With Weiss Ratings Plus, you hold the key to the Weiss Ratings kingdom.
With that key, you’ve just unlocked …
- Unprecedented access to our massive financial database. With 4,300+ data points available on 15,000 Weiss-rated stocks.
- Unlimited use of our real-time proprietary one-click stock reports. Our Special Screeners and Special Reports update daily. So there are always new ideas waiting when you log in.
- And our ultimate stock-picking tool, the Stock Ratings Analyst. This interactive feature lets you discover stocks the same way our Weiss analysts do.
Your membership also entitles you to brand-new features upgraded regularly.
Features that make it easier to find the stocks you want to own …
And avoid the ones you don’t.
Your brand-new feature for May 2025 is …
A Monthly ‘State of the Ratings’
Starting today, we’ll send you The State of the Ratings.
That is, a guide to what we — your Ratings and Research Team — discover within the Weiss Ratings data. That includes …
What’s new in the ratings.
New data comes in every day. That means new prices, new ratings and new trends you can follow. Often before the crowd catches on.
We’ll also share what the data is showing us behind the scenes. Plus new ways the Weiss Ratings Plus can help you play in your own unique way.
Plus, our ratings and the data that power them are often in the news. We’ll also share our latest media coverage.
The newest Weiss “Buys."
Every stock rated "Buy" by Weiss Ratings has delivered an extraordinary average return of 303% — that’s even including all the losers — over the past 22 years.
The next class of buys, which you can access with just one click, holds that same profit potential.
Stocks to sell … now!
When a stock gets downgraded into “D” or lower territory, that’s a big warning sign. Often, more trouble lies ahead. And our signals can help you avoid it.
New Weiss Ratings Plus releases.
We’ll also use this space to showcase new features as we bring them online. The first, best and only place to learn about them is right here in your first release: the State of the Ratings.
So let’s get right to it.
What’s New in the Ratings:
Fewer, but Potentially Better, ‘Buys’
The broad market indexes are within striking distance of their early 2025 all-time highs.
Yet the stocks in “Buy” territory … those that earn an “A” or “B” … shrank since President Trump fired the opening shot in the global trade war.
That number dropped from 775 on April 2 to 668 today.
Now, higher stock prices often lead to more “Buys.” But that’s just one input into our data model.
In addition to total return, our stock ratings are grounded in long-term fundamentals.
Those don’t always correlate to short-term price moves.
When fewer stocks make the buy list, that’s primarily because of weaker scores in key underlying factor grades.
Especially in the Volatility and Growth indexes. (You’ll see this below with a stock newly downgraded to “Sell.”)
Volatile trading patterns and slower profitable growth were the biggest factors that drove stocks out of buy territory.
All that said, higher returns did play a major role in lifting some stocks.
Notably, the number of “Buys” in two sectors rose.
Consumer staples and utilities had the best improvement in terms of more “Buy” ratings over the past six weeks.
That’s partly because investors rotated toward defensive sectors amid fears of a downturn.
They also rotated away from energy. That sector had led during the early part of 2025. But then oil tanked on tariff uncertainty.
As you can tell, the lower number of “Buy”-rated stocks does not mean less opportunity.
In fact, it could mean more opportunity.
That’s because the stocks left standing are battle-tested survivors, showing their true colors through turbulent times.
The ‘Buys’ Have It
Again, there are 668 stocks rated “Buy” right now.
You can find that number right from your Stock Ratings Analyst tab. Just click on Investment Rating (center) and pick all the “A”s and “B”s.
If that list doesn’t pre-populate, select the blue funnel icon next to it and select “Weiss Ratings” and then “Investment Rating.”
When that list generates, scroll to the bottom-right of that page. Today it says there are 668 buys.
The Stock Ratings Analyst helps you sort through those “Buys” — or any letter grade (or combination) — to find the best stocks for your portfolio.
For example, if you want to find a solid consumer staples or a utilities stock for your portfolio …
This is the place to do it!
Above, you see we’ve already selected “A” and “B” stocks. Now we’ll hit the Filter icon (the blue funnel) and click on Industry.
You can select Consumer Staples and Utilities here. Or you can search one at a time.
The combined search gives us 54 names today.
Here are the top six:
We see two energy names, Atmos (ATO) and AltaGas (ALA.TO). Both are infrastructure plays, rather than direct plays on oil prices.
The rest? All places where consumers get groceries.
Village Super Market (VLGEA) is a pick in Nilus Mattive’s Safe Money Report. If his subscribers acted when he said they should, they’re sitting on a 35% open gain right now.
Because of their high ratings, all these stocks are worth researching today.
I say today because this list could change the moment I hit “send” on this email.
That’s the true spirit of Weiss Ratings Plus: the real-time data. Along with your ability to click on any asset to see its …
- Price.
- Ratings history.
- Balance sheet.
- Forward guidance.
- What headlines it’s making.
- Dividend payouts, if any.
- How its chart looks.
- And much more.
Combined, these should give you a good idea about why a stock earns the rating it does.
If that rating changes, you’ll have a very good idea why.
Meet a New ‘D’ List Celebrity
Consumer staples are shining. But consumer discretionary is showing signs of decline.
If you own stocks in this sector and want to see if you should put them on the chopping block, Weiss Ratings Plus can help you with that, too.
Right now, there are three easy ways to “Sell”-rated stocks.
- The Stock Ratings Analyst tool is one.
- The Wall Street’s Danger Zone: Real-Time Stocks Just Downgraded to “Sell” (Before You Get Burned) special screener is another.
- And our Sell Alert: 5 Popular Stocks You Should Avoid Like the Plague special report.
That third one just may be my favorite.
Every time I check that list (at least once a day), I see heavily traded names.
Stocks you find in all kinds of funds and individual portfolios.
Companies that, if you have our Sell Alert report bookmarked, you can exit the moment their name pops up on that list.
Take Nike (NKE), which sits right in the middle of that five-stock sell list today.
If you go to Nike’s Rating History page, you see it was downgraded to a “D+” due to a drop in our proprietary Total Return and Volatility indexes.
You’ll see both listed as “Weak” above, as is its Growth Index.
If you go to Nike’s Pricing page, you can get a simple visual of the stock’s Price History. Or you can click on Technical Chart and customize your view.
In March, shares took a tumble. That was after Nike reported its quarterly revenue had dropped 9% year-over-year.
There has been some positive action, albeit on low volume, this month. Still, the stock is well off its 2021 high around $179.
The “D”s on the chart aren’t in reference to its grade. Rather, if you click the Gear icon in the technical chart, you can show Dividends.
Nike’s Dividend History shows it’s paid a dividend for over two decades.
But it isn’t large enough to keep it off the “Sell” list. Right now, the annual dividend is $1.60, for a 2.61% yield.
The stock’s “D+” rating suggests it may not be worth waiting for its next 40-cents-per-share payment, due June 30.
If you own this popular stock, you may want to sell now.
Or maybe you have a price in mind where you’d like to exit. And maybe after using the Stock Ratings Analyst, you’ve found another stock you like better.
When you have target prices in mind to buy or sell, you don’t have to put in stop-loss or limit orders with your broker until you’re ready.
You can tell Weiss Ratings Plus, and the system will alert you when it’s time to act!
This Feature Can Give You a Break
In this market, it’s nearly impossible to stay away from your brokerage account screen.
But if you’re a disciplined investor, you probably have target prices and protective measures in place like stop-losses.
Though, those aren’t always easy to manage.
If you let your broker handle them, you could get taken out of a position before you’re ready.
Fortunately, you already have another way to keep track of those without staying glued to your trades.
Set Up a Target Price Alert
In your “How do I set up alerts?” video tutorial — part of your Weiss Ratings Plus MasterClass — you get the quick version of how to add alerts to the stocks and ETFs you want to keep track of.
But there’s more you can do with your alerts.
For instance, did you know there are several alert types you can set up beyond just when a company’s rating changes?
If you click “My Alerts” and then “Add Alert,” you can select the tab to add “All Alerts.” You can see the list here:
The last (with a green bell before it) is the one I want to focus on: “Price reaches a target.”
It’s as simple as it seems. When you click on that, you can pick a price at which you get an alert.
I used Apple (AAPL) as an example here. It was trading above $211 per share a few days ago. So, I set an alert to be notified if it fell to that price point.
Here are the alerts it sent me after that:
This may be a bit hard to see. But from bottom to top, I was alerted at every instance AAPL shares crossed the $211 price point — in both directions.
Why is this useful? Because you can use this feature in several important ways.
First, as I intended with this example, I found out the instant shares dropped below $211.
If I wanted to set a stop-loss at that price, I could have sold shares promptly before it had time to fall farther.
Then I kept getting alerts as shares jumped back above, and then back below that price point.
That means you can also use alerts to give you a heads up when a profit target is hit.
Stop losses and sticking to profit targets are two of the best ways to keep emotions out of your investing. They also offer protection and ways for you to maximize your profits.
Why Not Let Your Broker Handle These?
Sure, most brokers allow you to set up both types of orders. But that’s not necessarily the best idea.
Let’s say you enter a stop-loss order with your brokerage account for a stock you own.
Then, while you were busy with something else, it triggered some giant news story that sent shares tumbling.
That might be good if that news story kept sending shares falling. But we all know news changes fast in this market.
Plus, several stocks now trade in the 24-hour market. That opens you up to potential after-hours surprises.
Maybe you would have preferred to keep your shares and wait to see how the stock opens the following day.
Your broker doesn’t care. It followed the order you placed.
But with Weiss Ratings Plus alerts, you could have been alerted to the event AND been able to make the decision yourself about what to do.
3 Ways to See Your Alerts
Right now, the top-right corner of the Weiss Ratings website is where you can find your alert notifications.
Just click on that bell icon to see them.
Soon, we’ll be able to send alerts to your smartphone.
In fact, if you have an Android, you can go to the Google Play store and download our brand-new Weiss Ratings app.
And for OS users, take heart. Apple is reviewing our app right now. We’re hoping it will be approved soon. We’ll let you know in an upcoming State of the Ratings when that happens.
And of course, there’s email. We call those IRVING Alerts, after Dr. Martin Weiss’ dad.
Weiss In the News
Irving’s research laid the very foundation for the Weiss Ratings Plus system you’re using today.
His analysis on how safe (or how dangerous) companies appeared started a century ago.
Martin has always believed that publishing our ratings — of stocks, insurance companies, banks, mutual funds, ETFs and cryptos — empowers our consumers.
And influential people throughout the nation agree.
From state legislatures to the U.S. Congress …
From local newspapers to nationally syndicated TV stations …
Our ratings (and the data behind them) regularly make headlines. Like when:
- Weiss prompted calls for greater transparency after USAA and its affiliates denied nearly 48% of homeowner’s claims.
- Weiss analysis revealed that 13 major U.S. insurers denied 40%-70% of 3.9 million homeowner claims.
- Florida regulators issued subpoenas demanding documentation behind our warning that the state’s insurance market was nearing collapse.
Our data that shows insurers’ non- and underpayment of claims also caught the attention of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
Tornadoes recently wreaked havoc in his home state. So the issue of insurance has become a priority for him.
Hawley chairs the Senate Homeland Security subcommittee that oversees disaster management. And he presided over a May 14 hearing to investigate Allstate and State Farm.
Watch a short clip from that panel here.
Martin has always believed that the consumer is the best regulator. And empowered consumers are the true force behind a free and fair marketplace.
As a member of Weiss Ratings Plus, you have direct access to the same data that’s been helping consumers to save … and investors to make … money for more than 100 years.
And, we believe, for another 100 more to come.
Thank you for your continued trust in them … and in us.
To your success,
Dallas Brown
Publisher
P.S. Our team and I hope you found this inaugural State of the Ratings beneficial. You can send us feedback anytime via the Get in Touch tab on your members-only website. I’ll see you again next month with your June issue.
