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New Analysts Initiate Coverage: 3 Stocks to Watch

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New analyst coverage is highly beneficial for investors, providing them with comprehensive data on stocks that is crucial for making informed investment decisions. Analysts possess access to vital information, and their insights are invaluable in preventing misinterpretation and potential misvaluation of stocks.

Recently, several stocks, including Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI - Free Report) , Fortrea Holdings Inc. (FTRE - Free Report) and Cricut, Inc. (CRCT - Free Report) , have attracted the attention of analysts, signaling potential value and growth opportunities for investors.

Analysts don't randomly choose which stocks to cover. Their decision is typically driven by significant investor interest or promising prospects associated with a particular stock.

An interesting observation is that when stocks receive new analyst coverage, they often experience gradual upward price movements compared to those already covered by analysts. The magnitude of this price movement is influenced by the recommendations made by the new analysts. Positive recommendations like "Buy" and "Strong Buy" tend to result in more substantial positive price reactions than "Strong Sell," "Sell," or "Hold" recommendations.

When an analyst provides a new recommendation for a company with limited or no prior analyst coverage, investors pay increased attention to the stock. Additionally, portfolio managers may become interested in building positions in such stocks due to the fresh information.

Rather than focusing solely on a single recommendation change, it is advisable to consider the average change in broker recommendations. Upgrades, initiations, and increased coverage by multiple analysts carry equal significance in assessing a stock's potential.

To create a prudent investment strategy, it's worthwhile to concentrate on the number of analyst recommendations that have increased in recent weeks. This approach can offer valuable insights into the overall sentiment and potential trajectory of a stock, helping investors make well-informed decisions.

Screening Criteria

Number of Broker Ratings now greater than the Number of Broker Ratings four weeks ago (this will shortlist stocks that have recent new coverage).

Average Broker Rating less than Average Broker Rating four weeks ago (“less than” means “better than” four weeks ago).

Increased analyst coverage and improving average rating are the primary criteria of this strategy but one should also consider other relevant parameters to make it foolproof.

Here are the other screening parameters:

Price greater than or equal to $5 (as a stock below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most investors).

Average Daily Volume greater than or equal to 100,000 shares (if the volume isn’t enough, it will not attract individual investors).

Here are three out of the six stocks that passed the screen:

Intrepid Potash: Based in Denver, CO, this company remains engaged in the extraction and production of potash in the United States and internationally. The company’s shares have gained 19% in the past three months against the industry’s 0.7% decrease.

IPI – a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company — currently flaunts a VGM Score of A. This helps to identify stocks with the most attractive value, growth and momentum. Although earnings estimates for 2023 have declined, the same for 2024 increased to 65 cents per share from a loss estimate of 16 cents over the past 60 days. This depicts analysts’ optimism about the company. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Fortrea: This Durham, NC-based company provides clinical development and patient access solutions to the life sciences industry. After completing its spin-off from Labcorp, Fortrea became an independent public company and began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Jun 30, 2023 under the ticker “FTRE.” This company is poised to drive growth prospects across phase I-IV clinical trials and patient accessibility, while further fortifying its presence in the fields of oncology, clinical pharmacology, and collaborative partnership models. The company’s shares have gained 7.1% in the past month, comparing favorably with the industry’s 0.6% increase.

FTRE – a Zacks Rank #3 company — surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last reported quarter by 33.3%. The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at $1.36 for 2023 and $1.45 for 2024. For 2024, the consensus estimate implies 6.6% year-over-year growth.

Cricut: Located in South Jordan, UT, this firm specializes in crafting and promoting a creativity platform, empowering individuals to transform their concepts into polished, artisanal products.

CRCT shares have underperformed the industry so far this year. Nonetheless, the estimated earnings figure indicates 46.2% year-over-year growth for 2024. It currently flaunts a VGM Score of B.

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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Intrepid Potash, Inc (IPI) - free report >>

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