The timing is right to buy these 'significantly undervalued' stocks, analysts say

Published Sat, May 15 20218:00 AM EDT

The final days of earnings season are getting closer and this past week Wall Street analysts named some of their top undervalued ideas after getting a peek at companies' quarterly results. The fundamentals revealed that these stocks represent a buying opportunity for the long term, analysts say. CNBC Pro looked at some of the top Wall Street research to find underappreciated buying opportunities to give your portfolio a boost. They include: General Electric, Lincoln National , Cowen Group , ViacomCBS and Farfetch . Lincoln National Shares of Lincoln National are up 40% this year but it hasn't been entirely smooth sailing for the life insurance company. "Lincoln is one of the more mortality exposed companies, which helps explain investor apprehension to the stock as the pandemic uncertainty spread," Morgan Stanley analyst Nigel Dally said. Now, the company is "rebounding, impressively," Dally wrote in a recent note. Lincoln reported its first quarter results last week where the company beat on earnings per share and Dally said it's time for investors to "revisit the stock." "Capital remains solid, earnings power has benefited from the strength in the equity markets, and concerns regarding credit have dissipated," he added. In fact, the earnings report was better than Dally expected. "Yes - the stock price has recovered meaningfully over the past year, but in our view, it remains significantly undervalued, with still strong upside potential," he said. ViacomCBS Netflix is not the only streaming game in town, according to Goldman Sachs. The media and entertainment giant recently reported a strong first quarter earnings report and may not be getting enough credit from Wall Street, analyst Brett Feldman and his team said in a recent note. "Direct-to-consumer opportunity remains significantly undervalued and underappreciated, in our view," he said. Feldman acknowledged that Netflix and Disney have "materially more scale" but said he sees shares of ViacomCBS as a particularly attractive buying opportunity. "We estimate VIAC's streaming business is valued at a 70-80% discount to NFLX and DIS's streaming businesses," he wrote. The firm also added that it sees several catalysts in the near and long term for the media company. They include the launch of its Paramount+ on demand service, updated pricing, new content and a robust marketing strategy which Feldman believes will have the ability to reach all age demographics. ViacomCBS is "the most underappreciated streaming stock," Feldman said emphatically. Shares of ViacomCBS are up 4.4% this year. Cowen Group The investment bank and financial services company's "transformation" continues, JMP Securities analyst Devin Ryan said in a recent note. Cowen shares are up a whopping 250% over the last year and the stock has more room to run, he wrote. Ryan said his thesis is even more validated by Cowen's recent blowout earnings report where it beat on revenue and earnings per share. ""Specifically, the stock trades at just 5.7x our 2022E EPS, and when compared to similar businesses across the industry, we believe an earnings multiple even double the current level could be supported," he said. Cowen's earnings report is no coincidence either, he added. Cowen has been an early leader in SPAC's, sustainability, cannabis and enhancing its research efforts during a tough economic period, the firm wrote. "Given strong fundamentals with a constructive medium-term outlook along with increasing capital return, we continue to think shares are significantly undervalued...," Ryan said. General Electric- William Blair, Outperform rating "One significant potential catalyst to this shift may be the potential passage of infrastructure and renewable-energy-dedicated legislation supported by the Biden administration. ... .It should also elevate GE's investment profile for products and services offerings that eliminate carbon emissions and GHG. ... . With all of these factors in mind, we believe GE is still significantly undervalued and could climb to new recent highs in the mid- to upper teens over the next 12 months and potentially double from current levels to the mid-$20s over the next three to four years." Farfetch- KeyBanc, Overweight rating "We think that OW rated OPEN and FTCH remain highly controversial and believe both have some of the highest return opportunities in our coverage. ... .We also think that FTCH has the opportunity to provide more insight into its China JV, which we think presents a highly attractive vector for growth. ... .We believe FTCH, with its strong long term gross merchandise value growth tailwinds and luxury platform, is undervalued at current levels. We believe that with Farfetch's GMV growth outlook and visionary platform, it is significantly undervalued. FTCH trades at 5.6x 2022 EV/sales vs. the peer group at 3.9x EV/sales." Lincoln National- Morgan Stanley, Overweight rating "Rebounding, Impressively. ... .Lincoln is one of the more mortality exposed companies, which helps explain investor apprehension to the stock as the pandemic uncertainty spread. That said, with hopefully a light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic, we think investors should revisit the stock. Capital remains solid, earnings power has benefited from the strength in the equity markets, and concerns regarding credit have dissipated. Yes - the stock price has recovered meaningfully over the past year, but in our view, it remains significantly undervalued, with still strong upside potential. ViacomCBS- Goldman Sachs, Buy rating "The most underappreciated streaming stock direct-to-consumer opportunity remains significantly undervalued & underappreciated, in our view. Our analysis implies that the market continues to assign immaterial value to VIAC's streaming and digital services. ... .In other words, we estimate that VIAC's streaming & digital business is being valued at a 70-80% discount to these peers. While we recognize that DIS & NFLX have materially more scale in streaming, we see the breadth of this valuation gap as unwarranted as it implies that VIAC's streaming business is still a start-up." Cowen Group- JMP, Market outperform rating "Transformation continues with another blowout quarter for Cowen as fundamentals remain underappreciated by the market. ... .Given strong fundamentals with a constructive medium-term outlook along with increasing capital return, we continue to think shares are significantly undervalued. ... .Specifically, the stock trades at just 5.7x our 2022E EPS, and when compared to similar businesses across the industry, we believe an earnings multiple even double the current level could be supported."

Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The final days of earnings season are getting closer and this past week Wall Street analysts named some of their top undervalued ideas after getting a peek at companies' quarterly results.

The fundamentals revealed that these stocks represent a buying opportunity for the long term, analysts say.

CNBC Pro looked at some of the top Wall Street research to find underappreciated buying opportunities to give your portfolio a boost.