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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Computer and Technology Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these earnings surprises.

Now that we know how important earnings and earnings surprises are, it's time to show investors how to take advantage of these events to boost their returns by utilizing the Zacks Earnings ESP filter.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.

Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.

When we join a positive earnings ESP with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or stronger, stocks posted a positive bottom-line surprise 70% of the time. Plus, this system saw investors produce roughly 28% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Stocks with a ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market; Strong Buy stocks should outperform more than any other rank.

Should You Consider Synopsys?

The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to quickly look at a qualifying stock. Synopsys (SNPS - Free Report) holds a #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $3.07 a share 27 days away from its upcoming earnings release on November 29, 2023.

By taking the percentage difference between the $3.07 Most Accurate Estimate and the $3.04 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Synopsys has an Earnings ESP of +0.94%. Investors should also know that SNPS is one of a large group of stocks with positive ESPs. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

SNPS is one of just a large database of Computer and Technology stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is nVent Electric (NVT - Free Report) .

nVent Electric is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on February 6, 2024. NVT's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.74 a share 96 days from its next earnings release.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for nVent Electric is $0.74, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.34%.

SNPS and NVT's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're Reported

Use the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) - free report >>

nVent Electric PLC (NVT) - free report >>

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