Exploring the market? Here are 7 trends to learn before you buy stocks

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When first getting started buying stocks, it can seem a bit overwhelming given how many industries are represented in the market now. By narrowing down their focus to some promising stocks to invest in, people can save time and be able to specialize their research.

Buying stocks in gene editing technology now could prove very smart in the future. 

Researchers are working on gene therapies in hopes of one day curing patients with genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis or hemophilia. In total, there are over 6,000 genetic disorders affecting hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. Although scientists have only just begun human trials, and there is still a lot of work to be done to determine if currently used genetic therapy approaches are effective and safe, the potential demand for gene editing treatment is massive.

Genetic therapy approaches such as CRISPR/Cas9 and zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN), let scientists remove or replace specific pieces of DNA so that genes work better. Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT) and CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) are excellent examples of CRISPR/Cas9 research, whereas Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SGMO) is a pioneer in ZFN research.

Market trends still favor long term cryptocurrency and/or blockchain stock market investments.

Although bitcoin garners most of the cryptocurrency buzz, it is far from the only cryptocurrency attempting to revolutionize finances and other types of transactions.

There are already over 1,600 different forms of cryptocurrency, for example Ripple, all of which are vying for investors’ attention. Many types of cryptocurrency address specific niches, but virtually all of them rely on blockchain, a distributed ledger that validates transactions faster and more cheaply than its predecessors.

Overall, creating a truly global and decentralized cryptocurrency is intriguing and promising. However, the extreme volatility of cryptocurrency stock prices indicates that companies that enable or integrate  blockchain technology are the best investments in the long term.

With its recent recreational legalization in Canada, buying stocks in marijuana could give investors a tidy profit.

The war on drugs has been mostly disastrous for individuals and communities, particularly those of color. While it remains illegal under federal law, so far, 30 states have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana with an additional eight states having legalized recreational marijuana, including California, Oregon and Nevada. By far, the west coast is the United States’ biggest marijuana market.  Meanwhile, in Canada, medical marijuana has already been legal nationwide since 2001 with recreational marijuana will becoming legal in summer 2018.

Matt Karnes of GreenWave Advisors estimates U.S. marijuana sales will reach $14.5 billion, including sales taxes, in 2018. However, Canadian marijuana stocks might be a better investment because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level in the U.S.. Furthermore,  the U.S. market is fragmented without any proven leaders to help people zero in on stocks to invest in. In Canada, however, companies like Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: TWMJF) could capture up to $5 billion in recreational sales, according to CIBC World Markets.

Buying stocks in green energy not only helps to save the planet, but could also put green into stock market portfolios.

Increasingly, people are turning away from fossil fuels such as coal and oil and looking toward clean, renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and water.

There are more people on earth with much longer lifespans than previous generations with the industrialization of emerging markets increasing energy demand beyond the earth’s capacity. Non-renewable energy sources are getting depleted too rapidly to possibly keep up with the need of an expanding population.

Growing demand for green energy could make solar panel producers, including First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), and green-friendly utility companies, such as NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) not only smart investments, but ones investors can feel good about, too.

Tech billionaires see space and rocket technology as important stocks to invest in.

ASA scientists hope to launch a mission to Proxima Centauri, a star that’s located some 4.4 light-years away from earth by 2069.

Logistically speaking, it would take the fastest space craft ever built, as of today, about 18,000 years to travel that distance, but NASA has been funding research into spaceships that could make the journey traveling at 10% of the speed of light. If successful, it would take less than 50 years for a mission to reach Proxima Centauri.

Money from government grants for space missions like this could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but the space travel market is much bigger and getting funding from private sources like tech billionaires.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is developing reusable rockets to deliver payloads like satellites into space with the ultimate goal being to launch a craft to Mars in 2019. Similarly, Amazon.com’s founder, Jeff Bezos, is spending $1 billion of his notable fortune annually at Blue Origin to develop rockets that can transport items and humans into space.

Buying stocks in artificial intelligence could prove to be a sound investment strategy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already helping people communicate better as well as improving businesses practices and processes. AI is anticipated to eventually allow products and services to quickly take in and analyze massive amounts of data in order to learn, adapt, and solve problems on behalf of their human creators.

AI’s potential goes way beyond the use of robotic vacuums. Robotic employees will be able to take over dangerous or monotonous jobs in manufacturing or distribution and may lead to the widespread use of automated transportation soon. Hopefully in the future, it could dramatically improve healthcare diagnosis and treatment.

Companies like Alphabet are leaders in the application of AI though there are many AI investment opportunities. For instance, the next generation computer chip maker Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is already enabling Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) through the use of AI to create self-driving cars and improve electric power grids.

Digital wallets are here to stay and growing as smart stocks to invest in.

In 2016, $75 billion in payments for goods and services were made via mobile networks with that figure expected to grow to $500 billion in 2020, according to BI Intelligence.

The explosion of mobile payments is being facilitated by both the widespread use of smartphones and a strong push by companies like Apple (NYSE: AAPL) who want part of the billions of dollars generated each year in transaction fees.

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL),  is already one of the biggest providers of digital payment services while Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is now leveraging its global network to benefit.

 

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