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 October 17:

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX): The HVAC company is back on the list for the week with strong interest from readers ahead of third-quarter financial results. The company will report Q3 results on Oct. 23 and look for another double beat. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in more than 10 straight quarters and beaten revenue estimates in nine of the last 10 quarters, including three straight beats. Stifel maintained a Buy rating on the stock recently, while raising the price target from $746 to $917. Shares trade near all-time highs, but another big quarter could help send shares higher.

PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD): The Chinese commerce stock, perhaps best known as the owner of Temu, saw strong interest from readers during the week. Chinese stocks were hit on threats from President Donald Trump for increased tariffs, before recovering after he minimized the tariff potential. Chinese stocks could be in the spotlight and see increased interest and higher prices if the threat of tariffs declines.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM): The aerospace company is back on the Stock Whisper Index for a second straight week. While readers are likely readying for the company to report third-quarter financial results or paying more attention with new all-time highs set, we highlight another item to watch. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) recently disclosed buying $1,000 to $15,000 in the stock. McCaul sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, as shared by Quiver Quantitative, which could make it interesting that he bought a defense contractor company. Howmet has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in 10 straight quarters and beaten revenue estimates in eight straight quarters. Several analysts raised their price targets on the stock recently.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH): The connectors company is back on the Stock Whisper Index ahead of third-quarter financial results. The company will report results on Oct. 22 and analysts are looking for earnings per share to be 80 cents per share and revenue to be $5.53, up from 50 cents per share and $4.04 billion respectively in last year's third quarter. Amphenol has beaten analyst estimates for both earnings per share and revenue in more than 10 straight quarters, which could be why shares trade near all-time highs. The company could also be connected to a joint venture helping make the future foldable iPhone possible. Multiple analysts raised their price targets ahead of the report.

Shell PLC (NYSE:SHEL): The oil giant saw strong interest from readers during the week, which comes ahead of third-quarter financial results on Oct. 30. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of 82 cents, down from $1.92 in last year's third quarter. Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $73.49 billion, up from $71.09 billion in last year's third quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in seven of the last 10 quarters and beat analyst estimates for revenue in five of the last 10 quarters. The company's report could provide an outlook on how geopolitical events are impacting the oil sector.