The stock market cooled off to start the week of December 9 after hitting fresh records. Momentum stocks highlighted Monday’s slightly red showing, which was healthy after the Nasdaq climbed well above its 21-day and to heavily overbought RSI levels.

The stock market could face more near-term selling pressure as investors take profits following the post-Trump election rally and the wider 2024 run.

Thankfully, any near-term pullback likely creates better buying opportunities for investors heading into 2025 since earnings growth and lower interest rates remain wind in the market’s sails.   

Now let’s dig into how investors can use a Zacks screen to help find some of the best Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks to buy in December and throughout 2025.

Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks outperform the market in both good and bad times. However, there are over 200 stocks that earn a Zacks Rank #1 at any given time.

Therefore, it’s helpful to understand how to apply filters to the Zacks Rank in order to narrow the list down to a more manageable and tradable set of stocks.

Parameters

Clearly, there are only three items on this screen. But together, these three filters can result in some impressive returns.

• Zacks Rank equal to 1

Starting with a Zacks Rank #1 is often a strong jumping off point because it boasts an average annual return of roughly 24.4% per year since 1988.

• % Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0

Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.

• % Broker Rating Change over 4 Week equal to Top # 5

Top 5 stocks with the best average broker rating changes over the last four weeks.

This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and is called bt_sow_filtered zacks rank5. It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.

Here is one of the five stocks that qualified for the Filtered Zacks Rank 5 strategy today…

Is This Fintech Stock a Must-Own for 2025?

Synchrony Financial (SYF) shares have skyrocketed 50% in the last three months and 90% over the past year to blow away the Zacks Finance sector’s 27%.

SYF’s recent surge helped it break out above its 2021 peaks and push it to a 135% gain during the last decade, easily topping its sector’s 86%. Despite its outperformance and surge to record highs, SYF trades at a 40% discount to its sector and offers 20% value vs. Synchrony’s highs at 10.6X forward 12-month earnings.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Synchrony is a fintech standout offering various credit cards, financing, FDIC-insured banking and savings, and more. Synchrony also works with retailers like Mattress Firm and Lowe’s to offer deals through its marketplace.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Synchrony posted a beat-and-raise third quarter in the middle of October, with its upbeat EPS revisions earning SYF its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Synchrony is projected to grow its earnings by 26% in 2024. Investors might also be pleased with its strong balance sheet and 1.5% dividend yield.

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. 

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: www.zacks.com/performance_disclosure

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