4 Stocks That Belong in Your Portfolio Now
Editors' pick: Originally published June 29.
Shares of Facebook (FB) - Get Report are up 9% year-to-date, topping the returns of fellow FANG stocks Amazon (AMZN) - Get Report , Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report and Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Report .
Barry Randall, founder of Crabtree Asset Management at Covestor, said the social network giant will continue to lead the way because of assets it has yet to really unload on the market.
"They have a murderer's row of back-up social networks right behind them like WhatsApp and Instagram that also have hundreds of millions of users," said Randall. "In the second half of this year we are going to start to see more and more of Facebook utilizing those other networks to drive traffic back to the mothership."
Randall is also bullish on Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) - Get Report , up 28% year-to-date, saying the thin film power conversion player will rise with both the semiconductor and glass markets.
"The semiconductor business which it supplies is not as cyclical as it once was so you don't have the highs and lows that you had before," said Randall.
First Solar (FSLR) - Get Report shares are down 28% thus far in 2016. Randall recommends loading up on the environmentally sustainable stock now that the price has fallen because it generates a lot of cash, unlike many other highly subsidized solar players.
"First Solar has maintained a profitable business model, they are the largest solar manufacturer in the world, specializing in low cost thin film and they have stayed away from things that have tripped up their competitors," said Randall.
Finally, Randall is a fan of Silver Springs Network (SSNI) , which has seen its shares drop 24% so far in 2016. He calls the company a play on the so-called Internet of Things because it provides hardware and software to utilities so they can track meters and streetlights in the field.
"Having Silver Springs products allows companies like Con Edison (ED) - Get Report to track those assets and utilize them most efficiently," said Randall.