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When stocks are cruising at or nearing all-time highs, it often reflects considerable bullishness in trends where buyers are in control. Stocks making new highs tend to make even higher highs, particularly when analysts' positive earnings estimate revisions come rolling in. 

That’s been precisely the case for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report), SharkNinja (SN - Free Report), and DaVita (DVA - Free Report), all of which maintain favorable Zacks Rank ratings and have been trading near 52-week highs. Let’s take a closer look at what’s been driving the bullish behavior.

SharkNinja Shares Soar

SharkNinja, a current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is a diversified product design and technology company that creates lifestyle solutions through products for consumers. The company’s outlook has shifted bullishly across the board.

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The stock’s performance has been quietly remarkable in 2024, gaining nearly 100% and widely outperforming relative to the S&P 500. Share performance has been driven by robust quarterly results that have led to positive earnings estimate revisions.

Concerning the latest quarterly print, SharkNinja posted 34% EPS Growth on 31% higher sales, continuing its high-growth nature. Impressively, the company has posted double-digit percentage year-over-year growth rates in five consecutive periods.

And the growth is expected to continue nicely, with consensus expectations for its current fiscal year alluding to 31% EPS growth on 21% higher sales. Peeking a bit ahead, expectations for FY25 suggest an additional 14% pop in EPS paired with a 9% sales increase.

Additionally, the stock sports a Style Score of ‘B’ for Growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company raised its FY24 outlook on key metrics, helping explain the pop in shares post-earnings.

Intuitive Surgical's Demand Remains Robust

Intuitive Surgical designs, manufactures, and markets the da Vinci surgical system (an advanced robot-assisted surgical system) and related instruments and accessories. The stock sports the highly-coveted Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) rating, with analysts raising their earnings expectations across the board.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Like SharkNinja, Intuitive Surgical shares have been quietly strong in 2024, gaining nearly 50%. In fact, shares have provided an annualized return of a staggering 25% across the last decade, making it one of the top-performing stocks overall.

Strong sales growth driven by continued demand has been behind the share performance, with 2024 Q2 sales of $2 billion reflecting a 15% change year-over-year. Below is a chart illustrating the company’s sales on a quarterly basis.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Shares trade at elevated valuation multiples, reflective of investors' growth expectations. The forward 12-month earnings multiple presently sits at 66.7X, though its PEG ratio of 3.8X is well below the 4.4X five-year median.

The stock has historically traded at rich multiples, as shown below. The stock carries a Value Style Score of ‘F’.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

DaVita Enjoys Margin Expansion

DaVita is a leading provider of dialysis services in the U.S. to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The stock is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with expectations moving higher across all timeframes.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The valuation picture here for DaVita looks to be decently enticing, with the forward 12-month earnings multiple of 14.0X primarily in line with historical levels. In addition, the PEG ratio works out to 0.8X, reflecting a bargain relative to the growth expected. Typically, a PEG ratio beneath 1.0 indicates both growth and value.

Additionally, the stock sports a Style Score of ‘A’ for Value.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company has also enjoyed margin expansion over recent quarters, unlocking higher profitability. Please note that the chart below is on a trailing twelve-month basis.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

Stocks making new highs tend to make even higher highs, particularly when positive earnings estimate revisions hit the tape.

That’s precisely what all three stocks above ­– Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report), SharkNinja (SN - Free Report), and DaVita (DVA - Free Report) – have enjoyed recently, with each sporting a favorable Zacks Rank and seeing their shares trade near 52-week highs.

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