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5 Stocks on Unstoppable Rally Amid Nasdaq's Historic 1H

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The Nasdaq Composite Index is set to wrap up the best first half in 40 years, climbing 29%. The Nasdaq-100, which tracks the top 100 stocks traded on the Nasdaq Exchange, is also on track for its best first-half performance on record.

While most of the stocks in the index soared, we have highlighted five that have more than doubled this year and are expected to continue to outperform given their solid Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) and a solid estimated earnings growth rate for the current fiscal year. These include Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) , MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR - Free Report) , Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) , DraftKings Inc. (DKNG - Free Report) and MongoDB Inc. (MDB - Free Report) .

The outstanding performance can be attributed to several factors.

Strong Performance of Tech Stocks: Being tech-heavy, the index mostly benefited from the significant growth of major tech companies as investors rushed to these stocks in search for strong balance sheets, durable revenue streams and stable cash flows amid the banking crisis.

Excitement Around Artificial Intelligence (AI): The rise of AI technologies has created a wave of excitement among investors, which has propelled the Nasdaq index after a tough 2022.

Rate Hike Pause: Hopes that the Fed is nearing the end of its interest rate-hike cycle has provided a boost to the index. Powell, in the latest Fed meeting, kept interest rates steady in the range of 5% to 5.25%, marking a pause after 10 consecutive rate hikes. As the tech sector relies on borrowing for superior growth, it is cheaper to borrow more money for further initiatives when interest rates are low.

Positive Analyst Ratings and Outlooks: The potential for continued growth is supported by positive analyst ratings and price targets for several Nasdaq-listed companies.

Diversified Sectors and Industries: The Nasdaq's strong performance is not solely dependent on tech stocks. There are signs that the rally has broadened, with previously unloved corners of the market, such as small-caps and cyclical names, starting to climb.

Best Stocks of Nasdaq

Nvidia is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit or GPU. The stock has skyrocketed more than 179% this year so far, and its earnings are expected to grow 129.3% for the fiscal year ending January 2024.

Nvidia has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Momentum Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

MicroStrategy is a leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software. The stock has soared more than 140% this year so far.

MicroStrategy has an estimated earnings growth rate of 124.9% for this year. It has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A.

Meta Platforms is the world’s largest social media platform. The company’s portfolio offering evolved from a single Facebook app to multiple apps like photo and video sharing apps, Instagram and WhatsApp owing to acquisitions. The stock has surged nearly 134% so far this year.

META has an expected earnings growth rate of 21.4% for this year and has a Zacks Rank #2. It carries a solid Growth Score of B.

DraftKings is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to fuel the competitive spirits of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. The stock has climbed 130.6% this year so far.

DraftKings has an estimated earnings growth rate of 40.8% for this year. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has a Momentum Score of B.

MongoDB provides a general purpose database platform. Its products include MongoDB Enterprise Advanced, MongoDB Enterprise for OEM, MongoDB Professional, MongoDB Stitch, MongoDB Atlas, Development Support, Ops Manager, Cloud Manager, Compass, Connector for business intelligence and Connector for Spark. The stock has risen about 105% this year so far.

MongoDB is expected to see earnings growth of 86.4% for the fiscal year ending January 2024 and has a Zacks Rank #2. It has a solid Growth Score of A.

Disclaimer: This article has been written with the assistance of Generative AI. However, the author has reviewed, revised, supplemented, and rewritten parts of this content to ensure its originality and the precision of the incorporated information.

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