Most Searched Tickers Among Financial Advisors: Apple and Alphabet Share the Lead; Focus on Tech, Consumer Stocks

In the last couple of weeks, attention has been focused on tech stocks, which have been declining amid their financial reporting and the broader market selloff. In the week of January 31 and February 6, the NASDAQ Composite Index slid by more than 5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down by 1.30% and the S&P 500 lost 3%. Meanwhile, when we look at the most searched tickers among financial advisors during the last week, we also see the tech sector in the spotlight, with five stocks in the top ten. Among other highlights in the list of the top-20 stocks provided by Trackstar, the official newsletter of Investing Channel’s Intuition, it is worth mentioning the increase in popularity of consumer goods and services stocks, as well as the inclusion of the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) in the list for the first time since we started coverage of the most searched tickers, which might be a signal that financial advisors might be looking for ways to de-risk their portfolios.

In this article we are going to take a closer look at the latest developments that surrounded the top five of the 20 most searched tickers among financial advisors. Three of the five tech stocks ranked in the top five, alongside a biotech and a consumer defensive stock. In addition, we will take a look at the smart money sentiment towards these stocks, based on our own research, which involves around 730 investors. Every quarter, we analyze the equity portfolios of the funds that we follow and idenfity trading ideas by looking at the stocks they are collectively bullish on. However, our focus are the top 15 most popular small-cap stocks among these funds, since our research showed that smart money’s top small-cap ideas can outperform the market by nearly one percentage point per month over the long term (see more details here).

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at some of the most-searched tickers among financial advisors last week. On the first spot is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which, even though it managed to maintain its leading position, had to share the top spot with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), as both tickers registered the largest number of searches, according to Investing Channel. Both companies have been in the spotlight as they battled for the title of the largest company in terms of market cap. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported its financial results for the fourth quarter on Monday, February 1, which included EPS of $8.67 on revenue of $21.33 billion, both of which were better than the $8.10 in EPS and $20.70 billion in revenue that had been projected by analysts. Following the release of the results, Alphabet’s stock jumped in extended trading and the company surpassed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in terms of market cap, but has since retreated in consecutive days. Overall, during the last week, Alphabet’s stock lost around 8%, while Apple’s stock retreated by some 3.40%. In the end, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains the most valuable company as investors have started to overlook the weakening iPhone sales and focused on the company’s strong balance sheet and dividend payments instead.

As we have mentioned several times before, among the investors that we track, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the second-most popular stock, with 133 funds holding its shares as of the end of September. With the current round of 13F filings coming to an end next week, we will be able to see if it maintained its spot in the rankings. Alphabet, however, also gained some popularity, as the company’s class A stock ranked as the third-most popular stock, while its class C stock ranked on the sixth spot with 119 investors holding class C shares. During the third quarter, when Apple lost some popularity, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) registered an increase in the number of bullish investors, with 12 more funds reporting stakes in its class C stock and 14 more funds holding class A shares. In the current round of 13F filings, billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management reported owning 11.28 million shares of Apple and 503,359 shares of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s class C stock, held as of the end of December.

On the following pages, we are going to dicuss three other stocks that ranked among the most searched tickers.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) made a comeback last week and ranked as the third-most searched ticker, after having dropped to the ninth spot the week before. Gilead also had a pretty eventful week, as it reported its financial results for the latest quarter. On the one hand, the company managed to beat earnings and revenue expectations, with EPS of $3.32 on revenue of $8.41 billion, versus estimates of $2.98 and $8.16 billion, respectively. The company’s key products, the hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni also registered sales of $4.90 billion, which exceeded the estimates of $4.54 billion. On the other hand, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) said it expects product sales in the range of $30 billion to $31 billion in 2016, which is lower than the Street’s forecast of $31.9 billion. However, the increase in its dividend payout to $0.47 per share and the expansion of its buyback program managed to offset the weaker-than-expected guidance and the stock appreciated by 2.5% during the last week.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was one of the most popular healthcare stocks among the funds we follow at the end of September, and as of the end of the fourth quarter, one of the investors that remains bullish on the stock is Clifford G. Fox‘s Columbus Circle Investors, which reported holding 3.23 million shares in its latest 13F filing.

Then there is Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), which was included in several previous top-20 lists, but ranked on the fourth spot last week, also in connection to the release of its latest quarterly financial results. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) posted adjusted EPS of $0.73, slightly higher than the $0.72 expected by analysts, while the revenue of $3.90 billion slightly missed the estimates of $3.93 billion. However, the company also reported a non-adjusted net loss of $0.51 per share, versus a profit of $0.68 a share reported a year earlier, which was a result of macroeconomic conditions and the stronger dollar.

Even though Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) is not a stock that has posted outstanding returns over the short-term, it does represent a solid long-term investment, as it has gained around 70% in the last three years and sports a dividend yield of 2.31%. Among the funds in our database, the company is not very popular, with 31 funds holding long positions as of the end of September.

Finally, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)‘s stock ranked on the fifth spot during a week in which it lost 7.3%, which is not that bad when compared to LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)’s 45% drop registered in connection with its financial results and guidance and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s 11% decline (Twitter has fallen even further this week after the release of its own financial results). Last week, a number of analysts reaffirmed their bullish stance on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s stock, including FBR & Co., which reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating and raised its price target to $130 from $125, and Axiom Securities, which reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating and raised its price target to $145 from $126. In its latest 13F filing, Columbus Circle Investors reported holding nearly 2.90 million shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).

On the next page you can see the full list of the 20 most-searched tickers among financial advisors last week, as well as some details regarding the hedge fund sentiment towards them during the third quarter.