5 Most Popular Stocks on Robinhood

2. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 59

Robinhood Popularity Ranking (Q1 2021 – Q2 2023): T-7^th (18 points)

Stock Performance (January 1, 2021 – June 6, 2023): +54.4%

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) might be one of the biggest surprises to make Robinhood investors’ top ten stock picks, as it’s not exactly a trendy stock. Whatever their motivations were for adding GE to their Robinhood portfolios, the moves paid off, as General Electric shares have jumped by 52% since the start of 2021. Hedge funds haven’t been quite as bullish, with the number of them long GE falling by 20% since Q1 2021.

It would appear that Robinhood investors were bullish on General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)’s breakup plans, which have thus far proven to be successful. The company spun off its healthcare division early this year and plans to split off its power generation businesses next year, which will then leave its strongest division, aerospace, as GE’s core business moving forward. Just as importantly, its various business units have all enjoyed improved performance of late, with overall orders growing by 26% in the first quarter.

Vulcan Value Partners discussed some of the positive momentum over at General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:

“General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) was a material contributor during the quarter. With the successful spin-off of GE HealthCare in early January, the company operates in two major markets: GE Aerospace and GE Vernova. GE Aerospace powers three out of every four commercial flights. GE Vernova helps generate 30% of the world’s electricity and has a meaningful role to play in the energy transition. The company’s service activities, which are higher margin and more resilient, represent approximately 60% of revenue and 85% of its backlog. The company reported strong fourth quarter 2022 results and management’s 2023 outlook is positive.”