Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Are Secretly Monitoring But Not Talking About Yet

Investors are on the hunt for undervalued, underfollowed and emerging stocks when it comes to spotting opportunities. Retail traders have countless methods at their disposal to uncover new information. For some, this may be overwhelming.

Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks each week that are just under the surface and warrant attention.

The index layers editorial commentary to help make sense of why these stocks should be of interest and whether investors and casual readers should watch them. Here is a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of March 16, 2023.

Jounce Therapeutics JNCE: Shares of Jounce are up over 70% in the last five days. The move comes after the company shared data from its Phase 2 trial of JTX-8064 and pimivalimab among patients with ovarian cancer. The company is looking for a partner on JTX-8064. The strong results could help the company secure a partner and be what investors are betting on. Jounce is also the subject of buyout and merger discussions with several companies.

Esperion Therapeutics ESPR: Shares of Esperion hit new 52-week lows this week but are seeing increased interest from investors. The company’s partner Daiichi Sankyo Europe said that Esperion will not receive milestone payments for one of the latter's treatments. Esperion believes it should receive $300 million in milestone payments and is working on a resolution. The company also said that a delay in receiving payments or not receiving them at all could “significantly impact the company’s future capital needs.”

Analysts were mixed on the news update from the company. HC Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis reiterated a "buy" rating and $22 price target on shares. Needham analyst Serge Belanger maintained a "buy" rating and lowered the price target from $16 to $12. Bank of America analyst Jason Zemansky downgraded shares from "Neutral" to "Underperform" and lowered the price target from $8 to $1.50.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD: Leading semiconductor company AMD is seeing increased interest among investors, as investors weigh the impact that recent failures of banks could have on technology stocks. Shares of AMD have surged over 70% year-to-date in 2023 but remain down over the last 52-week trading period. If the technology sector faces a pullback from economic concerns, semiconductor stocks could get hit.

Related Link: Coca-Cola Once Said You Can't Beat The Real Thing, Now They're Using ChatGPT And AI, Heres's Why 

Coca-Cola Co KO: One of the largest companies to see increased interest in the Stock Whisper Index this week is beverage giant Coca-Cola. While there have been no recent major news or announcements from the company, investors are perhaps looking for consumer-goods and blue-chip names that could be considered safer than high-growth technology stocks or bank stocks in the current market environment. Coca-Cola reported fourth quarter financial results in February, showing sales growth of 7% year-over-year and beating consensus estimates.

Coca-Cola shares went ex-dividend this week, with the company reporting its 61st consecutive annual dividend increase in February. The company now pays out 46 cents each quarter, versus a prior payout of 44 cents. The yield on Coca-Cola shares is now 3%.

Proterra Inc PTRA: Electric vehicle company Proterra saw shares hit all-time lows this week after reporting financial results. The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $80 million, missing TheStreet's estimate of $86.9 million. The company reported full-year revenue of $309 million, up 27% year-over-year and within Proterra’s previous guidance range of $300 million to $325 million. The company's guidance of 2023 revenue of $450 million to $500 million is below estimates from TheStreet and could be attributed to the interest in shares and the stock trading lower.

That’s it for this edition of the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index. Click below to see previous stocks we highlighted:

Week of Feb. 23

Week of March 2

Week of March 9

Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all of the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.

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