FANG Stocks Are Back in Favour

By WSJ City

Wall Street's FANG gang is growing again.

Big money managers are again buying shares in Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet as the prospect of low interest rates and a still-expanding US economy has pushed investors back into what has been one of the bull market's most profitable trades.

KEY FACTS

   -- The FANG companies, as well as Apple and Microsoft, have gained $916.2bn 
      in market value so far this year. 
 
   -- That means they've nearly recouped the $945bn in losses those stocks 
      suffered in a fourth-quarter selloff. 
 
   -- Their increase has contributed heavily to the S&P 500's 16% gain this 
      year. 
 
   -- Fund managers surveyed by BAML said FANGs (along with their Chinese 
      equivalents) were the market's second most crowded trade. 
 
   -- Investors expect growth at many of those companies will continue to 
      outpace the broader market. 
 
   -- Results this week from Facebook, Amazon and others could confirm that 
      view.

Why This Matters

Fund managers say this year's trade is less congested, leaving more room for further upside. Active fund managers had higher allocations to FANGs last month than in Q4, but lower levels than they've held over the past two years.

Not everyone is convinced. Morgan Stanley continues to suggest that investors limit their exposure to technology and consumer-discretionary stocks and is neutral on communications--all sectors where FANG and other fast-growing companies reside. Instead, analysts at the investment bank urge investors to take a more defensive position in case economic growth in the US stalls.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2019 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)

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