Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.

Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive earnings surprises.

2 Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist

The Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate. The core of the ESP model is comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the resulting percentage difference between the two equals the Expected Surprise Prediction.

The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to look at a qualifying stock. Exact Sciences (EXAS) holds a Zacks Rank #3 at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at -$0.75 a share 29 days away from its upcoming earnings release on April 25, 2023.

By taking the percentage difference between the -$0.75 Most Accurate Estimate and the -$0.79 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Exact Sciences has an Earnings ESP of 4.66%.

EXAS is one of just a large database of Medical stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Fate Therapeutics (FATE).

Slated to report earnings on May 3, 2023, Fate Therapeutics holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is -$0.56 a share 37 days from its next quarterly update.

Fate Therapeutics' Earnings ESP figure currently stands at 2.17% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of -$0.58.

EXAS and FATE's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're Reported

Use the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>

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Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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