Want to find quality stocks nearing buy points? MarketSmith's Growth 250 Near Pivot list screens for stocks forming proper bases that are within 5% of the buy point, also known as a pivot point.
Monday's list spat out 47 stocks approaching a buy point, and these three are worth highlighting.
Logistics Stock Near Buy Point; Pops On New Hire
XPO is quickly rising up the right side of a cup base and nearing the 45.16 buy point. The cup started after the stock plunged almost 14% after the company missed its sales estimates on Feb. 8.
Shares soared 18% Thursday in heavy volume, on news that Dave Bates will join XPO as Chief Operating Officer. Bates spent 27 years with Old Dominion Freight Line, and left as senior vice president of Operations.
Normally, only CEO hirings can cause such a big stock move. Yet, XPO seems to have struck gold with its new COO.
Analysts liked the news, with several upgrading the logistics stock and raising their price targets on Friday, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. The upgrades sent shares up another 7.9%, also in heavy volume.
The relative strength line hit a new high, as indicated by the blue dot, according to MarketSmith pattern recognition.
XPO Logistics operates a less-than-truck-load (LTL) transportation service throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. LTL consists of smaller loads of freight that don't take up a full-size truck.
XPO ranks No. 2 out of 14 stocks in the logistics industry group, which ranks 40th out of the 197 IBD industry groups.
The transport and logistics company reports Q1 earnings on May 4.
Oil Giant Near Buy Point
Hess is not rallying the way XPO is, but the stock is also looking bullish. It is forming a cup-with-handle base and is 3% below its 150.29 buy point.
Hess is an explorer and producer of crude oil and natural gas, and holds a position in a key U.S. shale play, the Bakken area of North Dakota. It runs one of the largest offshore drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and has a partnership in offshore oil and gas exploration in Guyana.
The oil stock posted impressive 109% quarterly EPS growth in its fourth quarter report in late January. Sales grew 35%, although down from gains of 74% and 87% in the prior two quarters.
The full-year 2023 EPS estimate for a 20% decline pales in comparison to the extraordinarily high 2022, but is expected to grow a hefty 62% in 2024.
Hess ranks second out of 16 stocks in the Oil & Gas International Exploration and Production group.
This Oil Stock Is 1% Away From Pivot Point
Shell is within 1% of its 62.85 buy point of a cuplike base.
SHEL got a lift on March 31, after announcing it finalized its acquisition of Volta Charging, in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $169 million. The transaction added 3,000 U.S. EV charging stations to Shell's existing network.
Shares were volatile after the earnings report on Feb. 2, when it posted 67% earnings growth, down from 145% and 117% in the prior two quarters. Sales grew 19%, which slowed from 59% and 65% gains.
Shell also reports Q1 earnings on May 4.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
