Amid all the big swings in the S&P 500 and other benchmarks, it’s natural for many investors to be worried. But as the adage attributed to Warren Buffett goes, sometimes it pays the most to be greedy when others are fearful.
It’s a different story in 2022. Not only has Alphabet stock avoided the deep declines of other growth names like Netflix, but it has slightly outperformed the S&P 500 SPX, -0.72% year to date – and is up 30% in the last 12 months, compared with just 15% for the benchmark index. Zeta Never heard of Zeta Global Holdings ZETA, -4.40% ? It may be time to take notice of this small-cap tech stock. The roughly $2 billion software company that went public in June has defied gravity while so many other big names in the sector have fallen hard; it’s up an impressive 38% or so year-to-date.
But the share price has more than doubled from those lows and now trades above $11. Furthermore, it gained support from investors after a shrewd acquisition last year; the purchase of audience engagement company Apptness sparked a surge in the stock price of more than 20% over a single session in October.
Those earnings came on the heels of massive acquisition news, via a $69 billion offer for videogame studio Activision Blizzard ATVI, +0.10%. The largest deal in Microsoft’s 46-year history, the move has been applauded as a shrewd way to complement its Xbox arm with the addition of fan-favorite franchises like “Call of Duty” and “Warcraft”.
It’s easy to get freaked out by these risks, but as an investor it’s important to also identify the opportunity – namely, that the constant threat of hacking creates a constant need for companies to protect themselves. There’s risk here, as with all stocks right now. But the long-term growth narrative and impressive fourth-quarter numbers make Fortinet stand out from the pack.