Most clients of Argus Research are buy-and-hold investors. As such, our proprietary BUY-HOLD-SELL ratings and target prices are established with one-year time horizons. We also have five-year ratings for even longer-term investors. But we do have select hedge fund clients that are looking for more trading opportunities or for long/short portfolio ideas. The early weeks of 2025, with roller-coaster ups and downs in stock prices, likely have provided more opportunities for momentum traders than for fundamental investors. Indeed, the VIX Volatility Index is near 24, up from 17 at the start of the year and above the historical average of 20. The list below includes some of the shorter-term trading ideas our analysts and strategists have identified recently. All stocks are rated BUY at Argus.

Ventas Inc. is a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in real estate serving the healthcare sector and is a leader in private-pay senior housing in the U.S. The company acquires, develops, and leases about 1,400 assets in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Ventas breaks its operations into three property segments: SHOP (senior housing operating portfolio); OM&R (medical office and research); and NNN, or Triple-Net Healthcare (hospitals, skilled-care nursing facilities, long-term acute care, in-patient rehabilitation). At the beginning of 2025, VTR's portfolio included about 800 SHOP assets, with over 77,000 tenants, 22 million square feet of office and research space, and Triple-Net Healthcare properties with about 10,000 beds. Total revenues in 2024 were $4.9 billion with NNN accounting for 13%; OM&R accounting for 18%; Resident Fees from SHOP accounting for 69%. SHOP accounted for about half of 2024 annualized NOI. The company was founded in 1998 as a spin-off of Vencor, a healthcare services company. VTR also has an asset management business, Ventas Investment Management, with $5 billion under management. VTR shares are a component of the S&P 500. The company's market cap is just under $29 billion.

U.S. stocks continued to fall on Thursday on tariff and geopolitical concerns. Tech stocks fell after Marvell reported disappointing sales. The Dow fell 1%, the S&P 500 lost 2% and the Nasdaq was down more than 2.6%.

Ventas owns a diversified healthcare portfolio of almost 1,400 in-place properties spread across the senior housing, medical office, hospital, life science, and skilled nursing/post-acute care. The portfolio includes almost 100 properties in Canada and the United Kingdom as the company looks for additional investment opportunities in countries with mature healthcare systems that operate similarly to the United States. The firm also owns mortgages and other loans, contributing about 1% of net operating income.