In one of the sharp plunges witnessed by the broader equity markets in recent times, the stocks took a sudden downtrend in the past few trading sessions, as fresh inflation data raised concerns about the Federal Reserve’s pledge for a slew of rate cuts this year. The U.S. consumer price index for January was up 0.3% month-over-month and 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. This compared unfavorably with broad-based expectations of 0.2% and 2.95, respectively.

Earlier, the Fed had pledged to cut interest rates several times in 2024 owing to a decelerating inflation trend in the later stages of 2023. However, given the recent inflationary data, the markets appear vulnerable to sudden downtrends. This, in turn, signifies that the markets need to brace for intense volatility owing to tempered expectations despite a relatively healthy U.S. economy and GDP data.

Amid the uncertainty, investors often seek to employ time-tested winning strategies to fetch sustained profits. One of the most successful game plans to beat the blues is to bet on momentum stocks when value or growth investing fails to generate the desired profits.

This approach primarily tends to follow the adage, “the trend is your friend.” At its core, momentum investing is “buying high and selling higher.” It is based on the idea that once a stock establishes a trend, it is more likely to continue in that direction because of the momentum that is already behind it. But before we delve deep into it, let us try to fathom why does the momentum strategy at all work?

There are several behavioral biases that most investors exhibit in their decision-making. And these emotional responses, or rather mistakes, make the momentum strategy work.

For example, some investors are anxious about booking losses and hence hold on to losing stocks for too long, hopeful of a rebound in prices. On the other hand, a few investors sell their winners way too early. Momentum investing is one of the best strategies to avoid making such errors in judgment.

Furthermore, investors initially tend to underreact to news, events or data releases. However, once things become clear, they have a habit of going with the flow and overreacting, causing dramatic price reactions. These behavioral problems extend trends, thus opening up huge opportunities for momentum players.

To sum up, momentum investing is a way to profit from the general human tendency to extrapolate current trends into the future. It is based on that gap in time before the mean reversion occurs, i.e., before prices become rational again.

In this context, stocks like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL Quick QuoteRCL - Free Report) , Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN Quick QuoteAMZN - Free Report) and Pinterest, Inc. (PINS Quick QuotePINS - Free Report) are worth betting on.

Momentum strategies have been known to be alpha-generative over a long period and across market stages. So, this strategy is quite tricky to implement, as detecting these trends is no child’s play.

Here, we have created a strategy to help investors get in on these fast movers and rake in handsome gains. Our screen will help you benefit from both long-term price momentum and a short-term pullback in price.

Screening Parameters

Percentage Change in Price (52 Weeks) = Top #50: This selects the top 50 stocks with the best percentage price change over the last 52 weeks. This parameter ensures we get the best stocks that have appreciated steadily over the past year.

Percentage Change in Price (1 Week) = Bottom #10: From the above 50 stocks, we then choose those that are also among the 10 worst performers over a short one-week period. This parameter picks the ones that have witnessed a short-term pullback in price.

Zacks Rank #1: Stocks sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance irrespective of the market conditions. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Momentum Style Score of B or Better: A top Momentum Style Score knocks out a lot of the screening process as it takes into account several factors that include volume change and performance relative to its peers. It indicates when the timing is best to grab a stock and take advantage of its momentum with the highest probability of success. Stocks with a Momentum Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), handily outperform other stocks.

Current Price greater than $5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.

Market Capitalization = Top #3000: We have chosen stocks that are among the top 3000 in terms of market value to ensure the stability of price.

Average 20-Day Volume greater than 100,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that these stocks are easily tradable.

Here are three stocks out of the eight that made it through this screen:

Based in Miami, Royal Caribbean primarily serves the contemporary, premium and deluxe segments of the cruise vacation industry, which also includes the budget and luxury segments. It operates 64 ships on diverse itineraries worldwide that include roughly 1,000 destinations on all seven continents. The stock has gained 54.7% in the past year but declined 3.3% in the past week. Royal Caribbean has a Momentum Score of B.

Headquartered in Seattle, WA, Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce providers with sprawling operations across the globe. Its online retail business revolves around the Prime program, which is well-supported by the company’s massive distribution network. Further, the Whole Foods Market acquisition has helped Amazon establish its footprint in the physical grocery supermarket space. The stock has gained 66.7% in the past year but declined 0.3% in the past week. Amazon has a Momentum Score of A.  

Headquartered in San Francisco, Pinterest provides a platform to show its users (called Pinners) visual recommendations (called Pins) based on their personal tastes and interests. Users then save and organize these recommendations into collections (called Boards). The company is helping advertisers reach millennials and Gen Z audience who are more active on immersive mobile platforms. The stock has rallied 40.7% in the past year but declined 13% in the past week. Pinterest has a Momentum Score of A.

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 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.