It is difficult to choose stocks that can win in volatile market conditions. The stock market experienced a sharp drop in the past week, followed by a rebound. Perhaps the worst is over, but it is possible that an even more severe correction is underway.
I could quote a very long list of stocks that should be winning in the long run. But identifying those who can defy gravity during a rocky stretch in the short term is also not so easy. There are some who can do this, however. Here are three actions that I really think will make you richer in March (and after).
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1. Alphabet
In my view, one of the best ways to find actions that must withstand a storm very well is to see which ones are already resisting. As a case in point, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) in fact, it delivered a small gain last week, while most technology stocks were sinking.
How is Alphabet doing so well? On the one hand, it is rock solid from a financial point of view. It reported nearly $ 57 billion in revenue and more than $ 15 billion in profits in the fourth quarter. The company’s cash stock is around $ 137 billion. Few companies even come close to Alphabet’s financial strength.
Investors also recognize that Alphabet’s fortunes tend to improve even more in the short term. With a light at the end of the tunnel now visible with the pandemic, the economy should recover. This is good news for Alphabet’s search platforms, which should benefit from increased advertising spending. It should also help sustain the company’s already solid business drive for Google Cloud.
In addition, Google has just launched YouTube Shorts on the American market. This new functionality competes directly with the popular TikTok video sharing application. With these short-term drivers combined with long-term opportunities, including Waymo’s self-driving car technology, I think Alphabet is likely to be a winner this month and over the next decade.
2. Business product partners
Enterprise product partners (NYSE: EPD) it is another action that went against the trend last week, with its shares rising almost 9%. The main catalyst for the intermediate energy company was the announcement that it is buying energy from a solar project developed by EDF Renewables.
2020 was a difficult year for the energy sector. The fourth quarter results of Enterprise Products Partners reflected this, with the company’s earnings and cash flow declining significantly over the same period last year.
However, the company appears to have a major recovery move this year. Vaccine launches combined with government stimulus are expected to boost demand for natural gas and oil. Enterprise is also moving ahead with three major projects in the short term that are expected to generate additional cash flow, including an expansion of its ethane gas pipeline on the United States Gulf Coast.
There is another important way for Corporate Product Partners to enrich investors: their dividends. The company’s distribution income is currently just under 8%. This action will not have to deliver much appreciation to generate total returns that easily outperform the general market.
3. Pfizer
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stands out as a leader in helping to end the pandemic. The BNT162b2 vaccine that is being marketed with the partner BioNTech it has already been given to millions of people. And, like Alphabet and Enterprise Products Partners, Pfizer’s shares soared last week, even as the stock market plummeted.
The big drugmaker gave good news on Wednesday that helped to increase its stock. Pfizer announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Lorbrena as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) anaplastic kinase-positive lymphoma. The drug is already on the market as a second-line treatment for NSCLC.
This latest approval is yet another component of Pfizer’s rejuvenation. After several years of poor performance, the company now expects to deliver solid growth. One of the main reasons is that Pfizer is no longer burdened by older drugs that lost their patent exclusivity after the merger of its Upjohn unit with Mylan in November, which formed a new company, Viatris.
But the big story for Pfizer in the short term is definitely BNT162b2. The company said in February that it expects sales of the vaccine to reach $ 18 billion this year. That number seems likely to grow as Pfizer and BioNTech enter into additional supply agreements, making both companies – as well as Pfizer shareholders – richer.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a premium Motley Fool consulting service. We are heterogeneous! Questioning an investment thesis – even our own – helps all of us to think critically about investing and making decisions that help us become smarter, happier and wealthier.