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The stock market has been very strong so far, with the S&P 500 index closing above 5,000 for the first time last week. While the index’s rise has raised concerns about valuations, Morgan Stanley’s Andrew Slimmon takes a more positive view of recent market movements. “I think that’s very encouraging because it means that earnings expectations for this year are not going to go down, and they could probably go up, and that’s important to the market,” says Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Director. Manager Slimmon said. Morgan Stanley Investment Management told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday. “I think this will be a good year for stocks. But there will be more volatility. It will scare away those who have given in to putting their money back into the market. But for those who are looking for opportunities. ‘I think that’s where we’re going backwards in what we should be investing in,’ he said. He listed Microsoft, Ameriprise Financial, and CRH as his current favorite stocks. Microsoft In the technology field, Slimmon cited his Microsoft as the driver of the AI boom. The company, which is part of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” along with Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla, has a “very easy to understand” story, he said. According to Slimmon, equity opportunities include his Copilot, his AI-powered feature of Microsoft 365. The additional cost per person per month is approximately $30. “If you look at the numbers from a usage expectation standpoint, it’s very vague at the moment and we don’t have exact numbers, so I think that does some good for the company,” he said. added. Over the past 12 months, the tech giant’s stock price has increased by approximately 56.5%. Of the 51 analysts covering the stock, 49 give it a buy or overweight rating, with an average price target of $469.94, according to FactSet data. This leaves an upside potential of approximately 16.3%. Ameriprise Slimmon named the financial company Ameriprise as one of his favorite “select financial stocks that are exposed to capital markets and asset management.” Over the past 12 months, the company’s stock price has increased by approximately 13.2%. Of the 15 analysts covering the stock, eight have rated it a buy or overweight, six have rated it a hold, and one has rated it a sell. Ameriprise’s average price target is $418.03, with a potential upside of about 5.1%, according to FactSet data. CRH The portfolio manager also said he “likes the infrastructure business” and cited Irish building materials group CRH as a potential stock. The Dublin-headquartered company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023 after delisting its shares from Euronext Dublin. The company’s shares are also traded on the London Stock Exchange. Slimmon said CRH “relisted in the U.S. primarily because we felt the company’s valuation was very cheap relative to its competitors,” and that the company could be included in the S&P 500 at some point later this year. He said that there is a possibility that CRH’s market capitalization currently exceeds $50 billion. Over the past 12 months, his CRH stock has increased approximately 64.3%. Of the 22 analysts covering the stock, 18 have given it a buy rating, with an average price of $80.63, according to FactSet data. This leaves about 4% upside potential.
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