With the US stock market having what is considered one of the worst starts of the year, investors are experiencing high levels of anxiety fueled by concerns about oil prices and the Chinese economy. Moreover, concerns about the future of the financial markets are expressed by some popular voices. Earlier this week, reports emerged that the Royal Bank of Scotland had issued a note to its clients, suggesting them to “sell everything except high-quality bonds”. Billionaire investor George Soros has also said that the current environment could suggest the approach of a crisis similar to that in 2008. In this way, the S&P 500 has lost more than 7% since the beginning of 2016, while Gold prices have inched up, signaling investors’ concerns.
It has become a sort-of tradition for us to look into the stocks that financial advisors have been searching during the past week. Based on the data provided by Trackstar, the official newsletter of Investing Channel’s Intuition, we look into some of the most searched stocks by financial advisors and assess the latest news that drove the investors’ attention. We also include the hedge fund sentiment towards these stocks, in order to get a better idea about the long-term potential of the companies included in the list. The sentiment is based on our compilation of data from quarterly 13F filings of more than 700 funds, which we analyze as part of our small-cap strategy (read more about our market-beating strategy).
The list of the top 20 most searched tickers among financial advisors also supports the investors’ uncertainty in the future of the markets. While the technology sector still dominated the list, many companies from the consumer goods sector also made it to the top, which is not surprising, since many consumer stocks are considered defensive and tend to outperform the broader indices in periods of market turmoil. In this article we are going to look at some of the highlights from the most searched tickers among financial advisors.
In the week between January 3 and January 9, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has regained the leadership position, after ranking on the third spot a week earlier (see the top from the previous week here). The company’s stock has lost around 8% during the week, as investors continued to fear about a decline in iPhone sales this year. Also last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had acquired a startup engaged in the development of artificial intelligence technology for facial expression analysis. However, it is not clear how Apple plans to incorporate the startup Emotient Inc.’s technology into its own products and services.
Despite the bad news, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains an attractive stock and its cheap valuation at just 9 times forward earnings makes it even more appealing. Apple has been one of the most popular stocks among the investors we track, having ranked on the second spot at the end of September, with 133 funds from our database reporting long positions in the last round of 13F filings. We can assume that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has remained a smart money darling and will most likely rank as one of the favorite stocks after we analyze the data from the current round of 13Fs, which will end in February. Billionaires Carl Icahn, David Einhorn, and Ken Fisher are just three top investors that are bullish on the company, among others.
Read on to see what other stocks ranked as the most searched among financial advisors in the week ended January 9.
