Double burgers, doubleheaders and double scoops of ice cream are all great. But none compare to doubling your money on a S&P 500 stock.
And this year so far a handful of stocks served up doubles to investors. Five stocks in the S&P 500, including tech giant Nvidia, social media king Meta Platforms and dominant EV maker Tesla, all doubled their investors' money, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
Doubles are rare in investing — but not unheard of. Last year, just one S&P 500 stock gained 100% or more. That was Warren Buffett's top pick: Occidental Petroleum. But the rash of stock doubles this year is just one sign causing some to wonder if the S&P 500's gains are "extreme."
"Just as all good meals require a digestion phase, seasonality and advance extremes made many of these indices vulnerable to shifts in monetary and fundamental expectations, triggering profit taking," said CFRA's Sam Stovall.
But for now, investors are enjoying their doubles.
Double Your Pleasure
If you own Nvidia or Tesla this year, you might think a double is normal. But a 100% gain is definitely not something you can count on in a typical year in the market.
Over the past year years, an average of just seven S&P 500 stocks, or less than 2% of the index, doubled in value. And keep in mind that includes the boom years of 2021 and 2020. A dozen S&P 500 stocks rose 100% or more in 2020. In fact in 2020, Tesla was the top stock with a 743% gain. And five stocks actually rose 200% or more.
But doubles aren't the norm for most S&P 500 investors.
Doubling Your Money This Year In The S&P 500
In a year with the S&P 500 already up 16.6%, it's not easy to stand out. But a 100% gain will certainly do it.
Nvidia is the stock to own if you're looking for a big gain. Just ask Ark Invest's Cathie Wood. Nvidia shares are up 207% this year so far. And Nvidia is not just the top performing S&P 500 stock this year. But it's the only one up more than 200%.
Amazingly, analysts still think the stock has nearly 5% upside before hitting their 12-month price target of 468.93 a share. Why such extreme bullishness? Nvidia is positioned to not only sell the computer chips powerful enough to drive AI, but builds the software that makes it difficult to switch to another company's chips. Analysts think the company's profit will rise more than 134% this year.
Meta Platforms is another double, rising more than 160% this year. It's a stellar comeback story. Shares crashed more than 50% last year as the company spent heavily on unpopular virtual reality hardware and missed out on lucrative opportunities in social media. Analysts think this stock shot 7% past what it'll be worth in 12 months. Analysts think the company's profit will rise more than 34% this year.
And Tesla is no stranger to volatility. Amazingly, its 120% rise this year falls short of its average gain in the past five years. But it sure beats its 65% drop last year.
There's no guarantee these runs can continue this year or repeat again next year. But for now, S&P 500 investors will enjoy their doubles.
S&P 500 Stocks Up 100% Or More This Year So Far
| Company | Ticker | Year-to-date % ch. | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | 214.6% | Information Technology | |
| Meta Platforms | 160.4 | Communication Services | |
| Tesla | 125.6 | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Carnival | 120.2 | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises | 100.8 | Consumer Discretionary |
Sources: S&P Global Market Intelligence, IBD
Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz
