Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 03/14/2025

The market has been topsy-turvy lately … These are some of the standout stories. 

• HOT: Data remains in demand, as evidenced by Flotek Industries’ (NYSE: FTK) recent performance; LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) smashes expectations 
• NOT: Why investors are cautious about Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) right now, and long-term woes for Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC)

P.S. For more stocks making moves, check out our new Zen Ratings Upgrades & Downgrades screener.

🔥 HOT: Chemical analysis and data analytics company Flotek Industries (NYSE: FTK) gained 18.0% on Wednesday after an SEC report revealed that the company’s revenue and profit numbers are significantly better than expected. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings on Monday as well, showing an EPS of $0.22 and revenue of $50.76 million. The EPS was more than double consensus estimates, while the revenue numbers were only 1.9% higher than expected. Our internal analysis gives FTK an A rating in Sentiment and B ratings in Growth and Momentum, leading to an overall Zen Rating of B and a Buy recommendation.

🥶 NOT: Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) stock rose by 4.6% on Wednesday but that doesn’t change our overall opinion of the company. Intel could be getting a much-needed shot in the arm in the form of a deal with TSMC that would include the latter company running Intel’s new U.S.-based foundries. While that could be a major advantage for Intel going forward, rumors and maybes are not enough to erase the 54% INTC has dropped in the last year. We still give INTC a D rating for Growth, Momentum, and Financials, and an overall Zen Rating of F.

🔥 HOT: LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) reported fourth-quarter earnings last Wednesday, exceeding its EPS projections by a whopping 691% and its revenue predictions by a comparatively modest 10.6%. The stock gained 22.5% post-earnings before falling back to Earth over the last week, losing 16.6% by Tuesday’s close. Wednesday saw another gain of 11.4% after an SEC filing revealed that the company’s COO, Peyree Scott, bought just over 5,000 shares of the company worth a little more than $200,000. We like TREE right now and think that its current level represents an excellent value given its growth potential. Our analysis gives TREE B ratings for Growth and Financials and an A rating for Sentiment, meaning the “Smart Money” crowd is into it. The post-earnings rise and fall has given TREE more volatility than usual, but we still give the stock an overall Zen Rating of A.

🥶 NOT: In many ways, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been a tale of two stocks lately. It’s still the most valuable publicly-traded company, with a market cap of $3.3 trillion, and it still has legions of rabid fans, but it’s also down 12.8% YTD and has struggled to convince the broader market that it still has something new to offer in 2025. AAPL dropped by 1.8% on Wednesday amid a larger market selloff despite rumors that the long-awaited foldable iPhone could go into mass production as early as next year. Apple is also late to the AI party and, while it always plays its cards close to the vest with new features, it seems like it might have trouble catching up. For these reasons, we give AAPL a C Zen Rating and a Hold recommendation until its future direction becomes clearer.

What to Do Next?

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