Topline
The stock market is having one of the worst starts to a year ever—with big names like Moderna and Netflix leading declines—as many of the pandemic-era’s top stocks continue to fall out of favor with investors.
More good news? Some of the pandemic’s hottest stocks are among the worst performers so far in 2022.
Key Facts
Three stocks in the S&P 500 have led the market’s declines this month, each falling more than 35% through Friday’s session: Moderna, Netflix and Etsy.
Vaccine maker Moderna—one of last year’s top-performing stocks—is down nearly 40% amid growing research suggesting the firm’s booster shot is less effective against the rapidly spreading omicron variant.
Streaming giant Netflix, meanwhile, has seen its shares plunge 37% this month—in large part due to lackluster fourth-quarter earnings, which showed a continued slowdown in subscriber growth.
Online retailer Etsy—another pandemic-era favorite stock, which rose 324% in 2020—is down 35% this month as investors continue to rotate out of risky growth stocks and into safer value bets.
Other notable losers this month include semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (down 28%), chipmaker Nvidia (24%), Caesars Entertainment (23%) and Domino’s Pizza (22%).
The market selloff has been widespread, with everything from tech to energy stocks under pressure; Almost half of the stocks in the S&P 500 are now down more than 10% so far in 2022.
Surprising Fact:
A majority of the S&P 500’s top-performing stocks so far this year are oil and gas companies. Gains are led by the likes of Halliburton (up 37%), Occidental Petroleum (30%), Hess (24%) and Exxon Mobil (23%). That’s in large part thanks to oil prices rising for six weeks straight, with the price of Brent crude now at around $90 per barrel amid concerns of tight supply and rising demand.
Key Background:
Stocks have swung wildly—especially in the past few weeks—as investors remain fearful of the Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy and rising interest rates. That sentiment has sparked a widespread selloff in growth and tech stocks especially. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which is in correction territory after falling nearly 15% since the start of 2022, is on pace for its worst January ever—and its worst month overall since the financial crisis in October 2008, when the index plunged over 17%. With market volatility surging this past week, the S&P 500 also briefly fell into correction territory—at one point 10% below its record high—and now remains close to falling below that level.
Further Reading:
Stocks Fall After Federal Reserve Confirms March Interest Rate Hike To Fight Surging Inflation (Forbes)
Stock Market ‘Panic Is Setting In’ As S&P 500 Briefly Enters Correction Territory Then Rebounds (Forbes)
Moderna Stock Crash Intensifies: Losses Top $130 Billion (Forbes)
Netflix Stock Plunges 20% Following Disappointing Earnings Report (Forbes)
