We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best Up and Coming Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds and in this article, we discuss whether XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) is the best up-and-coming EV stock to buy now.
Despite the concerns surrounding the market over the last few years, the broader market has performed exceptionally well as the S&P 500 reached new record highs crossing 5,300 points by mid-May. While the broader market has been surrounded by bearish sentiment since 2022 and even after its tremendous performance in 2023, many analysts have retracted their statements and are now expecting a positive future. For the year-end 2024, UBS and BMO expect the index to reach 5,600, Wells Fargo predicts that it will close out the year at 5,535 and even one of the most bearish analysts, Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, raised the target to 5,400 from the prior 4,500.
Interest Rate Predictions
Interest rate hikes and cuts have been a major part of discussion in the markets for the last couple of years. In 2023, many analysts predicted up to six cuts in 2024 but the predictions faded over time with hotter-than-expected inflation data. At the Federal Reserve’s May 1 meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell showed hesitation in providing a specific time for any decision on rate cuts and said that the Fed needs more data before taking any step. However, the chairman did hint that the chances of hikes are highly unlikely. Some experts also believe that there may not be a rate cut this year as discussed in our previous article about best soaps and cleaning materials stocks.
According to CME’s FedWatch tool, 98.9% of the market is expecting interest rates to remain the same at the Fed’s June meeting while 1.1% believe that the Fed may raise the rates by 25 basis points (bps). Morgan Stanley predicts rate cuts to start in September at 25 basis points as they expect that inflation will begin to decline which could give the Fed enough confidence to start cutting rates. The FedWatch tool reveals that in September, 51.6% of the market isn’t expecting any rate cuts, 42.8% expects a 25 bps reduction, 5% expect rates to be cut by 50 bps and 0.6% believe that the rates will be 25 bps higher than the current levels of 5.25% to 5.5%.
Market Upside Potential Amidst Tightening Policies
Recently, we have seen another pullback in the market as the broader market has contracted by 1.5% between May 27 to 30. However, some experts still expect an upside and believe that the market is in healthy condition.
On May 29, former chief investment strategist for The Leuthold Group and Wells Capital Management, Jim Paulsen told CNBC that he is optimistic about the economy and highlighted its resilience despite previous recession predictions and challenges like inverted yield curves. He noted the strength of corporate balance sheets, overall economic health, liquidity, and positive recent earnings reports. He also acknowledged that tightening policies such as higher yields, a stronger dollar, a lower fiscal deficit to GDP ratio, modest monetary growth, and balance sheet contraction will eventually slow the economy and reduce inflation. Paulsen predicts that inflation will fall below 3%, creating favorable conditions for the market and suggesting potential for further upside. Moreover, Paulsen noted that the inflation has indeed come down if we compare it to 2022’s 9% and added that he does not think that the Fed target of 2% inflation is needed for “things to be good.”
michael-fousert-YhXlYJYlr3c-unsplash
Our Methodology
For this article, we used the Yahoo Finance stock screener to identify over 400 stocks that have experienced revenue growth of at least 40% year-over-year and have a market cap of above $300 million. We then narrowed down our list to 12 stocks that have seen growth in hedge fund sentiment between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, have positive analyst sentiment, and have consistent revenue growth. We listed the best up and coming stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment.
The hedge fund data was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 919 elite hedge funds as of the first quarter of 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple, our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy picks 14 small and large-caps every quarter and it has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Is XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) the Best Up and Coming Stock?
XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV)
Year-over-Year Revenue Growth in FQ3 2023: 25%
Year-over-Year Revenue Growth in FQ4 2023: 154%
Year-over-Year Revenue Growth in FQ1 2024: 62.3%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16
XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) is a Chinese company engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing smart electric vehicles. 16 hedge funds held stakes in XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) in the first quarter, with positions worth $194.903 million. Of those, Millennium Management was the top shareholder of the company. The firm increased its stake in the company by 578% to 10.7 million shares worth $82.178 million in the first quarter.
On May 21, XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) reported Q1 earnings. The non-GAAP EPADS topped the estimates by $0.03 at -$0.21. The revenue beat the estimates by $60.08 million at $910 million and grew by 62.3% year-over-year. XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) also provided Q2 2024 outlook in which it projects substantial delivery and revenue growth and expects delivery volumes of 29,000 to 32,000 units and total revenue ranging from RMB 7.5 billion to RMB 8.3 billion (RMB 1 = US$0.14 as of May 30). This optimistic outlook reflects the company’s confidence in achieving significant breakthroughs in sales volume, margins, and cash flow, driven by their ongoing strategic and organizational transformations.
With RMB 41.4 billion in cash as of the end of Q1 2024, XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) has a strong financial foundation. This liquidity allows the company to invest in strategic initiatives, ensuring long-term growth and stability. The company plans to invest in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and smart EV platforms to ensure it stays ahead in its respective market. Moreover, the company aims to expand its international footprint significantly by expanding overseas sales networks to over 20 countries, with strategic partnerships in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.
XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) takes the tenth spot on our list of best up-and-coming stocks to buy now. However, it is the only electric vehicle manufacturer on our list. To find other up-and-coming stocks that hedge funds and analysts like, check out our free report on the 12 Best Up and Coming Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds.
Our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
Read Next: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and Jim Cramer is Recommending These Stocks.
Disclosure. None. This article is originally published on Insider Monkey.
