Success in the stock market is less about reinventing the wheel and more about repeating what works. There’s no formula out there that is going to work 100% of the time, but there are time-tested strategies that outperform the market year over year. Just by using the Zacks Rank we know that we have consistently outperformed the broad market over an extended period of time.

But now we can tweak the Zacks Rank to add a couple of other wrinkles into the equation that will help us find stocks in the short run that may be ready to burst out to new 52-week or all-time highs. These stocks have had recent earnings estimate revisions, have price strength relative to their industry peers, and are bumping up against 52-week highs.

These stocks are not only Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy) or Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks. They also carry a Zacks Momentum Style Score of “A.” That means that of all the stocks we rank, these stocks are showing the strongest momentum characteristics we believe will lead to short term winners in this market.

By using the Zacks site, you can quickly and easily use our stock screener in order to uncover these gems. You need to search for:

• Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)
• Momentum Style Score of “A”
• Price as a % of 52 Wk H-L Range > 95
• Avg Volume > 500,000

This way, you’ll be able to put together a list of the top momentum stocks with the highest likelihood of success over the next few weeks. I ran this screen today and come up with a few fantastic stock ideas for you.

Cheesecake Factory (CAKE - Analyst Report)

The Cheesecake Factory operates many upscale, high volume, casual dining restaurants. They offer over 200 menu items including appetizers, pizza, seafood, steaks, chicken, burgers, pasta, salads, sandwiches, omelets and signature desserts including over 40 varieties of cheesecake.

Shares of Cheesecake factory were stuck in consolidation throughout March and April of this year. A solid earnings report saw shares jump to $54 but it appears that was mostly just short covering as the stock trickled back down below $50. From there buyers stepped in and retested the 2015 highs. With the latest earnings report with CAKE beating the street and upping its dividend, the stock leapfrogged the highs and now looks to be breaking out.

Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK - Snapshot Report)

Pinnacle Entertainment is a diversified gaming company that owns and operates casinos in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Argentina and is pursuing the development of a hotel and casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Company also receives lease income from two card club casinos, both in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

A stagnant stock throughout the end of 2014, Pinnacle jumped on earnings in March, gapping up from $27 to $31. From there shares have slowly trickled higher, which is a great thing for shareholders. There haven’t been many huge jumps to the upside, but there has been little in the way of downside volatility as well. Currently shares seem to be breaking out to fresh highs, trading well above a positively sloped 21-day moving average that sits below the current price at $38.67.

Tractor Supply (TSCO - Analyst Report)

Tractor Supply Company is a specialty retailer which supplies the daily farming and maintenance needs of its target customers: hobby, part-time and full-time farmers and ranchers, as well as rural customers, contractors and tradesmen.

Similar to the Pinnacle story, shares of Tractor Supply have been slow and steady. Although there does seem to be a bit more volatility and cyclicality to TSCO. If you look at the commodity channel index, there have been several times where the CCI oscillates between overbought and oversold. It seems to occur with some regularity about every month. With shares coming off an oversold condition in early July, you may want to wait for the CCI to cool off a bit and shares to retrace before jumping back on board.

Conclusion

By using the time-tested strength of the Zacks Rank, you can add a few wrinkles to find the top momentum stocks in the market you should look to buy. These stocks pop up on my radar on a daily basis and this screen helps me find winning stock trades again and again. It’s not rocket science, it’s not luck. It’s just a little work and confidence in the Zacks Rank.