At StateoftheMarkets.com, we strive to “own the best and ignore the rest” in our equity portfolios. Toward this end, each day we search our database for a “top stock” (a top rated company in terms of earnings strength as well as company and industry performance) that presents a strong technical “set up” and a good entry point.
In short, when our equity team is looking to add a stock to one of our portfolios, the “bull’s eye” stock shown below is generally their first choice.
Company | Symbol | Industry | Stock Rating | YTD% Gain | S.T. Stop Loss |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PAREXEL Intl. | PRXL | Personal Products | 9.7 | +69.78% | $48.19 |
Why We Like The Stock:
PAREXEL Intl. (PRXL) is our most compelling buy today due to the fact that it is a top-rated stock (in terms of earnings strength and company/industry performance) with a strong technical set-up. Life sciences stocks have been a mixed bag this year. Some larger-cap companies like Pfizer (PFE) and Merck (MRK) have been lagging, while smaller-cap companies like Covance (CVD), WuXi PharmaTech (WX), and PRXL have been superb.
In early August, PRXL hit as high as $51.33 before pulling back and basing just above $46 through late August to early September. Currently, the stock is back on the upswing, crossing above its 50-day moving average last week. PRXL hasn’t pulled back a whole lot this year, so we would jump on the stock while prices are still attractive. We’d be buyers here, and look for a run to new highs north of $52.
We Would Be Buyers:
At the current price (~$49.87).
Company Profile:
PAREXEL International Corporation (PAREXEL) is a biopharmaceutical services company, providing a range of expertise in clinical research, medical communications, consulting, and advanced technology products and services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. It operates in three segments: Clinical Research Services (CRS), PAREXEL Consulting and Medical Communications Services (PCMS) and Perceptive Informatics, Inc. (Perceptive). The company’s product and service offerings include clinical trials management, observational studies and patient/disease registries, data management, biostatistical analysis, epidemiology, health economics / outcomes research, pharmacovigilance, medical communications, clinical pharmacology, patient recruitment, post-marketing surveillance. In May 2013, PAREXEL International Corp acquired the entire share capital of HERON Group Ltd.
Stock Rating: 9.7
The Stock Rating indicates the combined score of our proprietary Earning Strength and Company Performance models. The rating scale is 0 – 10 with 10 being the highest.
PAREXEL — Last Three Months
PAREXEL — Last 12 Months
PAREXEL — Last Five Years
At the time of publication the editor and affiliated companies own the following positions: None
Note: Positions may be bought or sold while this publication is in circulation without notice.