Axon(US:AXON) ZACKS·2024-08-12 13:01Economic Indicators - The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite gained 2%, 3%, and 3.3% respectively last week [1] - Initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended August 3, 2024, marking the largest drop in about 11 months [1] - The Services PMI for July registered at 51.4, up from 48.8 in June, indicating expansion in the services sector for the 47th time in 50 months [2] Company Performance - Elme Communities (ELME) shares increased by 10.4% since being upgraded to Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) on June 7, outperforming the S&P 500's 0.3% decrease [3] - New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) shares returned 5.5% since its upgrade to Zacks Rank 2 on June 14, also outperforming the S&P 500 [3] - La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB) and GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft (GEAGF) shares advanced by 7.8% and 11.7% respectively since their upgrade to Outperform on June 21 [6] Portfolio Performance - A hypothetical portfolio of Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) stocks returned +6.1% year-to-date through April 1, 2024, compared to +11.3% for the S&P 500 [3] - The Zacks Focus List model portfolio returned +31.44% in 2023, outperforming the S&P 500's +26.28% [8] - The Zacks Earnings Certain Admiral Portfolio (ECAP) returned +9.08% year-to-date through March 31, 2024, compared to +10.42% for the S&P 500 [9] Long-term Performance - The Zacks Model Portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 index by over 16 percentage points since 1988, with an annualized return of +27.6% compared to +11.1% for the S&P 500 [4] - The Zacks Top 10 portfolio has produced a cumulative return of +1,060.9% since 2012, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's +360.1% [12][14]