Year-to-date, the market trends are highly positive. The S&P 500 is up ~18%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ, has put up a 14.5% year-to-date gain. There are potential headwinds – inflation is a worry, as is the possibility of further COVID-related restriction policies. But for now, the economy is mostly open, consumers are starting to spend, and investors seem optimistic.
As J.P. Morgan’s chief US strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas recently put it, the economic gains are “not an event but rather a process, which in our opinion is still not priced-in…”
According to Lakos-Bujas, now is the time to go bullish on stocks. He presently sees a combination of a healthy economy and the release of pent-up consumer demand – a pairing that gives potential for steady gains in the stock markets.
“We remain constructive on equities and see the latest round of growth and slowdown fears premature and overblown,” Lakos-Bujas added.
JPM’s stock analysts have been following the strategist’s lead and finding equities that look primed for gains in today’s market environment. Using the TipRanks database, we’ve found two stocks that JPM’s analysts have picked out for 60% or better gains. The rest of the Street also backs both tickers, with each sporting a “Strong Buy” consensus rating.
EverCommerce (EVCM)
The first JPM pick we’ll look at lives in the tech world. EverCommerce is a software company offering business management, payment acceptance, marketing tech, and customer engagement SaaS solutions for service-based businesses. In short, EverCommerce has the answers to e-commerce companies’ needs, for growth, streamlining, and customer retention. The company was busy last month. In July, it held its IPO – and conducted two acquisitions to expand its business.
First off, the IPO. EverCommerce put nearly 19.12 million shares on the market, with an initial price of $17 per share. The offering raised the planned $325 million in gross proceeds, which the company planned to use for debt reduction and general corporate purposes.
After the public offering, EverCommerce announced two acquisition moves. The first saw the company complete its acquisition of Timely, a global appointment booking and business management software company particularly popular in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The move brings Timely’s SaaS packages into EverCommerce’s suite of products.
The second merger announced in July was with MDTech, a Houston-based e-commerce tech company providing solutions for mobile charge capture. MDTech’s products are in use with small- and mid-sized business across 29 states. While EverCommerce disclosed the completion of these mergers, it did not disclose financial details of either transaction.
Checking in with the analysts, JPM’s 5-star analyst Sterling Auty has initiated coverage of EVCM with an Overweight (i.e. Buy)…
Read More: J.P. Morgan Says These 2 Stocks Are Ready to Rip Higher