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Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: CyberArk, LendingTree and American Public Education

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 18, 2024 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights CyberArk Software (CYBR - Free Report) , LendingTree (TREE - Free Report) and American Public Education (APEI - Free Report) .

Ride Bullish Momentum with These 3 Stocks

Momentum investors look to ride bullish trends where buyers are in control. The strategy has been particularly rewarding in 2024 amid the market's strong showing thanks to a resilient economy.

And pairing the strategy with the Zacks Rank makes the approach even more potent. Three stocks – CyberArk Software, LendingTree and American Public Education – fit the strategy.

All three have seen positive price action recently, displaying relative strength compared to major indices. In addition, all three sport a favorable Zacks Rank, reflecting upward-trending earnings estimate revisions.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

CyberArk Software Sees Big Growth

CyberArk is a global leader in identity security. The company provides the most comprehensive security offering for any identity across business applications, distributed workforces, hybrid cloud environments, and throughout the DevOps lifecycle.

The earnings estimate revisions trend has been particularly bullish for its current fiscal year, up 67% to $2.04 per share. The company is enjoying a big growth phase, with the estimate suggesting an 80% year-over-year climb.

It’s critical to note that shares trade at elevated valuation multiples, which reflects investors’ high-growth expectations. The current forward 12-month earnings multiple works out to 100.3X, whereas the forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio sits at 11.1X.

Shares have recently reclaimed the 50-day moving average, a positive development following several instances where the level acted as resistance. In fact, shares are just near all-time highs, with its favorable earnings outlook supporting further gains.

LendingTree Shares Bounce Back

LendingTree, a current Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), is the operator of LendingTree.com, the nation's leading online financial services marketplace. Analysts have raised their earnings expectations in a bullish way across all timeframes.

Better-than-expected quarterly results have kept shares moving higher, enjoying post-earnings positivity following the company’s last two releases. LendingTree’s quarterly performance has overall been outstanding, beating our consensus EPS estimate by an average of 120% across its previous four releases.

The company raised its full-year 2024 outlook following its latest set of results, now forecasting annual sales in a band of $690 - $720 million (previously $650 - $690 million). Shares continue to climb higher, currently trading at 52-week highs.

American Public Education's Outlook Remains Bullish

American Public Education is an online provider of higher education focused on serving the military and public service communities. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with analysts raising their expectations across nearly all timeframes.

The company’s growth profile can’t be ignored, with consensus expectations alluding to 125% EPS growth on 4% higher sales in its current fiscal year. Improved efficiencies have aided the company’s profitability, with small margin expansion providing tailwinds.

Shares aren’t expensive given the forecasted growth, with the current forward 12-month earnings multiple of 16.7X beneath the 19.6X five-year median. The current PEG ratio works out to 1.1X, reflecting that investors are paying a fair price for the growth.

Bottom Line

Momentum investing is all about riding bullish trends where buyers are in control.

And buyers have certainly been in control of all three stocks above, with shares of each soaring over the last month.

In addition to considerable momentum, all three sport a favorable Zacks Rank, reflecting upward trending estimate revisions among analysts.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) - free report >>

LendingTree, Inc. (TREE) - free report >>

CyberArk Software Ltd. (CYBR) - free report >>

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