There are still plenty of opportunities to snap up attractive stocks ahead of their earnings reports, according to Goldman Sachs. The firm called out a slew of buy-rated names that have yet to post quarterly results, but have major upside. CNBC Pro combed through Goldman Sachs’ research to find the most well-positioned stocks heading into earnings. They include Affirm, Li Auto, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Waystar and CAE. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Shares of the entertainment and sports company are too attractive to ignore, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Stephen Laszczyk upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing a slate of positive catalysts ahead. The firm said it sees upside to consensus estimates and that Madison Square Garden Entertainment has assets that are unparalleled in the “leading entertainment market in the world.” “We see upside to event booking growth driven by a combination of strong supply concert tours and fan demand for live entertainment,” Laszczyk wrote. Further, corporate demand in New York remains strong, he said, noting the company is seeing no signs of a slow down. “These market characteristics, we believe, should lead to increased venue utilization, pricing power, and continued demand for sponsorship and premium hospitality, especially for the market’s most iconic venues,” the analyst added. MSG Entertainment is scheduled to report earnings in mid-August. The stock is up about 15% in 2024. Affirm Shares of the buy now, pay later company are down nearly 48% this year, but Goldman thinks the negative sentiment is overdone. Analyst Will Nance called the stock a “long term secular winner” ahead of earnings in late August. He is particularly bullish on Affirm’s partnership with Apple Pay , which was announced in June. “We think volumes trend better than expected, with focus on earnings around the Apple Pay integration and what it can add to 2025,” the analyst said. He also sees growth tailwinds from the partnership. The stock is also extremely compelling at current levels, Nance added. “Putting it all together, we believe the Apple partnership gives AFRM a solid opportunity for the company to expand its distribution capabilities to the edges of e-commerce,” he wrote. Waystar Goldman Sachs is also bullish on Waystar ahead of its earnings report on Aug. 7 . The firm recently began coverage of the health-care payments service provider with a buy rating. Waystar had its initial public offering in early June , debuting on the Nasdaq. Analyst Adam Hotchkiss called the company “unique within a market dominated by point-solution technology vendors, manual processes, and healthcare IT services businesses.” Waystar also has a platform that’s undervalued, he said. “We think that the combination of a $15bn TAM [total addressable market], Waystar’s nascent market share (~5%), and underlying end-market stability provides a compelling formula for compounding growth,” Hotchkiss said. Shares are up 5.4% in the past month. Li Auto “We are Buy rated on LI, a leading pure NEV [new energy vehicle] player with 5% NEV market share in China as of 1Q24 , as we believe the company will have the strongest model pipeline of 5 new launches and strongest sales network expansion of 400 stores in 2024E. … With continued scale economics and operating leverage, we expect Li Auto to deliver the fastest earnings growth with top-tier free cash flow generation among our China auto OEM coverage.” MSG Entertainment “MSGE has best-in-class assets in the leading entertainment market in the world. … We see upside to event booking growth driven by a combination of strong supply concert tours & fan demand for live ent. … These market characteristics, we believe, should lead to increased venue utilization, pricing power, & continued demand for sponsorship & premium hospitality, especially for the market’s most iconic venues.” Waystar “We believe that WAY’s comprehensive technology platform, addressing multiple points across the healthcare revenue cycle, is unique within market dominated by point-solution technology vendors, manual processes & healthcare IT services businesses. … We think that the combination of a $15bn TAM, WAY’s nascent market share (~5%), and underlying end-market stability provides a compelling formula for compounding growth.” CAE “CAE is the market leader in commercial aviation simulation & training, which is a highly regulated, recurring, and high margin business. … Our SOTP analysis indicates that CAE’s stock is currently substantially undervalued. … CAE’s size is a competitive advantage because it provides better data quality for customers and can offer more competitive pricing.” Affirm “Long term secular winners: RELY, AFRM, TOST. … We see this as a solid tailwind to growth, and a conservative estimate of the near term impact on AFRM. … Putting it all together, we believe the Apple partnership gives AFRM a solid opportunity for the company to expand its distribution capabilities to the edges of e-commerce.”
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