Prudential Financial: #PowerStocks Series Pick Of The Week (January 2026)

What? 2025 will be over in just a couple of days. If you feel that 2025 zoomed past way too fast, you're not alone. I feel the same way. As the year comes to an end, let's spend a couple of hours reflecting on the year. What made you happy? How did your health improve? What are the new skills you've picked up that allowed you to be more productive or enjoy more fulfillment? Let's have a quick recap of the US stock market in 2025. President-elect Donald Trump won the US Presidential Election in 2025 and took office in early 2025. The market was apprehensive, not knowing what to expect from such a volatile president-elect. Volatility rose. Just moments after he took office, a major sell-off began because of his aggressive statements. Soon after, President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on every country. Global stock markets nosedived, with the US taking a 14.5% hit before recovering. Over the next few months, many countries successfully negotiated for a more favorable tariff rate. But all eyes were fixed on China because it was hit with a tariff rate of 34% that quickly escalated to 145%. This was eventually lowered, bringing a huge sigh of relief to traders and business owners. I think that 2026 could start strong, bringing the S&P 500 above 700. But before you cheer, volatility is probably here to stay. We could see sharp drops, separating disciplined traders from the rest. Speaking of which, December 2025 was pretty volatile. How did the stocks shared in December perform?

1. Steel Dynamics: No entry
2. Teradyne: 3.4% and counting
3. Dollar Tree: 1.5% and counting
4. Southwest Airlines: -0.2% and counting

December started strong. The S&P 500 was about to form a new all-time high when it began pulling back by 2.6%. That caused many traders to lose confidence, believing that Santa Claus would skip visiting the S&P 500 this year. But this was the pullback I was waiting for to scoop some seriously explosive stocks such as Teradyne, Dollar Tree, and Southwest Airlines. Lo and behold, Santa came, and new all-time highs were formed (on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day)! While the S&P 500 climbed 1% in December, our #PowerStocks picks delivered an average return of 1.5%! Shall we review last week's stock pick - Southwest Airlines?

Review Of Last Week's Pick Of The Week

Southwest Airlines (LUV) was last week’s stock pick. It's 1 of the world's leading airlines, enjoying a massive market capitalization of over $21b. After rising by 39.9% in under a month, its shares began pulling back to its support zone at around $41. Luckily, its shares bounced as anticipated, leading to an entry. Although its share price has dropped slightly below my entry price, I'm not too concerned. As long as it remains above its support zone for now, I'll be taking the chill pill. I've also shared my target price for Southwest Airlines, so you'll want to head over to my Telegram Channel to find out! Speaking of Telegram, my team and I will never ask you for your hard-earned money for "investments". I know and understand that the allure of high returns without effort is highly attractive. It breaks my heart when I hear of people falling for impersonation scams.

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Why Is Swing Trading Prudential Financial (PRU) Worth It?

Source: investor.prudential.com

Prudential Financial is the world's 30th largest insurance company, boasting a significant market capitalization of over $40b. Unlike many large companies whose shares exhibit lethargic price movement, the shares of Prudential Financial are highly active, consistently surging. In just the past 11 months, its shares have surged upwards 18 times, each measuring between 4.7% and 16.9%! Furthermore, the share performance of Prudential Financial is superior to the S&P 500's by more than 2.7x. A pullback is finally here, providing me with a fantastic opportunity to buy its shares and ride its next big upmove. What's my game plan? Where's a favorable price area to buy its shares at? Continue reading to get the details. P.S. What if I told you that you could drastically gain control over your emotions of fear and greed, and master the stock market in a short amount of time? My team and I have worked tirelessly to help you achieve results fast. Click on the banner below to claim your stock course for free (limited time) now!

Performance Of US Stock Market vs Prudential Financial (PRU)

What do I want to find out at the start? The trend of Prudential Financial's share price. Knowing the trend of its shares allows me to determine whether I'll be looking for a buying or shorting opportunity because following its price trend will sharply increase my chances of profitability. Looking at the chart above, its shares are in a strong uptrend. Hence, I'd like to find an opportunity to buy its shares. What's next? I'll compare the performance of its shares against the S&P 500. Why? I want my hard-earned money to work hard for me. A stronger performing stock is likely to continue bringing a larger-than-market return. So, I'll have a look at the comparison chart above again. While the S&P 500 has risen 3.6% in the past 3 months, the shares of Prudential Financial have risen 9.8%! That's more than a 2.7x outperformance! I want to buy its shares for an explosive swing trade. Should I do just that now?

How Explosive Is Prudential Financial (PRU)?

No! I shouldn't buy its shares without conducting a deeper analysis. Because I aim to ride its shares for its next burst upwards (I don't want to hold its shares through a pullback or reversal), my holding period will be around a week or 2. Therefore, I want its shares to have the ability to explode upwards. Have the shares of Prudential Financial been able to explode upwards consistently? Marking out the explosive bursts in the past 11 months left my eyes wide open. In just the past 11 months, its shares have burst upwards 18 times, each measuring between 4.7% and 16.9%! When I found out about Prudential Financial' market capitalization, my jaw dropped. This company enjoys an enormous market capitalization of over $40b! The shares of large companies don't usually enjoy large bursts in price, but Prudential Financial is different. Additionally, I appreciate that Prudential Financial enjoys an enormous market capitalization, as this provides an extra layer of security against manipulation. I don't wish to lose my hard-earned money to manipulation that could be easily prevented! Here comes the golden question: Is it time to buy the shares of Prudential Financial for an explosive swing trade?

Key Price Levels

Timing is crucial for many things in life. This includes stock trading and investing. Buying an explosive stock at the wrong time can result in significant losses and emotional distress. This will cause you to lose confidence, and you'll doubt yourself even when a fantastic trading opportunity arises straight from under your nose! Is there a way to tell whether the time to buy the shares of Prudential Financial is here? Fortunately, yes! Here's how I make an educated guess about where its share price will likely turn at: by identifying its key price levels (also known as support and resistance zones). And that's what I've done in the chart above. After a strong upburst of 16.9%, a pullback is here. Having identified a support area around $115, what's my game plan? I think that the shares of Prudential Financial will break out of $115 and rise from here. Because the shares of Prudential Financial are currently just under $115, I'm waiting for them to break out of $115 before buying them to catch its next explosive upmove. Here's a pro tip: Instead of staring at your screen, consider setting a price alert on your broker's platform to be notified so that you can spend precious time with your loved ones.

Which Instrument Should You Consider Using?

  Do you ever wonder about the instrument used to trade explosive stocks? With 3 main trading instruments available - stocks, contract-for-difference (CFD), and options, you wonder which suits you best. Since stocks (as an instrument) is easy to understand, I shall focus on CFD and options. Here are the main similarities and differences: CFD works like a mirror to stocks. When a stock rises $1, its CFD rises $1. However, due to its unique pricing mechanism, your options price doesn't rise by the same amount. In fact, depending on the market conditions, the price of your options contract may even drop! Your CFD broker will charge you a finance fee for lending you money for your trade. However, no lending is required for options, so there is no finance charge. Because there's a finance charge by your CFD broker, CFD is not the ideal instrument for mid to long-term trades. On the other hand, options allow you to implement different strategies across time horizons. Both CFDs and options are leveraged instruments because they allow you to control a larger market position with a smaller amount of capital. While CFDs do not have an expiration date, options traders must pay attention to the expiration date of their options contracts. You must be thinking, "What's the beauty of trading options?" Options are like smartphones. You can choose to use a smartphone for its basic or advanced functions.

And options don't have to be all about Math and dry!

It can be made easy to understand through real-life analogies.

In the same way, you can implement basic and/or highly advanced strategies depending on your level of comfort. Options allow you to be versatile in adapting to the shifting market conditions and capturing opportunities in the process. Are you a CFD or options trader? I'm glad to be fluent in both. Finally, this is for educational purposes. Please perform your due diligence. All images are taken from pexels.com, pixabay.com, sectorspdrs.com, tradingview.com, and unsplash.com, unless otherwise mentioned.

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The stock market is full of traps laid out by professional traders. Many new traders are often left confused by conflicting signs and signals. Worse still, ~80% of traders lose money. This is because trading isn't just about skill alone. It includes the mastery of your emotions. But what if I told you that you could quickly gain control over your emotions of fear and greed and master the stock market? My team and I have worked tirelessly to help you achieve results fast. Click on the banner below to claim your stock course for free (limited time) now!