Out there is terrifying. And when I say “there,” I’m referring to the stock market.

The majority of stock indexes have all entered the bear market zone. There are growing worries that a severe recession may be imminent. Unfortunately, inflation is still very high.

The most common emotion among so many investors seems to be fear. It makes sense at the time. You don’t have to be shaking in your boots, though, when it comes to every stock. If you’re hesitant to buy stocks, consider these three.

1. Pharmaceuticals Vertex

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -0.97%) has not been at all harmed by the significant decline in the stock market so far this year. The large biotech’s stock has increased by about 30% so far this year. Vertex might ascend even farther.

Vertex simply doesn’t care all that much about inflation or the possibility of a recession. The business is the exclusive provider of medicines to address the fundamental causes of cystic fibrosis (CF). Its closest competitors are years away from even having the potential to introduce competing medicines. Bottom line: No matter what happens to the stock market or the economy, Vertex’s CF medications will continue to bring in billions of dollars.

Two other late-stage medicines with blockbuster potential are in Vertex’s pipeline. The biotech company also has an early-stage program that it believes could eventually result in a treatment for type 1 diabetes.

The price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio for the stock is extremely low at 0.38. Vertex seems to easily rank among the top stocks to buy right now with its alluring value and promising growth potential.

2. Dollar General

When the economy is struggling, shoppers are more frugal. This is particularly true when inflation is at levels that have not been witnessed in over 40 years. However, this is the situation in which Dollar General (DG -0.68%) flourishes.

Granted, the share price of the discount retailer is nearly where it was at the start of 2022. However, given the poor performance of the stock market as a whole, you may consider it a significant victory.

In an economic downturn, Dollar General can essentially survive. In a recession, its business ought to increase. High fuel costs may also work in the company’s favor because its more than 18,500 locations are all within five miles of around three-quarters of the US population.

However, the company can succeed without macroeconomic obstacles. Throughout the previous ten years’ boom times, Dollar General experienced rapid expansion. Investors can feel secure holding this investment in good and bad economic times.

3. Group UnitedHealth

Another stock that investors might enjoy is UnitedHealth Group (UNH -1.74%), which stands out as being recession-resistant. Over the years, the healthcare behemoth has become an expert at passing on rising prices to its clients.

UnitedHealth Group hasn’t produced stunning stock market gains this year like Dollar General. It is, nevertheless, in the positive, unlike the majority of other equities.

The company’s health insurance division, which operates under the United Healthcare name, is best recognized. This company consistently produces a healthy cash flow, making it about as reliable as they come.

The Optum division of UnitedHealth, though, is what spurs the most development. Value-based care, prescription benefit management services, healthcare technical support services, and many more are all offered by this market.

The U.S. economy is around one-fifth composed by that of the healthcare sector. Based on market capitalization, UnitedHealth Group is the largest healthcare organization in the world. Investors won’t likely lose any sleep over this kind of stock.

Due to lingering concerns about inflation, interest rates, and the global financial system, Wall Street investors have been unsure about when the stock market will rebound. After trading slightly down earlier in the morning, futures contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI 1.88%), S&P 500 (GSPC 1.97%), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC 2.05%) all made gains after seeing losses of as much as 1% in premarket trading.

On one side of the market, there was quite excellent news. While biotech companies have been among those hardest hit by the bear market in 2022, Biogen (BIIB 39.85%) recently published positive results from a crucial clinical trial that have significant ramifications for those with a severe and disabling disease. Eli Lilly (LLY 7.48%), a competitor in the same business, gained from Biogen’s positive outcome on the hope that new approaches to developing significant therapies will lead to other successes.

A breakthrough in Alzheimer’s is made by Biogen.

Biogen’s stock increased by more than 50%. The phase 3 research results of the biotech pioneer’s candidate therapy for treating Alzheimer’s disease were released, and both the medical field and shareholders responded favorably.

The lecanemab anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody was tested in the 1,800-patient phase 3 confirmatory Clarity study by Biogen and trial partner Eisai. The results showed promise in individuals with mild cognitive impairment brought on by Alzheimer’s disease. The primary aim of the Biogen/Eisai treatment, which was to significantly lessen clinical deterioration on the worldwide functional and cognitive scale most frequently used to assess Alzheimer’s patients, was achieved. It also satisfied important secondary objectives, including as alterations in amyloid levels and enhancements in a number of other disease-related score measures.

The news supports the tactical change Biogen made following the controversy surrounding its Aduhelm Alzheimer’s medication called into doubt the efficacy of the treatment in treating the disease as a whole. Aduhelm was given FDA approval in 2021, however Medicare only allowed patients participating in authorized research trials to get coverage as Medicare awaited additional proof of Aduhelm’s efficacy. Lecanemab was developed by Biogen in an effort to more clearly illustrate the efficacy of the novel medication rather than relying solely on Aduhelm.

With the promising outcomes, Biogen and Eisai plan to submit a lecanemab FDA application in the first half of 2023. With more than 1 million eligible patients who potentially turn lecanemab into a multibillion-dollar blockbuster, stock analysts hurried to enhance their assessments of Biogen’s financial prospects.

Can Eli Lilly follow Biogen’s lead?

Eli Lilly saw a large increase in the price of its shares as well. Investors attempting to understand the second-order ramifications of the Biogen ruling drove the stock up 8%.

According to two stock analysts, Lilly will profit from the successful outcomes of the Biogen trial. Given that Lilly’s prospective Alzheimer’s medication donanemab aims to follow the same basic strategy as the Biogen treatment in attempting to lower amyloid levels in Alzheimer’s patients, Cantor Fitzgerald identified it as a potential winner. There is leeway for Lilly’s candidate to join the market if it proves to be equally beneficial, with lecanemab’s success potentially overcoming the pessimism regarding such treatments which the Aduhelm experience produced. Similar complimentary remarks about Lilly’s near-term stock price were made by Morgan Stanley

Even if oil prices are down today, you shouldn’t completely shun the industry. In reality, Chevron (CVX 3.38%), a leading integrated energy company, has a holding in significant indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a reason: The economy cannot function without energy.

Chevron is a good choice for dividend growth if you want to give your diverse portfolio some exposure to the energy sector. You should be aware of the following.

Understand your exposures

The Dow 30 and the S&P 500 Index have the advantage of being intended to reflect large segments of the economy. As a result, they comprise a wide range of businesses from several industries. Individual investors also need to include this kind of diversity into their portfolios.

This implies that you will eventually have exposure to both strong and poor sectors.  Chevron’s industry, energy, has historically performed well, but recently, it has begun to lag.

To put that into perspective, Chevron reported second-quarter earnings of $5.98 per share, up from $1.61 in the corresponding period of 2021. The price increase of natural gas and oil was a major factor in it. And that’s excellent news.

The bad news is that oil prices have lately declined from their highs. For example, Brent crude, a significant oil benchmark, has fallen from over $127 per barrel in March to roughly $85 recently. Given how volatile the oil industry is, this is not unexpected.

Nevertheless, despite the cyclical nature of the petroleum sector, Chevron has accomplished a remarkable achievement. It has been a Dividend Aristocrat for 35 years since it has grown its dividend every year during that time. Over that period, there have been many challenging circumstances, demonstrating Chevron’s dedication to maintaining its dividend. Chevron is a wonderful option if you want to add an energy company to your portfolio and like stocks with dividend growth potential.

How does it accomplish this?

The current yield for Chevron is a hefty 3.9%. The stock price of the firm will determine how this amount changes over time. However, given the basis for the dividend payment, there is no reason to believe that it won’t continue to climb from here.

The story’s defining factor is Chevron’s immaculate balance sheet. The firm now has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17 times, which is the lowest among its closest competitors. Chevron takes on debt in tough times when oil prices are low and earnings are low so it can continue sustaining its operations and paying shareholders a rising dividend. It reduces leverage as the price of energy recovers by using its strong earnings.

The most recent instance of this was the early 2020 oil slump, which was caused by a significant decline in demand that took place before the coronavirus pandemic. That year, Chevron lost $2.96 per share, yet it didn’t reduce its dividend. Instead, the debt-to-equity ratio grew, reaching a still-reasonable level of 0.35 times in early 2021.

Since then, oil prices have increased, and Chevron has repaired its financial sheet in anticipation of the next challenging period for the sector. Investors may rest assured that this energy-tied dividend will continue to increase over time because the company has consistently followed that strategy for a very long time.

One cryptocurrency this month has accomplished an important milestone. I’m referring to Ethereum (-1.34%, ETH). The second-largest cryptocurrency in the world is completed. The Merge is a change in how the company’s blockchain transactions are validated.

The performance of Ethereum provides us with a buying opportunity. It has decreased by roughly 20% since this procedure. Two justifications exist for purchasing Ethereum in September. And here’s a third: Ethereum still has more in store. Let’s look more closely.

Using a proof of stake instead

An introduction to The Merge is first. This required changing the validation mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Proof of work uses intricate math to validate a transaction. Because of this, Ethereum utilized almost the same amount of energy per year as the Netherlands.

Proof of stake reduced energy consumption by over 99%. That’s because validation doesn’t need to consume as many computing resources anymore. Instead, the largest stakeholders are given the chance to confirm transactions. It is simpler to envision the world utilizing Ethereum in the long run because of its greener profile.

If there are enough transactions, the transition may potentially gradually decrease the amount of Ethereum currencies. Transaction costs are burned when proof of stake is used. They were given to miners with proof of work.

Validators are still rewarded with fresh money today. However, if there are a lot of transactions, the burned transaction fees can be greater than the value of the newly introduced coins. And a higher price is supported by a less supply.

These are the initial advantages brought forth by The Merge. The Merge, however, is yet another stage in Ethereum’s general update’s progression. What is coming up? Something that will solve Ethereum’s two main issues with sluggish transaction speeds and high transaction costs. I’m referring to sharding.

Transactional tempo

A database can be horizontally divided up using sharding. It speeds up transactions, lowers transaction costs, and lessens congestion on the primary network.

Sharding might lead to more decentralization as well. That’s because it makes it possible for additional people to join the network. The goal is to enable Ethereum support on devices like smartphones and computers. Decentralization is essential because it gives users more protection and control over their data. Ethereum intends to introduce sharding the next year

Two businesses that appeal to long-term investors are Honeywell International (HON -1.25%) and ABB (ABB -1.82%). Both firms have management teams that have the capacity and dedication to produce considerable value for investors over an extended period of time. Additionally, they already have initiatives in place that will boost profits significantly.

1. Honeywell International

Not all mature industrial conglomerates are dull, slow-growing businesses. For instance, Honeywell is bursting at the seams with expansion plans that management refers to as its “breakthrough projects.” They consist of Honeywell’s software division, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, which clients may utilize to digitally change their companies. Examples include developing meaningful insights from a large amount of data collected by wirelessly connected sensors to improve the operation of a building’s systems.

Honeywell owns a controlling stake in Quantinuum, a fast-growing quantum computing business, and the management expects $2 billion in yearly revenues by 2026. Avionics and propulsion systems for unmanned cargo aircraft and air taxis are produced by Honeywell Unmanned Aerial Systems and Unmanned Aerial Mobility. The business and Archer Aviation recently signed a contract for the company to install technology on Archer’s planes. Last but not least, its Sustainable Technologies Solutions (STS) is a pioneer in sophisticated plastics recycling, energy storage technology, and renewable fuels. According to management projections, STS’s revenue will increase from $200 million in 2021 to $700 million in 2024.

Due to these growth measures, management revised its projection for long-term annual growth early this year from a target of 3%-5% to 4%-7%. With a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18, Honeywell is now a great value given its growth potential.

2. ABB

Although this European industrial behemoth hasn’t always been the best-run organization in the industry, it has always possessed an intriguing mix of companies. For instance, it is a global leader in discrete (or industrial) automation and process automation and has one of the top robotics firms in the world (the processing of raw materials). All of these are expanding industries in the new economy, which places a strong emphasis on automated manufacturing and the application of digital technology to enhance operational efficiency.

Automation has become more desirable due to advances in digital technology, and as automation usage rises, so does interest in digital technology, which helps ABB. ABB is also well-positioned to benefit from the continuous trend toward electrification thanks to its electrification solutions, which include an EV charging company.

Since taking over in 2020, CEO Bjorn Rosengren has placed ABB on a road to maximizing its value through restructuring. ABB has historically had successful companies. Combining operational reform (eliminating ABB’s previous matrix structure), divesting non-core operations, and a focus on boosting margins are the key components of this strategy. If Rosengren is successful in achieving this goal, the stock has a significant upside potential. ABB is a desirable investment since it is trading at less than 16 times Wall Street analysts’ projected profits for 2023 and has much room for future development.

While it may be unrealistic to anticipate businesses growing exponentially in a volatile market, such businesses do exist, and if you know where to search, it’s not difficult to locate stocks with such explosive potential.

For instance, some megatrends could persist even during a slump, meaning stocks riding them might perform better no matter where the markets are. Here are two of these arguably explosive stocks that you could purchase this month.

One of the sectors with the greatest growth 

The automobile industry is experiencing a paradigm change as nearly all automakers prepare for a future when electric vehicles will prevail over traditional fuel-burning vehicles (EVs). Despite availability and pricing constraints on basic materials, global EV sales more than quadrupled in 2021 and are expected to reach record highs this year.

To profit from the growth, you might invest in EV stocks or consider shares in firms that provide components vital to the operation of the EV sector. One of the latter stocks is expanding tremendously.

Today’s electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and because of the huge demand for the metal, prices have soared by about 80% year to date and have recently reached all-time highs. One of the few publicly listed pure-play lithium stocks today, Livent (LTHM -3.29%), was originally a subsidiary of the chemical corporation FMC and is currently producing enormous profits.

In the first half of the year, Livent’s sales increased 87%, and the company had a sizable gross margin of close to 45%. Over the past year, its operating cash flow has doubled.

Due to rising lithium prices, Livent’s second quarter set a record. Since metal prices have continued to rise, Livent’s top-line growth should continue unabated for the remainder of the year. In the second quarter, Livent increased its forecast for the entire year and predicted a staggering 97% increase in sales by the midpoint of 2022. It also anticipated quintupling its adjusted profits before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

This is one explosive growth stock you wouldn’t want to neglect because Livent is also rapidly increasing capacity at current plants and establishing new lithium operations in North America, Europe, as well as China.

The potential of this top stock is being ignored by the market

One of the largest megatrends that the COVID-19 epidemic sparked was telehealth. Given the ease and simplicity of telehealth, more people were forced, or even urged, to use virtual health services from home during lockdowns. This trend is here to stay. Teladoc Health (TDOC -3.54%), which offers all of this and more, including primary care, urgent care, mental healthcare, remote monitoring, and even chronic illness management, saw a sharp increase in business during the height of the epidemic.

The market is responding as if Teladoc had no more room for development, despite the fact that growth has slowed down since and the business has revealed significant write-offs on its expensive Livongo acquisition. That is not at all true.

Teladoc’s paid membership in the United States increased by 9% in the second quarter, while its total patient visits and revenue both increased by 28% and 18% year over year. Teladoc now projects revenue growth of 15%–19% for the third quarter and at least 18% for the whole year.

Rising competition has been one of Teladoc’s biggest potential risks recently, with e-commerce behemoth Amazon’s (AMZN -3.01%) emergence into the industry particularly alarming investors.

Amazon started its Amazon Care company in 2019 and announced significant growth goals for 2021, only to give up this year and shut down its telehealth venture. The main justification given by Amazon for the change was the absence of a “comprehensive enough product” for large commercial clients. In addition, Teladoc serves more than 12,000 businesses, including more than half of the Fortune 500 organizations, and 50 million members globally. Teladoc has a number of significant enterprise clients.

If anything, Amazon’s failure indicates that starting and maintaining a successful telehealth business isn’t simple, and that it won’t be simple for any company to unseat Teladoc as the leading provider in the sector. The pioneer in the worldwide telehealth business, Teladoc is now in the lead.

It would not take long for Teladoc to start reporting steady growth rates given the predicted exponential expansion of the global telehealth business in the years to come. Investor confidence should be restored as a result, and the industry as a whole as well as Teladoc stock should rise rapidly after that.

Given the steep decline in technology stock prices so far this year—the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF is down 35% so now might be an excellent opportunity to restructure your portfolio while some high-quality cloud businesses are trading at discount prices.

Here are two leading cloud stocks that appear to be excellent buys this month and have excellent long-term possibilities.

1. Autodesk is evolving

Software for the architectural, construction, engineering, and media companies is offered by Autodesk (ADSK -1.98%). The 1982-founded business has been converting to a cloud-based subscription model for the past ten years.

For instance, Fusion 360, a revolutionary cloud platform from Autodesk for production and mechanical engineering, is upending the conventional computer-aided manufacture and design business. Over  Two hundred thousand paying customers now use the program, rising from less than 100,000 just two years ago. According to management, all of its software applications will be reorganized to the Fusion 360 model, which entails yearly cloud subscriptions.

Autodesk has a long runway ahead of it as it makes the switch to cloud-based subscription products, and it appears that it will continue to expand its income quickly for many years to come. Based on the midpoint of its guidance, the stock trades at a forward price-to-free money flow (P/FCF) ratio of 21.5 at a market cap of $43.9 billion. Because so much deferred revenue is lost when analyzing Autodesk’s GAAP (unadjusted) earnings figures, P/FCF is the ideal metric to utilize to assess the stock. Revenue received in advance of the delivery of goods or services is known as deferred revenue.

The current P/FCF multiple is in line with the long-term average of the market and is a fair price for a business with Autodesk’s level of growth potential.

2. Amazon has a monopoly

Amazon (AMZN -1.37%), a pioneer and market leader in the cloud, comes in second. Over the past ten years, its sizable Amazon Web Services (AWS) sector has generated enormous profits for Amazon shareholders.

AWS generated revenue of $19.7 billion in the most recent quarter or $78.8 billion annually. The segment appears to be on track to provide close to $24 billion in operating revenue for Amazon this year, with an operating margin of close to 30% (based on the quarter). The celebration appears to be just getting started, as predictions indicate that the market for cloud infrastructure will expand at a CAGR of 15% to 20% through 2028.

Even though the company is currently trading at a trailing P/FCF of 240, the potential profits from AWS growth for Amazon shareholders might be quite significant and make it worthwhile to purchase.

Buy Amazon stock to keep things simple if you want to own the top infrastructure supplier for the cloud software sector.

The markets for cryptocurrencies have seen better times. But you’re still well ahead of the game if you bought the biggest cryptocurrency in the world as soon as it was released. Since 2009, Bitcoin has increased by more than 3,250%. You can still be looking at double- or triple-digit returns even if you purchased Bitcoin late.

What if you didn’t, though? Don’t lose hope, if you missed out on Bitcoin in its infancy. It’s a perfect opportunity to invest in emerging cryptocurrencies that may bring long-term growth and hence follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin. Cardano (ADA -0.10%) is the ideal example.

Next up: The Vasil hard fork

Cardano’s fifth anniversary celebration should delight both users and investors. This week, the blockchain will introduce the Vasil hard fork. Cardano’s speed and effectiveness should increase as a result. And that ought to make it more appealing to users and developers.

For instance, the accounting model that will be used by the Vasil hard fork should facilitate more advanced and swifter decentralized apps. Diffusion pipelining will also be introduced by the hard fork. As a result, performance will be improved and Cardano’s data handling capacity will rise. Blocks of data currently go through a number of processes. Pipelining enables some of these procedures to take place concurrently.

Cardano has already made a lot of strides as of right now. On the blockchain, there are more than 3,200 scripts written in Plutus, the native smart contract language utilized by Cardano. There are also 1,100 projects being built by developers. In total, the blockchain has handled over 50 million transactions.

Further down the line, Cardano will introduce its hydra heads scaling solution, which will mark another significant turning point. Certain processes can happen off the main network with a specific amount of participants thanks to hydra heads.

Goals of Hydra

Each hydra head has successfully handled 1,000 transactions per second in testing. The objectives of hydra are to increase the amount of data processed at a given time and the speed at which a transaction is finished.

Cardano may be able to secure the top rank in the cryptocurrency market thanks to the Vasil hard fork and eventually the hydra scaling solution.

The crypto player is currently one of the most well-known. It ranks sixth in terms of market value. However, Cardano’s price has fallen recently, along with the rest of the cryptocurrency market. Over 60% of Cardano’s value has been lost so far this year.

Given the impending and future Cardano advancements, as well as the current pricing of Cardano, now is a wonderful opportunity to invest. The Cardano hard fork is unlikely to immediately increase its price. The Merge, a recent Ethereum update, didn’t help that Crypto.

The economic climate of today

Because they are worried about the economy and increasing interest rates, investors have stayed away from cryptocurrencies. Investors frequently select safer investments in this situation. Cryptocurrency is more dangerous since it is a relatively new sector.

However, economic downturns do not continue permanently. And as things start to get better, interest in risky investments should increase. Due to all of this, cryptocurrency investors will likely need to exercise patience.

Cardano may be a fantastic cryptocurrency to purchase right now if you’re willing to take on risk and commit for the long haul. Cardano may be at one of its most exciting periods of history before its upgrades.

Cardano’s growth may not be as rapid as Bitcoin’s. But over time, it could deliver highly reliable performance. So even if you missed out on the most well-known cryptocurrency player, Cardano still offers a chance for significant cryptocurrency gains.