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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Medical Stocks Set to Beat Earnings
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Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can't control the latter, but they can focus on a company's earnings results every quarter.
Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive 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 is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.
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 #3 (Hold) ranking, which is most stocks covered at 60%, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. But stocks that fall into the #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, 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 Molina?
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. Molina (MOH - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $5.48 a share 29 days away from its upcoming earnings release on April 24, 2024.
By taking the percentage difference between the $5.48 Most Accurate Estimate and the $5.46 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Molina has an Earnings ESP of +0.33%. Investors should also know that MOH 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.
MOH is just one of a large group of Medical stocks with a positive ESP figure. Tenet Healthcare (THC - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Tenet Healthcare is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on April 23, 2024. THC's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $1.56 a share 28 days from its next earnings release.
For Tenet Healthcare, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.41 is +10.43%.
MOH and THC's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.
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 >>
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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Medical Stocks Set to Beat Earnings
Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can't control the latter, but they can focus on a company's earnings results every quarter.
Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive 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 is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.
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 #3 (Hold) ranking, which is most stocks covered at 60%, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. But stocks that fall into the #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, 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 Molina?
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. Molina (MOH - Free Report) holds a #3 (Hold) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $5.48 a share 29 days away from its upcoming earnings release on April 24, 2024.
By taking the percentage difference between the $5.48 Most Accurate Estimate and the $5.46 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Molina has an Earnings ESP of +0.33%. Investors should also know that MOH 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.
MOH is just one of a large group of Medical stocks with a positive ESP figure. Tenet Healthcare (THC - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Tenet Healthcare is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on April 23, 2024. THC's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $1.56 a share 28 days from its next earnings release.
For Tenet Healthcare, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.41 is +10.43%.
MOH and THC's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.
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 >>