What Are Good Markets to Invest in

The Russell 1000 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. It represents approximately 92% of the total market capitalization of all listed stocks in the U.S. equity market. For this reason, it is considered a bellwether for large-cap investing. Some of the largest companies in the index include Apple Inc. (AAPL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and The Walt Disney Co. (DIS). The iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) provided a total return of 34.7% over the past 12 months. This market performance number and all data below are as of Oct. 20, 2021.

Here are the top five stocks across all sectors with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum.

Best Value Stocks

Value investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves picking stocks that you believe are trading for less than what they are intrinsically worth, usually by measuring the ratio of the stock's price to one or more fundamental business metrics. A widely accepted value metric is the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Value investors believe that if a business is cheap compared to its intrinsic value, (as measured by its P/E ratio, in this case) the stock price may rise faster than that of others as the price comes back in line with the worth of the company. These are the stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing P/E ratio:

Best Value Stocks
	Price ($)	Market Cap ($B)	12-Month Trailing P/E Ratio
UWM Holdings Corp. (UWMC)	7.17	0.7	1.2
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA)	10.29	4.2	3.0
Sage Therapeutics Inc. (SAGE)	40.29	2.4	3.2
Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NLY)	8.66	12.5	3.8
eBay Inc. (EBAY)	74.72	48.6	4.0

^{Source: YCharts}

• UWM Holdings Corp.: UWM Holdings, the indirect parent of United Wholesale Mortgage, operates as a wholesale mortgage lender. The company originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans across the U.S., including government loans. UWM employs 8,600 people.
• Qurate Retail Inc.: Qurate Retail is an e-commerce services company that reaches 218 million homes and operates through seven retail brands, including QVC, HSN, Zulily, Frontgate, Ballard Designs, and Garnet Hill. It partners with television networks, e-commerce sites, streaming services, social pages, mobile apps, and print catalogs to provide video and digital commerce services.
• Sage Therapeutics Inc.: Sage Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapies for people with debilitating brain disorders. The company targets diseases and disorders of the brain within key areas such as depression, neurology, and neuropsychiatry. It markets ZULRESSO, a drug for treating postpartum depression, and has a number of drugs in its development pipeline. On Oct. 19, Sage Therapeutics and Biogen Inc. (BIIB) said they plan to submit a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for zuranolone in the second half of 2022. The application seeks approval of the zuranolone for the treatment of major depressive disorder. The companies also plan an additional filing seeking approval for postpartum depression in the first half of 2023.
• Annaly Capital Management Inc.: Annaly Capital Management is a diversified capital management company that invests in and finances residential and commercial assets. It invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages as well as non-agency residential mortgage assets. It also provides financing to private-equity backed middle market businesses with a focus on senior debt in select industries. The company has about $93 billion in total assets. In September Annaly announced a cash dividend of $0.22 per common stock share. The dividend is payable Oct. 29, 2021 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 30, 2021.
• eBay Inc.: eBay is a global commerce company providing platforms enabling sellers to offer inventory for sale and buyers to browse and buy it. The company has approximately 1.5 billion live listings by 19 million sellers. eBay provides its platform in more than 190 markets globally.

Fastest Growing Stocks

These are the top stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly YOY percentage revenue growth and their most recent quarterly YOY earnings per share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one or the other figure unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of over 2,500% were excluded as outliers.

Fastest Growing Stocks
	Price ($)	Market Cap ($B)	EPS Growth (%)	Revenue Growth (%)
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)	38.85	57.0	2,330	88.2
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST)	108.66	38.6	2,220	79.0
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX)	64.11	6.1	1,590	141.8
ConocoPhillips (COP)	75.32	100.9	545.8	247.6
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG)	1,841.14	51.7	2,180	38.7

^{Source: YCharts}

• Freeport-McMoRan Inc.: Freeport-McMoRan is an international mining company with significant reserves, including of copper, gold, and molybdenum. The company has operations in North and South America as well as in Indonesia. Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers. On Sept. 22 the company announced a cash dividend of $0.075 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on Nov. 1 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 15.
• Ross Stores Inc.: Ross Stores operates two brands of off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores: Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS. The company offers name brand and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions at discount prices. As of year-end FY 2020, the company operated 1,585 Ross Dress for Less locations in 40 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. As of that date it also operated an additional 274 dd's DISCOUNTS stores in 21 states. On Oct. 11, Ross Stores announced that it had opened an additional 18 Ross Dress for Less and 10 dd's DISCOUNTS stores across 15 different states in September and October. The company said, "We remain confident in our expansion plans and continue to see plenty of opportunity to grow to at least 2,400 Ross Dress for Less and 600 dd's DISCOUNTS locations over time." In FY 2021, the company has opened stores in a total of 65 new locations.
• Louisiana-Pacific Corp.: Louisiana-Pacific makes building materials and engineered wood products to serve the needs of builders, remodelers, and homeowners. While the stock trades on the NYSE under its traditional corporate name, Louisiana-Pacific, the company also calls itself LP Building Solutions. The company's building products and accessories include oriented strand board, siding and trim, I-joists, laminated veneer lumber, and similar products. It operates 25 plants in the U.S., Canada, Chile, and Brazil.
• ConocoPhillips: ConocoPhillips is a global oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company. It explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and liquefied natural gas. The company operates in 15 countries and employs 10,300 people.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.: Chipotle Mexican Grill owns and operates a chain of restaurants serving burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and salads. The company provides a digital platform for online orders and customer pick-up, both of which have been key drivers of sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company operated 2,724 Chipotle restaurants throughout the U.S. as of Dec. 31, 2020. On Sept. 21, Chipotle announced the limited-time launch of a special, Mexican-inspired smoked brisket at locations in the U.S. and Canada. The company reported that smoked brisket has consistently ranked among the most requested menu items.

Stocks with the Most Momentum

Momentum investing is a factor-based investing strategy that involves investing in a stock whose price has risen faster than the market as a whole. Momentum investors believe that stocks that have outperformed the market will often continue to do so because the factors that caused them to outperform will not suddenly disappear. In addition, other investors, seeking to benefit from the stock's outperformance, will often purchase the stock, further bidding its price higher and pushing the stock higher still. These are the stocks that had the highest total return over the past 12 months.

Stocks with the Most Momentum
	Price ($)	Market Cap ($B)	12-Month Trailing Total Return (%)
GameStop Corp. (GME)	186.79	14.3	1,240
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)	40.30	27.3	377.1
Moderna Inc. (MRNA)	333.61	134.7	370.1
Alcoa Corp. (AA)	53.68	10.0	325.0
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)	16.39	12.9	318.6
iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB)	N/A	N/A	34.7

^{Source: YCharts}

• GameStop Corp.: GameStop is a specialty retailer that offers games and entertainment products through its e-commerce properties and stores. It operates a chain of 4,816 stores in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe. It sells video game hardware, software, gaming accessories, and other entertainment products. The company primarily operates under the names GameStop, EB Games, and Micromania. GameStop's stock has soared this year amid the "meme" stock frenzy.
• Devon Energy Corp.: Devon Energy is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. It owns a portfolio of assets located in the U.S. and is primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and NGLs. The company employs 1,400 people across the U.S.
• Moderna Inc.: Moderna is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines. It develops mRNA medicines for infectious, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune diseases. It has 15 development programs in the clinical study phase. The company employs more than 1,800 people. On Oct. 20, Moderna announced that the FDA had authorized for emergency use a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for people age 65 and older; people aged 18-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 or with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to the virus. The single booster dose is authorized for people who have completed a primary vaccination with either Moderna or another approved COVID-19 vaccine.
• Alcoa Corp.: Alcoa produces bauxite, alumina, and aluminum. Its operations span every major production process within the aluminum value chain. The company also owns a portfolio of energy assets. It operates in 28 different locations across nine countries and employs approximately 12,900 employees in 16 different countries. In Q3 2021, ended Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $337 million attributable to Alcoa shareholders versus net loss in Q3 2020, as well as 31.5% YOY growth in sales. Revenue growth was driven by higher aluminum and alumina prices and higher premiums for value-add products.
• Marathon Oil Corp.: Marathon Oil is an independent energy company which engages in exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas products. The company develops basin assets in Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. It also maintains an integrated gas business in Equatorial Guinea.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed herein are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Though we believe the information provided herein is reliable, we do not warrant its accuracy or completeness. The views and strategies described in our content may not be suitable for all investors. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, all comments, opinions, and analyses contained within our content are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment, or strategy.

What Are Good Markets to Invest in

Source: https://www.investopedia.com/top-stocks-4581225

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