The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Navient, Amkor Technology, Frontline, Newmark And Vector Group

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 19, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Navient Corp. (NASDAQ:NAVI) , Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) , Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) , Newmark Group Inc. (NASDAQ:NMRK) and Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) .

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Mid-Caps Rally in 2019: 5 Picks that Still Have Momentum

Wall Street started 2019 with a lot of vigor, quickly erasing the loss it suffered in 2018. The momentum is continuing barring some short-term fluctuations. The U.S. economy is in good shape with a robust labor market, higher consumer spending and better-than-expected corporate profits. The U.S. GDP in the first three quarters of 2019 also surpassed expectations despite the fact that the economy is growing for the historically longest span of 11th years.

Positive development on the U.S.-China trade war front and a 75-basis point cut in the benchmark interest rate in three tranches by the Fed also boosted investors’ sentiment. Consequently, the major stock indexes ---- the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ---- have gained 20.1%, 24.5% and 28.7%, respectively, year to date. Notably, aside from these three large-cap centric indexes, the S&P 400 Mid-cap Index (SP400) has also rallied 20.7% year to date.

Expectation of a Partial Trade Deal

On Nov 15, White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow said that the United States and China were close to a deal. Per Kudlow, the current negotiations are ‘’very constructive.’’

Moreover, on Nov 16, Chinese Ministry of Commerce also confirmed that vice premier Liu He had a telephonic discussion with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about a phase-one trade deal. The two sides agreed to remain in close contact to find out an amicable solution.

This was preceded by President Donald Trump’s speech at the Economic Club of New York on Nov 12, wherein a U.S.-China trade deal was suggested “could happen soon.” Trump added that a phase one agreement is “close.”

However, on Nov 13, The Wall Street Journal reported that the deadlock in the trade-related negotiation prevails, regarding the withdrawal of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and China’s earlier commitment to purchase $50-billion agricultural products from the United States. The Chinese administration has also been resisting requests from the White House to curb the forceful transfer of intellectual properties as well as enforcement mechanisms.

Why Mid-Cap Stocks?

Investment in mid-cap stocks is often recognized as a good portfolio diversification strategy. These stocks combine attractive attributes of both small and large-cap stocks. If the trade deal breaks down, mid-cap stocks will be less susceptible to losses than their large-cap counterparts owing to less international exposure.

However, if the trade deal finally sees the light of the day, these stocks will gain higher than small caps due to established management teams, a broad distribution network, brand recognition and ready access to capital markets.

Our Top Picks

We have been able to narrow down our search to five mid-cap stocks, which have skyrocketed in 2019 and still hold potential. All five stocks are currently priced below $15, making them affordable to general investors. Finally, each of our picks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see Original post

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Written By: Zacks Investment Research