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3 of the Best Breakout Stocks to Buy for Superb Returns

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Active investors are always searching for breakout stocks, or in other words, looking for stocks whose prices are fluctuating within a specific band. It’s prudent to offload the stocks if it falls below the lower bound of this band. Similarly, once the stock breaks above this channel, it has all the chance of delivering strong gains.

Spotting Breakout Stocks

The first step to selecting the right breakout stocks is to calculate their support and resistance levels. A support level is the lower bound for stock movements, while a resistance level refers to the maximum price it trades over a considerable period.

In other words, the demand for a stock is at its lowest at its support level, which means most traders are willing to sell it. At the resistance level, most traders are willing to go long on the stock, meaning they would like to add them to their portfolio. The key to identifying breakout stocks is to pin down those on the verge of a breakout or those that have just broken above the resistance level.

Verifying Whether It’s for Real

Stocks that have breached their resistance level should ideally be in high demand among traders. But the test of whether this is a genuine breakout is whether they attain higher prices and the old barrier becomes new support. This is why it is important to determine whether a long-term price trend is about to emerge.

Only a study of long-term trends can determine whether the existing trading channel has been breached effectively. This indicates the strength of the support or resistance levels. If you can identify the effective channel for a stock, picking it even at a not-so-reasonable price would give you significant returns.

Screening Criteria

Percentage price change over four weeks between 10% and 20% (Stocks which are showing considerable price increases, but whose gains are not excessive.)

Current Price /52-Week High greater than or equal to 0.9 (Stocks which are trading 90% close to their 52-week highs.)

Zacks Rank less than or equal to #2 (Only Strong Buy and Buy rated stocks can get through.)

No matter whether the market is good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Beta for 60 months less than or equal to 2
(Stocks which move by a greater degree than the broader market but within a reasonable limit.)

Current price less than or equal to $20 (Stocks which are reasonably priced.)

These criteria narrow down the universe of more than 6,853 stocks to only eight. Here’re the top three stocks:

International Money Express (IMXI - Free Report) offers wire transfer and other processing services to customers through a network of sending and paying agents located primarily in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as well as throughout Latin America. International Money Express currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is nearly 15%.

Marten Transport (MRTN - Free Report) is a long-haul truckload carrier providing protective service and time-sensitive transportation in the United States. Marten Transport currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 15.7%.

OFS Capital (OFS - Free Report) is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. It is engaged in providing capital to North American middle-market companies. OFS Capital currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 21%.

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 backtest them first before taking the investment plunge.

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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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