Here Are My Top 4 Stocks to Buy in October

The final quarter of the year is officially underway. Even if we're not starting it out with the advantage of the usual September swoon, if it's like most of them, this year's Q4 should be a relatively good one.

And for a small handful of stocks, the next three months could be particularly bullish. Here's a closer look at why this is the case for four of your best bets right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Viking Therapeutics

At first blush, Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) looks like just another weight loss drug developer leveraging the same GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) hormone that Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy utilize.

Now take a closer look. While the underlying science is the same, Viking's VK2735 is unique in that it's being developed as both an injectable and a pill, but more than that, it's showing promise as a weight-maintenance option with just a monthly dose rather than the weekly injections that Wegovy and Zepbound currently require.

Although the monthly dosing approach is only in phase 1 clinical trials right now, a successful phase 3 trial of the same weight-loss drug could bolster confidence in VK2735, no matter how it's administered. This could make Viking Therapeutics a more serious contender in a weight loss drug market that Morgan Stanley expects to be worth $200 billion by 2030 -- led by GLP-1-based drugs -- with the U.S. market set to more than double in size between now and then.

Just don't tarry if you're interested. Although there are no trial updates explicitly scheduled for the final quarter of this year, the Q3 report, likely coming at the end of this month, will almost certainly include an update on VK2735, which is already on many investors' radars.

2. Alphabet

It's not too difficult to see why Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) shares have drifted lower since May -- the company's heavily involved in artificial intelligence, and AI stocks have lost much of their luster as investors struggle to reconcile its steep developmental costs with its returns so far on these investments.

Largely lost in this concern, however, is that Alphabet's Google is arguably better positioned than any other name to capitalize on even the slowing growth of the artificial intelligence business.

That's what its second-quarter numbers suggest anyway. While rivals like Amazon and Microsoft both saw their cloud computing businesses grow in Q2 thanks to the continued proliferation of AI, Google Cloud's enormous year-over-year growth of 82% meant it was the only major name in the cloud business to gain rather than lose market share during the second quarter.

Credit Google's sheer reach, mostly. While Microsoft's office productivity software, like Word and Excel, remains crucial to plenty of enterprises, a growing number of institutions are also opting for Google's similar apps. Already familiar with these solutions as well as its search engine and -- quite often -- Google's free-to-use email service Gmail, adding Google's AI offerings (including Gemini) isn't a particularly big leap.

Most investors seem to be missing this right now, along with the fact that the company's search-based advertising arm posted impressive revenue growth of more than 14% during Q2. The third-quarter report coming in late October could force investors to acknowledge just how well Google is holding up on all fronts.

3. SoFi Technologies

SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) shareholders just haven't been able to catch a break this year. After it was announced last year that online bank Chime would discontinue its use of SoFi's technology platform Galileo in early 2026 -- leading to a 27% drop in technology platform revenue in Q1 alone -- in March, SoFi was targeted by a short-seller claiming that its accounting was deceptive. After being halved in Q1, fear has kept this stock from staging any meaningful recovery.

Just don't lose sight of the company's actual performance. Despite all the pessimism and worry, Q2's adjusted revenue improved 40% year over year to $1.2 billion, while its customer count grew 35% to 15.8 million members. SoFi Technologies also raised its full-year revenue guidance from $4.66 billion to $4.75 billion to $4.85 billion. Investors may need to see progress in Q3's update, due near the end of this month, to start believing in this growth.

4. MercadoLibre

Last but not least, I'm adding MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) to my list of top stocks to buy this month.

It's been a while since this name's been in the spotlight, mostly because all eyes have been on the rapidly evolving AI market. The last we heard about this South American-based e-commerce outfit last year was that investors weren't thrilled about the cost of free shipping it was offering to a wide swath of Brazil's online shoppers. That offer's still in place, too, explaining why shares are down 25% for the past year.

Now take a step back and look at the bigger picture. While it's pinching profit margins, the company's second-quarter report (posted in August) notes that "users are becoming stickier as the ratio of daily active users to monthly active users reached its highest level ever." It then adds "their relationship with our marketplace is broadening, as the share of users purchasing three or more categories rose almost 6ppts YoY to an all-time high." End result? The quarter's top line of nearly $10.2 billion was up 50% year over year, driven by similar growth in payment and merchandise volumes.

The so-called "Amazon of Latin America" is certainly performing much as the actual Amazon of North America did in its early days, justifying its aggressive spending. Most investors just aren't seeing it yet, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say most investors remain too distracted by AI to notice. It's not clear when they'll notice this overseas company that's doing so well.

For what it's worth, though, analysts expect the market to take notice sooner rather than later. Most analysts currently rate MELI as a strong buy, with a consensus 12-month price target of $2,295.31, which is 36% above this ticker's present price.

James Brumley has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Eli Lilly, MercadoLibre, Microsoft, and Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool recommends Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.