When seasoned investors gather for CNBC's "Halftime Report Final Trades," you get a snapshot of where smart money is positioning itself. Wednesday's lineup offered a mix of strategies, from betting on financial services to playing the commodity rebound.
Joe Terranova, senior managing director for Virtus Investment Partners, went with Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF), delivering a straightforward thesis: volatility isn't disappearing anytime soon. For a wealth management and brokerage firm, that's actually good news. When markets get choppy, trading volumes spike and advisory services become more valuable.
The call comes as TD Cowen analyst Bill Katz maintained his Hold rating on Raymond James on Wednesday while bumping the price target from $180 to $187. The stock closed up 3% at $172.27 during the session, still leaving room to the analyst's updated target.
Stephen Weiss, chief investment officer and managing partner of Short Hills Capital Partners, took the classic defensive route with SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which edged up 1% on Wednesday. Nothing says "I'm hedging" quite like gold.
Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer of NB Private Wealth, broadened the commodity play with iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM), which rose 0.9% during the session. It's a bet on the building blocks of the economy, from metals to chemicals.
But perhaps the most specific call came from Kari Firestone, co-founder of Aureus Asset Management, who named CNX Resources Corporation (CNX), a natural gas producer. Her reasoning? Natural gas prices have climbed 10% over the past year, and CNX offers an inexpensive entry point to play that trend. The stock dipped 0.8% to close at $35.98 on Wednesday.
CNX Resources is scheduled to report fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday, January 29. Analysts are expecting earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $427.49 million. That report could provide the next catalyst for Firestone's thesis.
