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Here's How to Find Great Momentum Stocks to Buy Right Now

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Now that the debt-ceiling nerves are behind Wall Street, more investors are paying attention to the fact that Nvidia, Meta, and several other mega-cap tech stocks have propped up what’s been a dull performance from the wider S&P 500 so far this year.

But this shouldn’t turn off investors because it means that many strong stocks that should prove to be solid buy-and-hold investments are trading at attractive levels right now.

On top of that, the bulls appear to remain in rather firm control, with the S&P 500 now right on the cusp of a new official bull market. Meanwhile, the VIX continues to hit new 52-week lows.

Yet, the possibility of more near-term uncertainty for stocks that have underperformed YTD might mean investors want to buy stocks that have already proven themselves during the rather wild first five months of 2023.

The screen we explore today helps investors find Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks that also boast strong upward price momentum.

Screen Basics

The screen we are looking into today comes loaded with the Research Wizard. The screen helps investors dig through all of the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, of which there are over 200 at any given time, to find some of the top momentum names.

The screen narrows down the list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocksto those with upward price momentum that are also trading within 20% of their 52-week highs. The screen then uses the PEG ratio and the Price to Sales ratio to help make sure investors are getting value as well. The screen then makes your life a little easier and narrows it down to just seven stock picks.

The screen basics are listed below…

·       Zacks Rank = #1 (Strong Buy)

·       Current Price/52-week High >= 0.8

·       PEG Ratio: P/E F(1)/EPS Growth <= 1

·       Price/Sales <= 3

·       Percentage Change Price -12 Weeks = Top # 7

This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and it is called bt_sow_momentum_method1 It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.

The screen is pretty simple, yet powerful. Here are two of the seven stocks that made it through this week's screen…

VirTra ((VTSI - Free Report) )

VirTra is a pioneer in virtual reality-based training for de-escalation, judgmental use-of-force, marksmanship, and related training that mimic real-world scenarios. VirTra’s offerings are used to help law enforcement, military, security personnel, and more train as well as possible to handle real-world situations.

The global provider of judgmental use of force training simulators, firearms training simulators, and beyond has been in business for roughly 30 years. VirTra topped our Q1 earnings and revenue estimates in mid-May, highlighted by a 440% bottom-line beat.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

VirTra’s bottom-line positivity helps it land a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now. Zacks estimates call for VTSI to post 16% sales growth this year and another 15% next year. Meanwhile, its adjusted earnings are projected to climb by 150% and 16%, respectively.

VirTra shares have climbed over 550% in the last 10 years. The stock has also skyrocketed 80% in the last three months. Despite the run, VTSI still trades around 65% below its average Zacks price target. VirTra’s surge over the last several months has it back above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and it completed the bullish golden cross in mid-June.

Vertiv Holdings Co ((VRT - Free Report) )

Vertiv provides critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions from the cloud to the edge of the network. The firm aims to help its clients deal with critical issues facing data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial facilities through its portfolio of power, cooling, and IT infrastructure solutions and services. Vertiv topped our Q1 earnings and revenues estimates in late April, which included a big 42% bottom-line beat.

Vertiv’s improved earnings outlook helps it land a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with both its FY23 and FY24 consensus estimates up 10% since its reports. Plus, Vertiv’s FY24 bottom-line outlook has climbed even higher recently. Zacks estimates call for VRT’s revenue to climb 15% this year and 6% in 2024 to help boost its adjusted earnings by 134% and 17%, respectively.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Vertiv stock has roughly matched the Zacks Tech Sector over the last three years. But VRT has blown away the tech space in the past 12 months, up 75% vs. 11%. This outperformance features a roughly 60% surge since its impressive earnings release. VRT is trading near fresh 52-week highs, but it still trades solidly below its 2021 records to give it potentially much more room to run before it finds resistance. And VRT is trading at a 40% discount to the Zacks Tech sector at 15.5X forward 12-month earnings.   

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

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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/.


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