Highlights from the 20 Most-Searched Stocks Among Financial Advisors: Focus on Earnings and ETFs

Another tech stock that made the list ahead of its earnings report is QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM). The company also disclosed its results yesterday, which showed a 19% drop in revenue over the year to $5.78 billion last quarter. The company’s adjusted EPS slid to $0.97 from $1.34. For the current quarter, QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) expects earnings per share between $0.90 and $1.00 and revenue in the range of $4.9 billion and $5.7 billion. The chip-maker also cut its chip shipments forecast for the current quarter, to between 175 million and 195 million units, which represents a drop of about 25% on the year. The decline in chip shipments also signals a slowdown in the sales of iPhones and other devices powered by Qualcomm’s chips. Among the funds from our database, 68 reported long positions in QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) as of the end of the third quarter, amassing 7.8% of the company, versus 69 funds that held shares a quarter earlier.

Finally, another ETF that made the list is iShares MSCI Italy Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA:EWI), whose shares have slid by 13% since the beginning of the year. EWI has $874.64 million in net assets and allows investors to gain exposure to a wide list of Italian companies, such as Intesa Sanpaolo or Eni, which represent around a quarter of the ETF. One of the possible reasons why this ETF captured the attention of financial advisors was the announced visit of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani to Italy. Rouhani’s trip to Europe, following the lifting of sanctions on Iran, also includes stops in France and Germany, but earlier this week, Rouhani signed a number of trade deals in Italy, worth around $18 billion in aggregate.

On the next page, you can see the whole list of the 20 most searched tickers by financial advisors last week.