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3 Strategies to Profit this Earnings Season

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Nothing better than waking up to a positive earnings surprise and big profits.

Nothing worse than waking up to an earnings miss and heavy losses in your portfolio.

Well January earnings season is kicking into full gear and there are few things that move a stock faster, up or down, than an earnings announcement.

This is especially true now given how the stock market is pressing towards all time highs and above historical valuation norms. Thus, any stocks that hiccup this earnings season will be punished. This will lead to devastating losses for those unfortunate shareholders. However, the owners of stocks with positive surprises will be richly rewarded. So now is the perfect time to align your portfolio to profit in the month ahead.

As most of you already know, Zacks Investment Research specializes in the coverage of corporate earnings. And more importantly, how to profit from this information. So, today I'm going to share with you 3 proven strategies to profit from earnings announcements.

(Hint: Be sure to read to the end as the 3rd strategy is by far the most profitable)


Strategy 1: Four Leading Indicators of Positive Earnings Surprises

I figured it's best to get the most obvious strategy out of the way first. The 4 leading indicators I refer to are the 4 factors of the Zacks Rank. Before you skip this section, let me share some information with you that you may not have known.

In the mid-1970s Len Zacks took his mathematical skills to Wall Street where his job was to discover stock picking strategies that would beat the market. He had a simple theory that was the precursor to what became the Zacks Rank.

Len focused his research on finding stocks that were more likely to have a positive earnings surprise and jumping on the news. The journey led him to what we know as the 4 factors of the Zacks Rank. Each individually increases the odds of owning stocks that will enjoy a positive earnings surprise.

However, when you combine them together inside the Zacks Rank it becomes an almost obscene advantage for investors.

More . . .


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Why Is Sunday, January 15 So Important?

Next week 123 companies will report earnings, but only a few are coiled to rock Wall Street and pop in price. What if you could buy the best of these surprise stocks BEFORE their reports are released?

Right now, you can take advantage of a Zacks research breakthrough that predicts positive earnings surprises with once-impossible 83.25% accuracy. In fact, starting today you can see its selected gems through the heart of earnings season.

Important: Signals are flashing for a few special stocks. Your chance to access these potential big winners closes midnight Sunday, January 15.

See Surprise Stocks Now >>

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Strategy 2: Stop the Bleeding

This second strategy is so simple, yet so hard for most investors to do. So, I'm going to beat it into your head...for your own good of course ;-)

Sell All Companies with a Negative Earnings Surprise!

Yes, sell it immediately. Even after it falls at the open. Even if it is for a substantial loss. Why? Better to take a 5-10% loss in the short run than a 20 to 40% loss in the long run.

Keep in mind how earnings estimates are created. Both company executives and brokerage analysts are doing their best to create conservative estimates that the company should easily beat. And when they fall short of those watered down estimates then it points to one of two serious problems.

• Industry conditions have deteriorated and thus they missed their forecasts. This problem will most likely not correct itself in the near-term, leading to further disappointment.

• Company leaders are incompetent. Meaning that they are no good at estimating their own earnings. Or that their strategies for growth are ineffective.

Either reason should give you ample cause to abandon the stock now and move on to greener pastures.


Strategy 3: Harness Real "Earnings Whispers"

Consider the following chain of logic.

• Earnings estimates come from brokerage firm stock analysts.

• These analysts are highly motivated to create conservative estimates that can easily be beat. Why? If they have a Buy rating on a stock, and the estimates are too high, then the stock is more likely to disappoint. This would send the stock price lower and the performance on their stock ratings would be poor (leading to lower compensation).

• The closer to earnings season we get, the more accurate the information the analyst has at their disposal to put into the estimate.

Add it all up and there is no good reason for an analyst to create a higher estimate close to the date of the earnings report unless they had a DARN GOOD REASON. Focusing in on those estimates closest to the earnings announcement is where we found the "whisper that becomes a scream."...a clear indication from the analyst community of stocks more likely to beat earnings by a wide margin. And most importantly, rise on that news.


Where to Find These Earnings Whisper Stocks?

We can't share all the details of our proprietary whisper formula with you, but our system relies on two under-utilized signals coming from the brokerage analyst community. These two whispers are then layered on top of other time-tested elements such as the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank to find only the best stocks in the best industries to profit from each earnings season.

If you would like to receive our precise whisper trading signals, then I invite you to check out our Zacks Surprise Trader.

This is the time to do it. We typically lock onto about 30 special stocks every earnings season. Right now, "Positive Surprise" signals are flashing big time for 4 companies reporting earnings this coming week. We plan to reveal these surprise stocks after the opening bell on Tuesday.

Be advised that we can't let too many share these recommendations, and must close the door to new investors this Sunday, January 15 at midnight.

Don't miss this chance to beat Wall Street to the punch and make the most of these potential price pops. Our signals predict big positive surprises and they're right more than 83% of the time.

See our Surprise Trader stocks now >>

Wishing you great financial success,

Steve

Steve Reitmeister has been with Zacks since 1999 and currently serves as the Executive Vice President in charge of Zacks.com and all of its leading products for individual investors. After many long years of research he is extremely proud to share with you our historic earnings prediction breakthrough, the Zacks Surprise Trader.