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7 Nasdaq Stocks That Helped QQQ ETF Score Big in 2020
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Technology stocks and ETFs have been star performers this year. The coronavirus outbreak could not take the sheen out of this sector but rather added more to it. Social distancing norms enacted globally to mitigate the spread of the virus compelled people to stay at home, binge on online shopping and work as well as learn from home.
Although many corners of the global economy have started to reopen, the trend of work-and-learn-from home has stayed strong. Renewed rise in virus cases in the United States and Europe also added to the strength of the tech sector from September-end.
This new lifestyle boosted various corners of the technology sector, ranging from enterprise cloud computing, cyber security, remote communications, video gaming and e-commerce to online payments. Stimulus checks, low rates and cheap oil have provided another round of boost to the consumer sector.
No wonder, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has posted its best third quarter in 10 years this year with 45.33% gain this year (as of Dec 16, 2020). In comparison, the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 are up 5.8%, 14.6% and 17.0%, respectively, this year. July and August were great for the index though things slowed down from September. First, overvaluation concerns and then vaccine hopes have dulled some luster of the super-bright Nasdaq stocks.
Since the Nasdaq is heavy on technology, decent tech earnings bode well for the index. Apart from tech and consumer stocks, biotech stocks also played their role in pushing the Nasdaq higher. Several biotech IPOs and researches in coronavirus related vaccines and treatments as well as in the field of oncology and neurology were the tailwinds for the biotech sector. In terms of M&A and IPO, the year has been extremely upbeat with software IPOs and semiconductor deals deserving special thanks.
And most importantly, the Nasdaq thrives on mega-cap stocks like Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) and Facebook (FB). These tech darlings are deemed too big to be affected by an economic slowdown.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few stocks that helped the Nasdaq attain this height.
Tesla Inc (TSLA - Free Report) – Up 644.4% YTD; 3.40% Weight in QQQ
The electric car maker has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Tesla is the market leader in battery-powered electric car sales in the United States, owning around 60% of market share.
Moderna Inc (MRNA - Free Report) – Up 600.6% YTD; 0.24% Weight
This clinical-stage pharmaceutical company came to fame with the launch of its COVID-19 vaccine. Its researches are focused on discovering and developing messenger RNA (mRNA) based therapies.
Zoom Video Communications Class A (ZM - Free Report) – Up 493.8% YTD; 0.85% Weight
Zoom Video Communications’ cloud-native unified communications platform combines video, audio, phone, screen sharing and chat functionalities, and makes remote-working easy. The Zacks Rank #3 stock has been a pandemic winner.
The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU.
Zacks Rank #3 Apple’s business primarily runs around its flagship iPhone. However, the Services portfolio, which includes revenues from cloud services, App store, Apple Music, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing and other services have now become strong cash generators.
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7 Nasdaq Stocks That Helped QQQ ETF Score Big in 2020
Technology stocks and ETFs have been star performers this year. The coronavirus outbreak could not take the sheen out of this sector but rather added more to it. Social distancing norms enacted globally to mitigate the spread of the virus compelled people to stay at home, binge on online shopping and work as well as learn from home.
Although many corners of the global economy have started to reopen, the trend of work-and-learn-from home has stayed strong. Renewed rise in virus cases in the United States and Europe also added to the strength of the tech sector from September-end.
This new lifestyle boosted various corners of the technology sector, ranging from enterprise cloud computing, cyber security, remote communications, video gaming and e-commerce to online payments. Stimulus checks, low rates and cheap oil have provided another round of boost to the consumer sector.
No wonder, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has posted its best third quarter in 10 years this year with 45.33% gain this year (as of Dec 16, 2020). In comparison, the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 are up 5.8%, 14.6% and 17.0%, respectively, this year. July and August were great for the index though things slowed down from September. First, overvaluation concerns and then vaccine hopes have dulled some luster of the super-bright Nasdaq stocks.
Since the Nasdaq is heavy on technology, decent tech earnings bode well for the index. Apart from tech and consumer stocks, biotech stocks also played their role in pushing the Nasdaq higher. Several biotech IPOs and researches in coronavirus related vaccines and treatments as well as in the field of oncology and neurology were the tailwinds for the biotech sector. In terms of M&A and IPO, the year has been extremely upbeat with software IPOs and semiconductor deals deserving special thanks.
And most importantly, the Nasdaq thrives on mega-cap stocks like Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) and Facebook (FB). These tech darlings are deemed too big to be affected by an economic slowdown.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few stocks that helped the Nasdaq attain this height.
Tesla Inc (TSLA - Free Report) – Up 644.4% YTD; 3.40% Weight in QQQ
The electric car maker has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Tesla is the market leader in battery-powered electric car sales in the United States, owning around 60% of market share.
Moderna Inc (MRNA - Free Report) – Up 600.6% YTD; 0.24% Weight
This clinical-stage pharmaceutical company came to fame with the launch of its COVID-19 vaccine. Its researches are focused on discovering and developing messenger RNA (mRNA) based therapies.
Zoom Video Communications Class A (ZM - Free Report) – Up 493.8% YTD; 0.85% Weight
Zoom Video Communications’ cloud-native unified communications platform combines video, audio, phone, screen sharing and chat functionalities, and makes remote-working easy. The Zacks Rank #3 stock has been a pandemic winner.
Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) – Up 125.1%; 2.83% Weight
The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU.
Paypal Holdings (PYPL - Free Report) – Up 112.8%; 1.99% Weight
The Zacks Rank #3 stock has emerged as one of the largest online payment solutions providers on the back of its strong product portfolio.
Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) – Up 75.4%; 10.67% Weight
The Zacks Rank #3 company is one of the largest e-commerce providers, having benefited from the COVID-induced shop-from-home trend.
Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) – Up 74.1%; 13.25% Weight
Zacks Rank #3 Apple’s business primarily runs around its flagship iPhone. However, the Services portfolio, which includes revenues from cloud services, App store, Apple Music, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing and other services have now become strong cash generators.
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>