Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Are Secretly Monitoring But Not Talking About Yet

Investors are on the hunt for undervalued, underfollowed and emerging stocks, and retail traders have countless methods at their disposal to uncover new information.

For some, this may be overwhelming.

Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks each week that are just under the surface and warrant attention.

The index layers editorial commentary to help make sense of why these stocks should be of interest and whether investors and casual readers should watch them.

Here is a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of June 29, 2023.

Joby Aviation JOBY: The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company saw shares soar during the week after it received a Special Airworthiness Certificate. The certification will allow the company to begin flight testing for its production prototype. Joby expects the aircraft to be used for logistics at Edwards Air Force Base in 2024 as part of a $131 million contract with the U.S. Air Force.

“Today’s achievement is the culmination of years of investment in our processes and technology and it marks a major step on our journey to scaled production,” Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said.

Joby announced a SPAC merger in 2021 to go public with investors in the company including Uber Technologies, Toyota Motor Corp, Baillie Gifford, Intel Corp and JetBlue Airways Corp. The company plans to launch its commercial passenger business line in 2025 with cities like Chicago, New York City, Dallas, Washington D.C., Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco mentioned previously.

Minerva Neurosciences NERV: The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company saw shares rise this week after a $20 million investment from Boehringer Ingelheim and Federates Hermes Kaufmann Funds was announced. The private placement was priced at a premium to where shares were trading, sending them higher. The company will use the proceeds to support its efforts for regulatory approval and market launch of the schizophrenia symptom drug roluperidone.

Carnival Corporation CCL: The cruise line operator reported second-quarter results Monday. Second quarter revenue of $4.91 billion beat a Street consensus estimate of $4.77 billion. The company’s earnings per share also beat analysts’ estimates for the quarter. Carnival said it was seeing strong booking demand, with CEO Josh Weinstein calling volumes “tremendous.”

While Carnival shares sold off initially after the earnings report Monday, they hit new 52-week highs later in the week after seeing strong support from analysts. Several analysts raised their price targets on the stock after the earnings report, including Jefferies going from $9 to $25 and upgrading shares from Hold to Buy.

TRxADE Health MEDS: The health services IT company finds its way into the Stock Whisper Index for a second straight week, seeing strong interest from readers. The company's shares have rocketed higher by around 200% year-to-date in 2023. The surge came after news of a reverse stock split created a float of less than 700,000 shares. The stock experienced several halts due to volatility as traders identified it as a low-float security. Shares sold off this week after news of an acquisition of Superlatus, a food products and distribution company. Shareholders of Superlatus will be paid with TRxADE shares.

Direxion Small Cap Bull 3X Shares TNA: The ETF finds itself in the Stock Whisper Index after seeing a sharp rise in interest from readers. The ETF from Direxion seeks to have results that are 300% of the performance of the Russell 2000 Index, which tracks 2,000 small-cap companies in the U.S. and is considered a benchmark for many small-cap mutual funds.

The ETF also found itself in the Benzinga index in January from increased interest. The recent surge in attention could coincide with the end of the first six months of the year, as investors place bets on the second half of 2023.

Check out the most recent Stock Whisper reports here:

June 9

June 16

June 23

Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.

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