Allianz, Prospect Ridge Resources, Amazon - Who will follow Tesla in 2022?

Allianz - Stable growth despite some major losses

The 2021 stock market year was not a record year for the Allianz Group. Storms, hail and the catastrophic flooding in Ahrweiler added to the claims balance accordingly. At least equities and real estate rose in the investment portfolio, while bonds did not really make money. At the beginning of December, the Allianz Group announced its strategy for 2022 to 2024. The insurer expects annual growth in earnings per share of 5 to 7% and a return on equity of at least 13%, as confirmed in a study by Independent Research.

In terms of sales, the insurer expects to generate an inflow of around EUR 12 billion over the next three years. That is based on sustained growth in all business segments and successful transformation of these areas. Increasing digitalization is also creating new business opportunities and reducing costs. In addition, the insurer will adjust its dividend policy. Already for fiscal 2021, it is planned to implement a payout ratio of 50% of adjusted net income or 5% growth compared to the previous year. The prerequisite is a stable solvency ratio of at least 150% in the future (previously: 180%), which stood at a generous 207% at the end of Q3-2021.

From a chart perspective, the Allianz share price is stuck in a broad sideways trend between EUR 183 and EUR 223. Trading signals thus only arise in the event of a downward or upward breakout; at the current price of EUR 208, the share price is precisely in the middle. All that remains is a reference to the excellent positioning and a dividend yield of an estimated 5.4% for 2022.

Prospect Ridge Resources - With bulging cash into the next year

The Canadian explorer Prospect Ridge Resources (PRR) can reflect on an equally successful year. Looking back, the Company completed two major acquisitions of the Holy Grail and Knauss Creek properties, both located in northern British Columbia. The debt-free company now owns over 70,000 hectares, with preliminary surveys identifying a total of 6 zones of visible gold there. The Holy Grail block includes 12 high-grade gold and silver hard rock mines within a 15 km radius. The second project near Val d'Or covers 839 hectares and consists of 15 claims. There are currently four targets prepared for drilling in the spring of 2022, for which permit applications have already been submitted.

The Company named Fortuna Silver Mines co-founder and former chairman Michael Iverson as its new CEO and director. Investors in PRR were also eager to spend at the end of the year, providing the Company with an additional CAD 8.5 million in placement, with a total of CAD 5.3 million still in the account.

Prospect Ridge Resources' stock is still a newcomer in Frankfurt, with the number of fully diluted shares currently standing at 59.6 million. That puts the current capitalization at about CAD 53 million. In a remaining inflationary environment, PRR stock can hit the ground running with good results in 2022.

Amazon - The e-commerce and cloud blockbuster grows and grows

Unstoppable in the pandemic environment is the operating performance of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer. The share has only known the way north for 5 years; however, there was a brief pause in the upward trend in 2021. The share started the year at USD 3,300. After a temporary rise to USD 3,773, it ended at a moderate USD 3,400 at the end of the year. With a market capitalization of USD 1.74 trillion, Amazon is one of the "BIG 5" of the American stock exchange.

A look at the coming years 2022-2024 remains interesting. Sales are expected to increase from USD 470 billion to USD 733 billion in 2024, which means an increase of 56%. On the earnings side, the analysts forecast a development from USD 41.11 to USD 110.21. The P/E ratio thus decreases from just under 83 to below 30 at a constant share price. The free cash flow will also soar above USD 75 billion in the 3 years. However, this phenomenal increase is not due to the retail business but clearly to the booming cloud services via the server subsidiary AWS.

Amazon's share price could rise significantly again in 2022 because, in terms of the performance of other FAANG shares, the online giant did very little in 2021. The Jeff Bezos empire should be stocked up in any major correction because of its market position.

The hype on NASDAQ refuses to die down even as the year ends. Apple, Tesla and Microsoft are whipping the index ahead. "The trend is your friend," says the stock market professional, so you should probably stay "long". Allianz and Amazon are two standard stocks. Prospect Ridge could step on the gas in the current inflation environment.