There's nothing like a skid in the S&P 500 to help you find the strongest stocks. And investors just got a good look at what's holding up.
Eleven stocks in the S&P 500, including health care play Moderna, financial SVB Financial and Tesla rose more than 3% during the past four days, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
These gains normally wouldn't be all that noteworthy. But they're in sharp contrast to the rest of the market. The S&P 500 slipped the past four-straight days in a rare pullback, somewhat stalling the raging bull market.
And investors are now broadly down 1.1%, or $525 billion in wealth, in the selling over the past four days. Some, though, worry this could be the start of something more serious. After all, September is traditionally the worst month of the year for stocks.
"There's simple seasonality to consider: September is an anomalously poor month for U.S. equity returns," said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. "And then there are specific catalysts, ranging from the course of the pandemic to various D.C. policy issues to housing inflation. Bottom line: Equity markets are priced for perfection in a world that remains distinctly imperfect."
S&P 500's Bull Gets Tested
The S&P 500 is due for a test.
The index is up more than 172% from its bull market low last March. That translates into a 62% annualized gain, the top performance in any bull market since World War II, says Ryan Detrick, strategist at LPL Financial.
And a test is what the S&P 500 is getting. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, with the exception of the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR, are down in the past four days. Hardest hit? The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR is down 2.6% in that time span. The S&P 500 itself is down nearly 1% in the past four days.
But it's also clear where in the S&P 500 investors are finding strength.
Moderna Gets Second Wind In S&P 500
Investors continue to see vaccine maker Moderna as the place to be. And that's looking like the case no matter what happens in the economy.
Shares of the company are up more than 330% this year, including a nearly 15% rise in just the past four days. Moderna is seen as being vital to fight the delta variant of Covid-19. We're in a "tough stretch" said President Joe Biden in an afternoon address on the situation late Thursday. Biden called for more vaccinations and is advocating new rules to urge companies to encourage employees to get vaccinated.
That puts Moderna in a vital spot. Already, Moderna is seen making $30.10 a share this year, up from a $1.96 a share loss in 2020. Should you buy Moderna stock now?
Tesla Revs Up A Bit
Is the wait for Tesla stock to regain its mojo finally over? That's what some investors think.
It's been a disappointing year for Tesla stock so far. It's only up 7% this year, while at the same time the S&P 500 is up 20%. But, Tesla stock is holding up better than most in the past four down days, rising more than 3%. Analysts think Tesla will make $5.46 a share in 2021, up more than 140% year over year. Should you buy Tesla stock now?
And yet, Moderna and Tesla aren't the only S&P 500 winners holding up well. Take bank SVB Financial. Not only is the bank's stock up 3.4% in the past four days. It's up more than 50% this year so far. The bank's profit is seen jumping more than 35% in 2021.
It's unclear if the S&P 500's rough past four days will get worse in September. But investors are showing you which stocks they're comfortable owning.
S&P 500 Stock Up The Most In Past Four Days
| Company | Ticker | Stock four-day % ch. | YTD stock % ch. | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moderna | 14.7% | 336.4% | Health Care | |
| Global Payments | 8.5% | -20.1% | Information Technology | |
| Cabot Oil & Gas | 6.8% | 13.8% | Energy | |
| Perrigo | 6.8% | -1.1% | Health Care | |
| CarMax | 5.4% | 41.0% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Citrix Systems | 4.3% | -16.8% | Information Technology | |
| Analog Devices | 3.8% | 14.3% | Information Technology | |
| SVB Financial Group | 3.4% | 51.9% | Financials | |
| Tractor Supply | 3.2% | 43.5% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| CenterPoint Energy | 3.1% | 22.7% | Utilities | |
| Tesla | 3.1% | 7.0% | Consumer Discretionary |
