Dodging all political ills, investors continued to pour money into the fast-growing companies, pushing the Nasdaq Composite Index to new highs since Mar 13.
The surge in the technology sector, which accounts for nearly half of the index, helped the Nasdaq’s northward journey. Most of the rally was driven by the resurgence of FAAMNG stocks and the strength in chipmakers thanks to a deluge of robust earnings, a rising interest rate scenario, and solid demand for cutting-edge technology. Notably, the trio of the group — Apple AAPL, Amazon AMZN and Microsoft MSFT — set new milestones.
Apart from tech, consumer discretionary stocks on the index are also rising on a round of upbeat economic data, which indicates that the economy has been on a strong path, bolstering confidence.
In particular, the United States added a staggering 223,000 new jobs in May, pushing the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8%. Consumer spending rose the most in five months in April, while consumer confidence rebounded near an 18-year high in May. Manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in May and order backlogs grew the most in 14 years. With this, American manufacturing is enjoying a 21-month long winning streak. The data from the Commerce Department shows that construction spending rose 1.8% in April — the highest increase since January 2016, after a 1.7% decline in March. So clearly, all the latest data points signal good times for the domestic economy.
Moreover, the biotech stocks also saw smooth trading buoyed by a wave of mergers & acquisitions as well as favorable regulatory backdrop.
Coupled with the tech surge, Nasdaq turned out to be winner so far this year with returns of more than 10% so far this year compared with gains of 0.4% for the Dow Jones and 2.7% for the S&P 500. Given this, we have presented four stocks that doubled from a year-to-date look and are leading the way higher for Nasdaq rally. These stocks will continue to outperform in the coming months given that these have a solid Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
Axon Enterprise Inc AAXN – Up 149.3%
It is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of conducted electrical weapons for the law enforcement, federal, military, corrections, private security and personal defense markets. The stock saw solid earnings estimate revision of 37 cents for this year over the past three months with an expected earnings growth rate of 77.78%, much higher than the industry’s average growth of 19.60%. With a market cap of $3.48 billion, Axon Enterprise has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
ABIOMED, Inc. ABMD – Up 116.5%
With a market cap of $17.45 billion, ABIOMED is a provider of mechanical circulatory support devices and offers a continuum of care to heart failure patients. The stock saw positive earnings estimate revision of 20 cents for the year (ending March 2019) over the past three months with an expected earnings growth rate of 40%, much higher than the industry average growth of 22.52%. It has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B.
Capstone Turbine Corporation CPST – Up 106.5%
It develops, manufactures, markets, and services microturbine technology solutions for use in stationary distributed power generation applications worldwide. Though the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 (ending March 2018) has moved down by a penny over the past 90 days, earnings growth of 70.51% is much higher than the industry average of 20.64%. CPST has a market cap of $88.1 million and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its Growth Score stands at A.
ChemoCentryx, Inc. CCXI – Up 102.7%
This biopharmaceutical company is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally administered therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. With a market cap of $636.98 million, the stock witnessed positive earnings estimate revision from a loss of $1.23 to a loss of $1.02. It has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
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