Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2022 that the Senate would soon vote on a bill banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. However, as the final days of 2023 near, Democrats no longer control the House, Pelosi is no longer House Speaker and there has still been no vote on banning congressional stock trading.
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Members of Congress are currently allowed to buy and sell individual stocks as long as they disclose their trades within 45 days. Stock traders on social media platforms have clamored for a Nancy Pelosi stock tracker in recent years thanks to the strong returns both she and her husband, financier Paul Pelosi, have generated on certain trades. Here are Nancy Pelosi’s eight most recent stock purchases, which also include trades made by her husband:
— Apple Inc. (ticker: AAPL)
— Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)
— Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
— Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
— AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)
— Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
— PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL)
— American Express Co. (AXP)
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
The iPhone maker is the most valuable public company in the U.S. market with a market capitalization of $2.7 trillion. Pelosi purchased 10,000 shares of Apple stock by exercising Apple call options back in January 2022. In May 2022, Pelosi added to her Apple stake by buying 100 Apple call options with a strike price of $80 expiring in March 2023. Just days later, Pelosi disclosed an additional purchase of 50 Apple call options with an $80 strike price expiring in June 2023. In June 2022, Pelosi sold 50 Apple call options with a $100 strike price prior to their June 17 expiration. In March 2023, Pelosi exercised the Apple call options she bought in May of last year, purchasing 10,000 more shares of Apple stock.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)
Alphabet is the parent company of Google and YouTube and is a global leader in online advertising. In September 2022, Pelosi purchased 20,000 shares of Alphabet’s Class C shares (these are non-voting shares trading under the ticker symbol “GOOG”) by exercising 200 call options. Pelosi had purchased those call options back in December of 2021. Between the time of the option purchase and the time she exercised them, Alphabet’s share price dropped 27.4%. In December 2022, Pelosi sold 30,000 shares of Alphabet’s Class A shares (voting shares with the ticker symbol “GOOGL”), but she is still holding onto the Class C shares for now. The stock is up 35.9% since Pelosi exercised her options.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft is one of the world’s largest professional software and cloud services providers. In May 2022, Pelosi purchased 50 Microsoft call options with a $180 strike price expiring in June 2023. Since Pelosi disclosed her Microsoft purchase, the stock is up 27.9%. Pelosi’s husband Paul also recently upped his stake in Microsoft, exercising 50 call options and purchasing 5,000 shares of MSFT stock — more than $1.5 million worth — in June. In July, Microsoft reported Azure cloud revenue growth slowed from 27% to 26% in the fiscal fourth quarter, and the company issued quarterly revenue guidance that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The stock is still up about 38% in 2023 through Oct. 23.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
Tesla is the most valuable U.S. electric vehicle maker with a market cap of roughly $700 billion. In March 2022, Pelosi purchased 2,500 shares of Tesla by exercising 25 call options with a strike price of $500, a transaction worth $1.25 million. Pelosi had purchased those call options way back in December 2020. Between the time the purchase was disclosed and the time she exercised the options, Tesla’s share price climbed 41.4%. In December 2022, Pelosi sold 5,000 shares of Tesla at a more than $511,000 loss. Tesla shares are down about 12% since she originally exercised her options in March 2022. As long-term shareholders can tell you, the buy and hold strategy has paid out extremely well over time; a $10,000 investment in the TSLA IPO would have you sitting on well over $1 million in 2023.
[Does Congress Have an Insider Trading Problem?]
AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB)
AllianceBernstein is a leading investment manager. Pelosi made several AB stock trades in the past several years. In December 2020, she bought 20,000 shares. In February 2021, she made two additional purchases of AB stock totaling 40,000 shares. She purchased another 10,000 shares in January 2022. Most recently, Pelosi dumped 20,000 shares of AB stock in December 2022 for a $11,510 loss. The stock has lagged the S&P 500 and generated a total return of just 11% since Pelosi’s December 2020 purchase. It’s also down another 13% so far in 2023.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
Walt Disney is a diversified media and entertainment company that operates theme parks, movie and television studios, cruise lines and other businesses. Disney also owns the Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu streaming services. Pelosi purchased 10,000 shares of Disney in January 2022 by exercising 100 Disney call options with a strike price of $100. In September 2022, Pelosi reported that 50 Disney call options she purchased in 2021 expired worthless. In December 2022, Pelosi sold 10,000 shares of DIS stock at a $114,138 loss. Since she exercised her Disney call options in January 2022, the stock is down 37%.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL)
PayPal is a digital and mobile payments platform. In January 2022, Pelosi exercised 50 call options with a strike price of $100 to purchase 5,000 shares of PayPal. Pelosi had previously disclosed two large purchases of at least $750,000 in PayPal stock in June 2020. Pelosi’s PayPal investment performed terribly in 2022. In December of last year, Pelosi sold 5,000 of her PYPL shares for a $424,313 loss. PayPal’s woes have continued so far in 2023, and the stock is now down 65% overall since Pelosi exercised her PayPal call options in January 2022. While Pelosi has done well over the years in the stock market, it doesn’t mean that she’s immune from the occasional big loss.
American Express Co. (AXP)
American Express is a financial services company that specializes in credit cards and travel-related services. In January 2022, Pelosi purchased 5,000 shares of American Express by exercising 50 call options with an $80 strike price. Pelosi previously purchased at least $100,000 in AXP stock back in June 2020. American Express shares are up 61% since Pelosi made her large 2020 purchase, but down 2.7% since she added to her stake in January 2022. Pelosi is in good company in owning American Express given it’s also one of the largest holdings of billionaire investing legend Warren Buffett.
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8 Top Nancy Pelosi Stocks to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 10/24/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
