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 July 26:
The AES Corporation AES: The global power company saw strong interest from readers during the week. The interest comes ahead of second-quarter financial results set for Aug. 1. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of 37 cents and revenue of $3.19 billion, compared to 21 cents and $3.03 billion respectively in last year's second quarter. The company has beaten analysts' earnings per share estimates in three straight quarters and missed analysts' revenue estimates in three straight quarters.
AES recently launched the Kuihelani Solar-plus-Storage facility in Hawaii, which will reduce Maui's reliance on oil. The company has secured a 25-year purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric for generated power from the facility.
The stock has also seen strong interest from hedge funds in recent quarters, which comes as the company has exposure to clean energy and artificial intelligence. In June, the company announced a strategic partnership with AI Fund, which is working to increase artificial intelligence being used to accelerate the energy transition.
"By combining our expertise of the power sector with AI Fund's expertise in artificial intelligence, we are uniquely positioned to lead the energy transition with AI-powered innovations that will benefit not only our portfolio but the entire industry," AES CEO Andres Gluski said.
The Benzinga Pro chart below shows AES stock down 1.6% over the last five days.
The Kraft Heinz Company KHC: The food and beverage company saw strong interest from readers during the week, which comes ahead of second-quarter financial results. The company will report Q2 results on July 31. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of 74 cents and revenue of $6.55 billion, compared to 79 cents and $6.72 billion reported in last year's second quarter. The company missed earnings per share estimates from analyst in the last quarter, which came after a streak of more than 10 straight quarters of beating analysts' estimates. The company has missed revenue estimates in three of the last five quarters.
Analysts have been lowering their Kraft Heinz Company stock price targets ahead of the quarterly results.
- Barclays maintained an Equal-Weight rating and lowered the price target from $36 to $34
- Citigroup maintained a Buy rating and lowered the price target from $42 to $38
- Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and lowered the price target from $42 to $38
Kraft Heinz shares were up 1% in the last five days as viewed on the Benzinga Pro chart below, but remain down 10% year-to-date.
Illumina Inc ILMN: The genetics company saw strong interest from investors, which comes ahead of quarterly earnings and a company update that could put shares in the spotlight in the month of August.
Illumina will report second-quarter results on August 6. The company is also scheduled to hold a "Strategy Update" company event on Aug. 13 with members of the executive team presenting and a question-and-answer segment to follow.
In July, Illumina announced the acquisition of Fluent Biosciences. The acquisition could be a key topic during the August event.
Illumina shares were nearly flat over the last five days as seen in the Benzinga Pro chart below. Shares are down over 15% year-to-date in 2024.
Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW: The financial company saw strong interest from investors, which comes shortly after second-quarter financial results were reported. Charles Schwab reported second-quarter revenue and earnings per share that came in ahead of analysts' estimates.
In the quarter, the company saw brokerage accounts up 4% year-over-year to a total of 35.6 million. Year-to-date enrollments for all wealth solutions are up around 30% according to CEO Walt Bettinger.
Analysts were mixed on the Charles Schwab quarterly results.
"While the headline results were largely in line, underlying trends across net new asset growth, interest earning assets, the lack of short-term funding paydown, and lingering (but improving) cash sorting were disappointing," JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington.
Worthington said he is "not yet seeing the light at the endo of the tunnel" for Charles Schwab when it comes to debt paydown and net new asset growth re-acceleration for a "return to normalization."
Charles Schwab shares were up 3.4% over the last five days, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below.
Schlumberger SLB: Interest was high for the week in Schlumberger, which is the largest oilfield service firm. The company recently reported second-quarter results, which included revenue of $9.14 billion up 13% year-over-year and ahead of Street consensus estimates of $9.08 billion.
Schlumberger reported revenue up double-digits across three of its four reporting segments in the second quarter. Strength in the Middle East & Asia regions helped offset weakness in the North American market for the quarter.
"Looking ahead to the second half of the year, we expect ongoing momentum in the international markets, strong digital sales, and our cost efficiency programs will enable us to expand margins and deliver our ambition to grow full-year adjusted EBITDA in the mid-teens," Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch said.
Peuch added that the company has a "long tailwind of growth opportunities."
Schlumberger also recently announced the co-development of an AI-driven digital platform for Aker BP. The project will increase production and lower costs for Aker BP and could lead to more interest in Schlumberger's AI-driven products.
Stay tuned for next week's report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.
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