With a new year underway, there’s an opportunity to scoop up some names that investors sold to save on taxes in 2022, according to Morgan Stanley. Investors dumped beaten-up names at the end of the year as part of a tax-loss harvesting strategy . The move is meant to offset any gains made during the year and therefore reduce the amount of taxes they’ll have to pay. There were plenty of options thanks to the market’s dismal year, its worst since 2008 . In fact, Morgan Stanley fielded more inquiries on tax-loss selling strategies in 2022 than in any other year, analyst Todd Castagno wrote in a note Friday. As a result, investors may have sold names they liked in order to realize the tax savings and could be waiting to jump back in after the “wash sale rule” period ends. The rule says you can’t buy and sell the same security within 30 days of one another. Morgan Stanley looked for those popular stocks that have derated but may be repurchased once the tax loss is realized. To find these names, the firm screened for underperforming stocks rated overweight by its analysts that also have a consensus overweight/buy rating skew. Here are 10 of those names. Plug Power has the most upside to Morgan Stanley’s price target — a whopping 288%. When Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight in October, it said the hydrogen fuel cell maker is “well positioned to be a leader in the hydrogen economy.” Plug Power struck a deal with Amazon in August to power some of the e-commerce giant’s operations with green hydrogen. Shares sank 56% in 2022. Sunrun is No. 2 when it comes to potential upside to Morgan Stanley’s price target. The firm expects it to triple in value. Morgan Stanley named the solar energy company a top pick after the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in August. The legislation, which includes $369 billion for energy and climate initiatives, should help propel Sunrun’s net value per customer to $10,000 from $7,000, Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Byrd said in a note. Higher utility bills could also push customers into solar energy, he said. The stock shed 30% last year. Uber Technologies is also favored by the firm. Analyst Brian Nowak slashed his price target to $54 per share from $70 in October. However, that still implies 118% upside for the ride-hailing stock. In a note at that time, Nowak said he expected multiyear earnings growth for Uber. Shares dropped 41% in 2022. Meanwhile, Match Group has 117% upside to Morgan Stanley’s price target. The online dating company’s stock was a big loser last year, dropping nearly 69%. However, the firm is a big believer in Match. Analyst Lauren Schenk reiterated her overweight rating and $90 price target in November. “Self-help story, sequential acceleration, and several upside drivers set up to be one of the best ’23 stories in our space at compelling valuation, albeit with macro uncertainty,” she wrote in a note. Last, Disney had a dismal 2022, with the stock sinking nearly 44%. Bob Iger returned to the CEO post in November, replacing the beleaguered Bob Chapek, in an effort to rejuvenate the media conglomerate. While Disney faces headwinds, there are cost opportunities in the media business and momentum in parks, which should allow Disney to deliver on its fiscal-year 2023 guidance, Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne wrote in a Dec. 12 note. “Return of Bob Iger as CEO offers the opportunity to reorganize Disney’s Media businesses (DMED) to prioritize driving overall Disney consolidated earnings growth,” he said. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
