Once high-flying mega-cap technology stocks tumbled in 2022, but some investors are willing to bet on Amazon and Alphabet in 2023, a new Delivering Alpha investor survey suggests. We polled about 400 chief investment officers, equity strategists, portfolio managers and CNBC contributors who manage money about where they stood on the markets for the new year. The survey was conducted over the last week. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they would buy Amazon or Alphabet in the new year. Netflix and Meta Platforms were chosen by 6% and 3% of respondents, respectively. Meanwhile, 17% of the participants said they would buy Tesla . High-interest rates, recession fears and hikes from the Federal Reserve dented growth and technology stocks in 2022, pushing the Nasdaq Composite down more than 33% and toward its worst year since 2008 . Against this backdrop, both Alphabet and Amazon have tumbled about 40% and 50%, respectively, in 2022. Most analysts agree with respondents, with more than three-quarters saying shares of each are a buy, according to FactSet. The consensus price targets suggest Alphabet and Amazon can rally about 40% and 60%, respectively. Though Alphabet had a rocky 2022, Piper Sandler remains overweight on the stock and is upbeat on the internet giant’s recent multi-year deal with the National Football League for rights to the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket.” “We view the news as positive and see GOOGL best positioned as any to capitalize on the opportunity,” analyst Thomas Champion wrote in his Dec. 22 note. “The move likely accelerates the push toward [over-the-top] time spent and ad dollars moving to streaming.” Amazon faced a rough e-commerce environment as consumers returned to in-person shopping and a potential slowdown in consumer spending. But JPMorgan named the tech stock among its best internet picks for 2023 in a note to clients this month , saying shares should benefit from cloud migration and penetration into areas like grocery and apparel. “AMZN is most diversified mega-cap across revs/profit & has numerous large growth opportunities,” analyst Doug Anmuth wrote. Betting on energy Energy stocks rallied in 2022 as the world grappled with supply constraints fueled by the conflict in Ukraine, but some investors aren’t giving up on it just yet. When asked which areas they plan to focus on at the beginning of 2023, 41% of respondents highlighted energy stocks. While the S & P 500 sector surged about 58% in 2022, many investors say the sector has more room to run. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee told CNBC last month that energy stocks can more than double next year even if the market stays flat . As a recession lingers, Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian also called energy one of the safer areas. “Energy is now low beta — along with Financials and Industrials — after sporting higher betas than every other sector for the prior decade,” the strategist wrote in a note to clients earlier this month. Thirty-one percent of the investors polled said they will concentrate on high dividend, health-care and financial stocks — more defensive and stable areas that garnered support in 2022 as recession fears loomed. As uncertainty lingers, survey respondents also said they plan to look beyond the U.S. in 2023 toward opportunities in emerging markets. — Gabriel Cortes contributed reporting
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