One of the most complex parts of investing is determining which companies to focus on. There are hundreds of investment options within the FTSE for every potential strategy, so it’s essential to select the best shares to analyse. I often find that looking at the companies that investors are searching for most often can point me in the right direction.
For that reason, I looked at the top-10 most-searched-for investments. These are companies that UK-based investors looked at over the last 24 hours, so may include a company suitable for my portfolio. This list outlines companies that have piqued the interest of investors and could highlight an investment opportunity.
Cineworld Group
The first company on the list was Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE), a cinema operator in the UK and US. The company’s share price soared yesterday, rising over 270% at its peak and finishing the day up 170%. This dramatic share price move followed developments in Cineworld’s bankruptcy filings after entering into Chapter 11 protection in September.
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This development now means that the company can take steps to improve its financial position. It aims to borrow an additional $150m and make a massive $1bn debt repayment. Clearly, this significant step in the underlying financials has drawn much attention to the share. The considerable rise over the last two days will likely keep attention on the company for the foreseeable future.
However, despite this sudden investor interest, the share price is still down over 80% in 2022, even after falling 50.1% in 2021 and 70.7% in 2020. For this reason, I would not want to add the company to my portfolio. Cineworld has a long journey ahead before achieving financial stability.
GSK
The second-most popular share that drew my attention was GSK (LSE: GSK). This company is one of the largest pharmaceutical providers in the world, with a significant market share in the US. It released third-quarter results on 2 November, which is likely to have driven a lot of interest in the share. The figures showed a considerable increase in turnover, up 18% from the previous year. However, pre-tax profit fell by 15% due to increased expenses in 2022.
GSK also reiterated its expected full-year dividend and announced a range of new developments in its older-adult vaccine product. These developments are on top of strong underlying fundamentals, with significant profit margins and comfortable earning efficiency.
Nonetheless, the company has struggled with share price performance over the last year, down 10.4%. This comes after a strong 2021, when the price grew by almost 20%, so these positive results may signal that the share will be favoured by the market once again.
I am keen to watch GSK over the next few months. These results are certainly encouraging, although the fall in pre-tax profit could become an issue if this trend continues. I would not add the company to my portfolio at this stage, but I intend to monitor this share through to 2023.
