Morgan Stanley expects the S&P 500 to plunge another 15%-25% within the next four months — use these 3 top recession-resistant stocks for protection

Eli Lilly (LLY)

This American pharmaceutical giant commands around $300 billion in market cap, with products marketed in 120 countries around the world.

Despite the market downturn this year, Eli Lilly is not a beaten-down stock.

In the first nine months of 2022, Eli Lilly’s revenue grew 5% year over year. Meanwhile, the company’s earnings per share improved 13% from a year ago.

Shares are actually up roughly 30% so far in 2022, and Morgan Stanley expects the trend to continue.

On Sept. 7, analyst Terence Flynn reiterated an “overweight” rating on Eli Lilly while raising his price target from $395 to $412.

Considering that Eli Lilly shares trade at around $349 apiece right now, the new price target implies a potential upside of 18%.

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Welltower (WELL)

Welltower is in the real estate business.

The company doesn’t own fancy shopping malls or posh office buildings. Instead, it focuses on health care infrastructure and provides real estate capital to senior housing operators, post-acute care providers and health systems.

In Q3, Welltower’s normalized funds from operations — a key real estate metric — grew 5% year over year. Its same-store net operating income rose 7.2%.

Health care is a recession-resistant sector, so health care-anchored real estate is typically in high demand.

The company also benefits from a major demographic tailwind: population aging.

Morgan Stanley analyst Ronald Kamdem notes that the population aged 75 and older is expected to grow by 4% annually through 2030, which could serve as a catalyst for Welltower’s business.

Kamdem has an “overweight” rating on the company and a price target of $90 — implying a potential upside of 26%.

Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Thanks to strong oil prices, energy stocks have turned out to be some of the best performers of the S&P 500 so far this year.

Exxon Mobil, for instance, is up 79% year to date — and that’s after a strong rally in 2021.

The oil-producing giant gushes profits and cash flow in this commodity price environment. Over the past 12 months, Exxon has generated $387 billion in revenue. Free cash flow has clocked in at a whopping $43.7 billion over the same time frame.

Solid financials allow the company to return cash to investors. Exxon pays quarterly dividends of 91 cents per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.2%.

Morgan Stanley analyst Devin McDermott has an “overweight” rating on Exxon and has raised his price target to $114 — which the company is just hovering under now.