5 Best Stocks of the S&P 500 ETF in the Past Month

The S&P 500 is enjoying its longest winning streak since 2004. The benchmark recorded its first nine-day winning streak in nearly two decades, jumping 10.2%. With this rally, the S&P 500 erased all the losses incurred during the early April market downturn triggered by President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement (read: Can S&P 500 ETFs Continue Their Winning Streak?). 

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, the proxy version of the S&P 500 Index, has gained 7.6% in the past nine days. While many stocks in the ETF have gained during this timeframe, we have highlighted five stocks that were at the forefront of the rally over the past month. These include Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR, Netflix NFLX, Quanta Services Inc. PWR, GE Vernova GEV and DexCom Inc. DXCM. 

Increasing hopes of a U.S. trade deal with major trading partners and solid corporate earnings buoyed sentiment. Here are the key drivers that are driving the stock market higher in recent weeks and will continue to do so:

Easing Trade Tensions

Several reports suggest that the United States and China are willing to negotiate on tariffs and put an end to the trade conflict. Chinese officials have signaled reopening trade talks with Washington, while President Trump on Sunday said he wants a "fair deal" with China.

Robust Earnings Reports

Strong quarterly earnings reports from software giant Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) spread strong optimism in the tech sector. The dual earnings outperformance underscores that strong demand for AI is helping both companies navigate tariff-driven economic uncertainty (read: AAI ETFs Set to Gain on Robust Meta, Microsoft Earnings). 

Encouraging Jobs Report

April jobs data show that the U.S. labor market remained resilient amid the tariff chaos. The economy added better-than-expected 177,000 jobs while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, providing further assurance about the economy's health.

Let’s take a closer look at the fundamentals of SPY and the stocks behind this rally.

SPY in Focus

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust holds 503 stocks in its basket, with each accounting for no more than 7% of the assets. This suggests a nice balance across each security and prevents heavy concentration. The fund is widely spread across sectors with information technology, financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary accounting for a double-digit allocation each. 

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust has an AUM of $569 billion and charges 9 bps in fees per year. It trades in an average daily volume of 104 million shares and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (see: all the Large Cap Blend ETFs here).

Best-Performing Stocks of SPY

Palantir Technologies builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community, principally in the United States. The stock has soared about 42% over the past month and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 34.1% for this year. Palantir Technologies has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). 
    
Netflix is considered a pioneer in the streaming space. The company evolved from a small DVD-rental provider to a dominant streaming service provider, courtesy of its wide-ranging content portfolio and a fortified international footprint. The stock jumped 23.6% over the past month. Netflix saw a solid earnings estimate revision of 75 cents over the past month for this year and has an estimated growth of 27.74%. Netflix currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) (read: Netflix Soars to All-Time High: 5 ETFs to Ride the Surge).

Quanta Services is a leading national provider of specialty contracting services and one of the largest contractors serving the transmission and distribution sector of the North American electric utility industry. Though the stock saw a negative earnings estimate revision of a couple of cents over the past seven days for this year, it has an estimated earnings growth rate of 13.82%. The stock has gained 21.4% in a month and has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

GE Vernova is an energy company that includes Power, Wind and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses of Advanced Research, Consulting Services and Financial Services. The stock climbed 19.8% in a month. GE Vernova saw a solid earnings estimate revision of 63 cents over the past month for this year and has an estimated growth of 28.67%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

DexCom is a medical device company focused on the design, development and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring systems. The stock has risen 19.8% over the past month. Though the stock saw a negative earnings estimate revision of a penny over the past seven days for this year, it has an estimated earnings growth rate of 23.17%. DexCom has a Zacks Rank #3.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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