Top Stock Picks 2026: Q1 Progress Report

Subscribers to Chart of the Week received this commentary on Sunday, April 5.

For the second-straight year and third time in five years, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq started off the calendar with quarterly losses. ‘Didn’t get off the bus,’ is the apt sports colloquial that comes to mind.

2022 was a harbinger of a miserable year for equities. But last year, even when things looked especially bleak after April’s Liberation Day lows, Wall Street picked itself up, dusted itself off, and cruised to double-digit gains for 2025.

If you believe the U.S. will duck out of the Middle East with its tail between its legs, oil prices will come down, and the Federal Reserve will cut rates, then last year is your precedent If you believe the opposite, then 2022 should be the roadmap for hedging and cycling away from high risk growth names.

Our Top Stock Picks of 2026 so far has done a commendable job of threading the needle between exciting, high-beta growth stocks, and consumer discretionary staples that could withstand a sharp correction. There’s a something for everyone in the report, and its no surprise that the results are a mixed bag one quarter down.

Seven winners, six of which up double digits. Of the eight in the red, four are nursing deficits of 28% or more. A true feast or famine situation. Ten finished lower in March; this table would look a lot friendlier to bulls if it ended on Feb. 28.

Let’s crack open the tape and look at some notable setups.

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)

No surprise a gold miner stayed hot, amid *gestures. That nearly 20% Q1 gain comes even with AEM taking a 19.3% haircut in March as profit taking swept up safe-havens. AEM’s 160-day moving average was the saving grace.

 

 

Cameco (CCJ)

Get used to hearing this; a strong two-month lead only to give back a chunk of those gains and test technical support. What makes Cameco more fun than something like gold is the energy component of it all. CCJ is off to a positive start for April, so watch this space.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

Monitor that consolidating around $85 but also note the 160-day right below it. The days of testing $100 are probably far away, but if the stock can live between there and $85 the rest of the year, that’s a win.

 

 

DigitalOcean (DOCN)

Big hitter, the lama. Kudos to Senior Market Strategist Matthew Timpane for the call, and the early clubhouse leader among the Top Stock Picks. There’s still short squeeze potential, it’s not even overbought, and a bull flag pattern forming off that April 2, four-year peak at $91.53. While the rest of the broader market zigged, DOCN zagged, tagging a 53% win for March.

 

 

Dollar Tree (DLTR)

An April outperformer, historically. But below that trendline from October lows. 6.4% short interest to float is notable, and discount retailers could be in for a moment if the world continues in the direction its heading.

 

 

Velo3D (VELO)

File this one under a company that does something really cool but doesn’t have a lot to show for it (call that the quantum computing folder.) VELO raced past $20 to start the year but has drifted lower since, but at least $10 looks like a stable floor. If broad market conditions approve, watch this space for a melt-up.

 

 

 

Tetra Technologies (TTI)

Another March swoon. But the trendline below has held after some weakness in the wake of a post-earnings bear gap of 18.7% on Feb. 26.

If the 2026 table list makes you feel a little queasy, here’s a snapshot of our Top Picks for 2025, roughly a year ago:

 

Schaeffer’s Market Madness, Final 4!

I’m going to really let the word ‘supporting’ do the heavy lifting here. UAL is within 3% of its 12-month moving average, after closing above this trendline for the past five months. Per Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, this signal has occurred 12 times during the last 20 years, after which the stock was higher three month later 75% of the time with an average 17.1% gain.

Click Here to view the rest on Schaeffer’s Substack!