There’s a powerful force reshaping the market.
If you’re reading this, then that means you’re part of it.
Retail investors today account for around 20% of daily trading volume. A decade ago, that number was just 7%.
Individuals are better than ever at buying and selling stocks.
Earlier this year, the retail crowd beat Wall Street to the punch when the market dipped. They scooped up winners while the so-called smart money stood still.
Today we’ll look at the stocks that best meet the true essence of “retail-owned.”
We’ll also see what the Weiss stock ratings have to say about them.
This can help you decide whether today’s most-popular names deserve a place in your portfolio.
And I’ll introduce you to a brand-new feature that can help you pinpoint the most undervalued stocks …
Many of which are beyond Wall Street’s and Main Street’s radars.
You’ll find all this and more in your July State of the Ratings.
What’s New in the Weiss Ratings:
A Retail-Owned Stock Hunt
Recently, we wanted to see what kinds of stocks individual investors are buying. So we looked at data from Robinhood, Schwab and Fidelity and other retail brokerages.
Of the 10 stocks with the highest retail ownership across those platforms, half get the Weiss “Buy” stamp of approval.
Those are Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Palantir (PLTR), Meta Platforms (META), and Disney (DIS).
To be clear, we base our Weiss investment ratings on both retail and institutional ownership and activity.
The dominance by Mag 7 stocks — including Weiss “Holds” Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) — among individual investors is not surprising.
They are retail stocks extraordinaire — cultural assets that permeate the public imagination.
This list also refutes a major misconception about retail investors.
The stocks most owned by the retail crowd generally aren’t meme stocks or penny-stock gambles.
In fact, many of these names are institutional favorites.
Now, let’s look at the top “Buy”-rated retail-loved company.
Look Under the ‘Hood’ for Our Top Buys
Online trading platform Robinhood has never earned a Weiss “Buy” rating in its four years as a publicly traded company.
But top-held Nvidia has spent the bulk of the past decade as a Weiss “Buy.”
In fact, other than a three-month stint with a “C+” grade earlier this year, it’s been a “Buy” for the past two years. That downgrade was a result of weaker-than-expected earnings and a price dip.
You can look at Nvidia’s Rating History to learn more.
Only Weiss Ratings Plus Members can see this valuable data.
Meanwhile in May, Palantir earned its first “Buy” rating in the stock’s five-year trading history.
This was largely due to huge growth in cash and profits.
PLTR’s current “B-” rating rests on excellent and solid scores in Weiss’ own Growth, Return, Solvency and Efficiency indexes.
Only Weiss Ratings Plus Members can see this data for Palantir and other assets we rate.
However, PLTR only gets a “Fair” Volatility Index score. Why?
Despite the solid 1-year return of more than 430%, its price performance has proven to be highly volatile compared to the market.
This is evidenced by an abnormally high beta of 2.36.
Beta measures the extent of stock price fluctuations vs. the market. The market is 1.0.
Anything above that indicates high volatility.
What’s behind Palantir’s volatility? A few things:
- It ranks high in both retail ownership and social media buzz.
- Over 40% of Palantir shares are owned by the public.
- Palantir is also heavily traded with average daily volume of 88 million shares.
That’s a higher trading volume than every member of the Mag 7 — except Nvidia.
Speaking of the elite Mag 7, last month we looked at how none of those stocks were “Buys” until June.
This month, we saw …
Another Magnificent Return to a “Buy” Grade
On July 11, Meta Platforms was upgraded to “B-” following an improvement in its Volatility Index.
However, with a beta of 1.34, Meta still moves more sharply than the overall market.
Only you can decide whether Palantir, Meta or any of the other stocks that your fellow investors love are right for you.
If you already own some of the “Holds,” then the ratings suggest you can continue to do exactly that.
But investors should stay away from retail darlings with “Sell” ratings … especially those with high short interest.
We have fresh data for you about stocks with that unfortunate combination, too.
Retail Darlings on the Brink
Here’s another stock list I want you to look at closely.
These are retail investor favorites … that the broader market is betting against.
They all have Weiss “Sell” ratings due to challenges in their underlying investment fundamentals.
Rocket Companies (RKT) tops this “short” list with its 48% short interest.
This means nearly half of RKT shares available to trade are currently traded by investors who expect the price to drop.
The weak mortgage market, thin profit margins and a heavy debt load have investors expecting further downside.
RKT was downgraded to “Sell” here at Weiss in May due to declining growth in cash flow and earnings.
It’s possible you might own some of these stocks that Wall Street is shorting.
If you’re wondering which side of the trade to be on, consider this …
Our founder Dr. Martin Weiss has been the consummate crusader for the little guy for over 50 years.
He built the ratings to help investors like you decide for yourself the balance of risk-vs.-reward potential that you feel comfortable with.
I’ll tell you about one of Martin’s latest projects in just a moment.
First, I want to make good on my promise to deliver a new release every month.
This one can help you buy stocks at a discount to the market.
This Month’s New Release:
Find Value with Just One Click
I recently asked Weiss Members their thoughts about the economy, markets and where they are putting their money.
They gave us a great deal of real-time, actionable intelligence.
Like what kind of investment ideas we should talk about more.
How to buy growth stocks on sale was one top request.
That’s one of my favorite strategies, too.
So, I asked our team to create an exclusive new Special Screener …
One that reveals stocks that are trading below their true value …
That are also backed by strong fundamentals and the power of Weiss Ratings.
And we just pushed it live!
With Wall Street’s Untapped Gems: High-Potential Undervalued Stocks Set to Soar …
You’ll discover high-potential stocks before they explode in price.
Near the top of the list is the nation’s largest egg producer and distributor, Cal-Maine Foods (CALM).
It’s had a Weiss “Buy” rating since January 2024, with one weeklong exception …
In April 2024, Cal-Maine announced an earnings-per-share decline from $6.62 to $3.
Its Weiss stock rating declined to “Hold.” The stock price also dropped.
But bargain-hunting buyers rushed in.
CALM reports earnings after today’s closing bell.
Your brand-new value screener suggests the stock is a bargain here near $195 a share.
And history suggests that any sort of pullback could make CALM an even bigger bargain.
Weiss in the News
Investments aren’t the only place you put your money where you want a good return.
That’s why we also provide insurance ratings. To help you find insurers who can deliver the services you pay them for.
Dr. Martin Weiss continues to shine a spotlight on the country’s property insurance crisis.
He recently spoke with reporter Craig Patrick, of Tampa Bay’s Fox 13, as part of an investigation into damage claims closed without payment.
That’s the Weiss Ratings website on Craig’s screen …
Link video to: https://www.fox13news.com/video/1641697
They also talked about what insurers are doing with some of that cash (i.e., pay dividends).
As Martin pointed out, this data comes from the insurance companies themselves!
As a member of Weiss Ratings Plus, you can access our full press release archive here.
Plus, you have full access to our property & casualty ratings.
Not only do we showcase the strongest insurers in health, life & annuity and property & casualty … but we also have links that take you straight to lists of the weakest ones.
Keep in mind that many of these names have two ratings:
- An investment rating, which shows you how favorably our system views the stock.
- A safety rating, which gives you an idea of how solvent a bank or insurer appears to be.
You get this as part of your Weiss Ratings Plus membership … plus the ability to receive alerts if anything changes.
Click once on the gray flag to the left of any company name. And let our system take it from there.
To your success,
Dallas Brown
Publisher
P.S. Chris Graebe has a pre-IPO company in his sights with the most impressive leadership team he believes he’s ever met.
That’s saying a lot, as Chris has put his money in 25+ private companies. That includes an aerospace firm that’s taking satellites to orbit for 92% cheaper than SpaceX.
There’s only one way to hear about this brand-new opportunity. That is, to click this link as soon as you read this message.
