It is a well-established fact that the past few weeks have not been particularly great for the stock markets, and in the month of April alone, many stocks displayed extreme weakness. However, it should also be kept in mind that even when the markets are in crisis, there are certain stocks that manage to buck the trend, and this time it was no different. A small number of stocks actually generated gains during April, and it could be worthwhile for investors to take a closer look at those stocks. Here is a look at two of those.
Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP)
One of the biggest winners to have emerged out of the rout in April is that Snap stock. The social media stock rose by as much as 48.1% in April, and one of the biggest triggers behind the rally was the company’s first-quarter performance.
Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) revenues rose by as much as 44% year on year on the back of 20% increase in daily active users. Consequently, the adjusted net loss went down by 20% as well. It is believed that the widespread lockdowns had led to a significant rise in traffic. Advertising spending on social media has dropped due to the economic uncertainties, but Snap made up the gap through its explosive user growth.
Additionally, the company boasts of a cash reserve of as much as $2.1 billion in cash and also has access to credit lines a total $1 billion. That is an ample sum to help Snap in navigating the uncertain period. The stock is trading at 12 times the book value, and although that is not exactly cheap, it should be noted that the Snap stock has rallied by 55% over the past 52 weeks.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Another stock that recorded significant gains in the month of April was Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The e-commerce behemoth saw its stock price rocket by as much as 27% on the back of soaring demand for e-commerce retail brought about by the coronavirus related lockdowns across the world. Amazon’s revenues shot up 26.4% year on year to hit $75.4 billion, and many investors believe that a permanent shift might take place in consumer behavior.
People who might never have shopped online before might continue to use Amazon even after the crisis is over. While the rise in revenues was handsome, Amazon’s expenses rose 29.3% year on year since the company had to ramp up capacities quite quickly. Amazon has also hired 100000 people in order to make its operations more efficient. The company could stand to benefit in the long term as more and more consumers switch to online retail in the coming years.
