President Joe Biden's first 100 days have effectively been several months of heaven for investors – especially those lucky enough or smart enough to have exposure to the 25 best stocks since the inauguration.
Mind you, it hasn't exactly been necessary to carefully select stocks since the 46th president was sworn in. The market has been on something of a historic tear ever since Biden took the oath of office.
"If the stock market's performance is any indication, Wall Street appears to approve of President Biden's attempts to corral the COVID-19 virus and stimulate the economy," writes Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA. The S&P 500 is up 9.3% through April 29, which puts Biden's first 100 days on pace to be the second-strongest such performance since World War II, bested only by John F. Kennedy.
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Careful stockpickers have done even better – perhaps much better – than what the broader market has had to offer. We screened the Russell 1000 of large and mid-cap equities for the top 25 best stocks by pure price performance during Biden's first 100 days, and the results were stunning.
As mentioned before, the S&P 500 gained 9.3% from Jan. 20 through April 29. Over the same span, however, the top stocks in the Russell 1000 have generated an average gain of almost 52% as Biden closes out his first 100 days.
It should come as no surprise that "recovery plays" dominate the list of top performers in Biden's first few months. For example, retail, energy, travel and leisure, regional banks and a steelmaker all landed among the Russell 1000's best stocks.
Upstart Holdings (UPST), the cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform, leads the way, almost doubling in Biden's first 100 days. UPST, which made its stock market debut in mid-December at $20 a share, has been one of the more successful recent initial public offerings.
Mall-based retailer Gap (GPS); steelmaker Nucor (NUE), which happens to be a Dividend Aristocrat; and travel site TripAdvisor (TRIP) are among the more notable recovery plays found on the list. Oil and gas firm Diamondback Energy (FANG) – among Wall Street's favorite oil stocks – also has outperformed during Biden's first 100 days.
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