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With just over two weeks left in what has been an outstanding year for stock investors, all eyes are turning to next year. However, history tells us that December can often be a strong time for the markets as the proverbial “Santa Claus rally” takes effect. This is a rally that often is basically a bunch of window dressing for portfolio managers to get some of the top stocks into their portfolios for the year-end reconciliation. With most of the profit and loss work out of the way, this is usually buying for show.

A new Jefferies research report focuses on the firm’s new top growth picks, and we found four that may not only be great trades for the balance of 2017, but good stocks to own as we head into the new year. Of course, all are rated Buy at Jefferies.

Edwards Lifesciences

This company pioneered the artificial heart valve, and it could be poised for big growth. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) provides products and technologies to treat structural heart disease and critically ill patients worldwide. The company offers transcatheter heart valve therapy products, comprising transcatheter aortic heart valves and their delivery systems for the nonsurgical replacement of heart valves.

The company also provides surgical heart valve therapy products, such as pericardial valves for aortic and mitral replacement, and minimally invasive aortic heart valve system, as well as tissue heart valves and repair products, which are used to replace or repair a patient’s diseased or defective heart valve.

Top Wall Street analysts feel that the company’s acquisition of privately held CardiAQ last year made good sense going forward. CardiAQ has human implants of transcatheter mitrial valves, and Edwards is focused on the mitrial valve opportunity after its very strong success in aortic valves.

Jefferies has been positive on the stock for some time and noted this:

The company hosted its annual investor day and we came away more positive on the long term runway for growth for aortic. The transcatheter aortic valve replacement, market outlook for $5 billion by 2021 was maintained but the company provided data around the prevalence of aortic stenosis (AS) at 4.5 million patients, suggesting a total addressable market of nearly $100 billion. Also, at several hospitals surveyed, as few as 25% of confirmed AS patients are recommended for treatment, suggesting there’s much to do to increase utilization

The Jefferies price target for the shares is $136, and the Wall Street consensus target is $130.33. The shares traded early Tuesday at $117.80.

Square

This is a stock that came out with big fanfare and has turned around recently. Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) develops and provides payment processing, point-of-sale (POS), financial and marketing services worldwide. It provides Square Register, a POS software application for iOS and Android, which enables sellers across a range of business types to itemize products or services for faster checkout; Square Analytics, which shows its sellers how their businesses are performing; Instant Deposit service, which sends funds from a sale immediately to a seller’s bank account; and Square Reader for magnetic stripe cards, EMV chip cards and NFC, which connects wirelessly to mobile devices.

The company also provides Square Capital, a financial service product, which provides merchant cash advances to pre-qualified sellers; Square Customer Engagement, a marketing service product; and Caviar, a food delivery service.

The analysts said this in their coverage:

This week, we hosted an investor meeting with the CFO. Management affirmed MSD margin expansion guidance in 2018 and noted that excess margin would likely be reinvested back in the business. That said, we believe the company could get close to GAAP profitability in 2018. We were walked through a Bitcoin/Square cash beta and came away incrementally positive on the potential consumer appeal of the service.

Jefferies has a $47 price target, which compares with the $38.97 consensus estimate. The shares trade at $39.05 Tuesday morning.

Ulta Beauty

If there is any stock to own in the retail sector, this may be the one, and the Latina customer is very important for sales. Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a holding company for the Ulta Beauty group of companies. The company offers cosmetics, fragrance, skin, hair care products and salon services. It offers approximately 20,000 products from over 500 beauty brands across all categories, including its own private label. The company also offers a full-service salon in every store, featuring hair, skin and brow services.

Ulta Beauty operates approximately 970 retail stores across 48 states and the District of Columbia and also distributes its products through its website, which includes a collection of tips, tutorials and social content. The company offers makeup products, such as foundation, face powder, concealer, color correcting, face primer, blush, bronzer, contouring, highlighter, setting spray, shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, hair styling tools and perfumes.

The analysts have stayed positive on the shares despite the roller-coaster ride this year, and the report noted this:

We visited with the company last week as part of our Chicago beauty field trip. We see a model with more bend in the cost curve following 3 years of hyper growth. Brand boutique investment has been a cost drag atop heavy infrastructure and corporate spend but we see a shift in 2018 where leverage starts to materialize in earnest as the cost curve bends faster than sales rates moderate.

The stunning $300 Jefferies price target compares with a consensus price objective of $251.20. The shares were last seen at $214.60.

Visa

This top credit card issuer is becoming a huge leader in digital pay. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network. The company provides processing services and payment product platforms, including consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, that are offered under Visa and related brands. According to Nilson estimates, the company is the largest global credit network (as measured by volume) and the second largest global debit network.

Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products.

The analysts remain positive on this top growth company and said this:

Last week, we hosted a meeting with the CFO at the company headquarters. Visa stands to benefit from the proposed tax reform bill (31% tax rate, modest leverage), displacement of cash is still the primary growth driver for the company and regulatory/data security are more viable risk factors than competition/disruption. The proactive regulatory environment in Europe bears monitoring.

Shareholders receive a small 0.7% dividend. The Jefferies price target is $129. The posted consensus target is $122.70. The shares traded at $112.90.

Four top growth stocks to consider that could be great trades for the balance of 2017 and good holds into the new year. They all stand to have continued revenue growth and are solid players in their respective sectors.