Humacyte, Starbucks, Oracle in Focus

Last Thursday, the three most widely followed benchmark indexes closed a third straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.3%, 1.7% and 1.6%, respectively.

Trading in Wall Street was defined by geopolitical currents last week. A looming July 9 “Liberation Day” tariff deadline weighed heavily on sentiments as President Trump signaled possible new import duties on nations that fail to negotiate timely trade deals, keeping markets on edge. Oil markets surged amid an OPEC+ supply cut announcement, adding inflationary pressure and lifting energy stocks.

Across the globe, easing tensions in the Middle East helped calm volatility, although concerns remain over regional flare-ups. Domestically, soft inflation readings and a cooling U.S. dollar fueled speculation on a Fed rate cut, bolstering risk appetite. U.S. stocks extended their rally, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting fresh all-time highs and the Dow closing near record levels, driven by a stronger-than-expected June jobs report.

Regardless of market conditions, we, here at Zacks, provide investors with unbiased guidance on how to beat the market.

As usual, Zacks Research guided investors over the past three months with its time-tested methodologies. Given the prevailing market uncertainty, you may want to look at our feats to prepare better for your next action.

Here are some of our key achievements:

Shares of Humacyte, Inc. HUMA have gained 56.2% (versus the S&P 500’s 13.5% increase) since it was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) on April 29.

Another stock, SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY, which was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on May 2, has returned 45.5% (versus the S&P 500’s 12% increase) since then.

A hypothetical portfolio of Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) stocks returned +6.51% in May 2025, which compares to +4.47% for the S&P 500 index and +4.12% for the equal-weight version of the index. This follows the Zacks Rank # 1 stocks’ +17.96% return in April vs. +15.04% for the S&P 500 index.

This hypothetical portfolio has returned -2.59% in 2025 (through June 2^nd) vs. -1.12% for the S&P 500 index and -4.41% for the equal-weight version of the index.

This portfolio returned +22.4% in 2024, vs. +28% for the S&P 500 index and +19.9% for the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 index.

This hypothetical portfolio returned +20.65% in 2023 vs. +24.83% for the S&P 500 index and +15% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index.

The Zacks Model Portfolio – consisting of Zacks Rank #1 stocks – has outperformed the S&P index by more than 12 percentage points since 1988 (through June 2^nd, 2025, the Zacks # 1 Rank stocks generated an annualized average return of +23.5% vs. +11% for the S&P 500 index).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here >>>

Check Humacyte’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

Check Softbank’s historical EPS and Sales here>>>

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Shares of IHI Corporation IHICY and AIA Group Limited AAGIY have surged 41.4% and 17% (versus the S&P 500’s 10.7% rise), respectively, since their Zacks Recommendation was upgraded to Outperform on May 9.

While the Zacks Rank is our short-term rating system that is most effective over the one- to three-month holding horizon, the Zacks Recommendation aims to predict performance over the next 6 to 12 months. However, just like the Zacks Rank, the foundation for the Zacks Recommendation is trends in earnings estimate revisions.

The Zacks Recommendation classifies stocks into three groups — Outperform, Neutral and Underperform. While these recommendations are determined quantitatively, our analysts have the flexibility to override them for the 1100+ stocks they closely follow based on their better judgment of factors such as valuation, industry conditions and management effectiveness than the quantitative model.

To access our research reports with Zacks Recommendations for the 1100+ stocks we cover, click here>>>

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. MU, which belongs to the Zacks Focus List, have gained 89% over the past 12 weeks. The stock was added to the Focus List on December 27, 2016. Another Focus-List holding, Celanese Corporation CE, which was added to the portfolio on December 5, 2016, has returned 48.5% over the past 12 weeks. The S&P 500 has advanced 23.8% over this period.

The 50-stock Focus List portfolio returned 8.84% in 2025 (through June 30th, 2025) vs. +6.21% for the S&P 500 index and +4.82% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Zacks Focus List portfolio returned +18.41% in 2024 vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. The portfolio had returned +29.54% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +13.61% for the equal-weight S&P 500 index. In 2022, the portfolio returned -15.2% vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

The portfolio leads the broader market over the preceding one, three, five and ‘since 2004’ periods. These annualized return comparisons are: +22.27% for the Focus List vs. +15.18% for the index over the one-year period, +22.61% vs. +19.71% over the 3-year period, +17.79% vs. +16.64% over the 5-year period, and +11.85% vs. +11.44% since 2004.

Since 2004, the Focus List portfolio has produced an annualized return of +11.60% (through the end of May 2025). This compares to a +10.22% annualized return for the S&P 500 index and +9.41% for the equal-weight version of the index in the same time period.

Unlock all of our powerful research, tools and analysis, including the Focus List, Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research Reports, Zacks Earnings ESP Filter, Premium Screener and more, as part of Zacks Premium. Gain full access now >>

Oracle Corporation ORCL, a component of our Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), has jumped 85% over the past 12 weeks. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. ICE has followed Oracle with 16.8% returns.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP), which consists of 30 concentrated, ultra-defensive, long-term Buy-and-Hold stocks, returned +3.20% in the first quarter of 2025 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -4.30% decline (SPY ETF).

For the year 2024, the portfolio returned +16.26% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index (SPY ETF).

In 2023, the portfolio returned +12.17% vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index. The portfolio returned -4.7% in 2022 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -17.96%.

With little to no turnover and annual rebalance periodicity, ECAP seeks to minimize capital loss by holding shares of companies whose earnings streams exhibit a proven 20+ year track record of surviving recessionary periods with minimal impact on aggregate earnings growth relative to the overall S&P 500.

The ECAP and many other model portfolios are available as part of Zacks Advisor Tools, a cloud-based solution to access Zacks award-winning stock, mutual fund and ETF research. Click here to schedule a demo.

Starbucks Corporation SBUX, which is part of our Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP), has returned 15% over the past 12 weeks. Another ECDP stock, Illinois Tool Works Inc. ITW, has climbed 14.6% over the same time frame. Of course, the inclination of investors toward quality dividend stocks to secure an income stream amid heightened market volatility contributed to this performance.

Check Starbucks’ dividend history here>>>

Check Illinois Tool Works’ dividend history here>>>

With an extremely low beta and a history of minimum earnings variability over the last 20+ years, this 25-stock portfolio helps significantly mitigate risk.

The Zacks Earnings Certain Dividend Portfolio (ECDP) returned +5.74% in 2025 Q1 vs. the S&P 500 index’s -2.41% pullback and the Dividend Aristocrats ETF’s (NOBL) +3.11% return.

For the full-year 2024, the portfolio returned +6.95% vs. +24.89% for the S&P 500 index and +6.72% for NOBL.

The portfolio returned -0.9% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index and +8.11% for NOBL. The portfolio returned -2.3% in 2022 vs. -17.96% for the S&P 500 index and -8.34% for NOBL.

Click here to access this portfolio on Zacks Advisor Tools.

Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd CRDO, from the Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2025, has jumped 39.3% year to date compared with the S&P 500 Index’s 6.7% increase.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +11.8% this year (through the end of June 2025) vs. +6.2% for the S&P 500 index and +4.8% for the equal-weight version of the index.

The Top 10 portfolio returned +62.98% in 2024, vs. +25.04% for the S&P 500 index and +13% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio had returned +25.15% in 2023 vs. +26.28% for the S&P 500 index.

Since 2012, the Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +2,246.8% through the end of June 2025 vs. +502.3% for the S&P 500 index and +373.4% for the equal-weight version of the index. The portfolio has produced an average return of +26.3% in the period 2012 through June 30, 2025, vs. +14.3% for the S&P 500 index and +12.2% for the equal-weight version of the index.

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Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

SoftBank Group Corp. Unsponsored ADR (SFTBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

IHI CORP (IHICY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

AIA (AAGIY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Humacyte, Inc. (HUMA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (CRDO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research