While 2015 was a tough year for many investors, there were bright spots for growth-fund managers who owned the so-called “FANG” stocks. These four stocks produced outsized returns while the major indexes were negative for the year. For those of you not familiar with this acronym, below are the company names with their respective 2015 performances next to them:
It’s a different story this year with Energy and Gold companies dominating the best performers list while last year’s FANG stocks have had mixed results. We’ve seen a shift over the last 2 months however as commodities have stalled while Technology stocks have come on strong. While initial strength has been in Semiconductor stocks, other technology related stocks and groups are beginning to participate.
Of particular interest is the fact that 3 of last year’s FANG stocks are breaking out this week. As you’ll see in the charts below, Facebook has been the strongest of the four this year while Netflix is struggling to regain investor’s interest.
The possibility of former winning stocks having another leg up is very real provided the company remains innovative and shows signs of producing the strong earnings and sales that made them big winners in the first place. Such is the case with Facebook, Amazon and Google which are listed in order of the strength of their earnings estimates for this year and next.
And while Netflix does not currently look healthy, the company is continuing to produce new content that’s expected to translate into strong earnings by next year. Below are daily price charts of these FANG stocks in order of strength:
Mary Ellen McGonagle
Editor, The MEM Edge
www.MEMinvestmentResearch.com