(This is The Best Stocks in the Market, brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — This column focuses on winners. That’s not to say there aren’t some beaten-up stocks that offer great opportunities to patient investors, but they do exist. But when Sean and I agreed to bring our research into the market’s best stocks to CNBC Pro, we told you from the beginning that this column would be about stocks with underlying buying pressure and a technical setup that we thought was worth paying attention to. Over the past 10 months or so, we’ve seen all kinds of success with these ideas. Some stocks violated our pre-arranged uptrends and breakdowns (the risk management commentary we always add at the end) and were quickly removed from the list. Some stocks dropped off the list, but have since climbed back up. Some stocks made the list, stayed there, and then traded sideways or slightly up, never fully breaking out and reaching their full potential. And there are some stocks that have risen, worked, and continued to work through all kinds of market-wide turmoil and volatility. These stocks make failed breakouts and disappointments worth enduring. Home runs and grand slams are our lives. Today, we’re revisiting two of them and updating you on what’s going on with them. We will also re-score the charts and update the key levels for those riding at higher levels. This June, our firm, Ritholtz Wealth Management, will be rolling out a wealth management strategy based on Best Stock research. CNBC Pro subscribers will have the first opportunity to learn about this and get on the waitlist. Send an email to info@ritholtzwealth.com with the subject “Best Stocks Portfolio” and we’ll add your messages in the order they are received. In the meantime, Sean gives his customary Monday high-level look at what’s going on at the list, as well as talking about quasi-equipment names KLA Corp (KLAC) and Lam Research (LRCX). Sean is: Sector Leaderboard As of April 13th, there are 176 names on “The Best Stocks in the Market” list. Top Sector Rankings: Top Industries: Top 5 Stocks by Relative Strength: Sectors to Watch: Semiconductors KLA Corp. (KLAC): Sean — We wrote about KLA Corp and Lam Research on the first trading day of 2026, and how great they were. Both of these stocks are great examples of how successful you can be when you numb the human urge to sell at all-time highs. Sometimes stock prices go up and even keep going up! Looking at KLA in particular, this year the stock price has risen 56% in 2023, 9% in 2024, and another 94% in 2025. If they were already on the list, most investors would have preferred to “take their chips off the table.” If they had missed it, the general attitude would have been to avoid the stock and buy something else that hasn’t gone up significantly yet. We understand this idea, and in this column we try to teach people to forget it. KLAC is back to its highs, with the stock up another 42% year-to-date since writing here so far this year. KLAC is a provider of services and equipment for semiconductor manufacturing process control and yield management. These help chip manufacturers detect defects and maximize the amount of chips TSMs around the world can produce. KLA guided gross margin to 61.75% (up 1 percentage point) for the quarter ended March 2026, with management clearly characterizing 2026 as a “trough” for both revenue and gross margin. KLAC currently has an expected PER of 36 times and expected EPS for the next fiscal year of 32%. Josh — Is this a gap and go? perhaps. KLA has already finished the difficult part. The multi-month consolidation from January to March was no coincidence, as the market weeded out previous excesses. Prices fell sideways while the trend held, momentum reset, and weak hands were shaken off. You can see this by looking at the structure. The lows are higher, the 200-day is not violated, and the RSI is out of overbought and consolidation. It’s not decomposition, it’s proper digestion. It has now broken out of that base and pushed back toward highs around $1,737, heading straight into the open gap in the $1,700 to $1,750 zone. This is the last source of supply from the previous drop. The main difference now is that the integration has already been completed. This movement has not been extended. Since it has emerged from a reset, it is good for clearing gaps cleanly. This stock has over $1,700 of open trades. We’re now seeing it take care of its business. The risks are straightforward. For traders, the breakout must hold. If it drops below $1,500, 50 days indicates you need more time. For investors, the trend remains intact unless we are talking about an even deeper break towards $1,194 on the 200th. Until that happens, this is a leader stock that is coming off a reset and trying to make new highs. Lam Research Corp. (LRCX): Sean — LRCX was another big hit last year. The stock is up an impressive 139% at the end of 2025, and is up another 51% so far this year. Lam Research supplies wafer manufacturing equipment used to manufacture semiconductor chips. LRCX aims to double its sales and profits over the next five years. They expect growth in all segments in 2026 and are investing in the business to achieve that growth. The company has doubled its manufacturing capacity in the past four years and launched a state-of-the-art automated warehouse in 2025. Also worth noting is that Lam Research attempted to acquire KLAC for $10.6 billion in 2015, but called off the deal in 2016, citing antitrust concerns. In 2015, LRCX’s market cap was $12 billion, while KLAC’s market cap was about $10 billion. Fast forward to today, and LRCX has a market cap of $329 billion and trades at over 20x, followed by KLAC, which has a market cap of $227 billion and trades at 20x. Josh — Lam Research has a very similar story, but perhaps a cleaner one. The stock has already experienced a consolidation, resetting over the past few months after its last share price, and is now returning to new highs of around $263. This wasn’t a sudden rally, but rather it digested gains, maintained the trend, and rebuilt momentum along the way. This is exactly the same as the movement of leader stocks. What stands out here is the confirmation of momentum. The RSI has been pushed back toward 67, and while it is not overbought, it is clearly trending up, indicating there is still room for this move. It’s not exhausting, it’s strengthening. And that’s important in a semi-name like KLA, where buyers want to reaffirm control from the base and not just chase a surge. For traders, the line is the $225-$230 zone around the 50-day mark on the rise. Losing this will put you back in trouble. For investors, a more meaningful level is near $200, which has already acted as support twice during the consolidation. Once that is broken, the low-high pattern begins to unwind and the nature of the trend changes. Until then, it’s a stock that has reset properly and is now doing what it wants to move up. Disclosure: (none) All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, its parent or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any securities or other financial assets. The content is general in nature and does not reflect your unique personal circumstances. The above may not be appropriate for your particular situation. 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