Wall Street saw severe volatility and almost day-to-day fluctuations in both directions in April. Finally, U.S. stock markets ended mixed last month. The S&P 500 and the Dow fell 3.2% and 0.8%, respectively. However, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9%.
U.S. stock markets experienced severe volatility in April due to the imposition of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade-related policies. A large section of economists and financial researchers have warned of a near-term recession too. The U.S. GDP contracted for the first time in three years in first-quarter 2025.
Nevertheless, a better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data for April and optimism surrounding the U.S. government’s trader and tariffs related negotiations with various major economies will boost market participants’ confidence in risky assets like equities.
Consequently, several stocks have shown price strength. We have primarily targeted stocks that have recently been on a bull run. Such stocks have a high chance of carrying the momentum forward.
Five such stocks are — Oddity Tech Ltd. ODD, Carpenter Technology Corp. CRS, Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. HRTG, Amphenol Corp. APH, Marex Group plc MRX.
If a stock is continuously witnessing an uptrend, there must be a solid reason or it would have probably crashed. So, looking at stocks capable of beating the benchmark that they have set for themselves seems rational.
However, recent price strength alone cannot create magic. Therefore, other relevant parameters are needed to create a successful investment strategy.
Here’s how you should create the screen to shortlist the current as well as the potential winners.
Percentage Change in Price (4 Weeks) greater than zero: This criterion shows that the stock has moved higher in the last four weeks.
Percentage Change Price (12 Weeks) greater than 10: This indicates that the stock has seen momentum over the last three months. This lowers the risk of choosing stocks that may have drawn attention due to the overwhelming performance of the overall market in a very short period.
Zacks Rank 1: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Average Broker Rating 1 or 2: This indicates that brokers are also highly hopeful about the stock’s future performance.
Current Price greater than 5: The stocks must all be trading at a minimum of $5.
Current Price/ 52-Week High-Low Range more than 85%: This criterion filters stocks that are trading near their respective 52-week highs. It indicates that these are strong enough in terms of price.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the search from over 7,700 stocks to just 27.
Let’s discuss five out of these 27 stocks here:
Oddity Tech operates as a consumer technology company that builds digital-first brands for the beauty and wellness industries in the United States and internationally. ODD serves consumers through its AI-driven online platform, which uses data science, machine learning, and computer vision capabilities to identify consumer needs, and develop solutions in the form of beauty, wellness, and technology products.
ODD provides a portfolio of products, including face and complexion, eye, brow and lip products, makeup tools, skincare, haircare, and supplements under the IL MAKIAGE and SpoiledChild brands. In addition, ODD operates ODDITY LABS, a biotechnology center, which deploys AI-based molecule discovery technology to identify and launch novel ingredients that delivers performance and outcomes for consumers in beauty and wellness.
The stock price of Oddity Tech has soared 73.4% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 3.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.6% over the last seven days.
Carpenter Technology is engaged in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. CRS operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products.
CRS offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts. CRS serves the aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, energy, industrial, and consumer markets.
The stock price of Carpenter Technology has jumped 37.2% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 51.9% for the current year (ending June 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.6% over the last 30 days.
Heritage Insurance Holdings provides personal and commercial residential insurance products. HRTG offers personal residential insurance, commercial residential insurance for properties and personal residential and wind-only property insurance, licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. HRTG also provides restoration, emergency, and recovery services, property management, and reinsurance services, homeowners insurance products, including single-family, homeowners or duplex, and condominium owner’s insurance, and dwelling fire insurance policies.
In addition, HRTG provides personal line policies through a network of retail independent agents, wholesale agents, and a partnership with a direct agency, as well as distributes indirectly to retail locations through wholesale agency relationships. Further, HRTG offers personal and commercial insurance policies through a network of independent agencies.
The stock price of Heritage Insurance Holdings has climbed 34.4% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 20.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 35.8% over the last 60 days.
Amphenol provides connectivity solutions using AI and ML (machine learning) technologies. It provides AI-powered high-density, high-speed connectors and cables, and interconnect systems optimized for signal integrity and thermal performance.
Amphenol benefits from a diversified business model. Expansion of spending on both current and next-generation defense technologies bodes well for APH’s top-line growth. Apart from Defense, APH’s prospects ride on strong demand for its solutions across Commercial Air, Industrial and Mobile devices.
For the first quarter of 2025, Amphenol expects a mid-to-high single-digit range increase in Commercial Air sales. APH’s diversified business model lowers the volatility of individual end markets and geographies. Its strong cash-flow generating ability is noteworthy.
The stock price of Amphenol has surged 32.7% over the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 38.6% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.6% over the last seven days.
Marex Group offers a financial services platform that provides liquidity, market access, and infrastructure services to clients in the energy, commodities, and financial markets in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. MRX operates through its Clearing, Agency and Execution, Market Making, and Hedging and Investment Solutions segments.
MRX offers execution and clearing services in metals, agricultural products, energy and financial futures and options, liquidity and execution services for financial securities through trading desks that cover products, including foreign exchange, equities, fixed income, and others. MRX also operates as an agent to trade in OTC energy products using knowledge of the energy sector and relationships with clients for oil, power and gas, and shipping and freight products.
The stock price of Marex Group has advanced 27.4% over the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 6.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 6.2% over the last 60 days.
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.
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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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Amphenol Corporation (APH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Marex Group PLC (MRX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HRTG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
ODDITY Tech Ltd. (ODD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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