We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Best Stocks to Buy in August: AI-Boosted CECO for 70% Upside
Key Takeaways
The Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) air pollution control leader's natural gas business is booming on AI demand.
CECO's orders jumped 97% in Q1. It's projected to double its revenue and EPS between 2025 and 2027.
CECO is down 33% and is finding technical support heading into its Q2 release on August 6.
Investors looking to buy some of the best stocks to start August should consider Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) air pollution control, water treatment, and energy transition solutions technologies leader CECO Environmental (CECO - Free Report) .
The industrial emissions specialist is projected to more than double its revenue and its adjusted earnings between 2025 and 2027. CECO’s business is thriving as it rides the AI-driven natural gas boom and the broader capex-heavy investment cycle driving the economy right now.
CECO’s orders jumped 97% in the first quarter, with its backlog up 72% to $1.04 billion, fueled by its “largest ever order in the Natural Gas Power market.”
CECO stock has skyrocketed 875% over the last five years as it rides the AI-driven energy and capex megatrend.
Yet investors can buy CECO stock down ~33% from its June highs heading into its Q2 earnings release on Thursday, August 6, as it attempts to find support at key technical ranges.
Buy this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Stock Now for Long-Term Upside
CECO Environmental builds specialized equipment to clean up air pollution, treat water, and make industrial processes run cleaner and more efficiently.
It designs and manufactures equipment such as air filters, scrubbers, and much, much more to help an array of critical industries reduce emissions, manage wastewater, improve energy efficiency, and beyond.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The industrial emissions specialist’s core business is focused on power plants and heavy industry. CECO is expanding as the power-hungry AI data center arms race, reshoring, and a wave of capital-heavy economic expansion creates a once-in-a-generation megatrend.
The Texas-based industrial company is expanding its reach via acquisitions. CECO completed its “strategic combination” with Thermon Group Holdings on June 1. The deal added an industrial technology company and a global leader in industrial process heating solutions.
The explosion in AI data centers is creating massive demand for more electricity, with U.S. demand set to soar ~100% by 2050. AI hyperscalers from Meta to Microsoft are making deals to buy as much reliable natural gas as possible to power their AI ambitions.
The natural gas boom is helping CECO because its portfolio helps new and existing power facilities meet strict environmental rules while staying reliable and efficient.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CECO also serves high-growth areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, battery production, nuclear power, and much more. “We continue to secure strategic, large-scale projects to enable natural gas power generation expansion in support of a tremendous global investment in electrical power demand for data centers, artificial intelligence computing, industrial reshoring and electrification,” CEO Todd Gleason said in prepared Q1 remarks.
The AI-boosted industrial stock easily doubled its revenue between 2021 and 2025, including 39% YoY growth in 2025. Its orders soared 97% in the first quarter to $449.5 million, with its backlog up 72% to $1.04 billion, boosted by CECO’s “largest ever order in the Natural Gas Power market.”
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The pollution control company is projected to grow its revenue by 66% in 2026 and 37% next year to reach $1.77 billion, up from $774.4 million in 2025.
Better yet, CECO is expected to boost its adjusted earnings by 121% in 2026 and another 47% next year to more than double its EPS from $0.89 a share in 2025 to $2.89 per share in 2027.
CECO’s upward EPS revisions earn the stock its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Its most accurate Q2 estimate is 30% above consensus, and it beat our Q1 estimate by 200%.
The stock has skyrocketed ~860% over the last five years as it rides the AI-driven energy and capex boom, blowing away its highly-ranked Pollution Control industry’s 40%. This run has CECO stock up 620% in the past decade to more than double the S&P 500’s 270%.
Investors who missed this run can buy CECO down ~33% from its June highs heading into its Q2 earnings release on Thursday, August 6.
The stock found support near 50-week and 200-day moving averages to close July. It is also now trading at some of its lower RSI levels over the past decade after floating near some of its most overbought earlier this year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CECO’s average Zacks price target implies 70% upside from its current levels, and six of the seven brokerage recommendations Zacks has are “Strong Buys.” Its fall, mixed with its impressive EPS growth outlook, has it trading at a ~50% discount to its highs at 26.3X forward 12-month earnings.
Investors might want to take a starter position on CECO before its release given the potential volatility the stock faces.
Any larger potential near-term pullback would likely mark a great chance to buy the strong AI-boosted industrial pollution control stock at an even more attractive level.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Shutterstock
Best Stocks to Buy in August: AI-Boosted CECO for 70% Upside
Key Takeaways
Investors looking to buy some of the best stocks to start August should consider Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) air pollution control, water treatment, and energy transition solutions technologies leader CECO Environmental (CECO - Free Report) .
The industrial emissions specialist is projected to more than double its revenue and its adjusted earnings between 2025 and 2027. CECO’s business is thriving as it rides the AI-driven natural gas boom and the broader capex-heavy investment cycle driving the economy right now.
CECO’s orders jumped 97% in the first quarter, with its backlog up 72% to $1.04 billion, fueled by its “largest ever order in the Natural Gas Power market.”
CECO stock has skyrocketed 875% over the last five years as it rides the AI-driven energy and capex megatrend.
Yet investors can buy CECO stock down ~33% from its June highs heading into its Q2 earnings release on Thursday, August 6, as it attempts to find support at key technical ranges.
Buy this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Stock Now for Long-Term Upside
CECO Environmental builds specialized equipment to clean up air pollution, treat water, and make industrial processes run cleaner and more efficiently.
It designs and manufactures equipment such as air filters, scrubbers, and much, much more to help an array of critical industries reduce emissions, manage wastewater, improve energy efficiency, and beyond.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The industrial emissions specialist’s core business is focused on power plants and heavy industry. CECO is expanding as the power-hungry AI data center arms race, reshoring, and a wave of capital-heavy economic expansion creates a once-in-a-generation megatrend.
The Texas-based industrial company is expanding its reach via acquisitions. CECO completed its “strategic combination” with Thermon Group Holdings on June 1. The deal added an industrial technology company and a global leader in industrial process heating solutions.
The explosion in AI data centers is creating massive demand for more electricity, with U.S. demand set to soar ~100% by 2050. AI hyperscalers from Meta to Microsoft are making deals to buy as much reliable natural gas as possible to power their AI ambitions.
The natural gas boom is helping CECO because its portfolio helps new and existing power facilities meet strict environmental rules while staying reliable and efficient.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CECO also serves high-growth areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, battery production, nuclear power, and much more. “We continue to secure strategic, large-scale projects to enable natural gas power generation expansion in support of a tremendous global investment in electrical power demand for data centers, artificial intelligence computing, industrial reshoring and electrification,” CEO Todd Gleason said in prepared Q1 remarks.
The AI-boosted industrial stock easily doubled its revenue between 2021 and 2025, including 39% YoY growth in 2025. Its orders soared 97% in the first quarter to $449.5 million, with its backlog up 72% to $1.04 billion, boosted by CECO’s “largest ever order in the Natural Gas Power market.”
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The pollution control company is projected to grow its revenue by 66% in 2026 and 37% next year to reach $1.77 billion, up from $774.4 million in 2025.
Better yet, CECO is expected to boost its adjusted earnings by 121% in 2026 and another 47% next year to more than double its EPS from $0.89 a share in 2025 to $2.89 per share in 2027.
CECO’s upward EPS revisions earn the stock its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Its most accurate Q2 estimate is 30% above consensus, and it beat our Q1 estimate by 200%.
The stock has skyrocketed ~860% over the last five years as it rides the AI-driven energy and capex boom, blowing away its highly-ranked Pollution Control industry’s 40%. This run has CECO stock up 620% in the past decade to more than double the S&P 500’s 270%.
Investors who missed this run can buy CECO down ~33% from its June highs heading into its Q2 earnings release on Thursday, August 6.
The stock found support near 50-week and 200-day moving averages to close July. It is also now trading at some of its lower RSI levels over the past decade after floating near some of its most overbought earlier this year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CECO’s average Zacks price target implies 70% upside from its current levels, and six of the seven brokerage recommendations Zacks has are “Strong Buys.” Its fall, mixed with its impressive EPS growth outlook, has it trading at a ~50% discount to its highs at 26.3X forward 12-month earnings.
Investors might want to take a starter position on CECO before its release given the potential volatility the stock faces.
Any larger potential near-term pullback would likely mark a great chance to buy the strong AI-boosted industrial pollution control stock at an even more attractive level.