Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don't Talk About Yet

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

Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance of information to uncover new opportunities and understand why certain stocks should be of interest.

Here's a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week ending May 2:

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM): Precious metal and gold stocks continue to see increase interest from Benzinga readers and this week's article highlights Wheaton Precious Metals. The company's stock is near 52-week highs, but could head higher with continued record highs for gold and upcoming financial results from the company. Analysts expect the company to report first-quarter earnings per share of 50 cents on May 8. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in four of the last five quarters. Analysts expect the company to report quarterly revenue of $436.5 million, up from $296.8 million in last year's first quarter. The company has missed analyst estimates for revenue in three straight quarters and seven of the last 10 quarters overall. A turnaround in revenue and another beat in earnings per share could strengthen the bullish case for the stock. Several analysts have upgraded the stock’s price targets ahead of earnings.

Wheaton Precious Metals shares were down slightly on the week, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below, while shares are up over 50% in the last year.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK): The utility company saw increased interest from investors during the week, which could be related to the company's size, its industry or its dividend yield. The interest is also likely coming with the company set to report first-quarter financial results on May 6. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of $1.61, up from $1.44 in last year's first quarter. The company has missed earnings per share estimates in six of the last 10 quarters. Analysts expect the company to report revenue of $8.06 billion, up from $7.67 billion in last year's first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in four straight quarters and eight of the last 10 quarters overall. With the stock trading near 52-week highs, investors will likely be expecting a double beat and not a mixed quarter like many of the previous ones have been.

Nutanix Inc (NASDAQ:NTNX): The software company continues to see strong interest from readers and after several weeks of consideration as a stock to highlight makes this week's list. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter financial results on May 28, which is several weeks away. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share and revenue in each of the last eight straight quarters. Investors may be paying attention ahead of the financial results in a company that has shown impressive growth.

"During our second quarter we delivered outperformance across our guided metrics. Our results are benefitting from the strength of the Nutanix Cloud Platform," Nutanix CEO Rajiv Ramaswami said after second-quarter results.

The CEO said the company was working on delivering sustainable, profitable growth and also highlighted a new revolving credit facility and the issuance of convertible notes to help with future growth.

MercadoLibre Inc (NASDAQ:MELI): The Latin American e-commerce giant saw increased interest during the week, which could be related to comments made by the company's CEO. MercadoLibre CEO Marcos Galperin said Latin America companies could be winners in a U.S.-China trade war. Galperin said Mexico and other countries could benefit, comments that could make the e-commerce company more attractive to investors. MercadoLibre is set to report first-quarter financial results on May 7. Analysts expect the company to report first-quarter earnings per share of $8.30, up from $6.78 in last year's first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in three of the last four quarters and eight of the last 10 quarters overall. Analyst expect the company to report quarterly revenue of $5.51 billion, up from $4.33 billion in last year's first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in more than 10 straight quarters. Another strong quarter could see shares continue to trade near 52-week highs.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG): The natural gas company saw strong interest from readers during the week, which comes as analysts have provided mixed commentary ahead of first-quarter financial results. Some analysts raised price targets, while others lowered their price targets ahead of Q1 results set for May 8. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of $2.70 versus $2.13 in last year's first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in three straight quarters and eight of the last 10 quarters overall. Analysts expect the company to report quarterly revenue of $4.91 billion, up from $4.25 billion in last year's first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates in seven of the last 10 quarters overall. Another strong quarter and investors looking for energy stocks that could benefit from the current White House administration could make the stock a winner.