As November kicks off, JPMorgan added Alphabet to its list of favorite stocks. Every month, the bank updates its analyst focus list. This includes top ideas from JPMorgan analysts aligned with the growth, income, value and short investment strategists. The bank's changes follow a strong October, propped up by robust quarterly earnings results from major tech giants such as Amazon . The S & P 500 added 2.3% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 4.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.5%, notching its sixth positive month for the first time since 2018. Still, an ongoing government shutdown — and fears that this may hinder a December rate cut — loom in the background. November's additions to JPMorgan's focus list included Alkami and both share classes of Alphabet. On the other hand, the bank removed LegalZoom and Scholar Rock from its basket. Shares of Alphabet ended October nearly 16% higher, rising almost 3% on Thursday after posting third-quarter results that beat across the board. "AI is driving expansion across the digital search ecosystem & monetization potential while Google Cloud growth continues to accelerate, and the durable reengineering of costs help offset elevated capex spending," JPMorgan wrote as rationale for the add. Last Thursday, Alkami Technology reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $16 million, above the $13.6 million analysts polled by FactSet had penciled in. However, the company's $113 million revenue fell short of the expected $113.6 million. Shares of the digital banking solutions provider fell 8% on Friday and 18% for the month of October. However, JPMorgan applauded the company's record number of customer implementation and annual recurring revenue growth.
