S&P 500 Biotech Giant Vertex Leads 5 Stocks Showing Strength

Your stocks to watch for the week ahead are Cheniere Energy (LNG), S&P 500 biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Genuine Parts (GPC).

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While the market remains in correction, with analysts and investors wary of an economic downturn, these five stocks are worth adding to watchlists. S&P 500 medical giants Vertex and Cardinal Health have been holding up, as health-care related plays tend to do well in down markets.

Steel Dynamics and Genuine Parts are both coming off strong earnings as both the steel and auto parts industries report optimistic outlooks. Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy saw sales boom in the second quarter as demand in Europe for natural gas continues to grow.

Major indexes have been making rally attempts with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 testing weekly support on Friday. With market uncertainty, investors should be ready for follow-through day breakouts and keep an eye on these stocks.

Cheniere Energy, Cardinal Health and VRTX stock are all on IBD Leaderboard.

Cheniere Energy Stock
LNG shares rose 1.1% to 175.79 during Friday’s market trading. On the week, the stock advanced 3.1%, not from highs, bouncing from its 21-day and 10-week lines earlier in the week.

Cheniere Energy has been consolidating since mid-September, but needs another week to forge a proper base, with a potential 182.72 buy point formed on Aug. 10.

Houston-based Cheniere Energy was IBD Stock Of The Day on Thursday, as the largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas eyes strong demand in Europe.

Even though natural gas prices are plunging in the U.S. and Europe, investors still see strong LNG demand for Cheniere and others.

The U.K. government confirmed last week that it is in talks for an LNG purchase agreement with a number of companies, including Cheniere.

In the first half of 2021, less than 40% of Cheniere’s cargoes of LNG landed in Europe. That jumped to more than 70% through this year’s second quarter, even as the company ramped up new export capacity. The urgency of Europe’s natural gas shortage only intensified last month. That is when an explosion disabled the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia that had once supplied 40% of the European Union’s natural gas.

In Q2, sales increased 165% to $8 billion and LNG earned $2.90 per share, up from a net loss of $1.30 per share in Q2 2021. The company will report Q3 earnings Nov. 3, with investors seeing booming profits for the next few quarters.

Cheniere Energy has a Composite Rating of 84. It has a 98 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share price movement with a 1 to 99 score. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 41.

Vertex Stock
VRTX stock jumped 3.4% to 300 on Friday, rebounding from a test of its 50-day moving average. Shares climbed 2.2% for the week. Vertex stock has formed a tight flat base with an official buy point of 306.05, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The stock has remained consistent over recent weeks, while the relative strength line has trended higher. The RS line tracks a stock’s performance vs. the S&P 500 index.

Vertex Q3 earnings are on due Oct. 27. Analysts see EPS edging up 1% to $3.61 per share with sales increasing 16% to $2.2 billion, according to FactSet.

The Boston-based global biotech company dominates the cystic fibrosis treatment market. Vertex also has other products in late-stage clinical development that target sickle cell disease, Type 1 diabetes and certain genetically caused kidney diseases. That includes a gene-editing partnership with Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP).

In early August, Vertex reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised full-year sales targets.

S&P 500 stock Vertex ranks second in the Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. VRTX has a 99 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and its EPS Rating is 99.

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Cardinal Health Stock
CAH stock advanced 3.2% to 73.03 Friday, clearing a 71.22 buy point from a shallow cup-with-handle base and hitting a record high. But volume was light on the breakout. CAH stock leapt 7.3% for the week.

Cardinal Health stock’s relative strength line has also been trending up for months.

The cup-with-handle base is part of a base-on-base pattern, forming just above a cup base cleared on Aug. 11.

Cardinal Health, based in Dublin, Ohio, offers a wide assortment of health care services and medical supplies to hospitals, labs, pharmacies and long-term care facilities. The company reports that it serves around 90% of hospitals and 60,000 pharmacies in the U.S.

S&P 500 stock Cardinal Health will report Q1 2023 earnings on Nov. 4. Analysts forecast earnings falling 26% to 96 cents per share. Sales are expected to increase 10% to $48.3 billion, according to FactSet.

Cardinal Health stock ranks first in the Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supplies industry group, ahead of McKesson (MCK), which is also showing positive action. CAH stock has a 94 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 97 Relative Strength Rating and an EPS rating of 73.

Steel Dynamics Stock
STLD shares shot up 8.5% to 92.92 on Friday and soared 19% on the week, coming off a Steel Dynamics earnings beat Wednesday night.

Shares blasted above an 88.72 consolidation buy point Friday after clearing a trendline Thursday. STLD stock is 17% above its 50-day line, definitely extended from that key average.

Steel Dynamics’ latest consolidation could be seen as part of a larger base going back six months.

Steel Dynamics topped Q3 earnings views with EPS rising 10% to $5.46 while revenue grew 11% to $5.65 billion. The steel producer’s outlook is optimistic despite weaker flat rolled steel pricing. STLD reports its order activity and backlogs remain solid.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company is among the largest producers of carbon steel products in the U.S. It engages in metal recycling operations along with steel fabrication and produces myriad steel products.

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STLD stock ranks first in the Steel-Producers industry group. STLD stock has a 96 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 90 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share-price movement that tops at 99. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 98.

Genuine Parts Stock
GPC stock gained 2.8% to 162.35 Friday after the company topped earnings views with its Q3 results on Thursday. For the week GPC advanced 5.1% as the stock held its 50-day line and is in a flat base.

GPC has an official 165.09 flat-base buy point after a three-week rally, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The relative strength line for Genuine Parts stock has rallied sharply to highs over the past several months.

On Thursday, the Atlanta-based auto parts company raised its full-year guidance on growth across its automotive and industrial sales.

Genuine Parts earnings per share advanced 19% to $2.23 and revenue grew 18% to $5.675 billion in Q3. GPC’s full-year guidance is now calling for EPS of $8.05-$8.15, up from $7.80-$7.95. The company now forecasts revenue growth of 15%-16%, up from the earlier 12%-14%.

During the Covid pandemic, supply chain constraints caused a major upheaval in the auto industry, sending prices for new and used cars to record levels. This has made consumers more likely to hang on to their existing vehicles for longer, driving mileage higher and boosting demand for auto replacement parts.

Fellow auto stocks O’Reilly Auto Parts (ORLY) and AutoZone (AZO) have also rallied near buy points amid the struggling market. O’Reilly reports on Oct. 26.

IBD ranks Genuine Parts first in the Retail/Wholesale-Auto Parts industry group. GPC stock has a 96 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and it has an EPS Rating of 89.

Choosing Sports Shoes

When it comes to sports, wearing protective and supportive clothing is essential, but of all your sports clothes, you must pay particular attention to your trainers. Without the correct footwear, you run the risk of causing untold problems for your body. Indeed, an ill-fitting pair of shoes can have devastating consequences for your feet, knees, hips, back, and neck. For this reason, it is important to invest money in a decent pair of trainers, designed by a reputable company who have the interests of the sportsperson at heart.When it comes to trainers, there is great variation in the quality of the shoe, and the degree to which they protect the runner. A brand such as Adidas is ideal. When Adidas first arrived in the sportswear market, they laid down the company’s constitution, which was to create Adidas trainers that would protect the feet from injury. Today, this brand competes in a global market, their survival rests upon the premise that their clothing and trainers are always of the utmost quality.If you are just embarking upon fitness regime then, more likely than not, you will not have a sufficient understanding of the qualities of a good trainer. Stick to a brand that you know, and which is trustworthy, such as Adidas trainers, and always follow the advice outlined below:

Always purchase trainers from a reputable shoe store. You can find such stores in the high street or on the Internet, either way, by shopping with a trusted store, you guarantee that any information you garner is accurate and in your best interests.
Establish the pressure points inherent in your walk. Do this by looking at the soles of your shoes, the place at which there is most wear is the area of your foot to which you apply most pressure. Buy trainers that support this area most. For example, if you find a lot of wear on the heel, you need to have a shoe that provides extra cushioning on the heel.
If you know that your feet have certain defining characteristics, a high arch for example, then contact your shoe store and ask which styles of trainer will protect your feet given their build. Of the Adidas trainers range, the Supernova Cushion 7 offers great support for people with a high arch.
Think about how vigorously you plan to exercise. The more exercise you do, the greater your need for a professionally designed trainer. If you plan to exercise a lot, you will need to spend a fair amount of money on your trainers to ensure they offer you the support you require.
The first few times you wear the shoes, you will probably find that they cause some pain, this is quite normal, and is simply because you are breaking them in. If the pain continues for a prolonged period, then you have probably purchased a style of trainers that does not support your foot.

Pharmacy Technician Test For Your Competency Evaluation

The Pharmacy Technician Test has been prepared to assess the competency evaluation of a Pharmacy Technician. The test also evaluates the working quality of a Pharmacy Technician in actual working in pharmacy settings. Certification is awarded to the passing candidate. But, why Pharmacy test and Certification are essential for a Pharmacy personnel and how they will be benefited by earning the certification?In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to gain knowledge about Pharmacy Technicians. Pharmacy professionals are well trained in pharmacy field and they assist the Pharmacist by performing various pharmacy related works. It is their duty to help pharmacist in preparation of prescription, provide medications to customers and patients alike, counsel customers about use and misuse of the drugs, inform them about the effects of different types of drugs on the body, look after the cash counter, do administrative duties and perform numerous other pharmacy and drug related works in a pharmacy.Though no formal education is required for working in a Pharmacy and work-on-the job training is enough for getting employment in a pharmacy. But, obtaining a Certification offers various types of benefits, such as better career prospects, higher salary and wider knowledge of medication field.The Certification is offered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and it is necessary to pass the PTCB Certification test for earning certification. There are many community colleges, schools, trade schools and online courses, which prepares a student for the test.PTCB certification test consist of 125 multiple choice scoring questions and 15 non-scoring questions. The non-scoring questions do not score but, they are helpful in future tests and quality test. The duration of the exam is 3 hours and the person appearing for the test must answer all questions, within that stipulated time period. Scores are offered according to the answered questions. Thus, it is necessary for a student to answer all questions to score better. Every question has 4 answers option, where only one answer is correct and that has to be marked by the individual appearing for the exam.If you are also looking for the better career prospect, then you must sit for the Certification test and earn certification, which can also help you in getting registered with respective State Board of Pharmacy.