The commercial banking, aerospace and defense, life science, biotechnology and auto parts sectors are on the rise this week on the Portfolio Grader database.
The commercial banking sector’s track record is proving one of the best with 100% of its stocks (5 out of 5) rating a “buy”. Near the top of their sector, Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC) and StellarOne Corporation (STEL) have A ratings. Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) also gets a B.
Aerospace and defense stands out with 74% of the sector’s stocks (31 out of 42) rating a “buy”. Among aerospace and defense stocks, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII), Alliant Techsystem (ATK) and TASER International, Inc. (TASR) are leading the way with A’s. The best performer in this sector is Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., which saw its price rise 207.5% in the last 12 months.
Life science is thriving this week with 71% of stocks in the sector (17 out of 24) currently rating a “buy”. Out of the life science stocks, Wuxi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. Sponsored ADR (WX), Covance (CVD) and Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) are out front with A’s. Wuxi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. Sponsored ADR is performing the best overall in the sector, with a 220.1% increase from 12 months ago.
Biotechnology is excelling, with 69% of stocks in the sector (66 out of 96) rating a “buy”. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ENTA), Gentium S.p.A. Sponsored ADR (GENT) and Repligen Corporation (RGEN) are lifting the sector overall, each earning a high grade of A. Repligen Corporation is the top stock in its sector, with a 538% increase from 12 months ago.
With 68% of the sector’s stocks (17 out of 25) rating a “buy,” the auto parts sector is one of the strongest. Magna International (MGA), Dorman Products, Inc. (DORM) and Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (CPS) are all currently earning A’s. Showing the most overall growth in its sector in the last 12 months, Magna International is the top stock, with a 189.9% increase.
Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.
