Managed health care giant Humana held near its all-time high until recently, a sign of remarkable strength given the beating the market has taken this year. As recently as May 27 it traded at 461.87, a few percentage points below its all-time intraday high 475.44, set in May 2021. When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, focus on those with rising relative price strength. One that fits that bill is Humana stock. On Thursday its Relative Strength (RS) Rating surged to 84, up from 79 the day before.
The new 84 RS Rating means that Humana stock is outperforming 84% of all stocks in terms of price performance. It's a notable upgrade because market research shows that the stocks that go on to make the biggest gains tend to have an RS Rating north of 80 as they launch their biggest price moves.
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Humana Stock's Other Ratings Also Healthy
Among its other ratings, Humana stock boasts a 93 Composite Rating, placing it in the top 7% of stocks on a group of key fundamental and technical metrics.
Humana stock is building a consolidation with a 475.54 buy point. See if it can clear the breakout price in trade at least 40% higher than normal. On Thursday, Humana stock slid 2.3% to 423.21.
The relative strength line, the blue line on IBD charts, is currently in new high ground, a bullish sign of market leadership.
Earnings grew 5% last quarter to $8.04 per share. Revenue was up 16% to $24 billion.
Humana stock earns the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Medical-Managed Care industry group. Anthem Is No. 1 and Centene is No. 3, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
When you're researching the best stocks to buy and watch, keep a close on eye on relative price strength.
IBD's unique rating measures share price movement with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The grade shows how a stock's price behavior over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in our database.
