We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
5 Stocks with Recent Price Strength Defying a Weak Market
U.S. stock markets witnessed an impressive rally in 2024 after an astonishing bull run in 2023. Despite fluctuations, the bull run continued in 2025. However, U.S. stocks suffered a blow and the bull run halted in February.
Last month, the three major stock indexes — The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — tumbled 1.6%, 1.4% and 4%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite posted its worst month since April 2024.
Market participants remained concerned about the Trump administration’s tariff and trade-related policies and their impact on U.S. economic growth, especially on the inflation rate. Moreover, prolonged geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of Asia and Europe pose concerns.
Consequently, a handful of stocks have shown price strength. We have primarily targeted stocks that have recently been on a bull run. Such stocks have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.
Five such stocks are — EverQuote Inc., Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, The Progressive Corp., Sony Group Corp. and NatWest Group plc.
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.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to just 15.
Let’s discuss five out of these 15 stocks here:
EverQuote Inc. should continue to benefit from its exclusive data asset and technology, intensified focus on core P&C markets, streamlined operations and a strong financial profile that poise it for long-term growth. Solid performances at automotive and other insurance verticals, given auto carrier recovery and growth in revenue per quote request, bode well.
EVER expects to benefit from the shift to online insurance sales. EVER remains focused on the growth of consumer traffic and addition of channels. EVER expects revenues between $155 million and $160 million in the first quarter of 2025.
The stock price of EverQuote has jumped 33.1% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 22.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 30% over the last seven days.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc’s revenues continue to benefit from strong demand for newer drugs like Xywav, Epidiolex and Rylaze. Sales of the epilepsy drug Epidiolex are being driven by geographic expansion in ex-U.S. markets.
JAZZ recently received approval for Rylaze in Europe and a new cancer drug Ziihera, which should boost oncology drug sales. JAZZ continues to focus on developing its pipeline with promising candidates. JAZZ plans to report data from at least two mid- to late-stage studies in 2025.
The stock price of Jazz Pharmaceuticals has surged 15.4% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 4.6% over the last seven days.
The Progressive Corp. continues to gain on higher premiums, given its compelling product portfolio, leadership position and strength in both Vehicle and Property businesses. PGR focus on becoming a one-stop insurance destination, catering to customers opting for a combination of home and auto insurance, augurs well for growth.
PGR’s policies in force and retention ratio should remain healthy. PGR’s Competitive pricing to retain current customers and address customer needs with new offerings should continue to drive policy life expectancy.
The stock price of The Progressive has appreciated 14.4% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 7.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.1% over the last seven days.
Sony Group Corp.’s fiscal third-quarter results were driven by strength across Game & Network Services (G&NS), Music and Financial Services amid weakness in the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) unit. Financial Services sales soared 130% fueled by solid revenue growth at Sony Life and higher investment gains from market volatility.
SONY’s The Music unit’s sales rose 14% due to higher revenues from streaming services in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Solid hardware and non-first-party game software sales and forex impacts drove the GN&S unit. However, a fall in SONY’s television and smartphone sales due to lower unit shipments hurt ET&S. Soft sales of image sensors for mobile products and lower unit sales impeded growth for the I&SS unit. SONY raised its fiscal 2024 sales view to ¥13,200 billion from ¥12,710 billion.
The stock price of Sony Group has advanced 13.8% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.6% for the next year (ending March 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 2.2% over the last 30 days.
NatWest Group plc provides banking and financial products and services to personal, commercial, corporate, and institutional customers in the United Kingdom and internationally. NWG operates through Retail Banking, Private Banking, and Commercial & Institutional segments.
NWG provides personal and business banking, consumer loans, asset and invoice finances, commercial and residential mortgages, credit cards and financial planning services, as well as life, personal and income protection insurance.
The stock price of NatWest Group gained 13.5% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 6.8% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 5.2% 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.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Zacks.com featured highlights include EverQuote, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, The Progressive, Sony and NatWest
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 5, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are — EverQuote Inc. (EVER - Free Report) , Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (JAZZ - Free Report) , The Progressive Corp. (PGR - Free Report) , Sony Group Corp. (SONY - Free Report) and NatWest Group plc (NWG - Free Report) .
5 Stocks with Recent Price Strength Defying a Weak Market
U.S. stock markets witnessed an impressive rally in 2024 after an astonishing bull run in 2023. Despite fluctuations, the bull run continued in 2025. However, U.S. stocks suffered a blow and the bull run halted in February.
Last month, the three major stock indexes — The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — tumbled 1.6%, 1.4% and 4%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite posted its worst month since April 2024.
Market participants remained concerned about the Trump administration’s tariff and trade-related policies and their impact on U.S. economic growth, especially on the inflation rate. Moreover, prolonged geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and other parts of Asia and Europe pose concerns.
Consequently, a handful of stocks have shown price strength. We have primarily targeted stocks that have recently been on a bull run. Such stocks have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.
Five such stocks are — EverQuote Inc., Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, The Progressive Corp., Sony Group Corp. and NatWest Group plc.
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.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to just 15.
Let’s discuss five out of these 15 stocks here:
EverQuote Inc. should continue to benefit from its exclusive data asset and technology, intensified focus on core P&C markets, streamlined operations and a strong financial profile that poise it for long-term growth. Solid performances at automotive and other insurance verticals, given auto carrier recovery and growth in revenue per quote request, bode well.
EVER expects to benefit from the shift to online insurance sales. EVER remains focused on the growth of consumer traffic and addition of channels. EVER expects revenues between $155 million and $160 million in the first quarter of 2025.
The stock price of EverQuote has jumped 33.1% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 22.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 30% over the last seven days.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc’s revenues continue to benefit from strong demand for newer drugs like Xywav, Epidiolex and Rylaze. Sales of the epilepsy drug Epidiolex are being driven by geographic expansion in ex-U.S. markets.
JAZZ recently received approval for Rylaze in Europe and a new cancer drug Ziihera, which should boost oncology drug sales. JAZZ continues to focus on developing its pipeline with promising candidates. JAZZ plans to report data from at least two mid- to late-stage studies in 2025.
The stock price of Jazz Pharmaceuticals has surged 15.4% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 4.6% over the last seven days.
The Progressive Corp. continues to gain on higher premiums, given its compelling product portfolio, leadership position and strength in both Vehicle and Property businesses. PGR focus on becoming a one-stop insurance destination, catering to customers opting for a combination of home and auto insurance, augurs well for growth.
PGR’s policies in force and retention ratio should remain healthy. PGR’s Competitive pricing to retain current customers and address customer needs with new offerings should continue to drive policy life expectancy.
The stock price of The Progressive has appreciated 14.4% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 7.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 2.1% over the last seven days.
Sony Group Corp.’s fiscal third-quarter results were driven by strength across Game & Network Services (G&NS), Music and Financial Services amid weakness in the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) unit. Financial Services sales soared 130% fueled by solid revenue growth at Sony Life and higher investment gains from market volatility.
SONY’s The Music unit’s sales rose 14% due to higher revenues from streaming services in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Solid hardware and non-first-party game software sales and forex impacts drove the GN&S unit. However, a fall in SONY’s television and smartphone sales due to lower unit shipments hurt ET&S. Soft sales of image sensors for mobile products and lower unit sales impeded growth for the I&SS unit. SONY raised its fiscal 2024 sales view to ¥13,200 billion from ¥12,710 billion.
The stock price of Sony Group has advanced 13.8% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.6% for the next year (ending March 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next-year earnings has improved 2.2% over the last 30 days.
NatWest Group plc provides banking and financial products and services to personal, commercial, corporate, and institutional customers in the United Kingdom and internationally. NWG operates through Retail Banking, Private Banking, and Commercial & Institutional segments.
NWG provides personal and business banking, consumer loans, asset and invoice finances, commercial and residential mortgages, credit cards and financial planning services, as well as life, personal and income protection insurance.
The stock price of NatWest Group gained 13.5% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 6.8% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 5.2% 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.
For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2424972/5-stocks-with-recent-price-strength-defying-a-weak-february
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Contact: Jim Giaquinto
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9268
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: https://www.zacks.com/
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.