Are these the best robotics stocks and ETFs to watch?
The robotics industry has seen tremendous growth as a result of innovation in artificial intelligence and machine learning. With a plethora of robotics stocks and ETFs to trade or invest in, what are the best ones to watch?*
Robotics stocks and ETFs: what you need to know
The applications of robotics span across various industries and sectors, offering solutions for continuous improvement. For decades, the world has been moving towards digital channels and solutions within organisations and throughout life in general.
This technological revolution has had an emphasis on automation in the operations of a growing number of robotics firms; less human intervention has meant increased efficiency in products and services. Machines such as computers and autonomous vehicles are just some of the inventions that have been developed over time.
The demand for fast, reliable and efficient technology is growing rapidly - and you can get exposure to the sector through a wide range of robotics stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
How to trade or invest in robotics shares and ETFs
You can trade or invest in robotics shares and ETFs with us. While shares can give you exposure to an individual company, ETFs give you broader opportunities through tracking the prices of a collection of robotics-related stocks.
Trading robotics stocks and ETFs
- Speculate on the price of robotics stocks and ETFs rising or falling
- Leverage your exposure
- Take shorter-term positions
- Hedge your portfolio
- Trade without owning the underlying asset
- Open tax-efficient positions1
Investing in robotics stocks and ETFs
- Buy and sell underlying robotics stocks and ETFs
- Invest tax-free with a stocks and shares ISA1
- Focus on longer-term growth
- Build a diversified portfolio
- Take ownership of the underlying asset
- Gain voting rights and dividends (if paid)
Depending on which direction you think the share price will move in, you can go long or short when trading, and buy or sell when investing.
You’ll use leveraged derivatives such as CFDs when trading robotics stocks and ETFs. Trading with leverage means that you can take your position without committing the full value of your trade upfront. You’ll only pay a deposit, called margin. While leverage decreases your initial outlay, your possible profits or losses will be magnified to the full value of the trade.
When trading, you’ll:
- ‘Buy’ (go long) if you think that the share price will rise
- ‘Sell’ (go short) if you think that the share price will drop
Leverage is not available on investments, meaning that you’ll commit the full value upfront when buying the underlying asset.
You’ll profit if the share price is higher when you sell than what it was at the onset of your investment. You can also receive dividend payments if they are granted by the company or if you own an ETF that tracks dividend stocks. If the share price is lower than what you bought your shares or ETF for, you’ll take a loss. However, a loss will not exceed your initial outlay as it is capped at the full value of your investment.
Learn more about the differences between trading and investing
With us, you can get exposure to robotics stocks and ETFs in these steps:
- Decide between robotics company shares or ETFs
- Choose whether to trade or invest
- Open an account or log in and go to our platform
- Place and monitor your trade
Tesla
Tesla is among the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap of over $600 billion (May 2021). The company’s focus on sustainable energy underpins its production of electric cars, as well as the generation and storage of clean energy that it provides for both homes and businesses.
Manufacturing at Tesla relies, to a large extent, on the company’s innovative, self-sufficient robotics system. Tesla’s extensive use of automation is said to improve safety and quality of work.2 With its Autopilot Level 2 autonomous driving system, new Tesla cars have self-driving capabilities.
iRobot
iRobot is a global consumer robot company that specialises in autonomous cleaning devices. The company’s robots are not only designed to take care of the cleaning in households, but they can also communicate with one another and smart home systems.
Despite the effects that Covid-19 has on businesses around the world, iRobot reported an 18% revenue increase of $1.4 billion in 2020 compared to its $1.2 billion 2019 revenue.
Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical develops and manufactures cutting-edge robotics technology for healthcare procedures. Its da Vinci surgical system, which enables minimally invasive surgeries, was launched over 20 years ago. Since then, it has been used to perform over five million surgeries by around 44,000 surgeons around the world.
Between 2011 and 2019, Intuitive Surgical’s revenue grew at an 11% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Even though there was a decline in surgeries in 2020, which led to a revenue drop, Intuitive Surgical’s 2021 revenue is estimated to rise by 17% above its 2019 levels.3
Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies specialises in manufacturing machinery and computers that mark, track and print barcodes, receipts, and more. The company services the healthcare, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, hospitality and retail industries. At the end of quarter one (Q1) 2021, the company reported net sales of $1.3 million, a 28% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
In May 2021, Zebra Technologies announced that it acquired Adaptive Vision, with graphical machine vision software solutions. Adaptive Vision’s software solutions enable quality inspection and track-and-trace capabilities – capturing the status of goods and assets through the value chain.
Cognex
Cognex provides machine-vision technologies, which automates vision-related tasks. Cognex’s vision-guided robotics can be used in barcode reading and verification, as well as manufacturing of medications, car wheels and tires, and mobile phones.
Despite the hard-hitting financial effects of Covid-19 to individuals and companies across the globe, Cognex experienced an increase in business. This was due to the heightened demand for online purchases and services, which Cognex caters to with its barcode reading, machine vision, robotics and deep learning technologies. The company reported a 43% increase in revenue from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021, with a 241% net income increase.
Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF
Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF tracks the performance of companies specialising in, or have operations related to, robotics and automation. This stock index ETF focuses on intelligent systems and transformative innovation.
Lyxor Robotics & AI UCITS ETF
The Lyxor Robotics & AI UCITS ETF aims to track Rise of the Robots NTR Index, a benchmark index tracking 150 stocks. These global stocks are robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) related. An annual review of the stocks weigh each according to research and development (R&D) expenditure on net sales, return on invested (ROI) capital, and three-year sales growth.
Why do people trade and invest in robotics stocks and ETFs?
- Robotics is a remarkable growth industry as automation has become an integral part of day-to-day living
- Flexibility in gaining exposure to either a single company or a selection of companies via an ETF
- Wide range of opportunities as new, innovative products enter the marketplace
- Traders can take a position without owning the underlying asset
Robotics shares and ETFs summed up
- There are countless robotics applications across industries
- Robotic capabilities increase speed, efficiency and reliability, and therefore productivity and output, resulting in an increased demand for the latest and greatest technologies
- Robotics shares give you exposure to an individual company, while robotics ETFs give you broader exposure by tracking the prices of a collection of related stocks
- You can trade or invest in robotics stocks and ETFs with us
Create an account to get started
Footnotes:
* The robotics shares and ETFs listed on this page are not necessarily the best ones – they are popular stocks and ETFs to watch
1 Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK
2 Interesting Engineering, 2018
3 Seeking Alpha, 2021
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