The stock market in 2023 is like night and day compared to last year. After rallying sharply from last September’s low points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are each up over 20% so far this year. Investors diving into strong buy stocks pushed the indices to near record levels again.
Admittedly now might not seem an appropriate time to load up on stocks. Valuations are high, discounts are few and the chance to maximize returns is limited.
But limited doesn’t mean none. Careful investors can still find opportunities that offer value and growth potential. So long as you don’t need the investment money to pay the bills or cover emergencies, the following three companies are top stocks to buy now.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY)
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) is riding high. Owning a well-diversified portfolio of brands, the world’s largest luxury brand continues to shrug off the effects of inflation and a turbulent economic environment. The affluent seemingly have little problem spending through adversity.
LVMH owns 75 “houses” holding 60 different brands. Their vast reach includes wine and spirits, fashion, leather goods, cosmetics, perfumes, watches and jewelry. Its brands are a who’s who in haute couture, such as Dior, Fendi, Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton and more. High end wine and spirits brands include Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon and Hennessy.
Euromonitor International says consumers are less interested in luxury experiences and cars than they are in “personal luxury goods and luxury alcoholic drinks.” That bodes well for LVMH’s future growth.
Wall Street agrees. Analysts tag LVMH with a buy rating and forecast over 350% upside in its stock price over the coming year. They see earnings growing almost 11% this year.
The top 5% of uber-luxury spenders that comprise LVMH’s customer base represent 40% of global luxury sales. Being so insulated from the real world, they continue to buy with aplomb. For LVMH investors, that makes its stock one to load up on.
Novo Nordisk (NVO)
There seems no chance the stock of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) will slim down in the future. The outsized demand for its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy shows no signs of ending.
Initially a diabetes treatment, the drugs were found to have a major impact on obesity and became hugely popular among the wealthy and with social media influencers. There was so much demand that diabetics actually have difficulty obtaining the drugs.
Novo Nordisk is the dominant provider of glycogen-like peptide-1 therapies. They treat diabetes and obesity with a 65% share of the market. Ozempic is the top treatment with a 44% share. Sales of obesity care treatments surged 124% in the first quarter driven by the relaunch of Wegovy in the U.S.
Novo Nordisk stock is up 16% in 2023 and over 37% higher in the past year. Yet analysts think there is still more room to run with as they have set a one-year price target of $383 per share. That’s 147% above where the stock sits now.
The pharmaceutical company is employing third-party manufacturers to help meet demand for its obesity drugs. That means the runway for growth looks like it will extend far beyond the next 12 months. Novo Nordisk looks to easily be a strong buy stock.
T-Mobile US (TMUS)
You don’t have to shoot for the moon to earn market-beating returns. While T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) doesn’t carry the eye-popping expectations of LVMH or Novo Nordisk, the 35% upside Wall Street predicts would sit well with every investor.
It should also have a longer run than just one year. Analysts forecast T-Mobile will grow earnings at a compounded annual rate of 68%. That’s far better than either AT&T (NYSE:T) or Verizon (NYSE:VZ), both of which are expected to see earnings contract going forward.
Customers seem to like T-Mobile too. It added 299,000 net new postpaid accounts in the first quarter. That’s the best in the industry. Same with prepaid accounts, which grew by 1.6 million.
Even better postpaid churn was just 0.77%. That’s also the best in the industry and is a record low. The importance of this achievement can’t be overstated.
By having such low turnover, T-Mobile increases the lifetime value of each customer. That will benefit T-Mobile’s bottom line going forward.
T-Mobile trades at just 13 times next year’s earnings estimates and just a tiny fraction of its expected earnings growth rate. This is a top stock to buy today.
On the date of publication, Rich Duprey held a LONG position in T stock. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
