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5 Mid Caps Set to Beat on Earnings Today After Market Close

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The first-quarter 2021 earnings season is in full swing, delivering highly impressive results. Five mid-cap ( market capital > $1 billion < $10 billion) stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank are set to beat earnings estimates today after the closing bell. These stocks provided more than 15% returns last quarter. Investment in these stocks is likely to provide a solid upside in the near future.

Mid Caps in Q1 At a Glance

Aside from large-cap and small-cap stocks, mid caps witnessed a strong rally in first-quarter 2021. The three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — rallied 7.8%, 5.8% and 2.8%, respectively. The two small-cap centric indexes — the Russell 2000 and the S&P 600 — jumped 12.4% and 17.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, the mid-cap specific  S&P 400 climbed 13.1% in the same period.

In the first quarter, corporate revenues and profits across the board were boosted by aggressive nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, a faster-than-expected reopening of the economy, unprecedented fiscal stimulus injected by the government and an extremely accommodative Fed.

Robust Q1 Earnings Results So Far

The first-quarter 2021 earnings season started with much vigor. As of May 4, 343 S&P 500 companies reported results. Total earnings of these companies were up 49.2% year over year on 10.6% higher revenues, with 87.5% of companies surpassing EPS estimates and 78.1% beating on revenues.

For the first quarter as a whole, total earnings of the S&P 500 companies are expected to be up 44.1% from the same period last year on 9.1% higher revenues. These estimates compare favorably with the 20.4% jump in earnings on 5.6% higher revenues projected at the beginning of the reporting cycle.

Our Top Picks

We have narrowed down our search to five mid-cap stocks each of which carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are anticipated to appreciate after their earnings releases. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

The chart below shows price performance of our five picks in the last quarter.

 

Fox Factory Holding Corp. (FOXF - Free Report) is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of suspension products used primarily on mountain bikes, side-by-side vehicles, on-road vehicles, off-road vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, specialty vehicles and applications and motorcycles.

The Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +7.41% for first-quarter 2021. Fox Factory Holding has an expected earnings growth rate of 19.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the last 7 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 27.1%, on average.

Revolve Group Inc. (RVLV - Free Report) operates as an online fashion retailer for consumers in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, REVOLVE and FORWARD.

This Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +7.61% for first-quarter 2021.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.4% over the last 7 days. Revolve Group has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 286.9%, on average.

Franchise Group Inc. operates as a retailer, franchisor operator and acquirer of franchised and franchisable businesses. It operates through four segments: Liberty Tax, Buddy's, Sears Outlet and Vitamin Shoppe.

The Zacks Rank #1 company has an Earnings ESP of +4.02% for first-quarter 2021. Franchise Group has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 52.1% over the last 60 days.

Funko Inc. (FNKO - Free Report) is a pop culture consumer products company that designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products in the United States, China, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. This Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +9.70% for first-quarter 2021.

Funko has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.2% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 117.3%, on average.

Synaptics Inc. (SYNA - Free Report) is a leader in designing and marketing human interface solutions such as touchpads for notebook computers, capactive touch screen controllers for handsets and biometric fingerprint sensors for mobile devices. This Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +1.60% for third-quarter fiscal 2021.

Synaptics has an expected earnings growth rate of 29.1% for the current year (ending June 2021). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.5%, on average.

Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?

Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.

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