The first half of 2025 was characterized by heightened volatility and uncertainty. President Trump’s sweeping tariffs rattled markets before a partial pause, and the faster-than-expected cooling of inflation led to a recovery. The last couple of months have been favorable for the market, with signs of easing trade tensions and a cooling of the Middle East crisis.
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The abovementioned tailwinds should continue to lift stocks in the second half of the year. Additionally, the optimism related to artificial intelligence should continue in the latter half of the year, buoying stocks, especially technology-related ones. Cooling inflation keeps market watchers optimistic about more than one rate cut (possibly starting in September) in the latter half of 2025. Given these positive developments, monitoring broker-liked stocks such as Cracker Barrel Old Country Store CBRL, BGSF, ArcBest Corporation ARCB, Cardinal Health CAH and AutoNation AN appears prudent as we enter into the second half of 2025.
We have designed a screen to shortlist stocks based on improving broker recommendations and upward revisions in earnings estimates over the past four weeks. Also, since the price/sales ratio is a strong complementary valuation metric in the presence of broker information, it has been included. The price/sales ratio takes care of the company’s top line, making the strategy a well-rounded one.
# (Up- Down Rating)/ Total (4 weeks) =Top #75 (This gives the list of top 75 companies that have witnessed net upgrades over the last 4 weeks).
% change in Q (1) est. (4 weeks) = Top #10 (This gives the top 10 stocks that have witnessed earnings estimate revisions over the past 4 weeks for the upcoming quarter).
Price-to-Sales = Bot%10 (The lower the ratio, the better. Companies meeting this criterion are in the bottom 10% of our universe of over 7,700 stocks with respect to this ratio).
Price greater than 5 (as a stock trading below $5 will not likely create significant interest for most investors).
Average Daily Volume greater than 100,000 shares over the last 20 trading days (Volume has to be significant to ensure that these are easily traded).
Market value ($ mil) = Top #3000 (This gives us stocks that are the top 3000 in terms of market capitalization).
Com/ADR/Canadian= Com (This eliminates the ADR and Canadian stocks).
Here are five of the 10 stocks that made it through the screen:
Cracker Barrel is prioritizing menu innovation and pricing to drive growth. The company is introducing offerings like shareable starters and specialty beverages, while optimizing pricing to enhance value. These initiatives aim to attract customers and support profitability.
