Don't expect the market's hottest stocks to cool down any time soon
The influence of the group - consisting of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google - can be felt daily, whether that means giving indices additional upward momentum, or exacerbating losses.
And even though they're getting more expensive all the time, there are undeniable signals flashing that FANG has further to climb.
"We believe simply that these four stocks represent a large portion of the growth opportunities within large-cap tech, and six months ago all the valuations were quite reasonable," a group of Canaccord Genuity analysts led by Michael Graham wrote in a client note. "We still largely believe in the growth, but the valuations are a bit less obvious. That said, we still believe the group should reward investors."
Canaccord notes that while tech may look expensive compared to the past three years, it's still reasonably priced based on historical standards - particularly when compared to the dotcom bubble era.
Valuation aside, perhaps the most compelling argument for prolonged FANG dominance is just how few other stocks can offer similar growth potential. Out of 21 large-cap tech stocks with projected 2017 organic sales growth greater than 15%, four of them are FANGs, according to data compiled by Canaccord.
That elite company gets even more scarce in 2018, with just eight other stocks offering 15% projected revenue expansion for the year, the firm said.
Canaccord also finds FANG attractive on a more granular, fundamentals-driven basis. The firm sees the group continuing to get support from four key areas: digital advertising, digital video consumption, e-commerce and cloud services.
Video consumption in particular checks all the boxes for each of the four companies. While Netflix and Amazon are already two of the foremost providers of digital video content, even getting nominated for multiple Academy Awards each, Facebook and Google have also made significant investments in the space.
However, FANG, and to a broader extent the tech sector, will continue to take lumps as it climbs higher over time. For evidence of this, look no further than the weakness in the Nasdaq seen on Thursday.
When the market gets spooked, the outsized impact FANG has on major indexes can be felt on the downside. The group also came under fire last Friday amid wider tech weakness, and the losses carried into this week.