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The fabled “FANG” stocks – Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix, and Google owner Alphabet – have had a tough time since last fall.
But Apple, which was unofficially added in 2017 to create “FAANG”, has outstripped the others and is now outperforming the group since the start of 2017.
The tech giant’s stock is up 118.6% over the period against FANG (Facebook FB, +0.84% , Amazon AMZN, -1.32% , Netflix NFLX, +1.77% and Alphabet GOOGL, +0.40% ) group gains of 93.2%.
So far in 2019, Apple’s shares have risen 55%, while Facebook is up 43% Alphabet is up 20%, and Netflix has climbed 2%.
This chart from Bespoke Investment Group, shows how the tech giant has broken out and left FANG in its wake.
Amazon has gained 16% year-to-date but the e-commerce giant’s stock fell 2% in early trading on Friday after profits fell for the first time in two year and it issued a warning over a weaker holiday period.
“If you’ve been following things lately, you know that this trade [FANG] is no longer what it once was… Because of FANG’s stumbles since mid-2018, however, you may be surprised to see that Apple is now outperforming the group since the start of 2017,” Bespoke Investment Group said in a note.
Despite soaring to record highs of $244, analysts remain confident the stock will continue to rise into 2020, citing stronger-than-expected iPhone 11 demand and the upcoming launch of the company’s Apple TV+ streaming service.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty increased her price target to $289 earlier this week, the highest Apple estimate on Wall Street, while UBS’ Timothy Arcuri also raised his target price to $275 from $235.
Bespoke Investment Group also pointed out that the FANG stocks were underperforming the S&P 500 so far in 2019 as well as over the past twelve months.
Since 2013, the first full year Facebook traded as a public company, the FAANG stocks have climbed 851.6% – with Netflix the big winner, rising 1958% in that time.
