3 Contrarian Stock Plays for Bold Investors in 2024

Larry Ramer

Thu, Dec 21, 2023, 7:23 PM 4 min read

In a sense, 2023 has been a great advertisement for contrary stocks. At the end of 2022, most of the Street was convinced that high interest rates would doom the economy and almost all stocks for the foreseeable future. Most large investors were hiding away in Treasury bills and highly defensive stocks. Then a few small banks collapsed in March and most of the Street said (more or less) “Aha! These are the ruinous ‘long and variable lags’ that we’ve predicted would occur for so long! The economy and the stock market will collapse! We’ll be lucky if we avoid a huge financial crisis.” This backdrop has led to this list of contrarian stocks to buy.

Meanwhile, most large investors dismissed the rally of AI stocks as a fad. And later, when the Magnificent 7 started pushing the S&P 500 higher, most on the Street insisted that the rally would fade and never expand to most stocks. But of course, companies’ earnings rose, inflation fell, the economy stayed strong, and many, if not most, of those who defied the prevailing bearish trend and bought a wide variety of stocks, made a great deal of money.

Here are three contrarian stocks that can also produce big profits for investors in 2024.

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Darling Ingredients (DAR)

Food stacked on coins representing rising U.S. inflation.

Source: Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock.com

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) provides natural ingredients derived from animals to companies in many sectors. The company also has a joint venture, Diamond Green Diesel, that provides renewable diesel and plans to start selling sustainable airline fuel in 2025.

Despite the stock market’s huge, recent rally, DAR stock is still down around 10% since the end of September, and the shares have sunk 21% in 2023.

Diamond Green’s revenue fell 26% year-over-year in the third quarter, dragging down Darling’s overall top line, which fell 7% YOY. But Darling’s management expects Diamond Green’s financial results to rebound in Q4.

But airlines are looking to buy “massive” amounts of SAF. Therefore, I expect DAR stock to rebound tremendously in the second half of 2024 as investors start anticipating the windfall that Diamond Green will receive from selling SAF in 2025.

Xpeng (XPEV)

Electric car backlit by cyan blue neon light next to EV charger with cyan blue light and lightning bolt symbol, all against a black background. ev stocks to sell now

Source: shutterstock.com/JLStock

Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng (NASDAQ:XPEV) have fallen 11% this month as e-commerce giant Alibaba (NASDAQ:BABA) slashed its stake in XPEV by about 50% in December.

But BABA, which is facing a great deal of competition and many challenges as the growth of China’s economy slows, may have cut its stake in XPEV simply to have more cash on hand in case a number of its businesses encounter cash-flow issues.

And Morgan Stanley recently wrote, “The direct impact [of Alibaba’s share sale] on Xpeng’s share price should be transient and manageable.”

Further, I remain convinced that Xpeng’s leadership in developing advanced driver assistance systems and its alliance with Volkswagen will greatly boost XP EV stock over the longer term. It’s therefore one of those contrarian stocks to consider.

First Solar (FSLR)

An image of a solar panel in the shape of a piggy bank on a rooftop; concept for solar stocks

Source: Andreas Prott / Shutterstock

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is down over 20% from its August high amid the solar sector’s struggles due to elevated interest rates, California’s decision to reduce the amount homeowners get for selling their solar energy to utilities, and excess inventories of solar panels in Europe.

But FSLR’s revenue jumped 7% last quarter versus the same period a year earlier, while its operating income soared to nearly $273 million from $168.5 million in Q3 of 2022

Further, the company had a huge backlog of 81.8 gigawatts at the end of Q3, showing that its business remains strong and insulates it against any temporary downturns in the solar sector.

Moreover, FSLR is benefiting from the fact that it has two factories in Ohio, enabling it to receive large tax credits from Washington. Additionally, the company is being helped by the fact that most of its revenue is derived from large utilities whose purchases of solar panels have not been affected greatly by higher interest rates or the changes in California’s rules.

Finally, investment bank TD Cowen recently cited FSLR stock as a “top idea,” citing FSLR’s high exposure to utilities. The bank added that FSLR ” has a disruptive cost profile versus peers and generally a better product versus crystalline silicon modules.”

On the date of publication, Larry Ramer held a long position in XPEV. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 15 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been PLUG, XOM and solar stocks. You can reach him on Stocktwits at @larryramer.