Investing.com — 2024 has been a year of significant market shifts, with some companies soaring to new heights while others faced significant headwinds. Investing.com has compiled a list of some of the year’s most notable performers:
Tesla (NASDAQ:)
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares struggled for the first part of the year, but that changed in November after the U.S. election, with Elon Musk having aligned himself with President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk’s support on the campaign trail and his appointment, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy in heading up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has helped to boost Tesla’s stock as investors look at it as a “Trump trade”.
In a recent note, analysts at Baird raised their target for Tesla to $480 from $280, based on strong growth prospects in the automaker, supported by cost reductions, new models, and favorable regulatory dynamics.
“The stock has gained significant momentum and has several upcoming potential catalysts. We like the stock long term and would be buyers on pullbacks,” the firm said. A potential regulatory fast track for the Cybercab, the rollout of affordable vehicles, and Musk’s ties to President-elect Trump has Baird bullish on Tesla’s outlook for 2025.
Crypto Stocks
With also surging following the presidential election as investors expect a favorable environment for the sector, cryptocurrency-focused stocks have also rallied.
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) started its rally ahead of the election and is up nearly 400% (as of December 27) this year. The stock, seen as a bellwether for Bitcoin exposure, was driven by surging Bitcoin prices and the company’s continued commitment to its cryptocurrency holdings.
Meanwhile, Coinbase (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:) and Robinhood (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:) also benefitted from the crypto resurgence, up over 58% and 216% this year, respectively.
The sector’s stellar performance in recent months reflects a growing belief in the crypto market as Trump prepares to take office in January.
Palantir (NASDAQ:)
Since August, Palantir has skyrocketed and is also up close to 400% this year, solidifying its place as one of the top performers.
The company’s software solutions and growing adoption across government and private sectors have made it a standout in the data analytics space.
Wedbush analysts reiterated their Outperform rating and $75 target for the company’s shares in a note, stating: “With AI spending expected to ramp significantly within IT budgets in 2025, we believe the Messi of AI Palantir is in a prime spot to continue expanding its pipeline/deal flow.”
They added: “We believe Palantir has a credible path to morph into the next Oracle (NYSE:) over the coming decade with AIP leading the way as many on the Street continue to be huge skeptics of the Messi of AI.”
Nvidia (NASDAQ:)
While the stocks above primarily rallied towards the end of the year, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) made significant gains between January and June. After a pullback, it moved higher once again between August and November and is up over 175% this year.
Nvidia has continued to capitalize on the demand stemming from AI. The company’s strategic positioning at the forefront of the AI revolution made it an essential stock for growth-focused investors.
Truist analysts said they are “incrementally constructive” on Nvidia’s AI dominance, maintaining a Buy rating on the stock and raising the price target to $204 from $169 in a note.
The firm noted that the stock has “been a home-run investment over the last two years owing to a new wave of AI demand,” and they expect 2025 to be “another constructive year.”
They state that “all relevant industry contacts support the dominance and superiority of NVDA’s full technology stack,” while they believe “NVDA will announce a client-side CPU during 2025, opening up an additional ~$35B TAM.”
Intel (NASDAQ:)
In contrast to the names above, Intel has seen its stock plummet by 60% year-to-date.
Challenges surrounding the company’s health and outlook have weighed heavily on its performance.
Intel has struggled to maintain its leadership in the global chip market, ceding ground to rivals like AMD (NASDAQ:) and Nvidia. The abrupt removal of CEO Pat Gelsinger marked a dramatic turn, 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 simply don’t have the scale to be an IDM [Integrated Device Manufacturer] any longer, and the possibility of getting help from TSMC is going to be very difficult.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that two Intel executives said a manufacturing spinoff is possible if a new chipmaking technology slated for next year does not succeed.
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