the market has hit its first real turbulence here in 2025 as AI news out of China with a brand new large language model or llm known as deep seek has sent shock waves through the AI community in fact we just saw the worst day on record for NVIDIA one of the largest companies here in the US in fact the company lost nearly 600 billion dollar in market cap to put this into context that is more than the entire market caps of these notable individual companies MasterCard United Health Exxon Oracle Costco and even Netflix it's more than these next five companies combined paler Verizon AMD realy income and vichi properties it was an incredible selloff in fact it was the worst percentage selloff we have seen for NVIDIA specifically since March of 2020 is the AI bubble bursting is this an AI reset or is this simply an overreaction well in today's video we're going to be taking a look at five stocks that are worthy of a buy here in February 2025 I often like to say red days are when long-term wealth is really made so before we begin and unveil these five stocks do me a huge favor simply click that like button down below show your appreciation as well as subscribe to the channel and with that being said let's jump into it [Music] hey everyone Mark rusen here back for another video as always I'm a CPA and not a financial adviser so please do not take this as Financial advice and before we begin let me thank today's video sponsor which is the mle fool the mle fool has a ton of great resources and products available for investors of all different levels and right now if you go to fool. com slm Mark you can check out their 10 best stocks to buy right now all right let's jump back into our video taking a look at five stocks I'm looking to buy here in February beginning with stock number one which is going to be meta platform stock ticker me over the weekend when the news of deep seek came out the first stock that I thought about was going to be meta platforms this is a company that has been spending billions towards Ai and VR in fact over the past few years they've been spending over $30 billion imagine them finding out knowing that they can do all this but do it cheaper that's going to be money that's going to go right into margins right to the bottom line and could have a substantial impact on the likes of meta there's a lot of ifs though there's a lot of unknowns when it comes to this deep seek in terms of how much did they really spend and how useful is it going to be moving forward so the one thing that we do know is that it's going to be a benefit to meta platforms the company currently has a market cap of 1. 7 trillion making it one of the largest companies here in the US and over the past 12 months Shares are up 65% but since the start of 2023 when we've really seen this major bull market shares of meta are up an impressive 450% one of the few stocks that can even rival that of Nvidia but they still aren't that close over that time span for me when I'm researching stocks whether it's gross stocks or dividend stocks one of the key metrics that I hone in on is going to be what's called free cash flow because I often like to say companies can't grow without free cash flow here's a look at the company's free cash flow over the past few years in 2022 meta generated 13.
4 billion in free cash flow 2023 40 billion and over the trailing 12 months they are up to $52 billion not only are they investing a ton but growing their free cash flow at the same time they are finding ways to also be more efficient here's a look at the the company's eida margins the past few years 2022 32% 2023 they were at 43% and over the trailing 12 months they're at 49% in terms of valuation the stock still looks rather intriguing as analysts are looking for the company to generate 2025 EPS of $25. 3 which equates to a forward PE multiple of 26 times flat this is slightly above the company's 5-year average of 24. 6 times so when we compare valuation to its five-year historical average shares don't look all that cheap but again this is a company that continues to grow continues to get more efficient and continues to grow their free cash flow while also investing billions of dollars if they can get those AI costs down and be even more efficient there imagine where this company could go when it comes to price Target in terms of a Buy price Target I'm looking to buy shares of meta around $600 or less L however I should warn you that meta earnings are coming out very soon so it may be best to digest those first before investing because we may get a better entry point and that leads us to stock number two which is going to be Avy stock tier a BBV Avy is one of the longest held positions within my portfolio for years I've had many stocks come and go but one of the longest tenants has been Avy something I don't expect to change for years to come the company currently has a market cap of $313 billion and over the past 12 months Shares are up just 8% Avy was in fact a spin-off from Abbot Labs but lo and behold 10 plus years later here we are with Avy being even larger by roughly a hundred billion doar AV has had a great run after all they had the number one selling drug in the world for a number of years in Humera but as many of you know they lost patent protection a few years back but that has evolved the company into much more of a Diversified company they have Sky Rizzy and roke two Blockbuster drugs that are expected to be even larger than that of Humera when combined and on top of that they also have a loaded pipeline ABY has also been what I like to call an investor Trifecta they've offered great share price appreciation a solid dividend yield and strong dividend growth speaking of that dividend the yield currently sits at nearly 4% they have a 5-year dividend growth rate of 7.
5 % something I expect to return to that double digit range moving forward and they have grown their dividend every single year for 11 straight years in terms of valuation analysts are looking for the company to generate EPS of $128 this year which gives them a forward PE multiple of 14. 6 times this is slightly above their 5-year average of 12. 1 so when we compare to the 5year average again shares don't look cheap very similar to what we just saw with meta but a continues to evolve grow its free cash flow find ways to be more efficient and grow its pipeline it's the same steps that other large biotech companies have taken over the years think of the large ones like Merc as well as Amgen both of them trading with an average 5year multiple of 15 times so they have expanded that which is where I believe ABY is headed so in terms of the area and the target I'm looking to add to my share count that's going to be around $160 per share or less and again Avy reports at the end of this week so let's wait and see how those results come in and that leads us to stock number three which is going to be MC stock ticker MRK we just spoke about ABY a second ago where we mentioned MC well now we get to talk a little bit more about it what we saw with Avy was a much smoother ride shares up 8% stocks doing all right however shareholders of MC haven't really enjoyed that it's been more of a wild ride the company currently has has a market cap of $248 billion and over the past 12 months Shares are down 20% so what is going on with MC what is not to like after all the company has a superb balance sheet it continues to show their ability to develop their pipeline they have one of the top selling drugs in the world in K truda what's not to like well there have been concerns about slowing growth in Kuda as well as the upcoming patent expiration for K truda as well so they really need that development in that pipeline to speed up a little bit but for those of you well in tune with the healthcare and in particular biotech sector or industry I should say you know that these companies go through cycles and I believe that MC is just starting its next growth cycle like Avy MC too has been a strong dividend paying option as they currently have a dividend yield of 3.
4% a 5-year dividend growth rate of 7. 7 7% and 14 consecutive years of dividend growth very similar stats to that of Avy in terms of valuation analysts are looking for the company to generate 2025 EPS of $929 which equates to a forward PE multiple of just 10 and a half times well below their 5year historical average of 15. 1 times this stock right here regardless of just talking about the sector is one of the cheapest highquality companies you will find on the stock market today in terms of my Buy price Target I'm looking to buy shares right here as I will likely be one of those buyers MC reports earnings next week so let's wait and see how those come out and that leads us to stock number four which is going to be Eli Lily stock ticker LL you're probably starting to see a little bit of a theme here at least for the past three stocks we've talked about they all are within the healthc care sector I'm constantly looking for high quality companies in beaten down sectors and I often like to say it's not really a stock market it's more of a market of stocks meaning you can find highquality companies regardless of what the to overall index is doing regardless of whether we're in a massive Bull Run or whether we're in a bare Market there's always deals to be had Eli Lily one of the largest companies in the US market has a current market cap of $768 billion and over over the past 12 months Shares are up 25% Eli Lily has been an incredible story many years back this is a company that was on the brink fast forward to today they now have one of the most popular drugs on the market that affects and impacts in a positive way both diabetes as well as the glp1 weight loss drug and in terms of reach many believe they're just getting started and on top of that they have a loaded pipeline which will just further diversify the product offerings just last week I alerted to my stock investors Edge subscribers that I was going to be purchasing shares of Eli Lily back then just a week ago shares were trading in the 750 range lo and behold we're now upwards of over $800 per share and if you're ever interested in getting my trade alert seeing my entire portfolio and getting our stock deep Dives consider subscribing to my newsletter the stock investors Edge check out the link down in the description below one of the things I like most about Eli Lily obviously their revenues are growing at a very fast pace but at the same time this is a company that is continuing to look for ways to improve one of those areas has been through efficiency this is a company that is operating with gross margins in excess of 80% here's a look at their eida margins the past few years in 2022 they're at 30.
1% 2023 they dropped to 24. 6% but over the trailing 12 months they are at a high of 30. 2% over that three-year time span although Lily pays a dividend they're not really known for their dividend because it's so small but it does grow at a fast pace the yield currently sits right below 1% but they have a 5-year dividend growth rate of 15% and they've grown that dividend for 10 consecutive years and counting in terms of valuation analysts are looking for the company to generate 2025 EPS of $22 and 67 cents per share which equates to a forward PE multiple of 35.
6 times this below their 5-year average of 40. 2 times that's a hefty premium to pay 35 times stock you better hope for a lot of growth and with this company moving forward over the next few years that's exactly what they're expected to do in 2025 alone analysts expect 74% earnings growth the year after that analysts are looking for another 30% of earnings growth if you put those two together in average amount utilizing that PE multiple that we just looked at this is a company that is trading with a PEG ratio of just 0. 7 now that is rather intriguing in terms of my Buy price Target I'm looking to buy shares again around that 750 level or below as that's exactly where I recently nibbled and would like to buy more and that leads us to stock number five which is going to be stagging industrial stock ticker St AG now we're moving on to the Reit sector a sector that's near and dear to my heart and again for those of you that watch my weekly live show or you're a subscriber to the stock investors Edge one area that I've been big on heading into this year and even in last year was industrial stocks why because I'm a Believer in the growth in e-commerce and what is my favorite Reit in this sector it's going to be plld a stock that I've talked about for the past last few months and if you date Back to December 19th until today as of this video shares of plld have climbed 20% we're talking about just five weeks ago so although I still love plld one of my largest reats within my portfolio I'm looking at other areas of value not selling out of PL but giving you another idea that's even cheaper and hasn't run up yet and that's going to be stag industrial the Reit currently has a market cap of $6 billion so the smallest company on our list today and over the past 12 months Shares are down 9% when it comes to e-commerce roughly 20% of all retail sales come from e-commerce however over the next 5 years that number is expected to grow to over 25% the penetration is going to be further and further so who does that benefit what's going to benefit the companies that are in e-commerce as those companies benefit they need more storage space more inventory who does that benefit going to be companies like plld and stag industrial it's a trickle down effect stag also pays a juicy monthly dividend that currently yields 4.
3% but although you get a juicy yield you don't get much in growth as that 5-year dividend growth rate is sitting below 1% although they are consistent they have grown their dividend for 12 consecutive years in terms of valuation again when it comes to reats we don't look at EPS we focus more on ffo or in this case AF ffo where analysts are looking for the company to generate $23 cents in 2025 which equates to a forward price to a ffo of 16. 2 well below the company's 5-year average of 18.
