5 Tech Stocks Leading the Latest Nasdaq ETF Rally

PFE NVDA SNPS QQQ WDAY MELI PDD

The Nasdaq Composite Index has been hitting a series of record highs lately and notched its eighth gain in the past 10 sessions. Most of the rally was powered by renewed buying in the high-growth tech giants as tapering fears ease as well as optimism over a sustained economic recovery. In fact, the tech-heavy index topped 15,000 for the first time last month (read: Nasdaq Tops 15K for First Time: 5 Best Stocks in the ETF).

The Fed in its latest conference said that the central bank will gradually begin tapering $120 billion in monthly bond purchases by the end of the year but it is in no hurry to raise interest rates. This comment has led to a sharp rise in technology stocks, which rely on easy borrowing for superior growth and tend to benefit from a low-rate environment.

The FDA’s full approval to Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, which had been under emergency use authorization since December, has bolstered investors’ optimism over the economy. This will continue to boost technology spending.

As a result, Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) , which serves as a proxy to the index, has also hit new highs, gaining 3.6% in a month. Let’s take a closer look at the fundamentals of QQQ.

QQQ in Focus

This ETF provides exposure to the 102 largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq by tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index. Information technology accounts for 49% of the assets, while communication services and consumer discretionary make up for 19.6% and 16.6% share, respectively.

QQQ is one of the largest and most-popular ETFs in the large-cap space with AUM of $193.1 billion and an average daily volume of around 31.7 million shares. It charges investors 20 bps in annual fees. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook. Though most of the stocks in the fund’s portfolio have delivered strong returns over the past month, a few tech stocks have led the way higher (read: Top-Ranked Technology ETFs Looking Good for September).

Below we have highlighted those five best-performing tech stocks in the ETF with their respective positions in the fund’s basket:

Top-Performing Tech Stocks in QQQ

MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI - Free Report) : It is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America. The stock climbed nearly 21% in a month and accounts for 0.63% in the fund’s basket. It has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for this year and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Workday Inc. (WDAY - Free Report) : This company is a provider of enterprise-level software solutions for financial management and human resource domains. The stock has surged 16.6% in a month and has 0.3% exposure in the fund’s basket. Its earnings are expected to grow 1.8% in the fiscal year (ending January 2022). Workday has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Pinduoduo Inc. Sponsored ADR (PDD - Free Report) : This company provides an e-commerce platform allowing users to participate in group buying deals, primarily through Tencent's Wechat app. The stock has a projected earnings growth rate of 115.2% for this year and has rallied 16.6% in a month. It accounts for 0.26% of the fund’s portfolio and has a Zacks Rank #2 (read: Join the Nasdaq Rally With These ETFs).

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS - Free Report) : This company is a vendor of electronic design automation (EDA) software to the semiconductor and electronics industries. It has jumped 15.8% in a month and its earnings are expected to increase 22.7% for the fiscal year (ending October 2021). Synopsys makes up for 0.34% of assets in QQQ and has a Zacks Rank #3.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) : It is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU. This stock makes up for 3.78% share in the fund’s basket and has gained 15.1% in a month. It has estimated earnings growth of 58% for fiscal year (ending January 2022). The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2.

 

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