Best Stocks: What to do with two 'Best Stock' names that are failing

CNBC

2 days ago

(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — We're writing up stocks here all the time and doing our best to identify set-ups with either a strong ongoing trend, a technical catalyst on the horizon or something fundamental we think deserves exploring. While many of our stock write-ups have resulted in singles and doubles so far this summer, they don't all cooperate. Today, we're going to follow up on two names we've recently talked about that are still on the list, but in danger of falling off. The goal of this exercise is to share the other side with you — when Best Stocks fall off. But first, let's check in on where the list stands today. Sector Leaderboard As of 7/21/2025, there are 142 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top Sector Ranking: Top industries: Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: Spotlight: Sean — Market breadth measures how many stocks are participating in a market move, offering a deeper view of underlying strength beyond index-level performance. It's a look under the hood to see what's powering the market. When breadth is strong — meaning a large number of individual stocks are advancing, or are above a certain moving average, or have a certain indicator/reading — it signals broad investor confidence and healthy market participation, not just gains concentrated in a few large names. Market-wide participation reduces the risk of fragility in the rally and suggests that momentum is sustainable. Strong breadth has historically aligned with bull markets, making it a bullish signal for investors tracking the durability of uptrends. While strong breadth points to a healthy market, it doesn't mean every stock is firing on all cylinders. Identifying laggards during a broad uptrend can be just as insightful as spotting the leaders. By examining the names that remain on our watchlist but are no longer showing ideal technical set-ups, we can better understand where momentum may be fading — or where risks are quietly building. We thought it would be interesting to see what names are still on the list, but technically are not setting up the way we'd like. Both of these names we mentioned in an earlier piece, and both recently broke below their 50-day moving averages. Expand Energy This is a 1-year chart of Expand Energy Corp (EXE) : We mentioned this on May 22, noting some fundamentals on the stock. It is one of the largest natural gas producers in the U.S. The stock broke through its 50-day moving average to start July and nearly tumbled to its 200-day moving average for the first time since the election. If this stock breaks below its 200-day, which is around the bottom level of support it's been building in the $100 range, the stock will have some further downside risk. Risk Management: Josh here — Above I am showing you the highly correlated peak for EXE stock and the spot natural gas price. Nat gas is down over 12% over the last month while crude oil is off 8%. This weakness in the underlying commodity prices has affected stocks like EXE across the sector. The recent firming up in energy commodity prices should enable Expand to hold its rising 200-day support level just above $100 per share. Both Mizuho and UBS have recently reiterated price targets in the 140s. For investors, I would leave it on this leash, checking back at the end of every week. Shorter-term traders should already be out of the name, watching from the sidelines to see if it sets up again. Momentum is almost washed out at a 40 RSI but it's not completely de-risked. Deere & Co Sean — Below is Deere (DE) , a stock we mentioned on June 5, with one of my favorite titles thus far: "An 'AI wolf in sheep's clothing' with a great entry point for investors": Similar to EXE, the stock broke below its 50 day moving average, and is threatening the support it's been building since it broke out this spring. Risk Management: Josh here — Deere deserves the benefit of the doubt given the recent pullback has not gotten anywhere near the rising 200-day but it bears watching. The company will report earnings on Wednesday morning August 13th before the market opens. The stock rallied hard after its last report despite giving relatively tame guidance, making an all-time high at $528 before pulling back. Tariffs are still a concern here and should the rhetoric from the White House continue to ratchet up, they may continue to sell this name. Shorter-term traders may want to watch from the sidelines rather than battle against the sellers. Taken together, these technical breakdowns in names like EXE and DE serve as reminders that even in broadly healthy markets, not every stock is participating. The optimistic take is, if we can see support in these names, these could be buying opportunities, but we have to let price dictate that. Monitoring these minor breakdowns alongside market leaders helps investors separate structural strength from surface-level momentum. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.