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

The Nasdaq-100 tracks the 100 largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. The index is widely regarded as a benchmark for growth stocks, especially those in the technology sector. The Nasdaq-100 is currently 7% below its high, and many stocks have fallen even further, creating an attractive entry point for patient investors.

In my opinion, these Nasdaq-100 stocks are very compelling at current prices:

• Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is down 15%. But the median target price of $265 per share implies 50% upside from the current share price of $176.
• MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is down 37%. But the median target price of $2,600 per share implies 60% upside from the current share price of $1,630.
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is down 31%. But the median target price of $600 per share implies 57% upside from the current share price of $383.

Here's what investors should know about these companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia: 50% upside implied by Wall Street's median target price

Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) are the gold standard in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators. Systems built on those chips consistently set performance records when benchmarked across training and inference tasks. But Nvidia is truly formidable due to its full-stack strategy that spans hardware and software.

Instead of simply building chips, Nvidia designs computing platforms that integrate GPUs, central processing units (CPUs), and networking to provide customers with a turnkey solution for AI infrastructure. The company supplements its hardware with code libraries, frameworks, and pretrained models that support software development across a range of use cases, from AI agents to autonomous cars.

That full-stack strategy is Nvidia's most important advantage. It lets the company optimize performance and power efficiency at the system level rather than the component level. As a result, Nvidia systems typically have a lower total cost of ownership than alternative solutions. In other words, Nvidia is generally the most cost-efficient option for AI infrastructure when direct and indirect expenses are considered.

Thanks to that economic moat, Nvidia is likely to maintain its dominant position in the data center despite increasing competition from custom silicon companies like Alphabet and Broadcom. That puts Nvidia in front of a massive opportunity. CEO Jensen Huang says AI infrastructure spending will hit $3 trillion to $4 trillion annually by 2030, up from about $1 trillion today.

Wall Street estimates Nvidia's adjusted earnings will increase at 53% annually over the next two years. That makes the current valuation of 37 times adjusted earnings look cheap.

MercadoLibre: 60% upside implied by Wall Street's median target price

MercadoLibre operates across 18 Latin American countries, and it has a strong presence in three markets: The company runs the most popular online marketplace as measured by gross merchandise volume and visitors, it is the largest retail advertiser as measured by sales, and it is the largest fintech acquirer as measured by total payment volume.

MercadoLibre has several tailwinds working in its favor. E-commerce accounts for a relatively slim percentage of total retail sales in Latin America, but the region is home to the fastest-growing e-commerce market in the world. MercadoLibre is well positioned to maintain its leadership in online retail because it has the fastest and most extensive delivery network.

Additionally, Latin America's digital advertising industry is booming due to the growing popularity of online shopping, and the fintech industry is also growing quickly because a large percentage of the population is unbanked. MercadoLibre is likely to maintain its strong position in both markets because its e-commerce marketplace generates data that informs ad targeting and credit decisions.

MercadoLibre is 34% below its high because investors are concerned about profit margin compression as the company continues to invest in logistics and credit products. But that spending has already led to greater engagement with the marketplace, and it strengthens MercadoLibre's long-term growth prospects.

Wall Street estimates MercadoLibre's earnings will increase at 37% annually through 2027. That makes the current valuation of 41 times earnings look relatively cheap. Patient investors should jump on this buying opportunity.

Microsoft: 57% upside implied by Wall Street's median target price

Microsoft is exploiting its dominance in enterprise software to monetize generative AI by embedding Copilot products into its office productivity and enterprise resource planning platforms. Paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats rose 160% in the most recent quarter, and the number of daily active users surged 10x, according to CEO Satya Nadella.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Azure is gaining share in cloud services due in part to its exclusive API (application programming interface) rights to OpenAI models. Any application or tool that uses OpenAI models via API must be hosted on Azure infrastructure. Morgan Stanley's latest CIO (chief information officer) survey identified Azure as the cloud platform most likely to gain share in the next three years.

Microsoft stock is 31% below its high, partly because investors are worried that investments in AI infrastructure are not paying off, at least not to a degree that supports such aggressive spending. However, when the alternative is underspending and falling behind competitors, I think Microsoft is making the right decisions. Investors just need to be patient. The return on investment will materialize.

Wall Street expects Microsoft's adjusted earnings to increase at 15% annually through the fiscal year ending in June 2027. That makes the current valuation of 24 times adjusted earnings look quite reasonable. In fact, Microsoft shares haven't traded at a cheaper price-to-earnings multiple in more than three years.

Trevor Jennewine has positions in MercadoLibre and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, MercadoLibre, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.