Investors list the loved and not-so-lovely US stocks

While markets take investors for a roller coaster ride that’s not for the faint of heart, diving into which stocks and sectors are the most loved and hated by larger market participants can prove fruitful.

According to a note sent out by Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist Nigel Tupper and team, there have been some interesting changes in the stocks large investors have been flocking to and ditching over the past three months.

“The largest changes to positioning in US stocks in the last three months have been an increase in exposure to Amazon and Chubb,” they said.

“Investors remain most overweight Blackstone and NXP Semiconductor but continue to reduce these overweights.”

There are a number of other well-known names on the list. In terms of overweights, Blackstone Group, NXP, Visa, Amazon, and Alphabet top the list. When looking at the stocks that investors are the most underweight, Exxon Mobile, Microsoft, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and AT&T fared the worst.

It’s noteworthy that two of the ‘FANG’ stocks — Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet’s Google — appeared on the most-loved list and have seen their share of the overweights increase despite an even tougher year than the broader S&P 500. Amazon is down roughly 23% year-to-date. On the flip, Apple is outperforming the Nasdaq.