Nasdaq NVDA Nvidia

If you’re looking to create a diversified portfolio of equities, it’s hard to beat the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF ( NYSEARCA:VTI) as a starting point. This all-encompassing fund holds positions in over 3,800 stocks. Below, we’ll discuss this popular ETF and the many advantages it offers to investors.   What is VTI ETF’s Strategy? While there are S&P 500 ( SPX ) ETFs that invest in the 500 stocks that make up the S&P 500 (essentially 500 of the largest companies listed on U.S. exchanges), VTI takes things a step further. It invests in all of the stocks trading on U.S. exchanges, including large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks. This offers investors unparalleled diversification and exposure to the power of the entire U.S. economy and reduces single-stock and single-sector risk. This passively-managed index fund is one of the most popular ETFs in the market. With a massive $315 billion in assets under management (AUM), VTI is the fourth-largest ETF in the world. VTI's Portfolio VTI holds 3,818 positions. Even better, its top 10 holdings account for just 26% of assets, meaning that there isn't much concentration risk here. Below, you’ll find an overview of VTI’s top 10 holdings using TipRanks’ holdings tool. As you can see, VTI’s top 10 holdings are made up of the mega-cap tech stocks that dominate the U.S. market, including Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ), Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ), Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN ), Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ), Alphabet ( NASDAQ:GOOG ) ( NASDAQ:GOOGL ), Tesla ( NASDAQ:TSLA ) and Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:META ).  Technology is the largest sector of the U.S. stock market, so it’s unsurprising that these tech giants occupy such prominent positions within the fund. Altogether, the technology sector has a 30.1% weighting within the ETF, but there is plenty more to VTI beyond tech. Other substantial segments include the consumer discretionary sector at 14.4%, the industrial sector with a 13.0% share, followed closely by the healthcare sector at 12.6%, and finally, the financial sector accounts for a 10.5% weighting.  Outside of the technology sector, other prominent holdings include the likes of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( NYSE:BRK.B ), health insurer UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH ), energy majors like ExxonMobil ( NYSE:XOM ) and Chevron ( NYSE:CVX ), and pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson ( NYSE:JNJ ), Eli Lilly ( NYSE:LLY ), Merck ( NYSE:MRK ), and AbbVie ( NYSE:ABBV ). Six of VTI's top 10 holdings feature Smart Scores of 8 or above. Meanwhile, VTI earns an Outperform-equivalent ETF Smart Score of 8. The Smart Score is a proprietary quantitative stock scoring system created by TipRanks. It gives stocks a score from 1 to 10 based on eight market key factors. A score of 8 or above is equivalent to an Outperform rating. In addition to this strong Smart Score, VTI also enjoys relatively favorable ratings from the analyst community, as you’ll see below.  Is VTI Stock a Buy, According to Analysts? Turning to Wall Street, VTI earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 2,423 Buys, 1,285 Holds, and 110 Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average VTI stock price target of $258.72 implies 17.1% upside potential. Looking at Its Long-Term Performance VTI’s comprehensive approach has helped it build up a solid track record of performance over time. VTI has returned 18.1% year-to-date and 14.8% over the past year. Over the past three years, the fund has returned a respectable 9.7% on an annualized basis.  Further out, VTI has posted double-digit total returns over the past five and 10 years on an annualized basis, with an impressive five-year annualized return of 10.2% and an even better 10-year annualized return of 12.2%.  Since its inception over 20 years ago in 2001, VTI has returned 8.1% on an annualized basis, making this fund a consistent long-term performer.  Looking at these returns on a cumulative basis illustrates the power of investing in a fund like VTI and letting the results compound over the long haul. VTI’s cumulative return over the past 10 years is 215.8%, and its cumulative return since its inception is 465.2%, meaning that an investor who put $100,000 into VTI 10 years ago would have $215,800 today and an investor who put the same amount into VTI when it started in 2001 would have $465,200 today.       Minuscule Fees Vanguard is the firm that pioneered the idea of low-cost index funds, and VTI is another great example of this tradition. Its miniscule expense ratio of just 0.03% is among the lowest out there and means that an investor allocating $10,000 into VTI today will pay just $3 in fees over the course of the year. Assuming that the expense ratio remains at 0.03% and VTI returns 5% per year going forward, this investor would pay just $10 in fees after three years, $17 after five years, and $39 after 10 years. These low fees help investors to keep more of the gains they make over time.  This 0.03% expense ratio is also dramatically cheaper than the average expense ratio for similar funds, which stands at 0.79%. Over the course of 10 years, an investor putting the same amount into a fund with a 0.79% expense ratio would pay a whopping $1,184 in fees. This massive difference in total costs over time illustrates why it’s important not to overlook expense ratios when choosing investments and why it’s beneficial to invest in low-cost funds like VTI.  Dividend Track Record VTI's dividend yield stands at just 1.5%, so most investors aren't buying it for the income. However, this yield is roughly in line with that of the S&P 500, and it helps add to total returns over time. Additionally, VTI has been a reliable dividend payer for many years, with 21 years of consecutive dividend payments under its belt. Investor Takeaway VTI’s long-term track record and its broad and comprehensive group of holdings make it a great building block for an investor who is just starting out. The ETF can also be a solid option for longtime investors who simply want to add instant diversification to their portfolios. The popular ETF’s simple strategy of investing in all stocks listed on U.S. exchanges regardless of size or sector has worked for a long time, and it’s hard to argue with the results. Furthermore, VTI’s minimal fees make it even more attractive. Disclosure

What you need to know… The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) Friday closed down -1.22%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI ) (DIA ) closed down -0.83% and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) closed down -1.75%. Stocks on Friday closed moderately lower, with the S&P...

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday as chipmakers dropped on concerns about weak consumer demand, while rising Treasury yields pressured Amazon and other megacap growth companies.

In this piece, I evaluated two chip stocks, Nvidia ( NASDAQ:NVDA ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( NASDAQ:AMD ), using TipRanks' comparison tool to determine which is better. Nvidia targets the gaming, professional visualization, data center, and automotive markets, while AMD focuses on the data center, embedded, gaming, and PC markets. Both chipmakers have tapped into the artificial intelligence (AI) craze by highlighting their AI-related capabilities. However, Nvidia has been much more successful, with its stock up more than 200% year-to-date and over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, AMD is up only 64% year-to-date, flipping its one-year return back into the green at 24%. With such a massive difference in their year-to-date rallies, it isn't surprising that NVIDIA is the one that's profitable. Due to AMD's lack of profitability, we'll compare their price-to-sales (P/S) ratios to gauge their valuations against each other and their industry. For comparison, the U.S. semiconductor industry is trading at a P/S multiple of 7, higher than its three-year average of 5.8. For the profitable Nvidia, we'll also compare its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to that of its industry. The semiconductor industry is trading at a P/E of 43.9, much higher than its three-year average P/E of 28.7. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) At a P/E of 109.1 and a P/S of 34.4, Nvidia looks grossly overvalued relative to its industry and to AMD. It's even pricy versus its five-year mean P/S of 19.3 and mean P/E of 76.4. However, despite this irrational exuberance, which would generally trigger a bearish view, a combination of factors suggests a neutral view might be appropriate. On the one hand, insiders have unloaded $146 million worth of Nvidia shares over the last three months, backing the bearish side of the argument. A closer look at the activity reveals many auto-sell transactions over the last week or two. These sales may be related to the insiders' preset trading plans, in which they set prices at which they will automatically sell their shares. However, there was also an Informative Sell transaction worth $25 million two weeks ago, just below $500 a share. Importantly, Nvidia's 52-week high is $502.66, so this transaction and the large number of auto-sell transactions suggest insiders may see the chipmaker's stock as unlikely to rise further from those levels. On the other hand, there have been a few developments involving Nvidia that suggest a more constructive view might be in order. First, the company's revenue more than doubled in the most recent quarter, but its cost of goods increased by only 7%, leaving some investors confused. However, a Bernstein analyst explained that Nvidia had taken a $1.34 billion charge, including $1.22 billion in inventory-related charges, that ran through the cost of goods sold in the same quarter a year ago. A closer look reveals that when those charges are excluded, Nvidia's cost of goods sold actually exploded, rising 70% between last year's second quarter and this year's second quarter. Still, the Bernstein analyst added that a surge of that magnitude was "entirely normal" based on the robust year-over-year growth in Data Center sales. In fact, Nvidia's total revenue rose 101% year-over-year to $13.5 billion, a new record, while its Data Center revenue rose 171% year-over-year to a new record of $10.3 billion. Both readings support a more constructive view. Then, there was a "conspiracy theory" that involved allegations around CoreWeave, a GPU cloud vendor that recently listed its Nvidia chips as collateral for a $2.3 billion financing. Given Nvidia's investments in CoreWeave, social media users suggested that CoreWeave's reported inventory of Nvidia chips was actually where Nvidia's data-center revenue beat came from. However, the Bernstein analyst noted that the timing of CoreWeave's August 3 release about the financing suggested that the Nvidia chips hadn't been deployed yet and thus were not recorded in the company's second-quarter revenues. What is the Price Target for NVDA Stock?   Nvidia has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 40 Buys, one Hold, and zero Sell ratings assigned over the last three months. At $636.32, the average Nvidia stock price target implies upside potential of 45%. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) At a P/S of 7.8, AMD looks much more reasonably valued than Nvidia, especially considering that AMD's five-year mean P/S is 8. Importantly, AMD came up only a bit shy of profitability, with its net income margin at -0.1% over the last 12 months. Additionally, the company continues to generate robust growth, making a bullish view seem appropriate.   In its most recent earnings release, AMD said its AI engagements rose more than sevenfold. Meanwhile, the company is struggling with falling PC-related demand, which resulted in its first quarterly loss in years. However, AMD guided for double-digit-percentage sequential gains in Data Center and Client revenues for the third quarter. In fact, the company plans to launch its first accelerator designed for AI in the fourth quarter, suggesting the stock could have much more room to rise over the long term. Nvidia's supply chain is being pressured by the skyrocketing AI-related demand, presenting an opportunity for AMD. The company should also benefit from sales of the CPUs that data centers use for AI processing, something that Nvidia does not sell. While AMD is playing a bit of catch-up versus Nvidia on AI, the company's long-term track record of growth and upcoming products suggest it won't be lagging its chief competitor for long. Thus, at current valuations, AMD looks attractive as a long-term buy-and-hold option, albeit a risky one. What is the Price Target for AMD Stock?   Advanced Micro Devices has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 22 Buys, seven Holds, and zero Sell ratings assigned over the last three months. At $140.25, the average Advanced Micro Devices stock price target implies upside potential of 38.2%. Conclusion: Neutral on NVDA, Long-Term Bullish on AMD While both companies have benefited from the irrational exuberance over AI, Nvidia is far ahead of AMD, with multiple market watchers estimating the former's market share of the AI data-center-chip market at 90%. Nevertheless, at some point, valuation becomes an issue, although in Nvidia's case, the triple-digit revenue growth in the recent quarter offsets some of that concern, resulting in a neutral view. Although AMD is the winner of this pairing, as more upside seems likely over the long term, Nvidia may also rise further. However, the irrational exuberance its valuation restrain my view on NVDA stock despite the robust revenue growth. Disclosure 

One of the biggest shifts seen in the stock market over the past 20 years is the increasing supremacy of technology stocks. Roughly two decades ago, General Electric and ExxonMobil were the pinnacle of market caps, valued at $319 billion and $283 billion, respectively.

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday as chipmakers dropped on concerns about weak consumer demand, while rising Treasury yields pressured Amazon and other megacap growth companies.

If you had to choose a stock market winner this year, it'd be hard to overlook Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). The company's shares have skyrocketed roughly 210% since Jan. 1 as the company became a key player in artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia is one of the biggest producers of grap

In today's video, I discuss why numerous semiconductor stocks were down on Friday. Check out the short video to learn more, consider subscribing, and click the special offer link below.

Undoubtedly one of this week’s biggest developments, chip designer Arm Holdings ARM debuted on the Nasdaq on Thursday. Shares had a strong showing, soaring more than 20% in yesterday’s session, listed initially at $51 per share.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday as chipmakers dropped on concerns about weak consumer demand, while rising Treasury yields pressured Amazon and other megacap growth companies.

Looking for a strategy that can mitigate some of the big risks impacting the S&P 500? The equal weight ETF EQL may offer one intriguing tool to do so. With concentration risk and particularly risk to tech investing looming over the stock market, a strategy like the Alps Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL) offers diversification [...] Read more at ETFTrends.com.

The Nasdaq fell more than 1% on Friday to lead declines in Wall Street's main indexes as chipmakers fell on concerns over consumer demand, while rising Treasury yields pressured major growth stocks.

Nokia Corporation NOK recently revealed that it has deployed its Optical LAN solution in 100 schools across the Gyeonggi-do region in South Korea to upgrade network infrastructure and enhance the digital learning experience. The u

Some analysts are concerned that Nvidia’s (NVDA ) massive stock repurchases could leave it short of cash for vital research and development (R&D). However, those concerns may be misguided as Nvidia’s free cash flow and spending on research and development both rose to records in Nvidia’s fiscal second quarter, and...

Newly publicly traded company Arm Holdings is poised to be added to popular indexes such as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, although inclusion in the S&P 500 is unlikely, analysts said.

Nasdaq led Wall Street lower on Friday as shares of chip-equipment makers fell after the world's top semiconductor firm, TSMC, asked its vendors to delay chip equipment deliveries, while rising Treasury yields pressured major megacap stocks.

British chipmaker Arm Holdings Plc made a strong debut on Nasdaq under the symbol ARM on Thursday. The stock soared as much as 21% on the first day, pushing the market cap to more than $65 billion.The chip designer, which is owned

Nvidia (NVDA) reached a significant support level, and could be a good pick for investors from a technical perspective. Recently, NVDA broke through the 50-day moving average, which suggests a short-term bullish trend.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been a bellwether for artificial intelligence (AI) companies this year as its graphics processing units and processors are providing the basic building blocks for building powerful servers capable of handling AI workloads.

Shares of SoftBank's Arm Holdings rose before the bell on Friday, extending gains from a stellar Nasdaq debut that valued the British chip designer at $65 billion, in a relief to the U.S. IPO market facing a drought in listings.