Each week, Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks that are just under the surface and deserve attention.
Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance of information to uncover new opportunities and understand why certain stocks should be of interest.
Here's a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of August 2:
Gilead Sciences GILD: The healthcare company saw strong interest from readers during the week, which may coincide with recent updates on its HIV treatment pipeline. The company shared new five-year clinical data for Biktarvy at the 25th International AIDS Conference.
Gilead also highlighted safety results of Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention. Lenacapavir could be the first and only twice-yearly PrEP treatment. Gilead is set to report second-quarter financial results on Aug. 8, which could see the stock getting strong attention in the next trading week. Raymond James upgraded shares from Market Perform to Outperform in early July.
Gilead shares are down around 0.9% over the last week, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below.
QuantumScape QS: The battery technology company saw shares decline after reporting second-quarter results. The stock saw a large increase in search interest from Benzinga readers.
QuantumScape missed earnings per share estimates. An update on liquidity could be something for investors to watch as the company works to develop solid-state batteries. QuantumScape ended the quarter with $938 million in liquidity and said a recent licensing deal with PowerCo extends its cash runway into 2028, which could alleviate future financing concerns.
QuantumScape was on the Stock Whisper Index back in July as shares surged from the announced agreement with PowerCo, which is a unit of Volkswagen Group. As part of the agreement, QuantumScape will receive royalty payments. The deal is non-exclusive, which could open QuantumScape up to make additional licensing deals in the future.
QuantumScape shares were down 17% on the week, as seen in the Benzinga Pro chart below.
Marsh & McLennan Corporation MMC: The professional services company saw increased interest from investors. The company announced its completion of the acquisition of The Horton Group, which expands its operations and increases its presence in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida.
The company beat earnings per share estimates from analysts in the second quarter, while missing revenue estimates. The closing of the acquisition will be something to watch in future quarters, along with updates on how its AI-powered solutions are performing with clients.
The stock was up 4.4% over the last week, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below.
ON Semiconductor ON: The semiconductor stock has consistently qualified for inclusion in the Stock Whisper Index for several weeks, reflecting its significant increase in investor interest. However, semiconductor stocks experienced a decline during the recent trading week. While many of the stocks in the sector are up year-to-date, ON shares are down 17% year-to-date. The company beat analysts' estimates for earnings per share and revenue in the recently reported second quarter.
Several analysts raised their price targets on the stock after the earnings report with datacenter strength, product development, design wins and cost management among the positives mentioned.
The company highlighted a recent supply agreement with Volkswagen Group in the automotive sector during second-quarter results. Automotive continues to be an area of growth for many semiconductor companies and could be an area to watch when it comes to ON Semiconductor.
The stock was down 10.8% over the last week, as shown on the Benzinga Pro chart below.
Costco Wholesale Corporation COST: The retail stock is among the biggest trending stocks over the last week, based on Benzinga data. Costco recently announced a long-awaited membership fee hike. The company will raise the cost of its annual membership fee by $5 or $10 depending on the plan, impacting around 52 million members.
Analysts said the membership fee increase could add more than $370 million in revenues over the next two years. While some analysts were bullish on the increase, others pointed to it being a "sell the news" event and potentially already priced into the stock. One analyst also pointed to Costco stock underperforming after the last three membership fee hikes.
With Costco shares down 4% over the last month and nearly flat over the last week, as seen on the chart below, investors could be looking to get back into Costco with the future revenue increase coming.
Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.
Read the latest Stock Whisper Index reports here:
Read Next:
Image: Benzinga
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
