There’s a slate of stocks that are too attractive to ignore as the year winds down, according to Bank of America. The firm revealed a host of companies it thinks are must-owns and are expected to rise in 2025. CNBC Pro combed through Bank of America research to find buy-rated stocks with upside potential. They include Samsara , BlackRock , TaskUs , TKO Group Holdings and Accenture. TaskUs The outsourcing company is firing on all cylinders, according to the firm. Analyst Cassie Chan upgraded the stock to buy from neutral earlier this week citing an attractive risk/reward. “We believe TASK has a premiere competitive position in the digital customer experience space,” she wrote recently. The company is coming off a very robust third-quarter report in early November where it beat on the top and bottom lines. However, it’s TaskUs’ next quarterly update that has the firm energized. “Given recent share price underperformance, we believe the 4Q print could be a positive catalyst, and believe TASK will deliver F4Q upside, while guiding F25 revenue growth ahead of the Street at 9%,” Chan said. Margins remain “best-in-class,” too, she added. The stock is up 41% in 2024. TKO Group Holdings Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich said shares of the sports and media entertainment company have plenty of room to run despite being up nearly 74% this year. TKO owns World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. “We believe this has been driven, in large part, by the underlying strength of sports rights which remains a critical driver of TKO’s fundamentals and investor sentiment,” she wrote. Reif Ehrlich also thinks the company is well positioned to take advantage of UFC rights renewal talks with its partner, ESPN. The analyst said UFC has a “best-in-class promotional team” in a “rapidly growing sport globally.” “TKO has been public in their satisfaction with ESPN as a partner and promoter of the UFC brand,” she added. The investment bank raised its price target earlier this week to $165 per share from $140. It’s now tied for a Street high. “We believe the company offers an attractive combination of top line growth, margin expansion and free cash flow generation,” Reif Ehrlich said. Accenture The IT services management company is well positioned for artificial intelligence in 2025, analyst Jason Kupferberg said. “We remain bullish on Accenture’s competitive positioning in Digital, execution track record, and market share gain,” he said in a recent note. The analyst said fears about demand are overblown as investors have a better picture of government policy in 2025. “Enterprise IT decision makers now have incremental clarity on elections, direction of rate cuts, and easing inflation pressures,” he said. Accenture is also scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter earnings on Dec. 19, but the firm doesn’t see this as a meaningful event. “While F1Q may not be much of a catalyst, we continue to view ACN as a best-in-class provider of IT Services and long-term GenAI beneficiary,” Kupferberg said. Shares are up 2% this year. TaskUs “We upgrade TASK to Buy from Neutral as we believe material & sustainable revenue growth acceleration to double-digits may be closer than consensus expects, while margins remain best-in-class. Given recent share price underperformance, we believe the 4Q print could be a positive catalyst, and believe TASK will deliver F4Q upside while guiding F25 revenue growth ahead of the Street at 9%. … We believe TASK has a premiere competitive position in the digital customer experience space.” TKO Group Holdings “We believe this has been driven, in large part, by the underlying strength of sports rights which remains a critical driver of TKO’s fundamentals & investor sentiment. … TKO has been public in their satisfaction with ESPN as a partner and promoter of UFC brand … We believe the company offers an attractive combination of top line growth, margin expansion & free cash flow generation. … UFC has a best-in-class promotional team & is a rapidly growing sport globally.” Accenture “While F1Q may not be much of a catalyst, we continue to view ACN as a best-in-class provider of IT Services and long-term GenAI beneficiary. … Enterprise IT decision makers now have incremental clarity on elections, direction of rate cuts, and easing inflation pressures.” BlackRock “BLK has sizably upgraded its private markets business. In the last 12 months, BLK has added both HPS and Global Infrastructure Partners and upgraded its Alts business into an industry leader. Private credit and infrastructure offer the highest long-term growth opportunities within private markets, and when you combine these leading businesses with BLK’s best-in-class global distribution effort, the strategic merits for the deal are clear.” Samsara “We view Samsara’s fleet-focused offerings as best-in-class, and expect positive demand trends and continued market share capture to drive upside to Street estimates. We expect the company’s competitive moat, base of underpenetrated existing customers, and unique asset- based subscription model to support 20%+ growth for the foreseeable future.”
