The FTSE 100 finished the second quarter of 2021 up almost 11%. Here are some of the best and worst performers of 2021 to date based on share price.
FTSE 100 top performers
Former state-owned Royal Mail is up a huge 62% as I write. This has been primarily driven by the pandemic which has seen a rise in online shopping deliveries.
Other prominent risers across the FTSE 100 were Ashtead Group which has risen 52% to date. Entertain, BT Group, and Kingfisher have all seen an increase of 40% or more since the beginning of 2021.
Royal Mail, BT, and Kingfisher all came into the pandemic period trading close to long-term lows. This was not the case for Ashtead or Entain, which have seen huge progression and gains in their US businesses.
Ashtead has surged over 2,000% from under £1 to over £20 in the past decade alone. The construction and equipment hire group experienced a dip when the pandemic first started but has now surpassed the 5,500p per share mark.
Entain impressively wiped off last year’s losses by January. It experienced an all-time share price high in January and has continued to climb since.
Other top FTSE 100 risers include Glencore, Johnson Matthey, and Evraz. These stocks have all regained the levels and momentum they had prior to the pandemic and crash.
FTSE 100 worst performers
I find there are a diverse bunch of companies on the other side of the coin, interestingly.
There are companies exposed to online shopping and ordering trends such as Ocado Group and Just Eat. Cyber security firm Avast is in this group too. Gaming giant Flutter Entertainment also resides on this list.
Atop the worst performer list was precious metals miner Fresnillo. Since a two-year high last summer, a struggle to ramp up projects has seen its share price tumble.
It is worth remembering that this list is based purely on share price performance in 2021 to date, so doesn’t say anything about what happens next. I like a couple of the stocks above for my portfolio, including Avast.
My portfolio
The reason for a share price rising could be attributed towards positive trading or an acquisition amongst other things. This can drive up the share price and investor confidence.
On the other side of the coin, share prices can fall when results aren’t perhaps what the market was expecting, or a there’s rise in debt among other bad news and events.
I personally don’t just look at a share price when deciding what companies to invest in for my portfolio. But it is one of the first components I examine. Following the example of Warren Buffett, I do my research and due diligence. As well as the share price, I look at financials, trading history, market commentary, and news. I make an informed decision based on all of these factors and more.
