The past two years have been good to U.S. stock market investors. Although down slightly from 2023, the S&P 500 ended 2024 up 23.3%, and the Nasdaq gained 28.6%, according to Charles Schwab. And the Russell 2000 small cap index rose 10%.
The so-called “Magnificent 7” stocks — Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) — had impressive but varied returns in 2024. Not surprisingly, Nvidia, one of the largest companies in the world and the hottest stock of 2024, topped the group easily with a 171.2% return last year, but two other stocks fared better.
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The single biggest winner in the S&P was Palantir Technologies (PLTR), with a whopping 340.5% gain for the year, followed by Vistra (VST) at 261.3%, per CNBC. GOBankingRates asked Edward Corona, veteran stock trader and publisher of The Options Oracle, and David Capablanca, the host of “The Friendly Bear” podcast and the founder of Conscious Trading Academy, whether it would be worthwhile to invest in either Palantir or Vistra now, and whether Nvidia is still a sound investment option.
What a difference a year makes. Less than a year ago, you could have snapped up Palantir stock for around $25 a share. This week, it’s been hovering in the mid-$80s range. Headquartered in Denver, Palantir specializes in security and data-analysis software used by government agencies and private corporations.
“PLTR had a massive run starting last year, but the momentum has cooled off,” Corona said. “The stock is in a neutral trend but has resistance around $94.33. It’s pulling back, so if I were trading, I’d be cautious unless it reclaims momentum above that resistance. IV (implied volatility) is high, making options premiums juicy for selling strategies.”
“Palantir and Vistra are coming off their biggest decline ever after an exponential run last year,” said a cautious Capablanca. “That surge was driven by a bull market, but we’re no longer in that environment — we’re in what could be called a ‘terrorist market.’ This isn’t something that will just continue growing indefinitely. History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes, and last year was an outlier for these stocks.”
However, there are no real long-term growth worries with Palantir. Having government contracts in a seemingly limitless tech sector, Palantir stock will likely bounce back, but it may take some time. “It’s still a solid AI/data play, but it’s priced for growth,” Corona said. “A pullback to the $70s could be a better entry for long-term investors looking for a value opportunity.”
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Irving, Texas-based Vistra is a leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company that controls “the largest competitive power generator in the U.S., with a capacity of approximately 41,000 megawatts, or enough to power 20 million homes, operating in all of the major competitive wholesale markets in the country,” per its website.
Vistra was the second-best-performing stock of 2024 and topped Insider Monkey’s recent list of the 12 best energy stocks to invest in, according to billionaires. However, its stock has also dropped around 7% in the past five days.
Regardless of daily dips, Capablanca doesn’t think either stock should be bought right now. “Right now is not the time to buy Palantir or Vistra,” Capablanca said. “Before their 2023 surge, neither Palantir nor Vistra had gains like that in their history. Now that the correction is happening, they are likely to revert to the mean and stabilize at lower levels. This isn’t a normal dip — it’s a major correction, signaling that the run is likely over.”
Corona has his doubts about Vistra too but is more optimistic that it can rebound. “Unlike Palantir, Vistra is a steady power player with cash flow support,” he said. “But right now, the stock is struggling to find buyers. Investors might want to wait for confirmation of trend reversal before jumping in.”
Nvidia stock hit its 52-week high during the first week of 2025. Since then, its stock has corrected nearly 30%. Still, the company continues to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in every direction.
“Nvidia is different from Palantir and Vistra because it’s the leader in its space,” Capablanca said. “While it has also surged and is experiencing some pullback, it has long-term potential. The key with Nvidia is thinking in terms of 10, 15 or even 20 years down the line. Unlike Palantir and Vistra, which had long periods of doing very little before their big runs, Nvidia is likely to continue dominating the semiconductor market.”
Corona agreed with the optimistic long-term outlook with Nvidia but suggested buying the dip when markets slide. “NVDA is dominant and the gold standard in AI, but after a parabolic 2023-24, a healthy correction is expected,” he said. “Investors should consider scaling in on dips rather than chasing rebounds.”
Editor’s note: All current stock prices and gains/losses are as of April 1, 2025.
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