Ticker Take - 8 tech stocks everyone's missing?
A weekly newsletter on investing
Can stocks keep climbing?
So much for a rough September! Despite being a historically weak month for stocks, the S&P 500 rallied more than 3.5% last month, making it the best September in more than 15 years! So…can the good times continue?
Yes, according to Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian. She reviewed BofA’s so-called “sell-side indicator,” which looks at how many strategists are recommending buying the S&P 500 at any point in time. That indicator remained flat at 55.5% of strategists recommending the index in September. By comparison, she notes that during the dot-com bubble peak (which gets brought up a lot these days), the same indicator was more than 70%. Her conclusion? Despite being bullish, investors are “hardly euphoric.”
What usually happens to stocks in October?
We crunched the numbers for you. In the past 20 years, the S&P 500 has averaged a gain 55% of the time, with an average advance of 0.8% (which would be higher but 2008 really brings down overall performance).
8 tech stocks everyone’s missing?
The Magnificent 7 get much of the market’s attention. But they’re certainly not the only tech stocks you should know about! In our latest Ticker Take video, we spoke with expert investor Ryan Modesto about 8 other tech names he thinks should be on your radar. Ryan specializes in small and mid-cap stocks and he shared a range of interesting companies, — tied to everything from software and space, to AI. Ryan also explained how he determines what makes a tech stock worth buying. Check it out below!
Speaking of tech beyond the Mag 7…
Bloomberg had a good story this week about the big moves this year in the likes of Palantir and Broadcom, highlighting that there are new indexes being created to make room for other AI leaders. CBOE Global Markets, for example, launched its “Cboe Magnificent 10 Index,” which includes those two stocks, along with AMD. Why does it matter? Well, if new indexes gain momentum, it could lead to additional institutional money flows towards more names — not unlike the excitement that comes from stocks being added to the S&P 500.
On a side note, it’s pretty remarkable how wrong the average analyst got the Palantir story this year. Coming into 2025, a minority of research firms recommended the stock — in large part because it was coming off a big run. But this year, it’s continued to power ahead, taking its market cap from roughly $82 billion at this time last year to now more than $430 billion!
Companies with big cash piles!
We did a video in recent days on some of the top holders of cash. Tech pretty much dominates this days. Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon all now have cash equivalents of more than $90 billion! Meanwhile, at the top of the list…you’ll find Berkshire Hathaway, which as of the most recent filings, was holding roughly $348 billion in cash. Investors cooled on Berkshire shares after tech roared back, post-Liberation day. But if there are rough days ahead for whatever reason, you’d have to imagine investors could seek the safety of Warren Buffett’s piggy bank!
Diversification Dilemma?
Obviously everyone’s curious about the best portfolio strategy going forward and when it comes to Wall Street, the recommendations these days are quite varied! Goldman Sachs’ strategy team, for example, recently recommended staying the course with equities. In their view, stocks are still on pace for a solid end to the year, thanks to earnings strength and central bank commitments to rate cuts. By comparison, Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson recently told Reuters he thinks the best split for investors is 60% equities, 20% gold and 20% bonds. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett is advocating for 25% splits across the board between stocks, gold, bonds and t-bills (ie cash). My takeaway from all of this? Gold is increasingly getting attention at the top shops as the inflation hedge alternative to fixed income!
How long does it take to become a millionaire?
We explored this theme in one of our videos and on X this week. Beyond just picking the right investments, a commitment to investing more often can make it happen much faster. For context, if you were to assume that the past, inflation-adjusted performance for the S&P 500 is a reliable rate of return in the future, then investing $100 a month in that index would make you a millionaire in about 40 years. By comparison, investing $1,000 a month would get you there in about half the time! Not financial advice, just perspective!
Disclaimer: this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your individual situation.