Buy These 5 Top-Ranked Stocks With Upgraded Broker Ratings

Selecting stocks from the vast investment universe is not an easy task. For this, one has to understand the fundamentals of every company and try to place them against the present economic background to figure out how it may fare as an investment.

One way to do this is to follow broker recommendation. Brokers have more insight into what’s happening in a particular company as they directly communicate with management. Further, they have a deeper understanding of the overall industry.

Specifically, brokers research on a company’s publicly available financial statements, listen to conference calls and engage in talks directly with the top management. At times, they even talk to customers to gauge what they like or dislike about the products and services offered by the company.

So, after thorough research, brokers decide to rate that particular company’s stock. Naturally, when an analyst upgrades a stock, one can easily rely on it.

Nonetheless, just depending on analysts’ upgrades is not the right way to build the investment portfolio. One should also take into consideration other factors to ensure solid returns.

Picking the Winning Strategy

We have a screening strategy that will help in your search for potential winners:

Broker Rating Upgrades (four weeks) of 1% or more: The screen selects stocks that have witnessed broker rating upgrades of 1% or more over the last four weeks.

Current Price greater than $5: The stocks must be trading above $5.

Average 20-day Volume greater than 100,000: A large trading volume guarantees that the stock is easily tradable.

Zacks Rank equal to #1 or 2: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven record of success. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.

Here are five of the 10 stocks that qualified the screening:

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) , based in Dallas, TX, owns, develops, operates and franchises casual dining restaurants. Its earnings are expected to grow 7.6% in fiscal 2020. The stock, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed 6.3% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Based in Charlotte, NC, Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) operates as an automotive retailer. Its 2019 earnings are expected to jump 43.5%. The stock, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has witnessed 16.7% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT) , headquartered in Temple City, CA, offers genetic testing services to physicians with clinically actionable diagnostic information. Its earnings are expected to surge 300% in 2019. The stock, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has witnessed 100% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPE) is a technology company. Its fiscal 2020 earnings are expected to grow 5.9%. The stock, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed 14.3% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) is a biopharmaceutical company, which discovers, invents, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines. This Tarrytown, NY-based company’s 2019 earnings are projected to rise 4.1%. The stock, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has witnessed 5% upward revision in broker ratings over the past four weeks.

Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and backtesting software.

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE): Free Stock Analysis Report

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH): Free Stock Analysis Report

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT): Free Stock Analysis Report

FULGENT GENETIC (FLGT): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research