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Negative Beta Stocks (2024)

Negative beta stocks tend to move in the opposite direction of the stock market.

A negative beta indicates an investment moves in the opposite direction of the stock market.

Beta is a calculation that measures relative volatility of a stock in relation to a benchmark, typically the S&P 500. A stock with a beta of 1.0 has the same degree of price swings as the stock market in general.

If a stock moves in the same direction as but half as much as the S&P 500, it will have a beta of 0.5. These are usually safer, more-established companies that are less affected by daily news.

Stocks with negative beta move inversely to the S&P 500. A stock with a negative beta will increase in price when the market decreases, and decrease in price when the market increases.

If stock ABC has a beta of -1.0 and the S&P 500 decreases by 1%, stock ABC has historically increased by about 1%.

Some investments, like gold and bonds, are considered “safe-haven” investments. Investors use these asset classes to protect their capital when the stock market turns sour. This gives these types of assets negative betas.

Since almost all stocks move with the market, negative beta stocks are anomalies.

Stocks with negative betas may be meme stocks, or have significant business outperformance during a bear market or significant business underperformance in a strong economic climate.

Some investors use lists of stocks with a negative beta to identify stocks that are trading strangely. Identifying these stocks early could provide an edge.

For example, if stock XYZ is increasing daily throughout a bear market, it may be a good sign investors are anxious to buy the stock because of exceptional business fundamentals. Buying into XYZ early could result in massive returns.