MRNA - Best stocks to buy now – August 12 2021
“Cheap stocks” loved by Wall Street analysts
This year, investors piled into beaten-down economically sensitive stocks, hoping to profit from the pandemic’s historic rebound. The reflation trade is still alive and well, as optimism about the $1 trillion infrastructure bill boosts these stocks. The Russell 1000 value index is up nearly 19% this year, while the Russell 1000 growth index is up about 16.5 percent.
Bank of America monitors 364 actively managed long-only funds in the United States and has identified 80 value-oriented funds with over $317 billion in assets under management. The Wall Street firm investigated the value stocks that these fund managers preferred.
Caterpillar is at the top of the list, with more than a third of value managers owning the stock. The heavy equipment manufacturer, regarded as an industrial barometer, has benefited from the economic recovery. In 2021, the stock is expected to rise nearly 20%.
Other industrial names that value managers like are Allegion and Illinois Tool Works.
Oracle, a tech behemoth, is another value name that active managers adore. The enterprise software maker is coming off another strong quarter, with earnings that were higher than expected and revenue growth that was faster than the previous quarter. However, the company issued lower-than-expected quarterly revenue guidance.
Moody’s and American International Group are two of the list’s financial stocks. According to Bank of America’s research, overall value managers are the most overweight in financials.
Moderna stock
According to Vanda Research, vaccine maker Moderna was the most popular buy among the amateur investing crowd in the last five days, with nearly 160 million net retail purchases. Moderna’s stock has risen 10% in the last five trading days.
Pfizer is also attracting retail attention, with nearly 107 million net purchases in the last five days. In the same time frame, the vaccine company’s stock is up nearly 4%.
“In the case of vaccine manufacturers, volumes have been twice as large as the previous peak in December, following the announcement of clinical trial results in November 2020,” Vanda Research senior strategist Ben Onatibia said.
This week’s retail favorites include Advanced Micro Devices, General Motors, and Apple.
Stock trading app that has just gone public Robinhood is another stock that topped Vanda Research’s retail purchase tracker.
Last week, Robinhood had a meme-stock moment when it experienced a 50 percent rally on Wednesday, which appeared to be driven by retail investors. The stock then fell 27% last Thursday after it was revealed that existing shareholders will sell up to 97.9 million shares over time.
The stock of the online brokerage has risen 11% in the last five days.
Stock in Semiconductors Nvidia is also gaining traction among retailers, with over 56 million net purchases in the last five days.
“Gaming stocks have also seen a significant increase in retail buying,” Onatibia added, “but the drop in prices indicates that institutional investors were liquidating those positions (rather than selling to higher retail bids).
Retail investors continue to buy AMC Entertainment, one of the original “meme stocks.” Vanda Research also included Uber and Verizon Communications on its list.
Infrastructure related stocks
The legislation includes $550 billion in new funding for roads, bridges, airports, waterways, broadband, water systems, the power grid, and other infrastructure assets over a five-year period.
The infrastructure package now goes to the House for consideration after months of back and forth between the White House and both political parties.
“While the bill has been significantly watered down from President Biden’s original $2.3 trillion plan, an additional $550 billion toward infrastructure on top of a significant increase in federal highway spending still appears meaningful for Machinery, [engineering and construction], and a broader sector positive,” Bank of America’s Ross Gilardi wrote in a note Wednesday.
Bank of America has identified a number of buy-rated stocks that will benefit from increased public investment. Consider the following five names from their list.
Engineering firms such as Jacobs and AECOM, according to the bank, are best positioned to benefit from federal spending on traditional infrastructure such as highways, bridges, and roads, as well as areas such as electric grid modernization, broadband, water, ports, and transit.
“After years of developing environmental services capabilities, engineering firms are no longer solely focused on roads and bridges” (monitoring, testing, permitting, consulting). Engineering firms have direct customers in mass transit, ports, inland waterways, broadband, Amtrak, and wastewater treatment plants, according to Gilardi.
Caterpillar and Deere, both manufacturers of construction equipment, are also on Bank of America’s list.
“Deere is possibly the highest quality large cap Machinery name with both cyclical and structural tailwinds,” said Gilardi.
Cummins, a manufacturer of engines and generators, was also named a winner in the infrastructure bill by Bank of America. The bank has set a 12-month price target of $325 on the stock, which is approximately 39% higher than the stock’s Tuesday closing price of $233.77.
Source: https://beststocks.com/best-stocks-to-buy-now-august-12-2021/