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5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength to Maximize Your Gain
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U.S. stock markets maintained their northbound journey in the first quarter of 2024 after an impressive 2023. In first-quarter 2024, the S&P 500 rallied 10.2%, marking its best first-quarter performance since 2019. The Dow surged 5.6%, reflecting its strongest first-quarter performance since 2021. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite appreciated 9.1% in the same quarter.
However, volatility returned to Wall Street in the first week of April. The Dow slid 2.3%, posting its worst weekly performance in 2024. The S&P 500 declined 1% during the period, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%.
This was primarily due to market participants’ concern regarding the first reduction of the current range of the Fed fund rate. As many as 15 Fed officials recently said that they are in no hurry to initiate a rate cut, though the majority of these officials still believe that at least one rate cut of 25 basis points will happen this year.
The Fed is highly concerned about the sticky inflation rate and a resilient labor market. Despite these headwinds, year to date, the three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — are up 3.1%, 9.7% and 10.1%, respectively.
As a result, a few stocks have shown price strength. We have selected five stocks likely to gain in the near term on the back of a favorable Zacks Rank. These companies are — Qifu Technology Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) , Willdan Group Inc. (WLDN - Free Report) , H&E Equipment Services Inc. (HEES - Free Report) , Cimpress plc. (CMPR - Free Report) and Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. (ADMA - 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 11.
Let’s discuss five out of these 11 stocks:
Qifu Technology operates as a credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. QFIN provides credit-driven services that match borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services and platform services. QFIN also offers e-commerce loans, enterprise loans, and invoice loans to SME owners. QFIN serves financial institutions, consumers, and small- and micro-enterprises.
The stock price of Qifu Technology has jumped 27% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 14.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.5% over the last 60 days.
Willdan Group is a provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies at all levels of government. WLDN enables its clients to realize cost and energy savings by providing a wide range of specialized services.
WLDN assists its clients with a broad range of complementary services relating to: Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, Engineering and Planning, Economic and Financial Consulting, and National Preparedness and Interoperability.
The stock price of Willdan Group has climbed 12.9% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 3.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 16.8% over the last 30 days.
H&E Equipment Services is one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States. HEES is focused on heavy construction & industrial equipment and rents, sells and provides parts and service support to four core categories of specialized equipment namely, hi-lift or aerial platform equipment, cranes, earthmoving equipment and industrial lift trucks.
The stock price of H&E Equipment Services has surged 12% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3% over the last 60 days.
Cimpress has benefited from strength across the Vista, National Pen and Upload & Print segments. CMPR’s Vista unit is being aided by an increase in the customer count along with the continued increase of revenue per customer. Significant growth in the e-commerce channel is driving the National Pen segment. An increasing order rate is aiding the National Pen segment.
CMPR’s investments in product innovation augur well for long-term growth. The company’s focus on cost-control measures is supporting its margin performance. Cimpress’ bullish guidance for fiscal 2024 holds promise. Also, CMPR’s business restructuring action is likely to improve customer value and operational efficiency over the long term.
The stock price of Cimpress has advanced 7.1% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year (ending June 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.3% over the last 60 days.
Applied Industrial Technologies is poised to benefit from an improving product line and value-added services. Strength across the food and beverage, lumber and wood, mining and refining end markets sparks optimism. Growth in larger national accounts and fluid power aftermarket sales, as well as benefits from sales force effectiveness initiatives, are aiding the Service Center Based Distribution segment.
Acquired assets are driving AIT’s top line. AIT’s focus on pricing and cross-selling actions, and growth initiatives augur well. AIT’s efforts to reward its shareholders add to its appeal.
The stock price of Applied Industrial Technologies has gained 6.4% in the past four weeks. AIT has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.5% for the current year (ending June 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 0.7% over the last seven 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.
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.
Image: Bigstock
5 Stocks With Recent Price Strength to Maximize Your Gain
U.S. stock markets maintained their northbound journey in the first quarter of 2024 after an impressive 2023. In first-quarter 2024, the S&P 500 rallied 10.2%, marking its best first-quarter performance since 2019. The Dow surged 5.6%, reflecting its strongest first-quarter performance since 2021. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite appreciated 9.1% in the same quarter.
However, volatility returned to Wall Street in the first week of April. The Dow slid 2.3%, posting its worst weekly performance in 2024. The S&P 500 declined 1% during the period, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%.
This was primarily due to market participants’ concern regarding the first reduction of the current range of the Fed fund rate. As many as 15 Fed officials recently said that they are in no hurry to initiate a rate cut, though the majority of these officials still believe that at least one rate cut of 25 basis points will happen this year.
The Fed is highly concerned about the sticky inflation rate and a resilient labor market. Despite these headwinds, year to date, the three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — are up 3.1%, 9.7% and 10.1%, respectively.
As a result, a few stocks have shown price strength. We have selected five stocks likely to gain in the near term on the back of a favorable Zacks Rank. These companies are — Qifu Technology Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) , Willdan Group Inc. (WLDN - Free Report) , H&E Equipment Services Inc. (HEES - Free Report) , Cimpress plc. (CMPR - Free Report) and Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. (ADMA - 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 11.
Let’s discuss five out of these 11 stocks:
Qifu Technology operates as a credit-tech platform under the 360 Jietiao brand in the People's Republic of China. QFIN provides credit-driven services that match borrowers with financial institutions to conduct customer acquisition, initial and credit screening, advanced risk assessment, credit assessment, fund matching, and other post-facilitation services and platform services. QFIN also offers e-commerce loans, enterprise loans, and invoice loans to SME owners. QFIN serves financial institutions, consumers, and small- and micro-enterprises.
The stock price of Qifu Technology has jumped 27% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 14.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.5% over the last 60 days.
Willdan Group is a provider of professional technical and consulting services to utilities, private industry and public agencies at all levels of government. WLDN enables its clients to realize cost and energy savings by providing a wide range of specialized services.
WLDN assists its clients with a broad range of complementary services relating to: Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, Engineering and Planning, Economic and Financial Consulting, and National Preparedness and Interoperability.
The stock price of Willdan Group has climbed 12.9% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 3.4% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 16.8% over the last 30 days.
H&E Equipment Services is one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States. HEES is focused on heavy construction & industrial equipment and rents, sells and provides parts and service support to four core categories of specialized equipment namely, hi-lift or aerial platform equipment, cranes, earthmoving equipment and industrial lift trucks.
The stock price of H&E Equipment Services has surged 12% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3% over the last 60 days.
Cimpress has benefited from strength across the Vista, National Pen and Upload & Print segments. CMPR’s Vista unit is being aided by an increase in the customer count along with the continued increase of revenue per customer. Significant growth in the e-commerce channel is driving the National Pen segment. An increasing order rate is aiding the National Pen segment.
CMPR’s investments in product innovation augur well for long-term growth. The company’s focus on cost-control measures is supporting its margin performance. Cimpress’ bullish guidance for fiscal 2024 holds promise. Also, CMPR’s business restructuring action is likely to improve customer value and operational efficiency over the long term.
The stock price of Cimpress has advanced 7.1% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year (ending June 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.3% over the last 60 days.
Applied Industrial Technologies is poised to benefit from an improving product line and value-added services. Strength across the food and beverage, lumber and wood, mining and refining end markets sparks optimism. Growth in larger national accounts and fluid power aftermarket sales, as well as benefits from sales force effectiveness initiatives, are aiding the Service Center Based Distribution segment.
Acquired assets are driving AIT’s top line. AIT’s focus on pricing and cross-selling actions, and growth initiatives augur well. AIT’s efforts to reward its shareholders add to its appeal.
The stock price of Applied Industrial Technologies has gained 6.4% in the past four weeks. AIT has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.5% for the current year (ending June 2024). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 0.7% over the last seven 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.