It is human nature to compare ourselves with others. That applies to our stock picks, too. How often do we compare a stock we hold with a benchmark like the S&P 500? Quite frequently, because we want our picks to do better. When we get a tool that makes it easier to find these winning stocks, we are improving the likelihood of that outperformance.
The relative strength line tool on IBD MarketSurge shows stocks that are doing better than the S&P 500.
But rather than sift through thousands and thousands of stocks, a reckoner is found in the IBD Stock Screener that looks for these winning stocks.
Amazon Stock, 3 Others Near Buy Points
Amazon.com has been outperforming the S&P 500. Shares are approaching their all-time high of 186.57 as the relative strength line is at a new high.
The company's cloud platform, AWS, has been increasingly adopting artificial intelligence tools. The leader of the internet retail group had a strong fourth quarter that sent shares soaring on the Feb. 2 announcement.
Sales grew 14% to $170 billion while earnings came in at $1 per share vs. 3 cents in the prior year. The Magnificent Seven stock has gained 23% year to date versus the S&P 500's 9.7% rise. The stock is extended from its November breakout, however.
For the first quarter, the company expects sales of $142 billion at the midpoint, or 11% growth.
Aerospace and defense stock Textron has formed a three-weeks-tight formation with a buy point at 96.80. Though sales growth has been in single digits over the past six quarters, earnings growth ranged from 8% to 35%.
Shares gapped up after fourth-quarter results came out on Jan. 24, when sales grew 7% to $3.9 billion while earnings per share of $1.60 rose 30% from the prior year. For 2024, the company expects sales of $14.6 billion, up from $13.7 billion in 2023. Textron makes private jets and Bell helicopters.
In finance and investment management, KKR has also been outperforming the S&P 500. Shares formed a three-weeks-tight pattern with a buy point of 103.48. KKR is a turnaround story and has seen revenue grow in the last four quarters after several declines. KKR provides alternative assets management services as well as insurance products.
Freshpet is also near a buy point of 116.96 as its relative strength line hits a new high. Shares gapped up in February after the provider of refrigerated pet food reported earnings of 38 cents per quarter, reversing a loss of 6 cents in the prior year.
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