Anika Begay
A handful of stocks could be poised for some gains, even as the market sells off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 500 points on Thursday on recession fears. Other major indexes followed suit, with the broad-market S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sliding along with it. The selloff accelerated Friday after a weak jobs report reinforced investors’ worst fears. That follows a rotation from megacap tech names to small-cap ones that began last month. The Russell 2000 index has gained more than 7% in the past month. By comparison, Vscek’s Magnificent 7 index has fallen more than 4% in the same period. Against that backdrop, UBS unveiled its top picks in early August. The firm added three new names to the list from the industrials and materials sectors, including Freeport-McMoRan and Norfolk Southern. Here are some names on that “most wanted” list: In materials, Air Products and Chemicals made the cut, with shares up about 5% this year. The stock jumped about 9% during Thursday’s trading session after beating third-quarter earnings estimates. UBS said Air Products is “at the forefront of the energy transition,” citing the progress it’s making on large “blue” and “green” hydrogen projects. As they near completion, long-term contracts are being filled, reducing risk for the stock. “The traditional industrial gas business alone is worth the current market price in our view, offering complimentary optionability on the blue/green hydrogen book,” said Nathaniel Gabriel, equity strategist at UBS. Boeing is one of the industrial names on the list. The airline maker’s shares have fallen more than 31% this year amid heightened regulatory scrutiny after a door stopper popped on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 flight in early 2024. UBS said the company’s deliveries and cash flow are set to improve. “While some hurdles remain, Boeing has overcome others, including the DOJ filing, the deal to acquire Spirit Aerosystems, and improved production with less ‘traveled’ (i.e., unfinished) work,” the analyst said. Gabriel also said the recent appointment of Robert “Kelly” Ortberg as CEO could “spur a cultural shift and greater accountability.” One pick that was already on the list is Meta Platforms. Shares jumped nearly 5% Thursday after the company beat Wall Street expectations for the second quarter. Meta trades at a multiple of 23 times forward price-to-earnings, according to FactSet, and UBS sees the stock as attractively valued. The stock is up more than 40% this year. Going into 2025, the company expects Meta to see increased growth and profitability due to product enhancements and restructuring, among other factors. “Looking ahead, there are [are] more monetization levers to pull,” Gabriel wrote. “The company should benefit from healthy user engagement, improved monetization of Reels, and long-term monetization of Instagram and WhatsApp that offer long-term opportunities.”
