Best Swing Trade Stocks

Looking for swing trading stocks? Benzinga is here to inspire you with a few stocks that are perfect for swing trading. The markets are constantly fluctuating, and these stocks regularly change to help you make informed decisions. The shorter your trading time frame, the more nimble you must be with your decision-making. Swing trading is much riskier than buying and holding, so get out of bad trades quickly and set profit-taking targets on your winners.

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Contributor, Benzinga
March 18, 2024

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. It is known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity suite. The company is organized into three equally sized broad segments: productivity and business processes (legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, Dynamics), intelligence cloud (infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings Azure, Windows Server OS, SQL Server), and more personal computing (Windows Client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface laptops, tablets, and desktops).

$418.3092
1.8892[0.45%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open414.250Close-
Vol / Avg.10.021M / 23.737MMkt Cap3.108T
Day Range413.780 - 420.73052 Wk Range259.210 - 427.820

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. This equipment includes diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Caterpillar operates under 4 business segments — construction industries, resource industries, energy and transportation and financial products.

The construction stock has a market cap of $87 billion and an EPS of $7.45. It has an annual dividend yield of $4.12 per share. Caterpillar has high liquidity and trades more than 2.1 million shares per day and generated revenue $53 billion in 2019.

$352.3504
5.3804[1.55%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open348.080Close-
Vol / Avg.1.157M / 2.628MMkt Cap175.956B
Day Range347.860 - 352.04052 Wk Range204.040 - 347.290

Kellanova (NYSE:K)

Founded in 1906, Kellogg is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of cereal, cookies, crackers, and other packaged foods. Its offerings are manufactured in 21 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries. Its product mix includes well-known brands such as Special K, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Kashi, and Morningstar Farms. The firm added the Pringles brand to its mix in 2012. Sales outside its home turf account for around 40% of Kellogg’s consolidated sales base. The firm intends to split its global snacking arm from its North American cereal and plant-based alternative segments by the end of calendar 2023.

$54.985
1.425[2.66%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open53.410Close-
Vol / Avg.1.743M / 3.270MMkt Cap18.792B
Day Range53.410 - 55.20052 Wk Range47.625 - 72.300

Cabaletta Bio (NASDAQ:CABA)

Cabaletta Bio Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of engineered T cell therapies, and exploring their potential to provide a deep and durable, perhaps curative, treatment, for patients with B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. Its proprietary technology utilizes Chimeric AutoAntibody Receptor, or CAAR, T cells that are designed to selectively bind and eliminate only specific B cells that produce disease-causing autoantibodies, or pathogenic B cells, while sparing normal B cells. Its CAAR T cell product candidate was designed based on the clinically validated and commercially approved Chimeric Antigen Receptor, or CAR, T cell technology that is marketed for the treatment of B cell cancers.

$18.31
-0.43[-2.29%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open18.470Close-
Vol / Avg.565.710K / 956.872KMkt Cap784.573M
Day Range17.200 - 19.06052 Wk Range5.880 - 26.350

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple designs a wide variety of consumer electronic devices, including smartphones (iPhone), tablets (iPad), PCs (Mac), smartwatches (Apple Watch), AirPods, and TV boxes (Apple TV), among others. The iPhone makes up the majority of Apple’s total revenue. In addition, Apple offers its customers a variety of services such as Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Care, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Card, and Apple Pay, among others. Apple’s products run internally developed software and semiconductors, and the firm is well known for its integration of hardware, software and services. Apple’s products are distributed online as well as through company-owned stores and third-party retailers. The company generates roughly 40% of its revenue from the Americas, with the remainder earned internationally.

$175.12
2.50[1.45%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open175.570Close-
Vol / Avg.46.299M / 59.641MMkt Cap2.704T
Day Range174.740 - 177.71052 Wk Range149.920 - 199.620

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce Inc provides enterprise cloud computing solutions. The company offers customer relationship management technology that brings companies and customers together. Its Customer 360 platform helps the group to deliver a single source of truth, connecting customer data across systems, apps, and devices to help companies sell, service, market, and conduct commerce. It also offers Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing campaigns, Commerce Cloud as an e-commerce engine, the Salesforce Platform, which allows enterprises to build applications, and other solutions, such as MuleSoft for data integration.

$298.50
4.17[1.42%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open299.620Close-
Vol / Avg.2.452M / 5.862MMkt Cap289.545B
Day Range296.020 - 299.62052 Wk Range178.210 - 318.715

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR)

Ingersoll Rand was formed through the merger of Gardner Denver and Ingersoll Rand’s industrial segment. The firm’s portfolio consists of two business lines: industrial technologies and services and precision and science technologies. Ingersoll Rand serves a variety of end markets, including industrial, medical, and energy. Its broad portfolio of products includes compression, blower and vacuum, and fluid management. Ingersoll Rand generated roughly $5.2 billion in revenue in 2021.

$91.275
0.805[0.89%]
Last update: 2:02PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open91.060Close-
Vol / Avg.517.832K / 2.527MMkt Cap36.824B
Day Range90.460 - 91.76052 Wk Range51.840 - 92.439

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET)

Arista Networks, Inc. develops, markets and sells cloud networking solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

$287.7377
10.0077[3.60%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open282.099Close-
Vol / Avg.1.792M / 2.256MMkt Cap89.956B
Day Range281.045 - 288.46052 Wk Range131.680 - 292.660

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Starbucks Corporation and its subsidiaries operate as a roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide, operating through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development.

$91.33
1.21[1.34%]
Last update: 2:03PM (Delayed 15-Minutes)
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Open90.750Close-
Vol / Avg.3.478M / 8.610MMkt Cap103.406B
Day Range90.530 - 91.42552 Wk Range89.210 - 115.480

Day trading might sound like a fun way to make a living, but it’s a hard game for new traders to break into. Not only do day traders need high-tech stock scanners to locate stocks with potential, but the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has strict rules in place limiting who can day trade. Remember, you must take great pains to get certified and learn the trade before you start spending your hard-earned money.

Unless you have an account balance of $25,000, you’ll be limited to 3-day trades in a rolling 5-day period. That means if you complete 3-day trades on Monday and open a new position on Tuesday, you’ll need to hold that position overnight to avoid getting flagged with a pattern day trader (PDT) violation. But most brokers won’t even let a 4th-day trade execute — and you could be stuck holding the bag. Weigh these risks against the rewards that might be out there before making that next trade.

To avoid these FINRA restrictions, many investors use swing trading. Swing trading is still a short-term trading strategy but stocks are held overnight to avoid the PDT rules. Swing traders hold stocks for 24 hours to 2 days hoping to profit off high volume swings like short squeezes or earnings beats (misses). 

Your swing trading strategy should match your needs overall, but you need to look at what a price move is doing to your strategy today, an exit point for these investments and stocks to swing trade today.

Quick Look at the Best Swing Trade Stocks:

Overview: What Are Swing Trade Stocks?

Swing traders expose themselves to the most volatile moves by holding overnight, however, the profits can be exponentially higher, especially if using options. The best stocks for swing trading are ones with known catalysts, high volume and enough volatility to make short-term trading profitable. Remember, your trading plan should dictate what you do and you should use stop loss orders to protect yourself.

Sectors matter little when swing trading, nor do fundamentals. This is not investing for the long term, so technical signals matter more than price ratios and debt loads. A company with a mountain of long-term debt and dry cash flow can still be a perfectly profitable swing trade. At the same time, you may need to move away from that asset for a while before you try a swing trade in the future.

Successful swing traders have to be nimble with their convictions — a stock with accumulating volume ahead of earnings might be one to sell short instead of buy. Swing traders use a variety of different strategies to enhance profits, but the stocks they look for all share a few common characteristics. At the same time, good characteristics might not be enough for your portfolio. Do your research, only invest in assets you understand and construct your portfolio in a manner that matches your strategy. Don’t just go along with the crowd when there are so many stocks to choose from because you can trade stocks in your own time, use the trading system you prefer and look for price action that works best for you.

At the same time, you might circle back to certain assets over time. What does this mean? You might swing trade a stock in the next few days, and you might go back to it in a few months because it presents yet another option for you to make money. At the same time, you need to be sure that the trade you’re planning can last as long as needed so that you can make money. Some swing trades won’t work out because of the timeframe, and that’s alright.

You can find options online to help you get started swing trading. Mindful Trader provides stock picks and options picks, but it can also teach you the trading strategy behind them. The Mindful Trader approach is based on data and statistics. Sign on for support from Mindful Trader for just a flat $47 per month.

Best Online Brokers for Swing Trade Stocks

Swing trading and long-term investing are completely different animals, so you’ll need a broker that fits your needs. Swing traders should look for brokers with $0 commission or discounts on high-volume trading. Remember, not every broker is the same, and you should choose the bonuses, interface and information you prefer.

You don't need a $25,000 account balance to swing trade, but you’ll likely need a margin account if you want to sell short or swing trade with options. Remember, margin trading comes with quite a bit of risk, but it can be profitable if managed well. And since the best swing trading stocks are often thinly-traded small caps with only a handful of shares available, make sure your broker has a wide assortment of stocks to trade. You should also make sure that the platform is so easy to use that you can make snap decisions without waiting for the broker to catch up.

Features to Look for in Swing Trade Stocks

When searching for swing trading stocks, don’t look at debt levels or price-earnings ratios. Those stats might matter for a company’s long-term prospects, but swing traders care about where a stock will be a couple of days, not a couple of years or decades. This is why swing trading tactics are so important because every trade opportunity is different, and you must seize the moment when you can.

Here’s what to look for if you want to get into swing trading.

  1. Catalyst: Most swing trades begin by locating a catalyst that could trigger a powerful move in a stock. This could be a clinical trial in a pharmaceutical company, an unexpected earnings miss or beat, or even the removal of an executive or CEO. 
  1. Volume: Big moves in short time frames are impossible without significant volume in the stock. Sure, lightly-traded stocks can be coerced into big moves without much volume. But in the majority of your swing trades look for stocks with more volume than usual.
  1. Volatility: With great volume comes great volatility. Volatile stocks are good swing trading stocks because swing traders profit from large, short-term moves. A stock trading in a tight weekly range likely won’t produce a ton of opportunities for profit. But if 5% moves are occurring daily, you’ll find plenty of chances for swing trades.
  2. Information: You need information on these stocks if you plan to swing trade. Remember, if you can’t pull up the information, you might not want to swing trade. If you cannot properly research an asset, why would you invest in it? For more data, you can check out Benzinga every day as there’s always new news, current events and figures for investors to review.

Swing Trading for Short-Term Profits

Swing trading is not a long-term investing strategy. In fact, it’s not even really investing at all. The stock market is an accounting system for long-term financial prospects and investors use it to get a piece of those (eventual) profits. But swing traders look at the market differently. By using technical trading signals in volatile markets, swing traders can make great profits in short time periods. Swing trading requires precision and quickness, but you also need a short memory.

You will have a trade blow-up when swing trading; how you react determines how successful you can be as a swing trader in the long run. Remember, you can adjust your portfolio at any time, and you can use these stocks to your advantage. If they don’t seem to offer the performance or results that you desire, you can move on to other assets.

You cannot swing trade everything, and you cannot build diversity in your portfolio if you don’t plan to hold some items and sell others. That’s the nature of investing. Nothing is perfect, nothing can be thought of as sacred and there are times when you simply need to move on. You could, however, come back to these assets in the future if they suit you once more.

Want to learn more? Check out Benzinga’s guides to the best swing trading coursesbest online brokeragesfree stock trading and best stocks under $5. You can learn more about market conditions, resistance levels, trendlines and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Can you become wealthy swing trading?

A

Swing trading can produce higher returns than the averages, but you must have a good strategy and be alert for changes.

Q

How much do you need to start swing trading?

A

The best amount is between $5,000 and $10,000.

Q

Where can I find good swing trade stocks?

A

You can find a list of Benzinga’s recommendations for swing trade stocks above.

About Dan Schmidt

Dan Schmidt is a finance writer passionate about helping readers understand how assets and markets work. He has over six years of writing experience, focused on stocks. His work has been published by Vanguard, Capital One, PenFed Credit Union, MarketBeat, and Fora Financial. Dan lives in Bucks County, PA with his wife and enjoys summers at Citizens Bank Park cheering on the Phillies.