These 3 Earnings Winners are Still Strong Buys

These 3 stocks just crushed earnings ... and every one of them is still Strong Buy rated in the Zen Ratings. An energy refiner. A health insurer. A diagnostics company. Three businesses with nothing to do with each other ... and every one of them beat big.

A note from our sponsors...

Here's the part that got our attention. When we ran all three through our system, each one sits right at the top of its own industry. Two are ranked number 1, with the other coming in at #2.

That is not a coincidence. Keep reading to find out exactly what's going for these under-the-radar plays, plus even more important: how to spot the same setup before the next earnings report.

1. HF Sinclair (DINO)

We'll start with the refiner, HF Sinclair (DINO). A diversified energy company ... gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, renewable diesel, and lubricants. The unglamorous stuff that keeps the country moving.

So why is HF Sinclair exciting right now? Because last week they beat the stuffing out of estimates. Analysts expected earnings of $4.49 per share. HF Sinclair delivered $5.31. And this wasn't a one-off. This company has now topped the forecast 6 quarters in a row.

Now let's talk about Wall Street. There are 14 analysts on the stock. The most bullish voice belongs to a top-5% ranked analyst at Goldman Sachs. His street-high target points to serious upside from here. (See price targets here.) 

Now here's where our own data comes in. The Zen Ratings run every stock through 115 different factors and boil it down to one grade, A through F. HF Sinclair earns an A ... a Strong Buy recommendation ... in the top 1% of the roughly 4,600 stocks we track. It's also the 2nd highest rated stock in its industry, which itself carries an A rating.

Now let's look at the Component Grades, which show where a stock is strong and where it's soft. And this one is strong almost everywhere. Sentiment, the smart money signal, comes in at the top 25%. Value, top 5%. Growth, also top 5%. Financial strength, top 5% as well. Momentum, top 3%. And its Artificial Intelligence grade, top 2%, which measures how closely the stock matches the patterns our model ties to future outperformance.

One thing worth touching on: HF Sinclair's share price has rallied by more than 100% in the past year. But the case for why the move could continue is incredibly strong. As noted, this wasn't a lucky quarter ... they've been outperforming for a while. Couple that with elite Value, Financials, Momentum, and Growth metrics, and there's plenty of room to run. A darn good place to start.

The next company is winning in a completely different industry ... and its last quarter was even more dramatic.

2. Centene (CNC)

Let's keep the party moving with Centene (CNC), one of the largest health insurers in the country, focused on government programs like Medicaid and Medicare ... serving around 24 million members.

Here's why Centene is interesting now. Last week they didn't just beat ... they more than doubled the estimate. Stronger Medicare margins, a favorable Marketplace business, and progress on Medicaid rates all landed at once. And on that strength, management raised full-year guidance. Companies don't raise the bar unless the momentum is real. This was the 4th consecutive quarter of outperforming estimates.

Now for the Street. Centene has 15 analysts on it, landing on a consensus Buy recommendation with the average target above where the stock trades today. And the Street is warming up. A top-ranked analyst at Deutsche Bank upgraded it this spring, and a top-8% ranked analyst at Truist is right there with a Strong Buy recommendation and a target well above the price.

Now let's bring in the Zen Ratings. Centene earns an A ... a Strong Buy recommendation ... in the top 1% of every stock we track. Right alongside our first pick. It's also the number 1 rated stock in the A-rated Healthcare Plan industry.

Walk the components: Value comes in at the top 16%. Financial strength, top 15%. Its AI grade, also top 15%. Momentum, top 11%. Growth, top 10%. And the standout ... Sentiment, the smart money signal, at the top 10%. That's insider activity, Wall Street action, and institutional flows all pointing the same way. So the picture is a well-rounded company the smart money is accumulating into a raised-guidance year.

The stock has already climbed more than 130% over the past year ... so is the easy money gone? Not necessarily. This was Centene's second straight quarter raising guidance, which tells you the turnaround is still building. The earnings have been lumpy while the business reworked its Medicaid pricing, but that's exactly what just turned the corner this quarter. When a company keeps raising the bar, the move tends to have legs.

So we've done barrels and benefits. But we saved something special for last ... a company so highly rated it became our most recent Trade of the Week.

If you want to stay one step ahead of the market, join the Live training every Monday at 7pm Eastern. That is when we share the updated market outlook and trading plan to outperform, plus the Trade of the Week based on our proven Zen Ratings quant model.

It's a free event, but you do need to register. Just go to wallstreetzen.com/live.

3. CareDx (CDNA) 

Here's something you rarely see. A stock that's more than tripled over the past year ... and the case for it might be getting stronger, not weaker.

That's CareDx (CDNA). CareDx is a precision medicine company built around organ transplants ... They make the tests that tell doctors whether a transplanted organ is being rejected.

But here's the driver. CareDx is pivoting into oncology ... using that same testing science to monitor cancer patients. And it's showing up in the numbers. This was our most recent Trade of the Week — if you want to see the next one, be sure to tune into our Editor-in-Chief’s FREE live training every Monday at 7pm ET. (Sign up here.)

Revenue grew more than 34% over the past year, and it's accelerating. That's translating straight into earnings. Last week they beat the forecast by more than 60%.

Now, about Wall Street ... and this is the interesting part. There are only 3 analysts covering CareDx. The stock has more than tripled in the past year, but the Street hasn't caught up to what this company has become. One top-1% ranked analyst is already on board with a Strong Buy recommendation.

Why might the move not be over? The oncology ramp is still early, earnings are still accelerating, and the analysts are still underweight the story. Those ingredients tend to keep a move going, not end it.

Now let's look at why this became a Trade of the Week. CareDx earns an A ... a Strong Buy recommendation ... in the top 2% of all 4,600-plus stocks we track. And it's the number-1 rated stock in its entire industry.

Here's the walk. Momentum comes in at the top 12% ... folks are climbing on board. Growth, top 10%. Sentiment, the smart money, at the top 6%. And the standout ... financial strength, in the top 4% of every stock we track. Growth and financial strength are two of the best predictors of future earnings beats and share-price gains. Exactly what's dialed in here.

The rest of the profile is more middle of the pack. Value sits a bit above average, fair for a stock that's run this much. Safety and the AI grade are more middle-of-the-pack, with the AI grade the softest of the bunch ... and that AI grade is a data-pattern signal, not a comment on the business itself. None of it changes the core story: a top-rated, fast-growing company at number 1 in its industry, with the smart money already moving in.

Conclusion

So there's the pattern. HF Sinclair in energy. Centene in healthcare. CareDx in diagnostics. Three companies with nothing in common ... except all three crushed earnings this week, and all three sit at the top of their own industry.

That's not luck. It's what a consistent screen finds when you point it across every corner of the market at once.

And earnings season isn't over. So here's the takeaway. Before you buy a stock or hold it through its next report, don't just ask whether last quarter was big ... check whether the growth behind it is consistent. You can pull a free rating on over 4,600 stocks just by typing a ticker into wallstreetzen.com ... so bookmark the site and check your holdings before their next print.

What to Do Next?

• 77 Best Stocks NOW! >
• Options Trading with the Zen Ratings >
• 2 New Stocks to Buy from Steve Reitmeister >

Want to get in touch? Email us at news@wallstreetzen.com.