Exiting the second quarter of 2023, the level of under-ownership of mega-cap tech stocks by institutional investors remained relatively stable at -82 basis points (bps), according to Morgan Stanley analysts.

On the other hand, the remaining portion of the large-cap tech industry experienced a slight increase of +20 basis points (bps) over the same timeframe. Morgan Stanley routinely monitors ownership information for 15 leading tech companies with the highest market capitalization as part of its coverage in U.S. technology equity research, quarterly.

Regarding individual stocks, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has taken the lead over Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) as the most underrepresented large-cap tech stock close to the second quarter.

“After 4 years of being the most under-owned large cap tech stock we track, MSFT has ceded its position to AAPL, which is now the most under-owned tech stock as of C2Q23, as the gap between AAPL’s S&P 500 weighting and institutional ownership increased by 91bps in 2Q, to -2.21%, the most in any quarter in at least 15 years,” said analysts in a note.

Apple is followed by Microsoft (-2.17%), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) (-0.47%), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) (-0.20%), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (-0.19%).

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) over-ownership gap has reached its widest point in almost a decade.

“Amongst the 5 mega-cap tech stocks, META is the only name where institutional ownership is greater than its S&P 500 weighting,” analysts added.