For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 31, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc.
AAPL
, Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLK
, Vanguard Information Technology ETF
VGT
, MSCI Information Technology Index ETF
FTEC
and iShares US Technology ETF
IYW
.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Apple Posts All-Time High Quarterly Revenues: ETFs to Buy
After the closing bell yesterday, Apple Inc. came up with robust first-quarter fiscal 2022 results. The tech giant beat the estimates on both the top and bottom lines and posted all-time record quarterly revenues.
Driven by solid results, Apple shares rose about 5% in after-hours trading on elevated volume, erasing half their losses made so far this year. Investors could tap Apple’s success with the ETFs, with the largest allocation to the tech titan. Funds such as
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund
,
Vanguard Information Technology ETF
,
MSCI Information Technology Index ETF
and
iShares US Technology ETF
have Apple as the top firm with a double-digit allocation and sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
Apple Results in Focus
Earnings per share came in at $2.10, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.89 and higher than the year-ago earnings of $1.68. Revenues increased 11% year over year to a record $123.9 billion and edged past the estimate of $118.6 billion (see:
all the Technology ETFs here
).
The iPhone maker has well navigated the supply-chain challenges such as factory shutdowns and shipping delays brought on by the pandemic and benefited from a flood of new products, including the iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7 and updated Macs. Additionally, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital tools for communication, learning and entertainment, powering Apple to blowout sales.
iPhone sales jumped 9% to $71.63 billion while services revenues, comprising iTunes, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Pay and Apple Care, soared 24% year over year to a record $19.5 billion. Revenues from Wearables, Home and Accessories, which include Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, Apple TV and Beats headphones, spiked 13% to $14.7 billion. iPad sales dropped 14% to $7.2 billion while Mac sales increased 25% to $10.9 billion.
Apple has become the world’s first $3 trillion publicly-traded company early this year but a tech slump has pushed its shares down by more than 11%. It continues to explore new markets such as automated cars and virtual reality.
Apple has many projects in the pipeline. It plans to release computerized glasses featuring augmented reality technology in 2022, and is developing a virtual reality headset as well. Apple is also working on a self-driving electric vehicle that could be on the market as soon as in 2025 (read:
Apple Hits $3T Market Cap for The First Time: ETFs to Buy
).
The year 2022 could be bigger in terms of new products. Apple is planning its widest array of launches ever, including a new iPhone SE and an iPad Air with 5G as early as this spring, per Bloomberg.
Apple now has 785 million paid subscribers on its platform, up from the 745 million it reported a quarter ago.
ETFs to Buy
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund targets the broad technology sector and follows the Technology Select Sector Index. It holds about 76 securities in its basket, with Apple making up for 24.1% share. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund has key holdings in software, technology hardware, storage & peripherals, semiconductors & semiconductor equipment and IT services.
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund is the most popular and heavily traded ETF, with AUM of $44.7 billion and an average daily volume of 13.8 million shares. The fund charges 12 bps in fees per year (read:
5 Cheap ETFs to Play Amid Tech Stocks’ Worst Start Since 2016
).
Vanguard Information Technology ETF
Vanguard Information Technology ETF manages about $48.8 billion in its asset base and provides exposure to 362 technology stocks. It currently tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Here, Apple accounts for a 21.6% share.
Vanguard Information Technology ETF has an expense ratio of 0.10% while volume is solid at nearly 911,000 shares.
MSCI Information Technology Index ETF
MSCI Information Technology Index ETF is home to 368 technology stocks with AUM of $6.2 billion. It follows the MSCI USA IMI Information Technology Index. Apple accounts for 21.5% allocation.
MSCI Information Technology Index ETF has an expense ratio of 0.08% while volume is solid at 362,000 shares a day.
iShares US Technology ETF
iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF tracks the Russell 1000 Technology RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index, giving investors exposure to 154 U.S. electronics, computer software and hardware, and informational technology companies. Apple makes up 18.5% of the assets.
iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF has AUM of $8.2 billion and charges 41 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is good as it exchanges nearly 709,000 shares a day (read:
Why These Tech ETFs Are Bargain Buys
).
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss
.
This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit
https://www.zacks.com/performance
for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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.
As one investor put it, “curing and preventing hundreds of diseases…what should that market be worth?” This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in 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
