To The Moon

$Raytheon Technologies Corporation(RTX)$

$SHELL PLC SPON ADS EACH REPR 2 ORD SHS(SHEL)$

$LPL Financial Holdings Inc(LPLA)$

Buying a stock is easy, but buying the right stock without a time-tested strategy is incredibly hard. So what are the best stocks to buy now or put on a watchlist? Raytheon Technologies (RTX), Shell (SHEL) and LPL Financial (LPLA) are prime candidates.

Raytheon Technologies Stock

The stock is close to breaking out from a flat base with a 104.44 buy point. The stock is also arguably actionable from a rebound off its 10-week line.

Given current market conditions, investors looking for an early entry might be better off waiting for RTX stock to clear its March 25 high of 125.97. It hit resistance just shy of that key level at the end of last week.

The relative strength line has been taking a breather following a recent spike. The current global security situation means another spike would be no great surprise.

At the moment Raytheon stock holds a good-not-great IBD Composite Rating of 86 out of 99.

Earnings are something of an Achilles heel, with its EPS Rating coming in at 71.

However this appears to be on the upswing, with earnings growing by an average of 112% over the past three quarters.

This is a significant improvement on its longer term performance. Over the past three years EPS has shrunk by 25%.

Raytheon makes missile defense systems, aircraft engines and communications technology. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent defense stocks higher, on anticipation of more demand for artillery as the conflict continues.

The U.S. has been sending missiles and other equipment to Ukraine. That includes the Javelin anti-tank missile, made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin (LMT).

The U.S. is sending Raytheon's advanced Patriot Missile defense system to some NATO allies. Some NATO countries in turn are sending Ukraine older anti-aircraft defense systems.

Raytheon, Lockheed, General Dynamics (GD) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) are all just off highs, consolidating after surging near the start of Russia's Ukraine invasion.

Shell Stock

Shell stock is near a 56.23 buy point after rebounding from its 21-day line. It has built a bullish base-on-base formation due to firm support at the 50-day line. SHEL stock edged higher last week, flirting with breakout on Friday before backing off.

The stock has bounded away from its 10-week line of late. And while the RS line has been choppy in recent weeks it is still in the midst of a general uptrend since the start of the year.

Stock market performance is a key strength for Shell stock. It is the top 6% of stocks in terms of price performance over the last 12 months, with shares popping nearly 40% during that period.

Earnings are also solid, though its EPS Rating of 77 out of 99 is nowhere near as impressive. Nevertheless, analysts expect the company's earnings to jump this year. They see EPS surging 61% to $8.04. They also see sales jumping 40% to $365.5 billion.

The recent IBD Stock Of The Day has been attracting investment from Big Money of late. This is reflected in its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-. It also boasts a low P-E rating of 11, which is about half that of the broader S&P 500.

SHEL stock is gaining after Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove energy costs higher and, after some early missteps, Shell joined other energy leaders in exiting all of its operations in Russia.

But questions remain about the impact from China's recent Covid lockdowns, efforts to lower gas prices and whether those efforts can effectively provide any relief for consumers.

Oil prices tumbled 13% last week to $99.76 per barrel, as the U.S. led many nations in releasing emergency oil reserves

Shell executives are among of a group of six big oil names set to testify before a House hearing this coming week, looking into allegedly disproportionate increases in gasoline prices.

LPL Financial Stock

LPL Financial is currently sitting pretty above a cup-with-handle buy point of 191.08. This is a first-stage base, which means it has a higher chance of success.

The relative strength line added credibility to the breakout by shooting to new highs as it passed its buy point. It is also sitting comfortably clear of the 21-day exponential moving average

Earnings are a strength for LPLA stock, but price performance is even better. Earnings have grown by an average of 20% over the past three quarters.

Analysts see earnings growing by 35% in 2022 and 50% in 2023.

Big money has also been a net buyer, with 65% of the stock currently being held by funds.

Recent bullish action has won LPL Financial stock a place on the prestigious IBD Leaderboard list of top stocks.

The recent IBD Stock Of The Day has a network of nearly 20,000 financial advisors nationwide. It added an impressive 2,589 advisors in 2021, including 900 from its Waddell & Reed acquisition.

In 2021, LPL's assets swelled to a record $1.2 trillion, jumping 34% year over year. The company benefited from a soaring stock market and better recruiting. It also gained from its Waddell & Reed Wealth Management purchase.

Amid the pandemic and stimulus surge in savings for many Americans, a 2021 Harris Poll survey found 26% of Americans said their most trusted source for financial advice is a financial advisor. That was up from 22% a year earlier. In 2020, 30% of respondents said their most trusted source for financial advice was themselves. That number dropped to 20% in 2021.