Best Growth Stocks to Buy for August 21st

Zacks highlights three Zacks Rank #1 infrastructure/industrial names—Sterling Infrastructure (STRL), Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC), and Vertiv (VRT)—with consensus earnings growth over the last 60 days of +6.8% (STRL), +12.7% (PPC), and +6.6% (VRT). Valuation is framed as supportive versus industry PEGs (STRL 1.34 vs 1.75; PPC 0.22 vs 0.49; VRT 1.03 vs 3.64) alongside Growth Scores of B (STRL, PPC) and A (VRT). Overall pitch is constructive but largely promotional/expectations-based rather than results-driven, so near-term market impact is likely limited.

Analysis

The real signal here is not “growth” broadly; it’s that estimate revisions are still moving higher in two different capital-spending regimes: physical infrastructure and digital infrastructure. VRT is the cleaner secular compounder because AI buildouts create a longer tail of power, cooling, and service attach, which tends to support both backlog visibility and mix expansion over 6-18 months. STRL is more cyclical and more execution-sensitive; it can rerate quickly if project timing and labor utilization stay tight, but it also gives back gains faster if public/industrial spend slips.

PPC is a different animal: this is a margin-spread trade disguised as a growth screen. Positive estimate momentum likely implies favorable input/output spreads, but poultry is the kind of business where a few cents of feed, bird weights, or export demand can reverse the thesis within 1-2 quarters. If the market extrapolates the current spread too far, the risk is a sharp multiple compression once near-term earnings peak.

Contrarian takeaway: this is probably more useful as a relative-value filter than as a standalone buy list. VRT is the most consensus-owned and therefore most vulnerable to any AI capex air pocket; STRL may have the better risk/reward because it is less crowded and more under-owned. The NNOX teaser reads like marketing, not investable information; until there is a verifiable commercial or reimbursement catalyst, it should be treated as a watch item rather than a position.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Long STRL on weakness over the next 1-3 sessions; target a 1-3 month re-rating if backlog and margin commentary stay firm. Falsifier: backlog growth slows or gross margin compresses meaningfully next print.
• Keep VRT as a medium-conviction long, but size below STRL; best entry is any pullback after a crowded open. Horizon: 3-6 months. Falsifier: hyperscaler capex guidance or data-center order growth softens.
• Use PPC only as a tactical trade, not a structural hold; it works best if feed costs stay benign into the next quarter. Falsifier: chicken spreads roll over or corn/soy inputs reprice higher.
• Avoid chasing the NNOX teaser until there is a concrete, independently verifiable catalyst; treat it as a watchlist name, not a buy signal.
• Relative-value idea: long VRT / short a broader industrials basket or a higher-beta AI hardware proxy if you want to express “power and cooling win, compute hardware is crowded.”