Investing

How Top and Most Widely Held Stocks Are Holding Up in the Panic Selling

Jon C. Ogg

Published: February 6, 2018 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 3:42 am

As Tuesday’s selling pressure started rolling, investors are coming to grips with the notion that stocks can sell-off and uncertainty can still cause panic selling in the stock market. Monday, February 5, 2018, was one of the most brutal trading days since the 2010 flash crash. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sold off rapidly on Monday, with the market losing 1,175 points to close at 24,345. At one point the Dow was down almost 1,600 points and went just under 24,000 in late afternoon trading before recovering, which made for the formal 10% market correction and wiped out all the strong gains from January.

While no one simple single factor affected Monday’s drop, many investors are logically worried that the great nine-year bull market is facing a major test. The market was also indicated lower on Tuesday after the international markets got their chance to react to the big sell-off. The Dow broke above 26,600 for the first time on January 26, 2018.

In an effort to streamline the data, 24/7 Wall St. is addressing some of the top market darlings and most widely held stocks by the public. We looked at how the drop was on Monday and how the shares were indicated to open (all were lower) 90 minutes or so before the opening bell on Tuesday.

As we have said many times in our daily analyst coverage, the trend that has lived strong and rewarded investors for more than five years straight has been to buy the dips and sell-offs. That trend won’t easily work at some point, but that is what has rewarded investors over and over.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) closed down 5.1% (−$56.81) at $1,062.39 and shares were last seen down 2.1% (−$22.41) at $1,039.98. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $814.29 to $1,198.00. The company we all call Google had less than a stellar reaction after earnings but its widely held.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was down 2.8% (−$39.95) at $1,390.00 and shares were indicated down 1.3% (−$18.65) at $1,371.35 in early indications. The stock has a 52-week range of $807.50 to $1498.00. Amazon soared after earnings last week and was one of the top earnings seasons winners, with analyst upgrades and price target hikes galore.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) closed down 2.5% (−$4.01) at $156.49, and its shares were indicated down 0.7% (−$1.14) at $155.35. The stock has a 52-week range of $130.45 to $180.10. Apple has run into some recent iPhone 10 issues that kept its shares from being one of the leaders in 2018. Apple is still the biggest darling of the bull market with the largest market cap of all U.S. stocks.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) closed down 3.8% (−$1.44) at $36.63 and its shares were down another 0.9% (−$0.33) at $36.30. The stock has a 52-week range of $32.55 to $42.70. AT&T is widely held but its shares have been stuck while its merger with Time Warner remains under review.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) closed down 5.3% (−$1.69) at $30.26 and it was indicated down 1.9% (−$0.58) at $29.63. The stock has a 52-week range of $22.07 to $32.67. This is one of the top banks, and its recovery in recent years has been remarkable.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) was down 5.95% (−$18,739) at $295,600 and we did not see premarket indicators. The stock has a 52-week range of $295,000.00 to $310,790.00. This is Warren Buffett’s house here, and he would say “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) closed down 5.75% (−$20.03) at $328.88 and shares were indicated down another 3.3% (−$10.99) at $317.89. The stock has a 52-week range of $163.69 to $361.45. Boeing’s jet business has lofted shares higher and higher, and it was the top Dow stock in 2017.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) closed down 4.07% (−$6.41) at $151.08, and the shares were indicated down another 2.7% (−$4.08) at $147.00 in early trading. The stock has a 52-week  range of $90.34 to $173.24. Caterpillar is perhaps the poster child of global growth for heavy machinery for mining, drilling and major construction.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) closed down 4.7% (−$0.73) at $14.91, and it was indicated down another 1.1% (−$0.16) at $14.77. The stock has a 52-week range of $14.91 to $30.69. GE has been a miserable stock, but it’s still widely held despite its problems in the past 18 months.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) closed down 4.7% (−$4.7%) at $181.26, and its stock was indicated down another 1.2% (−$2.25) at $179.01. The stock has a 52-week range of $131.66 to $195.32. Facebook made big changes recently and the stock was not punished over newsfeed changes that may weigh on the social media giant’s revenues.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) closed down 5.7% (−$4.81) at $79.72, and the top oil and gas giant was indicated down another 1.1% (−$0.90) at $78.80. The stock has a 52-week range of $76.05 to $89.30.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) closed down 5.6% (−$10.86) at $183.11 and was indicated down another 3.3% (−$6.15) at $177.00. The stock has a 52-week range of $136.33 to $207.61. Home Depot has been the king of where consumers and retail meet home builders, remodelers and those wanting to spruce up their homes.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) closed down 3.5% (−$1.63) at $44.52 and was last seen down another 1.5% (−$0.65) at $43.87. The stock has a 52-week range of $33.23 to $50.85. Intel only just recently hit post-dot-com bubble levels.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed down 5.3% (−$7.29) at $130.39 and was last seen down another 1.3% (−$0.1.63) at $43.87. The stock has a 52-week range of $113.05 to $148.32. J&J is a leader in consumer and health care, and it raises dividends every year.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) closed down 4.1% (−$3.78) at $88.00 and was down another 1.7% (−$1.50) at $86.50. The stock has a 52-week range of $63.22 to $96.07. Microsoft has been riding the cloud ever higher under Satya Nadella’s strategy.

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) closed down 8.5% (−$19.82) at $213.70, and the stock was indicated down 3.1% (−$6.70) at $207.00. The stock has a 52-week range of $95.17 to $249.27. Nvidia personified how high-beta tech stocks can rise on the wave of graphics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and building systems for automated cars.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) closed down 3.8% (−$3.19) at $81.06 and its shares were indicated down another 0.8% (−$0.66) at $80.40. The stock has a 52-week range of $80.10 to $94.67. The world’s largest consumer products company has been dead money, and now it has Nelson Peltz hoping to change its stagnation. It has raised dividends endlessly.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) was down 4.7% (−$2.48) at $50.50 and the shares were indicated down 1.6% (−$0.82) at $49.68. The stock has a 52-week range of $42.80 to $54.77. Verizon has the highest dividend yield in the Dow.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) closed down 4.2% (−$4.39) at $100.09 and its stock was indicated down 1.88% (−$1.88) at $98.20. The stock has a 52-week range of $66.51 to $109.98. The world’s largest retailer is now considered to be one of the only brick-and-mortar retailers that can also be online and fend off the pressure of Amazon.