Beat the Market the Zacks Way: Contineum Therapeutics, Suzano, PepsiCo in Focus

Last week, the U.S. market performance was mixed, with gains from strong corporate earnings largely neutralized by slower growth expectations, rising inflation concerns and geopolitical tension. The three major indexes, like the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, managed to stay afloat by 0.18%, 0.60% and 0.35%, respectively. Investors are concerned over uncertainty caused by the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump,  and rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.

The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures wholesale inflation, rose 0.5% for the month of January, after advancing by a downwardly revised 0.4% in December, exceeding the 0.3% consensus estimate. Core PPI climbed 0.8% after gaining 0.6% in December. These higher-than-expected numbers suggest that inflation may not be cooling as quickly as hoped. Weekly jobless claims remained low at 212,000, showing that the labor market is still relatively strong.  

Overall, the U.S. economy remains resilient, supported by strong corporate profits and a solid job market, but inflation pressures and geopolitical risks continue to create uncertainty.

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:

Contineum Therapeutics and NETSTREIT Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of Contineum Therapeutics, Inc. CTNM have gained 27.1% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.2% decrease) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on December 30.

Another stock, NETSTREIT Corp. NTST, which was also upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 on December 26, has returned 19% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.6% decrease) since then.

Zacks Rank, our short-term rating system, has earnings estimate revisions at its core. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. 

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 Contineum Therapeutics’ historical EPS and Sales here>>>

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

Zacks Recommendation Upgrades Suzano and AngioDynamics

Shares of Suzano S.A. SUZ and AngioDynamics, Inc. ANGO have advanced 21.7% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.5% decrease) and 13.8% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.5% decrease), since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on January 8 and January 9, respectively.

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.

Zacks Focus List Stocks Deere, Chevron Shoot Up

Shares of Deere & Company DE, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 34.2% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on July 25, 2017. Another Focus-List holding, Chevron Corporation CVX, which was added to the portfolio on June 29, 2023, has returned 24.3% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has advanced 0.7% over this period. 

The 50-stock Focus List portfolio returned +22.1% in 2025 vs. +17.9% for the S&P 500 index and +11.4% 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%.

The portfolio has outperformed on a rolling one-year (+22.1% vs. +17.9%), three-year (+23.3% vs. +23.01%), and 10-year (+15.5% vs. +14.8%) basis and since 2004 (+12.1% vs. +10.7%).

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 Church & Dwight & Amgen Make Significant Gains

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 25.5% over the past 12 weeks. Amgen Inc. AMGN has followed Church & Dwight with 14.7% returns.

The Zacks 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 Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo Outperform Peers

The Procter & Gamble Company PG, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 14.6% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, PepsiCo, Inc. PEP, has also climbed 14.2% 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 Procter & Gamble‘s dividend history here>>>

Check PepsiCo'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 to significantly mitigate risk.

The Zacks 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 of 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 2026, has jumped 23% since the list was released on January 5, 2026, compared with the S&P 500 index’s 0.5% increase during this period.

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