By Emily Dattilo
With the holiday season quickly approaching, one Wall Street team offered a gift basket of stocks to own into 2025.
Evercore ISI analysts led by Amit Daryanani recommended Apple, Arista Networks, Amphenol, International Business Machines, and Vertiv Holdings in a research note Wednesday.
Here's their reasoning:
Apple
The tech giant is set to benefit long-term from artificial intelligence, the analysts argued.
"The impact of Apple Intelligence on iPhone sales remains highly debated and while it is unlikely we will see a super cycle this year, we do not think this should be overly concerning for investors," they wrote. It's more of a long game, they believe, with iPhone growth ticking higher as more AI features are added.
The company's AI strategy isn't limited to selling iPhones, analysts noted, pointing to Apple's ability to monetize third-party AI efforts. "This will enable them to reap the AI rewards without the massive uptick in capex we are seeing at their mega cap peers," they wrote.
Evercore rates Apple at Outperform with a price target of $250. Shares slipped 0.4% to $223.39.
Arista Networks
The networking equipment company is set for revenue acceleration in 2025 thanks to multiple drivers including new customers, according to the Evercore analysts.
"Arista was predictably conservative with the CY25 revenue guide (15-17%), which leaves room for upside as we go through the year," they continued. The team sees a path to at least 20% revenue growth in 2025 and 2026, which should edge the stock toward $500.
Evercore raised its price target on Arista to $450 from $425 and reiterated an Outperform rating. The stock was up 1.6% to $401.71 on Wednesday.
Amphenol
The electrical connector manufacturer can "sustain double-digit revenue growth and mid-teens EPS growth with high consistency and low volatility" the analysts argued, and though AI is part of that it's certainly not the only positive driver. The company also has exposure to several different end-markets, which means it wins both when certain segments show signs of recovery or continued strength.
Evercore increased its price target on Amphenol to $80 from $75 and maintained an Outperform rating. Shares were up 0.4% to $72.25.
International Business Machines
The tech company can surpass growth estimates thanks to a slate of factors including enterprise AI tailwinds, momentum in software and recovery in consulting, the analysts wrote.
Beyond that, a less restrictive regulatory environment for mergers and acquisitions could boost deal activity.
Evercore rates IBM at Outperform with a price target of $240. Shares rose slightly Wednesday to $211.06.
Vertiv Holdings
The power and cooling equipment maker is on track to accelerate, the analysts wrote.
"We think the company is well-positioned to not just capture secular tailwind AI infrastructure tailwinds, but also gain share in an expanding market, and more importantly, do so in an increasingly more profitable manner," Evercore continued.
Evercore lifted its price target on Vertiv to $150 from $135 and reiterated an Outperform rating. Shares gained 2.6% to $126.62.
Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2024 10:41 ET (15:41 GMT)
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