As Election Day approaches, some sitting U.S. politicians have been busy trading stocks. This is not unique, as certain elected officials are well known for being active traders. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has garnered a reputation for her trading habits, but many members of both the House and Senate maintain stock portfolios, as tracked by Quiver Quantitative. The market research platform’s data shows that both Democratic and Republican politicians have been taking advantage of the booming stock market.
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With the U.S. preparing for a massive political shift, investors are preparing for the turbulence that inevitably ensues when a new president is elected. But which stocks are politicians rushing to buy and sell before that happens? Let’s take a look.
Pre-Election Day Trading: Democrat and Republican Politicians
Monitoring the trading habits of elected officials can offer investors insight into which way current politicians believe the economy is headed. In late October 2024, Rep. Mark E. Green (R-TN) registered multiple sales of NGL Energy Partners (NGL), a company that operates primarily in the crude oil refining space. On October 16 and 24, he sold $50,001 to $100,000 worth of shares. This suggests that he is hedging his bets on a Harris victory, as a Trump win would be bullish for the oil and gas sector.
Since he sold, NGL stock has been struggling as the odds of winning the election have gradually shifted in Harris’s favor.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is bullish on a Trump victory. Known for her support of Trump, she spent October 2024 loading up on shares of Home Depot (HD) and Caterpillar (CAT). While these stocks have been trending downward all month, they stand to gain if Harris is elected, as her plans for addressing housing costs involve helping to build more homes.
Taylor Greene isn’t the only Republican politician who seems to be employing this strategy. C. Scott Franklin (R-GA) registered two purchases of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) stock, a company that produces construction equipment. Both trades were between $1,001 and $15,000 and were filed on September 25.
What Wall Street Says
Wall Street is mixed on the strategy of loading up on home buying stocks. While analysts maintain a Hold Consensus on both CAT and ITW, they have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 21 Buys, five Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 37% rally in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $416 per share implies 5% upside potential.
See more HD stock analyst ratings
As of now, the race to the White House is still extremely close, and predictions are shifting quickly. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq are falling as uncertainty continues to cast dark shadows over the markets. This is likely to continue until the winner is announced, which could be delayed due to ballot counting.
