Investors generally gauge a stock’s potential return by examining earnings growth and valuation multiples. At the same time, it’s important to measure the performance of such a stock relative to its industry or peers, or the appropriate benchmark.
If you see that a stock is underperforming on fundamental factors, then it would be prudent to move on and find a better alternative. However, those outperforming their respective sectors in terms of price should be selected because they stand a better chance to provide considerable returns.
Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 over a period of 1 to 3 months at the least and having solid fundamentals indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.
Finally, it is important to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings results of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.
Screening Parameters
Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0
(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)
% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.
Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks – that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years – can get through.
Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.
VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy) offer the best upside potential.
Here are the five of the 11 stocks that made it through the screen:
Stocks to Snap Up on Explosive Relative Price Strength: G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (GIII)
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII): A leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of apparel and accessories under licensed brands, owned brands and private label brands, G-III has a VGM Score of A.
Over 30 days, the New York-based company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FY 2019 and FY 2020 increase 15.2% and 12.8%, to $2.35 and $2.65 per share, respectively.
Stocks to Snap Up on Explosive Relative Price Strength: Momo Inc (MOMO)
Momo Inc (NASDAQ:MOMO): Momo is a mobile-based provider of social networking platform primarily in the Peoples Republic of China.
The 2018 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Beijing, China-based company is $2.54, representing some 43.5% earnings per share growth over 2017. Next year’s average forecast is $3.19, pointing to another 25.7% growth. Momo has a VGM Score of B.
Stocks to Snap Up on Explosive Relative Price Strength: Weight Watchers International, Inc. (WTW)
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW): Weight Watchers International, headquartered in New York, provides commercial weight management services worldwide.
The firm has a VGM Score of B and an excellent earnings surprise history. It has a 100% track of outperforming estimates over the last four quarters at an average rate of 126.36%.
Stocks to Snap Up on Explosive Relative Price Strength: Amedisys Inc (AMED)
Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:AMED): Amedisys provides home health and hospice services throughout the United States to the growing chronic, co-morbid, and aging American population.
Sporting a VGM Score of A, this Baton Rouge, LA-headquartered company’s expected EPS growth rate for three to five years currently stands at 18.60%, comparing favorably with the industry’s growth rate of 14.50%.
Stocks to Snap Up on Explosive Relative Price Strength: Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN)
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN): Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle specialty retailer that offers fashion apparel and accessories, footwear, home décor and gifts products.
The company has a VGM Score of A and an enviable earnings surprise history. It surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters.
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.
