Vistra stock is on track for its best year ever
With 2025 just two weeks away, now is the time for self-reflection. Investors should be reviewing their plays for a better grasp of the broader-market picture. So, as 2024 comes comes to a close, we will assess the best and worst stocks of the year. Unless we see a massive bear gap in the days ahead, the S&P 500's (SPX) winner is nuclear energy name Vistra Corp (NYSE:VST).
Shaeffer's Weekend Trader subscribers started off the year with wins after buying VST calls. Only a few months later, Vistra stock joined the SPX to replace Pioneer Natural Resources. Analysts struck a bullish tone in the time since, with RBC hiking its price target.
Shares also contributed to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLU) gains this year, and despite recent struggles, nuclear stocks could be the ones keeping the artificial intelligence (AI) sector afloat.
VST boasts a 259.5% year-to-date lead, easily on track for its best-ever year. While the equity is now pacing for a 13.3% monthly loss, that would mark only its third negative month in 2024, with losses paling in comparison to a 38.8% gain in September. Shares are are not too far off from their Nov. 22, record high of $168.67, with long-term support from their ascending 80-day moving average ready to contain any additional losses.
Short-term traders lean bearish toward Vistra stock, per its 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 92% of annual readings.
It's also worth noting that VST consistently outperformed volatility expectations over the last 12 months, as reflected in its Schaeffer’s Volatility Scorecard (SVS) score of 91 out of 100.