The POWR Ratings can help you identify the best stocks to buy. A-rated stocks have posted a 30.7% compound return which is significantly better than the S&P 500’s 7.1% return. If you are searching for additions to your portfolio, you owe it to yourself to consider these upgraded stocks.
 
Without further ado, let’s take a look at three of the most intriguing POWR Ratings upgrades: Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA), PTC (PTC), and Domino’s Pizza (DPZ).
 
Zebra Technologies Corporation (ZBRA)
ZBRA has been a market darling for quite some time now. Though ZBRA has been priced fairly high for a couple of years, some investors waited on the sidelines, questioning whether the stock’s valuation was justified. Indeed, ZBRA is worthy of your investment dollars as the company’s tracking tech and solutions pave the way toward valuable visibility through meaningful insight and actionable information. In short, ZBRA makes it easier for businesses to make the most of their data, make truly informed decisions, pivot as necessary in real-time, and operate that much more efficiently.
ZBRA has an A grade in the Sentiment component of the POWR Ratings along with B grades in the Quality and Momentum components. If you would like to find out how ZBRA fares in the Growth, Value, and Stability components, you can find out by clicking here. Of the 88 publicly traded stocks in the Industrial-Machinery category, ZBRA is ranked 11th. You can learn more about this industry by clicking here.
Of the dozen analysts issuing recommendations for ZBRA, five consider it a Hold, four consider it a Buy, and three consider it a Strong Buy. Though ZBRA is priced near $500, it has a reasonable forward P/E ratio of 29.77, a solid figure considering this is a tech company.
ZBRA has moved higher in recent months as its latest earnings report was solid. ZBRA’s handheld readers, scanning equipment, printers, and other devices are selling like hotcakes. The company’s quarterly net sales increased by nearly 10% even though ZBRA executives anticipated an increase of around 3%. ZBRA has the potential to move even higher now that the economy is reopening and its clients’ businesses will be back to full operations.
PTC (PTC)
PTC’s services and software make it easier for manufacturing businesses to create and manage products. From data orchestration to product lifecycle management and modeling with computer software, PTC’s portfolio is quite expansive.
The POWR Ratings show PTC has an A grade in the Growth component along with B grades in the Quality and Momentum components. If you are curious as to how PTC fares in terms of the Sentiment, Value, and Stability components, click here to find out. PTC is ranked 7th of 113 stocks in the Software – Application industry. You can learn more about the stocks in this category by clicking here.
A total of 14 analysts have studied PTC, setting an average price target of $145.43, meaning the stock has more than 6% upside. The high price target for the stock is $160.
PTC’s forward P/E ratio of 37.35 isn’t egregiously high considering the company’s industry. This industrial software business raised its projections for full-year revenue in the first quarter of ’21. If everything goes as planned, PTC’s software solutions augmented reality, and Internet of Things (IoT) products will lead to cash flow totaling between $700 and $900 million in ’24. The company’s partnership with Rockwell Automation (ROK) has resulted in nearly two dozen expansion deals, setting the stage for a lucrative future.
Domino’s Pizza (DPZ)
DPZ has been around for more than 60 years as its pizza and other dishes are affordable and just tasty enough to warrant repeat purchases. Though DPZ struggled to acquire customers a couple of decades ago, the company’s business model is proving successful. Today, DPZ has nearly 18,000 locations throughout 90+ markets. Slightly more than one-third of DPZ revenue stems from its United States stores.
DPZ has an A grade in the Quality component of the POWR Ratings along with a B grade in the Value component. You can learn more about DPZ’s grades in the remaining POWR components by clicking here. Of the 46 publicly traded companies in the Restaurants space, DPZ is ranked 15th.
DPZ’s forward P/E ratio of 26.22 is fairly low, especially when you consider the stock is $90 away from its 52-week high of $435.58. DPZ’s latest quarterly numbers show the company has strong growth on a year over year basis. Worldwide DPZ sales in the fourth quarter jumped 12% on a year over year basis. DPZ’s comparably sales in the United States jumped 11.5% in the most recent quarter. It is clear DPZ is a growth stock with the potential to climb even higher as its operations continue to expand.
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DPZ shares were trading at $349.53 per share on Tuesday afternoon, up $16.02 (+4.80%). Year-to-date, DPZ has declined -8.85%, versus a 4.15% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Patrick Ryan
Patrick Ryan has more than a dozen years of investing experience with a focus on information technology, consumer and entertainment sectors. In addition to working for StockNews, Patrick has also written for Wealth Authority and Fallon Wealth Management. More...
More Resources for the Stocks in this Article
Ticker | POWR Rating | Industry Rank | Rank in Industry |
DPZ | Get Rating | Get Rating | Get Rating |
PTC | Get Rating | Get Rating | Get Rating |
ZBRA | Get Rating | Get Rating | Get Rating |