It's been a blazing hot start to 2019 for the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) pacing for a first-quarter gain of 12.5%. History suggests this positive price action will continue in the near term, considering April is a seasonally strong month for stocks. Nevertheless, a number of individual names have struggled to capitalize on the broader tailwinds, including FAANG name Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which is down 0.4% today at $1,192.31, on news European Union (EU) lawmakers are supporting copyright reforms.
While these are the best stocks to own next month, below is a list of the 25 worst SPX stocks in April, courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. To land on the list, a stock had to have at least eight years of returns. GOOGL is the only FAANG stock on the table.
Specifically, GOOGL stock has finished seven of the last 10 Aprils in negative territory, averaging a loss of 0.8%. While this is relatively modest, another move of this magnitude to the downside would have Alphabet stock testing the $1197 region -- home to its early March highs. The equity eventually broke out above $1,220, around its fourth-quarter peak, but has since pulled back below its 10-day moving average.
There's plenty of optimism to be unwound, should GOOGL turn in another April underperformance -- which could create even bigger headwinds for the shares. While 27 of the 28 analysts covering Alphabet stock maintain a "buy" or better rating -- with not a single "sell" on the books -- the average 12-month price target of $1,343.26 is well above GOOGL's July 27 record high of $1,291.44.