7 Most Googled Stocks of this month – Tesla, Apple, AstraZeneca, Afterpay, Kogan, Commonwealth Bank, CSL

Summary

• Google search data, among other things, also indicate what investors are up to, especially when looking at stocks that are trending.
• Some of these stocks are facing strong tailwinds due to COVID-19, and the market values of these companies are making new highs frequently.
• This list features stocks from a range of sectors, including technology, healthcare, automobile and consumer goods.

In this article, we would discuss companies that are trending on Google search. These include global companies as well as domestic businesses. Some of these stocks are touching their lifetime highs, as investor sentiments towards these stocks have been positive.

Tesla, Inc.

Tesla has been flying high despite the pandemic. On Thursday, 2 July, the company reported its delivery and production numbers for the second quarter with more than 90k vehicles delivered and around 82k vehicles manufactured.

Financials would be announced along with the Company’s Q2 earnings. The American electric vehicle and clean energy company highlighted that delivery count should be viewed as conservative, as Tesla counts deliveries when all the paperwork is completed, and the vehicle is in possession of the client.

In its first quarter earnings result, the company stated that its Gigafactory Shanghai would hit rate of around 4k vehicles per week by mid-2020.

On Thursday, 2 July, Tesla shares closed at USD 1,208.66, taking its market capitalisation to approximately USD 224.05 billion.

Apple Inc.

YouTubers have got the dummy units of new iPhone 12 series, showing precise dimensions and materials used in the new series. Experts are anticipating that Apple may compromise on pricing points of new iPhones, as it launches the new series amid the pandemic.

Dummies show that iPhone 12 is 5.4 inch in size and iPhone 12 Pro Max is a 6.7-inch phone. One thing that may surprise buyers is that 5.4-inch iPhone 12 is even smaller than the recently launched iPhone SE – a compact phone by the company after a long time.

One feature that is similar to the older iPhones is the edges of the new series that are flat just like they were in iPhone 5. It is also speculated that new series will have 5G capability, which is likely to fare better as 5G penetration increases across geographies.

On Thursday, 2 July, shares of Apple Inc. closed flat at USD 364.11.

AstraZeneca PLC

British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca is among the drug makers leading the race in development of a vaccine for COVID-19. It has signed agreements with European Government to produce a maximum of 400 million dosages of its potential vaccine.

The UK Government has committed to pay for a maximum of 100 million doses and stated that 30 million vaccines would be ready by September for UK citizens. The US Government also penned a deal with the company to produce 400 million doses for the country.

Media reports suggest that the vaccine candidate of the company is in phase III trials, and testing is being conducted over 5,000 people in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Scientists are claiming that the vaccine would be useful in people with weaker immune systems.

AZD1222 was developed by AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford. World Health Organization has dubbed the candidate among the frontrunners, which also include vaccine candidates by Moderna and CanSino.

On 3 July 2020, shares of AstraZeneca opened lower in London trading at GBX 8582 at the time of writing.

Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT)

Afterpay shares have continued their marauding run since the March lows. It is perceived that small credit purchases by Afterpay users may be enough to be repaid, backed by stimulus measures across its key markets.

Last month, the company reported that Clearpay had clocked over one million active shoppers in the UK. Customer uptake in the UK has been better than in the US. In the first year, UK customers are transacting over 8 times compared to 6 times in the US.

Clearpay continues to onboard new merchants to the payment platform with a strong pipeline. Over 1,100 retailers and brands are offering Clearpay or are in the process of offering the payment service to their customers.

On 3 July 2020, APT last traded at $67.500, down by 0.968% from its previous close.

Kogan.com Limited (ASX:KGN)

Kogan.com is also having strong tailwinds from the COVID-19 environment. Consumers have been inclined to adopt the no contact shopping experience from e-commerce companies. It has also raised capital last month to provide operational flexibility, headroom to capitalise on arising inorganic growth opportunities.

Kogan is also on the list of companies trending on Google; it could be partly because consumers are looking to shop from the retailer. The company has also increased its active customer base significantly at the backdrop of COVID-19.

On 3 July 2020, KGN last traded at $15.610, down by 0.763% from its previous close.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA)

Commonwealth Bank has closed its financial year and results would be announced as reporting season approaches closer. Banks have been hit hard by the economic impact of the pandemic, and shares of the major banks are down significantly this year.

In its March quarter update, the bank noted that $1.5 billion of forward-looking credit provisions were made in relation to COVID-19. Its unaudited statutory net profit for the quarter was $1.3 billion, and cash net profit from continuing operations was $1.3 billion.

During the quarter, CBA provided support of over $9 billion to Australian businesses, and reduced repayment on home loans delivered benefits of $3.6 billion to households. In the half-year, the bank paid dividends of $3.5 billion to shareholders.

On 3 July 2020, CBA last traded at $71.570, up by 0.661% from its previous close.

CSL Limited (ASX:CSL)

Biotech giant, CSL announced two acquisitions in June. The company agreed to acquire exclusive global licence rights to commercialise an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy program from uniQure. The candidate is presently in phase III clinical trials.

ANT-061, the candidate, could be one of the first gene therapies to provide benefits to haemophilia B patients. If successful, one-time treatment through the candidate should be able to increase plasma levels and eliminate the need for additional therapies for replacement.

The company has also agreed to exercise its right to acquire Vitaeris Inc., which is developing a treatment for rejection in solid-organ kidney transplant patients. Vitaeris assets will join CSL’s products in late-stage development for the transplant community.

On 3 July 2020, CSL last traded at $297.460, up by 2.672% from its previous close.

(All currencies in AUD, unless or otherwise stated)