U.S. stock markets witnessed an impressive rally in 2024 after an astonishing bull run in 2023. Despite fluctuations, the bull run continued in 2025. Market participants remained concerned about the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade-related policies and their impact on U.S. economic growth, especially on the inflation rate.
Moreover, a relatively hawkish statement by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in a post-FOMC meeting in January regarding sticky inflation raised questions about the magnitude of interest rate cut this year. Additionally, prolonged geopolitical conflicts in the Middle-East and other parts of Asia and Europe pose concerns.
Consequently, a handful of 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 — SB Financial Group Inc. SBFG, First Community Corp. FCCO, StoneX Group Inc. SNEX, Byrna Technologies Inc. BYRN and BrainsWay Ltd. BWAY.
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: 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 six.
Let’s discuss five out of these six stocks here:
SB Financial Group Inc. is a financial services holding company with two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: State Bank and RDSI Banking Systems. State Bank offers a full range of financial services for consumers and small businesses, including wealth management, mortgage banking, commercial and agricultural lending. RDSI provides item processing services to community banks located in the Midwest.
The stock price of SBFG has climbed 18.4% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 4.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 0.1% over the last 90 days.
First Community Corp. operates as the bank holding company for First Community Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. FCCO operates through the Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segments.
The stock price of First Community has surged 15.2% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 26% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 9.6% over the last 30 days.
StoneX Group Inc. operates as a global financial services network that connects companies, organizations, traders, and investors to market ecosystem worldwide. SNEX operates through Commercial, Institutional, Retail, and Global Payments segments. SNEX through its subsidiaries, offer execution, post-trade settlement, clearing and custody services.
The stock price of StoneX Group has appreciated 12.7% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 9.3% for the current year (ending September 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 7.7% over the last seven days.
Byrna Technologies Inc. is a less-lethal self-defense technology company, engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of less-lethal personal security solutions in the United States, South Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and Canada.
BYRN’s products include handheld personal security devices and shoulder-fired launchers designed for use by consumers and professional security customers without the need for a background check or firearms license, projectiles, including chemical irritant, kinetic, and inert rounds, self-defense aerosol products comprising Byrna Bad Guy Repellent, and accessories and related safety products, such as Byrna Banshee, Byrna Shield, compressed carbon dioxide canisters, sighting systems, holsters, and Byrna-branded apparel..
The stock price of Byrna Technologies has advanced 11.2% in the past four weeks. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 48.1% for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 13% over the last seven days.
BrainsWay Ltd. develops and sells noninvasive neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders in the United States, East Asia, and internationally. BWAY offers Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation platform technology for the treatment of major depressive disorders, anxious depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, smoking addiction, bipolar disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, post-stroke rehabilitation, and Parkinson's diseases. BWAY serves doctors, hospitals, and medical centers in the field of psychiatry.
The stock price of BrainsWay gained 7.1% in the past four weeks. The company has expected earnings growth of 93.8% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 77.8% 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.
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.
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First Community Corporation (FCCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SB Financial Group, Inc. (SBFG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Brainsway Ltd. Sponsored ADR (BWAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Byrna Technologies Inc. (BYRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
StoneX Group Inc. (SNEX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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