Cisco, Intel Only Dow Stocks Still Up YTD: CNBC

Just two stocks of the 30 in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJIA) are positive since the market topped out in late January, CNBC noted on Wednesday. "Believe it or not," legacy tech titans Intel Corp. (INTC) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) are carrying the group amid a larger market meltdown that has beaten down shares of some of 2017's hottest tech names, host Eric Chemi said.

The blue-chip index, comprised of 30 U.S.-based companies, gained 0.4% as of Wednesday afternoon at 23,945.72, reflecting a 3.3% decline year-to-date (YTD) and a 15.6% gain over the most recent 12 months. For comparison, the S&P 500 index, trading nearly flat on Wednesday at 2,615.67, is down 2.2% in 2018 and has increased 10.9% over the past year. 

While stocks such as financial leader Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and jet maker Boeing Co. (BA) had been responsible for nearly all of the Dow's gains YTD as of just two weeks back, recent worries over protectionist trade policies from the Trump White House and regulatory uncertainty have injected a wave of volatility into the market. 

'Old Tech' Reinvented

Michael Bapis, partner and managing director at the Bapis Group at HighTower Advisors, during the cable channel's "Trading Nation" segment, highlighted that it has been just two decades since Intel and Cisco were the "new leaders of the technology revolution." He sees "more room to grow" for the "value stocks," driven by an uptick in enterprise spending on their products. "You're going to see that continue assuming they reinvent themselves every 12 to 18 months to keep up with this ever-changing technology world," he added. Bapis noted that San Jose, California-based networking giant Cisco trades at 15.5 times forward earnings, while Intel trades at 14.2 times, compared to the Nasdaq Composite Index's average multiple at 21.6. 

The only two positive Dow stocks since the market top have something in common from CNBC.

Matt Maley, equity strategist at MillerTabak, spoke to the potential for further upside in Intel shares, making his case on a technical basis. While Intel lagged for the most of 2017 while its tech peers rallied, the stock started to pick up the fourth quarter and into 2018. On January 26, when the Dow last broke a new record, Intel stock broke above the the $50 level, a break that Maley indicates is also significant in the longer term dating to 2007. 

Notably this week, Dow component General Electric Co. (GE) saw its stock receive a much needed break on rumors that Warren Buffett may consider swooping in to help the company execute its desperately needed transformation.