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5 Broker-Loved Stocks to Watch Amid Signs of Easing Trade Woes

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The broader U.S. equity markets have been performing well lately, driven by positive updates on the trade front and a cooling inflationary trend. The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged in its latest policy meeting and the better-than-expected first-quarter 2025 earnings season also contributed to the market’s newfound enthusiasm.

With more tariff-related good news expected, markets are likely to gain further in the coming days. To take advantage of this rosy evolving situation, investors would do well to monitor broker-favored stocks like BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG - Free Report) , Beyond (BYON - Free Report) , Air Canada (ACDVF - Free Report) , HF Sinclair (DINO - Free Report) and Emergent BioSolutions (EBS - Free Report) .

We have designed a screen to shortlist stocks based on improving broker recommendations and upward revisions in earnings estimates over the past four weeks. Also, since the price/sales ratio is a strong complementary valuation metric in the presence of broker information, it has been included. The price/sales ratio takes care of the company’s top line, making the strategy a well-rounded one.

Screening Criteria

# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 (This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks).

% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 (This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter).

Price-to-Sales = Bot%10 (The lower the ratio, the better. Companies meeting this criterion are in the bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio).

Price greater than 5 (as a stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most of the investors).

Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days (Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded).

Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 (This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 in terms of market capitalization).

Com/ADR/Canadian = Com (This takes out the ADR and Canadian stocks).

Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:

BrightSpring: The company provides complementary and integrated home- and community-based pharmacy and health solutions for complex populations in need of specialized and/or chronic care. Through BTSG’s service lines, including pharmacy, home health care and primary care, and rehabilitation and behavioral health, the company provides comprehensive care and clinical solutions in all 50 states to over 400,000 customers, clients and patients daily.

BrightSpring’s 2025 earnings growth rate is pegged at 82.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BTSG’s 2025 revenues indicates a rise of 9.1% over 2024. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) currently.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

Beyond, based in Murray, UT, is an e-commerce-focused retailer with an affinity model that owns or has ownership interests in various retail brands. The company offers a comprehensive array of products and services that enable its customers to enhance their daily lives.

BYON beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the trailing four quarters, missing the mark in the other two. The average beat is 3.7%. Beyond currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).

Air Canada has been benefiting from the impressive scenario in air travel demand. Low fuel costs represent another tailwind. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 sales and earnings has increased 5.7% and 27.3%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has increased 2.1% over the past seven days. ACDVF currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

HF Sinclair is a producer and marketer of gasoline, diesel fuel, and other specialty products. HF Sinclair pays out a quarterly dividend of 50 cents ($2 annualized) per share, which gives it a 5.37% yield at the current stock price. This #3 Ranked company’s five-year dividend growth rate is 9.17%.

DINO is currently valued at $7.01 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HF Sinclair’s 2025 earnings has been revised 9.9% upward over the past seven days. The downstream operator has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.6%, on average.

Emergent BioSolutions derives a substantial portion of its revenues from the sales of its anthrax and smallpox vaccines to the USG, which the latter procures for the strategic national stockpile. These procurements are done under fixed-term contracts. Any loss of existing contracts or failure to get new or follow-on contracts may significantly hurt the company’s prospects.

EBS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, missing the mark in the other quarter. The average beat is 49.9%. Emergent BioSolutions currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3.

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.
 

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