This Top Computer and Technology Stock is a #1 (Strong Buy): Why It Should Be on Your Radar

Whether you're a growth, value, income, or momentum-focused investor, building a successful investment portfolio takes skill, research, and a little bit of luck.But what's the best way to find the right combination of stocks? Because funding things like your retirement, your kids' college tuition, or your short- and long-term savings goals will definitely require significant returns.Enter the Zacks Rank.What is the Zacks Rank?A unique, proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank uses earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors create a winning portfolio.There are four main factors behind the Zacks Rank: Agreement, Magnitude, Upside, and Surprise.Agreement is the extent to which all brokerage analysts are revising their earnings estimates in the same direction. The greater the percentage of analysts revising their estimates higher, the better chance the stock will outperform.Magnitude is the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate for the current and next fiscal years.Upside is the difference between the most accurate estimate, which is calculated by Zacks, and the consensus estimate.Surprise is made up of a company's last few quarters' earnings per share surprises; companies with a positive earnings surprise are more likely to beat expectations in the future.These four factors are assigned a raw score that's recalculated every night, which is then compiled into the ranking system. Stocks are classified into five groups using this data, ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Strong Sell."The Power of Institutional InvestorsThe Zacks Rank also allows individual investors, or retail investors, to benefit from the power of institutional investors.These professionals manage the trillions of dollars invested in hedge funds, mutual funds, and investment banks, and studies have shown that they can and do move the market because of the large amounts of money they invest with. Thus, the market tends to move in the same direction as institutional investors.These investors are known for designing valuation models that focus on earnings and earnings expectations in order to figure out the fair value of a company and its shares. If earnings estimates are raised, it puts a higher value on a company.Institutional investors will use these changes to help in their decision-making, typically buying stocks with rising estimates and selling those with falling estimates. Higher earnings expectations can translate into a rise in stock price and bigger gains for the investor.Retail investors who get in at the first sign of upward revisions have a distinct advantage over larger investors since it can often take weeks, if not months, for an institutional investor to build a position. They'll also benefit from the expected institutional buying that could follow.Not only can the Zacks Rank help you take advantage of trends in earnings estimate revisions, but it can also provide a way to get into stocks that are highly sought after by professionals.How to Invest with the Zacks RankThe Zacks Rank is known for transforming investment portfolios. In fact, a portfolio of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks has beaten the market in 26 of the last 32 years, with an average annual return of +25.41%.Moreover, stocks with a new #1 (Strong Buy) ranking have some of the biggest profit potential, while those that fell to a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) have some of the worst.Let's take a look at Twilio (TWLO), which was added to the Zacks Rank #1 list on November 6, 2024.Headquartered in San Francisco, Twilio Inc. was founded in 2007 and got listed on the NYSE in Jun 2016. Twilio provides Cloud Communications Platform-as-a-Service. The company enables developers to build, scale and operate real-time communications within software applications. The company’s platform consists of three layers, Engagement Cloud, Programmable Communications Cloud and Super Network.Nine analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2024. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.23 to $3.64 per share. TWLO boasts an average earnings surprise of 31%.Analysts are expecting earnings to grow 48.6% for the current fiscal year, with revenue forecasted to rise 6.3%.Additionally, TWLO has climbed higher over the past four weeks, gaining 30.9%. The S&P 500 is up 0.7% in comparison.Bottom LineWith a #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, positive trend in earnings estimate revisions, and strong market momentum, Twilio should be on investors' shortlist.If you want even more information on the Zacks Ranks, or one of our many other investing strategies, check out the Zacks Education home page.Discover Today's Top StocksOur private Zacks #1 Rank List, based on our quantitative Zacks Rank stock-rating system, has more than doubled the S&P 500 since 1988. Applying the Zacks Rank in your own trading can boost your investing returns on your very next trade. See Today's Zacks #1 Rank List >>Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Twilio Inc. (TWLO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks