Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don't Talk About Yet

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 ending Feb. 28:

Sprouts Farmers Market SFM: The specialty grocery retailer returns to the Stock market Index after appearances in November 2024 and January 2025. The company recently reported quarterly financial results with earnings per share and revenue each beating Street consensus estimates. The company has beaten both earnings per share and revenue estimates in four straight quarters. Sprouts is guiding for net sales growth of 10.5% to 12.5% in 2025 with comparable store sales growth of 10% to 11% for the full year. Several analysts raised their price targets on the stock after the earnings report. The retailer continues to draw strong interest from investors and unit expansion and net sales growth could continue to boost shares, which are up over 130% in the last year.

IonQ Inc IONQ: The quantum computing company saw strong interest from readers during the week on the heels of quarterly earnings and a CEO change announcement. The company missed analyst estimates for earnings per share while beating revenue estimates in the quarter. The company has beaten revenue estimates in more than 10 straight quarters.

"We had IonQ's best year yet in 2024, exceeding the high ends of both our bookings and revenue guidance ranges and making truly significant technical strides," IonQ executive chair Peter Chapman said.

Along with quarterly financial results, the company announced an at-the-market equity offering of up to $500 million. The company also announced two agreements with SK Telecom and ID Quantique.

Perhaps the biggest news was the announcement that Chapman will transition from the CEO role to executive chairman with Board of Directors member Niccolo de Masi, who helped take IonQ public via SPAC merger, becoming the company's new president and CEO.

Shares fell on the week, but remain up over 120%. Investors will likely be closely following the next growth story with new leadership as quantum computing remains a hot investment theme.

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc KDP: The beverage company saw strong interest from readers after reporting quarterly financial results. The company's earnings per share beat Street consensus estimates, continuing a trend that includes six beats and four in-line numbers for earnings per share in the last 10 quarters. The company's revenue beat analyst estimates and has now topped analyst estimates in seven of the last 10 quarters. Among the highlights in the report was a 10.3% year-over-year increase for the company's US Refreshment Beverages segment. The beverage company cited strong brand awareness on social media and Dr. Pepper hitting market share growth for an eighth consecutive year.

The company also announced a secondary public offering of 73 million shares through a subsidiary of JAB Holding Company. After the offering, JAB will hold around 10.7% of KDP's outstanding stock. The sale could dilute shares and also signal that JAB believes shares are fairly valued or overvalued.

Several analysts raised their price targets on the beverage stock after the earnings report.

Sun Communities SUI: The residential REIT saw strong interest from readers during the week, which comes after the company announced an agreement to sell its interest in Safe Harbor Marinas to an affiliate of Blackstone BX. The deal will bring in proceeds of $5.5 billion after costs for Sun Communities, which the company plans to use towards debt reduction, investments in core businesses and for shareholder distributions.

An owner of manufactured homes, RV parks and marina properties, the transaction will see manufactured homes and RVs represent around 90% of the company's net operating income.

"This transaction allows Sun to focus on our core businesses which operate at high margins and produce durable income streams," Sun's Capital Allocation Committee Chair Jeff Blau said.

After the announced transaction, the company reported fourth-quarter financial results with FFO missing analyst estimates for a third straight quarter and revenue beating estimates. The company has beaten analyst revenue estimates in eight of the last 10 quarters.

Liberty Formula One FWONAFWONK: The owner of the Formula 1 racing league saw strong interest from investors during the week. The company has several upcoming catalysts including the launch of the seventh season of "F1: Drive to Survive" on Netflix on March 7 and the start of the new 2025 season on March 14. The racing league is also drawing interest from Netflix for the potential media rights in the U.S. when a current deal with ESPN expires. A new American Formula 1 team will be part of the 2026 season and could increase awareness for the global sports brand in the coming years. The Netflix docuseries and American race locations have helped increase viewership and awareness in the United States, a trend the league hopes will continue.