Academy News These three stocks offered the most profit opportunities in 2022

These three stocks offered the most profit opportunities in 2022

Although this year, stock markets were not so tempting in a sense of traditional investments, traders and speculators using CFD shares had a bumper year. But when it comes to attractive trading opportunities, shares of 3 companies were standing above the average. We will tell you which ones in today’s article.

The stock markets have not seen a year like 2022 for a long time. It is already clear that this year will be the worst for US stock markets since the 2008 crisis. The US S&P 500 stock index, for example, has written down almost 20% since the start of the year. And as the gloomy mood refused to let go of the markets, it seems that Santa will not be making his traditional rally this year. But even the biggest crises can bring great opportunities. So which stocks offered the most interesting opportunities his year? And what is their outlook for 2023?

Apple - what went wrong?

The California tech giant has not had such a bad year in a long time - Apple shares lost over a quarter of their value. But back in the summer, everything still looked rosy as the price of this tech giant’s shares climbed near to its yearly high. At that time, Apple was carrying virtually the entire US big tech segment on its shoulders with its shares being unaffected by any market fluctuations. Apple’s stocks have survived high inflation, which is making labor, energy, and materials more expensive, and they have also withstood a very strong US dollar, reducing international revenues.

Apple's performance has thus been almost too good to be true. This Californian tech company was beating market estimates for both sales and profits, entering into Q4 with bravado, as its Q3 results were very positively received by the market. Sales-wise was apple 8% on year-on-year comparison with USD 90 billion and almost all its products (except for the iPhone which fell short by just $40 million) were performing well. It seems that everything was running smoothly, so what went wrong?

For the answer, we have to look to China. The continuing chaos of the anticovid measures that are still taking place there has had a significant impact on Apple's business. The biggest threat to Apple is the closures in China around the Foxconn factory. It is one of the most important manufacturers of iPhones. Apple itself has admitted that some products may be in short supply at Christmas. The Foxconn factories are not expected to return to full operation until late December or early January. This, of course, is a big blow to Apple as Christmas is inexorably approaching. Sales for the iPhone 14 could be as much as 5% lower than originally expected. The continuing difficulties in China are likely to force Apple to move more quickly to neighboring countries, especially India.

_{Apple stock development on D1 timeframe in MT4 platform}

The year 2023 - what to expect from Apple's share price?

Volatility seems to be ever-present in the market and Apple stock will not escape it. While the company has not provided an accurate outlook for the last quarter of the year, which is traditionally the strongest for Apple, the market is expecting an all-time high. There is even talk of sales of over USD 125 billion. We will see how negatively the closures in China will affect them, but a positive surprise could kick Apple shares higher again.

Another factor that could be positive for apple stock in 2023 is the weakening dollar. It has already fallen significantly from its highs and could continue to weaken as the end of the monetary tightening cycle approaches. This is a positive for foreign sales. Let’s not forget that a stronger dollar and inflation have also led Apple to significantly ramp up its product prices in certain countries with any possible discounts being highly improbable in the near future. However, Apple has shown several times in its history that it can thrive virtually all the time, which means that its current price may look attractive even for investors who plan to buy and hold.

Tesla motors shares - like a minefield

Tesla stock has long been one of the most popular stocks among our clients due to its considerable volatility. This year, Tesla shares were even the second most traded right behind Apple stock. Looking at what's going on around the Tesla carmaker (or rather, its CEO - Elon Musk), it is no wonder. But let’s put Musk’s scandals aside for now and concentrate on numbers.

Tesla's 3Q earnings were not very positive. While earnings beat market expectations, sales fell short. For the first time ever, Tesla also delivered fewer cars than it produced. While production was a record 365,000 vehicles, only 343,000 were delivered (371,000 were expected). Tesla blamed the large gap between production and deliveries on ongoing international shipping difficulties.

But that may not be the full truth. We have also seen shrinking wait times for new Tesla cars in the market. While this may indicate a faster pace of production at new factories, let's also not forget that the Chinese gigafactory was down for several weeks due to the coronavirus. A drop in demand may very well be behind the shorter waiting times. Tesla cars tend to be among the more premium ones in terms of price tag and this segment can be thought of as cyclical. With interest rates rising and credit becoming more expensive, many drivers will wait to buy a new car. Elon Musk himself even blamed the US Fed for Tesla's problems on Twitter. And that brings us to another thorn in the side of Tesla fans.

_{Tesla shares development on H4 timeframe in MT4 platform}

What will 2023 be like for Tesla?

Quite possibly, it will continue to depend on Twitter. Elon Musk has already sold over $23 billion in Tesla stock this year to fund his Twitter acquisition. Needless to say that it was an extremely overpaid one costing him $44 billion (while the estimated value of the company is currently under $10 billion). Twitter has been steadily losing money and Elon Musk may continue to sell Tesla motors shares next year. Interest rates will be high all next year and with the threat of a recession hanging over the whole world, this is a big problem for luxury car companies.

In addition, Tesla keeps pushing back its Cybertruck project, which does not make its fans too happy. The possible IPO of one of Musk’s other companies - Starlink or SpaceX - may also be a surprising problem. At this point, it seems that many current Tesla shareholders would probably prefer to sell some of their shares to buy the ones from Startlink or SpaceX. While both IPOs are probably several years away, liquidity issues could speed up the process. Moreover, Tesla shares are still highly overvalued - their P/E ratio is 46, compared to BMW's current 3. Tesla’s stocks are set to be a literal kingdom of volatility in 2023.

Moderna - Dead cat bounce? Or the opportunity of the decade?

If we had published this article in October, this vaccine manufacturer would not have received much praise. In fact, at that time, Moderna's shares had fallen by almost half since the start of the year. Since then, however, Moderna shares have rallied incredibly, gaining over 60% in less than two months. Is this growth justified? Or should we call it the dead cat bounce - the term we use to describe the last rise in stock before the subsequent crash?

However, this term might be way too harsh. The truth is that Moderna shares were thriving during the coronavirus and, thanks to it, the company is now well-funded. However, as interest in the coronavirus gradually declined, so did investor interest in Moderna's shares. They became more of a haven for speculators. But let's take a closer look at the gradual fall and subsequent rise of Moderna shares.

According to some fundamentals, Moderna currently looks highly undervalued. For example, the P/E ratio (the ratio of share price to earnings per share) is around 7, which is extremely low. However, such a low value already signals that something may not be right with the company. Moderna has profited highly from sales of vaccines and booster shots and still registers high demand for its products.

However, the world is slowly forgetting the coronavirus or at least learning to live with it. Even high profits and order numbers have not impressed investors in this year's bear market. They see Moderna as doomed without new products because of its dependence on covid vaccines. Last year, it recorded a massive profit of over $12 billion, but since then, every quarterly profit has fallen, which investors do not like to see. However, it would be unfair to prematurely write off Moderna stock. Let's take a look at the reasons for the growth of the past two months, as well as the future outlook.

_{Shares Moderna development on D1 timeframe in MT4 platform}

What will 2023 bring for Moderna shares?

To consider Moderna as a one-trick pony would be a mistake. So while a positive step in shaping Moderna's share price was certainly the approval of a covid booster for children by the US FDA, for the main price booster we have to look elsewhere.

Skin cancer is one of the common types of cancer and when untreated, it can have fatal consequences. And it is against this type of disease that Moderna, together with Merck, has developed an extremely successful vaccine. In fact, tests to date show that patients who have used the vaccine have up to 44% less chance of dying or relapsing. Unfortunately, since melanoma, unlike covid, cannot be classified as an episodic disease, these vaccines could be a source of revenue for Moderna for years and perhaps decades to come.

The vaccine is expected to move into Phase 3 testing next year. Thus, coronavirus vaccine revenues will continue to fall over time, but Moderna may have another ace up its sleeve very soon. Speculators should keep a close eye on any news of a new melanoma vaccine, Moderna's stock is likely to rise and fall on account of it.

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