Bernstein says these ‘sticky’ stocks are immune to the whims of earnings season and long-term buys

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Earnings season has kicked off amid an unprecedented and volatile time in financial markets. But certain stocks react less to earnings results making them likely less volatile in this current environment, according to Bernstein. 

The first batch of quarterly earnings showed the COVID-19 outbreak is taking a toll on corporate profits.  

But stocks with the highest levels of what Bernstein calls "sticky" ownership have experienced more muted reactions to both earnings beats and misses than other stocks based on data since 2014. Stocks with high sticky ownership are owned heavily by passive investors, who are generally holding the position for the longer-term and less worried about quarter-to-quarter results. 

"These types of investors are less likely (than active institutional investors) to pay close attention to quarterly earnings reports and either can't or generally don't trade based on the latest print," Bernstein quantitative analyst Ann Larson said in a note to clients. 

One of the stock's of Bernstein's list is Procter & Gamble, which reported quarterly earnings on Friday showing a 10% surge in U.S. sales thanks to Americans stocking up amid the coronavirus shutdown. Despite this, the stock is up less than 0.5% in premarket trading.

Bernstein screened for the S&P 500 stocks with the highest amount of sticky ownership, that are set to report over the next two weeks. These stocks are less volatile following their earnings beat or miss.

Here's the list. 

Source: cnbc.com