10 Best Stock Picking Services & Sources for 2024

Stock picking services help investors find suitable investments – not to mention when to enter and exit the market. This will appeal to stock trading beginners – as well as time-starved investors.

In this guide, we review the 10 best stock picking services for 2024. The key metrics we focus on include past performance, reputation, pricing, target markets, and much more.

Best Stock Picking Services Reviewed

There are hundreds of stock picking services to choose from, and not all are created equal. Investors will need to understand the methodology of the service, in terms of how it finds suitable stocks to buy and sell. Other metrics to consider include historical trading results, and how much the subscription service costs.

Below, we offer full reviews of the 10 best stock picking services for 2024.

1. AltIndex – Overall Best Stock Picking Service for Beginners 

Overall, we rank AltIndex as the best stock picking service for beginners. The platform specializes in a hot commodity – alternative data. So what is alternative data and how does AltIndex work? In a nutshell, AltIndex extracts billions of data points from social media networks like Facebook and Reddit, not to mention websites, Google searches, and news articles. AltIndex analyzes and interprets the data to find social and consumer trends.

Not only that, but AltIndex also uses artificial intelligence tools to evaluate its findings and rank stocks based on their upside potential. This provides investors with real-time insights on the best stocks to buy. Unlike other stock picking services, AltIndex takes an unconventional approach. Instead of focusing on the fundamentals – such as earnings reports and dividend yields, it identifies stocks based on sentiment. This enables investors to find stock trading gems before the broader market.

The ‘Top Stocks’ feature conveniently ranks the best US-listed stocks to invest in making AltIndex one of the most accurate stock predictors on the market. Currently, its AI-backed system ranks Newmont, Celsius Holdings, and Skechers as stocks with the most potential. This is based on recent social trends, such as increased Reddit mentions and positive consumer sentiment. Users can also find undervalued stocks based on the industry. For example, hot stocks in the pharmaceutical industry currently include Organon & Co, Eli Lilly and Company, and Novo Nordisk.

In the oil and gas industry, AltIndex currently ranks Air Products and Chemicals, Targa Resources, and Atmos Energy. As is evident, AltIndex is ideal for finding low-cap gems. Another feature of AltIndex is its alerts service. This notifies investors when its AI-backed system finds a new stock pick. Users can also add specific stocks to their AltIndex portfolio for real-time alerts. In terms of user-friendliness, we found that AltIndex is ideal for beginners.

There is no requirement to have any prior knowledge of alternative data or social sentiment analysis. Instead, AltIndex provides a simple AI ranking score and investors can decide their next move. In addition to stocks, AltIndex also provides data on the best cryptocurrencies to buy today. This includes Bitcoin and some of the top altcoins, including Ethereum, Dogecoin, and XRP.  On top of its AI ranking system, AltIndex also offers traditional stock picks.

Unlike other providers, it is very selective in which stocks it recommends. In most cases, just 1-3 stock picks are sent to users every month. Since launching its stock picking service in August 2022, AltIndex has achieved a win rate of 64%. Over the same period, the S&P 500 has grown by just 8%. When it comes to pricing, AltIndex is very affordable.

Beginners might initially consider the free plan, but this comes with just 20 website visits and two stock alerts. The starter plan ($29 per month) offers unlimited access and 10 stock alerts. The pro plan ($99) increases this to 50 stock alerts – plus access to the AltIndex API. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time. All plans include a daily newsletter that offers an overview of the markets and which stocks to watch.

For more information about this alternative data provider feel free to explore our detailed AltIndex review.

2. Seeking Alpha – Stock Tipping Service With 450% Returns Since 2010 

Seeking Alpha is one of the top stock picking services for long-term investors. It selects suitable stocks on the fundamentals, such as revenue growth, price-to-earnings, dividend performance, and valuations. The Seeking Alpha stock service was launched in 2010. Since then, the service has generated growth of 470%. In comparison, the S&P 500 has grown by 290% over the same period.

There is a clear methodology implemented by Seeking Alpha. Its stock picks have a minimum share price of $10. It only suggests stocks with a market capitalization of at least $500 million. Moreover, Seeking Alpha only trades common stocks in the US – so investors won’t benefit from international diversification. Two stock picks are sent to subscribers every month. One comes on the 1st of the month and the other on the 15th.

We like that Seeking Alpha keeps investors updated on previous stock picks. Every month, it updates its rating of each stock and whether it’s a buy, sell, or hold. This makes Seeking Alpha one of the best stock picking services for passive investors. When it comes to pricing, first-time subscribers will pay $99 per year. This increases to $199 after the first year. This offers great value considering the returns that Seeking Alpha has generated since 2010.

3. Danelfin – AI Stock Picking Based on Explainable Artificial Intelligence  

Danelfin is one of the best stock picking services for AI-backed recommendations. It uses a variant of AI known as explainable artificial intelligence. This means that the Danelfin algorithm has a clear and accurate methodology, which allows it to provide reasoning behind each stock. Danelfin’s AI-backed system rates US-listed stocks from 1-10.

The platform claims that high-ranking stocks have a high probability of outperforming the S&P 500 within the next three months. The underlying technology extracts data from more than 900 technical, fundamental, and sentiment indicators. This includes everything from the RSI and MACD to P/E ratios and insider transactions. All of the data is structured to provide an overall AI score.

When it comes to past performance, Danelfin has generated gains of 158% since January 2017. The platform notes that during the same period, the S&P 500 grew by 70%. Danelfin offers a free plan, but this is limited to the top 20 stocks and 10 ETFs. The plus plan, at $17 per month, offers unlimited rankings. The pro plan, at $49 per month, also comes with unlimited trade ideas, signals, and other features.

4. Mindful Trader – Active Stock Picking Service Covering Equities and Options 

Mindful Trader is one of the best stock picking services for investors who want to actively trade the markets. The service – which is run by US-based investor Eric Ferguson, regularly sends multiple stock trading picks throughout the day. Not only does this include common stock but options too. Mindful Trader focuses on a mathematical methodology that utilizes quantitative data.

Ferguson intentionally avoids the fundamentals, such as earnings reports and financial news. Instead, stock picks are generated by buying and selling pressure. Each stock pick comes with clear instructions on how to place the suggestion. This includes the stock or options ticker and suggested entry price. Crucially, each pick comes with a take-profit and stop-loss order price. This ensures that even complete beginners can trade in a risk-averse way.

In terms of performance, the Mindful Trader stock trading account generated returns of 7% in June 2023. Its options account generated returns of 110.9% between November 2022 and July 2023. Within these periods, users can view each and every trade that was made – alongside the profit or loss. Mindful Trader charges $47 per month for its stock and options picking service. The main drawback is that users will need to actively trade the stock picks as soon as they are sent – which is usually 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

5. Zacks Ultimate – Solid Stock Picking Service Aimed at Serious Investors 

Zacks Ultimate is one of the best stock picking services for serious investors. It charges a whopping $299 per month or $2,995 annually. That said, the service offers a professional outlook on the best stocks to buy, both in the short and long term. There are many aspects to Zacks Ultimate, such as the target market and industry. For instance, one segment of the service specializes in stocks under $10.

It also specializes in growth industries like blockchain, alternative energy, and marijuana. This will appeal to investors looking for the next low-cap gem. Zacks Research also offers stock picks for income investors. This targets stocks that offer attractive dividend yields and a solid long-term outlook. Zacks Research also offers insights into ETFs, options, and potential short-selling positions. Performance depends on the specific niche within the Zacks Ultimate subscription service.

For instance, some of its best short-term stock picks include Danaos (116.4%), EnLink Midstream (109.6%), and Riot Blockchain (62.1%). Recently long-term picks include the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (60.9%) and Cross Country Healthcare (221.2%). Overall, however, Zacks Ultimate aims to make portfolio gains of at least 24.3% annually. This means that it aims to outperform the broader market by at least 100%. Finally, although Zacks Ultimate is expensive, it offers a full-access 30-day trial for just $1.

6. Morningstar – Free Stock Picking Service for Undervalued Stocks 

Morningstar is a leading stock research platform that offers a range of services. In addition to expert insights and research reports, it also offers free stock picks. It covers many niches of the stock trading place but will particularly appeal to value investors. Every quarter, MorningStar updates its list of the best-undervalued stocks to buy. There are no fees to access the list, which will appeal to those on a budget. For example, MorningStar currently offers a list of 33 undervalued stocks for Q3 2023.

This covers a broad range of small and large-cap companies from various industries and sectors. For instance, Duke Energy, Kraft Heinz, Citigroup, TC Energy, and Walt Disney. Morningstar also offers a sector-by-sector analysis, which explains why its stock picks are considered undervalued. This comes with a price/fair value ratio alongside an economic moat rating.

That being said, Morningstar limits the amount of information available to free-plan users. While it still provides its list of quarterly stock picks for free, paid-for users get a lot more data. This includes daily updates on its portfolio stock selections and deeper insights into the markets. Morningstar Investor is competitively priced at $34.95 per month. Users can save 41% by purchasing an annual subscription at $249.

7. The Street Premium – Daily Stock Picks From Successful Portfolio Managers

The Street Premium is an established financial news platform that also offers expert insights and stock trading tips services. That said, its premium service offers a high-level stock picking service aimed at long-term investors. There are two plans to choose from. First, the action alerts plan offers real-time trading signals – generated by its in-house portfolio managers. The plan also offers 24/7 access to the Street portfolio, covering open and closed positions.

The action alerts plan – which costs $199 annually, also comes with monthly calls with the portfolio team. The other option is the real money plan, costing $299 annually. This provides daily stock picks alongside investing ideas and real-time market commentary. Picks are selected by investing professionals and come with expected growth projections.

The real money plan also includes daily insights from over 30 Wall Street traders. The main drawback of the Streets is that it does not publish historical trading results. This makes it challenging to know how its recommendations have performed against the broader market. That said, the Street offers a 14-day free trial on both of its premium plans.

8. WallStreetZen – Get Daily Stock Insights on Where the Smart Money is Going

WallStreetZen is one of the best stock picking services to follow the smart money. It offers a range of daily insights, including which stocks have a ‘strong buy’ rating. WallStreetZen only lists stock picks from the best-performing fund managers and investors on Wall Street.

Users can view the specific stock pick, price target, and the average returns generated by the analyst. Premium members will also find a risk-reward rating for each stock pick. In addition, premium members can also access bullish insider buys. Put simply, this highlights stock purchases made by company executives – showcasing that insiders are bullish on the future potential of the firm they run.

Other signals provided by WallStreetZen include the best stocks under $10, undervalued companies, and volatile penny shares. In terms of pricing, a premium plan costs $150 per year. There is also a free plan, but this comes with limited data.

9. FinBox – Stock Trading Ideas Based on Leading Wall Street Portfolios 

FinBox is a user-friendly stock picking platform that provides insights into Wall Street portfolios. Its dashboard comes with many filters and options, allowing users to find stocks based on their financial goals. For instance, users can initially search for Wall Street portfolios based on their returns over 1, 3, and 12 months. Next, users can select which investor-type interests them, such as hedge funds, banks, venture capitalists, and trusts.

FinBox will then display the real-time portfolios of leading Wall Street investors. For example, one of the most followed portfolios on FinBox is Scott Ferguson of Sachem Head Capital Management. Not only does this display the stocks currently held in the portfolio, but the weighting and performance. FinBox also provides real-time insights on SEC filings for each portfolio.

In terms of pricing, there are three plans to choose from. The starter plan is just $6 per month but only covers US stocks. For $18 per month, the executive plan also covers European markets and comes with a robust stock screener. The professional plan, at $33 per month, comes with six stock trading regions and regular reports on profitability and financial health.

10. Market Chameleon – Stock Options Picks Based on Discounted Values  

Market Chameleon is one of the best stock picking services for options for traders. The platform offers daily options tips on a range of large-cap stocks, including Microsoft, Tesla, Apple, and Amazon. It also trades index fund options, such as the S&P 500 and Invesco QQQ.

The main strategy used by Market Chameleon is to find discounted options prices. It looks at the gap between the market price and theoretical value to find an edge. In terms of pricing, Market Chameleon charges $69 per month for its options picks. It also offers a free trial that lasts for seven days.

In addition, Market Chameleon also offers trading ideas on traditional stocks. This costs just $39 per month and also comes with a free trial. All stock and options picks are sent in real-time via email.

How do Stock Picking Websites Work?

Most stock picking websites tell investors which equities to buy or sell. They are aimed at investors that do not want to research the markets themselves. This is often because they do not have the time or experience to analyze and interpret earnings reports, financial news, and other traditional media sources. Instead, investors use stock picking websites and AI-driven trading platforms for a more passive investing experience.

In most cases, the process works as follows:

• The investor chooses a stock picking website and pays for a monthly subscription
• The platform will send an email with a stock trading suggestion
• This tells the investor to buy and hold a prominent pharmaceutical stock that is heavily undervalued
• The investor will follow the suggestion by purchasing stock in the recommended company

It is important to understand how stock picking services generate their trading ideas – and what methodologies they use.

For example, Seeking Alpha has a team of in-house portfolio managers that manually research the markets. The platform focuses largely on the fundamentals, such as the valuation of the stock, its growth potential, and earnings projections.

Then there’s Mindful Trader, which avoids fundamental analysis completely. Instead, Mindful Trader sends stock picks based on quantitative data.

AltIndex takes a completely different approach. Its stock picks are based on a combination of social sentiment analysis and artificial intelligence scoring. This provides stock insights based on real-time metrics, such as consumer habits and brand sentiment.

Benefits of Stock Picking Services

Still not sure if stock picking services are worth the money?

Here are some of the main benefits of subscribing to a stock picker.

Ideal for Beginners

Stock picking services are ideal for investors who do not have any prior experience in selecting investments.

• For instance, consider the research process utilized by experienced investors.
• They will spend countless hours researching quarterly earnings reports and analyzing metrics like revenue, operating expenses, product margins, and earnings-per-share.
• Not only will they compare this data to previous periods but also industry competitors.
• Stock analysts will also explore other data points, such as financial news, regulatory filings, and broader economic trends.

For complete beginners, the stock analysis process can be a daunting task. But by using a stock picking service, the research process is taken care of by the provider.

This enables investors to find trending stocks without needing prior experience.

Passive Investing

Stock picking services are also popular with investors that want to trade passively. As noted above, the research process is not only complex but time-consuming too.

Stock picking services remove the need to manually research the markets, inviting a passive investing experience.

Expert-Led

Some stock picking services are run by highly experienced investors with a proven track record of outperforming the market. This provides subscribers with invaluable insights into which stocks to buy and sell.

In other cases, some stock picking services use merging technologies to find investment opportunities. For example, AltIndex uses natural language processing to analyze social media data and artificial intelligence to interpret the results.

Find New Investment Opportunities 

There are thousands of stocks that trade on US exchanges and even more in other regions. This can make it challenging to find new investment opportunities – especially in emerging markets.

The best stock picking services provide early insights into stocks that could explode in the coming months and years. For example, stocks operating in the AI, blockchain, and alternative energy spaces.

Casual investors would likely not have the skillset to find the same investment opportunities.

How to Pick a Stock Picking App

When selecting the best stock picking app, consider the following metrics:

• Strategy: First, explore what strategy the stock picking provider uses. Some of the most common strategies include fundamental, technical, and social sentiment analysis.
• Past Performance: Spend some time researching the past performance of the stock picking service. Compare this to the broader market, such as the S&P 500.
• Number of Picks: It is also wise to assess how many stock picks the provider sends out. On average, we found that the best stock picking services distribute 1-3 picks each month.
• Transparency: We prefer stock picking platforms that are transparent. For instance, does the provider show its historical trading results? And if so, how far does it go back? Additionally, the best stock picking apps are transparent about how they generate their trading ideas.
• Pricing: The cost of the subscription should also be considered when selecting a stock picking platform. This can vary widely, but is usually charged on a monthly basis nonetheless. For example, AltIndex offers plans from $0, $29, and $99 per month. Zacks Ultimately, however, costs $299 per month.
• User-Friendliness: Investors should ensure the stock picking service is right for their skill set. For example, some platforms require users to have an understanding of research principles, such as technical and fundamental analysis. While others simply tell users what stocks to buy.

Stock Picking Strategies

In this section, we explore some of the most popular strategies used by stock picking websites.

Fundamental Data

Some stock picking platforms focus on fundamental data. This is data relating to the real-world performance of the stock.

Fundamental data points include:

• Revenue and operating income growth
• Gross margins
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization
• Sales projections and customer acquisition numbers
• Competitor analysis

Fundamental analysis focuses on what really matters – the stock’s true market value. If the stock is trading below the analyst’s perceived value, it will likely recommend buying it. In most cases, this stock picking strategy is aimed at long-term value investors.

Technical Data

Some stock picking platforms focus on technical data. This focuses exclusively on the price of the stock, in terms of historical and current trends.

This stock picking strategy is largely focused on short-term trading suggestions. Mindful Trader, for example, generates stock picks based on quantitative data. This is based on statistical research that completely ignores the fundamentals.

Technical analysis is another strategy that focuses on pricing data. This uses technical and economic indicators like the RSI and MACD to find trends.

Sentiment Data

Another strategy used by stock picking platforms is social sentiment analysis. This provides a completely different outlook on the stock trading markets. Instead of looking at fundamental or technical data, this strategy focuses on social sentiment investing. For example, how society feels about a particular stock, in terms of its brand value and upside potential.

Platforms like AltIndex also examine social trends, such as the number of likes, shares, and mentions a particular stock gets over a set period. AltIndex then uses artificial intelligence to analyze the data and generate a ranking score. The score determines the likelihood of the stock outperforming the market in the near term.

How Much Do Stock Picking Services Cost?

Stock picking services are in the business of making money. Therefore, they usually charge a monthly or annual subscription fee. Pricing will vary widely depending on the provider and specific features offered.

For example, AltIndex offers a free plan that is limited to 20 website visits and two stock alerts. Its starter and pro plans, costing $29 and  $99 per month respectively, offer a lot more functionality. This offers good value for money based on the high-level stock insights provided. Moreover, AltIndex is suitable for those investing small amounts in the stock market.

At the other end of the scale, Zacks Ultimate is aimed at large-scale investors. It charges $299 per month or $2,995 annually. This means that unless a significant amount is being invested, Zacks Ultimate doesn’t offer a viable return-on-investment.

Are Stock Picking Services Worth it?

Stock picking services are attractive for many reasons. Especially when it comes to time. After all, stock picking services remove the need to perform manual research. This means no more fundamental analysis, such as evaluating earnings reports and press releases.

Moreover, stock picking platforms are ideal for newbies, as rarely is any prior experience needed. Stock picking services are also great for finding new investment opportunities, such as high-growth markets.

However, investors do need to consider the costs of the service before proceeding. Those planning to invest a few dollars each month likely won’t find stock picks worth it. This is because there won’t be enough of a return on the cost of the subscription.

That said, AltIndex – which is one of the best alternative data providers, offers a free stock picking service with limited access. This enables budget-conscious investors to get a feel for its social sentiment metrics before paying for a premium plan.

Conclusion

In summary, stock picking services are aimed at investors who do not have the time or experience to research the markets themselves.

We found that the best stock picking platform for beginners is AltIndex. Investors will have access to real-time insights into the best stocks to buy – based on social sentiment and artificial intelligence.

It takes seconds to get started with the free AltIndex plan – only an email address is needed. Follow the link below to get started with AltIndex.

References

https://www.google.com/finance/quote/.INX:INDEXSP

https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/SPX:IND

https://www.ibm.com/watson/explainable-ai

https://www.sec.gov/oiea/investor-alerts-and-bulletins/ib_sentimentinvesting

https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/investing-investing/technical-analysis/using-technical-analysis

https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500/

FAQs