An 8-Day Winning Streak Has Fortive Stock Up 14%
Fortive (FTV) stock has risen for 8 consecutive trading days, gaining 14.5% over that stretch. That added about $2.5 billion to the company’s market value, which now stands at about $19.8 billion. The stock closed at $65.84 on Thursday, October 29, its highest close of the past year.
The Streak Next To The S&P 500
Returns for FTV and the S&P 500 over the streak and the periods around it, all ending Thursday, October 29 and including dividends:
| Return Period | FTV | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | 2.7% | -0.3% |
| 8 Days (Current Streak) | 14.5% | 0.4% |
| 1 Month (21 Trading Days) | 20.1% | 1.0% |
| 3 Months (63 Trading Days) | 11.3% | 3.3% |
| Year To Date | 19.6% | 13.8% |
| 1 Year (252 Trading Days) | 34.5% | 13.3% |
Is This Move About Fortive Or The Market?
Over the same 8 trading days, the S&P 500 returned +0.4% including dividends, so the run is mostly Fortive’s own story rather than the market’s. 2 other S&P 500 stocks are currently on winning streaks of 8 days or longer. Over the past three months the stock is up 11.3%, a window that includes the streak; over the other 55 sessions of that window it was down 2.8%.
What The Numbers Say About The Rally
On the fundamentals, revenue grew 7.0% over the last twelve months, against a median of 7.9% for S&P 500 Industrials stocks; its operating margin is 19.6%, versus a median of 17.6%; and the stock trades at 30.3 times trailing earnings against a median of 26.9. The read is mixed: margins above the median on one side, revenue growth below the median on the other.
A climb like this is worth respecting, and worth testing. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks the stocks whose companies just raised their own forward numbers.
Momentum Is A Tailwind, Not A Plan
Riding a stock that rises every day feels effortless, and that is precisely the danger: the same momentum that built this run can reverse without notice, and one name’s reversal should never be able to reset your whole year.
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