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Zacks.com featured highlights include CarParts.com, TravelCenters of America, Clearfield, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Ladder Capital.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 1, 2022 – Stocks in this week’s article are CarParts.com, Inc. (PRTS - Free Report) , TravelCenters of America Inc. , Clearfield, Inc. (CLFD - Free Report) , Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (ARI - Free Report) and Ladder Capital Corp (LADR - Free Report) .

New Analysts Initiate Coverage: Top 5 Stocks to Buy

New analyst coverage unearths extensive data on stocks for investors. Analysts are privy to vital information that is crucial for making investment decisions. Hence, they are much relied on, as the lack of information creates chances of misinterpretation (over- or under-valued).

CarParts.com, Inc., TravelCenters of America Inc., Clearfield, Inc., Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. and Ladder Capital Corp are a few stocks that have witnessed new analyst coverage lately. These, therefore, are expected to attract investor attention.

Analysts don't add a stock to their coverage randomly. New coverage on a stock is usually the result of huge investor focus on it or its promising prospects.

Interestingly, stocks typically see an incremental upward price movement with new analyst coverage compared to what they witness with the continuation of existing analyst coverage. Of course, the price movement depends on recommendations from new analysts. Positive recommendations — Buy and Strong Buy — lead to a significant positive incremental price reaction than Strong Sell, Sell or Hold recommendations.

If an analyst gives a new recommendation on a company that has limited or no analyst coverage, investors start paying more attention to it. Also, any new information attracts portfolio managers to build a position in the stock.

One should preferably look for the average change in broker recommendation rather than a single recommendation change. Then again, an upgrade, initiation or even increased coverage is equally important.

Keeping this in mind, it's a good strategy to focus on the number of analyst recommendations that have increased over the past few weeks.

Below, we have selected five stocks that have seen increased analyst coverage over the last few weeks.

Here are five out of the 10 stocks that passed the screen:

CarParts.com: Based in Torrance, CA, CarParts operates as an online provider of aftermarket auto parts and accessories.

PRTS currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The stock has risen 12% over the past month, outperforming the industry's 3.6% rise. Loss estimates for 2023 have narrowed to 5 cents per share from 12 cents per share over the past 30 days, depicting analysts' optimism about the company's prospects. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

TravelCenters of America: Based in Westlake, OH, TravelCenters of America operates travel centers, truck service facilities and restaurants.

TA currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The stock has lost 2.9% year to date versus the industry's 19.4% growth. That said, earnings estimates for 2023 have increased to $4.67 per share from $4.10 per share over the past 30 days, depicting analysts' optimism about the company's prospects.

Clearfield: Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield designs and manufactures the FieldSmart fiber management platform, which includes its latest generation Fiber Distribution System and Fiber Scalability Center.

CLFD currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The stock has gained 46.8% year to date compared with the industry's 28.4% growth. Earnings estimates for fiscal 2023 have increased to $4.95 per share from $3.60 per share over the past 30 days. The estimated figure calls for 39.4% growth from the year-ago period.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance: Based in New York, this company operates as a real estate investment trust focused on investing in, acquiring and managing senior performing commercial real estate mortgage loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities, commercial real estate corporate debt and loans, and other real estate debt investments.

ARI currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has gained 3.2% over the past three months against the industry's 13.3% decline. Earnings estimates for 2023 are expected to witness 4.1% year-over-year growth.

Ladder Capital: Ladder Capital is a New York, NY-based commercial real estate finance company.

LADR stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The stock has lost 8.4% year to date compared with the industry's 32.1% decline. Earnings estimates for 2023 have increased to $1.18 from $1.15 per share over the past 30 days. The estimated figure calls for 4.4% growth from the year-ago period.

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.

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2023635/new-analysts-initiate-coverage-top-5-stocks-to-buy

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.

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Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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