I know what you’re thinking. “This guy is nuts! He thinks there’s always a good stock to buy in any market.” Well…yes, I do. Even during the darkest days of the nastiest bear market in the history of the world there were stocks that went up. Granted, it’s not as easy when the breadth is so negative. But how many days have you seen where there isn’t a single stock in the entire universe that is in the green? I haven’t.

I vividly remember a day in 2008 when 499 stocks in the S&P 500 were down while a single name was up. I still remember the name of that stock too. Sure a market that is doing well definitely makes it easier to find these stocks. But using the Zacks Rank is a pretty good way to find them too.

Pretty much every portfolio we have over here at Zacks did very well as the market rebounded. In many cases we’ve outpaced the market during the rebound. Whether a bull market or bear market the story remains the same. You want to keep an eye out for stocks with earnings estimate revisions that keep coming in more and more bullish. Let’s face it, the average investor just doesn’t have the time to dedicate to a single company’s earnings as an analyst does. They know something we don’t. And if they’re all changing their tunes, maybe we should follow suit.

So here I’ve put together a list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks that have a Zacks Momentum Style Score of “B” or better. The final wrinkle I like to throw in is these stocks are also within 10% of their 52-week highs. Think about the power of that. In a market that’s been thrashing around like a tuna on deck, these stocks are standing in strong and nearly breaking to new highs.

Energy Focus (EFOI - Snapshot Report)

Energy Focus designs, develops, manufactures and markets fiber optic lighting systems for wide-ranging uses in both the general commercial and the pool and spa lighting markets. Energy Focus' EFO system, introduced offers energy savings, heat dissipation and maintenance cost benefits over conventional lighting for multiple applications.

Rocket ship are the first two words that come to mind when I’m looking at the EFOI chart. Shares have been taking off since bouncing around the $4 range this last spring. Now we’re talking about a $21 stock. That’s a remarkable run. The commodity channel index (CCI) has only dropped below the zero line twice since late April. Tons of momentum in this name.

Express (EXPR - Snapshot Report)

Express, Inc. is a specialty retailer of women's and men's apparel in the United States. The Company operates retail outlets in high-traffic shopping malls, lifestyle centers and street locations across the United States. It also sells its products through its e-commerce website, express.com. Express targets women and men between 20 and 30 years of age. The Company offers its customers an edited assortment of apparel and accessories to address fashion needs across multiple aspects of their lifestyles, including work, casual and going-out occasions. 

A bit more mild than the rocketing action we saw with the last stock but that doesn’t mean that you should sleep on EXPR. A big earnings beat took shares from below $17 to over $20 in just a few short days. The previous topside resistance in the high $19s should provide some support now.

Oclaro (OCLR - Snapshot Report)

Oclaro, with headquarters in San Jose, California, is a tier 1 provider of high performance optical components, modules and subsystems to the telecommunications market, and is one of the largest providers to metro and long haul network applications. Oclaro, the result of the combination of Bookham, Inc. and Avanex Corporation, leverages proprietary core technologies and vertically integrated product development to provide its customers with cost-effective and innovative optical devices, modules and subsystems. Its photonic technologies also serve selected potential high growth markets, including industrial, defense, life sciences, semiconductor, and scientific, with diversification providing both significant potential revenue streams and strategic technological advantage. 

It’s not often that I point out stocks trading below $5 but this one has shown some real strength. Coming off a bottom below $1.50 in February, consistently higher earnings estimate revisions have helped pushed the stock up close to $3. The shaky market offered up a chance to get this stock below $2.50. When the market came to its senses the rally continued and now shares sit near $2.75.

Constellation Brands (STZ - Analyst Report)

Constellation Brands, Inc. is a leading international producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands, with a broad portfolio across the wine, spirits and imported beer categories. The Company is the largest multi-category supplier of beverage alcohol in the United States; a leading producer and exporter of wine from Australia and New Zealand; and both a major producer and independent drinks wholesaler in the United Kingdom

In direct contrast to the very small OCLR, Constellation Brands is a huge alcohol distributor that’s recovered nicely from the market downturn. Heading into the volatility shares were scraping $130, ready to rally further after making the move from $115 in just under a month. Now shares have recovered from a rough Monday outing where prices dipped below that $115 level. Look for this stock to take out previous highs in the short term.

Ixia (XXIA - Snapshot Report)

Ixia is a leading provider of performance test systems for IP-based infrastructure and services. It is highly scalable solutions generate, capture, characterize, and emulate network and application traffic, establishing definitive performance and conformance metrics of network devices or systems under test. Its test systems are used by network and telephony equipment manufacturers, semiconductor manufacturers, service providers, governments, and enterprises to validate the functionality and reliability of complex IP networks, devices, and applications. 

After sitting relatively dormant for an extended consolidation from March to August, a big earnings beat woke a sleeping giant. Ixia shares have been shot out of the cannon, jumping from $12.50 to $16 in under a week. Now a retrace to the top of the initial earnings gap provides support to the downside. The 52-week high is less than a dollar away.