This week, commercial banking, aerospace and defense, life science, biotechnology and pharmaceutical are the best sectors 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”. Out of the commercial banking stocks, StellarOne Corporation (STEL) and Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) are out front with B’s. Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC) also ranks a solid A.
Aerospace and defense is thriving this week with 74% of stocks in the sector (31 out of 42) currently rating a “buy”. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII), Alliant Techsystem (ATK) and TASER International, Inc. (TASR) are lifting the sector overall, each earning a high grade of A. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. is the top stock in its sector, with a 240.6% increase from 12 months ago.
The life science sector is thriving on Portfolio Grader this week, with 71% of its stocks (17 out of 24) currently rating a “buy”. Wuxi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. Sponsored ADR (WX), Covance (CVD) and Illumina, Inc. (ILMN) are paving the way for the sector with A grades. Showing the most overall growth in its sector in the last 12 months, Wuxi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. Sponsored ADR is the top stock, with a 235.4% increase.
Biotechnology is excelling, with 70% of stocks in the sector (68 out of 97) rating a “buy”. Among biotechnology stocks, Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ENTA), Gentium S.p.A. Sponsored ADR (GENT) and Repligen Corporation (RGEN) are leading the way with A’s. Repligen Corporation is the best performer in this sector, with a 578.6% increase in the last 12 months.
With 67% of the sector’s stocks (41 out of 61) rating a “buy,” the pharmaceutical sector is one of the strongest. Out of the pharmaceutical stocks, Lannett Company, Inc. (LCI), Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (QCOR) and Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (SLXP) are out front with A’s. Lannett Company, Inc. beats the other stocks in its sector, with a 57.7% increase from a year ago.
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.
