• Upwork (UPWK): It’s really as simple as Americans have to get back to work.
• Lyft (LYFT): Normalization of society makes LYFT one of the hot stocks to buy in April.
• Chevron (CVX): Combined with normalization and resumption of commercial activity, CVX appears a solid buy.
• Barrick Gold (GOLD): Lack of political will to address money stock problem could bode well for GOLD stock.
• Sempra Energy (SRE): Generating plenty of controversy for spiking utility bills, SRE customers can and will pay.
• Raytheon Technologies (RTX): Deadly effectiveness of its products is a cynical showpiece for RTX stock.
• JinkoSolar (JKS): Energy resilience is back in the news, boding well for JinkoSolar.

Following the disastrous intrusion of the coronavirus pandemic, billions across the world looked to the new year with some semblance of optimism. With Covid-19 cases declining and with various communities acclimating to the crisis, the framework turned to one of recovery. However, the geopolitical flashpoint in eastern Europe reminded us that we’ve got a long ways to go. Still, the unusual backdrop bolsters certain hot stocks to buy.

Although Russia’s decision to upset the modern global order was a distraction of choice that no rational person wanted, it’s only fair to point out that conditions were unusual prior to the escalation of geopolitical tensions. For instance, the onset of Covid-19 forced a response by the U.S. government, which in turn created an environment that fundamentally lifted certain hot stocks to buy over others.

To be clear, investors should be leery about recession risks. Primarily, the disruption of Covid-19 contributed to the Federal Reserve dramatically expanding the money stock, causing severe inflation that other subsequent events — such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine — have only exacerbated. Therefore, you should take the below ideas of hot stocks to buy with a grain of salt.

Nevertheless, because of the unusual circumstances, some investment ideas stand out — if you’re willing to tolerate the potential of volatility. With that, here are a few ideas to consider for hot stocks to buy in April.

UPWK	Upwork Inc	$22.60
LYFT	Lyft Inc	$36.08
CVX	Chevron Corporation	$164.81
GOLD	Barrack Gold Corp	$24.61
SRE	Sempra Energy	$168.33
RTX	Raytheon Technologies Corp	$98.46
JKS	JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd	$48.76

Hot Stocks to Buy: Upwork (UPWK)

Billed as the world’s work marketplace, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) has become a fortuitously ingenious concept. By bringing together independent contractors with business enterprises that need temporary solutions without the overhead of full-time employment contracts, Upwork is perhaps the quintessential investment among hot stocks to buy in the new normal.

As the New York Times revealed early in the global health crisis, the pivot to remote operations presented both a blessing and a curse. By and large, American white-collar workers appreciated the work-life balance that telecommuting provided – probably because many weren’t working at all. Don’t believe me? Just consider the “unprecedented increase” of what I’ll diplomatically refer to as “alternative activities.”

However, my gut feeing is that as society normalizes, employers will wise up to various categories of alternative activities, including no activities at all. Therefore, those that want to maintain the telecommuting lifestyle will need to branch out on their own, which cynically bodes well for UPWK as one of the hot stocks to buy in April.

Lyft (LYFT)

When the pandemic initially upturned American society, the impact was particularly devastating for ride-sharing firms like Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT). If you think about it, high-contact service providers had to respond to the crisis on the fly. Of course, not too many folks were comfortable being around strangers during the early Covid days, leading to significant lost opportunities.

To mitigate the sudden downturn, Lyft began branching out to other avenues, such as food and medical supply deliveries. While a mass-scale example of turning lemons into lemonade, the transition didn’t prevent the damage that was inevitably coming. In 2020, Lyft generated revenue of nearly $2.4 billion, which was down almost 35% against 2019’s tally of $3.6 billion.

The company is still very much in recovery mode. On a trailing-12-month basis, Lyft is looking at $3.2 billion in sales. However, given high-level statistics such as vehicle miles traveled, it’s apparent that Americans are losing their fear of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If so, LYFT could become one of the hot stocks to buy in April.

Chevron (CVX)

On paper, the sharp rise in crude oil prices – caused by inflation and worsened by Russia’s geopolitical “adventurism” – would seem a double-edged sword for Chevron (NYSE:CVX). On one hand, as a giant among big oil firms, Chevron is sitting pretty as one of the most relevant hot stocks to buy in April.

But on the other hand, the onerous cost of gassing up a combustion-powered car naturally supports the case for electric vehicles. True, utility bills are going up because of the unusual dynamics of the new normal. However, it’s much cheaper overall to charge an EV. As well, fewer moving parts means that EVs – all other things being equal – require less maintenance.

Still, here’s why CVX is still one of the hot stocks to buy this month and perhaps for the rest of this year. While EVs are more attractive, that doesn’t help consumers if they didn’t already own them. While the average cost of a new combustion car breached the $47,000 mark, the average cost for a new EV is now slightly above $60,000.

That’s just not sustainable for the average household, which is why CVX is still a buy.

Hot Stocks to Buy: Barrick Gold (GOLD)

Historically, precious metals-related companies made for hot stocks to buy during periods of uncertainty. Therefore, it wasn’t particularly shocking that following an early correction from the initial onslaught of Covid-19, mining giant Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) swung up higher.

However, between September 2020 through the early weeks of this year, Barrick struggled for traction. While precious resources tend to rise because of the fear trade, as people acclimated to the pandemic, the focus shifted not on damage mitigation but on an economic recovery. But then, the outbreak of violence in eastern Europe may have shifted the narrative back toward mitigation.

Part of the problem is that government stimulus intended to bolster the economy after the impact of Covid-19 significantly expanded the money stock. Today, the Fed seems unwilling to do what is necessary, implementing policies to bring this expansion under control. Likely, this means that stifling inflation could be with us for a while, cynically boosting the case for GOLD stock.

Sempra Energy (SRE)

Though utility firms like Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) are absolutely vital in the proper functioning of a modern society, they don’t always lend themselves to positive sentiment among their customers. Not too long ago, Sempra earned profits of $1.25 billion in 2021 – and $604 million alone was earned during the fourth quarter. That has aroused suspicions regarding utility bill spikes.

Per Kevin Kilpatrick, a California State University, San Marcos professor, “The 25% increase in the wholesale price of gas doesn’t seem to affect the executive salaries of [Sempra subsidiary] SDG&E, who has 20 vice presidents all making six-figure incomes.”

He added, “And it certainly isn’t hurting the executive compensation packages for Sempra Energy, and that just enrages me.” Indeed.

But the problem is that southern Californians have little choice but to pay the sharp rise in utility services. Unfortunately, it’s just part of the tax associated with life in the Golden State, making SRE a very cynical idea among hot stocks to buy in April.

Raytheon Technologies (RTX)

Along with Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), defense contractor Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX) forms the other component of the joint venture responsible for the Javelin anti-tank missile. Normally, hot stocks to buy that are connected to the military industrial complex are controversial. It’s even more scandalous when the underlying products have been recently proven effective.

However, with the brave Ukrainian resistance forces showcasing the devastation of the Javelin weapons system in real time, the matter is a bit more complex. True, no one should take the loss of life lightly. Still, as the Brookings Institution stated, the invasion of Ukraine has united the American public against Russia – more specifically, Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

In other words, what we have here with RTX is an underdog story. No, Raytheon is hardly an underdog. But it’s affording a critical lifeline to Ukrainians defending their nation against a despotic vision of the world. Therefore, RTX just doesn’t have the “ickiness” factor that you would normally associate with hot stocks in the defense sector.

Hot Stocks to Buy: JinkoSolar (JKS)

One of the organic beneficiaries of the geopolitical flashpoint in eastern Europe, JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) already carried a relevant narrative prior to the conflict escalating. Billed as the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer, JKS stock is inherently tied to the broader pivot to clean and renewable energy. However, the invasion of Ukraine provided a brutal lesson: be careful with whom you do business.

Although most of the world is more or less united against Russia’s “special military operation,” this coalition has been problematic due to Europe’s dependency on the aggressor’s critical commodity inflows. While solar alone may not be enough to overcome the high energy density of hydrocarbons, it certainly provides an important source of diversification.

As well, utility costs are skyrocketing as I mentioned earlier. Since inflationary pressures might not ease up for a while, JinkoSolar could be one of the hot stocks to buy in April, if only for purely cynical reasons.

On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.