Best Stocks to Watch in 2022

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has been losing ground for nearly eight years, plagued by poor management and aggressive competition. The old school tech behemoth took a giant leap forward in November, splitting off slower performing divisions into Kyndryl Holdings Corp. (KD). That stock has dropped like a rock since coming public, as it should, while the slimmed-down IBM has gained a modest 2%. Those gains should accelerate in 2022, with a rally above 155 signaling the first uptrend since 2013.

Visa Inc. (V) transactions surge when folks travel and spend their hard-earned dollars, euros, and shekels on airlines, hotels, and expensive meals. The Delta and Omicron variants have kept most of us closer to home in 2021, making the fintech’s quarterly earnings far less reliable. The stock whipped back and forth as a result, yielding this year’s nearly flat annual return.  Look for much stronger 2022 stock performance as massive immunity and a wave of new COVID drugs herald a return to normal around the world.

Boeing Co. (BA) rallied in 2020 when the U.S. government allowed the troubled 737 MAX jetliner to return to the friendly skies. However, supply chain disruptions and the pandemic weighed on the stock throughout 2021, yielding a zero return just like Visa.  2022 should generate much stronger gains for long-suffering shareholders, especially with the stock now sitting on 9-month support at 200. Better yet, it could double in price in the next two or three years, returning to lofty 2019 levels.

Roku Inc. (ROKU) is the most controversial entry on this 2022 watch list after a horrible year, in which the streaming provider has fallen a gut-wrenching 32%. Worse yet, the stock price has been cut in half since posting an all-time high less than five months ago. However, Roku could pick up the pieces in the fragmented streaming space, giving confused cord-cutters a single piece of hardware to collate dozens of free and paid services.

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as speculative vehicles of choice for the Millennial generation, but gold and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) could shine brightly in 2022, breaking out above decade-long resistance at 200. The fund tested that level in July 2020 and pulled back, spending all of 2021 carving the potential handle in a massive cup and handle pattern. A rally above 175 will set off preliminary buying signals in this configuration, setting the stage for an historic breakout.

Catch up on the latest price action with our new ETF performance breakdown.

Disclosure: the author held Visa in a family account at the time of publication.