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 16:

Realty Income Corporation O: The real estate investment trust that pays out monthly dividends saw increased interest from readers during the week. Realty Income reported first-quarter financial results on May 5 and could be seeing interest after the report. The company reported adjusted funds from operations of $1.06, meeting a Wall Street consensus estimate. This came after two straight quarters of missing analyst estimates. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.38, which beat a Street estimate of $1.31 billion. This was the sixth straight quarter of beating analyst sales estimates. The company's CEO Sumit Roy highlighted the company's "high-quality tenant base," and predictable cash flows. The stock saw several analysts raise their price targets after the report.

Realty Income stock was up slightly on the week, as shown on the Benzinga Pro chart below. Shares are up around 2% over the last year.

Simon Property Group SPG: Investors were also drawn to another REIT this week with Simon Property Group seeing increased interest after reporting first-quarter financial results on May 12. The company missed funds from operations estimates from analysts, but beat sales estimates. The company has beaten analyst estimates for sales in more than 10 straight quarters. Simon Property Group reaffirmed full-year FFO guidance of a range of $12.40 to $12.65. The company also highlighted its US Mall and Premium Outlets occupancy up 0.4% from 95.5% in last year's first quarter to 95.9% in this year's first quarter. The company also saw the opening of Jakarta Premium Outlets in Indonesia in the quarter, with Simon Property owning 50% of the mall. Stifel maintained their Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $168.5 to $180.

Cheniere Energy Inc LNG: The liquified natural gas company returns to the index after another strong week of increased interest from readers. The company reported financial results on May 8 and has found its way onto the index two times in the last four weeks. Cheniere Energy missed analyst estimates for earnings per share, which was only the second miss in the last 10 quarters. The company beat sales estimates with $5.44 billion versus an estimate of $4.91 billion. This was the second straight quarter of beating sales estimates and seventh of the last 10 overall. The company reconfirmed some of its full-year financial targets and saw shares trade down slightly on the mixed results.

Amphenol Corporation APH: The connectors and sensors company hit new all-time highs and continues to see strong interest from readers. The company reported first-quarter financial results in April with earnings per share and revenue both beating analyst estimates. In fact, the company has beaten analyst estimates for both key figures in more than 10 straight quarters. The first quarter saw sales up 48% year-over-year with strong organic growth in the IT market and organic growth in the networks markets. Contributions from recent acquisitions also helped the revenue growth. Guidance from the company for the second quarter came in ahead of analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings per share. Analysts were quick to raise their price targets after the results. The stock was up over 4% in a week that came several weeks after earnings. The stock is up around 30% over the last year and may continue to go higher with strong quarterly results.

Philip Morris International PM: The international tobacco company could be one of the stocks gaining interest from investors as a stock that could be highly insulated from the tariff impacts. The company sells tobacco products in other countries with facilities worldwide. In the United States, the company sells the Zyn nicotine pouches thanks to the acquisition of Swedish Match in 2023. The pouches are made in the United States. Philip Morris' smoke-free product lines have grown in the United States and overseas. The company has posted five straight double beat quarters with earnings per share and revenue both coming in ahead of estimates. The stock trades near an all-time high and analysts have been raising their price targets.