The U.S. stock market, after a stellar run in 2023 and 2024, hit a rough patch in early 2025. February saw a sharp pullback, with the S&P 500 tumbling 1.4% and extending losses into March. Investors are becoming increasingly wary of the economic impact of Trump’s tariff policies, which could fuel inflation and slow down growth. The Federal Reserve has held off on further rate cuts, adding to market uncertainty. Meanwhile, concerns of a near-term recession have resurfaced, with the Atlanta Fed projecting a 2.8% contraction in first-quarter 2025.
In this uncertain environment, relative price strength is proving to be a smart strategy for investors. Stocks that have held up well despite market turbulence often signal strong underlying fundamentals and continued demand. Companies with high relative price strength tend to outperform when market sentiment stabilizes. Identifying such stocks can help investors position themselves for potential upside while mitigating risks. As the broader market faces headwinds, focusing on resilience and momentum can provide a crucial edge.
At this stage, investors would be wise to consider stocks like Ooma, Inc. OOMA, ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP, Matson, Inc. MATX, Virtu Financial, Inc. VIRT and EverQuote, Inc. EVER based on their relative price strength.
Whether a stock has the potential to offer considerable returns is determined primarily by its earnings and valuation ratios. Simultaneously, it is essential to check whether its price performance exceeds its peers or the industry average.
Upon such comparison, if we find that a stock is unable to match up to wider sectoral growth despite having impressive earnings momentum or valuation multiples, it may be better to avoid it.
However, those outperforming their respective industries or benchmarks should be included in your portfolio since they have a higher chance of securing significant returns. Picking a stock that outperforms its peers ensures a winning option on your hands.
Then again, it is imperative that you determine whether or not an investment has relevant upside potential when considering stocks with significant relative price strength. Stocks delivering better than the S&P 500 for 1 to 3 months, at least, and having solid fundamentals indicate room for growth and are the best ways to go about this strategy.
Finally, it is crucial to find out whether analysts are optimistic about the upcoming earnings of these companies. In order to do this, we have added positive estimate revisions for the current quarter’s (Q1) earnings to our screen. When a stock undergoes an upward revision, it leads to additional price gains.
Relative % Price change – 12 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 4 weeks greater than 0
Relative % Price change – 1 week greater than 0
(We have considered those stocks that have been outperforming the S&P 500 over the last 12 weeks, four weeks and one week.)
% Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0: Positive current-quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.
Zacks Rank equal to 1: Only Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks — that have returned more than 26% annually over the last 26 years and surpassed the S&P 500 in 23 of the last 26 years — can get through. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Current Price greater than or equal to $5 and Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: A minimum price of $5 is a good standard to screen low-priced stocks, while a high trading volume would imply adequate liquidity.
VGM Score less than or equal to B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best upside potential.
Here are five of the 13 stocks that made it through the screen:
Ooma: Founded in 2003 and based in Sunnyvale, CA, it provides cloud-based phone systems, POTS replacement and residential VoIP services. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings for Ooma indicates 13.6% growth. It has a VGM Score of B.
Ooma beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 18%, on average. Its shares have risen 59.3% in a year.
ANI Pharmaceuticals: Headquartered in Baudette, MN, this diversified biopharmaceutical company is focused on branded as well as generic prescription drugs. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings for ANI Pharmaceuticals indicates 21.4% growth. It has a VGM Score of A.
ANI Pharmaceuticals beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 17.3%, on average. ANIP shares have declined 4.4% in a year.
Matson: Based in Honolulu, HI, the company is a leading shipping and logistics firm. MATX’s current market capitalization is $4.3 billion. The company has a VGM Score of A.
Notably, over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Matson’s 2025 earnings has moved up 20.6%. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average being 12.7%. MATX shares have gone up 23.7% in a year.
Virtu Financial: Based in New York, it leverages cutting-edge technology to provide execution services and data, analytics and connectivity products to its clients and deliver liquidity to the global markets. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings of Virtu Financial indicates 3.9% growth. It has a VGM Score of B.
Virtu Financial beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 25.1%, on average. VIRT shares have risen 84.8% in a year.
EverQuote: Based in Cambridge, MA, it is an online insurance marketplace for consumers shopping for auto, home and renters and life insurance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings of EverQuote indicates 34.1% growth. The company has a VGM Score of B.
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EverQuote’s 2025 earnings has moved up 47.5%. The company has a market capitalization of $901.3 million. EVER shares have gone up 36.4% in a year.
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.
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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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EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Matson, Inc. (MATX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANIP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Virtu Financial, Inc. (VIRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ooma, Inc. (OOMA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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