These are the top stocks for 2021 and the economic recovery, Baird says

Published Fri, Jan 8 20211:32 PM EST

Jesse Pound @/in/jesse-pound @jesserpound

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only). After a year where the Covid-19 pandemic roiled the stock market and took a major bite out of the global economy, some of the best picks for 2021 are those prepared to ride the wave of a recovery, according to Baird Equity Research. The investment firm collected the highest-conviction ideas from its team of analysts, spanning a wide range of industries and market caps. One of the firm's favorite stocks is Darden Restaurants , the parent company of Olive Garden. Baird called the company "a best-in-class operator" whose scale should help it "capitalize on an environment that is likely to include normalizing consumer traffic patterns and reduced competition over the next 12-24 months." Shares of Darden have gained about more than 10% over the past 12 months, but currently trade at roughly the same level as they did before the pandemic-sparked selloff last year. The firm is also bullish on Planet Fitness as gyms get set to reopen more broadly in a post-vaccine world. Similar to Darden, Planet Fitness is well positioned to take over the market share vacated by its struggling competitors, Baird said. "We view Planet Fitness as a likely structural winner post-COVID given the chain's strong positioning as a leading provider in the high-value/low-price gym segment, well-capitalized franchisees and sound unit model, and opportunity to capture market share within a secular growth," the note said. Shares of the fitness chain have jumped 29% since the end of the third quarter. Another expected to rebound in 2021 is air travel, and that should benefit Boeing , according to Baird. The aerospace giant should also continue to benefit from the recertification of its 737 Max as investors become more comfortable with the company again, the firm said. "As the company navigates 2021, this becomes a derisking story as progress is made on the MAX and demand recovery, ultimately leading to a return to cash inflows," the note said. "As these milestones are met, a clearer outlook not only allows for peak/trough multiples analysis on the cycle, but institutional money to return to the stock." Baird's price target for Boeing implies a 44% jump for the stock. In the apparel space, the firm's analyst made Columbia Sportswear a top pick. Columbia's improvements in its direct to consumer business, cost structure and product lineup should put the company in strong positioning as retail recovers. "We expect the combination of sharply reduced production in 2020 combined with favorable sell-throughs at retail into early 2021 to support improved industry restocking trends and potential for a positive sentiment shift toward "quality laggards" over the near term. COLM stands to benefit from this setup in our view," the note said.

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(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only).

After a year where the Covid-19 pandemic roiled the stock market and took a major bite out of the global economy, some of the best picks for 2021 are those prepared to ride the wave of a recovery, according to Baird Equity Research.

The investment firm collected the highest-conviction ideas from its team of analysts, spanning a wide range of industries and market caps.