3 Sweet Stocks For Your Easter Basket

With the visit of the Easter bunny just around the corner, we’re going to dig into some top stock picks for the season. After that we’ll hop on over to this week’s fundamental market events!

Easter’s impact on the market

Good Friday isn’t a universally recognised public holiday, but the markets are closed on the Friday before Easter — so there’s already some impact for you right there.

Historically, the stock market has risen following Easter weekend. Since 1989, in the week following Easter, the S&P 500 has seen a positive return 60% of the time.

So, statistically speaking, Easter is a stock market egg-stravaganza!

Top stocks for Easter

Okay, so — shock — confectionary and flower companies will likely be the biggest winners. Let’s see who stands to do well specifically.

1. Hershey (HSY)

Price 01.01: 226.93 USD

Price 10.03: 237.74 USD

YTD performance: +4.76%

Easter 2022 performance: +4.98%

Source: Google

Well, this one needs little introduction. Hershey is one of the largest and most recognisable confectionary companies on the planet, with $10.4 billion of sales in 2022 (+16% YoY). It owes those sales to the huge brand recognition it has cultivated since being founded in 1894.

Hershey has had a strong year so far, with stock rising almost 5% since the start of January.

To show how important Easter is for the company, last year, stock rose 4.98% in the week leading up to Easter alone. Such figures make HSY definitely one to watch.

2. Mondelez (MDLZ)

Price 01.01: 66.25 USD

Price 10.03: 64.90 USD

YTD performance: -2.04%

Easter 2022 performance: +3.46%

Source: Google

One of Hershey’s many competitors is the more international brand, Mondelez. The company has even mightier sales figures, scoring net revenues of a whopping $31 billion in 2022 (+9.7% YoY).

It’s been a stuttery start to the year for Mondelez International, with the stock price dipping by over 2% over the last 3 months. The company is blaming high inflation and rising costs for its drop in sales — which sounds realistic, to be fair.

The company’s performance during Easter 2022 will likely encourage business leaders and investors alike. Could Easter ’23 help kick-start the year for the choco-champ? We’re egg-cited to see!

3. 1–800 Flowers (FLWS)

Price 01.01: 9.55 USD

Price 10.03: 9.63 USD

YTD performance: +0.84%

Easter 2022 performance: +13.63%

Source: Google

So, we tried to find a publicly listed flower company because we had a hunch that they might do well. It turns out, there aren’t actually many of them around! But, 1–800 Flowers is a good example of flower companies benefiting from this holiday.

The New-York based company has been operating since 1976. As you can see, the company had a rocky 2022, but things are looking up this year.

That spike in February was down to the company receiving investment from Russell Investments Inc., who bought up 145,980 shares in the company. Gulp!

Easter 2022 was a boom for 1–800 Flowers, with the company’s stock climbing over 13.5% in the week preceding the big day. The company will be hoping it’s stellar 2023 will continue to be in bloom come April!

Will you be trading more than eggs this Easter?

What do you make of our list? Will you be trading anything else? Let us know by tweeting us at @_contentworks.

Top fundamental events week commencing 13.03.23

Let’s see what’s coming up this week..

Monday

No major events are planned.

Tuesday

● AUD — Westpac Consumer Confidence Index (MAR)

● GBP — Employment Change (DEC); Unemployment Rate (JAN)

● USD — Core Inflation Rate YoY (FEB); Inflation Rate YoY (FEB)

Wednesday

● USD — Retail Sales MoM (JAN); PPI MoM (FEB)

● NZD — GDP Growth Rate YoY (Q4)

Thursday

● AUD — Employment Change (FEB); Unemployment Rate (FEB)

● USD — Building Permits Prel (FEB)

● EUR — ECB Interest Rate Decision; ECB Press Conference

Friday

● EUR — Core Inflation Rate YoY Final (FEB)

● USD — Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel (MAR)

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Speak soon!

The Contentworks team