- ClearBridge Investments' Margaret Vitrano is looking away from tech stocks and towards consumer-oriented names.
- She identified three trades she's making that potentially have more upside than the crowded tech sector.
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In a market dominated by technology stocks in recent months, Margaret Vitrano, a portfolio manager at ClearBridge Investments, sees fewer and fewer opportunities in the sector.
Given the high price multiples in tech, she's instead turning her attention toward consumer-oriented stocks. Vitrano is basing these plays on increases in consumer spending as the US economy reopens.
At a July 16 webinar hosted by Legg Mason Global Asset Management, Vitrano broke down where exactly she sees opportunities as the US economy recovers to pre-pandemic levels.
Asked about specific companies she recommends, Vitrano, who manages $47 billion for ClearBridge Investments, said Booking.com (BKNG) is among those at the top of her list.
"The thing we like about Booking.com is its highly variable cost structure — so they have a balance sheet to support them if this lasts several years," she said.
"In addition, I do think that one of the results of this pandemic is that the small and medium businesses are struggling, and we may see more and more small and medium businesses in a variety of sectors — whether it's in retail or in restaurants or in travel agencies — go under after this pandemic. And that should help the larger players. So Booking.com is one with a multi-year horizon that we think has some good appreciation potential."
Vitrano also thinks the healthcare sector is undervalued and has attractive upside in the coming years, one reason being she sees changes being made to the US system after the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Remember healthcare has had a target on its back for the last several years and has underperformed the market pretty dramatically," she said.
"But it does seems that one of the silver linings of what we've been through in the last couple of months is that healthcare has shown that — and I think the view in Washington seems to be — that we want an innovative and healthy healthcare system."
Such a system would help address unmet medical needs and new challenges like the COVID-19 outbreak, she added.
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She added: "And so certainly the valuations in the healthcare sector are more interesting than some other sectors in the market -- the cost to buy 20% revenue growth in healthcare is almost certainly less than the cost to buy 20% revenue growth in technology, and so my hope is that even with Democrat leadership that healthcare will be a solid performer over the next couple of years."
Investors looking for exposure to the healthcare sector might consider the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV).
Finally, Vitrano gave a variety reasons, including potential policy and a societal shift like we saw with smartphones, for why she's bullish on electric cars.
"While Tesla is the one everyone is asking about given its 260% or so move year-to-date, electric vehicles is an area that we think is quite interesting. It's part of Biden's stated agenda and we do think that electric vehicles, in some ways, it's similar to the shift from flip phones to smartphones," she said.
"It's a megatrend that's going to be lasting decades in terms of electric vehicles and technology in vehicles, so we've chosen to play that trend with some of the manufacturing companies that make the technology that goes into a variety of car makers and chip makers that help with electric vehicles."
Investors looking for exposure to this sector might consider the iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV).
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source https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-advice-coronavirus-recovery-trades-with-huge-upside-margaret-vitrano-2020-7
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