U.S. markets have had one of the best years on record.
To date, the Dow Jones Industrials are up 25%. The NASDAQ is up 38%. The S&P 500 rocketed higher by 31%.
From here, we could see higher highs with trade tensions dialed down.
Going along for the ride, some of the top stocks of the year, included:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Since the year began, AMD is up 160% and could push even higher on multiple catalysts.
For one, analysts over at RBC just raised their target price to $53 “as data center demand ramps up and gaming sales come in better than feared, as we expect, this should lead to higher gross margins relative to current Street expectations,” as quoted by The Street.
Two, over the next six months, the company has plans to launch more 7-nm products that are expected to give a significant boost to the firm’s bottom line. Three, new gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony Corporation are set for a late 2020 launch, and will both use AMD chips. It also doesn’t hurt that AMD continues to gain market share from Intel.
Lam Research Corporation (LCRX)
LCRX had an amazing year to date, running 126% higher. Analysts appear bullish, too. In fact, according to Kiplinger, “KeyBanc’s Weston Twigg is among nine analysts who have given Lam Research’s shares a Buy rating over the past three months. He cites a ‘compelling’ setup ahead of 2020, which should be a strong year for fab-equipment demand.”
KLA Corporation (KLAC)
Shares of KLAC are up 109% for the year, and could also push higher in 2020. One of the biggest catalysts for stocks like KLAC is the 5G boom.
As KeyBanc Capital Markets noted earlier this year, “We see selective investment opportunities in 5G infrastructure, M&A, and in semiconductor equipment, where we see favorable risk/reward given attractive valuations,” as quoted by Barron’s.
Earlier this year, JP Morgan also noted KLAC “has exposure to some of the hottest future technology trends, such as 5G smartphones, 5G infrastructure equipment, autonomous driving sensors, and cloud-computing hardware,” as also noted by Barron’s.
