Best Stock Ideas Of February

It’s no secret that the S&P 500 is off to a rough start in 2016, but the index traded mostly flat in February after a big January selloff. Here’s a look at the five best performers in the index last month.
 

5. Newmont Mining Corp NEM
The SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) GLD has surged 16.2 percent so far in 2016, and Newport rode the wave of rising gold prices to a 32.2 percent gain over the past month. Newport investors are hoping that global economic uncertainty continues to worry investors because gold is one of the most popular safe haven trades.

4. ADT Corp ADT
Of course, one recipe for a share price spike is a buyout, which is exactly why ADT lands on this month’s list. On Feb. 16, Apollo Global Management LLC APO acquired ADT for $42 per share in cash, sending ADT’s stock higher by 41.2 percent in February.

Related Link: Wells Fargo Sees 23.5% Recession Probability In Next 6 Months

3. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd KORS
On Feb. 2, Michael Kors reported a huge Q4 earnings beat of $1.59 EPS on $1.4 billion in revenue. The stock, which is already seen as a defensive play in a shaky market, surged 46.2 percent on the month.

2. Fossil Group Inc FOSL
It would probably be a stretch to describe Fossil’s Q4 earnings as “good,” but the $1.46 Q4 EPS on $992.3 million in revenue beat consensus expectations and initiated a major short squeeze in the beaten-down stock. Fossil finished the month up 49.1 percent.

1. Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX
Freeport was one of the five worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in 2015. But after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he has been increasing his stake in the ailing commodities company on Feb. 17, investors found a new confidence in the stock. Freeport finished the month up an incredible 72.6 percent.

Freeport’s huge February surge wasn’t enough to put it in the lead for the top stock of 2016 so far. The race is in its early stages, but through the first two months of the year, Newport Mining is leading the S&P with a 43.5 percent gain year-to-date.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.