There's a bunch of buy-rated stocks that have plenty more room to run, according to Bank of America. The firm says these companies are a must-own heading into the final weeks of 2024. They include: ServiceNow, Citigroup, Booz Allen Hamilton and Affirm.
Citigroup
"Don't sleep on this banking giant," analyst Ebrahim Poonawala said recently. "The investor perception (rightly so, in our view) of Citi being much more globally exposed relative to peers also appears to have hurt stock performance in the aftermath of Trump's win." Still, investment bank says the stock is a table pounding buy. Poonawala sees a slew of positive catalysts in the months ahead as the incoming Trump administration could be a boon to shares.
"Our expectations for a more balanced/predictable regulatory environment should serve as a significant positive for Citigroup," he wrote.
Poonawala also raised his price target on the stock and succinctly stated, "Time to revisit Citi."
Booz Allen Hamilton
"Don't sleep on shares of the management consulting conglomerate and government contractor," analyst Mariana Perez Mora said in a recent note to clients. "In our view, BAH is at the forefront of enabling cyber and AI implementation to meet increasingly complex mission requirements for a variety of government customers," she wrote.
"Tech enabled workforce drives growth across defense, intel, and civil industries," according to Perez Mora.
The firm acknowledged concerns around margins following recent earnings reports but noted that those concerns appear overdone now as cost controls and hiring have bounced back.
"Given the high-quality work BAH continues to do, we expect strong margins continue," she said. Meanwhile, Booz shares are "Firing on all cylinders: civil, intel, defense."
Affirm
Affirm's "fundamentals firing on all cylinders," the firm wrote about the fintech payment platform.
Analyst Jason Kupferberg mentions growth catalysts in coming months and highlights its unique position as currently being the only publicly traded buy-now pay-later company. He believes BNPL's value proposition remains robust for both consumers and merchants within e-commerce markets.
Kupferberg praised Affirm's differentiated offerings with major U.S. merchants relationships while noting potential benefits if interest rates decrease or regulatory environments ease further.
"Given these dynamics," he added,"we see upside potential."
ServiceNow
The firm reiterated their Buy/top pick stance stating that growth businesses are thriving due solid execution & customer demand across broad application suite driving another successful quarter result.
Incremental growth from newer workflow offerings suggests strategic investments align well long-term: