Top European Stocks for Your Portfolio Today
European stocks were initially shunned during the pandemic but recently rallied among long-term investors. The market has been adjusting to Brexit-related disruptions and stocks are relatively affordable, and diverse. Here are some of the top European stocks to buy today.
1. SAP (SAP)
Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP SE is one of the largest independent software vendors in the world and the leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Its solutions are designed to cater to the needs of organizations, ranging from small and medium businesses to large, global enterprises.
SAP has historically performed better and has gained about 16% year to date. In recent times SAP has been transitioning its business from a licensing model to a cloud model, which should help the company reach 80% recurring revenue by 2023. Despite the health crisis, SAP should attain 87% earnings per share growth this year, according to some analysts.
Should I buy shares of SAP?
The SAP stock price gained 2.39% on the last trading day (Thursday, 14th Oct 2021), rising from $141.65 to $145.04. , and has now gained 3 days in a row. It will be exciting to see whether it manages to continue gaining or take a minor break for the next few days.
2. ASML Holding (ASML)
ASML is a Dutch semiconductor equipment company and a market leader in the production of lithography tools used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The company has also performed well in 2020, gaining about 22% year to date. The stock is likely to face some upside ahead, given solid customer demand and growth drivers such as 5G support and high-powered computing.
Should I buy shares of ASML Holding?
Shares fell this week after an analyst downgraded the company’s stock. The stocks may have also dropped as some investors sold fast-growing tech stocks in response to rising 10-year Treasury yields.
But the stock rose on Thursday morning, up to 2.87% in pre-market trading to 765.76. In the Semiconductor Equipment & Materials industry, which ranks 30 out of 146 industries, the stock ranks higher than 90% of stocks.
The stock has fallen 14.56% over the past month, closing at $887.31 on September 16. But even with recent declines, ASML stock is still trouncing the broader market. The tech stock is up 100% over the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500’s 28% increase. Considering that the stock has climbed so much over that period, it’s not all that surprising that some investors would cash out when an analyst downgraded the stock.
The supply chain disruptions facing the semiconductor industry will likely present negative effects for the company’s 2020 revenue, but sales will simply be pushed into 2021. Looking ahead, the company’s next-generation extreme ultraviolet lithography product should help boost margins.
3. AstraZeneca (AZN)
AstraZeneca plc, headquartered in London, UK, is one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies in the world. AstraZeneca’s business can be broken down into separate lines based on therapeutic classes. These include metabolic diseases, cardiovascular, respiratory, immunology, oncology, and others.
In July 2021 AstraZeneca closed the acquisition of rare-disease drugmaker, Alexion for $39 billion. The acquisition added Alexion’s five marketed rare disease products and its pipeline of immune-mediated rare disease candidates.
AstraZeneca is testing one of the leading coronavirus vaccine candidates. The business recently had to halt its trials because of a serious side effect in one trial participant. However, it quickly resumed testing in Britain following an investigation.
Should I buy AstraZeneca shares?
The AstraZeneca PLC stock price fell by 1.29% on the last day (Thursday, 14th Oct 2021) from $60.45 to $59.67. During the day the stock fluctuated 1.58% from a day low at $59.63 to a day high of $60.58. The price has been going up and down for this period, and there has been a -0.65% loss for the last 2 weeks. Volume has increased on the last day by 1 million shares but on falling prices. This may be an early warning and the risk will be increased slightly over the next couple of days. In total, 6 million shares were bought and sold for approximately $333.47 million.
4. Sanofi (SNY)
Sanofi is a global pharmaceutical company based in France. Analysts have been bullish on the monoclonal antibody drug Dupixent, which treats allergic diseases such as eczema and asthma, which is being developed by Sanofi. Sanofi is also targeting mid- to high-single-digit compound annual sales growth in its vaccine unit through 2025.
Should I buy Sanofi shares?
The current consensus among 25 polled investment analysts is to buy stock in Sanofi SA. The 22 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Sanofi SA have a median target of 62.55, with a high estimate of 70.59 and a low estimate of 46.29. The median estimate represents a +28.95% increase from the last price of 48.51, according to CNN Business.
5. Total SE (TOT)
French oil major Total SE is one of the largest energy companies in the world. The oil industry has taken another heavy blow because of a sharp decline in global travel, but analysts see Total as an attractive value opportunity.
The firm has a long long-term track record of delivering steady growth regardless of the external environment. The company also has a robust pipeline of project startups in the works and a healthy balance sheet that includes a gearing ratio of less than 28%.
Should I buy shares of Total?
The current consensus among 29 polled investment analysts is to buy stock in TotalEnergies SE. The 26 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for TotalEnergies SE have a median target of 58.32, with a high estimate of 72.00 and a low estimate of 50.00. The median estimate represents a +13.41% increase from the last price of 51.42, according to CNN Business.