Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the "long context," investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.

Even though momentum is a popular stock characteristic, it can be tough to define. Debate surrounding which are the best and worst metrics to focus on is lengthy, but the Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us.

Below, we take a look at Genworth Financial (GNW - Free Report) , which currently has a Momentum Style Score of B. We also discuss some of the main drivers of the Momentum Style Score, like price change and earnings estimate revisions.

It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. Genworth Financial currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of "A or B" outperform the market over the following one-month period.

You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>>

Set to Beat the Market?Let's discuss some of the components of the Momentum Style Score for GNW that show why this financial services company shows promise as a solid momentum pick.

Looking at a stock's short-term price activity is a great way to gauge if it has momentum, since this can reflect both the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand at the moment. It is also useful to compare a security to its industry, as this can help investors pinpoint the top companies in a particular area.

For GNW, shares are up 9.67% over the past week while the Zacks Insurance - Life Insurance industry is up 2.22% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 12.98% compares favorably with the industry's 5.35% performance as well.

While any stock can see a spike in price, it takes a real winner to consistently outperform the market. Shares of Genworth Financial have increased 13.48% over the past quarter, and have gained 36.67% in the last year. In comparison, the S&P 500 has only moved 4.95% and 19.48%, respectively.

Investors should also take note of GNW's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. Right now GNW is averaging 2,959,660 shares for the last 20 days..

Earnings OutlookThe Zacks Momentum Style Score encompasses many things, including estimate revisions and a stock's price movement. Investors should note that earnings estimates are also significant to the Zacks Rank, and a nice path here can be promising. We have recently been noticing this with GNW.

Over the past two months, 1 earnings estimate moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. This revision helped boost GNW's consensus estimate, increasing from $0.44 to $1.10 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 1 estimate has moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period.

Bottom LineTaking into account all of these elements, it should come as no surprise that GNW is a #2 (Buy) stock with a Momentum Score of B. If you've been searching for a fresh pick that's set to rise in the near-term, make sure to keep Genworth Financial on your short list.

Big tech is wobbling. The Russell 2000 isn't.

That split has sent investors hunting through smaller names for value the mega caps stopped offering months ago. James Early, who runs research at Curia Financial and models his stock-picking on Warren Buffett's approach to durable, cash-generating businesses, laid out three small-cap stocks trading under $10 a share, each profitable and built on fundamentals rather than hype.

Mega-cap tech's loss has become small-cap America's gain, and these three names show why.

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Part of the appeal of a sub-$10 stock is simple math: a few hundred dollars buys a lot more shares than it would in a $200 name. Fractional shares have made that distinction less important than it used to be, but Early's advice still holds—don't anchor too much on price alone. What matters is whether the business underneath is worth owning.

Home Health Care Draws Insurer InterestAveanna Healthcare Today

AVAH

Aveanna Healthcare

$9.62 +0.29 (+3.05%)

As of 01:21 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$3.73▼

$10.32P/E Ratio8.16

Price Target$10.78

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings NASDAQ: AVAH provides in-home care for complex and expensive patient cases, with Medicare and Medicaid making up roughly 91% of revenue. Home-based care costs a fraction of hospital monitoring, and insurers have taken notice.

Aveanna Healthcare delivered 16% revenue growth over the past year and raised its guidance twice, evidence that demand is outrunning even management's own expectations. The company operates across dozens of U.S. states.

Early sees this as a potential buyout target rather than a moonshot. At a roughly $2 billion market cap, a larger insurer, home health platform, or private equity firm could easily absorb it. The stock has already climbed more than 120% over the past year, but Early argues that run-up matters less for a company this small: institutions can't buy in size without moving the price, which leaves room for retail investors to get in before Wall Street can.

Healthcare overall has lagged its potential in recent years, overshadowed by AI enthusiasm. But roughly 18% to 19% of U.S. GDP flows through healthcare spending, and an aging population isn't a trend that quickly reverses. That demand tends to hold up even in a downturn, since medical care is one budget line people don't cut.

An Ugly Legacy Business Funds a Clean OneGenworth Financial Today

GNW

Genworth Financial

$9.86 +0.16 (+1.60%)

As of 01:21 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$7.13▼

$9.99P/E Ratio18.99

Price Target$12.00

Genworth Financial NYSE: GNW splits into two very different businesses.

The first is its roughly 82% stake in Enact Holdings NASDAQ: ACT, which sells private mortgage insurance in a market growing about 8% annually. That segment runs at a 55% net profit margin, funding the second bucket: a closed book of long-term care policies written decades ago and badly underpriced, still costing the company $300 million to $400 million a year.

That drag is finite. Genworth trades around a PE of 17, below the S&P 500 average, and the stock has climbed steadily over the past five years as the Enact business has carried the load. Early is drawn to exactly this kind of complexity: a company that looks messier from the outside than it performs on the inside.

Growth here won't be explosive. Early expects something closer to 10% to 12% annually, tracking a mortgage insurance market that grows faster than GDP but isn't reinventing itself. What Genworth has demonstrated, through both rising and falling rate environments, is that the pivot already worked. The stock hasn't moved much with rate swings, and Early argues a softer rate environment ahead, with more housing inventory, could help rather than hurt.

A 1990s Survivor Bets on AIeGain Today

$6.60 +0.02 (+0.23%)

As of 01:21 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$5.50▼

$15.95P/E Ratio4.78

Price Target$15.25

eGain Corporation NASDAQ: EGAN has been around since 1997. Founded by Ashu Roy, the customer relationship management software company went public in 1999, then lost nearly all its value before a reverse split kept it listed. It has quietly stayed profitable for decades on $80 million to $90 million in annual revenue.

Now eGain is repositioning itself as an AI customer service platform, and early data is notable: non-AI customer retention is around 101%, while AI-driven retention is near 116%. Clients include the IRS, JPMorgan Chase & Co NYSE: JPM, and other large enterprises.

The stock has fallen from roughly $15 a year ago to the mid-single digits, tracking the broader software sell-off as the market debates whether AI helps or guts software companies. Early argues the labor-intensive nature of customer service makes AI a net positive here, not a threat, and that eGain's three-decade profitable base offers a floor even if the AI bet takes time to play out. He's still clear-eyed about the risk: this is a micro-cap that can swing sharply for no obvious reason, and he keeps positions like it small, often under 1% of a portfolio.

The Risk and the UpsideThe upside in small caps and micro caps is real: institutions largely can't compete for shares, leaving retail investors an edge that mostly disappears once a company gets bigger. The risk is real, too, and it's larger than most investors assume. Research from Arizona State University professor Hendrik Bessembinder, covering nearly a century of U.S. stock market data, found that just 4% of publicly traded companies accounted for all of the market's net wealth creation above cash returns. The rest, collectively, did no better than holding Treasury bills.

That's the case for keeping any single small-cap bet modest, no matter how strong the story. Stay disciplined on position size, because that's what determines whether a good idea turns into a good outcome.

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RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) today announced that Tom McInerney, President & Chief Executive Officer, will be taking a temporary leave of absence from his role to focus on his health. The Board of Directors has named Jerome Upton, currently Genworth's Chief Financial Officer, as Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. “Our thoughts are with Tom and his family as he recovers, and we look forward to his return,” said Meli.

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) today announced it will issue its earnings release containing first quarter results after the market closes on May 5, 2026. A conference call will be held on May 6, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss the quarter's results. Genworth's earnings release, summary presentation and financial supplement will be available through the company's website, http://investor.genworth.com, at the time of their release to the public. Genworth'.

Genworth Financial, Inc. (GNW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) announced the election of all ten director nominees at its 2026 annual meeting of stockholders today. The board members re-elected were G. Kent Conrad, Karen E. Dyson, Jill R. Goodman, Melina E. Higgins, Thomas J. McInerney, Howard D. Mills, III, Robert P. Restrepo Jr., Elaine A. Sarsynski, Ramsey D. Smith, and Steven C. Van Wyk. At the annual meeting, stockholders also approved the advisory vote on named executive officer com.