The 3 Best Nasdaq-100 Stocks to Buy Now -- They Could Soar 50% to 60%, According to Wall Street

Median Wall Street targets imply meaningful upside: Nvidia (NVDA) is ~15% below its high with a $265 median target implying ~50% upside from $176; analysts forecast adjusted EPS growth of ~53% annually over the next two years and NVDA trades near ~37x adjusted earnings. MercadoLibre (MELI) is cited down ~37% from its high with a $2,600 median target implying ~60% upside from $1,630; Street estimates ~37% annual earnings growth through 2027 and the company is investing in logistics and credit to defend marketplace, ad, and fintech moats (valuation ~41x). Microsoft (MSFT) is ~31% below its high with a $600 median target implying ~57% upside from $383; consensus expects ~15% annual adjusted EPS growth through June 2027, a ~24x multiple, and management is monetizing AI across Microsoft 365 and Azure (including OpenAI API exclusivity).

Analysis

Nvidia’s strength is increasingly a systems-and-ecosystem moat, not just a component advantage; that implies the real value capture will accrue to firms that control orchestration (software, interconnects, systems integration) and to cloud operators who amortize TCO across scale. A short-term inventory flush or a bespoke-silicon win at a hyperscaler would dent headline growth, but the longer-term dynamics favor whoever can drive utilization and lower total cost per inference — think higher marginal value for networking, power/cooling, and systems software vendors.

MercadoLibre’s heavy logistics and credit investment is a classic density play: once delivery network fixed costs scale above a local threshold, incremental unit economics move from loss-leading to margin-accretive. The key sensitivities are parcel density per route, loan loss rates through macro cycles, and FX-denominated funding costs; those three variables will decide whether recent capex is a durable moat or a multi-quarter drag on returns.

Microsoft’s AI monetization is a product-bundling and renewal-defense story — embedding models into enterprise workflows raises ARPU and increases switching frictions more than raw cloud share numbers indicate. But model hosting costs and potential regulatory/contractual limits on OpenAI exclusivity are two asymmetrical downside risks that could compress incremental margins even as revenues continue to grow.

Key Decisions for Investors

• NVDA — Tactical core position (2% NAV): buy shares or equivalent delta exposure with downside protection (buy 1-year puts for ~1% NAV) and hold 12–24 months. Rationale: capture systems-moat upside while capping single-event downside; exit or re-evaluate on two consecutive quarters of softer data-center utilization or on any announced long-term supply agreement from a hyperscaler that excludes Nvidia. Risk/reward: asymmetric — limited known downside via puts vs multi-bagger optionality if utilization and pricing remain firm.
• MSFT/GOOGL pair — Relative-value (1.5% NAV long MSFT, 1.0% NAV short GOOGL, 12–18 months): express a view that enterprise AI embedding favors Microsoft’s suite and monetization cadence vs Google’s enterprise execution. Hedge: trim if Microsoft’s model hosting costs rise >200 bps of incremental gross margin or if Google announces an enterprise deal that displaces Azure exclusivity. Expect 1.5–2x upside if MSFT wins share, tail risk is exclusivity loss or regulatory action.
• MELI — Growth-with-structure (2% NAV): buy equity with covered-call overlay (sell 9–12 month calls ~20–30% OTM) to monetize current volatility; size expecting a 12–36 month hold. Add active risk-control: buy a 12-month put if regional rates spike or reported charge-offs accelerate. Rationale: capture long-term payoff from logistics density and fintech credit income while pocketing premium; main risks are sustained FX stress and credit deterioration.
• AVGO/INTC tactical hedge — Small opportunistic short (0.5–1% NAV): take a short view on incumbents exposed to rapid product-cycle displacement (Broadcom/Intel) while using proceeds to finance protective collars on NVDA/MSFT positions. Timeframe 6–12 months; unwind on clear product wins or multi-quarter order book improvements. This reduces portfolio exposure to scenarios where custom silicon or system vendors erode incumbent margins.