Beat the Market the Zacks Way: Micron Technology, Cooper Companies, Coeur Mining in Focus

Last week, the three most widely followed U.S. indexes, the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slipped 2.98%, 1.85% and 1.27%, respectively, facing the worst weekly performance of the year. Nasdaq was hit the hardest due to sector rotations. A sharp sell-off began due to rising concerns over the "AI bubble," despite a stronger-than-expected jobs report and a cooling inflation reading.

Investors pivoted away from the high-growth tech stocks as fears grew that massive AI investments might not yield immediate profits. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, published by the Labor Department, showed that inflation rose 0.2% in January after a 0.3% gain in December. In the 12 months through January, the CPI increased 2.4% compared to 2.7% in December, the smallest gain in nearly five years.  The labor market remains resilient. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 in January, well above the Street’s estimate of 70,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in December. Stability in the labor market will give the Federal Reserve room to keep the interest rate, which is in the range of 3.5-3.75%, unchanged for some time.

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:

Cooper Companies and Cathay General Bancorp Following Zacks Rank Upgrade

Shares of The Cooper Companies, Inc. COO have gained 6.4% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.3% decrease) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on December 9.

Another stock, Cathay General Bancorp CATY, which was also upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 on December 22, has returned 5.7% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.2% rise) 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 Cooper Companies’ historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Check Cathay General Bancorp’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

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Zacks Recommendation Upgrades Coeur Mining and Community West Bancshares

Shares of Coeur Mining, Inc. CDE and Community West Bancshares CWBC have advanced 16.8% (versus the S&P 500’s 1.2% decrease) and 8.4% (versus the S&P 500’s 0.8% decrease), respectively, since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on December 29 and December 31.

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 Micron Technology, Lam Research Shoot Up

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. MU, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 66.8% 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 58.9% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has advanced 1.4% 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 years (+23.3% vs. +23.01%), and 10 years (+15.5% vs. +14.8%) 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 Clorox & Church & Dwight Make Significant Gains

The Clorox Company CLX, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 21.5% over the past 12 weeks. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. CHD has followed Clorox with 20.6% 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 Johnson & Johnson and Colgate-Palmolive Outperform Peers

Johnson & Johnson JNJ, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 24.3% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Colgate-Palmolive Company CL, has also climbed 23.9% 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 Johnson & Johnson‘s dividend history here>>>

Check Colgate-Palmolive'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 Stride Delivers Solid Returns

Stride, Inc. LRN, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2026, has jumped 31.4% since the list was released on January 5, 2026, compared with the S&P 500 index’s 0.2% decrease 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.

Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here

The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. Little-known AI firms tackling the world's biggest problems may be more lucrative in the coming months and years.

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

Zacks Investment Research