Dj Vp Masson-Hurlburt Registers 140027 Of Cormedix Inc >Crmd

CorMedix (CRMD) appears an attractive pick, as it has been recently upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). This upgrade is essentially a reflection of an upward trend in earnings estimates -- one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices.

The sole determinant of the Zacks rating is a company's changing earnings picture. The Zacks Consensus Estimate -- the consensus of EPS estimates from the sell-side analysts covering the stock -- for the current and following years is tracked by the system.

Since a changing earnings picture is a powerful factor influencing near-term stock price movements, the Zacks rating system is very useful for individual investors. They may find it difficult to make decisions based on rating upgrades by Wall Street analysts, as these are mostly driven by subjective factors that are hard to see and measure in real time.

Therefore, the Zacks rating upgrade for CorMedix basically reflects positivity about its earnings outlook that could translate into buying pressure and an increase in its stock price.

Most Powerful Force Impacting Stock Prices

The change in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, and the near-term price movement of its stock are proven to be strongly correlated. That's partly because of the influence of institutional investors that use earnings and earnings estimates for calculating the fair value of a company's shares. An increase or decrease in earnings estimates in their valuation models simply results in higher or lower fair value for a stock, and institutional investors typically buy or sell it. Their transaction of large amounts of shares then leads to price movement for the stock.

For CorMedix, rising earnings estimates and the consequent rating upgrade fundamentally mean an improvement in the company's underlying business. And investors' appreciation of this improving business trend should push the stock higher.

Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions

As empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock movements, tracking such revisions for making an investment decision could be truly rewarding. Here is where the tried-and-tested Zacks Rank stock-rating system plays an important role, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Estimate Revisions for CorMedix

This pharmaceutical and medical device company is expected to earn -$0.46 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2024, which represents a year-over-year change of 49.5%.

Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for CorMedix. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 45.2%.

Bottom Line

Unlike the overly optimistic Wall Street analysts whose rating systems tend to be weighted toward favorable recommendations, the Zacks rating system maintains an equal proportion of 'buy' and 'sell' ratings for its entire universe of more than 4000 stocks at any point in time. Irrespective of market conditions, only the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks get a 'Strong Buy' rating and the next 15% get a 'Buy' rating. So, the placement of a stock in the top 20% of the Zacks-covered stocks indicates its superior earnings estimate revision feature, making it a solid candidate for producing market-beating returns in the near term.

The upgrade of CorMedix to a Zacks Rank #1 positions it in the top 5% of the Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, implying that the stock might move higher in the near term.

Zacks Investment Research

Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong momentum characteristics for investors to consider today, November 8:

CorMedix Inc. CRMD: This biopharmaceutical company has a Zacks Rank #1 and witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 20.7% over the last 60 days.

CorMedix Inc Price and Consensus

CorMedix Inc price-consensus-chart | CorMedix Inc Quote

CorMedix's shares gained 165.8% over the last three months compared with the S&P 500’s advanced of 12.2%. The company possesses a Momentum Score of A.

CorMedix Inc Price

CorMedix Inc price | CorMedix Inc Quote

Flushing Financial Corporation FFIC: This bank holding company for Flushing Bank has a Zacks Rank #1 and witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 5.6% over the last 60 days.

Flushing Financial Corporation Price and Consensus

Flushing Financial Corporation price-consensus-chart | Flushing Financial Corporation Quote

Flushing Financial Corporation's shares gained 36.6% over the last three months compared with the S&P 500’s advanced of 12.2%. The company possesses a Momentum Score of A.

Flushing Financial Corporation Price

Flushing Financial Corporation price | Flushing Financial Corporation Quote

Sappi Limited SPPJY: This wood fiber-based renewable resources company has a Zacks Rank #1 and witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 16.7% over the last 60 days.

Sappi Ltd. Price and Consensus

Sappi Ltd. price-consensus-chart | Sappi Ltd. Quote

Sappi Limited's shares gained 19.9% over the last three months compared with the S&P 500’s advanced of 12.1%. The company possesses a Momentum Score of A.

Sappi Ltd. Price

Sappi Ltd. price | Sappi Ltd. Quote

See the full list of top ranked stocks here

Learn more about the Momentum score and how it is calculated here.

Zacks Investment Research

Here are five stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today:

Sappi Limited SPPJY: This wood fiber-based renewable resources company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 16.7% over the last 60 days.

Sappi Ltd. Price and Consensus

Sappi Ltd. price-consensus-chart | Sappi Ltd. Quote

Flushing Financial Corporation FFIC: This bank holding company for Flushing Bank has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 5.6% over the last 60 days.

Flushing Financial Corporation Price and Consensus

Flushing Financial Corporation price-consensus-chart | Flushing Financial Corporation Quote

CorMedix Inc. CRMD: This biopharmaceutical company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 20.7% over the last 60 days.

CorMedix Inc Price and Consensus

CorMedix Inc price-consensus-chart | CorMedix Inc Quote

NETGEAR, Inc. NTGR: This connectivity solutions provider has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 20.6% over the last 60 days.

NETGEAR, Inc. Price and Consensus

NETGEAR, Inc. price-consensus-chart | NETGEAR, Inc. Quote

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. AACAY: This investment holding company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 11.1% over the last 60 days.

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. Price and Consensus

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. price-consensus-chart | AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. Quote

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Zacks Investment Research

CorMedix (CRMD) closed the last trading session at $9.99, gaining 12.3% over the past four weeks, but there could be plenty of upside left in the stock if short-term price targets set by Wall Street analysts are any guide. The mean price target of $15.20 indicates a 52.2% upside potential.

The average comprises five short-term price targets ranging from a low of $9 to a high of $19, with a standard deviation of $4.15. While the lowest estimate indicates a decline of 9.9% from the current price level, the most optimistic estimate points to a 90.2% upside. More than the range, one should note the standard deviation here, as it helps understand the variability of the estimates. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater the agreement among analysts.

While the consensus price target is a much-coveted metric for investors, solely banking on this metric to make an investment decision may not be wise at all. That's because the ability and unbiasedness of analysts in setting price targets have long been questionable.

However, an impressive consensus price target is not the only factor that indicates a potential upside in CRMD. This view is strengthened by the agreement among analysts that the company will report better earnings than what they estimated earlier. Though a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't give any idea as to how much the stock could surge, it has proven effective in predicting an upside.

Here's What You Should Know About Analysts' Price Targets

According to researchers at several universities across the globe, a price target is one of many pieces of information about a stock that misleads investors far more often than it guides. In fact, empirical research shows that price targets set by several analysts, irrespective of the extent of agreement, rarely indicate where the price of a stock could actually be heading.

While Wall Street analysts have deep knowledge of a company's fundamentals and the sensitivity of its business to economic and industry issues, many of them tend to set overly optimistic price targets. Are you wondering why?

They usually do that to drum up interest in shares of companies that their firms either have existing business relationships with or are looking to be associated with. In other words, business incentives of firms covering a stock often result in inflated price targets set by analysts.

However, a tight clustering of price targets, which is represented by a low standard deviation, indicates that analysts have a high degree of agreement about the direction and magnitude of a stock's price movement. While that doesn't necessarily mean the stock will hit the average price target, it could be a good starting point for further research aimed at identifying the potential fundamental driving forces.

That said, while investors should not entirely ignore price targets, making an investment decision solely based on them could lead to disappointing ROI. So, price targets should always be treated with a high degree of skepticism.

Why CRMD Could Witness a Solid Upside

There has been increasing optimism among analysts lately about the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher. And that could be a legitimate reason to expect an upside in the stock. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current year, one estimate has moved higher over the last 30 days compared to no negative revision. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 20.7%.

Moreover, CRMD currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than the 4,000 stocks that we rank based on four factors related to earnings estimates. Given an impressive externally-audited track record, this is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential upside in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here

Therefore, while the consensus price target may not be a reliable indicator of how much CRMD could gain, the direction of price movement it implies does appear to be a good guide.

Zacks Investment Research