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Beat the Market Like Zacks: AMN Healthcare, Boeing, Clorox, Home Depot in Focus

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The three most widely followed indexes posted a losing week despite making gains on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.9% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished 0.2% and 1.6% lower, respectively.

The markets fell throughout the week in the apprehension of a 100-basis-point hike in interest rates in the next Fed meeting, which can push the economy into a recession. The multi-decade high inflation and disappointing earnings reports from major banks make the market’s prospects look bleak. Friday’s rebound, however, came on the back of strong consumer sentiment data, retail sales numbers, and the Fed’s assurance that it is considering only a 75 basis point hike this month.

Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market.  

Zacks Research guided investors last week with its time-tested methodologies as usual. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.

Here are some of our key achievements from last week:

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. Stock Gains on Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (AMN - Free Report) gained 3.8% since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on July 9. The rating upgrade was primarily driven by an upward trend in earnings estimates, one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices. A company's changing earnings picture is at the core of the Zacks rating.  

For AMN, the consensus EPS estimate of $10.41 for the current year has been revised up 2.8% over the past two months.

Rising earnings estimates and the consequent Zacks Rank upgrade for AMN imply an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors have started showing their appreciation for this improving business trend by pushing the stock higher.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +24.8% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>

Check AMN Healthcare’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

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Zacks Focus List Model Portfolio Stock The Boeing Company Shoots Up   

Shares of The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have shot up 6.2% over the past week. The Zacks Focus List is a model portfolio of 50 hand-picked stocks that possess the right fundamental ingredients to outperform the market over the next 12 months. These 50 stocks are picked from a long list of stocks with the highest Zacks Rank.

Boeing was added to the Focus List on March 23, 2020, at $95.01 per share. The stock has gained 55.5% since then to close the last trading session at $147.74.

Since its inception on February 1, 1996, the Focus List portfolio has delivered an annualized return of +12.9%.

Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>

Zacks ECAP Stock Clorox Provides Solid Gains

The Clorox Company (CLX - Free Report) , a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), surged 5.2% last week. ECAP is a model portfolio of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy and Hold stocks.  

With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, the ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.

In terms of last week’s returns, Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO - Free Report) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) followed Clorox with 4.8% and 4.3% gains, respectively.

The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.

Zacks ECDP Stock Home Depot Witnesses Steady Growth

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) , which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), jumped 2.1% last week. Investors looking to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility by investing in quality dividend stocks led to this performance. Check Home Depot’s dividend history here>>>

With an extremely low Beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk. The ECDP has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL - Free Report) .

Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.  

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