others might be names you had heard of before and decided to pass on, but financials don't lie.

The companies on this list print billions of dollars of cash each year in profit and show no sign of slowing down.

On average, they pay dividend yields of 4% per year and one of them has a track record of growing its annual dividend for 30 consecutive years.

If you haven't given these energy companies strong consideration for your portfolio, now is the time to take a look.

By Thomas Hughes

By Thomas Hughes

The metaverse has been one of the hottest buzzwords among investors. But what is the metaverse? And is it a real opportunity, or just the latest flavor of the month? That’s a hard question to answer.

Recently, a group of technology company executives were asked what the metaverse was. They had vastly different responses that show that there is no single definition.

Right now, the metaverse can be thought of as the next generation of the internet. For many, that future means persistent digital worlds that users can enter and interact with using an avatar.

Today that is playing out (no pun intended) in the gaming sector. The very popular World of Warcraft allows players to come and go from the digital space. And while they’re “inside the game” they can interact with each other and even engage in commerce.

While the metaverse is still largely undefined, there are great investment opportunities to take advantage of the Internet of the future.  Beyond META and NVIDIA, there are several small public companies working on inventing the metaverse and the next iterations of the Internet.

MarketBeat analyst Thomas Hughes discusses these companies in the free report linked below.

By Thomas Hughes

Retirement. The act of retiring. Withdrawing from one’s chosen profession and/or active working life. The end of income. Or is it? Retirement can mean many things for many people but what it doesn’t have to mean is an end to your income.

Yes, with retirement, you’ll probably stop actively earning, but that doesn’t mean you start spending what you’ve saved. In that frame of reference, your retirement savings could vanish in the blink of a few years, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A portfolio of retirement stocks can mean steady, stable, income throughout your retirement years.

The goal of owning retirement stocks is to grow your capital to a point it generates enough income to sustain a comfortable standard of living in retirement. That usually means dividends but don’t be fooled. A portfolio of stocks you might want to own during retirement is not necessarily the one you want to own in preparation for retirement. When preparing for retirement, investors tend to take on a little more risk sacrificing safety for potential gains. A retiree is more interested in steady dividend returns than risking capital and may choose to own different stocks.

In the report, Thomas Hughes covers different types of retirement stocks, the value of dividend growth stocks, retirement saving strategies, and why you should care about your retirement investments every day.

By MarketBeat Staff

By Thomas Hughes

At any given time, even experienced investors have questions about what stocks to buy. This is particularly true for beginners. Many beginning investors know that a long-term plan to build wealth has to include stocks. But it can be easy to fall into the trap of “analysis paralysis” or the trap of that comes from the fear of missing out (FOMO). Both of these mistakes can seriously impact the ability to achieve your financial goals.

A properly balanced portfolio requires diversification. A good way of thinking about diversification is like a restaurant menu. Investors want to choose some stocks from every part of the menu. Value stocks, growth stocks, stocks that offer growth and value, and dividend stocks are just a few sectors that should be in your portfolio.

And that still leaves room for a few desserts. For example, the metaverse is one of the hottest new sectors. But while the sector itself carries significant risk, there are some safe stocks that you can buy now and own for the long haul.

In the report, Thomas Hughes walks investors through several distinct categories of stocks. When you finish reading the report, you’ll have 10 stocks that can form the base of a diversified portfolio.

By MarketBeat Staff