Advertisement
Canada markets closed

  • S&P/TSX

    21,873.72
    -138.00 (-0.63%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,071.63
    +1.08 (+0.02%)
     

  • DOW

    38,460.92
    -42.77 (-0.11%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7301
    +0.0003 (+0.05%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    82.78
    -0.03 (-0.04%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    88,090.52
    -3,139.05 (-3.44%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,386.84
    -37.26 (-2.61%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,321.80
    -16.60 (-0.71%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    1,995.43
    -7.22 (-0.36%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6520
    +0.0540 (+1.17%)
     

  • NASDAQ futures

    17,461.00
    -203.50 (-1.15%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    15.97
    +0.28 (+1.78%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,040.38
    -4.43 (-0.06%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    37,818.11
    -641.97 (-1.67%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6817
    -0.0002 (-0.03%)
     

Expand Your Portfolio with this First Profit Stock Screener

Benjamin Rains
·3 min read

We are in the midst of the fourth quarter earnings season. This makes it a great time to use our ‘First Profit’ stock screener. The idea is to search for companies that recently reported their first quarterly profit.

More specifically, the screen searches for firms that just posted their first profit last quarter, after not posting a profit for at least the previous four quarters. Finding companies that recently reported their first profits help investors find stocks that can prove to be big winners.

These companies may vary widely. Some of the firms might be new, and this recent profit is perhaps the only profit in its short history.

Meanwhile, other companies might have held an impressive and long history of quarterly profitability, but for whatever reason haven't seen a profit in a while. Therefore, the return to profit could spark a turning point that management had promised or Wall Street had been clamoring for.

ADVERTISEMENT

The concept is relatively simple: if the trend has been one of improvement, there is a solid chance the trend will continue. This is true whether a company has been profitable, or is just reaching that key inflection point.

And that’s what we are screening for today…

• EPS for the previous 4 Quarters less than or equal to 0

(This means in each of the previous 4 quarters (except the most recently reported quarter) the company has reported earnings of less than or equal to zero, i.e., no profit.)

• EPS for the recently reported quarter greater than 0

(This time, the company reported earnings greater than zero, meaning they finally showed a profit.)

• Current Price greater than or equal to 5

(Stocks that are trading for less than $5 are more speculative.)

The screen is pretty simple, yet powerful. Here are 5 of the 30-plus stocks that made it through this week's screen…

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP)

NovoCure Limited (NVCR)

EverQuote, Inc. (EVER)

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NEP)

SunPower Corporation (SPWR)

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Want more articles from this author? Scroll up to the top of this article and click the FOLLOW AUTHOR button to get an email each time a new article is published.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance/.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Best Screens

Now would you like to screen for the latest stocks from Zacks' most successful strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the market gained +15.8%, we saw results like these: Big Money Zacks +38.0%, Small-Cap Growth +61.3%, Technical Analysis & Fundamental Analysis +61.6%, New Highs +68.1%, and Filtered Zacks Rank 5 +98.3%.

You're invited to screen the latest stocks in seconds by trying Zacks' Research Wizard stock-picking program. Or use the Wizard to create your own market-beating strategies. No credit card needed, no cost or obligation.

Try it for 2 weeks free >>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
SunPower Corporation (SPWR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NovoCure Limited (NVCR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research