U.S. stocks recently closed out a second consecutive quarter with recorded gains, and still looks set for more upsides amid President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, and exploding COVID-19 caseloads globally.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 11% in Q3 2020, and registered its biggest two-quarter increase since 2000.
The U.S stocks post gains in Q3 2020, amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, and were up by 7.6% in Q3 2020.
Their impressive run is largely attributed to mind-blowing turnovers, low debt profiles and high-profit margins, often exhibited by these fast-growing equities in spite of the COVID-19 onslaught.
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Most of these U.S Stocks also have engaging success stories of young entrepreneurs like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Google’s Larry Page, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. There are also trusted and stable global blue-chip names like JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Well Fargo, AT&T, General Motors, Amazon.com and Pepsi, attracting millennials and many global stock traders from diverse locations, making it the biggest equity market in the world.
Nairametrics interviewed financial analysts asking for their opinions on what US-based stocks they will invest in. Their responses were as insightful, as they were diverse, ranging from leading U.S tech brands to global consumer brands.
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Thelma Ugonna Ohiri-Anyanwu, CFA, Banker
“My favorite US stock would be the Apple Inc. stock, I love the stock because the company has good corporate governance, strong fundamentals, creative products; hence, future earnings is guaranteed and has potential for long term growth.”
Silas Ozoya, Managing Partner/CEO, SUBA CAPITAL
“Investing in Stock abroad is an interesting way to hedge your portfolio against inflation in Nigeria, especially since returns in the portfolio would be dollar-denominated. My picks on the top 100 stocks in the USA would be Apple, Amazon, and Google for the technology industry, because of how fast they are adapting to global change especially in the pandemic. Pfizer, P&G, as well as Walmart would follow next, because they’re essential needs companies. So, they would be around for the long haul no matter how bad things get. Finally, for the financial sector; JP Morgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs, simply because they’ve been around long enough to survive major recessions and economic down turns, like the 9/11 triggered economic issues, as well as the 2008 recession. Financial institutions like them that have showed stability are worthy of having my money as an investor.”
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Lase Ashenuga. Financial Advisor
“September was a volatile month for stocks, amidst renewed fears about the spread of the coronavirus and political uncertainties. Investors can expect more of the volatility this month, but it’s advisable to always be in the market. My top three will be Costco wholesale, for being steady month in month in the bulk discount retail sector; Microsoft, due to the essential part of technology/software in the market; Nike, for having doubled in share price since the 52-week low of $60 a share during the pandemic, and looking good into 2021. The fundamentals of Nautilus (a fitness company), which isn’t a blue-chip company like my previous picks, and also Chewy (deals in online pet supplies) look good too, due to people being stuck more indoors. Their Q3 performances have been impressive, and look to be on the rise in Q4, but I will advise them both for higher risk tolerant investors.”
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Harrison Glory Chinyere Investment Analyst/ Client Service Executive AIICO CAPITAL LTD.
“Technology Companies like, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Netflix have their hands in seemingly everything, and have the potential to disrupt an economy. Amazon dominates online retail, which tunes to about half of all U.S e-commerce, think about the estimates that over 100million Americans are currently paying $119/year price tag to be Amazon Prime members? Google is no less impressive, that it’s search engine might be better termed ‘money engine’; So, Google is also involved in everything, which is why it has 90% market share worldwide. Their large market capitalizations, reflect the fact that the market is aware of this. Investors are generally better off sticking to well-known large cap stocks with strong brand recognition, as they start off on their investment journey.”
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Taiwo Megbope, Head of Equity Research, Co-founder of Investor Hangout
“I am a Value investor at heart. I prefer the safety and stability they provide. I have a few models I use when trying to identify value stocks. The most consistent are; Return on Capital Employed free Cash Flow Yield Price to Earnings Ratio and Dividend Yield. After screening this list out, I ensure they also have the right technical properties as well. My favorite technical screeners include, Average daily volume traded greater than 1mil units. Based on these conditions, these are my US Stocks to watch; Hp Inc, Philip Morris International, Applied Materials Inc, Intel Corp, Western Union Co. Ebay Inc Merck & Co, In Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Seagate Technology Plc, Oracle Corp, Verizon Communications & R Block Inc.”
It’s unsurprising to see Financial Analysts choosing different variants of U.S stocks, with most of them being household names, having wider economic leverage, and also used by most people in enhancing their work productivity.
Such bias has made global investors push U.S Stocks to impressive gains for its second consecutive quarter.
