7 Stocks Set for Monster Growth in 2018
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Although stocks have experienced a rough start so far in 2018, some stocks still have a big chance to shine this year. Such stocks go above and beyond the normal growth prospects. I looking for these kinds of stocks, I examined seven top growth stocks with huge upside potential and serious Street support.
The best way to find these stocks is with TipRanks’ Top Analyst Stocks tool.
Why? Well, the tool reveals all stocks with a ‘Strong Buy’ rating from Wall Street’s best-performing analysts. You can then sort the stocks by upside potential to pinpoint compelling investing opportunities.
At the same time, I was careful to avoid stocks that have big upside potential simply because share prices have crashed recently. Check the price movement over the last three months to be sure shares are moving in the right direction.
With that being said, let’s get straight down into taking a closer look at these seven stocks — all of which I believe look undervalued right now.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Cloudera (CLDR)
Big data cruncher Cloudera, Inc. (NYSE:CLDR) has upside potential of 54.34% say the Street’s top analysts. Currently, the stock is trading at $17.88 but analysts see it hitting $22.75 in the coming months. The stock has experienced some volatility in the last year, but it is now facing 2018 with a very promising setup. Indeed, in the last three months, shares have already improved 27%!
Abhey Lamba, a five-star Mizho analyst, notes that management has delivered results above consensus expectations in its first few quarters as a public company. He upgraded his Cloudera rating from “hold” to “buy” on Jan. 9. Here he explains why he is turning bullish on CLDR:
“We remain favorably biased on adoption trends and the penetration opportunity… At the margin, we believe the stock could re-rate as management builds more credibility in the public markets (with strong results thus far). Based on our view of potential upside to estimates and reasonable valuation, we expect the stock to outperform in 2018.”
We can see from TipRanks that this ‘Strong Buy’ stock has 100% Street support. Indeed, in the last three months, CLDR has received five straight “buy” ratings, including an upgrade from Citigroup.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Arena Pharma (ARNA)
Healthcare stock Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) has monster upside potential of almost 65%. Shares are already up 46% in the last three months. And now top analysts say the stock can leap from its current share price of $34.36 to $51.33.
Plus, it received three very recent “buy” ratings from top analysts all with bullish price targets.
The company’s development pipeline includes two important drugs: Etrasimod for chronic bowel disease Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Ralinepag for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). William Tanner, a top healthcare analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald, is excited about both.
He says:
“We remain convinced that ralinepag could be a best-in-class treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)… Less well appreciated may be the potential of estrasimod, Arena’s S1P receptor modulator.” Arena is planning to release key Phase 2 data for estrasimod in 1Q18, and according to Tanner “positive data could create an opportunity for meaningful share price appreciation.”
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Dave & Busters (PLAY)
The hybrid game arcade and restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) is set for a rebound in 2018. And that means big upside potential from the current share price. Analysts expect that PLAY shares will go all the way from $42 to $55, or upside of 30.2%.
However, Maxim Group’s Stephen Anderson is much more bullish than consensus. He believes the stock can soar to $83. This suggests massive upside potential of more than 80% from the current share price. Even though the stock has experienced some short-term sales volatility, he says that valuation remains very compelling.
The stock is ‘deeply inexpensive relative to Casual Dining Peers’ and ultimately: “Our core thesis on PLAY, which is comprised of; (1) high-margin entertainment revenue growth; (2) robust unit expansion; and (3) longer-term comp growth of at least 2%, remains intact.” PLAY should also benefit big-time from the upcoming tax reform.
In the last three months, PLAY has received an impressive eight consecutive “buy” ratings. As a result, the stock has a ‘Strong Buy’ analyst consensus. Out of these ratings, five come from best-performing analysts.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: CBS Corp (CBS)
Media stock CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) can climb more than 34% in the next 12 months say top analysts. This would see the stock trading at over $70 vs the current share price under $60.
Just a couple of days ago, on January 16, Benchmark’s Daniel Kurnos reiterated his “buy” rating. This was accompanied with a very bullish $78 price target. “At just 9x 2018E OIBDA and 11x EPS, we believe CBS represents the best value in the network space” states Kurnos.
Reassuringly, Kurnos says “that the demise of Network ad revenues is greatly exaggerated.” He even says that this bearish talk is overshadowing “the positive traction CBS is seeing in its ancillary revenue streams.” The underlying business model is very strong and “the pressure on the media sector has created a buying opportunity for the content leader.”
Note that Kurnos is ranked as #210 out of over 4,750 analysts on TipRanks. Meanwhile, out of nine recent ratings on CBS, eight are buys. This means that in the last three months only one analyst has published a “hold” rating on the stock.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Neurocrine (NBIX)
Over the last three months, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) has already spiked by 16%. And top analysts believe this biopharma still has serious growth potential left to run in 2018. Specifically, the Street sees NBIX rising from $79 to $104.88.
The Street is buzzing about Neurocrine’s Ingrezza drug. This is the first FDA-approved treatment for adults with tardive dyskinesia (TD). A side effect of antipsychotic medication, TD is a disorder that leads to unintended muscle movements. Oppenheimer’s Jay Olson is very optimistic about Ingrezza’s potential. He says:
“Ingrezza performance continues to overwhelm on several dimensions, and our observations suggest Ingrezza could become a pipeline within a drug that could unlock substantial unappreciated value to shareholders.” He even suggests this drug has ‘pipeline’ potential by expanding into similar disorders like Tourette Syndrome.
Encouragingly, the stock has received no less than 10 consecutive “buy” ratings from analysts in the last three months. Seven out of the 10 of these “buy” ratings are from top-performing analysts.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI)
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) is one of the U.S.’s largest and most diversified television station operators. SBGI is up 9% in the last three months. And top analysts see greater upside potential ahead — with the stock due to get a big tax reform boost.
Indeed, Benchmark Capital has just named SBGI as one of its Best Ideas for 1H18. Five-star Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos says “We see SBGI as one of the best values in the entire media landscape.” He is eyeing $55 as a potential price target.
According to Kurnos, Sinclair has multiple upcoming catalysts over the next six months. This includes the pending mega deal between Sinclair and Tribune. Sinclair is currently waiting for regulatory approval for the $3.9 billion takeover would give Sinclair control of 233 TV stations.
Top analysts are united in their bullish take on this ‘Strong Buy’ stock. In the last three months, five analysts have published buy ratings on Sinclair.
Stocks With Top Buy Ratings: Laureate Education (LAUR)
Laureate Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAUR) is the largest network of for-profit higher education institutions. This Baltimore-based stock owns and operates over 200 programs (on campus and online) in over 29 countries. Over the last three months, the stock is up nearly 20%. But analysts say even more impressive upside is on the way. Currently, this is still a relatively cheap stock to buy at just $13.75.
Furthermore, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Shlomo Rosenbaum notes that Chile’s election result is a “material positive” for Laureate. He says new President Sebastian Pinera is less likely to support legislation for free post-secondary education- the prospect of which has dampened prices to date. Rosebaum currently has an $18 price target on the stock.
Overall, Laureate certainly has the Street’s seal of approval. The stock has scored four top analyst “buy” ratings recently. This includes a bullish call from one of TipRanks’ Top 20 analysts for 2017, BMO Capital’s Jeffrey Silber.
TipRanks offers investors the latest insight into eight different sectors by tracking the activity of 4,500 analysts, 5,000 financial bloggers and even 37,000 corporate insiders. As of this writing, Harriet Lefton did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
