- (1:00) – What To Expect From The Stock Market Heading Into 2021
- (7:50) – Should Investors Be Concerned About A Recession?
- (11:45) – Breaking Down The United States Stimulus Package
- (19:15) – Unemployment and Small Business Aide
- (29:10) – Are We Reaching The Top Of The Stock Market?
- (36:00) – What Stocks Should Investors Keep Their Eyes On?
- (45:20) – Episode Roundup: WSBC, CMA, PXD, AMZN, AAPL, NVDA, GOLD
Welcome to Episode #253 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.
Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.
This week, Tracey is joined by Zacks Chief Equity Strategist, and a PhD economist, John Blank, to do their annual look at the US economy heading into the new year.
Congress finally passed another large aid package which will backstop parts of the economy hit by the coronavirus shutdowns and restrictions.
But even with the aid package, there’s still a worry about the large number of people who remain unemployed.
Could there be a recession in 2021?
Or will there be a boom like everyone is predicting after the vaccine rolls out and restrictions are lifted?
Is the FAANG Rally Over?
For stock investors, 2020 turned out to be a great year as long as you didn’t panic at the start of the pandemic.
But after the big rally in 2020, especially among FAANG and FANGMAN, where should investors be looking in 2021?
Many of the big cap favorites like
Amazon
AMZN
have stalled out the last 3 months of the year after furious rallies during the beginning of the pandemic.
Amazon shares are up 72.6% year-to-date and have a forward P/E of 92.
Do they have further upside in 2021?
Energy, Banks and Gold
Three areas investors might want to take a look at in 2021 are the regional banks, the oil stocks and the big gold miners.
1.
WesBanco, Inc.
WSBC
is a $1.9 billion regional bank headquartered in West Virginia. It’s paying a dividend yielding 4.4%. While it’s rallied 36.6% over the last 3 months, it’s still down 24.5% year-to-date.
2.
Comerica Inc.
CMA
is a large Texas and Michigan regional bank with a market cap of $7.5 billion. If you’re making a recovery bet, no place better than to bet big on Texas. Shares have jumped 40.5% in the last 3 months but remain down 24.3% year-to-date. It also pays a dividend, currently yielding 5.2%.
3.
Pioneer Natural Resources
PXD
is one of the large oil and natural gas exploration companies with a market cap of $17.8 billion. It also has one of the best balance sheets in the industry. Shares are up 20% over the last 90 days but remain down 27% year-to-date. Will energy see a further boost in 2021?
4.
Barrick Gold Corp.
GOLD
is one of the large gold miners. With the price of gold weakening over the last 3 months, so have shares of Barrick. They’re down 20.5% during that time. Is this a buying opportunity heading into the new year?
What else should you know about the economy and investing in 2021?
Listen to this week’s podcast to find out.
[In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of AMZN in her personal portfolio.]
Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
You know this company from its past glory days, but few would expect that it’s poised for a monster turnaround. Fresh from a successful repositioning and flush with A-list celeb endorsements, it could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in a little more than 9 months and Nvidia which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report