Yahoo Finance 3 Momentum Anomaly Stocks to Bet on as Markets Move Northward
The broader U.S. equity markets witnessed an upward trajectory over the past few trading days in one of the longest winning streaks observed since December 2023, buoyed by the optimism regarding a probable interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the near future. With weaker-than-expected job growth per the April nonfarm payrolls report and moderating wage gains, investors are pricing in a second rate cut by the end of the year with a nearly 50% likelihood of a 25-basis point rate cut in September.
Recent data from the nonfarm payrolls report showed job additions of 175,000 in April, well below the broader expectations of 240,000, with wage figures also coming in less than expected. This allayed investor fears that the economy was “overheating” or “reaccelerating” and propelled the stocks. In addition, the Middle East ceasefire with Hamas accepting an Egyptian-Qatari proposal to end the war with Israel boosted the stocks. The equity markets were also aided by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments, which largely ruled out a central bank hike in its next policy meeting after holding the rates steady between 5.25% and 5.50% in May.
Amid the uncertainty, investors often seek to employ time-tested winning strategies to fetch sustained profits. One of the most successful game plans to beat the blues is to bet on momentum stocks when value or growth investing fails to generate the desired profits.
This approach primarily tends to follow the adage, “the trend is your friend.” At its core, momentum investing is “buying high and selling higher.” It is based on the idea that once a stock establishes a trend, it is more likely to continue in that direction because of the momentum that is already behind it. But before we delve deep into it, let us try to fathom why does the momentum strategy at all work?
There are several behavioral biases that most investors exhibit in their decision-making. And these emotional responses, or rather mistakes, make the momentum strategy work.
For example, some investors are anxious about booking losses and hence hold on to losing stocks for too long, hopeful of a rebound in prices. On the other hand, a few investors sell their winners way too early. Momentum investing is one of the best strategies to avoid making such errors in judgment.
Furthermore, investors initially tend to underreact to news, events or data releases. However, once things become clear, they have a habit of going with the flow and overreacting, causing dramatic price reactions. These behavioral problems extend trends, thus opening up huge opportunities for momentum players.
To sum up, momentum investing is a way to profit from the general human tendency to extrapolate current trends into the future. It is based on that gap in time before the mean reversion occurs, i.e., before prices become rational again.
In this context, stocks like Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL, Super Micro Computer, Inc. SMCI and Leidos Holdings, Inc. LDOS are worth betting on.
Momentum strategies have been known to be alpha-generative over a long period and across market stages. So, this strategy is quite tricky to implement, as detecting these trends is no child’s play.
Here, we have created a strategy to help investors get in on these fast movers and rake in handsome gains. Our screen will help you benefit from both long-term price momentum and a short-term pullback in price.
Screening Parameters
Percentage Change in Price (52 Weeks) = Top #50: This selects the top 50 stocks with the best percentage price change over the last 52 weeks. This parameter ensures we get the best stocks that have appreciated steadily over the past year.
Percentage Change in Price (1 Week) = Bottom #10: From the above 50 stocks, we then choose those that are also among the 10 worst performers over a short one-week period. This parameter picks the ones that have witnessed a short-term pullback in price.
Zacks Rank #1: Stocks sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance irrespective of the market conditions. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Momentum Style Score of B or Better: A top Momentum Style Score knocks out a lot of the screening process as it takes into account several factors that include volume change and performance relative to its peers. It indicates when the timing is best to grab a stock and take advantage of its momentum with the highest probability of success. Stocks with a Momentum Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), handily outperform other stocks.
Current Price greater than $5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.
Market Capitalization = Top #3000: We have chosen stocks that are among the top 3000 in terms of market value to ensure the stability of price.
Average 20-Day Volume greater than 100,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that these stocks are easily tradable.
Here are three stocks out of the six that made it through this screen:
Based in Miami, Royal Caribbean is a cruise company operating three global brands — Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. The company’s cruise brands primarily serve the contemporary, premium and deluxe segments of the cruise vacation industry, which also includes the budget and luxury segments. These brands operate 64 ships. The ships operate on a selection of diverse itineraries worldwide that include roughly 1,000 destinations on all seven continents. The stock has gained 84% in the past year but a mere 1.4% in the past week. Royal Caribbean has a Momentum Score of A.
Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Super Micro Computer manufactures high-performance server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture. Its solutions range from complete server, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full racks, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management software and security software. The stock has gained a stellar 519.5% in the past year but declined 4.6% in the past week. Super Micro Computer has a Momentum Score of A.
Founded in 1969, Delaware-based Leidos is a global science and technology leader that serves the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. Its core capabilities include providing solutions in the fields of cybersecurity, data analytics, enterprise IT modernization, operations and logistics, sensors, collection and phenomenology, software development, and systems engineering. The stock has rallied 77.9% in the past year but a mere 1.9% in the past week. Leidos has a Momentum Score of A.
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 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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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
