Oh, the heat is punishing these days but that's not what is making most of us suffer
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Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
1 Brilliant Quantum Computing Stock to Buy Before It Soars 70%, According to 1 Wall Street Analyst
Key Points IonQ is taking a unique approach to quantum computing. Quantum computing is expected to reach a turning point around 2030. 10 stocks we like better than IonQ › Wall Street analysts often give one-year price targets for stocks as a guide to where they think the stock is heading. While these projections are inherently flawed and in no way guarantee what will happen to a stock, understanding what the general analyst community thinks about a stock can be helpful in shaping your own research, especially in an area like quantum computing where there's a lot of hype. Kevin Garrigan from Rosenblatt Security recently set a new price target for quantum computing pure play IonQ (NYSE: IONQ). As of Wednesday's market close, IonQ was trading at $41.21 per share. Garrigan's price target is $70, indicating about 70% upside. That's a strong return in a short time frame, but is IonQ stock a buy now? Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » IonQ's trapped ion approach shows potential IonQ is a leading quantum computing company, which is impressive considering that it doesn't have another business to fund its operations. IonQ relies on raising capital in the public markets and various contracts it has to fund its research, unlike many of the big tech competitors in this space, which have massive cash flows to fund their quantum computing research. Despite this disadvantage, IonQ has developed impressive quantum computing technology. IonQ has taken the trapped ion approach to quantum computing, which has benefits and drawbacks. On the plus side, trapped ion architecture has impressive fidelity, and IonQ holds the world record in 1-qubit gate fidelity tests. (A qbit, or quantum bit, is the basic unit of information used in quantum computing to encode data.) It can also be done at room temperature, while other solutions need to be cooled to absolute zero. On the downside, trapped ion quantum computing can have a slightly slower processing speed compared to other solutions. Time will tell whether this is a winning approach, but some of IonQ's early successes indicate that it could be viable. But will that be enough to deliver the $70 stock price that Garrigan thinks is possible? IonQ won't see real business gains for at least a few years Any stock price prediction for IonQ is speculation. While it has a handful of contracts and its quantum computing devices are available for use on all three major cloud computing services, there's really no commercial market for quantum computing right now. However, most quantum computing companies point toward 2030 being a key year, and IonQ is no exception. Its CEO projected that IonQ would be profitable and generate sales of nearly $1 billion by 2030. After that, management expects significant market expansion, with an $87 billion market emerging by 2035. To bridge the gap between profitability and its research phase, IonQ has $1.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and outside investments, which should allow it to reach this critical point. While it's impossible to know if IonQ's technology will propel it to be a winning quantum computing pick over the next few years, investors can feel confident that IonQ has the proper resources and backing to at least get to that point. Whether that's worth a $70-per-share target is a different question that I can't answer, but with all of the momentum behind quantum computing, I have a hard time seeing this stock slowing down anytime soon. As a result, I think it's worth an investment, as long as the position size is kept relatively small to help manage risk. Should you invest $1,000 in IonQ right now? Before you buy stock in IonQ, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IonQ wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,106,071!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Globe and Mail
2 Growth Stocks That Wall Street Might Be Sleeping On, but I'm Not
Key Points Lululemon stock continues to fall, but consumer interest in the brand is as strong as ever. Roku stock has underperformed for the past few years, but viewership on its platform continues to rise. 10 stocks we like better than Lululemon Athletica Inc. › The current tech-fueled bull market continues to draw attention on Wall Street. All the major indices have hit new highs recently, but most of the focus among investors is concentrated on companies benefiting from artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, valuations for companies in other sectors are looking attractive. Some top brands in the consumer goods sector are starting to look interesting from a value perspective. Here are two stocks that have fallen out of favor on Wall Street but could see a rebound over the next few years. 1. Lululemon Athletica Shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) have plummeted to new 52-week lows in the past month and are down by more than 60% from their peak, but there seems to be a growing discrepancy between the company's brand strength and its stock price. There are customers of the brand who swear by the product quality, and this is echoed in growing search interest on Google Trends. Wall Street obviously has cooled toward companies dependent on a cautious consumer, but Lululemon stock offers incredible value at under $200. Lululemon has had an amazing growth story. Over the last 10 years, revenue and earnings grew at a compound annual rate of 19% and 24%, respectively. Those are impressive numbers for a company that must vie for market share with powerhouses like Nike and Adidas. They also show how much room there is in the athletic apparel industry for new brands to stand out with differentiated product designs. Further, Lululemon's successes highlight how fragmented this part of the apparel industry is, and the opportunity for a rising tide to lift all boats. After five decades of growth, Nike is the largest brand, but it only reaps a minor portion of consumers' activewear spending. Overall, the athletic apparel market was worth $406 billion in 2024, according to Grand View Research, which expects it to grow at an annualized rate of 9% through 2030. Lululemon reported a 7% year-over-year revenue increase in the first quarter, which is relatively strong considering the weak consumer spending backdrop across the apparel industry. It still has a lot of potential in international markets, which provide only a small portion of annual revenue now, and it continues to see strong customer responses to new releases. I believe it will grow sales much faster in a stronger economy. The stock looks undervalued at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13. This might be a fair multiple for a company growing sales and earnings at low rates, but if Lululemon returns to double-digit percentage sales growth over the next year, the stock could rocket higher. Just returning to its previous peak of $516 would more than double an investment made at today's price. 2. Roku Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) stock also has underperformed the past few years, which doesn't match the growth of its streaming platform. Its key product is a smart TV operating system that aggregates content from all the major streaming services, which is part of the value proposition for consumers who feel increasingly swamped by too many streaming options. While Apple TV is a top competitor, not everyone needs to be locked into the Apple ecosystem, especially at the premium prices the tech giant charges for its devices. Roku has a large and growing customer base thanks to its position as a budget-friendly alternative with an ad-supported revenue strategy. The stock's current $84 price is well off the $490 high it reached during the pandemic. A slowing advertising market weighed on revenue growth, and the company is still recovering from that slump. However, management has made a lot of investments into ad technology and partnerships with third-party demand-side platforms like Amazon, and this strategy is paying off. Platform revenue, gross profit, and streaming hours all grew by double-digit percentages in the second quarter. Roku's active accounts consistently grew at double-digit rates over the past few years. Roku says it now serves over half of all U.S. broadband households. Overall, these users spent more than 35 billion hours watching content on Roku last quarter, up from 30 billion in the prior-year period. Advertising dollars ultimately flow to where the viewers are, and this is why I think Roku stock could deliver strong returns from its currently depressed level. The growth rate in video advertising on its platform during Q2 was greater than the growth of the broader U.S. digital ad market, signaling that Roku is taking advantage of its opportunity to capture a greater amount of the ad spending that is shifting to digital media. Management expressed optimism about Roku's prospects in 2026. It cited execution in monetization initiatives and pointed to improvements in its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margins. Adjusted EBITDA grew 79% year over year in Q2, with trailing-12-month free cash flow up 23%, and the company expects further margin expansion next year. Wall Street is not too hot on the stock due to Roku's history of weak profitability. The company needs to prove it can profitably benefit from growth in digital advertising, but that is the outlook management is offering for 2026. Assuming the company succeeds in improving margins, the stock should move higher over the next 18 months or so. Should you invest $1,000 in Lululemon Athletica Inc. right now? Before you buy stock in Lululemon Athletica Inc., consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Lululemon Athletica Inc. wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,071% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Globe and Mail
2 Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold
Key Points Apple is finding ways to overcome a significant challenge, and still has a strong long-term outlook. Novartis is posting strong financial results, and it has both a diversified lineup and a robust pipeline. Both companies have attractive dividend programs that should please income-focused investors. 10 stocks we like better than Apple › We've seen several investing trends sweep through Wall Street in recent years, from excitement about the cannabis market to the artificial intelligence (AI) industry that's now dominating headlines. Some of these opportunities turned out to be major disappointments, while others were major moneymakers. Although there's nothing wrong with looking to capitalize on new high-growth industries, it's also worth implementing time-tested strategies such as investing in dividend stocks -- that's one investment style that will never die. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » And if you're looking for top dividend-paying companies to put your money in right now, let's consider two excellent candidates: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Novartis (NYSE: NVS). 1. Apple Apple has been under pressure all year due to President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies. The tech leader manufactures most of its iPhones abroad, especially in China. The administration has been imposing stiff tariffs on imports, which could erode Apple's profits. However, the company's CEO, Tim Cook, recently reached a deal with Trump that will exempt Apple from some potentially damaging tariffs in exchange for increasing its investment in U.S. manufacturing to $600 billion. These developments mitigate the threat from tariffs for Apple, making the stock even more attractive. Though the company no longer grows its revenue as fast as it once did, it still has a robust business and good long-term prospects. In its latest period (the third quarter of its fiscal year 2025, which ended June 28), sales increased by 10% year over year to $94 billion, while earnings per share jumped 12% year over year to $1.57. Apple has generated $96.2 billion in free cash flow (FCF) over the trailing-12-month period. Although FCF has declined by 11.6% compared to the same time last year, that's still a substantial amount of cash at its disposal, which it can reinvest in the business to improve its financial results. It could achieve this by finding more ways to monetize its vast ecosystem. The company has more than 2 billion active devices and over 1 billion paid subscriptions within its services segment, which boasts much juicier margins than the rest of the business. Moreover, Apple is still looking to make waves in the AI market. Although it trails some of its tech peers, the company has often been late to the party, only to launch a device that its loyal base of customers loves and that ends up becoming massively successful. Finally, Apple is a solid dividend stock. The company has doubled its payouts over the past decade and still has a modest cash payout ratio of 14%. Apple may have faced some headwinds recently, but it's proving its ability to navigate them. The stock looks highly attractive for long-term investors. 2. Novartis Novartis, a leading pharmaceutical company, has outperformed broader equities this year. Although the company faces some headwinds -- such as the threat of tariffs, and upcoming generic competition for Entresto, a medicine for heart failure and its top-selling drug -- its financial results remain strong. In the second quarter, net sales increased by 12% year over year to $14.1 billion, while net income rose 24% to $4 billion. True, Entresto's generic competitors hadn't entered the market yet in the second quarter, but Novartis continues to expect top-line growth in the high single digits for the year, and it recently increased its operating income guidance. For a company about to lose its best-selling medicine, that's impressive. It points to several key aspects of Novartis, including its diversified lineup featuring multiple blockbusters. Through the first six months of 2025, seven of the company's products had already exceeded $1 billion each in annual sales. Novartis is also excellent at developing new medicines. It will be able to offset Entresto-related losses thanks to some relatively newer products, including Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis, first approved in the U.S. in 2020, and Pluvicto, a cancer medicine that first earned the green light in 2022. Even newer medicines that will help drive top-line growth well into the next decade include Vanrafia, approved just this year to reduce high levels of protein in urine for certain patients, and Fabhalta, a medicine for some rare blood and kidney disorders, launched in 2023. These qualities are precisely what a drugmaker needs to perform well over the long run. As further evidence of its longevity, note that Novartis has increased its dividends for 28 consecutive years. The pharmaceutical giant looks like an outstanding stock to buy and hold through market downturns and volatility. Those looking for forever dividend stocks should strongly consider Novartis. Should you invest $1,000 in Apple right now? Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $649,544!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,113,059!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,062% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025
