The New Year is here. People are taking stock of 2019, and getting ready for 2020. Part of that means taking a look at their financial picture. This includes making decisions about investments in the stock market.
Many stock analysts have already issued their picks and predictions for 2020. In a lot of ways, these picks are recognizable from previous years. The hot sectors of the economy remain mostly the same. They include standbys from recent years like information technology, healthcare and communications. Companies like Facebook, Salesforce and Comcast are some of the big-name stocks that are expected to perform well.
These picks represent some of the healthiest-looking stocks on the market. Analysts project that Facebook could have an upside of as much as 16 or 17%. This makes sense. Facebook faced a lot of challenges in 2018 and 2019, but seems to have recovered its footing as a company. Facebook’s platform continues to grow. The company owns Instagram and it’s making its presence felt more there. This can be seen on the new landing page as Instagram loads.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is another company that has a great outlook. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, this company expects to expand significantly into Japan during 2020. This accounts, in part, for their stellar projected upside of 33.7% compared to target. Alexion is known for making a variety of therapies and drugs including Soliris, Strensiq and Kanuma.
Information technology is perhaps the economic sector with the best overall outlook in the stock market for 2020. Several companies in the industry are projected to outperform expectations. For example, analysts predict that Applied Materials will see a price increase of 13% compared to its 2019 high. This company makes semiconductor equipment, meaning that it’s an important supplier for other companies that have been mainstays of the tech world.
Another information technology company that analysts have high hopes for is Synopsys. This firm is in the software business. Its products help to design circuits. This stock has seen a significant price increase in 2019, and the trend is expected to continue. In fact, some analysts have projected that Synopsys’ earnings could be up by as much as 8%. This would bring total revenues to over $3.5 billion.