Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Forterra, Barrett Business, Chuy's, Akorn And Quanex

Published 11/11/2019, 08:27 PM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –November 12, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Forterra Inc. (NASDAQ:FRTA) , Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) , Chuy's Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) , Akorn Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) and Quanex Building Products Corp. (NYSE:NX) .

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

5 Small-Cap Stocks Outpacing the Broader Market

Wall Street is maintaining its dream run in 2019 wherein three major stock indexes have already set fresh all-time highs in November. These indexes predominantly consist of large-cap stocks. The small-cap-centric Russell 2000 Index is still lagging its large-cap peers.

The stock market’s impressive bull run is likely to continue in the near term supported by a dovish Fed, which already cut the benchmark rate by 75 basis points, expectation of a partial trade deal between the United States and China this year and a firmly north-bound government bond yield curve reversing the inversion in August.

These positives strengthened investors’ confidence in risky assets like equities, especially the cyclical large-cap growth stocks. Despite the slow pace of movement of small-cap stock prices, a few stocks within this stable (market capital < 1 billion) have skyrocketed ahead of the large-cap-centric indexes this year, and still have upside left.

Russell 2000 Lags Large-Cap Peers

Year to date, the three major stock indexes of Wall Street, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite have rallied 18.7%, 23.4% and 27.7%, respectively. All three indexes have set new all-time highs in November, surpassing their previous highs posted in July.

For the week ended Nov 8, the Dow completed the winning streak of three-straight weeks, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished in positive territory for the fifth and sixth consecutive week, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Russel 2000 has gained 17.9% so far in 2019. More importantly, the index is still 5.4% away from its all-time high recorded on Aug 31, 2018. This indicates that the small-cap-centric index has failed to achieve a new high so far this year, while its large-cap peers have established new highs several times in 2019.

Why Small Business Is Important

Small corporates create a significant number of jobs in the U.S. economy. More than 50% of the newly created jobs in the private sector originate from this space. These people constitute a large part of customers of big businesses.

Moreover, small companies are a major part of the supply chain management systems of large companies for innovative and technologically superior inputs. Additionally, small businesses often end up being an important part of corporate America's customer base.

Owing to their predominantly domestic-focused business strategy, small-cap stocks are generally immune to the movement of the U.S. dollar. A strong U.S. dollar will make exports of large companies uncompetitive. However, small-cap stocks primarily remain unaffected by foreign exchange volatility.

Our Top Picks

Although Russell 2000 is behind its large-cap peers in 2019, several small-cap stocks have popped. However, selection from these stocks may be difficult. In this scenario, our VGM Score comes in handy. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and VGM Score of A or B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Forterra Inc.manufactures and sells pipe and precast products the United States, Canada and Mexico. It operates through Drainage Pipe & Products, and Water Pipe & Products segments. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 77.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 76.2% over the last 30 days. The stock has jumped 199.1% year to date.

Barrett Business Services Inc.provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. It develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 21.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 9.8% over the last 30 days. The stock has soared 60.6% year to date.

Chuy's Holdings Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants, under the Chuy's name, serving a distinct menu of authentic Mexican food in the United States. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 12.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 4.2% over the last 30 days. The stock has soared 56.5% year to date.

Akorn Inc. is a specialty generic pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets generic and branded prescription pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter consumer health products and animal health pharmaceuticals in the United States and internationally. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 42.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 35.3% over the last 30 days. The stock has surged 34.5% year to date.

Quanex Building Products Corp.provides components for the fenestration industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: North American Engineered Components, European Engineered Components, and North American Cabinet Components. The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 41.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.1% over the last 30 days. The stock has surged 40.9% year to date.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

http://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX): Free Stock Analysis Report

FORTERRA INC (FRTA): Free Stock Analysis Report

Akorn, Inc. (AKRX): Free Stock Analysis Report

Chuy's Holdings, Inc. (CHUY): Free Stock Analysis Report

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.