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Read This Before Your Next Trade

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Whether you’re bullish on the market or still wary after last year’s correction, it’s now more important than ever to make sure you’re doing everything you can to get the most out of your trades.

Regardless of which camp you put yourself in, there will be distinct winners and losers as we move forward. So before you make your next trade, please read this first to learn how to put the probabilities of success on your side.

Knowledge Is Power

We’ve all heard the old adage; knowledge is power.

It’s a great saying because it’s true.

And that saying couldn’t be truer than when it comes to investing.

Take a look at your last big loser for example. After analyzing what went wrong, you soon discover some piece of information that -- ‘had you known beforehand, you never would have gotten into it in the first place’.

I’m not talking about things that are unknowable, like inside information or surprise announcements that can catch even the most professional of professionals off guard.

I’m talking about things that you could have known about or SHOULD have known about before you got in.

Did You Know?...

• Did you know that roughly half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it’s in?

• Did you also know that oftentimes a mediocre stock in a top performing group will outperform a ‘great’ stock in a poor performing group?

• And did you know that the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1?

• And did you also know that the top 10% of industries outperformed the most?

More . . .


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Four experts each announce their single favorite stock with the best upside for the quarter ahead. One is a cybersecurity company designing cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technology to defeat hackers and identity thieves.

Today, Zacks members are invited to download the private Special Report that names these stocks and spotlights why their gain potential is so exceptional.

Opportunity ends Sunday, January 20.

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Was your last loser in one of the top industries or in one of the bottom industries?

If it was in one of the bottom industries, you should have known to not take a chance on something with a reduced probability of success.

That’s what is meant by knowledge is power. Knowable things that you need to know.

That’s not to say that stocks in crummy industries won’t go up -- they do. And that’s not to say that stocks in good industries won’t go down -- because they do too.

But more stocks go up in the top industries, and more stocks go down in the bottom industries.

And since there are over 10,000 stocks out there to pick and choose from, why settle for one with a reduced chance of making any money?

Did You Know?...

• Did you know that stocks with ‘just’ double-digit growth rates typically outperform stocks with triple-digit growth rates?

• Did you also know that stocks with crazy high growth rates test nearly as poorly as those with the lowest growth rates?

Did your last loser have a spectacular growth rate?

If so, and it got crushed, would you have picked it if you knew that stocks with the highest growth rates have spotty track records?

It seems logical to think that the companies with the highest growth rates would do the best. But it doesn’t always turn out to be the case.

One explanation for this is that sky high growth rates are unsustainable. And the moment a more normal (albeit still good) growth rate emerges, the stock gets a dose of reality as well.

For example, a company earning 1 cent a share that is now expected to earn 6 cents, has a 500% growth rate. But, if it receives a downward estimate revision to 5 cents, that’s a significant drop. Even though it still has a 400% growth rate, the estimates were just reduced by -16.7% and the price is likely to follow.

If you’ve ever wondered how a stock with a triple-digit growth rate could possibly go down -- that’s how.

Instead, I have found that comparing a stock to the median growth rate for its industry is the best way to find solid outperformers with a lesser chance to disappoint.

Proven Profitable Strategies

Picking the best stocks is a lot easier when there’s a proven, profitable method to do it.

And by concentrating on what has proven to work in the past, you’ll have a better idea as to what your probability of success will be now and in the future.

For example, if your strategy did nothing but lose money year after year, trade after trade, over and over again, there’s no way you'd want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it's proven to pick bad stocks.

On the other hand, if your strategy did great year after year, trade after trade, over and over again, you'd of course want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it's proven to pick winning stocks.

Of course, this won't preclude you from ever having another losing trade. But if your stock picking strategy picks winners more often than losers, you can feel confident that your next trade will have a high probability of success.

Stock Picking Secrets of the Pros

One of the best ways to turn the probabilities of success in your favor, is to see what the pros are doing.

There’s no one perfect way to beat the market. Some traders prefer high flying growth stocks, while others prefer deeply discounted value stocks. Some may prefer fast-paced momentum stocks, whereas others are more comfortable with mature, dividend producing income stocks.

Yet others may want to focus on more specialized strategies like insider trading (the legal kind), institutional buying and selling, large-caps, small-caps, stocks about to surprise, or cheap stocks under $10.

Still others may want to turn their attention to specific sectors or industries like healthcare innovators, biotech stocks, or high-tech companies.

Or even incorporate options into their portfolio.

Regardless of which one fits your personal style of trade, just be sure you’re getting the best advice from experts who have demonstrated their ability to beat the market.

The best part about these strategies is that all of the hard work is done for you. There’s no guesswork involved. Just follow the experts and start trading like a pro.

Beat the Market on Your Next Trade

We offer a unique arrangement called Zacks Ultimate where you can try all the trades from all our services in real time for 30 days. And just for trying that arrangement, you're invited to download our just-released Ultimate Four Special Report absolutely free.

These aren't just 4 good stocks. They were hand-picked by Zacks experts to have the greatest upside growth potential in this quarter – which is already set for a strong rebound . . .

Stock 1: A cybersecurity firm designing Artificial Intelligence to crush hackers – and earnings that crush Wall Street estimates.

Stock #2: A tech company that could revolutionize the way law enforcement agencies operate. The stock more than doubled in 2018 and already has double-digit increase in the new year.

Stock #3: Arguably the strongest brand in retail, with projected 43% earnings growth for the fiscal year, massive cash reserves and an ever-increasing loyalty among its global customer base.

Stock #4: A small cap biotech company with important patents on gene editing technology and a pipeline full of DNA-level treatments for cancer, cystic fibrosis and other diseases.

I suggest you download this Special Report now because the opportunity ends Sunday, January 20.

Look into Zacks Ultimate and these 4 stocks today >>

Thanks and good trading,

Kevin

Kevin Matras serves as Executive Vice President of Zacks.com and all of its leading products for individual investors. He is also the Editor of his personal portfolio service, Options Trader.

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