In This Article:
Great things are happening to the stocks in this article. They’re all outperforming the market over the last month because of positive catalysts such as a new product line, constructive news flow, or even a loyal Reddit fanbase.
While momentum can be a leading indicator, it has burned many investors as it doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. All that said, here is one stock with the fundamentals to back up its performance and two not so much.
Two Momentum Stocks to Sell:
Analog Devices (ADI)
One-Month Return: +25.7%
Founded by two MIT graduates, Ray Stata and Matthew Lorber in 1965, Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) is one of the largest providers of high performance analog integrated circuits used mainly in industrial end markets, along with communications, autos, and consumer devices.
Why Does ADI Give Us Pause?
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Products and services are facing significant end-market challenges during this cycle as sales have declined by 13.8% annually over the last two years
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Day-to-day expenses have swelled relative to revenue over the last five years as its operating margin fell by 8.1 percentage points
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Underwhelming 6.2% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities, and its decreasing returns suggest its historical profit centers are aging
Analog Devices is trading at $225.70 per share, or 29.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with ADI, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Hudson Technologies (HDSN)
One-Month Return: +34.8%
Founded in 1991, Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) specializes in refrigerant services and solutions, providing refrigerant sales, reclamation, and recycling.
Why Are We Cautious About HDSN?
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Annual sales declines of 15.5% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
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Falling earnings per share over the last two years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term
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Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability
Hudson Technologies’s stock price of $7.59 implies a valuation ratio of 9.9x forward EV-to-EBITDA. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why HDSN doesn’t pass our bar.
One Momentum Stock to Watch:
HubSpot (HUBS)
One-Month Return: +22.4%
Started in 2006 by two MIT grad students, HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses market themselves, sell, and get found on the internet.
Why Do We Like HUBS?
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Average billings growth of 19.7% over the last year enhances its liquidity and shows there is steady demand for its products
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Software is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a top-tier gross margin of 84.8%
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Operating profits increased over the last year as the company gained some leverage on its fixed costs and became more efficient