In this article, we will discuss the top 10 stock picks from Louis Navellier’s firm, Navellier & Associates.
Founded in 1987 by growth analyst Louis Navellier, Navellier & Associates is an independent firm based in Reno, Nevada. Navellier & Associates specializes in identifying market inefficiencies to find top-growth stocks through a disciplined quantitative and fundamental analysis system. With over 30 years of experience, they offer customized portfolio strategies for individual investors to maximize returns while managing risk. Unlike competitors who mimic indexes, Navellier aims to outperform them, resulting in low correlation with benchmarks and increased diversification.
Louis Navellier is the Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer of Navellier & Associates, Inc. With decades of experience applying academic techniques to real market scenarios, he advocates for disciplined quantitative analysis to identify stocks that can outperform the market. His approach involves a rigorous three-step process: quantitative analysis, fundamental analysis, and optimization of selected securities for portfolio inclusion. This approach has been used by the firm where they employ a highly disciplined, bottom-up stock-selection process for most portfolios. First, they screen market and stock statistics to measure reward (alpha) and risk (standard deviation), selecting stocks in the top percentiles. Next, they further screen the top-ranked stocks for high-profit margins, strong earnings growth, and reasonable price/earnings ratios based on future earnings. Finally, a proprietary optimization model maximizes portfolio alpha while minimizing standard deviation, creating well-diversified portfolios across various sectors and industries.
Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates
Since 1980, he has shared his insights through the MPT Review, a stock advisory newsletter. Since 1987, he has actively managed individual portfolios, mutual funds, and institutional portfolios. Known for his charismatic leadership, Louis Navellier has been featured extensively in international media, including CNBC, Bloomberg, The Nightly Business Report, and Wall Street Week. His insights have also been highlighted in Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, Money, Smart Money, and The Wall Street Journal. He has been profiled in books such as Kenneth A. Stern’s “Secrets of the Investment All-Stars” and Alan R. Ackerman’s “Investing Under Fire.” Mr. Navellier earned his B.S. in business administration in 1978 and his M.B.A. in finance in 1979 from California State University – Hayward.
Navellier & Associates is a well-known advisory firm with 1,314 clients and manages assets worth $743,578,818, as reported in their Form ADV from March 2024. Their Q1 2024 filing shows they handle $811,568,534 in securities, with the top 10 holdings making up 29.01% of the total.
Our Methodology
This article covers Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks for the first quarter of 2024. We’ve included analyst ratings and key details about these companies, along with the number of hedge funds investing in each. Why focus on hedge fund investments? Our research indicates that copying the top picks of leading hedge funds can result in better-than-market returns. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy, which chooses 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks each quarter, has achieved a 275% return since May 2014, outperforming the benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here)
10 Best Stocks to Buy According to Navellier & Associates
10. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)
Navellier & Associates’ Stake Value: $13,550,563
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), an American energy company in Houston, Texas, ranked 29th on the Fortune 500 and 74th on the Fortune Global 500 in 2022, with over $115 billion in revenue. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) has 12 refineries that process 1.8 million barrels of oil daily. In 2023, they started converting their Rodeo, California facility to produce renewable diesel. Their midstream segment handles transportation and NGL processing, with DCP Midstream managing 600,000 barrels per day and 22,000 miles of pipelines.
Several analysts have given positive ratings for Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and increased their price targets. For example, JP Morgan raised its target to $167, and Goldman Sachs set theirs at $174, showing strong confidence in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s future. The average 12-month price target among analysts has also gone up, indicating optimism about Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s outlook.
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) landed on the 10th spot of Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, Navellier & Associates owned 82,959 shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), valued at $13,550,563. This investment made up 1.66% of Navellier & Associates’ portfolio, according to regulatory filings.
Aristotle Capital’s Value Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we sold our positions in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) and invested in two new positions: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) and TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE).
We first purchased Phillips 66, the energy manufacturing and logistics company, in the third quarter of 2012. During our over decade-long ownership period, the company transformed itself from a predominately refining operation to a significantly more diversified energy business. In 2012, refining represented nearly 75% of earnings, and today it is less than half. With the expansion of other businesses, including midstream which is underpinned by long-term fee-based contracts, as well as chemicals and marketing, we believe Phillips 66 has reduced its cyclicality while enhancing FREE cash flow generation, supporting increased returns to shareholders. In addition, the company has started to position itself for the energy transition and remains on track to convert its San Francisco refinery into one of the world’s largest renewable fuels facilities. While we continue to believe Phillips 66 is a high-quality company on the path to further improvement, we decided to sell our shares to fund the purchase of what we consider a more suitable and attractive investment in TotalEnergies.”
9. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Navellier & Associates’ Stake Value: $14,393,224
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 293
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks 9th in Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops and supports software, services, devices, and solutions. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is mainly driven by its advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services, which are expected to increase its revenue and strengthen its market position greatly. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s AI capabilities, particularly through Azure and its integration with OpenAI technologies, are set to drive major revenue growth. Analysts predict Azure’s yearly revenue could reach $76 billion, powered by increasing AI workloads and strong partnerships with OpenAI and GitHub.
Additionally, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Copilot, which embeds AI into its software, is expected to be a key growth factor. Analysts anticipate over 50% of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s users will adopt Copilot for business within three years, potentially adding $20 billion to revenue by FY25. Due to these factors, analysts like JP Morgan have raised their price targets, with JP Morgan setting theirs at $455, reflecting strong confidence in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s future performance.
ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“The Strategy trailed the Russell 3000 Index benchmark largely due to our diversified positioning, although we maintain a considerable portfolio allocation to large cap AI-related companies. These positions were indeed among our top contributors in the quarter, such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company is finding more ways to deploy AI for sustainability objectives such as its ability to better measure, predict and optimize complex systems, which can help its partner communities reduce wildfire risk.”
8. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
Navellier & Associates’ Stake Value: $14,615,900
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Ranking 8th in Navellier & Associates’ top 10 stock picks is Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO). Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)is a global healthcare company that is leading the fight against diabetes and obesity. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) showcases a strong financial performance and a robust product pipeline. Established in Denmark in 1923, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) has a long history of innovation in the healthcare sector.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) reported a 19% increase in Q1 2024 revenue, reaching $9.4 billion. Its key growth drivers include GLP-1 diabetes treatments like Ozempic and obesity drugs such as Wegovy. Analysts have maintained their positive outlook on Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), raising price targets. For instance, BMO Capital has set a target of $163 for Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)’s stock. At the end of Q1 2024, Navellier & Associates held 113,831 shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), valued at $14,615,900. This investment made up 1.8% of Navellier & Associates’ portfolio, according to regulatory filings.
Artisan Global Equity Fund stated the following regarding Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“In addition, shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) rose after it reported phase 1 clinical trial results for its new experimental obesity drug Amycretin, a single molecule that operates as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, reducing one’s appetite. The new oral treatment achieved a 13.1% average weight loss after 12 weeks, more than doubling the efficacy of Wegovy for the same time span. This result also bested Lilly’s Orfoglipron, another experimental drug that achieved 5%–6% average weight loss earlier in its trials. While the Amycretin data are preliminary, investors were encouraged by the prospects of Novo Nordisk solidifying a best-in-class obesity designation, a desirable status given rising competition. In our view, Novo Nordisk has the best obesity/Type 2 diabetes pipeline in the industry, which should help protect this franchise from competition over the next 10 years.”