Investing.com — 2024 was a year of significant market change, with some companies rising to the top while others faced significant headwinds. Investing.com compiled a list of the best performers of the year:
Tesla (NASDAQ:)
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) struggled in the first part of the year, but that changed in November after the US election, with Elon Musk aligning himself with President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk's support in the campaign and his appointment, and Vivek Ramaswamy in running Trump's Department of State Operations has helped boost Tesla's stock as investors view it as a “Trump trade”.
In a recent note, Baird analysts raised their price target for Tesla to $480 from $280, based on strong growth prospects for the automaker, supported by cost-cutting, new models, and strong regulatory power.
“The stock has gained significant momentum and has many potential futures. We like the stock long term and are buyers on pullbacks,” the company said. The fast track to possible Cybercab regulation, the rollout of affordable vehicles, and Musk's relationship with President-elect Trump has Baird bullish on Tesla's vision for 2025.
Crypto Stocks
In the wake of the presidential election as investors are anticipating a favorable situation for the sector, cryptocurrency-focused stocks have also surged.
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR ) started its rally before the election and is up about 400% (as of December 27) this year. The stock, which is seen as the bellwether of Bitcoin exposure, is driven by Bitcoin's rising prices and the company's continued commitment to its cryptocurrency holdings.
Meanwhile, Coinbase (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:) and Robinhood (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:) also benefited from the crypto resurgence, up 58% and 216% this year, respectively.
The sector's stellar performance in recent months shows growing confidence in the crypto market as Trump prepares to take office in January.
Palantir (NASDAQ:)
Since August, Palantir has increased and is close to 400% this year, strengthening its position as one of the top players.
The company's software solutions and growing adoption in the government and private sectors have made it a standout in the field of data analytics.
Wedbush analysts reiterated their Outperform rating and $75 price target on the company's shares in a note, saying: “With AI spending expected to significantly increase IT budgets by 2025, we believe the Messi of AI Palantir is in prime position to continue expanding its pipeline.
They added: “We believe Palantir has a credible path to the next Oracle (NYSE: ) over the next decade with AIP leading the way as many on the street continue to be highly skeptical of the AI Messiah.”
Nvidia (NASDAQ:)
While the above stocks rallied primarily at the end of the year, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA ) made huge gains between January and June. After pulling back, it rose again between August and November and is up more than 175% this year.
Nvidia has continued to capitalize on demand from AI. The company's strategic positioning at the forefront of AI innovation has made it an important stock for growth-focused investors.
Trust analysts said they were “bullish” on Nvidia's AI control, maintaining a Buy rating on the stock and raising their target price to $204 from $169 a note.
The firm noted that the stock “has been a home run investment over the past two years due to new demand for AI,” and they expect 2025 to be “another positive year.”
They state that “all relevant industry contacts support the dominance and superiority of NVDA's technology stack,” while they believe that “NVDA will announce a consumer-side CPU in 2025, unlocking an additional ~$35B in TAM.”
Intel (NASDAQ:)
Contrary to the words above, Intel has seen its stock fall 60% year to date.
The challenges surrounding the company's health and appearance are very difficult for its operations.
Intel has struggled to maintain its leadership in the global chip market, giving way to rivals such as AMD (NASDAQ:) and Nvidia. The sudden removal of CEO Pat Gelsinger marked a dramatic shift, casting further doubt on the chipmaker's ambitious turnaround plans.
In a research note, Wolfe Research told investors that the biggest issue facing INTC is that they “don't have the scale to be an IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer) anymore, and the opportunity to get help from TSMC will be there.” it's very difficult.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that two Intel executives said a manufacturing spinoff is possible if the new chipmaking technology planned for next year fails.