If searching out over-$100 stocks to buy seems arbitrary, take a step back and consider this. It’s great to have a mix of stocks in your portfolio.
There are all sorts of sizes and flavors of stocks from which to choose, including mega-cap stocks and even small-cap stocks. So it’s understandable that when you’re looking for stocks to buy, you may sometimes miss some obvious well-priced choices that are right in front of you.
Some of the best names out there fall into the category of over-$100 stocks to buy. The average price for a stock in the S&P 500 index right now is just under $170. If you aren’t willing to pay at least three digits for a stock, you’re going to be leaving a lot of names on the bench.
I recommend using the Portfolio Grader tool to help find the best over-$100 stocks to buy. The Portfolio Grader analyzes every stock based on its momentum, earnings reports, recent performance, analyst sentiment and other factors to come up with an “A” through “F” grade.
Just as in school, you want to be looking for those “A” and “B” names – and keep the “D” and “F” stocks off your report card.
I ran these names through the Portfolio Grader and they’re at the head of the class. All of them are over-$100 stocks to buy that also provide good value.
| ENPH | Enphase Energy | $211.56 |
| IBM | IBM | $128.94 |
| INGR | Ingredion | $100.18 |
| HZNP | Horizon Therapeutics | $110.25 |
| AMGN | Amgen | $234.74 |
| MRNA | Moderna | $137.86 |
| CVX | Chevron | $162.56 |
Enphase Energy (ENPH)
California-based Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) sells microinverter-based solar storage systems. That’s an interesting place for investors right now, as the White House is pushing clean energy incentives.
Shares are about $210 each, but that’s a bargain price compared to just three months ago when ENPH stock was selling for $330. Investors appear to be concerned that demand for solar energy is softening thanks to concerns about a recession and high inflation.
It’s notable that Enphase seems to be doing just fine even in these less-than-ideal conditions. Revenue in the fourth quarter was $724.7 million, versus Wall Street’s consensus prediction of $704 million. It was much better than a year ago when ENPH posted revenue of just $412.7 million.
Clearly, the global push to go green isn’t going to go away. And once Wall Street comes back to its senses and sees that Enphase is a bargain, the stock should rebound and then some.
ENPH has an “A” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
International Business Machines (IBM)
One of the oldest and best-known names in the computer world, IBM (NYSE:IBM) may not be the top dog these days. But the company is staying relevant with its efforts with artificial intelligence, or AI.
The company is working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on an AI-focused project to examine NASA’s trove of Earth and geospatial science data.
Full-year revenue for 2022 came in at $60.5 billion, which was an increase of 6% from 2021. And the company also posted its largest annual sales increase in history during the fourth quarter.
If you need another reason to hold IBM stock, remember that it pays a quarterly dividend with a yield of 5%, that’s been growing for 29 consecutive years.
IBM stock has a “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Ingredion (INGR)
You may not be familiar with Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) but you may know about some of its products. Ingredion makes starches, non-GMO sweeteners, stevia and pea protein. Its products are used in foods, beverages, paper and even pharmaceuticals.
It claims more than 19,000 customers around the world, and its products are used in manufacturing facilities on five different continents.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.02 billion, which narrowly missed analysts’ estimates. But it still showed a strong 14.75% increase from a year ago. Earnings per share were $1.65, which was 20 cents per share better than the Street expected.
As a consumer goods stock, Ingredion is a solid performer that’s priced at just over $100. You won’t mistake it for a sexy growth stock, but this is a name that you can hold on to for a long time. INGR stock has a “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP)
I’ve been a fan of Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP) for a while now. The Ireland-based company has a market capitalization of more than $25 billion and has a solid drug pipeline to treat thyroid eye disease, inflammatory diseases, gout and rare disorders.
Its best-selling drug is Tepezza, which is approved in the U.S. to treat eye bulging and double vision and generated more than $1 billion in sales in its first year on the market.
That got a lot of attention, so not surprisingly, Horizon is in play. Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced in December that it planned to purchase Horizon in a $26.4 billion deal.
HZNP stock is up 80% in the last six months, largely due to sale rumors that were finally confirmed in December with Amgen’s announcement. If and when the sale goes through, HZNP shareholders would get $116.50 per share in the all-cash deal – so there’s still some room to buy Horizon now and lock in those gains.
HZNP stock has a “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Amgen (AMGN)
Even without the Horizon deal, I like Amgen as a solid buy and an excellent dividend stock. The California-based company has a strong pipeline of drugs on its own, including treatments for bone cancer, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
And if you are bargain shopping, then AMGN is looking really interesting here. The stock is down 10% so far in 2023 following a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report that saw year-over-year revenue slip by nearly 1%.
But there’s still a lot to like here. Its Prolia osteoporosis treatment saw sales increase 14% from a year ago. Cardiovascular drug Repatha had sales increase by 33% from a year ago.
AMGN has a “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Moderna (MRNA)
Pretty much everyone knows about Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), which was one of the leading manufacturers of a Covid-19 vaccine thanks to its messenger RNA-based approach.
The coronavirus helped push Moderna to profitability – the company began churning out a profit for the first time in the first quarter of 2021.
Sales for 2022 came in at $18.4 billion. Moderna is forecasting $5 billion this year in Covid-19 sales, primarily coming from booster shots.
Does that mean profits will fall again? I don’t think so. Even though the company’s getting less money now from its Covid-19 treatment, Moderna has 44 treatment and vaccine candidates in development. Of those, 21 are in clinical trials.
MRNA stock is on sale right now, down 24% so far in 2023. Priced at $135 per share, it has a “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Chevron (CVX)
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world. With a market capitalization of more than $300 billion, Chevron has upstream exploration and production operations in the U.S., Australia, Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Earnings for 2022 came in at $35.5 billion, a huge increase from $15.6 billion in 2021. Chevron shared the wealth by dishing out $11 billion in dividends and spending $11.25 billion in share buybacks.
Even after all that, Chevron managed to have $17.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2022, plus another $223 million in marketable securities.
Chevron stock slipped at little in the first two months of the year, down 10%, but the company is destined to bounce back stronger than ever, while still paying a dividend yield of 3.7%. CVX stock has an “B” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had a long position in ENPH and AMGN. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
