Boston Beer and Whirlpool are the best stocks to invest in, according to Credit Suisse and JPMorgan

Boston Beer stock (NYSE: SAM)

Analyst Kaumil Gajrawala raised the stock from neutral to outperform in a note to clients on Wednesday, saying that the Truly hard seltzer brand is gaining traction even as the industry matures.

“The industry is slowing. However, excluding declines at category leader White Claw, the category is growing in the triple digits. In May ’21, Truly contributed +6pp to industry growth of +5pp. The brand is closing the velocity and share gap with White Claw,” according to the note.

Credit Suisse also believes that the fear of seltzer eroding Boston Beer’s traditional brands is exaggerated.

“Too much emphasis is placed on how large seltzer can be as a percentage of US beer. We believe that metric is incorrect, given that wine and spirits account for 50% of the market. We believe seltzer could account for 10% of total beverage alcohol by 2025 (up from 3.5 percent today), approaching the size of wine, according to the note.

Credit Suisse raised its price target from $1,304 to $1,490 per share. The new target is roughly 61 percent higher than the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.

Whirlpool stock (NYSE: WHR)

In a note to clients on Wednesday, analyst Michael Rehaut named the company a top pick, claiming that the rest of Wall Street was too negative about it.

“We believe the company is the most ‘hated’ name across both the sellside and buyside, as it is the only name in which the Street consensus expects earnings to fall in 2022, while the stock’s valuation represents significantly larger discounts to its 5-year averages vs. our universe,” according to the note.

The stock market has reflected this sentiment, with shares falling more than 5% in the last three months. According to FactSet, Whirlpool has buy ratings from less than half of Wall Street analysts.

Whirlpool is in a good position to prove its doubters wrong as the second quarter earnings season approaches, according to JPMorgan.

“Perhaps most importantly in the short term, WHR’s 2H21 comps are among the easiest across our larger-cap names, providing good ‘insulation’ from broader concerns about consumer demand slowing or showing mean reversion over the next several quarters,” the note said.

JPMorgan has set a price target of $278 per share for the company, which is 28% higher than the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.