Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Beat the Market the Zacks Way: Oracle, NVIDIA, Kimberly-Clark in Focus

Read MoreHide Full Article

The three most widely followed indexes closed the second consecutive winning week to start 2023 with gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite made massive strides, rising 4.8% in the week, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2.7% and 2%, respectively.

Economic indicators released through the week, especially the consumer price index, which is considered the benchmark for inflation, were assuring. The numbers could even lead to the Fed pausing its interest rate hikes this year.

The markets have acted positively in the hope of avoiding an economic slowdown. The fourth-quarter earnings season has also commenced, and it remains to be seen whether this positivity holds in the near term.

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

As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. 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:

Fury Gold Mines, Air France-KLM Soar Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of Fury Gold Mines Limited (FURY - Free Report) have surged 58% since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on October 31.

Another stock, Air France-KLM SA (AFLYY - Free Report) , was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on November 1,  and has returned 23% since then.

Zacks Rank, our short-term rating system, has earnings estimate revisions at its core. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.  

This stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 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 stocks here >>>

Check Fury Gold Mine’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Check Air France-KLM’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Recommendation Upgrade Drives Rayonier and Bank7 Higher 

Shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM - Free Report) and Bank7 Corp. (BSVN - Free Report) have surged 47.5% and 6.3% since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on November 1 and November 2, respectively.

While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.

To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>>

Zacks Focus List Model Portfolio Caterpillar, NVIDIA Skyrocket

Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have soared 35.9% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on April 18, 2017. Another Focus-List holding, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) , which was added to the portfolio on May 20,2019, has returned 35.6% over the past 12 weeks. 

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.

Since its inception on Feb 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 Stocks Novo Nordisk, Oracle Rapidly Advance

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO - Free Report) , a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), jumped 30.8% over the past 12 weeks. Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) followed Novo Nordisk with 22.7% returns.

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.

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 Stocks Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark Outperform Peers

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) , which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 20.2% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB - Free Report) , has climbed 20.1% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid the heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.

Check Home Depot’s dividend history here>>>

Check Kimberly-Clark’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.  

Published in