Weekly Investor – August 30, 2021
Stocks Rise on Powell’s Comments
Stocks bounced back last week as positive long-term catalysts outweighed short-term negatives. The market got a lift on Friday as investors interpreted comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as dovish with regard to the central bank’s plan to gradually reduce bond purchases by the end of this year. Chairman Powell noted the “clear progress” in the labor markets. Bank stocks sold off early in the day on Friday, before recovering to close out the week up over 3%. The Energy sector led the S&P 500® Index with a 7.3% return as oil closed at just under $69 a barrel. The jump in the price of oil comes as OPEC+ is expected to increase its production. Looking ahead to this week, important economic reports are expected to be released including jobs, durable goods orders and home data.
The S&P 500 Index was up 1.5% for the week. Its top-performing sectors were Energy (7.3%) and Financials (3.5%), while the bottom-performing sectors were Consumer Staples (-1.4%) and Utilities (-2.1%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was even, ending at 1.3%.
We continue to seek companies that reflect our Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Change Based Investment
Zynga Inc. is an American game developer running social video game services. It was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco. Zynga’s games are available in more than 150 countries and are playable across social platforms and mobile devices worldwide. Some of its best-known and successful games are FarmVille, Zynga Poker, and Words with Friends 2.
Zynga is part of the fast-growing mobile gaming industry. This industry has an expanding user base and the opportunity to increase revenue through third-party ads and in-game purchases. Zynga also has a management team with a solid track record exemplified by improved margins and revenue growth via successful research and development efforts along with acquisitions. The company has a long-term growth profile while trading at an attractive valuation, making it a good fit for Argent’s Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Top 5 Equity Holdings
Large Cap Growth
| Alphabet, Inc.(Google) | 8.4% |
| Apple, Inc. | 6.3% |
| Danaher Corporation | 5.9% |
| Target Corporation | 5.6% |
| D.R. Horton, Inc. | 4.7% |
Small Cap Core
| Fortinet, Inc. | 5.0% |
| OneMain Holdings, Inc. | 4.6% |
| Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 4.3% |
| ASGN Incorporated | 3.1% |
| Select Medical Holdings | 3.0% |
Dividend Select
| Target Corporation | 6.8% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 6.3% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 5.5% |
| Eaton Corporation Plc | 4.4% |
| Life Storage, Inc. | 4.3% |
Mid Cap
| Zebra Technologies Corp. | 4.7% |
| CDW Corporation | 4.1% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 3.9% |
| Cintas Corporation | 3.7% |
| Builders FirstSource, Inc. | 3.4% |
This newsletter presents selected recommendations from portfolio managers of Argent Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Opinions reflect the portfolio manager’s judgment on the date above and are subject to change. A list of stocks recommended by Argent is available upon request. You should not assume that these recommendations are or will be profitable. In the course of it’s business, Argent’s client accounts may be buying and selling these stocks.
