ALB - Albemarle Celanese added to Wells Fargo's Signature Picks of best stocks

Albemarle ( NYSE: ALB ) and Celanese ( NYSE: CE ) on Monday were added to Well Fargo’s Signature Picks portfolio, replacing Dow ( NYSE: DOW ) and Olin ( NYSE: OLN ). The model portfolio is made up of the best investment ideas from equity analysts at the financial services company.

“Our materials sector reshuffling is driven by relative attractiveness and potential upside,” Christopher Harvey, analyst at Wells Fargo, said in a February 27 report.

Olin ( OLN ) and Dow ( DOW ) have gained 30% to 40% since last September, making them more expensive compared with Albemarle ( ALB ) and Celanese ( CE ), which have advanced by a mid-teens percentage.

The Signature Picks portfolio opened a 1.75% position each in Albemarle ( ALB ) and Celanese ( CE ). Wells Fargo has an Overweight rating on both companies.

The portfolio also divested a 1.5% position in Dow ( DOW ) and 2.1% position in Olin ( OLN ), though Wells Fargo has maintained its Overweight rating on both companies.

The Signature Picks portfolio since the beginning of the year has risen 6.4%, compared with a 3.7% gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index ( SP500 ).

Nvidia ( NVDA ), Avantor ( AVTR ) and Uber ( UBER ) helped to drive the outperformance of Wells Fargo’s model portfolio, which currently includes 33 stocks and a 3.2% position in cash.

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