While you might not agree with the political stuff, Nancy Pelosi stocks have represented a tremendously popular topic. You might say there’s bipartisan support for tracking the securities that the former House Speaker has acquired.
Investors have plenty of reasons to consider trading alongside the legislator. First, Pelosi is smart. Again, you can disagree with her politics. However, you don’t rise to power (and stay there) without commanding tremendous intellect. Second, she knows how things work (or don’t work). If Pelosi feels strongly about a company, you should at least pay attention.
Granted, no one has a 100% success rate. Still, these Nancy Pelosi stocks have proven to be quite lucrative.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
One of the more recent acquisitions among Nancy Pelosi stocks, the former House Speaker acquired shares of cybersecurity specialist Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) in February of this year. Technically speaking, it’s not the outright best-performing idea this year. Since the beginning of January, PANW has moved up a bit over 2%. However, the potential is robust.
Per information provided by Forbes, a data breach costs on average about $4.45 million. It notes that in 2022, business email accounts that suffered data compromises incurred $2.7 billion in losses. It’s no surprise, then, that the global cybersecurity industry should reach a valuation of $208.8 billion by the end of the year.
As for Palo Alto Networks, experts project that it will post $7.98 billion in revenue by year’s end. If so, that would be up 15.8% from last year’s haul of $6.89 billion. In fiscal 2025, sales could rise to $9.13 billion.
PANW isn’t the best-performing idea among Nancy Pelosi stocks. However, it offers significant long-term upside potential.
Microsoft (MSFT)
A longtime supporter of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Pelosi last acquired shares of the technology giant in June of last year. It’s been an amazing investment. Sure, MSFT is only up 7% after suffering a recent correction due to broader tech sector momentum loss. However, in the past 52 weeks, it’s up more than 30%. That’s quite a turnaround from the days when MSFT was just a boring element in the landscape.
Much of the enthusiasm currently centers on the company’s investments in artificial intelligence. With more companies exploring the capabilities of generative AI, Microsoft positioned itself early. Bloomberg notes that the sector itself could be worth $1.3 trillion by 2032. That’s one big reason why MSFT ranks among the top Nancy Pelosi stocks.
Analysts anticipate a strong year in fiscal 2024, forecasting earnings per share to hit $11.79. That’s well above last year’s print of $9.81. On the top line, sales could fly up to $244.93 billion or a 15.6% increase from 2023’s haul of $211.91 billion. Moreover, the most optimistic revenue target calls for a print of $248.47 billion.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Undoubtedly one of the favorite (if not the favorite) ideas among Nancy Pelosi stocks, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has been kicking the bears’ hindquarters since the closing months of 2022. The former House Speaker last acquired NVDA in November last year. It’s been a lucrative decision. Over the past six months (going back to Nov. 2), NVDA gained over 97% of its equity value.
That’s really nothing compared to the past 52-week performance, when NVDA ripped out a 204% return. Nvidia of course is best known for its graphics processing units. Initially, these GPUs focused on gaming applications. Increasingly, though, their processing capabilities served myriad other functions, such as datacenters and of course AI. With more enterprises focused on digital intelligence, Nvidia commands an enviable advantage in the space.
Admittedly, there is a risk regarding AI being overhyped. If so, a steeper correction could materialize than the one we’ve seen. Still, analysts don’t seem worried one bit. For the current fiscal year, they’re targeting revenue of $111.92 billion, up 83.7% from last year’s tally of $60.92 billion.
Must be grand to live a life of public service.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.