Bank
of
America
said
this
week
that
a
slate
of
stocks
is
poised
for
upside
as
the
summer
heats
up.
The
firm
said
companies
such
as
Nvidia
are
well
positioned
heading
into
the
second
half
of
the
year.
CNBC
Pro
combed
through
Bank
of
America’s
research
to
find
buy-rated
stocks
that
are
too
attractive
to
ignore.
They
include
Nvidia,
Carnival,
Block
and
Palantir
Technologies.
Carnival
Carnival
is
coming
off
better-than-expected
earnings
in
late
June.
Bank
of
America
analyst
Andrew
Didora
said
in
a
recent
note
that
this
bodes
well
for
the
stock
in
the
months
ahead.
“Cruise
spend
remains
healthy,
and
CCL
had
positive
commentary
on
the
pace
of
2025
bookings,”
he
wrote.
Didora
said
management
is
executing
after
a
period
of
difficult
years
that
included
Covid-19
pandemic
headwinds.
Cost
savings
are
underway
with
a
balance
sheet
that
could
“help
drive
a
better
valuation
multiple,”
the
analyst
said.
“The
steady
fundamentals
continue
to
provide
the
opportunity
for
balance
sheet
improvement,
a
key
part
of
our
investment
thesis,”
Didora
said.
Carnival
is
off
by
7%
in
2024,
which
makes
the
stock
extremely
compelling,
the
analyst
added.
He
lifted
his
price
target
to
$24
per
share
from
$23,
which
implies
nearly
40%
upside
from
Friday’s
close.
Block
The
payment
company
is
down
almost
15%
in
2024,
but
the
dip
is
worth
buying,
according
to
analyst
Jason
Kupferberg.
“Shares
have
lagged
in
recent
months
while
’24/’25
sell-side
estimates
have
continued
to
increase,”
he
wrote.
The
firm
pointed
to
a
few
reasons
for
the
stock’s
underwhelming
performance,
including
changes
in
management
and
weaker-than-expected
quarterly
reports
from
other
software
companies.
Still,
Kupferberg
is
pounding
the
table
for
Block
shares.
“We
recognize
concerns
around
US
GPV
[gross
payment
volume]
growth
and
SMB
[small
and
midsize
businesses],
but
believe
they
have
been
over-discounted
in
shares,”
he
said.
Nevertheless,
the
company’s
fundamentals
remain
strong,
and
that
is
why
shares
are
compelling,
Kupferberg
said.
“Attractive
valuation
no
matter
how
you
slice
it,”
he
added.
Palantir
Technologies
Shares
of
the
software
company
have
soared
nearly
60%
this
year,
but
analyst
Mariana
Perez
Mora
said
Palantir
is
still
a
solid
buy
ahead
of
earnings
in
August.
“The
market
seems
to
be
underpricing
the
risks
around
the
next
earnings
announcement,
offering
an
attractive
entry
point
to
own
PLTR
options,
in
our
view,”
she
wrote.
Further,
the
analyst
said
the
stock’s
technicals
remain
solid.
“PLTR
remains
within
bullish
trends
on
an
absolute
price
basis
and
relative
to
the
S
&
P
500,”
she
added.
Mora
also
sees
a
slew
of
positive
catalysts
on
the
horizon.
They
include
possible
inclusion
to
the
S
&
P
500,
as
well
as
growing
business
through
the
U.S.
Department
of
Defense.
“We’re
still
in
the
early
innings
of
AI
adoption
and
expect
Palantir
(PLTR)
to
continue
to
see
significant
upside
from
this
trend,”
she
said.
Square
“Shares
have
lagged
in
recent
months
while
’24/’25
sell-side
estimates
have
continued
to
increase
…
Attractive
valuation
no
matter
how
you
slice
it.
…
We
recognize
concerns
around
US
GPV
[gross
payment
volume]
growth
and
SMB
[small
and
midsize
businesses],
but
believe
they
have
been
over-discounted
in
shares.”
Nvidia
“Solid
fundamentals,
compelling
valuation
cushion
volatility.
…
However,
any
volatility
could
be
short-lived
since:
GenAI
hardware
deployments
are
still
only
in
Yr
2
of
what
could
be
a
3-5yr
deployment
cycle,
with
~$300bn+
in
l-t
opportunity,
3x
vs.
current
year;
Benefits
of
NVDA’s
next-gen
purpose-built
Blackwell
AI
accelerator
systems
will
start
later
this
year,
with
solid
demand/visibility
across
cloud
customers.”
Carnival
“Cruise
spend
remains
healthy,
and
CCL
had
positive
commentary
on
the
pace
of
2025
bookings.
…
The
steady
fundamentals
continue
to
provide
the
opportunity
for
balance
sheet
improvement,
a
key
part
of
our
investment
thesis.
…
Management
was
asked
on
the
call
about
paying
a
dividend,
and
the
team
continues
to
place
debt
reduction
as
a
top
priority.”
Palantir
“We’re
still
in
the
early
innings
of
AI
adoption
and
expect
Palantir
(PLTR)
to
continue
to
see
significant
upside
from
this
trend.
PLTR
remains
within
bullish
trends
on
an
absolute
price
basis
and
relative
to
the
S
&
P
500
(SPX).
…
The
market
seems
to
be
underpricing
the
risks
around
the
next
earnings
announcement,
offering
an
attractive
entry
point
to
own
PLTR
options,
in
our
view.”
