5 Smartest Stocks to Buy Now

The stock market has been turbulent these days. Everything from WallStreetBets to the pandemic, vaccines, and stimulus have affected markets. It’s a scary time to invest for your future when you’re not sure what the future holds for humanity. But it’s always a good time to invest, so long as you understand what you’re spending money on and have a long term outlook.

If you’re looking for the smartest stocks to buy now, this is the guide for you.

These five stocks are a mix of up-and-comers and established companies in a variety of industries. Each has its own mix of resources, market share, and leadership that give them high growth potential that could outpace the general market.

HACK Is A Bet On Cyber Security Growing

The ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (NYSEARCA:HACK) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of the Prime Cyber Defense Index. This index follows the performance of 58 companies engaged in the Cyber Defense industry that meet its eligibility requirements.

Some companies with a large weight in this index include Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), Solarwinds Corp (NYSE:SWI), Cloudflare Inc (NYSE:NET), and Avast PLC (LON:AVST). Each of these companies is deeply involved in the detection and protection of data and systems from viruses, malware, ransomware, and other forms of cybercrime.

Cybersecurity is a major need in a virtual world. Ransomware alone is estimated to cost companies and governments as much as $20 billion.

The pandemic drove a 300-percent increase in cybercrime, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). COVID-19 caused banks and healthcare companies to be especially targeted, and unemployment applicants were also exposed to security breaches.

Keeping up with the rate of cybercrime is even more difficult with more sophisticated attacks. Distributed denial of service (DDoS), ransomware, worms, and other cyber attacks are super powered and use cryptocurrency and encryption to lock down organizational servers, devices, and more.

As spending on cybersecurity increases, the HACK ETF will grow alongside it. The global cybersecurity market is expected to grow to nearly $250 billion by 2023, and that could provide substantial growth for investors in the sector ETF.

PRA Health Sciences Is Pivotal To Clinical Trials

PRA Health Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:PRAH) is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based healthcare intelligence organization founded in 1982. A $12 billion buyout by ICON makes the company the second-largest clinical trial services provider. It’s also involved in healthcare data management, statistical analysis, medical writing, and more.

As a full-service consulting company, it’s a pivotal part of clinical trials. This positions it well in a post-pandemic economy. Besides new variations of the coronavirus, there are all the other pre-existing diseases and health conditions to deal with.

Medical technology is quickly evolving, and we could see advancements in oncology, genetics, nanomedicine, medical technology, organ transplants, and more. In doing so, we could extend the longevity of human life and revolutionize society.

Of course, we need to get these advancements tested and approved through clinical trials at the FDA and other countries’ regulatory agencies before that can happen. And the pandemic triggered a backup of a lot of other clinical trials while Operation Warp Speed focused all resources on COVID-19.

Zimmer Biomet Because Elective Surgeries Will Rise

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZBH) is a Warsaw, Indiana-based medical device company that develops musculoskeletal replacements and supports. It was founded in 1927 and grew over the years through a series of mergers and acquisitions.

The company manufactures replacements for blown out knees, hips, shoulders, ankles, and more. These surgically implanted musculoskeletal replacements are necessary for many people’s sustained mobility. Over one million total joint arthroplasties are performed domestically each year, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

The decline in elective surgeries crushed the company’s stock, taking the entirety of 2020 and even into early 2021 to recover to former price levels. Zimmer Biomet had to adjust a lot to continue growing its revenues and recapturing investor trust. By the end of the first pandemic year, it beat analyst estimates by a mile.

Sustained expected growth of 7 percent and a solid annual dividend yield of 0.54 percent makes this an attractive stock for both value and dividend investors.

We’re already living longer, and both Baby Boomers and Generation X are already old enough to require a lot of elective surgeries. The large generation of aging Millennials are no spring chickens either.

Moving forward, the company should experience steady growth and fit into a diversified portfolio.

Mastercard Muscling In On Digital Transactions

Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is one of the largest credit and debit card backers in the world, second only to Visa (V). The company faced a rocky time when cafes and restaurants were closed. Indeed, contactless payments favored electronic payment providers, like PayPal (PYPL) and Square (SQ). Adding the problems, a European Union council is working to relieve the continent’s need on American-made financial tools.

But Mastercard recovered and has a lot of investments in underserved communities. In 2021, the company spent $850 million acquiring identity verification company Ekata. It also announced a multimillion-dollar investment in several black-owned businesses.

The company also has a partnership with IBM, and Saudi Payments to increase its presence in that region. It’s even invested in blockchain and cryptocurrency startups while working with payment processors like Venmo to enable cryptocurrency payments.

Multimillion-dollar NFT auctions made it clear that digital currencies enable transactions that are impossible with traditional payment methods. With cross-border payments and e-commerce on the rise, Mastercard is clamoring to maintain its market share.

But the work is paying off, and the company is on a growth trajectory over the next five to ten years. The 2020s is a crucial decade for financial technology, and that means Mastercard should be in a smart holding if it successfully navigates the transition.

Avangrid Pays 3%+ Dividend

Avangrid Inc (NYSE:AGR) is an Orange, Connecticut-based energy company that provides energy to New York state, along with New England. You would think the push to virtual work makes electricity more necessary than ever, but the electrical grid was strained in different ways as people shifted from public buildings to their own homes.

Many electric utility companies like Avangrid had stock prices crushed as they scrambled to keep up with shifting electrical needs.

The company also recently started a merger with PNM, which will expand it even further horizontally. This already shot the price up to former highs, but there’s still value to be found for investors looking to jump on.

Avangrid stock also pays an attractive 3.35 percent dividend, which provides liquidity or lets you set up a DRIP reinvestment plan. The stock historically remained relatively stable with consistent dividend payments. This makes it a great investment to preserve wealth, even if it’s unlikely to provide a 10x return.

This is a long-term hold stock that you can keep in your portfolio over the course of the next decade knowing it will stay relatively stable. Nothing is guaranteed, but it’s a solid bet. 

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.