Analysts like to examine every nook and cranny of a stock. Sometimes, this scrutiny results in a negative rating. Other times, it results in a positive recommendation to buy the stock.
Then there are a select group of stocks for which analysts show especially great enthusiasm. Wall Street loves these three growth stocks. Should you?
1. Brookfield Renewable
There aren't many analysts who cover Brookfield Renewable (BEP -2.00%) (BEPC -2.09%). But all of them rate the renewable energy stock as either a buy or strong buy. And the consensus 12-month price target reflects a potential upside of 21%.
It's easy to understand why Brookfield Renewable enjoys such support. The company operates in an industry that's practically guaranteed to continue growing rapidly. Countries and major corporations across the world have set ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals that can't be met without a significant increase in power generated by renewable energy sources.
Brookfield Renewable is a leader in renewable energy. It operates hydroelectric, wind, solar, and distributed energy facilities on four continents. Its current capacity totals around 25 gigawatts, but the company's development pipeline is more than 4x bigger.
I think that many growth investors will find Brookfield Renewable attractive. However, I suspect that income investors will like the stock even more. Brookfield Renewable offers a dividend yield of over 4.2% for its limited partnership (BEP) shares and nearly 3.9% for its corporate entity (BEPC) shares.
2. CRISPR Therapeutics
The average Wall Street price target for CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP -1.08%) is roughly 34% higher than the current share price. One analyst even thinks that the gene editing stock could skyrocket by more than 250%.
Granted, some analysts aren't so bullish about CRISPR Therapeutics. None of them, though, recommend selling the stock. That's probably because they know that the company should soon have some very good news.
CRISPR Therapeutics and its big partner, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, await regulatory approvals for exa-cel in treating sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. The chances look good that the gene-editing therapy will receive a thumbs-up in the U.S. and Europe. Exa-cel could eventually generate billions of dollars in sales.
My view is that the potential for exa-cel is largely baked into CRISPR Therapeutics' share price. However, the biotech company's pipeline features a couple of promising cancer cell therapies that could provide big catalysts over the next few years. I think this stock remains an attractive candidate for aggressive investors with long-term perspectives.
3. MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre's (MELI -0.39%) share price has skyrocketed over 40% so far in 2023. Analysts think it can move even higher. The average 12-month price target for the stock reflects an upside potential of close to 26%.
I believe that Wall Street is right to be enthusiastic about MercadoLibre. The company reigns as the king of e-commerce in Latin America. It also operates a fast-growing fintech business. MercadoLibre should have plenty of room to expand significantly in both areas.
Morgan Stanley projects that the e-commerce penetration rate in Latin America will jump from 11% in 2022 to 16% in 2025. MercadoLibre will likely be the biggest beneficiary of this growth.
Fintech arguably presents an even larger growth opportunity. The fintech market in Latin America doubled between 2018 and 2021. The region boasts one of the highest percentage use of smartphones in the world. However, it has an underserved financial services market. That's a perfect recipe for continued success for MercadoLibre.
