 | ||||
| ||||
If you've been in this market for more than five minutes, you know the feeling. Red screens. Nasty headlines. A steady drip of reasons not to put money to work. This is the phase of the market where investors freeze. They want confirmation. They want the "all clear" signal. Unfortunately, by the time that signal arrives, the easy money is already gone. This is not the time to be timid. This is the time to prepare. I'm not talking about blindly swinging at anything with a ticker symbol. I'm talking about getting a shopping list together. Specifically, a list of high-beta names that can rip higher when the market finally decides it's had enough of the downside nonsense. Because when markets bounce, they don't do it politely. They sprint. Why High Beta Matters Before the Turn High beta stocks are the ones that exaggerate market moves. They fall harder on the way down, scare the living daylights out of you near the lows, and then absolutely explode higher when sentiment shifts. These are not "sleep well at night" utilities. These are the names that make you feel brilliant when you buy them at the right time—and foolish when you chase them too late. History is crystal clear on this point: The first phase off a market bottom is led by high beta, growth-oriented, beaten-down stocks. Not defensive names. Not dividend aristocrats. Those come later, once everyone feels safe again. The trick is simple in theory and difficult in practice: You don't wait for the bounce to start building the list. You build the list before it happens. Sentiment Is Rotten… and That's a Feature, Not a Bug Markets don't bottom when things feel good. They bottom when investors are exhausted, angry, and convinced rallies are traps. That's where we are emotionally right now. You can feel it in the tone of commentary, the obsession with every tick of CPI data, and the constant fear that "this time is different." It rarely is. When sentiment is washed out and positioning is light, it doesn't take much good news—or even less bad news—to spark a violent rally. And when that spark comes, high beta stocks are the gasoline. What Goes on the Shopping List? This is where discipline comes in. A shopping list is not a wish list. It's not a collection of stocks you hope will bounce. It's a curated group of names that meet very specific criteria: High beta exposure Think technology, semiconductors, fintech, digital platforms, innovative industrials. These stocks move more than the market—by design. Strong long-term themes AI, cloud computing, electrification, digital payments, next-gen infrastructure. You want secular tailwinds, not fads. Earnings power still intact Prices may be crushed, but the business models should not be broken. Ideally, analysts are still projecting growth on the other side of the slowdown. Easy way to identify this is by leaning on our Zacks Rank. Down big from highs A stock that's already near all-time highs doesn't give you the same torque. You want names that have been punished but not permanently impaired. Timing Comes After Preparation Here's where most investors get it backwards. They ask, "When should I buy?" before they ever ask, "What should I buy?" By the time the market starts ripping higher, your brain is flooded with fear of missing out. That's when mistakes happen. That's when you chase extended charts and ignore risk. If the shopping list is already built, the decision-making becomes mechanical instead of emotional. You're not scrambling, you're executing. Maybe you scale in. Maybe you wait for confirmation. Maybe you use technical levels like the 50-day or 200-day moving average as your trigger. Those details matter, but they matter less than being ready. Continued . . . | ||||
| ||||
| Markets Under Pressure
Two major market averages are already trading beneath their 50-day moving averages. This is an intermediate-term average that provides support during strong bull markets. When these levels give way, there is a risk of further downside action. Right now, we have already ventured beneath this key level on both the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500. It could be the start of the next leg lower. Or the opportunity you've been waiting for. The Big Picture Markets are cyclical. Fear comes and goes. Corrections feel endless while you're in them, and obvious once they're over. The investors who outperform over time are not the ones who perfectly call bottoms. They're the ones who prepare when others panic. High beta stocks are uncomfortable to own when volatility is high. That discomfort is precisely why the opportunity exists. You don't need to buy everything today. You don't need to predict the exact low. You just need to know what you want to own when the market decides to bounce. And trust me, it always does. The only question is whether you'll be ready when it happens. The Best Way to Find Top Picks Today . . . and Beyond Today, I'm pleased to offer you full, 30-day, real-time access to every stock and ETF we recommend as part of our celebrated Zacks Ultimate arrangement. Our expert-led recommendation services are designed to highlight the most promising stocks on the market, including the hottest AI firms, insider trades (the legal kind), home run moves, stocks under $10, earnings surprise stocks, and much more. The total cost is only $1, and there's no obligation to spend a cent more. This includes the real-time buy and sell recommendations, along with expert market insights from ALL of Zacks' private portfolio services. While future success isn't guaranteed, Zacks Ultimate members recently had opportunities to close gains of +220.4%, +499.3%, +627.5%, and even +2,027.7%.¹ Free Bonus Report: You'll also receive our Ultimate Four Special Report which highlights our best 4 stocks to buy in Q4. These 4 stocks are judged by our experts to have the greatest upside this quarter and beyond — and we believe now is the perfect time to get in. Don't wait. This opportunity ends at midnight Sunday, December 21. Gain Zacks Ultimate Access and Our Bonus Ultimate Four Special Report Right Now for Just $1 » All the Best,
David Bartosiak is Zacks' resident earnings surprise expert. He selects stocks and delivers daily commentary for our Suprise Trader portfolio. | ||||
 | ||||
| ¹ The results listed above are not (or may not be) representative of the performance of all selections made by Zacks Investment Research's newsletter editors and may represent the partial close of a position. Access grants you a comprehensive list of all open and closed trades. This free resource is being sent by Zacks.com. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms of Service". https://www.zacks.com/terms_of_service Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or U.S. investment adviser or investment bank. The Zacks #1 Rank Performance covers the period beginning on January 1, 1988 through November 3, 2025. The performance is the equal weighted performance of a hypothetical portfolio consisting of stocks with a Zacks Rank of #1 that was rebalanced monthly from January 1988 through December 2013 and weekly from 12/31/13 through Monday's open on November 3, 2025. For each stock with a Zacks Rank #1 at the beginning of the month, the total return during the month was calculated as the % change in the price of the stock from the closing price of the prior month to the closing price of the current month plus any dividends received during the month. The monthly individual stock returns were then averaged to determine the portfolio return for the month. For each stock with a Zacks Rank #1 at the beginning of the week, the total return during the week was calculated as the % change in the price of the stock from the opening price for the week to the opening price of the next week plus any dividends received during the week. The weekly individual stock returns were then averaged to determine the portfolio return for the week. If no month-end price or week end open price was available for a stock, it was not included in the portfolio return for the month or the week. The monthly and weekly returns were compounded to arrive at the annual returns. The annualized return is the annual return that, had it been achieved in each year or portion of a year, would have compounded to create the total return over the full time period. These returns are based on the list of Zacks Rank #1 Stocks that was available to clients of Zacks as of the beginning of the month, when returns were calculated monthly, or as of the beginning of the week when returns were calculated weekly. These returns are higher than the returns an investor could achieve investing real money in a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 stocks because the returns of the hypothetical Zacks Rank #1 portfolio exclude a number of costs, including commissions incurred for trading, the average bid ask spread, the price impact of the trading and, prior to 2013, in those months when the end of the month fell on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the overnight return from the month end close to the open on the next trading day. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance_disclosure for information about the performance numbers displayed above. Zacks Emails Zacks Investment Research |
Sabtu, 20 Desember 2025
Building the Shopping List Before the Bounce
Langganan:
Posting Komentar (Atom)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar