There’s nothing like a bit of volatility to shake off the cobwebs and rouse Wall Street traders from their summer slumber. Between Friday’s and Monday’s session, the S&P 500 index dropped more than 3% as fears grew that the global economic recovery might be losing momentum as a fresh wave of COVID cases starts to crest.
The VIX index, commonly regarded as Wall Street’s “fear index,” jumped more than 50% to hit its highest level since May, as investors got pretty nervous pretty quickly. But equities roared back on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 logging a 1.5% gain, and early signs in Wednesday’s pre-market session pointed towards the bid staying strong.
For those of us on the sidelines who are leaning towards this being little more than a standard bit of mid-summer volatility, there are plenty of opportunities opening up.
A relatively safe way to sort the great from the good is by looking at which names are bouncing back the quickest after the brief sell-off. Sure, you might miss buying in at the low, but you can be confident that you’re buying into a stock that the big money and smart money consider oversold. Here are three such stocks worth considering.
1. American Airlines
Unsurprisingly, travel and retail stocks are particularly susceptible to any threat of a COVID resurgence, considering how exposed they are to potential lockdowns. While lockdowns and restrictions have been mostly moving in one direction—that is, backwards—in recent months, the template is there for them to be reintroduced overnight if the authorities feel the risk is justified.
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) shares have been coming off the boil since last month and dropped a further 10% over Friday and Monday, but ripped higher by 8% in Tuesday’s session. It was only last week that management issued better than expected forward guidance which helped justify an upgrade to the stock from the folks over at Citi.
They see shares treading water above $21 for the rest of the summer, with September being the make or break month for investors to choose to be long-term bulls or bears. Unless you see air travel heading back to the dark days of 2020 again, picking up some shares of American at these levels is a fairly safe move.
2. L Brands
Shares of L Brands (NYSE:LB) hit their highest levels since 2016 earlier this month, before falling 11% into Monday’s close. They went on to pop 6% in Tuesday's session as astute investors seized the opportunity to buy into a name that’s been attracting nothing but praise in recent weeks.
Only Tuesday, it was reported that Bank of America was impressed with the company’s presentations at their recent virtual analyst day, in particular with their long-term growth strategies for the Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works businesses. They reiterated their Buy rating on the stock, which echoed the bullish stance taken by Deutsche Bank late last month. The latter’s $88 price target suggests there’s upside of some 20% to be had from current prices, which is tempting in any man’s language.
Throw into the mix that the company recently raised their forward guidance, announced a secondary offering as well as plans to repurchase 10 million shares, and you’re looking at a stock whose management even thinks is undervalued.
3. Ally Financial
It’s been a good 12 months for shares of Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY), who’ve rallied as much as 450% at their peak. They’ve been able to ride the bull sentiment for software stocks that dominated equities last year, as well as the reopening play and higher interest rate environment that’s been in motion for much of 2021.
All that being said, however, this recent dip sent shares down close to 9% which put them down more than 15% from June’s all time high. Bears would be forgiven for thinking that the stock is close to entering a bear market, but the 6% jump seen in Tuesday's session might make them pause for thought.
It was driven for the most part by the company’s Q2 earnings which were released before the bell, and which crushed analyst expectations. Revenue was up more than 40% on the year, with EPS coming in 55% higher than the consensus. If ever there was going to be an earnings report that undid a recent slide, this was it.
Investors thinking about jumping in at current prices should also consider the fact that only last week management announced plans to boost the company’s dividend by 32% while also authorizing a fresh share repurchase program. Ally shares might have been under some pressure for the past month, but that looks like that’s going to quickly change.
