These stocks have earnings momentum going into earnings season

Published Tue, Jul 12 20222:00 PM EDTUpdated Tue, Jul 12 20222:15 PM EDT

As investors ready themselves for what's expected to be a rough earnings season, CNBC Pro found stocks that are actually seeing their estimates raised by analysts going into results. Many investors are expecting second-quarter earnings reports to fall broadly short of expectations, as rising inflation and a hawkish Federal Reserve continue to weigh on corporate balance sheets. Stocks on Tuesday vacillated back and forth on fears of weakening global growth. Still, a number of names surfaced in a screen are gaining momentum, according to FactSet data. The second-quarter and full-year consensus estimates for these companies have risen by at least 5% in the last three months. These stocks have outperformed the S & P 500 over the past three months and are considered buying opportunities by a majority of analysts. Here is the list: A succession of commodities stocks made the list. Energy stocks may be off their highs, but they have rallied significantly this year on the back of rising oil prices. JPMorgan recently called the pullback in the sector a buying opportunity . Current quarter and full-year estimates for energy names such as Devon Energy , Marathon Petroleum , Phillips 66 , Pioneer Natural Resources , Valero Energy and Williams Companies have spiked from estimates just three months prior. For example, current 2022 estimates for Phillips 66 and Valero jumped 65% and 126%, respectively. A pair of chip stocks Analog Devices and ON Semiconductor also surfaced. Analog Devices last month was named a top pick among chip stocks by Citi because of its defensive attributes. ON Semiconductor was also favored by the investment bank for its margin upside. Analysts raised earnings 2022 earnings estimates for Analog Devices by nearly 10% over the past three months, according to FactSet. Meanwhile, estimates for ON Semiconductor increased 17%. Ulta Beauty was a notable consumer noncyclical pick. The beauty retailer last month was upgraded to a strong buy by analysts at Raymond James, who said Ulta is "well positioned" to weather a recession as consumers are less likely to trade down from beauty brands as they are with other retail purchases. Current-quarter and full-year estimates for the stock jumped nearly 10% and 9%, respectively, from three months ago. Other names that surfaced include D.R. Horton , Enphase Energy , Monolithic Power Systems and Regions Financial . —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.