7 'A-Rated' Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold

For my money, growth stocks are one of the best ways to ignite your portfolio, putting yourself in a position to get the best results.

And when I'm looking for my best options, I always lean toward A-rated growth stocks as identified by the Portfolio Grader.

Growth stocks are those that have a long runway for success. Sometimes they are relatively new companies, but they can also be consistently beating the market with above-average revenue and earnings growth.

Another thing I appreciate about growth stocks is that, by nature, they are innovative.

Nothing is more depressing about a company than one that's pretty much sitting on its laurels. I want to invest in companies that innovate and are forward-thinking. And for me, that means A-rated growth stocks.

The Portfolio Grader is a great way to identify growth stocks because it evaluates stocks on an "A" through "F" scale that includes several growth metrics, such as earnings performance, revenue growth, momentum and analyst sentiment.

The Portfolio Grader identified these seven as A-rated growth stocks now. All are great choices if you're looking for solid, profitable returns.

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1. Nvidia (NVDA)

Any list of the top growth stocks in 2023 has to include the semiconductor chip maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

Nvidia continued its massive winning streak as the third quarter began and now shows a return better than 210% for the year.

You can attribute the gain to the market's interest in generative artificial intelligence. Nvidia is a dominating force in AI, and demand for its chips will allow the company to enjoy strong growth even if the need for non-AI chips drops.

Bernstein projects Nvidia to bring in between $75 billion and $90 billion in revenue next year with AI chips. Analysts are forecasting earnings of nearly $20 per share in FY 2025, and better than that in FY 2026.

That's why I think this horse is just finding its legs. NVDA stock has an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

2. Walmart (WMT)

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is the world's biggest retailer, with global sales of more than $600 billion in 2022. The company has more than 10,500 stores worldwide, selling low-cost items, electronics and groceries.

Walmart uses its size to its advantage, negotiating super-low prices to order massive quantities of products in bulk. Then it undercuts its competition to sell goods to consumers at prices that are difficult to beat.

That strategy helps Walmart in several ways. With low prices, Walmart is a favored destination for budget-savvy shoppers. That allows sales to stay decent even when the economy is slipping or when inflation gets out of control.

Walmart is also aggressively growing its online sales, which rose from $39.7 billion in 2020 to $82.1 billion in the 2023 fiscal year.

Earnings for its fiscal Q2 released in August included revenue of $161.6 billion and EPS of $1.84, topping estimates of $160.27 million and EPS of $1.71.

WMT stock is up 10% this year and gets an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

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3. Netflix (NFLX)

From 2021 to 2022, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) looked to be in some trouble. It faced some huge pandemic-inflated comparable numbers in 2022, and the competition was getting fierce.

Netflix reported its first subscriber losses in a decade in early 2022, and the stock fell more than 60% in four months.

But here's what I like: the company didn't sit back. Its executives didn't feel sorry for themselves. They reacted and turned lemons into lemonade, as the saying goes.

For years, Netflix turned a blind eye to password-sharing. It seemed even to encourage the practice that was so commonplace that it became somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. Ex-partners knew the relationship was really over when the partner with the Netflix account changed their password.

But if you're a shareholder, you're watching a lot of lost opportunities. About 43% of the company's 100 million customers were believed to be sharing an account. So Netflix finally cracked down.

Now, if you want to share your account with someone outside of your household, you pay an $8 surcharge.

That's a good business decision. Subscriptions in the second quarter rose by 8%, and revenue climbed to $8.19 billion. EPS of $3.29 was much better than analysts' expected $2.86 per share.

The company is forecasting Q3 revenue of $8.5 billion, up 7% from a year ago.

NFLX stock has an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

4. Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY)

Shares of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) are up more than 50% this year, including a jump of 20% in the last month.

Investors are reacting to a strong second-quarter earnings report that showed revenue of $8.3 million, which was a jump of 28% from a year ago. Net income of $1.76 billion was an increase of 84%.

A significant contributor to Lilly's success is its diabetes drug, Mounjaro, which is being prescribed off-label by some doctors as a treatment for obesity.

Lilly hopes the Food and Drug Administration will sign off on Mounjaro as a full-fledged obesity treatment soon. If that happens, you're looking at as much as $25 billion in annual revenues from that single drug.

Lilly also gets big sales from the diabetes drug Trulicty, which brought in $1.8 billion in the second quarter. Mounjaro and breast cancer drug Verzenio generated more than $900 million each in the quarter.

Not every biotech stock can be considered a growth stock, but Lilly is in a class by itself. It has an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

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5. Broadcom (AVGO)

Semiconductor chip maker Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is another step closer to closing its deal with cloud-computing company VMWare (NYSE:VMW).

The U.K. finally signed off on the deal with final approval, joining the European Union and the U.S. as greenlighting the agreement.

That means only China stands in the way of Broadcom finalizing the $69 billion deal. And I think it's going to be a good one for Broadcom.

VMWare helps integrate multi-cloud systems, which I believe will grow in importance as more companies work with AI and develop their own generative AI systems.

Meanwhile, Broadcom says that semiconductor revenue for AI businesses should increase from 15% to 25% next year.

Broadcom hasn't recorded second-quarter earnings yet, but Q1 came in strong. Revenue of $8.73 billion topped estimates of $8.71 billion, and EPS of $10.32 was better than analysts' expected $10.14 per share.

AVGO stock is up 47% this year and has an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

6. General Electric (GE)

You can't judge a book by its cover. For years, General Electric (NYSE:GE) was the stereotypical old-school company that made you question if its time had passed.

GE was a huge conglomerate that dabbled in a lot of different areas. And talk about old-school – GE traces its roots back to the 1800s when it was founded by none other than Thomas Edison.

But GE evolved. After years of underperformance and disappointment, it started selling off unprofitable businesses. And nothing was sacred – in 2020, it even sold off its signature lighting business.

Now look at GE. It got rid of its GE Capital business, shed its healthcare business and is getting rid of its power and renewable business. The result is a leaner, trimmer growth company focused on aerospace and related products.

Wall Street took notice. The stock price is up a whopping 70% this year. Second-quarter earnings of $15.8 billion and EPS of 68 cents beat expectations for $15.08 billion and 46 cents EPS.

Edison would be proud of this growth stock. GE gets an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

7. Halliburton (HAL)

There are plenty of A-rated energy stocks from which to choose, but if you're looking for A-rated growth stocks in the energy space, you can't go wrong with Halliburton (NYSE:HAL).

Halliburton handles much of the hydraulic fracking operations in the U.S.

"It's clear to me that oil and gas is in short supply, and only multiple years of increased investment in both stemming declines and reserve additions will solve short supply. I believe these investments will drive demand for oilfield services for the next several years," CEO Jeff Miller said.

Even with energy prices deflated slightly in 2023, Halliburton shows a strong growth curve.

Revenue in 2022 was $20.3 billion and is projected at $23.7 billion this year. Next year looks even better, with projected 2024 revenue of $25.8 billion. Over the next five years, analysts are projecting earnings growth of 24%.

HAL stock is up 27% in the last three months as energy prices increased. It gets an "A" rating in the Portfolio Grader.

On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had a long position in NVDA. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

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