Tech investor Meeks on buying FAANG stocks Apple, Netflix
As tech stocks stage something of a comeback, top investor Paul Meeks reveals his call on two FAANG stocks: Apple and Netflix . The tech-heavy Nasdaq has rallied about 20% from its low in June, while Apple and Netflix have soared around 30% and 50% respectively from their lows in the same month. Apple Meeks, portfolio manager at Independent Solutions Wealth Management, says hold Apple for now, but if the stock dips a little more — buy it. Speaking to CNBC’s Pro Talks on Wednesday, Meeks said: “Apple is a stock that I do think, over a cycle, is a must own and that would be one I would be prepared to buy on the dip.” “I think if I held some Apple [stock], I’d just hold it. For me to get an interest in buying some more, well, I’d like to see a bit of a dip,” he added. Slowing smartphone demand could be a potential headwind for Apple, he pointed out. “[The] company is supremely well managed, [but] they obviously have near term headwinds.” A number of tech firms have warned of dropping smartphone sales, as surging inflation and recession fears dampen consumer spending. “Even though the company is trying to diversify its business into services, 50% to 60% of its revenues is the iPhone,” he said. Apple reported fiscal third-quarter earnings in late July that beat Wall Street expectations for sales and profit, but showed slowing growth for the iPhone maker. Netflix Meeks is less positive on streaming giant Netflix , which he also says is a hold, highlighting a number of downside risks for the company. “I think I would still hold off on Netflix,” he told CNBC Pro Talks. “Here’s a company that’s going to be forced to go through a pretty wrenching business model change next year when they start the ad supported [subscription] , which was a business that they said: ‘Oh, we’ll never do that.'” He said if investors already own the stock, don’t sell it – just hold it. Netflix is down nearly 60% since the start of the year, after tumbling in April when it reported earnings that showed it lost subscribers for the first time in more than 10 years. Apple stock is down around 4% year-to-date.
