EXCLUSIVE: Benzinga Moneymaker Series: Top 5 Stocks For Investors To Watch

Investors are on the hunt for undervalued, underfollowed and emerging stocks to spot opportunities. The rise of social media and retail traders gave way to countless methods to uncover new information. For some, this is overwhelming.

Benzinga’s Moneymaker 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 are of interest and whether they broach an area for the investor and casual reader to watch.

Here is a look at the Benzinga Moneymaker Index for the week of Dec. 8, 2022.

Bank of America: Banking giant Bank of America BAC ranked on the Moneymaker Index with the stock seeing huge interest last week. Shares of the bank stock were down nearly 10% on the week, nearly matching its biggest weekly drop since June 2020. Many of the largest banking companies saw shares fall on the week with news of job cuts and hiring freezes.

Comments from JPMorgan JPM CEO Jamie Dimon also signaled further risk of a recession.

BioVie: Clinical stage biotechnology company BioVie Inc BIVI had a huge week with its share price up significantly and several trading halts happening after the company reported Phase 2 trial results for NE3107 and its potential to treat Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Shares of the company are now up 40% year-to-date in 2022 after the strong week.

Carvana: Online used car company Carvana Co CVNA had a wild week with reports of the company potentially filing bankruptcy, sending shares down. While news of bankruptcy and a potential restructuring are top of mind for investors, a new report said lenders don’t expect the worst to happen.

On Friday, Carvana shares traded higher in hopes of the company remaining out of bankruptcy. Shares of Carvana are down over 90% year-to-date in 2022.

The company was one of the most searched tickers on Benzinga Pro in November 2022.

GameStop: Video game retailer GameStop Corp GME saw strong interest from investors after reporting third-quarter financial results. GameStop reported third-quarter revenue of $1.186 billion, which was below analyst expectations.

The company highlighted new and expanded brand relationships and strength for its growing collectibles business when discussing results.

GameStop also said it plans to cut costs and may use its cash for acquisitions.

IDEX Biometrics: Fingerprint and biometrics company IDEX Biometrics IDBA had seen a surge in interest over the last week. The company reported a partnership at the end of November to scale its biometric payment cards in India.

With a market capitalization of around $150 million, IDEX Biometrics could see its share price rise on positive news and new catalysts.

That’s it for this second edition of the Benzinga Moneymaker Index. The five stocks mentioned above all saw a large amount of volume across Benzinga over the past week. Stay tuned for next week’s report and follow along with Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.

Photo: Bits And Splits via Shutterstock