Major Company Upgrades Positive for Several Mutual Funds

Jul 21, 2014

Despite the markets closing lower on Monday, there may be reason for mutual fund investors to be optimistic if several analyst calls from earlier today prove to be correct.

Apple

UBS raised Apple’s (AAPL) price target to $115 based on bullish margin expectations and raised estimates above consensus. The firm also increased its FY15 EPS estimate to $7.63 vs. consensus estimates of $6.96.

As of the end of March, the Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX) owned nearly 20 million shares, making up over 3% of the fund’s overall holdings.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX) had Apple as its largest position, with nearly 97 million shares.

Amazon

Amazon.com (AMZN) got some love from Wall Street this morning in the form of a Deutsche Bank analyst affirming the company’s $400 price target, citing Wall Street’s underappreciation for the online retail giant’s Prime membership growth. The company also announced an initiative late last week to launch a monthly subscription service for Kindle offerings in the form of a Netflix-like all-u-can-read service for $9.99.

The American Funds The Growth Fund of America A shares (AGTHX) is a huge believer in the company, making it account for over 4% of the fund’s overall holdings – the most for any stock.

A fellow American Funds mutual fund – Fundamental Investors Fund Class A (ANCFX) also maintains a sizable percentage of shares (3.28% of fund’s assets), right behind its top holding – Microsoft (MSFT).

Baidu

With Google (GOOG) shares doing well last week, Morgan Stanley stepped up and raised the rating on China’s search engine giant, Baidu (BIDU). The firm raised the price target on the company to $239.30, citing improved monetization of its PC and mobile traffic, as well as the company’s recent acquisitions that should bolster the company’s profits.

Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund Class A (ODMAX) makes Baidu its largest position in the fund, owning nearly 12M shares as of its last reporting period.

The Artisan International Fund (ARTIX) also makes Baidu its largest position (4.48% of the fund’s assets).

The Bottom Line

While stock analyst moves alone can’t be a guarantee of price movement, mutual fund holders certainly prefer being on the positive side of a call and this morning’s vibe was certainly that.