Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don't Talk About Yet
Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance to uncover new information.
Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks each week that are just under the surface and warrant attention.
The index layers editorial commentary to help make sense of why these stocks should be of interest and whether investors and casual readers should watch them. Here is a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of Oct. 27, 2023:
Impinj Inc (NASDAQ:PI): The semiconductor stock saw increased interest from investors after reporting third quarter financial results and sharing fourth quarter guidance. The company’s revenue and earnings per share each beat consensus estimates from analysts.
“We see early signs of retail demand improvement, strong ongoing endpoint IC unit-volume growth despite the downturn and remain optimistic for the future,” Impinj CEO Chris Diorio said.
Multiple analysts remained bullish on the stock, with Buy ratings going forward. Several analysts did lower the price targets on the stock. Price targets of $85, $95 and $89 from Needham, Roth MKM and Goldman Sachs remain higher than the current share price of around $62.
ABVC Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:ABVC): The $5 million biopharmaceutical company finds its way on the list after seeing shares soar during the week. The move came after the company announced a term sheet to license the global rights of CNS drugs to AiBtl BioPharma. The drugs have indications that target Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ABVC will receive stock in AiBtl, milestone payments and potential royalties from products launched.
First Foundation Inc (NYSE:FFWM): The investment and financial planning company reported third quarter financial results during the week and saw shares trade higher on the results. Third quarter revenue of $63.77 million and earnings per share of 5 cents beat consensus estimates of $63.64 million and 4 cents respectively.
Silicom (NASDAQ:SILC): Shares of the data infrastructure company fell after reporting third quarter financial results. The company’s revenue of $30.06 million beat a Street consensus estimate of $29.76 million. Earnings per share also beat the analysts’ estimate. Weaker fourth quarter guidance was not well received by investors. The company said it expects fourth quarter revenue in a range of $20 million to $21 million, versus a Street consensus estimate of $31.63 million. After a challenging fiscal 2024, the company said it expects to return to double-digit growth in fiscal 2025.
Related Link: Analyst Ratings For Silicom
Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN): The owner of clear aligners and the Invisalign brand saw shares fall after reporting third quarter financial results, with revenue and earnings per share each missing estimates from analysts. The company reported revenue growth of 7.8% year-over-year in the third quarter, and Clear Aligner revenue was up 8.5% year-over-year. Guidance from the company for the fourth quarter also came in lower than estimates from analysts. The company announced it will repurchase up to $250 million in shares in the fourth quarter as part of a 2023 stock repurchase program.
“Our third quarter results reflect lower than expected demand and a more difficult macro environment than we experienced in the first half of 2023,” Align CEO Joe Hogan said.
The earnings report from Align Technology comes after the company’s competitor SmileDirectClub filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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