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Zacks.com featured highlights include MINDBODY, TearLab, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Children's Place, Franklin Electric

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 3, 2017 - Stocks in this week’s article include MINDBODY Inc. (Nasdaq:  – Free Report), TearLab Corporation (Nasdaq: (TEAR - Free Report)  – Free Report), Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:  – Free Report), The Children's Place Inc. (Nasdaq: (PLCE - Free Report)  – Free Report), Franklin Electric Company (Nasdaq: (FELE - Free Report)  – Free Report).

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research by:

Step Beyond Bargain Hunting: 5 Stocks with Rising P/E

Hunting for value is an age-old and widely used investing trick. Investors believe that lower the P/E, the higher will be the value of the stock.  The logic is simple — a stock’s current market price does not justify its higher earnings and therefore leaves room for upside.

But there is more to this whole P/E story as not only low P/E, stocks with a rising P/E can also fetch solid returns.

Rising P/E: An Useful Tool

Generally, the price of a stock rallies on a rise in earnings. As forecasts for expected earnings move higher, demand for the stock should drive its price. After all, a stock's P/E gives an indication of how much investors are ready to shell out for every dollar of earnings. Thus, if the P/E of a stock is rising steadily, it means that investors are pinning their hopes on the company’s inherent strength.

Also, studies have revealed that stocks have seen their P/E ratios jump over 100% from their breakout point in the cycle. So, if you can pick stocks early in their breakout cycle, you can end up seeing considerable gains.

The Winning Strategy

In order to shortlist stocks that are exhibiting an increasing P/E, we chose the following as our primary screening parameters.

EPS growth estimate for the current year is greater than or equal to last year’s actual growth

Percentage change in last year EPS should be greater than or equal to zero

(These two criteria point to flat earnings or a growth trend over the years.)

Percentage change in price over four weeks greater than the percentage change in price over 12 weeks

Percentage change in price over 12 weeks greater than percentage change in price over 24 weeks

(These two criteria show that price of the stock is increasing consistently over the said timeframes.)

Percentage price change for four weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500

Percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 24 weeks relative to the S&P 500

(Here, the case for consistent price gains gets even stronger as it displays percentage price changes relative to the S&P 500.)

Percentage price change for 12 weeks is 20% higher than or equal to the percentage price change for 24 weeks, but it should not exceed 100%

(A 20% increase in the price of a stock from the breakout point gives cues of an impending uptrend. But a jump of over 100% indicates that there is limited scope for further upside and that the stock might be due for a reversal.)

In addition, we place a few other criteria that lead us to some likely outperformers.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Only companies with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) can get through.

Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: High trading volume implies that the stocks have adequate liquidity.

Just these few criteria narrowed down the universe from over 7,700 stocks to just 19.

Here are five out of the 19 stocks:

MINDBODY Inc. (Nasdaq: – Free Report): This is a developer of cloud-based business management software and payments platform for the wellness services industry. The stock belongs to a Zacks Industry Rank in the top 30%. It carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

TearLab Corporation (Nasdaq: (TEAR - Free Report) – Free Report): This is an ophthalmic device company, carrying a Zacks Rank #2. The stock belongs to a Zacks Industry Rank in the top 35%.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: – Free Report): This is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The stock belongs to a Zacks Sector Rank in the top 40% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Children's Place Inc. (Nasdaq: (PLCE - Free Report) – Free Report): This specialty retailer of apparel and accessories for children belongs to a Zacks Industry Rank in the top 32%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.

Franklin Electric Company (Nasdaq: (FELE - Free Report) – Free Report): This company is one of the world's largest manufacturer of submersible electric motors and a key producer of engineered specialty electric motor products. The Zacks Sector Rank is in the top 40%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

Zacks Restaurant Recommendations: In addition to dining at these special places, you can feast on their stock shares. A Zacks Special Report spotlights 5 recent IPOs to watch plus 2 stocks that offer immediate promise in a booming sector. Download it free »

Sign up now for your free trial today and start picking better stocks immediately. And with the backtesting feature, you can test your ideas to see how you can improve your trading in both up markets and down markets. Don’t wait for the market to get better before you decide to do better. Start learning how to be a better trader today: https://at.zacks.com/?id=111

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine.  But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112

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Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros.  In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time!Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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