Weathering Market Uncertainty? Bet on VIPS, ALKT, FUTU & VRNA Now

The U.S. stock market is expected to remain volatile due to rising inflation pressures fueled by new tariffs and uncertainty around corporate earnings. In this context, creating a curated portfolio of low-beta stocks is a prudent strategy.

This provides a safeguard against uncertain market conditions, equipping investors to navigate volatility with greater resilience and foresight. Hence, stocks like Vipshop Holdings Limited VIPS, Alkami Technology Inc ALKT, Futu Holdings Limited FUTU and Verona Pharma plc VRNA are worth betting on.

What Does Beta of a Stock Measure?

Beta measures the volatility or risk of a particular asset compared to the market. In other words, beta measures the extent of a security’s price movement relative to the market. In this article, we are considering the S&P 500 as the market.

If a stock has a beta of 1, then the price of the stock will move with the market. So, the stock is more volatile than the market if its beta is more than 1. In the same way, the stock is not as volatile as the market if its beta is less than 1.

For example, if the market offers a return of 20%, a stock with a beta of 3 will return 60%, which is overwhelming. Similarly, when the market slips 20%, the stock will sink 60%, which is devastating.

Screening Criteria Using Research Wizard:

We have taken a beta between 0 and 0.6 as our prime criterion for screening stocks that are less volatile than the market. However, this should not be the only factor to be considered while selecting a winning strategy. We need to take into account other parameters that can add value to the portfolio.

Percentage Change in Price in the Last 4 Weeks Greater Than Zero: This ensures that the stocks saw positive price movement over the last month.

Average 20-Day Volume Greater Than 50,000: A substantial trading volume ensures that the stocks are easily tradable.

Price Greater Than or Equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank Equal to 1: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks indicate that they will significantly outperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here are four of the 11 stocks that qualified for the screening:

Vipshop Holdings

Vipshop Holdings offers products that incentivize customers to come back. One key strategy is the Made for Vipshop program, where more than 200 brands create exclusive products just for Vipshop customers. The products are generally not available anywhere else, but are in high demand among those shoppers.

Alkami Technology

Alkami Technology is seeing growing interest in its products from both banks and credit unions. The increased demand mainly targets MANTL, a company Alkami recently acquired that offers tools to make it easy for people to open new accounts.

Futu Holdings

Being a tech-driven player, Futu Holdings is making investing easy and fully online. The company is also upgrading its platform, with the recent update being Futubull AI – a smart assistant that answers investment-related questions quickly and accurately.

Verona Pharma

Verona Pharma’s drug Ohtuvayre is proving to be a game-changer in COPD treatment. It’s the first inhaled therapy with a new mechanism of action in more than two decades, combining bronchodilation with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory effects. This dual benefit is helping patients breathe better and reduce lung inflammation without relying on steroids.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your two-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

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

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.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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