Best Stocks for 2022: After Two Quarters, Who Holds The Lead?

At the end of each year, InvestorPlace invites its analysts and writers to take a stab at picking one stock they think will do better than the rest during the next year. Nine analysts chose stocks this year, and our readers chose their favorite in an open poll.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about how everyone’s choices are stacking up without first addressing the elephant in the room, which is that very few stocks are actually doing well this year. The fact that any of our analysts managed to pick a stock that’s gone up in price this year is commendable.

We’ve passed the halfway point of 2022, and multiple major indexes have slipped into bear market territory, with the S&P 500 now down 20% and the Nasdaq down 28%.

There have been plenty of headwinds for the market, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, and it has had cascading effects for everyone, not just those buying stocks. From gas prices to rent prices, it seems nothing is immune — except, perhaps, for the Costco (NASDAQ:COST) hot dog, thank goodness.

Let’s take a look at the 10 stocks and how they’re doing so far.

ABBV	Abbvie	$153.62
ARHS	Arhaus	$4.95
DRRSF	Arianne Phosphate	$0.32
BMY	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$75.65
EPR	EPR Properties	$49.21
KLIC	Kulicke and Soffa	$45.43
NVDA	Nvidia	$157.62
POSAF	POSaBit Systems	$0.51
ROKU	Roku	$85.77
SAH	Sonic Automotive	$36.58

Best Stocks for 2022: AbbVie (ABBV)

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), chosen by Bob Ciura, is our second best performer this year with a gain of 11%. It’s an impressive result in a year that has seen many powerhouse companies plummet, but what might be even more impressive is its dividend.

ABBV stock is a Dividend King, which means it has raised its dividend every year for the past 50 years. There aren’t many Dividend Kings out there — 44 right now — and it comes with the tacit assurance that the stock will continue to support investors with a dividend for years to come.

AbbVie has continued to grow its portfolio of drugs both through R&D investments and acquisitions of other companies. It will lose its patent protection for Humira soon, but that’s no reason to doubt its future potential.

Arhaus (ARHS)

Arhaus (NASDAQ:ARHS), chosen by Luke Lango, is the worst performing stock of the bunch so far, having lost 65% of its price. As Luke explains, it all comes down to the big problems facing the economy as a whole. “Rising mortgage rates have caused the housing market to come to a screeching halt,” he explains, which means people aren’t exactly in the mood to buy new furniture.

However, Luke Lango still stands behind ARHS stock as a valuable investment, and says that we should expect a rebound. The company is expected to grow earnings by 23% next quarter and 25% over the next two years. And he expects that a drop in mortgage rates this year will help stabilize the housing market.

He offers an impressive prediction for the next two years: “Over the next two years, shares of Arhaus could rise by 4 times.” The company is expected to earn a dollar per share in 2024, which means a $20 price for the stock is very feasible.

Best Stocks for 2022: Arianne Phosphate (DRRSF)

Arianne Phosphate (OTCMKTS:DRRSF), chosen by Joanna Makris, is a phosphate company that is “well-positioned to make a comeback in the second half of the year.” With a loss of 9% so far this year, it’s certainly not the worst investment you could have made this year, and there’s reason to believe it could do great moving forward.

As Joanna Makris explains, “last month, Arianne announced positive independent test results, which confirm its high-purity phosphate concentrate can be used in the production of technical grade phosphoric acid used in the production of batteries.”

The company recently appointed Michael Gentile as an advisor, “a prominent strategic investor in the small- and medium-capitalization mining sector.” He bought 4 million shares of the company’s stock, which is the sort of move that indicates he really believes in the company’s future. There’s plenty of reasons an insider might sell stock, but buying it usually means just one thing: They think it’s headed higher.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), chosen by Sure Dividend’s Ben Reynolds, is the best performer so far at a stunning 19% gain so far this year. And that’s on top of having a solid dividend.

Some investors are worried about BMY’s future; after all, the company’s patent for Revlimid is ending soon. But that misses the bigger picture; BMY stock is about more than just one medicine, and it expects to continue growing at a steady, consistent rate for the next several years.

We’ll be watching BMY stock closely throughout the rest of the year to see whether it can keep its place at the top of the pack.

Best Stocks for 2022: EPR Properties (EPR)

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR), chosen by Charles Sizemore, has managed to stay basically level so far this year. We noted its price at the very beginning of the year as $47.49, and right now it’s at $47.56. That’s not bad in a year that has seen plenty of stocks falter.

EPR Properties is an entertainment real estate investment trust (REIT), which means that it owns properties occupied by everything from movie theaters to ski resorts. Needless to say, we spent a whole lot less time at those venues for most of 2020 and 2021, and many people are eager to make up for lost time and enjoy the things they missed doing at the height of the pandemic.

REITs are a good, safe investment for anyone looking for a strong dividend, and EPR offers its dividend on a monthly basis. That means it can be a source of consistent, reliable income, and at a yield of 7% annually, it’s hard to beat.

Kulicke and Soffa (KLIC)

Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC), chosen by Louis Navellier, has seen a decline of 28% so far this year. A supplier for semiconductor manufacturing parts, the company has been adversely affected by all the economic realities that have hurt the broader tech field.

However, Louis Navellier isn’t counting KLIC stock out yet. Despite its decline in price, Kulicke and Soffa did extraordinarily well on both the top and bottom lines in their Q1 2022 results: “Kulicke and Soffa generated $384.28 million in revenues during 2022’s first quarter, exceeding the analysts’ consensus estimate by 1.13% … This result beat not only Wall Street’s estimate of $1.47 per share, but also the year-earlier quarter’s earnings result of $1.26 per share.”

Navellier argues that KLIC stock is a great opportunity to buy a solid stock at a great price. Kulicke and Soffa isn’t exactly a household name, but they’re worth your attention.

Best Stocks for 2022: Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), chosen by our readers, was one of the best performing stocks in 2020 and 2021. 2022 hasn’t been great for NVDA stock, though, and it’s down 48%. InvestorPlace Web Editor Nick Clarkson explains the things that have gone wrong.

First of all, the supply chain issues affecting just about everyone have hit Nvidia hard. People are clamoring for its graphics cards, but all the demand in the world means nothing without supply to meet it, and Nvidia just hasn’t been able to produce new chips fast enough. On top of that, recent offerings including the GTX 1630 graphics card have been poorly received by consumers, and an attempted acquisition of Arm fell through, sending it down 14% in a month.

Despite that, though, Nick Clarkson points toward things that could help the company recover its losses in the second half of the year. In particular, it reported an astounding 46% year-over-year gain in revenue in its most recent earnings report. It’s also developing technology that will be critical for metaverse applications, which many believe is the next big thing in tech.

POSaBit Systems (POSAF)

POSaBit Systems (OTCMKTS:POSAF), chosen by Tom Yeung, is an interesting play on the increasing mainstream prominence of cannabis. You see, most financial institutions can’t touch the stuff; the federal government places restrictions on non-cash transactions involving marijuana. But POSAF stock, which is down 63% this year, sidesteps most of those problems.

With a 52-week high of $2.12, it’s certainly seen better days, but don’t count it out yet. It has continued to do what it does well, and it’s really in a league of its own. Companies like Visa (NYSE:V) and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) simply can’t compete. However, the fact is, consumers are spending less on marijuana products than they have in the past.

But Tom Yeung is still optimistic about the company and says it could be the top penny stock of 2022. A lot of penny stocks end up going to zero, sure, but the ones that succeed have the potential to be truly explosive.

Best Stocks for 2022: Roku (ROKU)

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU), chosen by Bret Kenwell, is the second-worst performing stock out of the bunch, down 64% since the beginning of the year. But Bret Kenwell points out a few bits of good news that might help Roku out.

Analysts expect Roku’s revenue to grow 34% this year and 30% in 2023. Meanwhile, it has continued to see strong performance in its average revenue per user growth, and total streaming hours, platform revenue, and active accounts have all seen improvement.

Bret Kenwell points to an 85% peak-to-trough decline for the stock and asks an important question: “At one point is the market discounting all of the company’s hurdles and potential hurdles in the future?” Eventually, a turnaround for Roku is plausible, and he points toward $77 as the place to watch (while acknowledging that it could drop even further).

Sonic Automotive (SAH)

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH), chosen by Josh Enomoto, is down 29% this year so far. Sonic is in the used cars business. Everything from the chip shortage to gas prices has affected sales of used cars, but Josh believes another catalyst will move SAH stock higher: the return to the office:

“While the Covid-19 crisis threw certain paradigms for a loop, the fact of the matter is that per Statista’s Global Consumer Survey, 76% of American commuters use their own car to move between home and work. At some point, businesses like Sonic Automotive may return to full relevancy.

“With Elon Musk recently making noise about wanting his workers back in the office, the clock may be ticking on work-from-home privileges.”

It’s definitely an interesting argument, and it’s not the only good news for SAH stock. Josh Enomoto points to the company’s impressive financial metrics, which are far better than the sector as a whole.

Avril Ayers is a web editor for InvestorPlace.com. On the date of publication, they did not hold any position (either directly or indirectly) in any of the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.