Top And Flop Stocks Of An Eventful May

The old adage – sell in May and go away – may rest on historical run but is not entirely true if we go by recent years’ data. Per an article published on CNN.com, the proverb proved itself wrong in the past few years, with the May-October period turning pretty profitable.

Maintain a steady trend, May 2018 too witnessed decent performance despite a raft of geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 index has gained 2.8% in the past one month (as of May 30, 2018) while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has added 2.1% and the Nasdaq Composite has scored solid gains of 5.6%.

Key Events of May

The month was packed with global events, which more or less impacted Wall Street too. There was Italy’s political crisis, which sparked fears of the region leaving the Eurozone, although tensions subsided at the end.

Oil prices were on a roller-coaster ride thanks to the push and pull between two opposing forces — one is the fear of rising output by Saudi and Russia and the other is the report of lower-than-expected crude inventory built, and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela.

Then there was uncertainty in diplomatic ties between North Korea and the United States. Trump first pulled out of the scheduled June meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on May 24, citing North Korea’s “tremendous anger and open hostility” toward Washington. But after North Korea expressed keenness to resolve the issue, an effort to retrieve the canceled summit between the duo was launched. The jostle weighed on the broader stock market for a while.

Trade tensions flared up between China and the United States as the latter announced that it will levy 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods from China and impose new limits on Chinese investments in the United States. Trump also plans restrictions on imported steel and aluminum from Europe.

Developments at home were upbeat with President Trump announcing a drug plan which is in line with the best interest of drug makers and deregulations in the banking sector which especially ease rules for smaller financial institutions. Several U.S. economic data also came in better than other developed economies.

Against this backdrop, several sectors and their stocks came in upbeat in May while many have fallen apart. So, it would be intriguing to know which stocks gained and which ones lost in in May.

Gainers

Below we have highlighted three stocks that gained more than 100% in the last four weeks (as of May 30, 2018). These stocks have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold).

Evolus Inc. (NASDAQ:EOLS) – Up 275.9%

It is a medical aesthetics company, which focuses on providing physicians and patients in aesthetic procedures and treatments. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3.

Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ:HEAR) – Up 215.8%

The Zacks Rank #1 company is an audio technology company. It designs audio products for consumer, commercial and healthcare markets.

TransEnterix Inc. (NYSE:TRXC) – Up 102.98%

The Zacks Rank #3 company designs and manufactures medical devices.

Losers

Here we highlight a few stocks that have a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or a 5 (Strong Sell). These stocks were in the deep red in the past four weeks (as of May 30, 2018).

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE:AVP) – Down 28.9%

It is a leading global beauty company and has a Zacks Rank #4.

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) – Down 24.0%

This is one of the world's leading cyber security company with a Zacks Rank #5.

Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) – Down 18.6%

The Zacks Rank #5 company is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company.

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