Wall Street analysts name the 'most intriguing' stocks going into 2022 — here's what they like

Published Sat, Dec 25 20219:00 AM EST

As investors prepare to head into 2022, there are a whole bunch of stocks that are just too hard to ignore, analysts said this past week. These companies have huge upside and are firing on all cylinders heading into next year, according to analysts. CNBC Pro combed through the latest Wall Street research to find the top buying opportunities in 2022. They include: Maravai LifeSciences , Farfetch , Elanco , Zoetis , Dun & Bradstreet and Chipotle. Farfetch Shares of the online luxury retail platform are down a whopping 49% this year and investors should start buying the dip, Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow said after a recent meeting with Farfetch management. The firm also named the stock as one its top picks for 2022. "One of the most intriguing aspects of the FTCH story, in our opinion, is the accelerated adoption of online growth through the COVID pandemic, jolting online luxury spending toward 23% of sales in 2020 vs. 12%in 2019," he wrote. Boruchow believes the pandemic drove more customers than ever online and sees them remaining long after the pandemic is over. In fact, the firm said luxury e-commerce is likely to appropach upwards of $140 billion in the coming years from $57 billion today. Farfetch also a big growth opportunity in China and Boruchow says investors should be impressed by the company's committment to profitability. "We walked away with increased confdence in the levers for growth looking to 2022 and beyond...," he said. Chipotle "We continue to see upside for CMG shares," UBS analyst Dennis Geiger said of the Mexican chain restaurant. The firm said in a recent note that there are too many positive catalysts to derail Chipotle's growth story heading into 2022. "We believe the recent share weakness is largely a result of macro/market impacts and an expected recent deceleration in sales trends, which was largely anticipated w/ the ending of the brisket LTO (limited time offers)," he said. Additionally, Geiger said Chipotle has numerous levers to pull by a management team that continues to execute flawlessly. Those levers include brand initiatives, a robust digital channel, sales drivers and menu innovation, the firm wrote. "We view CMG as a reopening beneficiary and see further upside as mobility trends recover, employees return to the office, and variant fears subside," Geiger said. Shares of the company are up 25% this year. Dun & Bradstreet This is one stock that's just too "intriguing" to ignore, according to Credit Suisse analyst Kevin McVeigh. The firm recently named the financial services and data analytics company as a top pick to go along with its Street high price target of $35 per share. "We believe the stock is in the initial phases of a multi-year multiple rerating story as the company executes transformation efforts—fueled by a best-in-class management team—under stewardship of Bill Foley, who has a history of substantial value creation in payments + information services," he said. McVeigh wrote that investors should "aggressively accumulate shares" in preparation for organic growth "accelerating in the coming quarters" that should fuel multiple expansion, according to the firm. The stock is down 18% this year and with fundamentals rapidly improving, now's the time buy this inexpensive stock, he said. "DNB is a high-quality information services company [with] an attractive entry point," McVeigh said succintly. Maravai LifeSciences- KeyBanc, Overweight rating "Most Intriguing Stock for 2022? Intriguing, according to Webster's Dictionary is 'fascinating,' but not synonymous with investor parlance of "highly visible." MRVI is 2 stories: the provider of capping tech for PFE COVID-19 vaccine and a pure-play on the transformational nature of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. ... . If MRVI is part of a successful transformation to mRNA, we see potential upside beyond our current PT." Elanco and Zoetis- Morgan Stanley, Overweight rating "An Intriguing, Unconventional Healthcare Investment with Advantages Over Human Healthcare: Animal Health offers the defensive characteristics of human healthcare without many of the idiosyncratic risks associated with reimbursement, third-party payers, generic threats, and research & development inefficiencies. The power of veterinarians sharply differentiates animal from human health markets." Dun & Bradstreet- Credit Suisse, Outperform rating "With continued execution around pricing, transitioning customers to multi-year contracts, +wallet share as prior data quality/curation efforts surface, we would aggressively accumulate shares as we see organic growth accelerating in the coming quarters. ... .DNB is a high-quality information services company an attractive entry point. We believe the stock is in the initial phases of a multi-year multiple rerating story as the company executes transformation efforts—fueled by a best-in-class management team—under stewardship of Bill Foley, who has a history of substantial value creation in payments + information services." Farfetch- Wells Fargo, Overweight rating "Luxury is underpenetrated online; should lead to significant TAM growth. One of the mostintriguing aspects of the FTCH story, in our opinion, is the accelerated adoption of online growththrough the COVID pandemic, jolting online luxury spending toward 23% of sales in 2020 vs. 12%in 2019. ... .We walked away with increased confidence in the levers for growth looking to 2022 and beyond..." Chipotle - UBS, Buy rating "We continue to see upside for CMG shares following a ~12% pullback since late Sept., supported by multiple near and LT catalysts. We believe the recent share weakness is largely a result of macro/market impacts and an expected recent deceleration in sales trends, which was largely anticipated w/ the ending of the brisket LTO (limited time offer). ... .We view CMG as a reopening beneficiary and see further upside as mobility trends recover, employees return to the office, and variant fears subside."

Elanco Animal Health President and CEO Jeff Simmons, speaks during an interview at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, September 20, 2018.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

As investors prepare to head into 2022, there are a whole bunch of stocks that are just too hard to ignore, analysts said this past week.