FAANG Stocks Maintain Bullish Momentum in April 2019

 

 

Chart of FAANG Stocks (FB, AMZN, AAPL, NFLX, GOOG) – Source: TheTechnicals.com and TradingView

U.S. equity markets have continued their strongly bullish trajectory as of early April 2019. Overall, stocks have rebounded and recovered dramatically from late-December lows. This has helped to support the FAANG stocks, which are maintaining their bullish momentum and impressive performance levels year to date.

The FAANGS – FB, AMZN, AAPL, NFLX, and GOOG – all undoubtedly have their own unique issues and challenges. But the strong Q1 market rally in the overall stock market, and even more so in the technology sector, have positioned these tech giants for more bullish gains into April and beyond.

What are FAANG Stocks?

If you’re not familiar with the FAANG acronym, it’s a variation of the term, FANG. FANG was coined by CNBC’s Jim Cramer. It originally stood for a handful of the largest and best-performing tech stocks: FB (Facebook), AMZN (Amazon), NFLX (Netflix), and GOOG (Alphabet). AAPL (Apple) was later added on (it’s unclear why it was excluded in the first place) to coin the new acronym, FAANG.

How are FAANG Stocks Doing This Year So Far?

All five FAANG stocks are positive and doing very well year to date. But, as always, some are doing significantly better than others. Here’s a breakdown of these stocks in descending order of year-to-date (YTD) performance. We include both their current prices and YTD performance numbers (as of the market close on 4/2/2019):

• Netflix (NFLX) | Price (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): $367.72 | YTD Performance (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): +37.38%
• Facebook (FB) | Price (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): $174.20 | YTD Performance (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): +32.89%
• Apple (AAPL) | Price (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): $194.02 | YTD Performance (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): +23.00%
• Amazon (AMZN) | Price (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): $1813.98 | YTD Performance (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): +20.77%
• Alphabet (GOOG) | Price (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): $1200.49 | YTD Performance (as of the 4/2/2019 market close): +15.92%

Since the last time we took a look at the FAANG stocks, in mid-March, all of them have moved significantly higher. Notably, Netflix continues to be the consistent top-performer. Also of particular note, the consistently beleaguered Facebook has made some substantial strides of late. The stock hit a new year-to-date high on Tuesday (4/2/2019). Finally, Alphabet has been a relatively consistent laggard among the FAANGs this year. Still, the stock is up an impressive 15% year-to-date.

What May Be Next for the FAANGs?

The stock market as a whole just broke out at the very beginning of April to new highs. This technically confirms a continuation of the sharp recovery trend since late December. Of the major indexes, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is showing particular strength. With any further extension of this bullish trend, the FAANG stocks are likely to continue leading large-cap gains.