Nasdaq MSFT MicroSoft

In this piece, I evaluated two Big Tech stocks, Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:META ) and Alphabet ( NASDAQ:GOOGL ) ( NASDAQ:GOOG ), using TipRanks' comparison tool to determine which is better. Meta shares have more than doubled year-to-date, while Alphabet stock is up a "mere" 37%. However, over the last 12 months, Alphabet has only gained 6%. On the other hand, Meta is up more than 40% over the last 12 months. Of course, Meta Platforms and Alphabet need no introduction and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Thus, what's being considered is whether now might be a good entry point based on the current prices and past trends. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Facebook parent Meta Platforms is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 33.7 versus its five-year mean P/E of 24.8. In fact, it's trading roughly at the top of the range of its P/E over that time period — despite its recent struggles. Thus, a neutral view seems appropriate for now. Insiders have unloaded about $9 million worth of Meta shares over the last three months. Most of those sales were auto-sells, probably part of the executives' preset trading plans aimed at helping them avoid insider trading. However, looking at where executives set their auto-sell price can suggest at what price they think the company is fairly valued. The most recent sale was from two days ago at around a price of $270. Hedge funds have also been dumping Meta shares, selling about 6.1 million shares in the last quarter. It's no secret that Meta Platforms has had a difficult couple of years, despite the tear its stock has been on. The company recently laid off tens of thousands of workers as it struggles to maintain its bottom line. Last year, investors wiped $80 billion off its value overnight following an earnings disappointment. The company has also been dealing with an identity crisis after changing its name to reflect a pivot from social networking to the Metaverse. Meta Platforms is now shelling out billions per year to develop its metaverse, although it will likely be some time before those investments yield fruit. Meanwhile, its competitors like Alphabet and Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ) are focusing on generative AI (artificial intelligence) instead of the Metaverse, leaving it to play catch-up. In short, at current levels, this doesn't look like a good time or price at which to invest in Meta Platforms. What is the Price Target for META Stock?  Meta Platforms has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 38 Buys, five Holds, and zero Sell ratings assigned over the last three months. At $287.32, the average Meta Platforms stock price target implies upside potential of 8.4%. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) At a P/E of 27.9 versus its five-year mean P/E of 29.2, Alphabet looks fairly valued right now. However, the company remains in a solid financial position and should continue growing, helping it recover to its highs near $150/share reached in late 2021. Thus, a bullish view looks appropriate over the long term. Alphabet has also been laying off workers, albeit at a much slower pace, after announcing 12,000 layoffs in January, amounting to 6% of its global workforce. The company hasn't ruled out another round of job cuts, but nothing has been announced yet. Meanwhile, other tech behemoths have cut tens of thousands of jobs, suggesting Alphabet may be in a better position. Like most other tech companies, Alphabet's operating expenses soared in 2022, climbing to $81.8 billion from $68 billion in 2021. However, the company managed to keep its net income margin steady, at ~21% in 2022 versus 29.5% in 2021 and the low 20% range between 2018 and 2021. What is the Price Target for GOOGL Stock?  Alphabet has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 29 Buys, two Holds, and zero Sell ratings assigned over the last three months. At $130.77, the average Alphabet stock price target implies upside potential of 7%. Conclusion: Neutral on META, Long-Term Bullish on GOOGL Over the long run, it's hard to go wrong with Meta Platforms or Alphabet, but over the short run, Alphabet simply looks better at current levels. Several market watchers have noted that large-cap tech stocks are now seen as recession-resistant names due to their staying power, and this seems true of Alphabet. Although advertising is a cyclical business, I would expect further upside in Alphabet shares in the near-to-long term but little upside in Meta Platforms in the near term due to its current struggles. Eventually, Meta should recover, but its stock has gotten too high too fast, leaving Alphabet in the dust and creating an attractive opportunity in Alphabet stock. Disclosure 

Politics are increasingly creeping into all areas of American life, and for better or worse, investing is not immune to this phenomenon. We recently covered the growing number of ETFs that allow people to invest in companies that they believe are aligned with their viewpoints. These ETFs do this by screening for companies that donate money to political candidates or causes.  Now, Subversive ETFs has unveiled an interesting new twist on political ETFs with two brand new ETFS, one for each opposing side of the aisle --  the Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF ( BATS:KRUZ) and the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF ( BATS:NANC) . How do they work, and could they be worthy of a place in your portfolio?   How Do These ETFs Invest Like Political Insiders? As one might guess, the Democratic version of this ETF’s ticker is a reference to Democratic congresswoman and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, while the Republican ying to NANC’s yang is named for Ted Cruz, the high-profile Republican Senator from Texas and former presidential candidate.  While a number of ETFs allow investors to invest in stocks that they feel like match up with their political preferences, these two new ETFs take a whole new approach. Instead of merely tracking which companies make donations to politicians, NANC and KRUZ utilize data provided by Unusual Whales, an options and equity data platform, to track what stocks members of Congress are buying and selling, using this information to invest alongside them. KRUZ invests in equities bought or sold by Republican members of Congress, while NANC does the same thing with Democratic members of Congress. If you’ve spent any time on the financial side of Twitter (often called "FinTwit") in recent years, you’ve likely seen plenty of accounts discussing the transactions made by Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, and users joking (or perhaps only half joking), that Pelosi is a better investor than Warren Buffett based on her timely buys and sells before major news comes to light about some of these stocks. While the ability of politicians to enrich themselves based on inside knowledge and influence they derive from positions as lawmakers is an unseemly part of U.S. politics (the U.S. is the only democracy in the world that allows officeholders to invest like this), I give Unusual Whales and Subversive ETFs credit for using data to level the playing field and at least letting everyday Americans invest like these political insiders. They are able to do this because, thanks to the STOCK Act, members of Congress and their spouses must disclose what stocks they buy and sell.     How Are Politicians Investing? Now that we know how they work, let’s take a look at what NANC and KRUZ look like in practice. These ETFs are actually incredibly diversified, which stands to reason, as they are representing the transactions of hundreds of Congressmen and Congresswomen.  NANC holds a massive 741 positions, and its top 10 holdings make up 47.4% of the fund. Below, you’ll find an overview of NANC’s top 10 holdings using TipRanks’ holdings tool.  As you can see above, NANC skews heavily towards mega-cap tech stocks like Microsoft ( NASDAQ:MSFT ) and Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ), so holding it would give investors exposure that isn't all that different from investing in massive tech ETFs like the Invesco QQQ Trust ( NASDAQ:QQQ) or the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( NYSEARCA:XLK) .  You’ll also notice that NANC’s top holdings collectively boast some pretty impressive Smart Scores, with eight of its top 10 scoring 8 or above. 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. The score is data-driven and does not involve any human intervention. Meanwhile, KRUZ holds 486 positions, and its top 10 holdings make up a fairly minuscule 16.5% of assets. Check out the table below for an overview of KRUZ’s top holdings.  KRUZ clearly isn’t as tech-centric as NANC, and it skews more towards what you might call ‘old economy stocks’ like energy companies and tobacco giant Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM ). But there’s a little bit of everything, with Netflix ( NASDAQ:NFLX ) representing the tech sector and healthcare companies also having a presence. Seven out of KRUZ’s top 10 positions feature Smart Scores of 8 or above.  NANC has an ETF Smart Score of 8, edging out KRUZ, which scores a 7.  One thing to make note of is that just because these two ETFs represent different sides of the aisle, that doesn’t mean there isn’t overlap in their positions. Politicians from both parties have bought stocks like Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN ), Home Depot ( NYSE:HD ), and Ford ( NYSE:F ), just to name a few, so you’ll find these and plenty more in both ETFs.  Are Analysts Bullish on NANC and KRUZ Shares? Analysts view NANC in a positive light. It has a Moderate Buy rating, and the average NANC stock price target of $29.94 implies upside potential of 11.5% from the ETF’s current price. The analyst community views KRUZ relatively similarly, giving it the same Moderate Buy consensus rating. Further, the average KRUZ stock price target of $28.52 implies 15.2% upside potential. Investor Takeaway This is an interesting concept for an investment vehicle, and I also give Subversive ETFs and Unusual Whales credit for seeking to level the playing field between politicians and everyday Americans, at least in the investing sphere. It’s feasible that this strategy of following the investing decisions of Congressmen and congresswomen could be a fruitful one, but these ETFS just launched in February of 2023, so for now, they don’t have much of a track record to judge them on, and time will tell how effective this strategy is. These are still relatively tiny ETFs in the investing landscape -- KRUZ currently has just $4.9 million in assets under management, while NANC has $6.7 million. One additional downside to be aware of is that both of these ETFs charge relatively high fees -- KRUZ and NANC both have expenses ratios of 0.75%, meaning that if you were to invest $10,000 into one of them today, you would pay $75 in fees in year one. For these reasons, I am watching KRUZ and NANC as an interested observer rather than buying one or the other.  One additional idea is that if I were interested in investing in NANC, I would consider simply investing in the aforementioned ETFs like QQQ or XLK, as they give you much of the same exposure to the large-cap tech stocks that make up NANC’s top holdings and offer lower fees and a much longer track record of performance. Disclosure

A U.S. stocks rally is showing signs of expanding beyond the cluster of giant growth and tech names that have led gains this year, as investors reposition portfolios primed for a widely expected recession.

During an especially busy week, the ETF industry saw the launch of multiple ETFs and the completion of a major round of closures, not to mention some very interesting filings. BlackRock’s iShares arm roll out a fund focused on companies that are leaders in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Finnish pension fund Ilmarinen has [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.

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