The main financial stocks to watch today

The hype surrounding various other industries due to today’s tech boom is easily justified. However, it’s easy to overlook the fundamentally healthy industries of the stock market. A great example of this would be financial stocks. After all, finance is an integral part of our daily life. We use the industry on a daily basis without realizing it sometimes. For example, we make purchases with credit or debit cards, pay bills electronically, or even apply for mortgages and loans. Not to mention that financial companies are also stepping up their efforts to integrate technology to improve their services.

For example, we have seen Citigroup (NYSE: C) teaming up with Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) to re-imagine the way data flows in its financial services transactions. Citigroup hopes to provide frictionless solutions for post-trade processes across the industry. In addition to this, we have also seen Paypal funds (NASDAQ: PYPL) acquires Paidy, a leading two-sided payment platform and provider of Buy It Now, Pay On Pay (BNPL) solutions in Japan. BNPL has been a popular payment option lately and Paypal seems to show a firm intention to be at the forefront of providing such services. With all that said and done, do financial stocks look like an attractive industry to invest in right now? If you share the same sentiment, here is a list of financial stocks to help you navigate the stock market today.

Best financial stocks to buy[Or Sell] Today

American Express

To kick off the list, we have the financial services company, American Express. Essentially, the company provides charge card and credit card payment products and travel related services around the world. Its simple but efficient payment network operates through healthy relationships with third-party banks and other institutions. Investors appear to have been bullish on AXP stock this year, with the stock rising more than 40% since the start of the year.

Recently, the company announced a partnership with Extend, a financial technology company specializing in virtual cards. Their partnership aims to expand virtual card solutions for businesses in the United States Today, more and more businesses are looking to digitize their payment processes and increase the use of contactless payments. Hence, the adoption of virtual cards has also increased, as they are said to help meet the timely needs of many businesses. This ranges from developing a reliable way to control spending to automating payment processes.

AXP stock has also received a helping hand from Bank of America analyst Mihir Bhatia. He upgraded the American Express stock to “neutral“of”underperform”In view of a more attractive valuation. So he has now raised his price target from $ 150 to $ 169. He justified this by pointing out the potential benefit of improvements in corporate travel spending that could occur next year. Taking these considerations into account, do you share the same sentiment on the AXP share?

Source: TD Ameritrade CGU

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JPMorgan Chase

As one of the leading financial services companies, JP Morgan does not require any introduction. Well, despite being the heavyweight it already is in the financial world, the company continues to strive for excellence. JPM stock has risen over 65% in the past year.

For example, JP Morgan announced earlier this week that it has acquired Frank. The Company is the fastest growing college financial planning platform helping millions of students and their families manage their finances. Frank now serves more than 5 million students at more than 6,000 higher education institutions across the country. With Frank, the company now offers a unique opportunity to deepen engagement with students. As a result, she can now begin to build lasting relationships with her clients from an early age.

In addition, the company also launched its new digital bank in the UK under the Chase brand earlier this week. Chase is the largest consumer bank in the United States and provides a wide range of financial services to more than 60 million American households. The Chase checking account will launch with a rewards program offering 1% cash back on all eligible debit card spending for 12 months. This is designed to adapt to UK consumer spending habits to ensure that all customers can benefit equally. With all of these exciting developments in place, would you add JPM stocks to your portfolio?

Source: TD Ameritrade CGU

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Robinhood Markets

Subsequently, we will examine Robin Hood. Many are familiar with its trading app which has gained a lot of attention in recent years. Through its app, users can invest in stocks, exchange traded funds, options and cryptocurrencies. HOOD stock jumped 10.85% during Wednesday’s trading session. So let’s see what was the catalyst for this movement.

It appears investors have responded positively to the company’s announcement that it will provide a crypto wallet to clients. This is a service that its customers have been asking for for a year. The crypto wallet will allow its clients to send and receive crypto assets from its platform. Similar to the way the company treats stock transactions, it will not charge a fee for buying and selling crypto.

So, wouldn’t you say Robinhood will have a competitive edge in crypto when it uses 0% transaction fees associated with a digital wallet? Of course, this new feature would carry risks for its customers and there’s a good chance Robinhood will change the way users interact with its platform. Nevertheless, many see it as a positive development in the right direction. With that in mind, would you consider jumping on the HOOD stock bandwagon?

Source: TD Ameritrade CGU

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Goldman Sachs Group

Last but not least, we have Goldman Sachs. The company offers a range of financial services to a diverse clientele. These would include companies, financial institutions, governments and individuals. GS stock has steadily increased over the past year, more than doubling its price during the period.

A week ago, the company announced the acquisition of a fintech lender Green sky (NASDAQ: GSKY). The deal is reportedly valued at $ 2.24 billion as Goldman Sachs invests more in consumer credit. By tapping into consumer credit, this is a huge opportunity outside of its historic realm of investment banking, commerce, and wealth management for the rich.

Over the past few years, the company’s strategy has been to launch its digital bank, Marcus. What Marcus offers his clients are high yield savings accounts, loans and credit cards. Looking at the big picture, GreenSky would certainly help Marcus grow his loan product offerings and ultimately his overall user base. Goldman Sachs also believes GreenSky will provide an opportunity to capture a $ 430 billion home improvement market. So, would these new developments be enough to sway your opinion of the GS stock?

Source: TD Ameritrade CGU

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.