Are momentum stocks on the verge of a major recovery? Consider this: the iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (CBOE:MTUM) fell from $345.22 on June 22 to $302.09 on Friday, July 17, and has rebounded since. The fund sits unchanged today at $314.65 and up 24% year to date (YTD). (Note that MTUM is an unleveraged fund that periodically rebalances with volatile, shifting factor exposure.)
If last Friday’s low marked the bottom for the momentum trade, the most beaten-down high-momentum names could see outsized upside. However, a triple from today’s prices remains a very high bar, especially for unprofitable companies. Two of the three names below are unprofitable on a trailing basis, and the third is a large, richly valued software company where tripling is difficult.
Investors can treat the “could triple” idea as a high-risk, speculative, multi-year bull case, not a forecast. It mainly depends on the momentum rebound holding and each individual thesis playing out. Here are three ranked candidates.
3. ServiceNow (NOW)
ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW | NOW Price Prediction) stock trades at $94.04, down 39% YTD, giving it a TTM P/E ratio of 59x on TTM EPS of $1.60. The bull case rests on agentic AI orchestration becoming a durable growth pillar, much like cybersecurity software has stayed resilient through broader software-sector weakness.
ServiceNow delivered a strong Q2 FY2026 with revenue of $3.987 billion, up 24% year over year (YoY), and CEO Bill McDermott stated that “agentic deployments of ServiceNow AI increased ninefold in just nine months.” A Wall Street analyst target of $138.84 implies meaningful upside.
The risk is ServiceNow’s size. With a market cap above $98 billion, a triple would require the company to sustain premium AI growth for years while software multiples expand. Reddit’s r/investing community has debated whether AI capex is crowding out software demand.
2. Wolfspeed (WOLF)
Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) stock is up 51% YTD to $26.33, with no TTM P/E because Wolfspeed remains unprofitable on TTM EPS of -$13.28. The bull thesis centers on a vertically integrated silicon carbide supply chain that could inflect as SiC adoption ramps in AI data centers, industrial electrification, and grid modernization.
Following Chapter 11 emergence, Wolfspeed cleaned up its balance sheet, cutting total liabilities by 71% YoY and reducing annual interest expense by $62 million. CEO Robert Feurle highlighted the launch of the “first commercially available 10 kV silicon carbide power MOSFET” alongside a next-generation TOLT portfolio and 300mm substrate platform.
However, the risk profile shouldn’t be overlooked. Wolfspeed stock carries deeply negative EPS, negative gross margins, and bearish Wall Street coverage with a Strong Sell in the mix and analyst target of $30. Reddit sentiment on WOLF was consistently bearish across all tracked periods earlier this month, underscoring how speculative this SiC recovery story remains.
1. Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS)
Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NVTS) stock is up 70% YTD to $12.13, with no TTM P/E (unprofitable) and TTM EPS of -$0.63. Recent showcases include 800V power delivery boards debuted at NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) GTC and a 250 kW solid-state transformer with EPFL, part of a broader pivot into gallium nitride and high-voltage silicon carbide.
CEO Chris Allexandre stated that Navitas is “continuing to pivot away from mobile and consumer to focus on high-power markets with our GaN and high-voltage SiC solutions.” Navitas’s management targets a $3.5 billion serviceable addressable market by 2030 growing at a 60%+ compound annual growth rate (CAGR) across AI data center, grid, performance computing, and industrial electrification.
Navitas stock fell hard in the recent momentum sell-off, making it the highest-torque rebound candidate with a beta of 3.815. The risk is equally sharp: Navitas has no profits, a price-to-sales ratio above 76x, and revenue that fell 39% YoY in the most recent quarter as management winds down legacy consumer business.
Polymarket currently prices a 76% probability that Navitas beats its upcoming non-GAAP EPS estimate. Yet, even with a favorable setup, Navitas would need years of execution on the AI-power and grid-infrastructure roadmap for a share-price triple to materialize.
The Momentum Rebound Hypothesis
The three names tie together under a single hypothesis: if the July 17 momentum low in the MTUM ETF holds, the highest-beta stocks inside the momentum factor could bounce hard from oversold levels. A tripling scenario is enticing as a speculative, multi-year bull case, but it requires both the factor rebound to stick and each company’s road map to execute cleanly.
Should the July 17 low fail, these high-beta names could fall just as fast as they’ve bounced. Cautious, modest position sizing is appropriate given the volatility across NVTS, WOLF, and NOW stocks.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks