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With recession fears mounting for 2023, Bank of America has small-cap picks it expects will be resilient in a downturn — and even have some upside. All three major averages are higher to start the new year on the back of data that suggested a inflation may be cooling. Investors are hopeful the numbers could encourage the Federal Reserve to pull back on its rate hiking campaign. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up 5.8% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S & P 500 rose 3.5% and 4.2%. Given this, Bank of America picked out 35 of its best small- and mid-cap ideas for 2023, including one e-commerce stock called Xometry that’s expected to roughly double from here. These names could rise 24% on average, based on their 12-month price targets, according to the note. They have a market cap of $1 to $15 billion, or belong to one of the major small or mid-cap U.S. indexes. Additionally, they have liquidity of at least $20 million per day, on a 3-month, 6-month or 12-month basis. “[We] believe focusing on high quality small caps with resilient earnings is paramount this year. Many stocks on our list are well-positioned to weather an economic downturn, in our view,” wrote Jill Carey Hall, equity and quant strategist at Bank of America. Here are 10 names. Xometry , an online marketplace for industrial parts, will roughly double to its $60 price target, according to Bank of America. Analyst Nat Schindler said the stock will outpace the market and its competitors in 2023 because of increasing adoption and spending on the platform. What’s more, Xometry will have “minimal (or beneficial) impact from tough macro (with accelerating revenue growth in ’22 and where, in the event of a recession, we believe the platform is well capitalized/has enough operating flexibility to manage expense), and improving margins,” Schindler wrote. Meanwhile, auto services stock Driven Brands is expected to remain resilient in a recession, as the parent company of Meineke Car Care Center and other businesses largely provides needs-based repairs and maintenance for vehicles. Shares could surge more than 30% to its $38 price objective from Friday’s closing price, BofA said. Next, food services provider Aramark is a “turnaround story” that only saw sales decline modestly during the Financial Crisis, according to the note. Additionally, analyst Heather Balsky noted the firm’s focus on profitable growth and investments in its sales force is paying off. Another stock added to the list is French fry maker Lamb Weston , which could continue to see positive gross margins and earnings per share revisions. Meanwhile, Planet Fitness will benefit in a recession, as consumers trade down from higher-priced gyms, the bank said. Other stocks included in this list are Deckers Outdoor , Toll Brothers and Blue Owl Capital . — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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