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5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength to Maximize Your Gains

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U.S. stock markets have witnessed rangebound trading in the past two weeks. Investors seem confused about the movements of the market. The primary reason is that the U.S. economy is currently facing a dichotomy. At present, the positive factors and the negative factors carry equal weight. This makes market participants decisions tough.

Several measures of inflation continued to decline in March but remained higher than the Fed’s 2% target. The resilient labor market has shown cracks. The hourly wage rate increased 4.2% year over year in March, reflecting its lowest monthly gain since June 2021.

A series of weak economic data for the last two months clearly indicated that Fed’s rate hike started delivering the desired results. The central bank has already said that it is approaching the end of the current rate hike cycle. The terminal interest rate is projected at 5.125%, indicating just one 25 basis -points rate hike.

A section of market participants and financial researchers are concerned that a probable recession later this year will hurt Wall Street to a large extent. A sharp drop in consumer spending, especially in retail sales, a devastated housing sector, weak manufacturing and services data and the recent softness in the resilient labor market might lead to a recession in the near-term.

Despite the dichotomy, several stocks have shown price strength. We have selected five that are likely to gain in the near term backed by a favorable Zacks Rank. These companies are — Riley Exploration Permian Inc. (REPX - Free Report) , Harrow Health Inc. (HROW - Free Report) , Crawford & Co. (CRD.B - Free Report) , Tecnoglass Inc. (TGLS - Free Report) and Lantheus Holdings Inc. (LNTH - 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: 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 19.

Let’s discuss five out of these 19 stocks:

Riley Exploration is an independent oil and natural gas company. REPX is involved in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids principally in the Permian Basin.

The stock price of REPX has jumped 36.6% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 60% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 6.3% over the last 30 days.

Harrow Health an eyecare pharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of ophthalmic therapies. HROW offers ImprimisRx, an ophthalmology outsourcing and pharmaceutical compounded medications. HROW also provides IHEEZO, a chloroprocaine hydrochloride ophthalmic gel; ophthalmic medicines, including IOPIDINE and MOXEZA and MAXITROL eye drops.

The stock price of Harrow Health has climbed 34% in the past four weeks. It 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 30 days.

Crawford is the world's largest independent provider of diversified services to insurance companies, self-insured corporations, and governmental entities. CRD.B operates through four segments: North America Loss Adjusting, International Operations, Broadspire, and Platform Solutions.

CRD.B provides claims management and outsourcing solutions for carriers, brokers, and corporations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Latin America.

The stock price of Crawford has surged 20% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 22.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 7.5% over the last 60 days.

Tecnoglass is engaged in manufacturing and selling architectural glass and windows and aluminum products for the residential and commercial construction industries. TGLS operates primarily in North, Central and South America.

The stock price of TGLS has appreciated 13% in the past four weeks. Tecnoglass has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.4% for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 9.7% over the last 60 days.

Lantheus Holdings is involved in developing, manufacturing, selling and distributing diagnostic medical imaging agents and products for the diagnosis of cardiovascular and other diseases. LNTH serves to hospitals, clinics, group practices, integrated delivery networks, group purchasing organizations, radiopharmacies and wholesalers.

The stock price of Lantheus Holdings has advanced 12.6% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 12.7% over the last 60 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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