March is here. That means the promise of a brutal winter is finally beginning to wind down. It’s also an opportunity to think about investing. There has been a lot of activity in January and February, with the Reddit effect wreaking havoc on the stock market. But what are the best stocks to buy for March?
Smart investors know to stay away from the drama of the Reddit stocks — often struggling companies that suddenly gain 1,000% or more in a matter of days, only to see their price collapse just as quickly. If you’re in it for the long term, here is a collection of stocks to buy for March.
Each of these stocks earns an “A” rating in Portfolio Grader. They are solid companies with proven performance and a bright future. Let’s take a look:
- Chewy (NYSE:CHWY)
- DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU)
- JD.Com (NASDAQ:JD)
- PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL)
- Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU)
- Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)
- Sony (NYSE:SONY)
- Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM)
Stocks to Buy for March: Chewy (CHWY)
There are a lot of reasons to like online pet supply retailer Chewy. Reasons like the estimated 76.8 million dogs and 58.4 million cats the American Veterinary Medical Association says live in U.S. homes. Or the $100 billion (and growing) market for pet supplies. Or the fact that the pet supplies industry has proven to be recession-proof, with pet owners keeping up the spending regardless of economic downturns. Or the $1.78 billion in Q3 revenue reported by the company in December — up 45% year-over-year.
CHWY stock closed at a record high $118.69 in mid-February (marking over 310% growth over the previous 12-month period), but it has slipped a bit since then. Going into March the timing is good, with Chewy expected to report Q4 earnings in April.
[Breakthrough: This Could be the Closest Thing to Buying Amazon When it was $50]
DocuSign (DOCU)
Spring is the traditional “hot” time of the year for real estate. Nothing has been normal about the past 12 months, but people have been buying homes at a blistering pace. Especially urban dwellers who have the option to work remotely and are now seeking out rural properties.
Socially distanced buying and the practice of buying homes online from hundred of miles away have one thing in common: the need for digital signatures. DocuSign dominates this market and just happens to have a comprehensive suite of tools for real estate professionals. Look for them to be in high demand as the spring real estate market kicks off.
Of course, the application for this company’s services is far broader than just the real estate industry. Anywhere that signatures are required is fair game. DocuSign’s business was already growing, but the pandemic really ramped it up. DOCU stock has seen significant growth as a result. It’s up nearly 178% over the past 12 months. While the pandemic boosted adoption of digital signatures, look for the convenience to keep adoption up and growing.
JD.Com (JD)
China’s JD.Com is a great play on two booming trends: online shopping and Chinese consumerism. Both have been on the rise for years, and both got a boost from the pandemic. As China’s second-largest e-commerce company, JD.Com is positioned to take full advantage of the situation.
JD stock had a tough 2018, as the Chinese economy slowed amid U.S. trade tensions. However, it’s been in solid growth mode since getting over that hump. Over the past 12 months, that’s amounted to a gain of 145%.
[Buy Alert: Buffett Recently Dumped $800 Million of Apple Stock to Invest in This!]
The biggest threat to U.S. investors has been the risk that JD stock might be delisted, as part of the move to force Chinese companies to adhere to American audits. However, JD.Com has yet to be officially named as part of a compliance order. Even if it were, it would take at least three years for it to be delisted. That’s plenty of time to assess the situation and take any required action.
PayPal (PYPL)
PayPal already had a solid foundation and a bright future as the leading online payment platform. Add the company’s Venmo cash app, and throw in a pandemic where online shopping exploded and no one wanted to handle cash? That’s a recipe for big increases in transaction volume plus an influx of new users.
At its Investor Day event in February, PayPal talked up its record year. Payment volume through its network was up 31% YoY. It added 72.7 million new active accounts. In addition, PayPal added cryptocurrency capabilities to Venmo in November. Growth in new users and the increased number of transactions they’re using PayPal and Venmo for has the company heading for 750 million active users accounts and total payment volume of $2.8 trillion (nearly triple current levels) by 2025.
After closing near $305 on Feb. 16, PYPL was on track for over 160% growth over the past 12 months. It’s slipped since then (currently trading around $263), which represents a buying opportunity. How solid is PayPal’s future? I included PYPL stock on my list of “7 Safe Stocks to Buy For Your Retirement.”
[Learn More: See Why Billionaires are Flocking to this Tiny Niche of the Tech Sector]
Roku (ROKU)
Streaming video services are hot. They’ve been even hotter since the pandemic began.
Roku has been a play on streaming video since before most of the current services were even at the planning stage. Thanks to its range of affordable streaming devices and the Roku platform that’s used by many smart TVs, the company has long had a commanding presence in U.S. living rooms.
Even with increased competition in recent years that has seen some of the world’s largest tech companies step up their effort to sell streaming hardware, Roku still holds the largest share of the U.S. market. Roku provides the device or platform that many consumers use to watch popular video streaming services — taking a cut of subscription fees. Outside of hardware, Roku also offers its own channels, including ad-supported programming. According to a 2020 report, 49% of the ads sold for display on streaming devices went to Roku. That’s five times the next highest platform.
ROKU stock is up 251% over the past 12 months. It’s easy to see why. The company just released its full year 2020 numbers, and they were impressive. Revenue is up 58% YoY. Active accounts are up 39%. Platform revenue (cuts of subscription services, licensing and ad revenue) was up 81%.
Streaming is only becoming more popular, and the more people who make the switch, the better the picture for Roku.
Shopify (SHOP)
Canada’s most valuable company also had a great 2020. Shopify had spent the previous year building up its distribution network, a strategy that paid off when online shopping accelerated during the pandemic.
[Breakthrough: This Could be the Closest Thing to Buying Amazon When it was $50]
Shopify turned out to be the ideal solution for small businesses that suddenly had to shut down, then faced months of restricted operations. The company provides an affordable and easy-to-implement turnkey solution for getting a business online. Shopify takes care of everything from payment processing to shipping (including curbside-pickup capability), while the business retains its unique identity instead of being a “marketplace” seller buried on a larger e-commerce platform.
Shopify reported that over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday long weekend, businesses on its platform recorded $5.1 billion in sales. That was up 76% from the previous year.
SHOP stock has been on a growth trajectory since the company went public in 2015. That accelerated last year, and in the past 12 months Shopify shares have increased in value by 162%. Online shopping won’t go anywhere when the pandemic ends and neither will those new Shopify sellers, many of whom are now selling to shoppers globally.
Sony (SONY)
Sony might not be a company you’d automatically think of, but it’s a great option when looking for stocks to buy in March. Why?
Sony was struggling a decade ago, but has turned its business around. The past five years have been a time of solid and consistent growth for SONY stock. It’s up over 400% since February 2016.
[Buy Alert: Buffett Recently Dumped $800 Million of Apple Stock to Invest in This!]
Now is a good time to get onboard with SONY, and it’s all about the PlayStation 5. The company sold 4.5 million units of its next-gen game console last year, but it only went on sale in November and supplies were constrained. Gaming is the engine that drives Sony’s profit these days, and 2021 is going to be a year where the company will be able sell every PS5 it can make. Each of those console buyers will also be picking up accessories like extra controllers, PlayStation network memberships, plus games — many of which are published by Sony.
Expect SONY stock to be on the move in 2021 as manufacturing ramps up and those PlayStation 5 sales start to pile up.
Zoom (ZM)
Zoom was the poster child for stocks that exploded in value because of working and learning from home during the pandemic. ZM stock posted growth of 390% in 2020.
ZM began to slide in mid-October, amid concerns that the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines would spell the end of working from home. That concern is shortsighted.
Many of the biggest tech companies have announced that at least some of their employees will have the option of working from home permanently. Other are implementing hybrid schedules that see staff working from home several days a week. Industry leaders like Bill Gates are predicting business travel will take a big, permanent hit, with video apps like Zoom taking their place. Universities are looking to the virtual courses they’ve developed during the pandemic to have an ongoing place with part-time and foreign students.
Even companies that send everyone back to the office are keeping up paid Zoom subscriptions so that they can act quickly in the event of a pandemic repeat or a natural disaster.
ZM is one of the stocks to buy for March that may well see a recovery through 2021 as concerns that the slowing of the pandemic would damage its business prove to be unfounded.
[Learn More: See Why Billionaires are Flocking to this Tiny Niche of the Tech Sector]
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had a long position in CHWY, DOCU, JD, PYPL, ROKU, SHOP, and ZM. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Read more from Louis Navellier and the InvestorPlace Research Staff at InvestorPlace.com