Tech stocks have been suffering this last week, with some the biggest names in the business seeing red.
You know things are bad when you’re nostalgic for Friday the 13th.
In the last week tech stocks have taken a severe pounding as if some the biggest names in the sector crossed paths with a platoon of black cats.
The market has been by such factors as inflation, rising interest rates, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It would seem that many investors are trying to call the bottom of the falling knife that is the plunging stock market at the moment, the high tech NASDAQ index is down by around 25% for the year to date and we are not even six months into 2022,” said David Jones, chief market strategist with the investment trading platform, Capital.com.
Tech stocks also make a large part of the S&P 500, with Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) – Get Alphabet Inc. Class A Report, Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report, Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB) – Get Meta Platforms Inc. Class A Report and Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Microsoft Corporation Report making up about 20% of the index.
Alphabet was down 8.5% from its week-ago closing price, and Microsoft MSFT was off 4.%.
Amazon was off about 6.6% from the prior week and Citi analyst Ronald Josey removed the internet giant from the firm’s Focus List citing macro uncertainty and a lack of near-term catalysts.
Shortage of Semiconductor Parts
However, with the shares down 26% since the April 28 earnings report, where Amazon posted a surprise first-quarter loss, much of the risk is priced in.
That is particularly true for longer-term investors, said the analyst, who has a buy rating on the shares with a $4,100 price target.
Computer giant Apple is down nearly 9% from its May 13 close of $147.11 and Meta Platforms is down 4.4% since May 13. Nvidia (NVDA) – Get NVIDIA Corporation Report was down nearly 10%.
Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT) – Get Applied Materials, Inc. Report posted softer-than-expected second quarter earnings.
CEO Gary Dickerson said global shortage in semiconductor parts has gummed-up chipmaking supply chains and hampered the company’s ability to meet customer demand. The company has been off about 8% since May 13.
Then we have, Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report, which was off 17.2% from its May 13 closing price of 769.59.
The stock was hitting a new low on May 20, when CEO Elon Musk was featured in a series of lurid headlines, including one where he allegedly sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet.
In addition, Musk has the whole Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter, Inc. Report acquisition bid on his hands.
“The tech bust will drag on for years.” one person said on Twitter.
“You’ll get tons of rallies along the way. I’ve minimized the amount of time I spend on it. I know the bottom will occur in tech stocks when there is no interest left. Nowhere near close to that point.”
