GOOGL is a historical outperformer in January
After the major benchmarks turned in their worst annual performance since 2008, Wall Street has its eyes set on the new year. While we can't predict how the market will move in 2023, we can use historical data to try and steer investors in the right direction. And according to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) could have an upbeat month ahead.
Digging deeper, seasonality suggests the shares of Google's parent company could rise in January. Alphabet stock just landed on White's list of the best performing stocks on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) for the month, going back a decade. In fact, GOOGL saw positive monthly returns in eight out of these 10 years, boasting an average gain of 4%.
Today, GOOGL is 0.7% higher at $88.88. The last year was rough for the equity, which shed nearly 40% in 2022. After slipping from a Feb. 2, record high of $151.54, Alphabet stock's mid-August rally was thwarted by its 140-day moving average. Meanwhile, the 80-day trendline stalled pops in November and December.
It looks like options players may be privy to this January trend, though. Already within the first hour of trading, more than 42,000 calls have crossed the tape, which is almost double the intraday average volume. The most popular contract, where new positions are being opened, is the weekly 1/6 91-strike call.
The collective group known as FAANG has struggled with an identity crisis following Facebook's name change to Meta Platforms (META), and have also shared the 2022 struggles. META has shed 63% year-over-year while Amazon.com (AMZN) lost 50.1%, Apple (AAPL) dipped 30.8%, and Netflix (NFLX) took a 51.3% haircut.