Morningstar updated the Analyst Ratings for 851 fund share classes, exchange-traded funds, and separately managed accounts/collective investment trusts in April 2021. Of these, 595 maintained their previous rating, 70 were downgrades, 56 were upgrades, 117 were new to coverage, and 13 were put under review because of material changes, such as manager departures.
Sifting out multiple share classes and vehicles, Morningstar rated 203 unique strategies in April. Of these, six received an Analyst Rating for the first time, with the rest having at least one investment vehicle type that a Morningstar analyst previously covered. Below are some highlights of the upgrades, downgrades, and funds new to coverage.
U.S. equity markets finished up in 2021’s first quarter but not without some bumps. The Morningstar US Market Index rose 6.0% for the year through March, with value leading the way for a change. The Morningstar US Small, Mid, and Large Value indexes gained 20.8%, 16.5%, and 9.3%, respectively, through March 31. Growth stocks across the market-cap spectrum, on the other hand, posted losses for the period. High-flying large-growth companies from 2020 faced challenges. Zoom Video Communications (ZM), ServiceNow (NOW), Tesla (TSLA), and MercadoLibre (MELI) each fell in the first quarter, though they still sit miles ahead of their prepandemic levels.
The year had a volatile start. The Morningstar US Market Index fell in January as titans gave back 2020 gains. A social-media-fueled frenzy launched GameStop (GME) from about $17 on Jan. 5 to a $348 Jan. 28 peak, squeezing professional investors who had been shorting the moribund retailer. Then good vaccine news, dovish interest-rate signa