Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Gulfport Energy, McKesson and Marvell

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – December 20, 2024 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Gulfport Energy GPOR, McKesson MCK and Marvell Technology MRVL.3 Top-Ranked Stocks to Buy for 2025Following Wednesday’s FOMC meeting and press conference from Jerome Powell, it seems 2025 may be shaping up to be a bit more uncertain than investors were expecting. Powell expressed his concern about rising inflation and signaled the central bank was going to be more hawkish moving forward. Fortunately, investors need not try to predict what is going to happen next year, and would be better served by picking a diverse portfolio of stocks that will benefit from various future outcomes.While 2024 brought strong economic growth, cooling inflation, exciting advancements in AI, and a surge in technology stocks, 2025 may chart a different course. If the Fed tightens its stance and inflation rises, a defensive, commodities-focused portfolio might outperform a tech-heavy one. However, since the future is uncertain, my approach is to build a balanced portfolio of stocks that complement each other. This way, if one area underperforms, another can help offset the impact.Here, I’ll highlight three stocks with strong fundamentals, each positioned to perform well under different potential scenarios for the coming year. Gulfport Energy should hedge the portfolio in the case of another inflationary period, McKesson will perform well in a more challenging economic downturn and Marvell Technology should outperform if we see another strong year led by the AI boom. Additionally, each of these stocks enjoys a top Zacks Rank.Gulfport Energy: Top Zacks Rank and Inflation HedgeGulfport Energy is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company primarily focuses on developing its assets in the Utica Shale in Ohio and the Scoop Stack in Oklahoma. Its portfolio is heavily weighted toward natural gas production, positioning it to benefit from favorable trends in the energy market.If inflation surges again, commodities-oriented stocks are likely to outperform, as we witnessed in 2022. Energy, being a highly sensitive commodity, is often among the first to see price increases. When this happens, energy producers typically experience a rapid rise in profits, as their production costs remain relatively stable while the prices of the commodities they produce climb.In addition to the potential macroeconomic shifts, Gulfport energy has several compelling fundamental business catalysts that make it an attractive standalone investment. Not only does Gulfport boast a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating, reflecting upward trending earnings revisions, but also has a very reasonable valuation. GPOR is trading at a one year forward earnings multiple of 11.9x, which is especially interesting when you consider earnings are projected to climb 46% next year.McKesson: Defensive Stock PositionMcKesson is a leading healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution company, based in the US. It plays a critical role in the healthcare supply chain by delivering medicines, medical supplies, and technology solutions to pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers. Known for its scale, McKesson supports the healthcare system with incredible operational efficiency and has also expanded into oncology and specialty care, solidifying its position as a key player in the healthcare industry.Because of how critically important some of the largest healthcare companies in the US are, they have considerable flexibility in pricing. In boom times or recession, the demand for healthcare services stays consistent, giving the sector an upper hand during periods of uncertainty. Because of this unique dynamic, McKesson has seen its sales and earnings tick monotonously higher for the many years, demonstrating the consistency of the business model. Earnings per share have grown from $2.40 per share to $28.87 per share over the last 20 years.McKesson also has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating, with analysts nearly all raising earnings estimates in the last two months. MCK also has a reasonable valuation, currently trading at 17.5x forward earnings. This is above its 15-year median of 13.3x but is well below the market average. And you can see that during periods of uncertainty, the earnings multiple has occasionally risen above the market average, which may be the case if we see a rise in volatility next year.Marvell Technology: Winning AI StockMarvell Technology is a leading semiconductor company specializing in data infrastructure solutions. Based in the US, it designs and develops cutting-edge chips for applications in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and networking. More recently, Marvell has gained prominence for its custom silicon solutions, including Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), tailored for AI workloads and high-performance data centers.MRVL’s entry into the custom AI silicon industry has been a very successful pivot for the company and led to a banner quarterly earnings report earlier this month. While Nvidia is dominating the broad AI infrastructure industry with its GPUs and full stack offerings, hyperscalers have begun to demand custom solutions as their compute needs grow more specific. Last quarter, revenues for Marvell grew 20% quarter-over-quarter, with expectations of another 20% sequential gain next quarter.Because of this development, analysts have been quick to raise their earnings estimates for the company, and Marvell Technology now has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating. Not surprisingly, MRVL stock broke out aggressively following the recent quarterly report. Now after gapping higher, the stock price has been forming a bullish consolidation. If the AI boom is to continue, I would expect MRVL stock to continue to consolidate over the next few weeks, and again break higher.Should Investors Buy Shares in GPOR, MCK and MRVL?Investors looking for a balanced approach in 2025 may find Gulfport Energy, McKesson, and Marvell Technology appealing. This diversified portfolio is well-positioned to benefit from a range of economic scenarios, whether it’s another surge in inflation, an economic downturn, or a technological boom. Each stock offers a unique hedge, ensuring the portfolio is resilient across different market conditions.Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.0 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +44.9%, +48.4% and +55.2% per year.Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.See Stocks Free >>Media ContactZacks Investment Research800-767-3771 ext. 9339support@zacks.comhttps://www.zacks.comPast performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report McKesson Corporation (MCK): Free Stock Analysis Report Marvell Technology, Inc. (MRVL): Free Stock Analysis Report Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks