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5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength for a Steady Portfolio

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This year, U.S. stock markets have witnessed their worst first-half in more than five decades. The 40-year high inflation owing to the complete devastation of the global supply-chain system and shortage of manpower, a higher interest rate regime, tight monetary control by the Fed, concerns regarding the U.S. economic slowdown and a possible recession in the near term are the key reasons for the extreme volatility in stock markets.

These sources of volatility are persisting. Therefore, Wall Street is likely to remain volatile in the third quarter too. The geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine that started on Feb 24 is continuing. The Chinese economy is yet to return to normalcy after witnessing the largest outbreak of COVID-19 infections in first-half 2022. These two are the main hindrances to the global supply-chain system.

Despite the market mayhem in the first of 2022, a handful of stocks have shown price strength recently. These stocks are likely to gain in the near term buoyed by a favorable Zacks Rank. Five of them are — USA Truck Inc. , Franklin Covey Co. (FC - Free Report) , ProPhase Labs Inc. (PRPH - Free Report) , Daqo New Energy Corp. (DQ - Free Report) and The Chefs' Warehouse Inc. (CHEF - Free Report) .

Here’s How We Arrived at the Picks

We have primarily targeted stocks that have freshly been on a bull run. Stocks seeing price strength recently have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.

If a stock is continuously witnessing an uptrend, there must be a solid reason or it would have probably crashed. So, looking at stocks capable of beating the benchmark that they have set for themselves seems rational.

However, recent price strength alone cannot create magic. Therefore, other relevant parameters are needed to create a successful investment strategy.

Here’s how you should create the screen to shortlist the current as well as the potential winners.

Screening Parameters:

Percentage Change in Price (4 Weeks) greater than zero: This criterion shows that the stock has moved higher in the last four weeks.

Percentage Change Price (12 Weeks) greater than 10: This indicates that the stock has seen momentum over the last three months. This lowers the risk of choosing stocks that may have drawn attention due to the overwhelming performance of the overall market in a very short period.

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

Average Broker Rating 1 or 2: This indicates that brokers are also highly hopeful about the stock’s future performance.

Current Price greater than 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.

Current Price/ 52-Week High-Low Range more than 85%: This criterion filters stocks that are trading near their respective 52-week highs. It indicates that these are strong enough in terms of price.

Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to a mere eight.

Let’s discuss five out of these eight stocks:
 
USA Truck operates as a truckload carrier in the United States, Mexico and Canada. USAK operates in two segments, Trucking and USAT Logistics. The Trucking segment offers motor carrier services as a medium-haul common and contract carrier and freight services. The USAT Logistics segment provides freight brokerage, logistics and intermodal rail services.

The stock price of USA Truck has soared 100.2% in the past four weeks. USAK has an expected earnings growth rate of 59.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 15.8% over the last 60 days.

Franklin Covey is an international learning and performance solutions company dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of individuals and organizations. FC provides consulting services, training and education programs, educational materials, publications, assessment and measurement tools, implementation processes, application tools and products designed to empower individuals and organizations to become more effective.

The stock price of Franklin Covey has jumped 31.2% in the past four weeks. FC has an expected earnings growth rate of 26% for the current year (ending August 2022). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 39.1% over the last 30 days.

ProPhase Labs is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of a diversified range of homeopathic and health products that are offered to the general public. PRPH operates in two segments, Diagnostic Services and Consumer Products. ProPhase Labs offers a range of OTC dietary supplements, including Legendz XL for male sexual health and Triple Edge XL, an energy and stamina booster.  

The stock price of PRPH has climbed 27.9% in the past four weeks. ProPhase Labs has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved more than 100% over the last 60 days.

Daqo New Energy is engaged in the manufacture and sale of high-quality polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. DQ’s products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions.  

The stock price of Daqo New Energy has surged 18.7% in the past four weeks. DQ has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 9.9% over the last 60 days.

The Chefs' Warehouse is a distributor of specialty food products in the United States. CHEF is focused on serving the specific needs of chefs who own or operate restaurants, fine dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools and specialty food stores.

The Chefs' Warehouse’s product portfolio includes artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, hormone-free protein, truffles, caviar, and chocolate. It also offers cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk and flour.

The stock price of CHEF has advanced 14% in the past four weeks. The Chefs' Warehouse has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 5.6% over the last 30 days.

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.

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