Beat the Market the Zacks Way: Amicus, Micron, Amgen in Focus

Last Friday, the three most widely followed benchmark indexes closed a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite declined roughly 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Investor sentiment was affected by a mix of tariff-related trade war fears and uncertainty about economic policy, even as the earnings season kicked off and some sectors showed resilience. Tariff jitters, including recent U.S. tariff threats against European nations, prompted safe-haven flows into gold and pushed markets to price in heightened geopolitical risk, adding to volatility alongside rate expectations and data on inflation and factory activity.

Looking ahead, markets will be watching upcoming economic releases and central bank guidance for cues on interest-rate direction, as well as developments in global trade tensions. Any shifts in tariff policy or trade negotiations could quickly sway risk appetite and market direction in the weeks to come.

Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market. 

As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.

Here are some of our key achievements:

Amicus Therapeutics and Enhabit Surge Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. FOLD have gained 61.7% (versus the S&P 500’s 1.2% increase) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on November 4.

Another stock, Enhabit, Inc. EHAB, which was upgraded to a #2 (Buy) on November 10, has returned 32.3% since then.

An equal-weight portfolio of Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) stocks outperformed the equal-weight S&P 500 index by 7 percentage points (+17.81% for the Zacks Rank #1 stocks vs. +10.85% for the index).

This hypothetical equal-weight portfolio returned +22.4% in 2024 vs. +13.7% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. Over the preceding 10-year period (2016 through 2025), this portfolio of qual-weight Zacks Rank #1 stocks has outperformed the equal-weight S&P 500 index by more than 7 percentage points (+18.55% vs. +11.65%).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>>

Check Amicus’ historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Check Enhabit’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Zacks Recommendation Upgrades Drilling Tools and Kennametal

Shares of Drilling Tools International Corporation DTI and Kennametal Inc. KMT have surged 41.2% and 22.5% (versus the S&P 500’s 1.2% rise), respectively, since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on November 12.

While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.

To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>>

Zacks Focus List Stocks Micron, Lam Research Shoot Up

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. MU, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 79.1% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on December 27, 2016. Another Focus-List holding, Lam Research Corporation LRCX, which was added to the portfolio on December 5, 2016, has returned 56.6% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has inched up 4.6% over this period. 

The 50-stock Focus List portfolio returned +22% in 2025 (through November 30^th, 2025) vs. +17.8% for the S&P 500 index and +10.9% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Zacks Focus List portfolio returned +18.41% in 2024 vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio had returned +29.54% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +13.61% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. In 2022, the portfolio returned -15.2% vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>

Zacks ECAP Stocks Amgen & Novo Nordisk Gain Significantly

Amgen Inc. AMGN, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 11.7% over the past 12 weeks. Novo Nordisk A/S NVO has also followed Amgen with 11.1% returns.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), which consists of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy-and-Hold stocks, returned -2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 vs. the S&P 500 index’s +2.7% gain (SPY ETF). For 2025 as a whole, the portfolio returned -1.67% vs. +17.9% gain for the S&P 500 index.

For the year 2024, the portfolio returned +16.26% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index (SPY ETF).

In 2023, the portfolio returned +12.17% vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. The portfolio returned -4.7% in 2022 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.

The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.

Zacks ECDP Stocks Intercontinental Exchange and Hershey Outperform Peers

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ICE, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 13.3% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, The Hershey Company HSY, has climbed 5.3% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.

Check Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend history here>>>

Check Hershey’s dividend history here>>>

With an extremely low beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP) returned -2.1% in 2025 Q4 vs. the S&P 500 index’s +2.7% gain and the Dividend Aristocrats ETF’s (NOBL) +1.6% return. For 2025, the portfolio returned -0.6% vs. +6.8% gain for the Dividend Aristocrat ETF.

For the full year 2024, the portfolio returned +6.95% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index and +6.72% for NOBL.

The portfolio returned -0.9% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +8.11% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -2.3% in 2022 vs. -17.96% for the S&P 500 index and -8.34% for NOBL.

Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.  

Zacks Top 10 Stock FirstCash Delivers Solid Returns

FirstCash Holdings, Inc. FCFS, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025, has jumped 9.1% since Jan. 5, 2026, compared with the S&P 500 Index’s 1.2% increase.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +22.6% in 2025 vs. +17.9% for the S&P 500 index and +11.4% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +62.98% in 2024, vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio had returned +25.15% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index.

Since 2012, the Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +2,472.7%vs. +561.6% for the S&P 500 index and +403.3% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio has produced an average annual return of +25.8% in the period 2012 through year-end 2025, vs. +13.1% for the S&P 500 index and +10.5% for the equal-weight version of the index.

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

Zacks Investment Research