Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 10/21/2025

Happy Tuesday morning. What’s gaining speed and what’s losing momentum:

• Hot: Stryker Corp. (SYK) just got handed an opportunity; despite a recent dip, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) appears poised for good things
• Not: Unilever (UL) underwhelms on every level; Home Depot Inc. (HD) is in the hot seat

P.S. For more stocks making moves, check out our Zen Ratings Upgrades & Downgrades screener.

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🔥 HOT: Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) appears to be in correction mode, having lost 8% in the past month. Time to sell? Or opportunity to buy the dip? We lean toward the latter, considering the stock’s Zen Rating of B (Buy). As AMZN approaches another earnings report, the rumor mill is churning with hopes of yet another surprise beat. Add that with B2C e-commerce market projections for explosive global growth through 2033, and Amazon starts to look pretty interesting. Digging into the Component Grades, Value remains a weak spot (C), but you’ll also see two areas of promise — an A for Sentiment, signifying Smart Money support, and a B for Financials, indicating a solid balance sheet. While the future remains to be seen, it’s well worth keeping this tech titan on your free WallStreetZen watchlist. 

🥶 NOT: Rut roh. Unilever (UL) just got downgraded to a C (Hold) in our Zen Ratings system. Is “Hold” really just a polite way of saying “Sell”? UBS votes yes — it just reiterated its Sell rating. The stock is up less than 1% year over year, and the Household and Personal Product Industry isn’t exactly inspiring either (Industry Grade: D). The Component Grades may help shed some light on why the consumer staples staple stock is stuck in the slow lane — mostly straight Cs across the board, with the exception of a dismal D for Growth. With little to get excited about, we wouldn’t do more than watch UL for now.

🔥 HOT: Upgrade alert! Stryker Corp. (SYK) recently upleveled from a Hold to a Buy (B) Zen Rating. With Johnson & Johnson planning to spin off its orthopedics business, Stryker appears to be the front runner to capture new market share. While some of the Component Grades haven’t caught up (yet) — Value, Growth, and Momentum all sport a just-average C — there are specific points of optimism. SYK earns a B in Safety and Financials – a reassuring combo for risk-averse buyers. (Want more safe stocks? Click here.) Recent price action has been underwhelming, with just 2% growth in the past week, but analysts are buzzing on expectations of high single-digit earnings growth and the bullish signal from J&J’s spin-out. Stryker’s story right now is one of resilience and opportunity – and with the rating upgrade, it’s definitely one to watch through the end of the year. 

🥶 NOT: Home Depot Inc. (HD) is in the hot seat, with a recent drop in the Zen Ratings system to C (Hold) territory. Despite the company’s reputation as the ironclad leader in home improvement, the stock is down over 5% year over year. Recently, it’s been plagued by drill-downs on soft quarterly results and bearish news highlighting underperformance versus the S&P 500. Looking at the Component Grades, the lone bright spot is an above-average B grade for Financials; otherwise, it’s average or below average grades all around, with Growth only netting a D. (Here’s why that matters.) Although a Fed rate cut could, in theory, spur DIY spending, there’s no decisive signal suggesting a Home Depot turnaround. Verdict: Sell or, at best, a defensive Hold until the needle moves.

What to Do Next?

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