In just a few days, we will be placing 2020 firmly in the rear view mirror. This is a proposition that most Americans can fully accept.
But for investors, seeing 2020 coming to an end can bring mixed emotions. Despite losing more than a third of its value during the first quarter, the broad S&P 500 it seems to end the year with a high double-digit percentage. In fact, this is above its historic annual rate of return, which is quite impressive, considering everything that happened in 2020.
However, crossing the proverbial finish line for 2020 does not mean that investors cannot generate considerable gains in the year to come. If you have $ 1,000 at your disposal, which you will not need to pay bills or cover emergencies, buying the following three shares can allow you to start 2021 hard.
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salesforce.com
While technology stocks have been on the rise in 2020, there are a number of technology names that offer abundant advantages in 2021 and beyond. Almost at the top of this list is the provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).
As the name implies, CRM software helps companies maintain customer information, identify potential sales opportunities, record service issues and manage marketing campaigns on a single cloud-based platform. The retail sector is a logical beneficiary of CRM software, but it is certainly not the only sector or sector that benefits from these solutions. The entire service, healthcare, information technology, distribution and financial companies industry can improve their sales by employing the CRM solutions offered by the sales force.
In addition to having a wide audience with which to offer its solutions, the sales force is the undisputed axis of CRM. Research and Consulting Company Gartner estimates that the sales force controlled an impressive 18.3% of the global CRM market by the end of 2019. In comparison, SAP, Oracleand Address systems, the respective numbers 2, 3 and 4 in global CRM market share, combined by 19.1%. CRM is a consistent double-digit growth opportunity and salesforce.com is the undisputed benchmark for companies.
Also, do not ignore the acquisition recently announced by the Slack Technologies for $ 27.7 billion in cash and shares. The biggest deal in sales force history will allow the company to cross the market for its CRM solutions to Slack’s rapidly growing corporate user base, a tactic that rivals Microsoft has used with its Teams platform.
The sales force will have another excellent year in 2021.
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Cresco Labs
Marijuana stocks are also expected to be a hot commodity in the new year, with US marijuana stocks having more substance behind their valuations. Although I do not believe that federal legalization will happen next year, I see legalization at the state level and organic growth within already legal states, driving great growth for vertically integrated multistate operators Cresco Labs (OTC: CRLBF).
One of the ways in which Cresco should move the needle in 2021 is through its retail operations. Although Cresco does not have dozens of dispensary licenses like some of its peers, it does have 19 operational locations, almost half of which are in Illinois. Land of Lincoln is a limited license state, which means it will only distribute a fixed number of retail licenses. Therefore, Cresco’s ability to open 10 locations in Illinois (at least initially) should allow it to consume significant participation in a market that could exceed $ 1 billion in annual weed sales by 2024.
An even more exciting growth opportunity for Cresco Labs comes from its wholesale business. In early January, it closed the acquisition of all shares of Origin House. The key to this deal is that Origin House held one of California’s highly coveted cannabis distribution licenses. With this license now in hand, Cresco can place marijuana products in more than 575 dispensaries across the Golden State – that is, the world’s largest cannabis market, in annual sales.
Cresco Labs is expected to be one of the fastest growing marijuana stocks in 2021 and is likely to turn the corner on recurring profitability before the end of the year.
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SSR Mining
Gold stocks have not received enough attention in 2020. I hope that will change next year, which is why SSR Mining (NASDAQ: SSRM) it is a stock you should consider buying for $ 1,000.
On a macro basis, the prospects for gold have never been so bright. A record-breaking amount of investment-grade global debt is showing a negative yield, and the U.S. Federal Reserve has been clear on how to keep lending rates at historic levels or close to lows. When combined with ongoing quantitative easing measures (that is, $ 120 billion in monthly bond-buying activities) and more fiscal stimulus, the table is set for the price of gold to skyrocket.
As for SSR mining, it will benefit from higher prices for precious metals and more. For example, it recently completed a merger of equals with Alacer Gold in Turkey. The combined entity has four production assets that are fully capable of producing up to 760,000 ounces of gold equivalent each year. The improved performance in Copler, Seabee and Marigold will be the key to achieving this high goal.
In addition, SSR ended the third quarter with almost $ 220 million in net cash. Most mining companies are still trying to get out of debt from an unbridled spending wave in the early 2010s. SSR Mining’s management team has always taken a more cautious spending approach. With $ 450 million in annual free cash flow expected in 2021 and 2022, the company is starting a quarterly dividend of $ 0.05 in the first quarter of 2021 and can use additional capital to repurchase shares.
With just over a multiple of 5 times the projected cash flow per Wall Street stock in 2021, SSR Mining could be the most attractive gold stock in the industry.