I’ve got some good news for you… and some bad news.
The good news is that Iran and Oman have reached a temporary agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz!
The bad news is that the U.S. wasn’t invited to the talks. And it’s not yet a full reopening of the Strait. The deal may very well include tolls on ships passing through the Strait.
So, it looks like the Iran war isn’t any closer to getting resolved.
That means, for the foreseeable future, energy companies with operations outside the Middle East should have the wind in their sails.
We’ll get to that in a moment.
First, we have some other business to get to.
Today is Thursday, which means we’ll be looking at stocks that recently crossed into “Bullish” territory by earning a Green Zone Power Rating of 60 or higher.
Consider it a quality list of potential stock trades.
Let’s start with the newest additions from the S&P 500 Index.
S&P 500 New Bulls
I ran my usual screen for S&P 500 companies that popped up as “Bullish” this week, and this is what I came up with:
When you think of cutting-edge fintech, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) probably isn’t the first stock you’d think of.
Launched in the 1990s, PayPal was fintech before fintech was a buzzword.
All the same, the stock continues to grow like a weed. It rates a “Bullish” 63 on its growth factor and a “Strong Bullish” 85 and 90 on its value and quality factors, respectively.
Another throwback from the 1990s, Cisco Systems (CSCO), also made the list this week.
The stodgy old maker of networking equipment from the early days of the internet has reinvented itself as a critical AI infrastructure play. The shares are on fire, with a momentum factor rating of 90.
That’s not too surprising given that the shares have nearly doubled over the past year!
Heavy-duty truck maker PACCAR (PCAR) makes the list as well. PACCAR makes trucks under the Kenworth and Peterbilt brands, among others. It also designs and builds advanced diesel engines and powertrains.
Is American manufacturing enjoying a renaissance?
Maybe.
That was certainly one of the major themes I covered in this month’s issue of Green Zone Fortunes. Regardless, Wall Street seems to agree. PACCAR rates as “Bullish” on its momentum factor and rates strongly on volatility and quality, too.
New Bulls Outside the S&P 500
Moving on, let’s look at the newly “Bullish” stocks outside of the S&P 500. I ran a screen for the top 20 stocks with the largest score increases over the past month, and this is what popped up:
Topping the list is Taiwanese chip foundry United Microelectronics (UMC).
This is Taiwan’s original chipmaker, founded in 1980 and predating even Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), a listed company.
Like Taiwan Semiconductor, UMC manufactures chips for other companies rather than designing its own.
But unlike Taiwan Semiconductor, UMC doesn’t build cutting-edge AI chips. It focuses on mature and specialty chips for autos and industrial electronics.
United rates as “Strong Bullish” on its momentum and quality factors and as respectably “Bullish” on its value and growth factors.
Finally, notice that protein is in everything these days?
You can even buy a protein-infused latte at Starbucks now. Muscle mass has become trendy!
Well, the muscle-building craze is a welcome development for BellRing Brands (BRBR).
BellRing is a pure play on protein. It makes assorted protein shakes, powders and bars under the Premier Protein, Dymatize and PowerBar brands.
BellRing is a volatile stock, and it’s significantly underperformed over the past two years as the company has dealt with significant inventory issues.
Still, it rates as “Bullish” on its value, quality and growth factors.
But before jumping in, you might want to wait for evidence that the shares have bottomed and started a new uptrend.
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
