There’s more variety than you might think in sizing up the investing profile of the Robinhood Markets ( HOOD -1.95% ) trading community. Sure, you’ll find the obvious meme stocks, penny stocks, and tech giants. You’ll also find some promising stocks that don’t necessarily check any of those boxes.
Royal Caribbean ( RCL 3.96% ), Ford Motor Company ( F -1.35% ), and Coinbase Global ( COIN -2.04% ) are some of the stocks I like that also happen to be among the 100 most popular holdings at Robinhood. Here’s why I feel that three Robinhood faves are stocks to buy now.
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Royal Caribbean
All three of the country’s publicly traded cruise lines are among the 100 most widely held stocks for Robinhood traders, and surprisingly Royal Caribbean is at the bottom the list. There’s a lot to like in Royal Caribbean now that the industry is finally getting back on track. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally eased up on its cruise travel warnings last week, and that will only help the improving rate of future bookings.
Royal Caribbean is a leader. It has historically commanded healthier margins than its rivals, and it was the only cruise line stock to move higher in 2021. The climate is finally kind for all players, but Royal Caribbean is one to watch as pent-up demand for cruise travel provides the mother of all tailwinds. Royal Caribbean may have posted a larger-than-expected loss in the last three quarters, but it’s trading for just 14 times next year’s projected earnings.
Ford
One of last year’s biggest positive surprises was Ford. The iconic automaker treated investors to a 137% return in 2021. The shares continued to run early in 2022, but the wheels have come off. Ford stock is trading nearly 20% lower this year.
Ford sales rose a mere 7% in 2021, but any positive growth was a sigh of relief after back-to-back years of negative top-line growth. As pedestrian as a 7% increase in revenue might seem, it’s Ford’s strongest showing since 2013.
The real beauty to Ford isn’t something you’ll find in the rearview mirror. Crack open the hood and you see strong catalysts for growth. Ford has been generating a lot of buzz as it cranks out electric versions of its more popular gas-fueled models. Analysts see revenue soaring 15% this year, its headiest growth in more than 30 years. Ford even resumed the quarterly distributions it suspended at the start of the pandemic. With Ford trading at just eight times forward earnings it’s starting to rev up in time for opportunistic investors.
Coinbase Global
There’s more crypto trading than stock trading taking place on Robinhood, so it’s not a surprise to see the country’s largest trading exchange for digital currencies high on the Robinhood community ownership list. There are now more than 89 million verified Coinbase users with $278 billion in assets on the platform.
Not everyone on Coinbase is actively trading. It clocked in with just 11.4 million in monthly transacting users, but they have itchy trigger fingers. A record $547 billion in trading volume went through the exchange in the final three months of 2021.
The stock isn’t as cheap as the trailing earnings multiple suggests. The past was inflated by one-time items and the unique spike in trading in the second quarter of last year. Coinbase is also investing in improving its platform, and that will eat into margins. Coinbase is trading for more than 60 times next year’s projected earnings. There may also be pressure on Coinbase to lower trading fees and offer higher-yielding programs to keep its traders close. If you believe in the crypto economy, you will want some exposure to Coinbase.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis – even one of our own – helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.