Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Instruments sector might want to consider either Alcon (ALC - Free Report) or Idexx Laboratories (IDXX - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Currently, both Alcon and Idexx Laboratories are holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.
The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.
ALC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 19.59, while IDXX has a forward P/E of 38.48. We also note that ALC has a PEG ratio of 1.70. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. IDXX currently has a PEG ratio of 3.09.
Another notable valuation metric for ALC is its P/B ratio of 1.53. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, IDXX has a P/B of 28.84.
Based on these metrics and many more, ALC holds a Value grade of B, while IDXX has a Value grade of D.
Both ALC and IDXX are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that ALC is the superior value option right now.
Key Takeaways SPB is investing in innovation and brand building to support growth across pet care, home & garden.Spectrum Brands is expanding e-commerce, digital marketing and omnichannel capabilities. SPB is improving efficiency through portfolio optimization, ERP modernization and capital allocation. Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (SPB - Free Report) is strategically investing in brand equity, digital channels and innovations. The company has made significant investments in marketing, product development and e-commerce, efforts that are positioning it for long-term success and demand resilience, especially across its pet care, home & garden and grooming categories. SPB is actively pursuing digital transformation and portfolio reshaping as core pillars of its long-term strategy.
Innovation continues to play a meaningful role in the company’s strategy. Spectrum Brands is prioritizing product launches primarily in its pet care and home and garden segments to remain competitive and drive growth. The company is also focused on its core strategic pillars by simplifying its organizational structure, improving operational efficiencies and reinvigorating its global workforce.
Spectrum Brands is advancing its digital transformation by expanding its e-commerce capabilities, strengthening digital marketing efforts and enhancing omnichannel execution. The company is leveraging data analytics and consumer insights to improve marketing effectiveness, optimize merchandising and support product innovation. It is also investing in enterprise technology upgrades, including ERP modernization, to streamline supply-chain operations, improve inventory management and boost productivity.
Overall, SPB is focused on driving growth by investing in product innovation, strengthening its portfolio of trusted brands and expanding its presence. The company also remains committed to disciplined capital allocation, focusing on cash flow generation and portfolio optimization. In a nutshell, management is aligning the portfolio toward power brands and faster-turning consumables while pursuing greater scale. These strategic initiatives, combined with continued brand investments, position Spectrum Brands to drive long-term success.
SPB’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesSpectrum Brands’ shares have gained 30.5% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 4.9% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SPB trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28X compared with the industry’s average of 15.14X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SPB’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year drop of 2% while that of fiscal 2027 EPS shows growth of 3.5%. The company’s EPS estimates for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 have been stable over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Spectrum Brands currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Key Picks in the Consumer Discretionary SpaceDuluth Holdings Inc. (DLTH - Free Report) , which deals in casual wear, workwear and accessories for men and women, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Duluth Holdings delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 107.5%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLTH’s current financial-year EPS indicates a decline of 11.6% from the year-ago number.
Columbia Sportswear (COLM - Free Report) engages in marketing and distribution of outdoor and active lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories. It currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COLM’s current financial-year EPS is expected to rise 4.6% from the corresponding year-ago reported figure. COLM delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 44.1%, on average.
Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL - Free Report) , which is a designer and marketer of premium lifestyle products, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
RL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.1%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ralph Lauren’s current financial-year sales indicates growth of 6.3% from the year-ago number.
NiSource (NI - Free Report) could be a solid choice for investors given its recent upgrade to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). An upward trend in earnings estimates -- one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices -- has triggered this rating change.
The sole determinant of the Zacks rating is a company's changing earnings picture. The Zacks Consensus Estimate -- the consensus of EPS estimates from the sell-side analysts covering the stock -- for the current and following years is tracked by the system.
Since a changing earnings picture is a powerful factor influencing near-term stock price movements, the Zacks rating system is very useful for individual investors. They may find it difficult to make decisions based on rating upgrades by Wall Street analysts, as these are mostly driven by subjective factors that are hard to see and measure in real time.
Therefore, the Zacks rating upgrade for NiSource basically reflects positivity about its earnings outlook that could translate into buying pressure and an increase in its stock price.
Most Powerful Force Impacting Stock PricesThe change in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, has proven to be strongly correlated with the near-term price movement of its stock. That's partly because of the influence of institutional investors that use earnings and earnings estimates for calculating the fair value of a company's shares. An increase or decrease in earnings estimates in their valuation models simply results in higher or lower fair value for a stock, and institutional investors typically buy or sell it. Their bulk investment action then leads to price movement for the stock.
For NiSource, rising earnings estimates and the consequent rating upgrade fundamentally mean an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors' appreciation of this improving business trend should push the stock higher.
Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate RevisionsEmpirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock movements, so it could be truly rewarding if such revisions are tracked for making an investment decision. Here is where the tried-and-tested Zacks Rank stock-rating system plays an important role, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions.
The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Earnings Estimate Revisions for NiSourceThis energy holding company is expected to earn $2.05 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2026, which represents no year-over-year change.
Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for NiSource. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 0.3%.
Bottom LineUnlike the overly optimistic Wall Street analysts whose rating systems tend to be weighted toward favorable recommendations, the Zacks rating system maintains an equal proportion of "buy" and "sell" ratings for its entire universe of more than 4,000 stocks at any point in time. Irrespective of market conditions, only the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks get a "Strong Buy" rating and the next 15% get a "Buy" rating. So, the placement of a stock in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks indicates its superior earnings estimate revision feature, making it a solid candidate for producing market-beating returns in the near term.
You can learn more about the Zacks Rank here >>>
The upgrade of NiSource to a Zacks Rank #2 positions it in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, implying that the stock might move higher in the near term.
Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Shiba Inu has completed a golden cross on its short-term price charts, with indicators now suggesting it might be time for the market to pay attention.
A golden cross has emerged on the Shiba Inu 2-hour chart as the MA 50 has crossed above the MA 200. The signal follows last week's rebound, which saw SHIB hit $0.00000458 on July 4.
SHIB/USD 2-Hour Chart, Image By TradingViewMost majors, including SHIB, were little changed on the day; Shiba Inu was up 0.37% in the last 24 hours to $0.00000436. The token was, however, up 3.19% in the last seven days.
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The crypto market is seeing mixed trading action on Tuesday as investors await further economic data. Investors are looking ahead to Wednesday's FOMC minutes, the first under new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, which will provide further clues on monetary policy. Thursday will see the release of the weekly initial jobless claims for June.
Time to pay attention?Shiba Inu advanced for most of the past week, reaching a high of $0.00000458, but the move lacked follow-through. Since then, Shiba Inu has fallen, marking two days of decline since July 5.
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But a key indicator for altcoins looks positive. CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season indicator rose to 47/100, suggesting optimism might be returning to the altcoin sector. Open interest in the crypto market has surged by $108 million in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Meanwhile, some key indicators are flashing mixed signals, with positive funding rates potentially signaling bullish sentiment.
For Shiba Inu, bulls are eyeing a decisive break above the daily MA 50, which is at $0.00000489, to achieve a rise to $0.000005. Shiba Inu defended the $0.00000405 level but failed to turn the rebound into a sustained move to $0.000005.
Buyers stepped in after a continued drop to a low of $0.00000405 on June 26, with Shiba Inu rebounding afterwards, but the rise failed to reach the levels needed to confirm momentum.
Let me tell you about the quietest room in crypto this week. Ethereum ran 11.7%. Solana ran 10%. PEPE, the noisy neighbor, jumped 15.67%. And Shiba Inu, once the loudest token on the planet, moved 2.92% and barely anyone mentioned it. Silence like that is never neutral. It is either a graveyard or a loaded spring, and the difference is worth understanding before you touch the chart.
SHIB trades at $0.00004360 as of July 7, 2026, up 0.63% on the day, per CoinGecko. Market cap sits at $2.56 billion, still comfortably the second largest meme coin behind Dogecoin. So far, so ordinary. The interesting part is what is not happening.
The Unique Angle: a $2.5 billion coin trading like a ghost town Here is the number nobody puts in a headline. SHIB’s 24-hour volume is $73.9 million. Against a $2.56 billion market cap, that is a turnover of about 2.9%. Now walk one floor down the meme building: PEPE, less than half SHIB’s size, turned over $207 million in the same 24 hours, roughly 18.5% of its cap. The smaller coin is doing nearly three times the absolute volume of the bigger one.
Think of trading volume as foot traffic through a shop. PEPE’s shop has a line out the door. SHIB’s shop has the lights on, the inventory intact, and almost nobody walking in. And here is the thing about that shop: the owners are not selling either. A coin with this little turnover that still holds a $2.5 billion valuation is a coin whose holders have gone dormant rather than gone away. They locked the doors from the inside.
I have covered SHIB long enough to know this pattern. It compressed like this before, in stretches where weeks of nothing made everyone stop watching. Then the repricing came fast, because a thin order book cuts both ways: the same illiquidity that lets a coin drift can make it jump when real volume finally shows up.
The One Number That Matters 2.9%. The daily turnover ratio. Remember it, because it is the single cleanest way to track whether the SHIB story is changing. When that ratio starts climbing toward 8% or 10% while price holds steady, attention is returning before the move. If price rises on the same dead volume, distrust it; thin rallies in thin books collapse just as easily. The ratio is the tell, not the price.
Price Prediction Scenarios I will not hand you invented decimal targets; that game got this industry its reputation. Conditions instead.
Base case: the long sleep continues. The market keeps favoring majors and high-velocity memes like PEPE. SHIB drifts in its range, and $0.00004360 a month from now looks a lot like $0.00004360 today. Dormancy is a valid forecast, and honestly the most probable one on current data.
Bull case: the sleeper wakes. Meme rotation broadens past PEPE, volume returns to the second-biggest brand in the sector, and SHIB does what illiquid giants do: gap upward through empty order books. A weekly close above $0.00004800 with turnover above 8% would be the first credible signal. Above that, the chart thins out quickly. To be explicit: this is speculation, a scenario with conditions attached, not a prediction of timing.
Bear case: the graveyard reading. Dormancy is not always a spring. Sometimes it is exhaustion. If the wider market rolls over, a coin nobody is actively bidding falls with almost no cushion. Below $0.00004000 the shop analogy inverts: the owners finally start selling into no bids, and the drawdown compounds. SHIB’s all-time high near $0.00008845 from October 2021 stands almost exactly double today’s price, a reminder of how long silence can last.
The Burn Math, Without the Fairy Tale Every SHIB conversation eventually arrives at the burn: tokens sent to dead wallets forever, shrinking supply, and, the theory goes, lifting the price of what remains. The mechanism is real. The math around it usually is not, so let me lay it out the way I would to a friend.
Price is market cap divided by circulating supply. Burns shrink the denominator. For burns to move the price meaningfully on their own, they have to remove a meaningful share of a supply measured in the hundreds of trillions. Removing a few billion tokens from a pool that size is a rounding error, the equivalent of scooping cups of water out of a lake and expecting the shoreline to move. What burns actually do well is narrative: they give the community a live metric to rally around, and in an attention asset, a rallying metric has value of its own.
The version of the burn story that deserves respect is the long one. If burning ever scales into a serious percentage of supply per year through ecosystem activity, the denominator argument starts to matter. That is a structural, multi-year thesis, and it depends on usage numbers that need checking at every update of this page, not on hope. Until those numbers change materially, treat the burn as sentiment fuel, not as arithmetic that guarantees anything.
Key Levels Support: $0.00004000, the level that keeps the structure intact. Resistance: $0.00004800 first, then the round $0.00005000. The honest summary: SHIB is mid-range and directionless, and level-watching matters less here than volume-watching.
Both Sides, Plainly The bull case is brand plus dormancy. SHIB retains one of crypto’s largest communities, a $2.5 billion floor that survived every drawdown since 2021, and a holder base that visibly refuses to sell at these prices. Cheap attention, if attention ever returns.
The bear case is that attention may simply have moved on for good. This week’s tape shows the meme money choosing PEPE by a factor of three in volume. Ecosystems age, narratives migrate, and no rule says they come back. A 2.9% turnover can precede a spring or a slow fade, and the data alone cannot tell you which.
Bottom Line SHIB at $0.00004360 is the market’s forgotten giant, priced for indifference. Do not watch the price; watch the turnover ratio. If foot traffic returns to the shop while the doors are still locked from the inside, that is the moment this page gets rewritten. Until then, the honest word for SHIB is: waiting.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are extremely volatile and you can lose your entire stake. Always do your own research.
Frequently Asked Questions What is the Shiba Inu price today? SHIB trades at $0.00004360 as of July 7, 2026, up 0.63% in 24 hours and 2.92% on the week, with a $2.56 billion market cap.
Why is SHIB not moving with the market? Daily volume is only $73.9 million, under 3% of its market cap, the lowest ratio among large meme coins. Trader attention this week concentrated in majors and in PEPE instead.
Can Shiba Inu reach $0.0001? That would require roughly a 2.3x from today and a break above the 2021 all-time high of about $0.00008845. It is a full bull-cycle scenario, not a near-term expectation on current volume.
Will SHIB ever reach 1 cent? At current supply, $0.01 implies a market cap in the trillions of dollars, larger than the entire crypto market. Treat it as effectively unrealistic without massive supply burns.
Is Shiba Inu a good investment in 2026? SHIB is a high-risk attention asset currently in a dormant phase. The holder base is not selling, but volume shows little new demand. Only speculate with money you can afford to lose.
What was Shiba Inu's all-time high? About $0.00008845, reached in October 2021, roughly double the current price.
Binance introduces BTC yield product. (Web Summit/CC By 2.0)Summary
Binance debuts a bitcoin yield product exclusively for BTC holders. The product runs a systematic covered call strategy, bringing yield-generation strategies to a wider pool of potential investors.Returns are not guaranteed, especially if bitcoin's price rises and the call options are exercised.Binance has introduced a product for bitcoin BTC$64,081.00 holders looking to earn extra yield on their investment without selling any of it, joining the likes of BlackRock in helping them maximize returns.
The product, BTC Yield, is available inside Binance Earn and is designed exclusively for people who already hold bitcoin.
Users deposit their bitcoin into the product and receive an internal position called BTCY, which tracks their share in the strategy. Everything remains denominated in BTC, and the product cannot be funded with stablecoins or other assets.
Binance holds the deposited bitcoin as collateral while systematically selling BTC call options, that is, it writes insurance against price rallies in BTC. The call seller, or writer, gets compensated with a premium. Binance collects those premiums and shares most of them with participants.
This covered-call approach, common in crypto and traditional finance, has typically required deep options knowledge to execute. Binance’s version makes it accessible to regular traders by handling everything behind the scenes.
Two types of returnThe product generates potential returns in two ways.
First, a portion of the collected premiums is converted to bitcoin and distributed to users’ spot accounts every Friday as a possible weekly payout.
The remaining premiums stay inside the strategy and gradually increase the value of each BTCY unit. As the retained premiums accumulate, each unit slowly represents more actual BTC. When users eventually redeem, they receive this higher BTC amount, providing a second form of return.
“Covered call strategies have long been used in traditional finance, but they can be complex for retail users to access directly,” Shunyet Jan, head of exchange and trading at Binance, said in a statement shared with CoinDesk. "With BTC Yield, we are simplifying that experience for Bitcoin holders who want income potential without actively trading the market.”
The debut comes as traditional finance embraces similar ideas. BlackRock, for example, recently introduced a Bitcoin income ETF that also uses a covered-call strategy to generate additional returns for holders.
Binance's takeLike any options-based product, BTC Yield carries costs and risks.
Binance takes a 15% share of gross option premiums before calculating user yield, and redemption fees apply when exiting. The product offers no principal protection, weekly distributions are not guaranteed and can be zero, and the strategy can limit upside during strong bitcoin rallies because calls may get exercised. In big bull markets, simply holding spot BTC will often outperform it.
Overall, BTC Yield gives long-term holders a straightforward way to seek income on idle bitcoin, but it is best suited for those comfortable with the trade-offs.
Bitcoin holders sitting on idle spot balances now have a fresh reason to keep their coins on Binance. On Tuesday, the exchange introduced BTC Yield, a covered call strategy designed exclusively for users who already hold Bitcoin, the original report from CoinDesk confirmed. The product arrives as crypto exchanges intensify competition for yield‑seeking capital, a segment that has reshaped the market since decentralized finance protocols first demonstrated the appetite for passive income on digital assets.
BTC Yield employs a covered call options structure. In traditional finance, selling covered calls generates premium income against an existing stock position by capping upside beyond a set strike price. Binance appears to be applying the same logic to Bitcoin, likely using out‑of‑the‑money call options on Bitcoin futures or spot‑backed derivatives. The exchange hasn’t disclosed the exact mechanics, but the core promise is straightforward: users keep their Bitcoin and receive periodic yield while accepting a ceiling on extraordinary price gains. It’s a trade that suits a low‑volatility or sideways market much better than a raging bull run.
Why Bitcoin Yield Products Are Multiplying The launch didn’t happen in a vacuum. Bitcoin has evolved from a purely speculative asset into a collateral‑grade holding for many long‑term participants. Yet, Bitcoin itself pays no dividends or staking rewards, unlike proof‑of‑stake tokens. That gap pushed users toward centralized lending, DeFi bridges, and now exchange‑issued structured products. Binance already operates Binance Earn, which offers simple staking and DeFi farming, but BTC Yield carves out a defined options‑based income stream that avoids the complexity of self‑custodied wrapped Bitcoin.
Competitors like Bybit and OKX have released similar option‑linked products over the past year, turning the covered call format into a recognizable shelf item on centralised venues. Binance, with its enormous Bitcoin reserves and user base, is now scaling the idea. The exclusive focus on existing BTC holders suggests the exchange is less interested in attracting new Bitcoin deposits than in preventing outflows to decentralized alternatives and locking in activity.
Risk and Reward for Users Covered calls are not risk‑free. While the strategy generates yield in sideways conditions, it surrenders all upside beyond the strike price if Bitcoin rallies sharply. Early assignment risk and the credit risk of the option counterparty also come into play, even when Binance acts as the intermediary. Users who opt in will need to accept that a sudden price explosion could leave them with substantially lower net returns than a simple buy‑and‑hold approach. Binance is likely to rotate option expiries to manage that exposure, but the underlying trade‑off remains.
On the regulatory front, any yield‑bearing product that promises returns based on trading strategies could draw attention from authorities who continue to scrutinize exchange‑issued financial instruments. Binance has confronted multiple regulatory challenges, and while BTC Yield is marketed purely as a crypto‑native product, the line between an investment contract and a utility token arrangement can blur quickly under the eyes of U.S. and European regulators.
Centralised Exchanges and the Yield Battleground The move highlights how centralised exchanges are metamorphosing into full‑spectrum asset platforms. Spot trading volume alone no longer locks users in; instead, recurring income, margin services, and structured products have become the retention tools. Binance’s own BNB Chain continues to rank consistently among the top blockchains by developer activity, as shown in recent ecosystem reports, reinforcing the exchange’s capacity to integrate new product layers. The launch of BTC Yield echoes that strategy: use Bitcoin’s deep liquidity to offer a low‑effort yield proposition that keeps users on the platform.
Whether BTC Yield can attract serious volume will depend on how competitive the payouts are and how well Binance communicates the risk‑return profile. If Bitcoin enters a long phase of accumulation and grinding price growth, demand for such products could swell. If volatility spikes, the strategy’s limitations may become apparent fast. For now, the product opens yet another front in the fight among exchanges to become the default hub for every possible interaction with digital assets.
AUTHOR
Max delves deep into the cryptocurrency realm, with a passion for altcoins and NFTs. Convinced of crypto's transformative potential, he envisions a decentralized financial future. Max's background in the financial sector grants him unique insights into global monetary systems. In his leisure, Max embraces the thrill of adventures and is an avid sports enthusiast, finding balance and rejuvenation away from work.
Growth stocks are attractive to many investors, as above-average financial growth helps these stocks easily grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a growth stock that can live up to its true potential can be a tough task.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, it's pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.
Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
While there are numerous reasons why the stock of this company is a great growth pick right now, we have highlighted three of the most important factors below:
Earnings GrowthArguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Vertiv is 64%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 51.9% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 8.9%.
Cash Flow GrowthCash is the lifeblood of any business, but higher-than-average cash flow growth is more beneficial and important for growth-oriented companies than for mature companies. That's because, high cash accumulation enables these companies to undertake new projects without raising expensive outside funds.
Right now, year-over-year cash flow growth for Vertiv is 41%, which is higher than many of its peers. In fact, the rate compares to the industry average of 9.7%.
While investors should actually consider the current cash flow growth, it's worth taking a look at the historical rate too for putting the current reading into proper perspective. The company's annualized cash flow growth rate has been 31.5% over the past 3-5 years versus the industry average of 8.5%.
Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsSuperiority of a stock in terms of the metrics outlined above can be further validated by looking at the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is of course favorable here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for Vertiv have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.2% over the past month.
Bottom LineVertiv has not only earned a Growth Score of A based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #2 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination positions Vertiv well for outperformance, so growth investors may want to bet on it.
Key Takeaways Wendy's grew U.S. digital sales 8.4%, with digital channels accounting for 22.7% of domestic sales.WEN is enhancing customer engagement through AI-powered recommendations and value-focused menu offerings.Digital initiatives, operational improvements and Project Fresh aim to support Wendy's sales recovery. The Wendy's Company (WEN - Free Report) is betting that its expanding digital ecosystem can help revive sales as it works through a challenging traffic environment. While first-quarter 2026 results reflected continued pressure on customer visits, management believes its digital investments and operational improvements can support a gradual turnaround.
The company reported a 7.8% decline in U.S. same-restaurant sales, primarily due to weaker traffic, adverse weather and adjustments to restaurant operating hours. However, digital remained a bright spot. U.S. digital sales climbed 8.4% year over year, with digital channels accounting for 22.7% of domestic sales. Wendy’s also integrated an AI-powered recommendation engine into its mobile app to personalize orders based on cart contents, restaurant location and seasonal preferences, while adding more payment options to improve checkout conversion.
Beyond technology, Wendy’s is strengthening its "Project Fresh" turnaround strategy by upgrading menu quality, improving restaurant operations and refining marketing efforts. The company introduced enhanced hamburgers and revamped spicy chicken sandwiches, expanded value offerings through its Biggie Deals platform and is leveraging targeted promotions to increase customer engagement. Management noted that restaurants with higher customer satisfaction scores significantly outperform weaker locations, underscoring the importance of operational execution.
Still, digital growth alone may not fully offset declining store traffic in the near term. Inflationary pressures, cautious lower-income consumers and intense competition continue to weigh on demand. Nevertheless, Wendy’s maintained its full-year outlook, expecting sales trends to improve progressively as digital initiatives, menu innovation and operational enhancements gain traction. If these efforts translate into higher customer frequency, digital momentum could become a meaningful driver of Wendy’s broader turnaround story.
MCD and QSR International Raise the Competitive BarWendy's digital ambitions face stiff competition from larger quick-service restaurant players that have already built strong digital ecosystems. McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) continues to leverage its global loyalty program, mobile app, delivery partnerships and AI-driven personalization to boost customer engagement and repeat visits. Its extensive digital infrastructure and value offerings help drive traffic even in a challenging consumer environment, making McDonald's a formidable rival.
Restaurant Brands International's (QSR - Free Report) Burger King is also accelerating the digital transformation through its Royal Perks loyalty program, mobile ordering and targeted promotions. Under its "Reclaim the Flame" strategy, Burger King is investing in restaurant modernization, technology upgrades and value-focused marketing to improve guest traffic and franchise performance.
For Wendy's, growing digital sales is encouraging, but sustaining momentum will require converting online engagement into higher restaurant traffic. Continued investments in AI-powered recommendations, loyalty initiatives, menu innovation and operational improvements will be essential to narrowing the competitive gap with McDonald's and Burger King while strengthening its long-term market position.
WEN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Wendy’s have gained 11.9% in the past three months against the industry’s 0.4% decline.
WEN Three-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, WEN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 0.67, below the industry’s average of 3.41.
WEN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WEN’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) implies a year-over-year decline of 34.1%. The EPS estimates for 2026 have remained unchanged in the past 30 days.
EPS Trend of WEN Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
WEN’s Zacks RankWEN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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 Datadog (DDOG - Free Report) , a company that currently holds a Momentum Style Score of B. We also talk about price change and earnings estimate revisions, two of the main aspects of the Momentum Style Score.
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. Datadog 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 DDOG that show why this data analytics and cloud monitoring company shows promise as a solid momentum pick.
A good momentum benchmark for a stock is to look at its short-term price activity, as this can reflect both current interest and if buyers or sellers currently have the upper hand. 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 DDOG, shares are up 8.59% over the past week while the Zacks Internet - Software industry is up 4.62% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 10.23% compares favorably with the industry's 2.97% performance as well.
Considering longer term price metrics, like performance over the last three months or year, can be advantageous as well. Over the past quarter, shares of Datadog have risen 131.99%, and are up 67.56% in the last year. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has only moved 14.34% and 21.46%, respectively.
Investors should also pay attention to DDOG'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. DDOG is currently averaging 4,265,776 shares for the last 20 days.
Earnings OutlookThe Zacks Momentum Style Score also takes into account trends in estimate revisions, in addition to price changes. Please note that estimate revision trends remain at the core of Zacks Rank as well. A nice path here can help show promise, and we have recently been seeing that with DDOG.
Over the past two months, 6 earnings estimates moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost DDOG's consensus estimate, increasing from $2.28 to $2.41 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 6 estimates have moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period.
Bottom LineGiven these factors, it shouldn't be surprising that DDOG is a #2 (Buy) stock and boasts a Momentum Score of B. If you're looking for a fresh pick that's set to soar in the near-term, make sure to keep Datadog on your short list.
Key Takeaways Steven Madden's Dolce Vita delivered a strong spring season with healthy wholesale sell-through.Steven Madden is growing Dolce Vita's handbag business and expanding its global footprint.Steven Madden projects high single-digit 2026 revenue growth for Dolce Vita amid strong demand. Dolce Vita is gaining momentum within Steven Madden, Ltd. ’s (SHOO - Free Report) brand portfolio as strong consumer demand and trend-driven products continue to fuel performance. During the spring season, the brand benefited from healthy demand for jelly, raffia and woven styles across footwear and handbags, leading to robust sell-through at major wholesale partners such as Nordstrom, Dillard’s and Macy’s.
Beyond seasonal product strength, Dolce Vita is pursuing initiatives aimed at expanding its long-term addressable market. Management is focused on growing the handbag business and increasing the brand’s international presence, moves that should provide additional revenue opportunities and support a more diversified business model over time.
The brand’s wholesale performance has been particularly encouraging. Management noted that Dolce Vita recorded a very strong spring season and was outperforming the Steven Madden label in sell-through at its largest retail customer. This suggests increasing consumer affinity for the brand and reinforces its ability to gain shelf space and capture incremental demand within key distribution channels.
Dolce Vita’s momentum coincides with improving fundamentals at the parent company. Steven Madden reported first-quarter 2026 revenues of $653.1 million, up 18% year over year, prompting management to raise its fiscal 2026 sales outlook to growth of 10-12% from the prior expectation of 9-11%. Notably, the company increased expectations for each of its three largest brands — Steven Madden, Kurt Geiger and Dolce Vita — highlighting broad-based strength across the portfolio.
Management continues to project high single-digit revenue growth for Dolce Vita in 2026. Supported by favorable demand trends, category expansion initiatives and growing international exposure, the brand appears increasingly well positioned to become a more meaningful contributor to Steven Madden’s long-term growth story.
SHOO’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of the company have risen 58.6% over the past year against the industry’s 33.4% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Steven Madden is trading at a trailing 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 1.08X, down from the industry average of 1.34X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Steven Madden’s 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 22.9%, whereas the same for 2027 indicates an uptick of 33.8%. Estimates for 2026 have been unchanged, while those for 2027 have been revised upward by 35 cents over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SHOO’s Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksSteven Madden currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks are Tapestry, Inc. (TPR - Free Report) , Genesco Inc. (GCO - Free Report) and Designer Brands Inc. (DBI - Free Report) .
Tapestry is the designer and marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men in the United States and internationally. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tapestry’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 36.3% and 13.8%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. TPR delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 15.6%.
Genesco is a Nashville-based specialty retail and branded company. It sells footwear and accessories in retail stores. The company also flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Genesco’s current fiscal-year earnings indicates growth of 55.2% from the year-ago actuals. GCO delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 3.8%.
Designer Brands designs, produces and retails footwear and accessories. It offers shoes, boots, sandals, sneakers, socks, handbags and accessories. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Designer Brands’ current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests growth of 137.5% and 0.5%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. DBI delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 112.8%.
Carpenter Technology (CRS - Free Report) could be a solid addition to your portfolio given its recent upgrade to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). This upgrade primarily reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, which is one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices.
The sole determinant of the Zacks rating is a company's changing earnings picture. The Zacks Consensus Estimate -- the consensus of EPS estimates from the sell-side analysts covering the stock -- for the current and following years is tracked by the system.
Since a changing earnings picture is a powerful factor influencing near-term stock price movements, the Zacks rating system is very useful for individual investors. They may find it difficult to make decisions based on rating upgrades by Wall Street analysts, as these are mostly driven by subjective factors that are hard to see and measure in real time.
Therefore, the Zacks rating upgrade for Carpenter basically reflects positivity about its earnings outlook that could translate into buying pressure and an increase in its stock price.
Most Powerful Force Impacting Stock PricesThe change in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, and the near-term price movement of its stock are proven to be strongly correlated. The influence of institutional investors has a partial contribution to this relationship, as these big professionals use earnings and earnings estimates to calculate the fair value of a company's shares. An increase or decrease in earnings estimates in their valuation models simply results in higher or lower fair value for a stock, and institutional investors typically buy or sell it. Their transaction of large amounts of shares then leads to price movement for the stock.
For Carpenter, rising earnings estimates and the consequent rating upgrade fundamentally mean an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors' appreciation of this improving business trend should push the stock higher.
Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate RevisionsEmpirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock movements, so it could be truly rewarding if such revisions are tracked for making an investment decision. Here is where the tried-and-tested Zacks Rank stock-rating system plays an important role, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions.
The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Earnings Estimate Revisions for CarpenterThis maker of stainless steels and special alloys is expected to earn $10.56 per share for the fiscal year ending June 2026, which represents no year-over-year change.
Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for Carpenter. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 3.1%.
Bottom LineUnlike the overly optimistic Wall Street analysts whose rating systems tend to be weighted toward favorable recommendations, the Zacks rating system maintains an equal proportion of "buy" and "sell" ratings for its entire universe of more than 4,000 stocks at any point in time. Irrespective of market conditions, only the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks get a "Strong Buy" rating and the next 15% get a "Buy" rating. So, the placement of a stock in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks indicates its superior earnings estimate revision feature, making it a solid candidate for producing market-beating returns in the near term.
You can learn more about the Zacks Rank here >>>
The upgrade of Carpenter to a Zacks Rank #2 positions it in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, implying that the stock might move higher in the near term.
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Our Top Stock Picks of 2026 had a strong second quarter
Managing Editor
Jul 7, 2026 at 1:05 PM
More than half of our Top Stock Picks for the year are in the black halfway through 2026
Subscribers to our Substack, The Contrarian Edge, received this commentary on Sunday, July 5 .
Yesterday, nervous ahead of the U.S.-Bosnia Round of 32 game, I passed the time by performing by auditing the last quarter and checking my 2026 goals. What initially felt like an insurmountable task turned into a 20-minute exercise that provided clarity on the months ahead.
What’s the point of goals and resolutions if you don’t check up on them? Now past the halfway point of the year, its time for our Top Stock 2026 progress report. Quarterly gains for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were reflected by four picks pivoting from the red in Q1 to the green in Q2. Only two names went the other direction, while 11 names overall gained ground from Q1 to Q2.
The report has a history of timing some trends that ultimately define the broad market risk appetite. Betting on 3D printing and AI infrastructure as winners in 2026 has been astute, so far. The space boom with Rocket Lab (RKLB) last year emblemized the growth stock revival of 2025. In recent years, Semiconductor and software names like Taiwan Semiconductor and MongoDB (MDB) have burst onto the scene, shaking up market breadth.
But they’re not all crystal ball, shot-calling dart throws; stabler names like CF Industries (CF), Cintas (CTAS), or Waste Management (WM), to name a few, exemplify the importance of hedges against growth plays.
This simple report offers a snapshot of how to navigate the ins and outs of the stock market. Quarterly check-ins help take the temperature of risk within actionable timeframes.
Overall, halfway through the year, nine of the 15 stocks are in the black, and the equal-weighted return of the entire report sits at 21%. In Q1, it was -0.2%.
Velo3D Inc (NASDAQ:VELO)
One of my favorite banter rebuttals is ‘I’m never wrong, just early.’ VELO is the poster child for that. My exact words, back on April 2, were ‘watch this space for a melt-up.’ The 3D-printing stock bounced off a stable floor at $10, an area – we called as a floor -- that roughly coincides with its 100-day moving average. Then, a 49.4% post-earnings explosion from May 13 reset expectations, with the Velo trading as high as $31.75 on June 11.
The shares have since come back down to earth from there, finishing June with a 27% drawdown. So far though, the 80-day trendline is stepping up, an ‘overbought’ condition is getting worked off, and 25% of the stock’s total available float is sold short. Time to double down and call that VELO is coiling up for its next unwind higher.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)
The gene-editing staple has added 7% in the first two days of July and is currently trading at its highest level since March 4. Keep an eye on the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) creeping up to 75, but with nearly 30% of its total available float sold short, CRSP is one post-earnings pop away from entering another stratosphere.
IonQ Inc (NYSE:IONQ)
IonQ made up for lost time, adding over 113% in April and May, thanks in large part to the Trump administration backing quantum computing. What’s crazy about that two-month run is sandwiched between it is a 9.3% post-earnings selloff on May 7. Watch for round-number $50 during this inevitable rotation.
Quick Thoughts on the Other Big Winners
DigitalOcean (DOCN) and Nebius Group NV (NBIS) are doing most if not all of the heavy lifting. Both stocks are off their June peaks, testing key support, and are heavily shorted.
Facing the Music with the Laggards
QuantumScape Corp (NASDAQ:QS) has never really gotten off the bus this year. Seven-straight weekly wins from April through May was then followed by a 15.8% loss in June. A top-line beat from the lithium battery producer only resulted in a muted 1.2% post-earnings move, and the trendline from November highs to the 2026 peak in June is firmly intact. Per the chart below, maybe a floor at $7 steps up, and there’s still massive short squeeze potential.
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) is what happens when you tie yourself to a commodity. Gold was the darling of Q1 but has completely shut down since, and stocks like AEM paid the price.
Cue the Bon Jovi. We’re halfway there, and there’s only one question to ask: do you believe this is a top, or not? If you do, then the AI trade has had its 15 minutes of fame, and all of these high-beta growth names are going to come crashing down. If that’s the case, the likes of AEM, consumer cyclical Colgate-Palmolive (CL), and Dollar Tree (DLTR) will be there to pick up the slack.
But if you view the recent volatility as a natural shaking out of weaker hands and profit taking, then there are plenty of contrarian plays with potential still to unwind.
What’s Next For These Picks? Blurred Text Example Fuck Elon Musk.
Click Here to view the rest on Schaeffer’s Substack!
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Key Takeaways Quanta has surged 78.6% in a year, outpacing its industry, sector and the S&P 500.PWR trades at 44.11X forward earnings, well above the industry average of 29.8X.Quanta raised 2026 guidance after record Q1 revenue and backlog reached $48.5 billion. Quanta Services (PWR - Free Report) has been one of the biggest winners in the infrastructure sector over the past year, with its stock soaring 78.6%. The rally has comfortably outpaced the Zacks Engineering - R&D Services industry's 36.8% gain, the Zacks Construction sector's 18.9% advance and the S&P 500's 23.9% rise. Investors have rewarded the company for consistently delivering strong earnings, expanding its backlog and positioning itself at the center of several long-term infrastructure trends.
PWR Price Performance (1 Year)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PWR's Technical Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock's impressive performance, however, has come with a higher price tag. Quanta now trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 44.11X, significantly above the industry average of 29.8X. While Wall Street remains optimistic about the company's long-term prospects, investors now face an important question: Does Quanta's business outlook justify paying such a premium, or has much of its future growth already been priced into the stock?
PWR Valuation (P/E F12M) vs Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The answer depends on whether Quanta can continue converting its industry-leading project pipeline into sustained earnings growth while maintaining strong execution. Let's take a closer look at what continues to support the investment case and the factors that could limit further upside.
Quanta's Growth Drivers Remain StrongQuanta continues to benefit from one of the most attractive infrastructure spending environments in decades. Rising electricity demand, AI-driven data center construction, renewable energy integration, transmission expansion and electric grid modernization are creating significant opportunities across its end markets.
The company has evolved beyond being a traditional contractor into a provider of integrated infrastructure solutions. Its engineering expertise, skilled workforce, fabrication capabilities and supply-chain investments allow it to execute increasingly complex projects for utilities, hyperscalers and industrial customers. This integrated approach has strengthened customer relationships and enabled Quanta to participate earlier in customers' multiyear capital planning cycles.
Management also continues investing to support future demand. The company is expanding transformer manufacturing capacity and nearly doubling its off-site fabrication and logistics footprint, positioning itself to capitalize on accelerating investments in power infrastructure and AI-related projects. These investments should strengthen Quanta's competitive advantage as customers increasingly prioritize execution certainty and supply-chain reliability.
Strong Execution Supports Higher Earnings Outlook for PWRQuanta's first-quarter 2026 results reinforced confidence in its long-term growth strategy. Revenues increased 26.3% year over year to a record $7.87 billion, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) climbed to $2.68 from $1.78 in the prior-year quarter. Both the Electric Infrastructure Solutions and Underground & Infrastructure Solutions segments delivered margin expansion, highlighting disciplined project execution and favorable work mix. The company also ended the quarter with a record total backlog of $48.5 billion, providing excellent revenue visibility over the coming years.
Following the strong start to the year, management raised its full-year 2026 outlook. Quanta now expects revenues between $34.7 billion and $35.2 billion and adjusted EPS between $13.55 and $14.25, reflecting improved visibility across its utility, power generation and large-load infrastructure businesses.
Management remains equally optimistic about the longer term. At its recent Investor Day, Quanta outlined a strategy to more than double adjusted earnings power by 2030, supported by an estimated $2.4 trillion addressable market spanning utilities, power generation and large-load infrastructure.
Analysts also remain constructive. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 EPS has increased from $13.87 to $14.03, representing expected growth of 30.5% from 2025. Revenue estimates point to 22.1% growth in 2026, followed by continued double-digit growth in 2027.
PWR EPS Estimate
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PWR Stock’s Premium Valuation Demands Continued ExecutionQuanta's biggest challenge today is not demand but valuation. Despite trading below its 50-day moving average, the stock still commands a forward P/E multiple of 44.11X, substantially above the industry average of 29.8X. Such a premium reflects investor confidence that Quanta can sustain above-average earnings growth for several years.
Wall Street's optimism remains evident. The stock carries an Average Brokerage Recommendation (ABR) of 1.37, with 22 of the 27 analysts rating it a Strong Buy. Analysts' average price target of $808.00 also implies roughly 20% upside from current levels.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Nevertheless, premium valuations leave little room for disappointment. Any slowdown in backlog growth, project execution or margin expansion could pressure the stock more than lower-valued peers.
Macro Risks Could Create Near-Term VolatilityAlthough Quanta's long-term outlook remains favorable, several external factors could influence future performance.
Large infrastructure projects are often subject to permitting delays, regulatory approvals, adverse weather, supply-chain disruptions and changing customer schedules. Inflation, tariffs, labor shortages and higher interest rates may also increase project costs or delay customer capital spending.
Management acknowledged that weather, permitting, regulatory issues, trade policy, supply-chain conditions and broader macroeconomic uncertainty remain important variables affecting project timing and financial performance, even as underlying demand remains robust.
How Quanta Stacks Up Against CompetitorsQuanta competes with EMCOR Group (EME - Free Report) , Sterling Infrastructure (STRL - Free Report) and Comfort Systems USA (FIX - Free Report) across several infrastructure and mission-critical construction markets.
From a share price perspective, Comfort Systems has delivered the strongest performance, with shares rising roughly 240% over the past year. Sterling Infrastructure follows closely with a gain of 215.9%, while Quanta has advanced 78.6%. Although Quanta has significantly outperformed EMCOR, whose shares have gained 45.5%, it has lagged the exceptional rallies posted by Comfort Systems and Sterling Infrastructure.
Valuation paints a different picture. EMCOR trades at the lowest forward P/E multiple of 25.27X, suggesting a more modest growth premium. Sterling Infrastructure trades at 31.76X, while Comfort Systems commands 37.37X. Quanta's forward P/E of 44.11X is the highest among the four companies, indicating that investors assign the greatest premium to Quanta's earnings visibility, diversified business model and long-term infrastructure opportunities.
Should Investors Buy PWR Stock Now?Quanta continues to execute at a high level. Record backlog, improving financial guidance, rising earnings estimates and strong demand across electric infrastructure, AI data centers and power generation provide a solid foundation for long-term growth. Management's investments in manufacturing capacity, supply-chain capabilities and integrated solutions further strengthen its competitive position for the coming decade.
However, the stock's premium valuation cannot be ignored. After nearly an 80% gain over the past year, investors are paying a substantial premium for Quanta's quality and growth prospects. While the business fundamentals continue to justify optimism, the current valuation reduces the margin of safety and makes flawless execution increasingly important.
Considering the company's attractive long-term outlook alongside its elevated valuation, the current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) appears appropriate. Existing investors can remain confident in Quanta's multiyear growth story, while new investors may benefit from waiting for either a more attractive entry point or further earnings growth to better support the premium multiple. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
MCLEAN, Va., July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII’s (NYSE: HII) Mission Technologies division announced that two of its spectrum dominance and awareness products have achieved awardable status through the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s (CDAO) Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace.
The Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace is the premier offering of Tradewinds, the U.S. Department of War’s (DoW) suite of tools and services designed to accelerate the procurement and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), data and analytics capabilities.
“Achieving awardable status underscores how HII is delivering ready-to-deploy solutions to the warfighter,” said Grant Hagen, president of Mission Technologies’ Warfare Systems group. “This designation accelerates access for our government partners and validates the operational impact and mission-relevance of these capabilities.”
HII’s GRIMM™ is a compact, high-performance spectrum dominance solution that is designed for real-time geolocation and direction-finding of adversary signals and emitters of interest. Engineered for low size, weight, power and cost, the payload provides enhanced situational awareness, intelligence support and force protection capability.
VIPER® (Volumetric Integrative Propagation Engine for Ray-Tracing) is an electromagnetic modeling and synthetic data generation capability that acts as a high-resolution channel emulator producing realistic RF scenario data to train AI-based algorithms. It solves critical AI data scarcity in Cognitive Electronic Warfare (EW) and counter unmanned aerial system (UAS) while eliminating the high costs, risks and limitations of live-fly testing.
Integrating these technologies onto manned and unmanned platforms will expand spectrum awareness, ensuring forces can detect, characterize and respond to threats across every domain.
HII’s videos-GRIMM™ Family of Systems (2-26-1773) and VIPER® Volumetric Integrative Propagation Engine for Ray-Tracing (4-26-2143)-accessible only by government customers on the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, present actual use cases in which GRIMM™ and VIPER® were recognized among a competitive field of applicants to the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace whose solutions demonstrated innovation, scalability and potential impact on U.S. DoW missions. Government customers interested in viewing the video solutions can create a Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace account at tradewindAI.com.
Additional product information is available at: www.hii.com/products/grimm and www.hii.com/products/viper.
About HII
HII is America’s largest shipbuilder, delivering the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain mission technologies, including unmanned systems, to U.S. and allied defense customers. HII is the largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy and the world.
With a more than 140-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII builds and integrates defense capabilities extending from the core fleet to C6ISR, AI/ML, EW and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:
HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHIIHII on X: https://www.twitter.com/WeAreHIIHII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreHIIHII on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wearehii About the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace
The Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace is a digital repository of post-competition, readily awardable pitch videos that address the U.S. Department of War’s (DoW) most significant challenges in the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), data, and analytics space. All awardable solutions have been assessed through complex scoring rubrics and competitive procedures and are available to Government customers with a Marketplace account. Government customers can create an account at www.tradewindai.com. Tradewinds is housed in the U.S. DoW’s Chief Digital Artificial Intelligence Office. For more information or media requests, contact: [email protected].
Key Takeaways MKTX handled more than $1.04T in Q2 credit trading volume, even as total ADV declined 11% year over year.MKTX saw growth in Emerging Markets, portfolio trading and record Mid-X volume offset weaker U.S. rates.MarketAxess' U.S. credit portfolio trading market share rose to 20.6% as Q2 EPS is projected to decline. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX - Free Report) recently announced that in the second quarter of 2026, it recorded a total trading average daily volume (ADV) of $43.6 billion, an 11% year-over-year decrease. Nevertheless, its electronic trading platform facilitated more than $1.04 trillion in total credit trading volume in the quarter, increasing 1% year over year.
Growth in Emerging markets (+12%) and Agencies and Other Government Bond Rates (+84%) supported the total volume, offset by declines in U.S. Government Bond Rates (-22%), High-grade (-4%) and High-yield (-8%). Eurobonds markets saw a 1% increase in ADV from the year-ago period.
Total credit average variable transaction fees per million (“FPM”) declined 7% year over year in the quarter due to product and protocol mix and lower duration in U.S. high-grade, while the same for total rates jumped 24% year over year due to protocol mix. The number of trading days in the United States and the U.K. were 62 and 61, respectively, in the second quarter. Its estimated market share of U.S. credit portfolio trading came at 20.6%, rising from 17.5% a year ago.
The second quarter figures indicate 33% rise in total portfolio trading ADV to $2 billion, but Dealer-initiated ADV of $1.7 billion fell 3% year over year. It also announced that total Mid-X trading volume surged 156% to a record $23.6 billion.
Where Do Q2 Estimates Stand?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MarketAxess’ second-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.90 per share, which indicates a 5% year-over-year decrease. The consensus mark for revenues stands at $220.43 million, suggesting a 0.4% year-over-year increase. Notably, the company has surpassed earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 4.5%.
Zacks Rank & Key PicksMarketAxess currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Finance space are Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE - Free Report) , Nasdaq, Inc. (NDAQ - Free Report) and Chime Financial, Inc. (CHYM - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cboe Global’s current-year earnings is pegged at $13.36 per share, signaling 25.2% year-over-year increase. CBOE beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 5.4%. The consensus mark for its current-year revenues is pegged at $2.75 billion, a 13.1% jump from a year ago.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Nasdaq’s 2026 earnings indicates 11.2% year-over-year growth. During the past month, NDAQ has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 4.9%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Chime Financial’s current-year earnings suggests a 107% year-over-year improvement. During the past 60 days, CHYM has witnessed two upward estimate revisions against none in the opposite direction. The consensus mark for current-year revenues suggests a 22.6% jump from a year ago.
NEW YORK, July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) and certain of its officers.
This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired AeroVironment securities between June 25, 2025 and March 10, 2026, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: bgandg.com/AVAV.
AeroVironment Case Details
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:
(1) AeroVironment understated the likelihood that it would imminently face competition from other vendors for the work it performed in connection with the SCAR program and the U.S. Space Force’s ongoing efforts to modernize the SCN;
(2) accordingly, Defendants overstated AeroVironment’s business and financial prospects; and
(3) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
What's Next for AeroVironment Investors?
A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm’s site: bgandg.com/AVAV. or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you suffered a loss in AeroVironment you have until July 27, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.
No Cost to AeroVironment Investors
We, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.
Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for AeroVironment Securities Class Action?
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com
"Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.
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Key Takeaways Lockheed's Ultra Maritime acquisition is set to expand its undersea warfare capabilities.Defense buyouts by Rheinmetall, Thales, RENK, AeroVironment and Teledyne signal wider naval consolidation.SHLD and MISL provide diversified exposure to defense firms participating in the trend. To further strengthen its footprint in the future of naval warfare, the globe’s largest defense contractor, Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) has recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire Ultra Maritime, a specialist in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), for $3.45 billion. This acquisition marks LMT’s strategic effort to integrate Ultra Maritime's advanced sonar, torpedo defense, and autonomous sensing technologies into its Rotary and Mission Systems division, thereby enhancing its capability to deliver next-generation undersea solutions to allied forces.
Lockheed is far from an outlier in pursuing this strategy. Across the globe, defense primes are aggressively expanding their maritime and undersea capabilities through consolidation, signaling a significant shift in the industry.
For investors looking to gain exposure to this wave of naval consolidation, a diversified approach through Defense Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) may offer a more prudent path than betting on individual stocks. While the strategic rationale for these buyouts is clear, the integration risks and regulatory complexities inherent in defense M&A make a broader sector vehicle highly attractive.
To understand the full macro scope of this maritime shift, it is essential to look beyond Lockheed and examine the other recent power moves reshaping the naval defense landscape. It is precisely this industry-wide wave of consolidation that highlights the necessity of opting for a diversified ETF approach.
The New Arms Race Beneath the WavesLockheed's latest announcement to purchase Ultra Maritime comes as part of a much larger pattern of consolidation seen lately across the defense sector, with other major contractors also making significant moves to bolster their maritime portfolios. These include:
• German arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall (RNMBY - Free Report) , which completed the takeover of Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) in March 2026. This consolidation establishes a dedicated German systems house for the development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art navy and coastguard vessels, as well as maritime autonomous surface systems.
• French defense contractor, Thales (THLLY - Free Report) , has recently reached an agreement to acquire the Gorgé family’s stake in Exail Technologies, a maker of autonomous underwater drones, valuing the firm at roughly $4.5 billion. This buyout should bolster Thales' expertise in quantum sensors and underwater warfare.
• German-based RENK Group, a manufacturer of propulsion, gearboxes, transmissions, and suspension systems used in military battle tanks, acquired David Brown Defence in July 2026. This deal provides RENK with access to major "Five Eyes" naval programs, which involve 34 warships, including the Type 26 frigates and River Class destroyers.
• U.S.-based combat drone leader, AeroVironment (AVAV - Free Report) completed a massive $4.1 billion all-stock acquisition of defense tech firm BlueHalo in May, last year. This buyout directly expanded AeroVironment's uncrewed and autonomous operations by bringing in advanced underwater robotic and subsea systems, including the Mission Specialist Defender ROV used by the U.S. Navy.
• Teledyne Technologies (TDY - Free Report) , an American defense electronics provider, acquired the TransponderTech business from Saab AB in October 2025. TDY’s rationale behind this takeover was to strengthen its maritime technology solutions, with TransponderTech's communications and navigation solutions highly complementary and capable of expanding TDY’s marine portfolio.
This surge in M&A activity over the past year has been directly driven by escalating maritime threats in critical regions, particularly across Middle Eastern shipping lanes. The resulting vulnerability of global trade routes has forced commercial vessels to reroute along longer, costlier paths. In response, major global powers are aggressively deploying and upgrading their naval forces to secure these vital sea lanes — a macro demand shock perfectly reflected in the recent string of high-profile defense buyouts.
A New Horizon for Naval Defense: The Case for ETFsAgainst the current backdrop, the outlook for the naval defense sector is exceptionally strong, with these acquisitions creating more integrated, powerful, and innovative players capable of delivering comprehensive solutions. For defense primes like Lockheed, the immediate benefit is clear — acquiring specialized technology and international market access.
However, investing directly in a company like Lockheed carries inherent risks. Execution risk is paramount; integrating a $3.45 billion acquisition is a complex process. Furthermore, defense stocks often face political and budgetary headwinds, as spending can be impacted by shifting government priorities.
Considering such single-stock oriented risks, investors seeking a safer, diversified route to capitalize on this industry-wide trend may instead go for defense ETFs that offer broad exposure to the sector, including Lockheed.
These ETFs minimize the risk associated with any single acquisition or stock, allowing investors to benefit from the overall growth of the defense industry, including the ongoing naval consolidation wave.
Defense ETFs to ConsiderConsidering the aforementioned discussion, a prudent investor may want to gain exposure to the following defense ETFs:
Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD - Free Report)
This fund, with net assets worth $7.36 billion, offers exposure to 50 companies that build and manage cybersecurity systems, utilize artificial intelligence and big data, and build advanced military systems and hardware, such as robotics, fuel systems, and aircrafts for defense applications. RTX Corp. (RTX - Free Report) holds the first spot in this fund, with 9.12% weightage, while LMT holds the third spot with 8.08% weightage. RNMBY holds the eighth position in this fund, with 4.09% weightage, while THLLY holds the 10th spot with 3.66% weightage.
SHLD has gained 8.6% over the past year. The fund charges 50 basis points (bps) as fees.
U.S. Defense ETF (DUTY - Free Report)
This fund, with net assets worth $2.95 million, offers exposure to publicly traded U.S. companies that have significant exposure to defense-related industries. General Dynamics holds the first spot in this fund, with 7.63% weightage, while LMT holds the second spot with 7.38% weightage.
DUTY has rallied 8.2% over the past year. The fund charges 45 bps as fees.
iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF (IDEF - Free Report)
This fund, with net assets worth $4.31 billion, offers exposure to 117 aerospace, cybersecurity, defense and infrastructure firms. RTX holds the first spot in this fund, with 8.48% weightage, while LMT holds the second spot with 7.08% weightage.
IDEF has surged 19.5% over the past year. The fund charges 55 bps as fees.
This fund, with net assets worth $811.8 million, offers exposure to 39 U.S. companies engaged in business activities associated with certain aerospace and defense sub-themes. GE Aerospace holds the first spot in this fund, with 8.80% weightage, while LMT holds the sixth spot with 6.39% weightage.
MISL has soared 25.9% over the past year. The fund charges 60 bps as fees.
Key Takeaways Dutch Bros saw rewards members make up 74% of all transactions in Q1 2026.Dutch Bros' system same-shop transactions rose 5.1%, marking a seventh straight quarter of growth.Dutch Bros plans at least 185 new shops in 2026 and projects revenues of $2.05B-$2.08B. Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS - Free Report) has steadily transformed its digital rewards platform into one of its strongest competitive advantages. During the first quarter of 2026, 74% of all transactions were made by Dutch Rewards members, highlighting how deeply the loyalty program has become embedded in customer behavior. Rather than simply rewarding repeat visits, the platform is increasingly serving as a growth engine that drives frequency, supports new product launches, enhances marketing efficiency and encourages higher customer engagement.
A loyalty program is most valuable when it increases customer visits rather than merely rewarding existing purchases. Dutch Bros appears to be achieving that objective. During the first quarter, system same-shop transactions increased 5.1%, marking the company's seventh consecutive quarter of transaction growth. System same-shop sales rose 8.3%, while company-operated same-shop sales increased 10.6%. Unlike many restaurant companies that continue relying heavily on pricing, Dutch Bros generated healthy transaction growth alongside moderate ticket expansion, indicating that more customers are visiting its shops rather than simply paying higher prices.
Management credited the momentum to stronger customer engagement and rising Dutch Rewards adoption. The app gives Dutch Bros better visibility into purchase frequency, favorite beverages, seasonal demand and regional trends. These insights help the company personalize offers, target limited-time beverages to the right customers and support food promotions more effectively. Higher digital engagement also creates opportunities to launch new beverages more efficiently, promote food offerings and communicate seasonal campaigns without significantly increasing marketing expenses. As the rewards ecosystem expands, customer acquisition costs could decline while repeat visitation continues improving.
The loyalty platform becomes even more valuable as Dutch Bros continues opening new locations. The company finished the first quarter with 1,177 shops after opening 41 new stores during the quarter and now expects to open at least 185 new shops during 2026. Management also raised its full-year outlook, projecting revenues between $2.05 billion and $2.08 billion and same-shop sales growth of approximately 4-6%.
Dutch Bros' 74% rewards penetration represents far more than a loyalty statistic. It reflects an increasingly data-driven customer ecosystem that supports repeat visits, personalized marketing and more efficient expansion into new markets. The company's recent transaction growth suggests the strategy is already delivering tangible benefits. If Dutch Bros continues combining strong rewards engagement with disciplined new-store expansion, menu innovation and effective digital marketing, its loyalty platform could remain an important catalyst for sustaining faster traffic growth over the coming years.
Rewards Programs Become a Key Competitive BattlegroundDutch Bros' success in driving 74% of transactions through its Dutch Rewards program reflects a broader industry trend, with peers like Starbucks Corporation (SBUX - Free Report) and Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK - Free Report) increasingly investing in digital ecosystems to boost customer frequency, personalization and long-term loyalty.
Starbucks continues to strengthen its Rewards platform as part of its "Back to Starbucks" strategy. SBUX reported a record 35.6 million active U.S. Rewards members in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and introduced new redemption options and personalized benefits to encourage more frequent visits. Management noted that the redesigned program is already increasing customer engagement and visit frequency, positioning Rewards as a key growth engine rather than simply a discount program.
Shake Shack is also expanding its digital engagement strategy. While the company has yet to launch its loyalty program, management plans to introduce it later in 2026 as part of its broader Project Catalyst initiative. The platform is designed to deepen guest engagement, improve retention and increase lifetime value through personalized experiences rather than points-based discounts, while SHAK’s growing digital customer base provides the data needed to support targeted marketing.
Against this backdrop, Dutch Bros appears well positioned with an already mature rewards ecosystem. With nearly three-fourths of transactions flowing through Dutch Rewards, the company has built a sizable base for personalized marketing, product launches and customer retention.
BROS’ Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Dutch Bros have gained 22.7% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 0.4%.
BROS Stock’s Three-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Dutch Bros stock trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 5.13, above the industry’s average of 3.41.
BROS’ P/s Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BROS’ 2026 earnings per share (EPS) implies a year-over-year uptick of 22.4%. EPS estimates for 2026 have increased in the past 30 days.
EPS Trend of BROS Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Dutch Bros currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways Corpay shares gained 17.3% in three months, outperforming its industry and the S&P 500 Composite.CPAY's 2026 revenues and EPS are expected to rise 17.3% and 25.6% y/y, respectively.Corpay's organic revenues rose 11% in Q1'26, marking a fourth straight quarter of growth. Corpay, Inc. (CPAY - Free Report) is a payments company that assists companies in controlling, simplifying and automating corporate expenses, international transactions and vendor payments.
What Makes Corpay an Attractive Pick?An Outperformer: Shares of Corpay have gained 17.3% over the past three months, outperforming the industry’s 11.5% growth and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's10.9% rise.
3-Month Share Price Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Solid Prospects: Corpay’s top and bottom-line prospects appear impressive. For 2026, the consensus estimate for revenues is $5.3 billion, up 17.3% year over year. For the same year, EPS is expected to increase 25.6% to $26.86. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2027 revenues is $5.8 billion, suggesting a year-over-year growth rate of 9.2%. EPS is expected to increase 13.7% to $30.53 in 2027.
Northbound Estimate Revision: Nine estimates for 2026 moved north in the past 60 days versus no southward revision. For 2027, eight estimates moved upward versus no downward revision, reflecting analysts’ confidence in the company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings has moved up 3.1% and 3.3%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
Positive Earnings Surprise History: CPAY has a decent earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the four trailing quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 2.1%.
Growth Factors: CPAY’s top line grows organically, backed by an upsurge in volume and revenues per transaction in its payment programs. In 2023, 2024 and 2025, the company registered year-over-year organic revenue growth of 10%, 20% and 10%, respectively, backed by sales, solid retention and business initiatives.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company witnessed 11% year-over-year growth in organic revenues. The company registered this growth for the fourth consecutive quarter. That being said, a strong first-quarter performance raises confidence for the rest of the year.
Corpay utilizes a multi-channel approach to market and sell its solutions to current and prospective customers. This go-to-market strategy involves a comprehensive digital channel, sales forces and strategic partner relationships. The omnichannel approach helps Corpay’s salespeople become more efficient by improving their prospecting efforts through digital-sourced leads.
The company conducts share repurchases actively, as evidenced by $686.9 million, $1.3 billion and $783 million worth of repurchased shares in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Such actions improve the bottom line, creating value for shareholders and boosting confidence in its business.
Corpay’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderThe company has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Payoneer Global (PAYO - Free Report) and PagSeguro Digital (PAGS - Free Report) , currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Payoneer Global has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 34.2%. PAYO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.2%, on average.
PagSeguro Digital has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 14.9%. PAGS delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.1%, on average.
A deepening sell-off in chip and memory stocks dragged all four major U.S. equity indexes lower by midday Tuesday.
Money rotated defensively, with health care, real estate and utilities the only sectors firmly higher, while industrials and technology lagged.
The S&P 500 eased about 0.3% to 7,513, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 52,890, surrendering an earlier record-territory push.
The Nasdaq 100 fell about 1.6% to 29,237 as a memory-chip rout swept the sector.
The small-cap Russell 2000 eased about 0.4% to 2,996.
A projectile strike on an LNG carrier exiting the Strait of Hormuz sent crude higher, underscoring how quickly Middle East risk can flip the narrative. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7% to about $70.41 a barrel, while Brent climbed 2.9% to roughly $74.08.
Gold slipped about 0.5% to roughly $4,143 an ounce.
Tuesday’s Performance In Major U.S. IndicesAccording to the Benzinga Pro platform:
Health Care Leads as Industrials and Chips BuckleDefensives topped the leaderboard as investors sought shelter.
The memory complex bore the brunt of the selling after Samsung’s blowout quarterly profit sparked skepticism over AI-chip margins and supply-glut risk.
Tuesday’s Russell 1000 Top GainersTuesday’s Russell 1000 Top LosersMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Investors interested in stocks from the Security and Safety Services sector have probably already heard of Alarm.com Holdings (ALRM) and Assa Abloy AB (ASAZY). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks?
Key Takeaways MPWR gained 40.4% in six months, outperforming its industry, sector and the S&P 500.Monolithic Power Systems is benefiting from AI, automotive and communications demand and expanding capacity.MPWR faces weak demand in notebook business, premium valuation and stiff competition. Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (MPWR - Free Report) shares have risen 40.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 31.9%. The stock has outperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500 during the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company has outperformed its peers like Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI - Free Report) and Microchip Technology (MCHP - Free Report) . Shares of Analog Devices have jumped 30%, and shares of Microchip have risen 19.1%.
MPWR Benefits From Strong Demand Across Multiple VerticalsMonolithic is witnessing solid traction across multiple end markets. Strong demand for AI accelerators, CPUs and server power management solutions is driving demand in the Enterprise Data segment. The company’s robust capability in high-power-density solutions, monolithic integration and advanced module designs is boosting its competitive edge in the AI infrastructure vertical. MPS differentiates itself by offering single-piece silicon-based power solutions, unlike competitors that rely on multiple silicon components. This facilitates greater efficiency, compact designs and better thermal performance. These factors are becoming critical in next-generation AI servers and GPUs that are moving toward higher power requirements.
Strong demand for optical modules and Ethernet switches used in AI data centers is propelling growth in the Communications segment. Automotive remains a long-term growth driver as semiconductor content rises across ADAS, infotainment and connectivity applications. Management indicated that the pipeline across Automotive and Enterprise Data continues to expand through new project wins across regions and customers.
Robotics and physical AI are an emerging long-term growth driver. AI adoption in robotics has already started to create commercial opportunities. Recognizing this trend, Monolithic is broadening its exposure to robotics, building automation and portable AI devices. sampled its first DDR5 high-speed interface products, expanding beyond power management into higher-value semiconductor content. The company’s growing emphasis on innovation, diversifying its portfolio offering to different emerging opportunities, bodes well for sustainable growth.
It is to be noted that MPWR is steadily increasing its manufacturing capacity. It has raised its manufacturing capacity target from $4 billion to $6 billion to support the growing demand. It is also actively diversifying its production geographically. This will boost supply chain resilience and allow the company to capture opportunities in unexplored markets.
Major ChallengesMPWR continues to face weakness in the consumer notebook market. Memory shortages, higher memory prices and weaker consumer demand will likely continue to impact demand in the near term.
The company is venturing into several new growth areas to diversify its revenue stream. It is investing in DDR5 interfaces, robotics, 800V power architectures and silicon carbide technologies. Despite the significant upside in these markets in the long term, commercial deployments are still in early stages. The timing of revenue generation from these verticals remains uncertain.
Monolithic operates in a highly competitive analog semiconductor market populated by larger companies with broader product portfolios and deeper financial resources. It faces intense competition across analog and power management semiconductors from larger peers, such as Analog Devices, Microchip, Texas Instruments and others. The company must continue investing heavily in research and development, manufacturing capacity and new technologies to maintain its competitive position. Any slowdown in product innovation or execution could affect future socket wins and profitability.
Estimate Revision TrendEarnings estimates for MPWR for 2026 and 2027 have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Key Valuation Metric of MPWRFrom a valuation standpoint, MPWR is currently trading at a premium compared to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 50.31 forward 12-month earnings, higher than 29.11 for the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
End NoteSolid momentum across multiple verticals, such as AI servers and optical networking, is a major growth catalyst. Design wins across the automotive and enterprise markets are a positive. Focus on manufacturing capacity expansion and supply chain diversification will likely bring long-term benefits. Portfolio expansion beyond core power management markets is a tailwind. However, demand softness in the consumer notebook market due to memory shortages and rising prices remains a concern. Geopolitical volatility and macro headwinds can impact its supply chain operations and hinder customer spending. Competition from other major players in the industry is weighing on margins. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), MPWR appears to be treading in the middle of the road, and new investors could be better off if they trade with caution. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways MPWR is targeting consumer electronics with power solutions for mobile and smart devices.MPWR's PMICs, chargers, converters, LED drivers and USB-C technologies support faster charging.Monolithic Power's compact chips simplify design, cut components and improve device reliability. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPWR - Free Report) is focusing on the evolving consumer electronics semiconductor market to deliver innovative power-management solutions for smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables, gaming devices and smart home products. Rising demand for energy-efficient portable electronics, premium mobile devices and advanced consumer applications continues to support the adoption of the company's analog and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions.
Monolithic Power's consumer electronics portfolio includes power-management integrated circuits, battery-charging solutions, DC-DC converters, LED drivers and USB Type-C power-delivery technologies. These products improve battery life, enable faster charging, enhance thermal performance and help manufacturers develop thinner, lighter and more advanced electronic devices.
The company integrates multiple functions into compact semiconductor solutions, simplifying system design, reducing component count and improving product reliability. This enables manufacturers to accelerate product development across a broad range of consumer electronics applications.
As manufacturers continue to introduce more advanced consumer devices, Monolithic Power's strong customer relationships and continued innovation position it well to benefit from long-term industry trends.
How Are Competitors Performing in the Consumer Electronics Market?Monolithic Power faces stiff competition from Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI - Free Report) and Microchip Technology Incorporated (MCHP - Free Report) . Analog Devices continues to expand its consumer electronics business by providing semiconductor solutions for smartphones, wearables and smart home devices. The company is focused on improving device performance, connectivity and battery efficiency. ADI’s continued product innovation is expected to support long-term growth.
Microchip is strengthening its presence in the consumer electronics market by providing microcontrollers, connectivity solutions and analog semiconductors for smart home devices, wearables and home appliances. Its diversified semiconductor portfolio enables it to participate in a broad range of consumer electronics applications.
MPWR’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesMonolithic Power shares have soared 66.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s 55.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Monolithic Power trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 16.16, above the industry tally of 9.51.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have remained static at $24.05 and $29.30 per share, respectively, over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Monolithic Power currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Selective Insurance (SIGI - Free Report) could be a solid addition to your portfolio given its recent upgrade to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). An upward trend in earnings estimates -- one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices -- has triggered this rating change.
The Zacks rating relies solely on a company's changing earnings picture. It tracks EPS estimates for the current and following years from the sell-side analysts covering the stock through a consensus measure -- the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Since a changing earnings picture is a powerful factor influencing near-term stock price movements, the Zacks rating system is very useful for individual investors. They may find it difficult to make decisions based on rating upgrades by Wall Street analysts, as these are mostly driven by subjective factors that are hard to see and measure in real time.
As such, the Zacks rating upgrade for Selective Insurance is essentially a positive comment on its earnings outlook that could have a favorable impact on its stock price.
Most Powerful Force Impacting Stock PricesThe change in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, and the near-term price movement of its stock are proven to be strongly correlated. That's partly because of the influence of institutional investors that use earnings and earnings estimates for calculating the fair value of a company's shares. An increase or decrease in earnings estimates in their valuation models simply results in higher or lower fair value for a stock, and institutional investors typically buy or sell it. Their transaction of large amounts of shares then leads to price movement for the stock.
For Selective Insurance, rising earnings estimates and the consequent rating upgrade fundamentally mean an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors' appreciation of this improving business trend should push the stock higher.
Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate RevisionsAs empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock movements, tracking such revisions for making an investment decision could be truly rewarding. Here is where the tried-and-tested Zacks Rank stock-rating system plays an important role, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions.
The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Earnings Estimate Revisions for Selective InsuranceFor the fiscal year ending December 2026, this insurance holding company is expected to earn $7.81 per share, which is unchanged compared with the year-ago reported number.
Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for Selective Insurance. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 1.2%.
Bottom LineUnlike the overly optimistic Wall Street analysts whose rating systems tend to be weighted toward favorable recommendations, the Zacks rating system maintains an equal proportion of "buy" and "sell" ratings for its entire universe of more than 4,000 stocks at any point in time. Irrespective of market conditions, only the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks get a "Strong Buy" rating and the next 15% get a "Buy" rating. So, the placement of a stock in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks indicates its superior earnings estimate revision feature, making it a solid candidate for producing market-beating returns in the near term.
You can learn more about the Zacks Rank here >>>
The upgrade of Selective Insurance to a Zacks Rank #2 positions it in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, implying that the stock might move higher in the near term.
Investors looking for stocks in the Chemical - Specialty sector might want to consider either Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) or RPM International (RPM). But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now?
NEW YORK & NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (“Kyndryl” or the “Company”) (NYSE: KD).
On February 9, 2026, the Company disclosed that it would be unable to timely file its Form 10-Q Report for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 and that “the Company anticipates reporting material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting for the period covered in the Quarterly Report, as well as for the full fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, and the first two fiscal quarters of fiscal year 2026, which are expected to include, but may not be limited to, the effectiveness and strength of certain functions at the Company, including with respect to controls related to information and communication and tone at the top,” as well as the departure of its C.F.O and General Counsel.
Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the class period in violation of federal securities laws, which remains ongoing.
KSF’s investigation is focusing on whether Kyndryl’s officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Kyndryl shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-938-0905 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-kd-2/ to learn more.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation’s premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.
TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
Key Takeaways AMN Healthcare is poised for growth with its broad services, MSP momentum and demand from labor disruptions.AI tools in WorkWise and AMN Passport are boosting recruiting, engagement and workforce planning.Soft staffing markets, client concentration and regulatory challenges could pressure AMN's growth. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (AMN - Free Report) is well-poised for growth in the coming quarters, courtesy of its broad array of services. The optimism is led by strong momentum in its Managed Services Program (MSP), rising labor disruption demand and investments in technology and AI-driven platforms. However, industry shifts, pricing pressure and healthcare cost-consciousness are major downsides.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have jumped 126.9% in the year-to-date period against the industry's 14.6% decline. However, the S&P 500 Index has risen 10.3% in the said timeframe.
This renowned player in the healthcare total talent services space has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion. The company projects 98.5% of earnings growth for 2026 and expects to witness continued improvements in its business. AMN Healthcare surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 53.25%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Favoring AMN StockHealthcare Workforce Solutions Strengthening Client Relationships: AMN Healthcare is benefiting from a shift in healthcare providers' workforce priorities. During the first-quarter 2026 earnings call, management noted that hospitals are no longer primarily focused on reducing contract labor usage. They are seeking long-term workforce optimization through predictive analytics, technology-enabled staffing and total talent management. The company strengthened its MSP business by adding a new Locum MSP client, and renewing and expanding its largest Locums contract. These developments, combined with deeper client relationships built during recent labor disruption events, position AMN to capture additional market share as healthcare organizations increasingly prefer strategic workforce partners over traditional staffing vendors.
AI and Technology Investments Driving Operational Efficiency: AMN continues to leverage artificial intelligence and digital tools to improve recruiting efficiency, clinician engagement and workforce management. The company introduced new AI-powered capabilities within its WorkWise platform, including automated candidate scoring, enhanced job search functionality and AI-assisted job description creation. Its AI recruiter helped deploy more than 10,000 clinicians during the quarter, while the AMN Passport mobile app recorded more than 30% growth in users and over 50% growth in monthly active users.
The company recently partnered with Brightfield to enhance its workforce intelligence capabilities. Brightfield's Talent Data Exchange (TDX) complements AMN's proprietary workforce insights, improving market transparency and labor planning. The partnership also enhances AMN's WorkWise ecosystem with stronger decision-support capabilities.
These technology investments are improving hiring speed, strengthening clinician engagement and enhancing workforce planning capabilities, supporting management's long-term goal of expanding revenue while improving operating leverage.
Improving Core Business Momentum and Financial Strength: Beyond the temporary boost from labor disruption events, AMN Healthcare's underlying businesses showed encouraging signs of recovery. Excluding labor disruption assignments, Nurse and Allied Solutions returned to year-over-year traveler volume growth for the first time since 2022, while international staffing posted its first year-over-year revenue increase since late 2023. Leadership search also returned to growth, reflecting improving demand across multiple service lines. With improving demand trends, disciplined capital management and management targeting sustainable revenue growth alongside faster adjusted EBITDA expansion, the company appears well positioned for long-term growth.
Downsides of AMN StockSoftness in Key Staffing Markets: Although AMN's Nurse and Allied business is showing signs of recovery, some of its core staffing markets remain under pressure. During first-quarter 2026, management noted that physician staffing demand remains soft, with many Locums clients focusing on centralized program management and hiring permanent physicians. Demand has also shifted toward the more competitive third-party channel, where fill rates are lower and pricing pressure is higher. At the same time, healthcare systems are investing in internal recruiting capabilities, workforce analytics and AI-powered staffing tools, which could reduce reliance on external staffing providers over time.
Client Concentration and Industry Consolidation Risks: Consolidation among healthcare providers continues to strengthen customers' bargaining power, allowing them to negotiate lower staffing rates and centralize workforce management. Mergers may also result in the loss of contracts if the combined organizations choose existing vendors. AMN Healthcare derives approximately 22% of its consolidated revenues from Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, making the company dependent on a single large customer. As healthcare organizations use vendor management systems and group purchasing organizations, pricing pressure and customer concentration could weigh on future revenue growth and margins.
Regulatory and Competitive Challenges: AMN operates in a highly regulated and competitive healthcare staffing industry. Changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, workforce regulations, immigration policies and evolving rules surrounding AI, cybersecurity and data privacy could increase compliance costs and influence customer hiring decisions. The company also faces competition from large national staffing firms, specialized healthcare recruiters and technology-driven workforce providers. As hospitals continue expanding in-house staffing programs and adopting AI-enabled workforce management solutions, AMN Healthcare must invest in technology and service innovation to protect its competitive position.
Estimate TrendAMN Healthcare has been witnessing a positive estimate revision trend for 2026. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings per share has improved 40% to $2.70.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 revenues and earnings per share is pegged at $626 million and 22 cents, respectively, suggesting 4.9% and 26.7% declines from the year-ago reported numbers.
Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) , Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) and Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB - Free Report) .
West Pharmaceutical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.13, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.8%. Revenues of $844.9 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
West Pharmaceutical has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 13.9%. WST’s earnings surpassed estimates in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.4%.
Intuitive Surgical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported first-quarter 2026 core earnings per share of 85 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.2%. Revenues of $2.77 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.2%.
Intuitive Surgical has a long-term estimated growth rate of 14.3%. ISRG’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.8%.
Pacific Biosciences of California, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted loss per share of 12 cents, which came narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 29.4%. Revenues of $37.2 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.3%.
Pacific Biosciences of California has an estimated earnings growth rate of 22.6% for 2026. PACB’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 29.8%.
RBC Bearings Incorporated RBC has been benefiting from strength in the Aerospace/Defense segment, driven by solid momentum in the commercial aerospace market. Strong growth in orders from the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and the aftermarket verticals is driving the segment's performance (revenues up 41.2% year over year in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026).
Issued on behalf of QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp.
QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN80) will showcase its portfolio of post-quantum cybersecurity solutions at CYDES 2026, one of Southeast Asia's premier cybersecurity conferences, alongside a regional digital-trust partner, as part of its broader expansion across the region.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary, One of the quieter but more consequential races in technology is the effort to rebuild the world's encryption before quantum computers grow powerful enough to break it. Governments and standards bodies have set migration deadlines, regulators are turning quantum risk into a compliance requirement, and the market for solutions is beginning to form around that urgency. Into that moment steps QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN80), a post-quantum cybersecurity company that has announced it will showcase its platform at CYDES 2026, a leading Southeast Asian cybersecurity conference, in collaboration with a regional digital-trust partner, as it pushes deeper into a region it sees as a meaningful growth opportunity.
Key Takeaways
QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN80) will participate in CYDES 2026, one of Southeast Asia's premier cybersecurity conferences, where it plans to showcase its portfolio of post-quantum cybersecurity solutions in collaboration with a regional digital-trust and cybersecurity partner. The Company plans to demonstrate practical enterprise products, including its QPrime Quantum Preparedness Assessment, QAuth quantum-ready authentication, Quantum Secure Storage, and enterprise cryptographic migration solutions. CYDES brings together government agencies, regulators, and critical infrastructure operators from across Asia-Pacific, and QSE's participation supports its broader Southeast Asia expansion strategy, following recent commercial activity within Malaysia's financial-services sector. QSE describes itself as focused on quantum-resilient data protection, identity security, secure storage, and cryptographic migration readiness, built around quantum-delivered entropy and a zero-knowledge architecture. Other publicly traded names positioned across post-quantum security and cybersecurity include SEALSQ (NASDAQ: LAES), Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT), Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), each distinct, most far larger, and none a proxy for QSE. The Deadline Nobody Can Ignore
To understand why a conference appearance matters for a company like QSE, it helps to understand the problem the whole sector is organized around. Much of the encryption that protects the world's data today, from banking and healthcare records to government communications, relies on mathematical problems that conventional computers cannot solve quickly. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could, in principle, solve some of those problems and render that encryption vulnerable. The machines capable of doing so do not exist yet, but the threat is already treated as real because of what security professionals call "harvest now, decrypt later": adversaries can collect encrypted data today and simply wait to decrypt it once the technology matures.
That dynamic has turned what might sound like a distant, theoretical risk into a present-day planning problem. Standards bodies have finalized the first post-quantum cryptography standards, and governments have begun setting timelines for migrating critical systems to quantum-resistant encryption. The practical implication is that organizations cannot wait for quantum computers to arrive before acting; because migrating cryptography touches nearly every system that uses it, the work has to begin years in advance. That is what converts quantum risk from a research topic into a budget line, and it is the demand QSE and its peers are built to serve.
What QSE Is Bringing to CYDES
At CYDES 2026, QSE plans to demonstrate a set of enterprise products designed to walk an organization through the practical steps of preparing for that migration. The company has described four core offerings it intends to showcase. Its QPrime Quantum Preparedness Assessment is designed to help organizations identify cryptographic exposure and prioritize migration planning, essentially a way to find where the risk lives before trying to fix it. QAuth, its quantum-ready authentication product, is designed to strengthen enterprise login and identity security. Quantum Secure Storage is designed to protect sensitive data against both current cyber threats and future quantum-enabled attacks. And a set of enterprise cryptographic migration solutions supports the longer-term planning organizations need for post-quantum security requirements.
The through-line across those products is practicality. Rather than positioning itself around the far-off moment when quantum computers can break encryption, QSE frames its platform as something organizations can begin using today: assess exposure, protect identities, secure data, and plan the migration. That framing reflects a broader reality of the post-quantum security market, where the near-term commercial opportunity lies less in dramatic breakthroughs and more in the unglamorous, compliance-driven work of inventorying systems and planning transitions.
"CYDES provides an important platform to engage directly with government agencies that are moving from awareness to action on post-quantum cybersecurity," said Ted Carefoot, Chief Executive Officer of QSE. "Before agencies and organizations can protect themselves, they need to understand where their encryption, identity and data risks exist. QSE's platform is designed to make that process practical, clear and manageable."
Why Southeast Asia, and Why Now
The choice of venue is itself part of the story. CYDES brings together government agencies, regulators, and critical infrastructure operators from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss emerging cyber threats and next-generation security technologies, exactly the audience a post-quantum security company needs to reach. These are the organizations that hold the most sensitive long-lived data and that face the earliest regulatory pressure to act, which makes them natural first customers for quantum-readiness tools.
For QSE, the appearance supports a broader Southeast Asia expansion strategy, and it follows what the company describes as recent commercial activity within Malaysia's financial-services sector. Management believes the region represents a meaningful growth opportunity as governments, critical infrastructure operators, and regulated enterprises begin evaluating how to prepare for quantum-related cybersecurity risks. In other words, the company is trying to be present in a market at the moment that market is beginning to move from awareness toward procurement. Whether that translates into meaningful revenue remains to be demonstrated, and a conference appearance is an opportunity to build relationships rather than a booked result, but the strategic logic of showing up early where demand is forming is clear.
"Post-quantum security is quickly moving from a technical discussion to a business and compliance priority," added Carefoot. "Events such as CYDES allow us to show that QSE is focused on practical solutions organizations can start using today, rather than waiting for the quantum threat to become an immediate operational problem." The company believes demand for quantum migration planning is accelerating as governments and standards bodies encourage organizations to assess cryptographic risk, inventory vulnerable systems, and begin planning future migration strategies.
The Technology Underneath
QSE describes itself as a Canadian technology company specializing in post-quantum data security, encryption, and secure data infrastructure. According to the company, its solutions are built around quantum-delivered entropy and a zero-knowledge architecture, and are designed to protect sensitive data from both current cyber threats and future quantum-enabled attacks. Entropy, in cryptography, refers to the quality of the randomness used to generate encryption keys; better randomness makes keys harder to predict or reproduce. A zero-knowledge architecture, broadly, is one designed so that the service provider itself cannot access the underlying data it protects.
The company says it serves organizations across commercial, enterprise, and public-sector environments that require long-term data confidentiality and resilience, precisely the customers for whom the harvest-now-decrypt-later threat is most pressing, because their data must stay confidential for years or decades. As with any early-stage technology company, the value of that positioning will ultimately be measured by adoption and revenue rather than by architecture alone, and investors should weigh the company's small size and stage against the scale of the opportunity it is pursuing.
The Public Companies Across Post-Quantum Security
QSE is a small, early-stage company quoted on the Canadian Securities Exchange, and it is not directly comparable to the names below. These comparisons are for industry context only; each company pursues a different technology and business model, most operate at vastly greater scale, and none is a proxy for QSE or implies any partnership or comparable performance.
SEALSQ (NASDAQ: LAES) designs semiconductors and public-key infrastructure for device security, with a stated focus on post-quantum cryptography and quantum-resistant chips for connected-device, identity, and IoT markets. As one of the more visible pure-play post-quantum security names in the public markets, SEALSQ is the closest thematic reference point to the segment QSE operates in, though it pursues a hardware-centric model.
Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a large, established cybersecurity and network-security company offering firewalls, secure networking, cloud security, and endpoint protection to businesses worldwide. Fortinet has been identified by analysts as a potential beneficiary of post-quantum cryptography spending, illustrating how incumbent security platforms are positioning for the same migration wave from a very different scale.
Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) provides cloud-based security and network services and has rolled out post-quantum support across parts of its platform. Like Fortinet, Cloudflare represents the large-incumbent approach to the post-quantum transition, embedding quantum-safe capabilities into an existing, broadly deployed service rather than as a standalone product.
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) makes low-power programmable chips and has positioned itself for the post-quantum transition through crypto-agile, secure hardware designed to support evolving cryptographic standards. Lattice offers a view of the semiconductor layer of the migration, where quantum-resistant capability is built into the hardware that security ultimately runs on.
The Bottom Line
A conference appearance is a beginning, not a milestone that changes a company's fundamentals on its own, and QSE remains a small, early-stage company whose commercial traction still has to be proven against far larger and better-capitalized competitors. But the moment it is stepping into is a real one: governments and regulators have turned post-quantum migration into a deadline-driven requirement, Southeast Asia is an early-moving region, and QSE is positioning its practical toolkit, from cryptographic assessment to authentication, storage, and migration planning, directly in front of the government and infrastructure buyers who face that requirement first. For investors tracking how the post-quantum security market takes shape, QSE's push into Southeast Asia is a concrete data point, with commercial contracts, revenue, and customer adoption the markers worth watching from here.
SIGNAL OVER NOISE
Signal over noise. Cybersecurity, quantum-computing, and post-quantum-security headlines move fast, and the crowd often moves first. Eagle Eye is a real-time investor signal-intelligence platform that surfaces sentiment shifts, news flow, and trending tickers as they happen, so you see the move forming instead of reading about it later. See it at eagle-eye.dev.
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SOURCES
[1] QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp., "QSE to Showcase Quantum-Ready Cybersecurity Platform at CYDES 2026 with Regional Digital Trust Partner" (news release, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2026; QPrime, QAuth, Quantum Secure Storage, cryptographic migration solutions; Southeast Asia expansion; Malaysia financial-services activity).
[2] SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES), Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT), Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), and Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC), corporate disclosures and market data, 2026.
DISCLAIMER
Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. This article is being distributed for Market IQ Media Group Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland ("MIQL"), which wholly owns and operates Equity Insider. MIQL has not been paid a fee in connection with this article. MIQL and/or its associates have previously been paid a fee for QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. advertising and digital media, which compensation has since expired. MIQL and/or its associates, owners, and operators own shares of QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. that were acquired through private placements and in the open market, and reserve the right to buy and sell shares of QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. There may also be 3rd parties who may have shares of QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This share ownership constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This publication contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding QSE's participation in CYDES 2026 and the products it plans to showcase; its collaboration with a regional digital-trust partner; its Southeast Asia expansion strategy and recent commercial activity in Malaysia's financial-services sector; the anticipated growth of demand for post-quantum migration planning; and the capabilities and positioning of its QPrime, QAuth, Quantum Secure Storage, and cryptographic migration solutions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many beyond the company's control, including the early-stage nature of the company and the post-quantum security market; the risk that conference participation and business-development activity may not translate into contracts or revenue; the pace of government and enterprise adoption of post-quantum cryptography; competition from larger and better-capitalized companies; the company's need for additional capital; continued satisfaction of Canadian Securities Exchange requirements; regulatory and general economic conditions; and the other risks described in the company's management discussion and analysis and other filings available under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Actual results could differ materially from those projected. Except as required by applicable law, the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the business of the company and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this publication. References to other companies are based on those companies' public disclosures, are provided for industry context only, and do not imply any partnership, endorsement, affiliation, or comparable performance.
Bitcoin is approaching two major forks scheduled for August 2026. The first, BIP-110, aims to limit certain data recorded on the network. The second, eCash, aims to create a separate chain with new rules. Two very different projects, but the same risk: reigniting the debate about what Bitcoin should remain.
In brief Bitcoin is facing two distinct forks in August 2026. BIP-110 aims to limit certain data recorded on the network. eCash aims to create a separate chain with an asset distributed to BTC holders. Bitcoin faces two very different forks Bitcoin could experience a more political than technical August. The first case concerns BIP-110, a Bitcoin fork of the soft fork type. It seeks to temporarily tighten certain rules without automatically creating a new currency.
The second case concerns eCash. This time, it is an acknowledged hard fork. The project does not seek to modify Bitcoin from within. It wants to create a separate chain, with its own asset, distributed to BTC holders at the moment of separation.
The difference is crucial. A soft fork remains compatible with old nodes if the activation goes smoothly. A hard fork, on the other hand, creates a break. Nodes that do not follow the new rules reject the new chain. BIP-110 targets uses linked to Ordinals, inscriptions, and BRC-20 type tokens. Its goal is to limit certain forms of data integration in Bitcoin transactions.
The proposal would invalidate several technical constructions deemed too heavy. It would notably limit certain witness elements, some scriptPubKey outputs, and the use of undefined Taproot versions. The stated goal is to refocus Bitcoin on its monetary function.
This debate is not new. Since the arrival of Bitcoin Ordinals, part of the community believes that non-financial data unnecessarily clogs blocks. Others on the contrary defend the idea that a block paid for by fees must remain neutral. BIP-110 adds a nuance: it would be temporary. The expected duration is around one year. This is not enough to calm critics, because embedding this type of filter in consensus remains a heavy precedent.
eCash wants to create a new chain The eCash project is led by Paul Sztorc, known for his work on Drivechain. Unlike BIP-110, eCash does not depend on adoption by the main Bitcoin network. It must exist as a separate chain.
The launch is scheduled around block 964,000, likely August 21. BTC holders would receive an equivalent balance on eCash. A coin separation tool is planned to avoid errors between the two assets.
eCash’s big promise is based on Drivechains. These mechanisms, linked to BIP-300 and BIP-301, would allow connecting multiple sidechains to a model close to Bitcoin. Targeted uses range from privacy to specialized markets, including financial experiments.
But the project is already divisive. Some see it as a way to test functions impossible to integrate into Bitcoin Core. Others denounce a risk of confusion, new fragmentation, and controversial economic choices around some old UTXOs.
Bitcoin holders must remain cautious For BIP-110, there is no new asset to claim if activation follows the classic scenario. The main issue concerns wallet, node, and transaction compatibility using advanced constructions.
Miner signaling levels remain low. This reduces chances of smooth activation but does not eliminate the risk of tension. A difficult coordination period between miners, exchanges, and nodes could be enough to create uncertainty.
For eCash, the situation is different. Bitcoins held on a platform or ETF will not necessarily give rights to the new asset. Exchanges can choose not to credit anything, or only allow withdrawals later.
Self-custody users will have more control but also more responsibilities. Reliable tools, replay protection, and clear wallet support must be awaited before any claim attempt.
These two forks remind us that Bitcoin remains a living system. Its strength does not only come from its code. It also depends on social coordination between miners, developers, holders, companies, and institutions. August 2026 may not decide Bitcoin’s future, but it will once again test its capacity to absorb disagreements without losing its course. The eCash project will especially show if a fork can still mobilize a real economic base in a market now dominated by ETFs and major custodians.
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Lydie M.
Enseignante et ingénieure IT, Lydie découvre le Bitcoin en 2022 et plonge dans l’univers des cryptomonnaies. Elle vulgarise des sujets complexes, décrypte les enjeux du Web3 et défend une vision d’un futur numérique ouvert, inclusif et décentralisé.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
NEW YORK, July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE: BMI) and certain of its officers.
This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Badger Meter securities between April 18, 2024 and April 16, 2026, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: bgandg.com/BMI.
Badger Meter Case Details
The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:
the Company’s reported strong financial results did not reflect “ongoing favorable industry trends,” “secular growth drivers,” or “solid operating execution,” as represented, but were instead unsustainable;Defendants’ statements touting “strong” demand, “robust order pacing,” and a “strong bid pipeline” overstated the true state of the Company’s demand environment and ability to generate continued sales and earnings growth; andcontrary to Defendants’ claims that the Company possessed a “long runway” for growth, the Company’s growth prospects were materially overstated, such that Defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and future prospects. What's Next for Badger Meter Investors?
A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm’s site: bgandg.com/BMI. or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you suffered a loss in Badger Meter you have until August 3, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.
No Cost to Badger Meter Investors
We, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.
Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for Badger Meter Securities Class Action?
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com
"Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.
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Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Key Takeaways Howmet's defense aerospace revenues rose 10% in Q1, driven by F-35 engine spares and legacy fighter demand.HWM's Engine Products segment posted 29% revenue growth as defense aerospace strength continued.Howmet raised its 2026 outlook, expecting up to $9.725 billion in revenues and $3.095 billion in EBITDA. Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM - Free Report) is witnessing persistent strength in its defense aerospace market. In first-quarter 2026, revenues from the defense aerospace market surged 10% year over year, constituting 16% of the company’s revenues. Also, in 2025, revenues from this market increased 21% year over year. The surge in revenues was driven by the strong demand for engine spares, particularly related to the F-35 program, and increased orders for legacy fighter jet spares.
This uptick significantly benefited Howmet’s Engine Products segment, which reported a 29% year-over-year revenue increase in the first quarter. The company is expanding its efforts on new programs, particularly in the drone and collaborative combat aircraft space. With military-aircraft programs expected to benefit from increased funding, HWM is poised to maintain strong demand momentum in the upcoming quarters.
It's worth noting that the fiscal year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act was signed into law in February 2026, providing a strong budgetary allocation for defense. Such robust budgetary provisions set the stage for Howmet, which is focused on the defense business, to win more contracts, which is likely to boost its top line.
Driven by strength across both defense and commercial aerospace markets, the company raised its 2026 outlook and currently expects total revenues of $9.575-$9.725 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.025-$3.095 billion.
Segment Snapshot of HWM’s PeersTextron Inc.’s (TXT - Free Report) defense business is gaining momentum, backed by key U.S. military contracts and steady government support. In first-quarter 2026, Bell’s military revenues increased year over year, driven by continued growth on the MV-75 Cheyenne program. Textron Systems revenues increased 13% largely due to higher volume on the Ship-to-Shore Connector program and military training services at ATAC.
GE Aerospace (GE - Free Report) is benefiting from solid momentum in its Defense & Propulsion Technologies segment. In first-quarter 2026, GE Aerospace clinched a $1.4 billion deal for T408 engines to support the U.S. Marine Corps’ CH-53K helicopter fleet. Driven by strong bookings, revenues from the Defense & Propulsion Technologies segment increased 19% year over year and orders grew 67% in the first quarter.
HWM's Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Howmet have surged 32.3% in the past six months against the industry’s decline of 1.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, HWM is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50.86X, above the industry’s average of 34.03X. Howmet carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM’s 2026 earnings has increased 9% over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
DigitalOcean (DOCN) is experiencing a positive surge as it projects record results for Q2. The company expects remaining performance obligations (RPO) to exceed
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SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI | SOFI Price Prediction) is trading around $18 as of July 7, 2026, still down 31.3% year-to-date after a brutal spring. The catalyst for the drawdown: a March 2026 Muddy Waters report alleging accounting misstatements and undisclosed charge-off rates. Yet shares have rallied 12.2% over the past month, raising the question of whether the stock has bottomed.
The Fundamentals Never Broke The bear thesis was that credit was cracking beneath the surface. The Q1 2026 earnings report, filed April 29, 2026, argued otherwise. Revenue hit $1.10 billion, beating consensus by 4.9%, with EPS of $0.12 matching estimates for the fourth straight quarter. GAAP net income of $166.73 million rose 134.5% year over year, and loan originations set a record at $12.18 billion.
CEO Anthony Noto said, “We had an excellent Q1 delivering another quarter of durable growth and strong returns, fueled by our relentless focus on innovation and brand building.”
What Sparked the Bounce Recovery catalysts have stacked up quickly. On June 23, 2026, SoFi acquired Composer Securities and launched Composer by SoFi, an AI-powered investing platform. Noto argued, “As AI becomes a foundational part of investing, Composer by SoFi strengthens our ability to deliver powerful investing tools through an experience that is simple, intuitive, and accessible.” Days later, the company rolled out small business loans up to $250,000 with 24-hour funding.
Smart money has been leaning in. Cathie Wood’s ARK made four consecutive purchases, including over 200,000 shares (around $3.62 million) on June 30, 2026. Jim Cramer reiterated an “I Continue to Believe It’s Time to Buy” stance on June 23, 2026. For investors weighing how to play post-selloff setups, 24/7 Wall Street’s Breakout Buyers Rulebook covers the framework.
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The Bear Case Hasn’t Vanished The Muddy Waters overhang lingers. Signal Law Group followed up on June 27, 2026, with a Securities Disclosure Risk bulletin. Credit metrics are drifting: personal loan charge-offs rose to 3.0% from 2.8% sequentially, student loan charge-offs to 0.7% from 0.5%, and average asset yields fell 63 basis points. The Technology Platform segment shrank 27% after a large client departure.
Wall Street is unconvinced. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average target of $20.90. The forward P/E of 30x relative to 2026 guidance of approximately $0.60 in adjusted EPS leaves little room for error.
Verdict: Off the Lows, Not Yet Confirmed Shares have clearly recovered from the $16.03 low in early June, and the operational story continues to support the bulls. Whether $18 holds as a durable base depends on the July 29, 2026, Q2 earnings call, where analysts expect revenue of $1.1 billion and EPS of $0.11. Investors should monitor the stock and, more importantly, the charge-off trajectory.
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In the run-up to a major release, Aqua, we have strengthened our leadership team by appointing a chief product and technology officer and a new head of product design.
As Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO), Holly Atkinson will focus on shaping product strategy to ensure that 1inch continues to innovate with its core routing infrastructure and successfully launches a new shared liquidity product, Aqua.
Holly brings experience across full-stack engineering, blockchain architecture, product development and executive leadership. Before joining 1inch, she worked as a Blockchain Architect at The Sandbox, led metaverse technology initiatives at Boson Protocol and began her Web3 career as a Full Stack Engineer at Tracr.
1inch also welcomes George Evans as Head of Product Design. George joins us with more than 15 years of experience building and leading design teams at companies including Careem, Noon and Majid Al Futtaim. At 1inch, he will lead the product design function, focusing on creating intuitive user experiences, strengthening design across the product portfolio and ensuring design plays a central role in product development.
These appointments come as we prepare for major product launches. Following recent major integrations, including the partnership with Robinhood Chain to expand access to tokenized real-world assets, we are preparing the public launch of Aqua, a shared liquidity protocol.
As one of the company's most significant upcoming initiatives, Aqua is designed to address liquidity fragmentation across DeFi and contribute to the next generation of on-chain finance infrastructure.
Market ContextThe crypto market enters the second week of July with cautious optimism. Bitcoin is holding above $63,000 after a sharp macro-driven short squeeze last week, while Ethereum is approaching $1,780. The broader altcoin market is recovering selectively — not everything is moving, but the tokens with real catalysts are separating from the noise.Today's Daily Alpha Drop covers three very different stories: a cautionary tale about DAO governance vulnerabilities, a real-world asset tokenization milestone backed by an SEC filing, and Cardano's most significant DeFi development in years.
$BONK: When Governance Becomes a WeaponWhat HappenedOn July 7, BonkDAO: the decentralised autonomous organisation behind the popular Solana memecoin BONK, confirmed that its treasury had been drained of $20 million via a malicious governance attack. The attacker exploited a fundamental weakness in token-weighted voting systems: they accumulated a sufficient quantity of BONK tokens to pass a fraudulent governance proposal on Solana's Realms platform, then used that proposal to redirect treasury funds to their own wallet.Critically, no individual user wallets were affected. The attack targeted only the DAO treasury, funds held collectively by the protocol, not by token holders directly. Upbit and Bithumb temporarily suspended BONK deposits and withdrawals as a precautionary measure while the situation was assessed.
Why It MattersThe BonkDAO exploit is not just a BONK story, it is a wake-up call for the entire DAO ecosystem. Token-weighted governance, where voting power is proportional to token holdings, creates a structural attack vector: anyone with sufficient capital can accumulate tokens, pass malicious proposals, and drain treasuries before the community can respond.This is not a new vulnerability. Similar attacks have occurred across DeFi history, but the scale and visibility of the BonkDAO incident, involving one of Solana's most recognised meme assets, brings the issue back into sharp focus. BonkDAO is now working with exchanges, the Solana Foundation, and law enforcement to trace and recover the funds.
What to WatchThe incident is likely to accelerate discussions around governance safeguards across Solana-based DAOs, including time-locks on proposals, multi-sig treasury controls, and minimum voting thresholds. For traders, the short-term price impact has been a roughly 7% decline, but the longer-term narrative around BONK's community resilience and governance reform will be the more meaningful signal.
$LINK: Real Estate Tokenization Gets an SEC FilingWhat HappenedOn July 6, Caliber: a US-based real estate investment firm, filed an SEC Form 8-K announcing it is implementing Chainlink's ACE (Automated Compliance Engine) infrastructure to tokenize its private real estate funds. The filing also disclosed that Caliber has invested in LINK, the native token of the Chainlink network, to support its tokenization initiatives.The Chainlink ACE framework enables three core capabilities for Caliber's platform: reusable investor verification (KYC/AML checks that do not need to be repeated for every transaction), enforceable compliance rules embedded directly into smart contracts, and auditable transaction records that provide regulators and investors with transparent on-chain histories.Caliber will begin tokenizing selected investments, including its largest indoor Pickleball and Padel facility project, before expanding to broader real estate fund tokenization.
Why It MattersAn SEC 8-K filing is a material disclosure, it is not marketing copy or a press release. When a company files with the SEC to announce a technology implementation and a token investment, it signals genuine operational commitment, not exploratory interest. This is exactly the kind of institutional adoption signal that the Chainlink ecosystem has been building toward.The broader context is equally significant. The RWA (real-world asset) tokenization sector crossed $63.6 billion in market cap in July 2026, with tokenized real estate emerging as one of the fastest-growing sub-categories. Chainlink's oracle and compliance infrastructure is increasingly the default choice for institutions entering this space, given its established track record with BlackRock's BUIDL, Aave, and dozens of other major protocols.
What to WatchCaliber's implementation is an early-stage rollout, but the SEC filing creates a public record that other real estate firms will reference. If the tokenization of Caliber's funds proceeds successfully, it could serve as a template for the broader private real estate market, a sector with trillions in assets that have historically been illiquid and difficult to access for retail investors.
$ADA: Cardano's RealFi Testnet Goes LiveWhat HappenedOn July 6, Cardano developers launched the RealFi testnet, the first public step toward a next-generation stablecoin and DeFi infrastructure layer on the Cardano blockchain. The RealFi network introduces USDr, a stablecoin backed by traditional real-world assets that offers potential yields of up to 10% per annum without requiring users to lock up their funds.The RealFi testnet launch follows the Van Rossem hard fork (Protocol Version 11), which was completed in mid-June and introduced more efficient smart contracts and enhanced developer tooling. RealFi represents the first major DeFi application built on top of the upgraded Cardano infrastructure.ADA gained 30% in the week to July 6, making it one of the top performers in the top 100 by market capitalisation. The $981M in 24-hour volume is one of the largest prints the asset has recorded in 2026, reflecting genuine market interest in the upcoming developments.
Why It MattersCardano has long been criticised for slow development velocity relative to its market capitalisation. The RealFi testnet launch represents a meaningful shift: for the first time, Cardano is deploying a DeFi product that directly competes with established stablecoin and yield protocols on Ethereum and Solana.The USDr design, backed by traditional assets and offering yield without lockups, positions it as a direct alternative to products like Ethena's USDe and Ondo's USDY. If the testnet performs as expected and the mainnet launch follows, Cardano's total value locked (currently below $90 million) could see significant growth as DeFi users explore the new yield opportunities.
What to WatchThe RealFi mainnet launch date has not been officially confirmed, but the testnet going live suggests a timeline of weeks to months rather than years. Traders and developers will be watching closely for any issues identified during the testnet phase, as well as for announcements about institutional partners backing the USDr reserve assets.
SummaryToday's three stories span the full spectrum of what makes crypto markets worth watching: a governance exploit that exposes structural risks, an institutional adoption milestone backed by regulatory filings, and a long-awaited DeFi breakthrough on one of the industry's most established blockchains. Each tells a different story about where the market is heading and the risks and opportunities that come with it.
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Not financial advice. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
The American currency gained ground as traders focused on recent events in the Strait of Hormuz.
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U.S. Dollar Moves Higher As Oil Prices Rally
DXY 070726 4h Chart U.S. Dollar Index gains ground as traders focus on the rally in the oil markets. An LNG carrier from Qatar was hit in the Strait of Hormuz. A Saudi oil tanker also suffered damage. Iran insists that ships should go through approved routes.
The nearest resistance level for U.S. Dollar Index is located in the 101.15 – 101.30 range. In case U.S. Dollar Index manages to settle above the 101.30 level, it will head towards the next resistance, which is located in the 101.80 – 101.95 range.
EUR/USD Tests Support At 1.1420 – 1.1435
EUR/USD 070726 4h Chart EUR/USD pulled back as demand for risk assets declined after attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Traders also focused on the Industrial Production report from Germany. The report indicated that Industrial Production increased by +0.9% month-over-month in May, compared to analyst consensus of +0.2%.
Currently, EUR/USD is trying to settle below the support level at 1.1420 – 1.1435. This support level has already been tested several times and proved its strength. In case EUR/USD manages to settle below the 1.1420 level, it will get to the test of the 50 MA at 1.1410. A move below the 50 MA will open the way to the test of the support level at 1.1350 – 1.1365.
GBP/USD Retreats Amid Falling Demand For Risk Assets GBP/USD 070726 4h Chart GBP/USD is losing ground as traders focus on general strength of the American currency.
From the technical point of view, GBP/USD failed to settle above the 1.3400 level and pulled back towards 1.3370. The nearest support level for GBP/USD is located in the 1.3335 – 1.3350 range.
If GBP/USD declines below the 1.3335 level, it will head towards the 50 MA at 1.3285. In case GBP/USD manages to settle below the 50 MA, it will move towards the next support level at 1.3250 – 1.3265.
USD/CAD Tests The 1.4200 Level
USD/CAD 070726 4h Chart USD/CAD remains stuck below the resistance at 1.4225 – 1.4240 as traders focus on the strong rally in the oil markets. Gold and silver are losing ground, which is bearish for the Canadian currency. Other commodity-related currencies are moving lower in today’s trading session.
If USD/CAD settles below the 50 MA at 1.4204, it will head towards the support level at 1.4125 – 1.4140. RSI is in the moderate territory, so there is plenty of room to gain additional downside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.
On the upside, USD/CAD needs to settle above the resistance level at 1.4225 – 1.4240 to gain upside momentum in the near term. A move above 1.4240 will push USD/CAD towards the next resistance at 1.4335 – 1.4350.
USD/JPY Remains Stuck Near Key Resistance Level USD/JPY 070726 4h Chart USD/JPY is losing some ground as traders react to the Household Spending report from Japan. The report indicated that Household Spending increased by +3.7% month-over-month in May, compared to analyst forecast of +1.4%. On a year-over-year basis, USD/JPY declined by -0.4%, compared to analyst consensus of -2.5%.
The technical picture remains unchanged as USD/JPY is trying to settle above the resistance level at 161.50 – 162.00. If USD/JPY settles above the 162.00 level, it will move towards recent highs near 162.80. A move above the 162.80 level will push USD/JPY towards the 165.00 level.
If you’d like to know more about how to trade forex, please visit our educational area.
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Vladimir is an independent trader, with over 18 years of experience in the financial markets. His expertise spans a wide range of instruments like stocks, futures, forex, indices, and commodities, forecasting both long-term and short-term market movements.
Healthcare has been an unloved corner of the market in 2026, but that neglect has created a rare setup: quality names trading in single-digit and low-double-digit territory while still throwing off cash, growing earnings, and reaffirming guidance. For retail investors scanning for value, the sub-$30 shelf in healthcare currently offers exposure to a pending strategic buyout, a 7% dividend yield backed by a reaffirmed outlook, and a restructuring story with multiple near-term FDA catalysts. That is a lot of optionality for very little share price.
With that in mind, here are three healthcare stocks trading under $30 that look attractively priced heading into the back half of 2026.
Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE | KVUE Price Prediction) is the consumer health company spun off from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), home to Tylenol, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Listerine, BAND-AID, Zyrtec, and Nicorette. Shares closed the last session at $19.83, comfortably under the $30 ceiling and up 17.65% year to date, which still leaves the stock below its 52-week high of $21.85.
The fundamentals are firming quickly. Q1 FY26 delivered adjusted EPS of $0.32 versus $0.26 expected, a 23.08% beat, on revenue of $3.91 billion, up 4.49% year over year. Gross margin expanded 90 basis points to 58.9% and adjusted operating margin reached 24.0%, while free cash flow climbed 60.64% to $400 million. Kenvue carries a forward P/E of 17 and a 4.28% dividend yield, with an analyst consensus price target of $19.50.
The bull case is anchored by the pending acquisition by Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB), structured as $3.50 cash per share plus 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares, expected to close in the second half of 2026 with shareholder approval already secured and the HSR waiting period expired. That gives holders a defined takeout floor while the underlying business keeps expanding margins. CEO Kirk Perry said the company is “confident in our ability to navigate ongoing macro uncertainty” as it works toward closing the combination.
The key risk is deal execution: foreign regulatory approvals could delay the timeline, and total debt has risen to $8.7 billion. Even so, with a takeout premium, margin momentum, and defensive brands, Kenvue looks like a low-volatility way to earn a return under $20. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is one such name.
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) Pfizer is one of the largest global biopharmaceutical companies, with a portfolio spanning oncology, vaccines, specialty care, and primary care. The stock last traded at $24.32, up just 0.97% year to date, keeping it well inside the under-$30 zone and near the low end of its $21.97 to $28.28 52-week range.
At current levels, Pfizer trades at a trailing P/E of 19 and a forward P/E of 8, with a dividend yield of 7.2% supported by a quarterly payout of $0.43 that has held steady since Q1 2025. Q1 FY26 marked the fifth consecutive EPS beat, with adjusted EPS of $0.75 versus $0.72 expected on revenue of $14.45 billion, up 5.4% year over year. Growth drivers included Padcev +39%, Nurtec ODT/Vydura +41%, Eliquis +13%, and Abrysvo +37%. The analyst consensus price target sits at $29.15, with 11 buy or strong buy ratings against 16 holds.
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The bull case rests on three pillars. First, the Vyndamax patent settlement extends U.S. exclusivity to June 2031, removing a major overhang on one of the company’s most profitable franchises. Second, management reaffirmed FY26 guidance of $59.5 to $62.5 billion in revenue and $2.80 to $3.00 in adjusted EPS. Third, the pipeline is loaded, with roughly 20 key pivotal trial starts planned in 2026, including 10 obesity assets from the Metsera acquisition. CEO Albert Bourla said Pfizer is “particularly encouraged by what we’re seeing in oncology and obesity.”
The risk profile is real. Pfizer faces a $1.5 billion expected revenue headwind from generics and biosimilars in 2026, ongoing COVID product declines (Comirnaty -59%, Paxlovid -63%), and pricing pressure from Most Favored Nation policy discussions. On Polymarket, traders currently give a 13% implied probability that the U.S. federal government takes a stake in Pfizer this year, a low-odds tail risk worth acknowledging. For income-oriented value investors, Pfizer offers a rare combination of a 7% yield, single-digit forward multiple, and a rebuilding growth story.
Viatris (NASDAQ: VTRS) Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) is a global pharmaceutical company blending generics and branded drugs, including Lipitor, Lyrica, EpiPen, Viagra, and Creon. Shares last changed hands at $16.70, up a remarkable 36.24% year to date and 85.74% over the past year, yet still trading materially below the $30 ceiling.
Even after the rally, valuation remains compressed. Viatris trades at a forward P/E of 7, a price-to-book of 1.327, and offers a 2.97% dividend yield from a $0.12 quarterly payout that has held steady for 16 consecutive quarters. Q1 FY26 delivered adjusted EPS of $0.59 versus $0.50 expected, a 17.53% beat, on revenue of $3.52 billion, up 8.1% year over year. Greater China net sales surged 22% to $680.1 million, brands grew 10% to $2.33 billion, and adjusted EBITDA rose 14% to $1.05 billion. The analyst consensus target of $17.81 is now within striking distance.
The bull case combines cost discipline with catalysts. Management is executing an enterprise-wide restructuring targeting $600 to $700 million in annualized cost savings with up to a 10% workforce reduction, and reaffirmed FY26 guidance of $14.45 to $14.95 billion in revenue, $2.33 to $2.47 in adjusted EPS, and $1.95 to $2.35 billion in free cash flow. The pipeline offers three near-term decisions: the contraceptive patch PDUFA on July 30, 2026, the MR-141 presbyopia PDUFA on October 17, 2026, and the non-opioid pain therapy MR-107A-02 decision expected December 27, 2026. CEO Scott Smith said the company is “well positioned to deliver on our full-year guidance.”
The risks are meaningful. Viatris posted a FY25 GAAP net loss of $3.51 billion including $2.9 billion in Q1 25 goodwill impairment, and continues to work through the Indore FDA warning letter and a $71.9 million writedown tied to the Nashik India facility fire. Generic pricing pressure in North America and Japan remains a persistent headwind. Still, with a mid-single-digit forward multiple, reaffirmed guidance, and three catalysts before year-end, Viatris looks like the highest-optionality name of the three.
The Bottom Line Kenvue, Pfizer, and Viatris each carry real risks, from deal timing and regulatory hurdles to patent cliffs, pricing policy, and manufacturing issues. What makes them interesting today is that their sub-$30 quotes come attached to reaffirmed 2026 guidance, expanding margins, and identifiable catalysts, not just cheap headline multiples. Investors should dig into the filings, weigh each risk against their own time horizon, and decide whether the setup matches their portfolio needs before acting.
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Investors interested in REIT and Equity Trust - Other stocks are likely familiar with Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI - Free Report) and Public Storage (PSA - Free Report) . But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Public Storage has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that GLPI is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.
GLPI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.63, while PSA has a forward P/E of 19.10. We also note that GLPI has a PEG ratio of 1.84. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. PSA currently has a PEG ratio of 4.35.
Another notable valuation metric for GLPI is its P/B ratio of 2.45. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, PSA has a P/B of 11.44.
These metrics, and several others, help GLPI earn a Value grade of B, while PSA has been given a Value grade of D.
GLPI sticks out from PSA in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that GLPI is the better option right now.
Key Takeaways Omnicell is expanding autonomous pharmacy solutions with SaaS, services and OmniSphere adoption.OMCL is benefiting from health system wins, international expansion and recurring subscription revenue.Omnicell expects tariff costs in 2026, while labor shortages and inflation remain operational challenges. Shares of Omnicell (OMCL - Free Report) have rallied 52.6% over the past year, significantly outperforming the industry’s 20.8% fall and the S&P 500 composite’s 23.9% gain.
Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, the healthcare technology company continues to pursue the vision of the autonomous pharmacy, designed to improve medication management outcomes. Growth in SaaS and Expert Services, rising adoption among health systems and international expansion further strengthen its outlook.
Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, Omnicell develops and markets end-to-end automation solutions for the medication-use process. These automation solutions contain medication and supply dispensing systems, central pharmacy storage, retrieval and packaging solutions, a bedside automation solution, a physician order management solution, a decision support application and a Web-based procurement application. The products offered by the company enable care providers to improve patient safety and increase efficiency by lowering costs.
Factors Favoring OMCL’s GrowthOmnicell continues to advance toward its goal of achieving the industry-defined vision of autonomous medication management, which is a roadmap to improving operational efficiencies and ultimately targeting zero-error medication management. Over the past several years, Omnicell has evolved from offering a single-point solution to a platform of products and services and has also secured several wins with major health systems and government health care facilities. OMCL’s ongoing R&D investments across Points of Care, Central Pharmacy and IV Compounding, Specialty Pharmacy and 340B Program and Ambulatory Care market categories are expected to deliver solutions that drive positive medication management outcomes for customers.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company derives an increasing portion of revenues from its subscription-based SaaS and Expert Services offerings, which include a combination of robotics, smart devices and intelligent software, all optimized by expert services. In recent years, Omnicell has integrated three key acquisitions, such as Specialty Pharmacy Services (formerly ReCept), FDS Amplicare and MarkeTouch Media, LL (merged into EnlivenHealth, Inc), to broaden the offerings. In 2025, SaaS and Expert Services revenues were $259 million.
In the first quarter of 2026, several health systems committed to using Omnicell's inventory optimization service, alongside central pharmacy automation and point-of-care dispensing solutions. The company announced OmniSphere in late 2024, a cloud-native platform designed to unify all Omnicell products under a single, secure infrastructure to make it simpler, safer and more connected to manage medications within a growing health system. EnlivenHealth also continues to gain traction with cross-selling and upselling communication solutions to existing customers.
Healthcare providers outside the United States are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of automation. There is a substantial demand for adherence packaging equipment outside the domestic market. Omnicell’s international operations include its sales efforts centered in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions and supply-chain efforts in Asia. Given the fact that the international market is less than 1% penetrated, with very few hospitals adopting medication control systems, this creates a solid long-term growth opportunity.
Risks for OMCLSimilar to its health-care system partners, Omnicell’s operations continue to be affected by persisting labor shortages as well as increased inflationary costs related to components’ raw materials and freight. The company’s 2026 guidance incorporates an updated estimate of approximately $12 million in tariff-related costs impacting profitability.
A Glance at OMCL’s EstimatesThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Omnicell's earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $1.97 for 2026 and $2.23 for 2027, implying year-over-year growth of 21.6% and 13.2%, respectively. Over the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for 2026 EPS has moved up 5.3%, while the 2027 estimate has increased 2.3%.
Revenues for 2026 are projected to grow 4.9% to $1.24 billion, and another 4.2% to $1.30 billion in 2027.
Other Key StocksSome other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Illumina (ILMN - Free Report) , Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) and Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) .
Illumina has an earnings yield of 2.8% compared to the industry’s negative 14.6% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 12.2%. ILMN shares have rallied 95.8% compared with the industry’s 25.6% growth over the past year.
ILMN carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Align Technology, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3% compared with the industry’s 5.5% growth. Shares of the company have dipped 6.3% against the industry’s 9.6% growth. ALGN’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 7.8%.
Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an earnings yield of 13.7% against the industry’s negative 3% yield. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.7%. IART shares have rallied 33.8% against the industry’s 10.5% decline over the past year.
Investors with an interest in Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products stocks have likely encountered both Kennametal (KMT - Free Report) and Techtronic Industries Co. (TTNDY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Currently, Kennametal has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Techtronic Industries Co. has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that KMT has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.
Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.
Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.
KMT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.47, while TTNDY has a forward P/E of 21.03. We also note that KMT has a PEG ratio of 0.22. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. TTNDY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.14.
Another notable valuation metric for KMT is its P/B ratio of 1.86. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, TTNDY has a P/B of 4.31.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to KMT's Value grade of B and TTNDY's Value grade of C.
KMT has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than TTNDY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that KMT is the superior option right now.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Webster First Federal Credit Union today announced integration with Payrailz®, a leading digital payments solution from Jack Henry®, to embed the Payrailz® Pay a Person™ peer-to-peer (P2P) payments capability within its digital banking platform. This rollout reflects a growing industry shift toward in-app, real-time payment experiences that reduce reliance on third-party fintech rails and keep transaction volume within the financial institution's ecosystem.
Payrailz Pay a Person lets members send P2P transfers using just the recipient's name and mobile phone number. There's no need to share account or routing numbers, sign up for separate apps, or wait days for the money to clear. By streamlining the payment flow to a few taps, the credit union aims to drive digital engagement, increase transaction frequency, and strengthen primary financial institution (PFI) relationships with its member base.
"We're pleased that Webster First Federal Credit Union is enabling members to send P2P payments through Payrailz Pay a Person, while also giving recipients the option to receive funds instantly over the RTP® and FedNow® payment rails," said Tede Forman, president of Jack Henry Payment Solutions. "This fast, convenient exchange of funds supports a broad range of accountholders – from small businesses looking to grow to consumers seeking better control of their cash flow."
Built for flexibility, the solution uses a multi-rail payments framework to support different use cases and delivery speeds. Transfers between Webster First accounts and standard external ACH payments are available at no cost. For faster delivery, recipients can choose to accept the funds instantly for a flat $2.50 fee, offering a simple, transparent alternative to the percentage-based pricing common among many P2P fintech providers.
By integrating Payrailz payments technology directly into its core digital banking infrastructure, Webster First positions P2P payments as a native component of the member experience rather than a bolt-on service. The initiative underscores the credit union's broader digital transformation strategy and its commitment to delivering secure, transparent, and competitive payment solutions that meet evolving member expectations.
About Webster First Federal Credit Union
Webster First Federal Credit Union is a financial cooperative dedicated to providing innovative and secure banking solutions to its members. Committed to empowering members through responsible financial tools and exceptional service, the credit union offers a comprehensive suite of digital and traditional banking products. For more information, visit websterfirst.com.
About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.®
Jack Henry® (Nasdaq: JKHY) is a well-rounded financial technology company that strengthens connections between financial institutions and the people and businesses they serve. We are an S&P 500 company that prioritizes openness, collaboration, and user centricity – offering banks and credit unions a vibrant ecosystem of internally developed modern capabilities as well as the ability to integrate with leading fintechs. For 50 years, Jack Henry has provided technology solutions to enable clients to innovate faster, strategically differentiate, and successfully compete while serving the evolving needs of their accountholders. We empower approximately 7,400 clients with people-inspired innovation, personal service, and insight-driven solutions that help reduce the barriers to financial health. Additional information is available at jackhenry.com.
Please direct any queries to:
Lauren Conti, Community Relations Coordinator
774-823-1677
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If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Reinsurance Group (RGA - Free Report) . This company, which is in the Zacks Insurance - Life Insurance industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.
This reinsurance company has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 22.43%.
For the most recent quarter, Reinsurance Group was expected to post earnings of $6.19 per share, but it reported $6.97 per share instead, representing a surprise of 12.60%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $5.86 per share, while it actually produced $7.75 per share, a surprise of 32.25%.
Price and EPS Surprise
Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Reinsurance Group lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Reinsurance Group currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.42%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner.
Investors should note, however, that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss, but a negative value does reduce the predictive power of this metric.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of ACHV either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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