Best Stocks To Buy Now in October 2023

After the volatility of the past few years, you likely know how the stock market can change at the drop of a hat. Unexpected jumps and drops can create uncertainty for even the most seasoned investor. So what are the best stocks to buy now? Keep reading to find out.

See: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

What Are the Top 10 Stocks To Buy Now?

To help guide your investing decisions, here are 10 of the best stocks to buy now for October 2023:

1. Alphabet Inc.

2. EOG Resources Inc.

3. Microsoft Corp.

4. Magic Software Enterprises Ltd.

5. Visa Inc.

6. ASML Holding NV

7. FTAI Aviation Ltd.

8. Cheniere Energy Inc.

9. Albemarle

10. Nvidia

1. Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL)

Alphabet Inc. is a holding company best known as the parent company of Google. It was created in a restructuring of Google to separate its internet-related products from its companies operating in mostly unrelated industries, such as life sciences.

Google is Alphabet’s largest company, and it has two business segments: Google Services and Google Cloud. Alphabet’s third business segment is Other Bets, which includes all of Alphabet’s companies other than Google.

The Google Services segment of Alphabet Inc. includes Gmail, YouTube, Search, Google Play, Chrome, Android and Google Maps. Advertising is its primary source of revenue.

The Google Cloud segment serves enterprise customers with analytics, cybersecurity, data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, infrastructure platforms and collaboration tools.

The stock trades under two tickers: GOOG for Class C shares, and GOOGL for Class A shares, which afford investors voting rights. Shares are up nearly 50% so far this year — the Nasdaq Composite index, which is weighted toward tech stocks, is up just over 27%. Google’s foray into AI, where it could become an industry leader, and its recovering ad revenue could be two reasons analysts are bullish about Alphabet’s stock.

• 52-Week Price Range (GOOGL): $83.34-$139.16

• Price as of Oct. 4: $135.39

• Market Cap: $1.71 trillion

• Dividend Yield: N/A

2. EOG Resources Inc. (EOG)

EOG Resources is a U.S.-based natural gas and oil producer. With reserves in North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Trinidad & Tobago, EOG has over a dozen areas of operation.

It is one of the best stocks to buy now since it’s benefiting from high inflation and geopolitical events that have inflated gas prices. Its oil and natural gas liquids production grew 73% in 2022, and its reserves were up 66%. In addition, EOG had a record 34% return on capital employed and returned over $5 billion to its shareholders — almost double the amount it returned in 2021.

Perhaps more telling is the fact that EOG showed great resilience in 2020, during the pandemic, when it generated $1.6 billion in cash flow and maintained its dividend despite average oil prices of less than $40 per barrel.

• 52-Week Price Range: $98.52-$150.88

• Price as of Oct. 4: $119.35

• Market Cap: $69.49 billion

• Dividend Yield: 2.66%

3. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Microsoft has made it to the list of the best stocks to buy in October 2023. Being a giant in the software and cloud computing market, Microsoft has constantly cranked out cash flows.

The company’s business structure divides products and services into three engineering groups:

• Cloud + AI Group: Includes cloud computing, the AI platform and digital transformation. The Microsoft Azure platform, Microsoft Business Applications and developer tools such as Visual Studio and GitHub are all part of this group.

• Experiences + Devices: Includes Microsoft Office, devices and Windows and focuses on productivity, communications, education, search and other information services.

• Technology + Research: Includes incubation and AI delivery. This group guides Microsoft’s technical strategy and engages in research and development.

Two of the main reasons for investing in Microsoft stock are that the company’s cloud transformation is paying off heavily, and Azure cloud services generate impressive revenue.

Microsoft is also taking the lead in AI, giving Google a run for its money with its investment in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which competes with Google Bard. Microsoft is rolling out its own subscription-based AI product for business next month.

• 52-Week Price Range: $213.43-$366.78

• Price as of Oct. 4: $318.95

• Market Cap: $2.37 trillion

• Dividend Yield: 0.96%

4. Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (MGIC)

Magic Software Enterprise creates software platforms for business process integration and proprietary business app development. Its strategic partners include IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce.

Magic’s integration platforms include Magic xpi, which lets companies integrate all of their business systems — apps, databases and APIs, for example — onsite, on the cloud or a combination of the two, with no coding required. Another platform, FactoryEye, facilitates smart manufacturing by integrating data sources throughout organizations and their supply chains.

The stock has taken a hit this year and is trading near its 52-week low, but analysts believe it’s significantly undervalued.

• 52-Week Price Range: $10.74-$17.67

• Price as of Oct. 4: $10.90

• Market Cap: $551.88 million

• Dividend Yield: 6.02%

5. Visa Inc. (V)

Visa is a credit card company that offers payment processing and other financial services to individuals and businesses. A perennial favorite of Warren Buffett, Visa benefits from the move away from cash in favor of digital payments.

The company has issued 4.2 billion cards worldwide and processed nearly 270 billion transactions worth $14.5 trillion in the 12 months ending June 30. But credit card transactions aren’t the only payments Visa processes. It also provides payment infrastructure to financial technology companies, neobanks, digital wallets and government benefit programs.

Blockchain technology is the path to the future of digital payments, and Visa is well positioned to lead that charge.

Another reason Visa is one of the best stocks is that it has shown resilience in an inflationary economy. In fact, shares have gained nearly 29% over the past year, and analysts believe they could increase another 20% over the next year.

• 52-Week Price Range: $174.60-$250.06

• Price as of Oct. 4: $231.20

• Market Cap: $480.85 billion

• Dividend Yield: 0.79%

6. ASML Holding NV (ASML)

ASML Holding is a Dutch company engaged in developing, marketing, producing, selling and servicing semiconductor equipment systems. It is the largest manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, or EUVs. These machines serve as a financial moat for the company — Moody’s Investor Service calls its dominance a “de facto monopoly.” It also has a dominant share of the global market for deep ultraviolet lithography.

Also working in ASML’s favor is its position as a one-stop shop, providing all the hardware, software and services chipmakers need. Moody’s predicts that the increasing number of applications requiring complex semiconductors will drive high-single-digit market growth over the next few years. As one of digitization’s strongest players, ASML is likely to benefit from that trend.

• 52-Week Price Range: $363.15-$771.98

• Price as of Oct. 4: $590.86

• Market Cap: $239.22 billion

• Dividend Yield: 1.32%

7. FTAI Aviation Ltd. (FTAI)

If pandemic-era supply-chain bottlenecks proved anything, it was how dependent the global economy is on keeping people and products moving.

FTAI Aviation provides services on five continents from two business units — infrastructure and equipment leasing — and three reportable segments representing its various interests:

• Aviation Leasing leases aircraft and engines and also has engine repair capabilities. Its Module Factory provides always-available mix-and-match modules that save money and reduce downtime.

• Jefferson Terminal, which handles crude oil and refined products through its terminal in Beaumont, Texas.

• Ports and Terminals, which operates deep-water ports on the Delaware and Ohio rivers.

FTAI has had an outstanding year so far, with shares rising 95% since January and 113% over the past year. Analysts believe it still has room to grow. Their consensus “strong buy” rating has been remarkably consistent over the last four months.

• 52-Week Price Range: $14.56-$37.98

• Price as of Oct. 4: $33.44

• Market Cap: $3.33 billion

• Dividend Yield: 3.59%

8. Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG)

Cheniere Energy is an energy infrastructure company focused on producing liquefied natural gas. The company cleans, secures and provides LNG to energy trading companies, utilities and integrated energy companies worldwide.

The natural gas industry has faced challenges this year due to low prices and an unexpectedly high increase in supplies, according to Zacks. However, Cheniere has an advantage over its competitors — it is the first company to gain approval to export LNG from its Sabine Pass terminal. The U.S. Department of Energy authorization allows Cheniere to export up to 0.72 billion cubic feet per day to any country, including European countries, with which the U.S. does not have a trade agreement.

• 52-Week Price Range: $135.00-$182.35

• Price as of Oct. 4: $158.95

• Market Cap: $38.24 billion

• Dividend Yield: 0.97%

9. Albemarle (ALB)

Albemarle is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based chemicals manufacturer and one of the world’s largest lithium producers. Its energy storage business unit aims to develop a reliable supply of high-quality lithium and advance the evolution of lithium-ion batteries. Its specialty unit creates bromine and highly specialized lithium solutions.

Lithium products are a moat for Albemarle that could give it an edge for at least the next 10 years, according to Morningstar. They predict that the demand for lithium will triple by 2030. What’s more, analysts say the stock is significantly undervalued.

• 52-Week Price Range: $152.13-$334.55

• Price as of Oct. 4: $158.40

• Market Cap: $18.58 billion

• Dividend Yield: 0.94%

10. Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia is an accelerated computing pioneer heavily invested in artificial intelligence and “digital twins,” which are virtual models of physical objects or systems. The company’s products and services solve problems in a large range of industries, including architecture, engineering, construction, automotive, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, supercomputing and transportation.

As a major player in computing, Nvidia has captured over 83% of the add-in-board market, according to Jon Peddie Research. This gives it an edge few chip companies can compete with and clinches its role as a driving force in AI and autonomous vehicles.

Despite an astounding 198% increase so far this year, analysts consider Nvidia a momentum stock that could rise another 44% in the next year.

• 52-Week Price Range: $108.13-$502.66

• Price as of Oct. 4: $440.41

• Market Cap: $1.08 trillion

• Dividend Yield: 0.04%

How To Find the Best Stocks To Watch

Thousands of stocks trade on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange alone — and there are even more stocks on other exchanges around the world. This can make it quite difficult for investors to find the best stocks to look out for.

Analyzing Stocks

One of the best ways to determine if a stock is worth buying is by checking the CAN SLIM system. The CAN SLIM system shows you how to analyze a stock, what is unique about a particular company and when might be the best time to buy.

Stocks are traded on exchanges like any other commodity or asset in which price is determined by supply and demand. Certain factors, such as the company’s performance, geopolitical factors and the general market sentiment affect the supply-demand ratio in the stock market.

Investors who think the stock price will rise buy shares in the hope of profiting from an increased share value. Investors who think the stock price will decrease are less interested in buying the shares, so they want to sell their shares. All of these transactions lead to changes in share prices.

The CAN SLIM Investing System

The CAN SLIM system considers all these things to identify stocks that are poised for growth. The acronym CAN SLIM, as described by Investor’s Business Daily, stands for:

• C: Current quarterly earnings

• A: Annual earnings growth

• N: New product or service

• S: Supply and demand

• L: Leaders vs. laggards in the industry

• I: Institutional ownership

• M: Market direction

The CAN SLIM system considers the quarterly and annual earnings of a company to determine the direction its stock price will go. If there’s a change in market direction or the company introduces a new product or service, the CAN SLIM system also bases the strength of the stock on these aspects.

Institutional ownership refers to entities such as pension plans, insurance companies, mutual funds, government bodies and banks. Since these professional investors have experienced analysts researching stocks for them, their investment in a stock is considered good news. Simply put, if more institutional sponsors are investing in a stock, it means the stock is expected to do well.

The “M” of CAN SLIM is extremely important. Almost all stocks follow the direction of the market. If there’s a confirmed uptrend in the market, that’s when you should invest in a stock.

It’s also important to remember that the stock market changes very quickly. Therefore, you should keep a close eye on the prices of stocks you’ve invested in and any news surrounding them.

What Are the Safest Stocks To Buy?

The safest stocks are usually those from large, established, blue-chip companies — especially those that operate in relatively stable sectors such as consumer discretionary. Consumers will buy staple products made by Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble no matter how volatile the market is or how uncertain the economy, which makes stocks from those companies a good bet over the long term.

If the company offers a dividend, all the better. However, it’s important to verify that the company has paid dividends consistently, over a long period of time — or better yet, increased them steadily. This is the case with Dividend Aristocrats. Such companies typically are financially sound, and the income they produce can offset volatility in the share price.

Alternatives To Individual Stocks

If individual stocks seem too risky, you might consider investing in mutual funds. Mutual funds pool money from many investors and invest it in stocks, bonds and other securities. Rather than purchase the securities, investors buy shares of the fund and receive a proportionate share of any income the fund generates.

You have several types of mutual funds to choose from. Money market funds are considered the safest. These funds only invest in high-quality, short-term investments issued by U.S. corporations and federal, state and local governments, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If your risk tolerance is a little higher, you can invest in a high-quality bond fund or, for more risk but potentially higher returns, a stock fund.

If the securities within the fund’s portfolio lose value, the fund loses value as well. However, because funds usually invest in a diverse mix of companies and industries, they’re usually less volatile than individual stocks. Just be aware of any fees before you invest. “No-load” mutual funds are less expensive than those that charge sales loads at the time of purchase.

Scott Jeffries contributed to the reporting for this article.

Data is accurate as of Oct. 4, 2023, and is subject to change.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Best Stocks To Buy Now in October 2023