CNBC Pro looked for quality stocks with low debt that the Street thinks could see a turnaround in the new year

December 19, 2023 | 12:02pm

Wall Street sees these beaten-down stocks making a comeback in 2024

CNBC Pro looked for quality stocks with low debt that the Street thinks could see a turnaround in the new year

This year's losers could be next year's winners, as a handful of left-behind stocks look to make a comeback in 2024. CNBC Pro screened for quality stocks that could stage a turnaround in the new year, according to Wall Street analysts. Many of the names are in energy and healthcare, little surprise after a year when the groups have fallen 4.3% and 1.3%, respectively. The S & P 500, meanwhile, has jumped 23.5% in 2023, through Monday's close. The names we found have low debt and annual average earnings-per-share growth of more than 5% in the past five years. Each stock is in the red this year, some losing as much as half their value and others as little as 5%. Looking ahead, analysts hold consensus price targets that call for at least 10% upside. Take a look at the list of names that may be primed to make a comeback next year, and what analysts have to say about them. Analysts are bullish on biotechnology company Biogen , projecting more than 28% upside in the stock. Shares of Biogen, which has a debt-to-equity ratio of 50, have fallen 10.4% so far this year. Over the past month, however, the stock has gained a little over 8%. Biogen and Sage Therapeutics announced last week that they had priced an oral postpartum depression pill at $15,900 for a 14-day treatment plan, months after the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Oppenheimer on Monday raised its price target on Biogen by $15 to $295 and reiterated an outperform rating. On Dec. 7, Raymond James upgraded Biogen to outperform, saying it likes the stock's set-up for 2024, expecting the launch of Biogen's Alzhiemer's drug Leqembi to accelerate next year and fuel revenue growth. Marathon Oil also made the screen, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 51 and analysts forecasting potential 35% upside for the oil and natural gas producer's shares. The stock rose 1.3% Monday alongside other energy companies, as the sector led the S & P 500 and crude oil prices rebounded. The stock has lost about 9% this year. Although Marathon reported third-quarter earnings of 77 cents per share, excluding one-time items, down from $1.24 per share a year earlier, the company said in early November that it expects to "realize significant year-over-year financial uplift in 2024." Analysts have recently downgraded Marathon and cut their price targets on the stock, including UBS last week lowering its rating to neutral from buy. Chevron and Exxon Mobil also turned up in the screen. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil and gas producer behind Exxon, in October agreed to buy Hess for $53 billion in stock, shortly after Exxon bid $60 billion for Pioneer Natural Resources. Shares of Chevron are down 16.6% this year, while Exxon has fallen almost 8%. Earnings from oil companies slowed this year as crude oil prices eased and higher costs cut into companies' refining and chemical profits. Moderna has the highest projected upside in the screen, with analysts forecasting more than 50% gains for the stock over the next 12 months. Shares of the mRNA vaccine maker have plunged nearly 53% this year on declining demand for the company's Covid shots. Shares are up 9.7% this month, however, after midstage trial data released last week showed that Moderna and Merck's experimental cancer vaccine, when used with Merck's Keytruda therapy, reduced the risk of death or relapse in patients with the deadliest form of skin cancer. Moderna has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.4%. Other companies that analysts are bullish on for the new year include medical imaging play Hologic and ammonia and hydrogen manufacturer CF Industries .

This story originally appeared on: CNBC - Author:Pia Singh