In this article, we cover 11 best short-term stocks to buy now.

The best performers right now, given price momentum and negative 1-year returns, are oil & gas exploration and chemicals plays based on our research. Oil- and commodity-linked industries have been unusually prominent in short-term rebound screens in recent weeks, even though many of their stocks still remain below year-ago levels. That pattern makes sense in the current market. Crude prices moved sharply higher after the late-February Middle East conflict disrupted supply expectations, with the IEA saying global oil supply was projected to plunge by 8 million barrels a day in March. The EIA now expects Brent to stay above $95 a barrel over the next two months before easing later in 2026.

That backdrop tends to support exploration and production shares first, because higher realized prices can quickly change cash-flow expectations for upstream companies. Reuters reported that oil benchmarks had risen about 60% since the conflict began, while analysts in its March poll lifted their 2026 Brent forecast to $82.85 a barrel from $63.85 a month earlier.

Chemicals are showing up for a related, though less straightforward, reason. The sector remains under pressure from weak demand and high energy costs in parts of the market, but supply disruptions have pushed some plastics and polymer prices sharply higher. Reuters said German chemical-sector confidence deteriorated in March as energy costs rose, while ICIS reported that global chemical prices were increasing at their fastest pace in almost 20 years.

Methodology

We used screeners to identify stocks with 3-month price momentum over 12% and 1-year return at -10%. We limited our final selection to companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).

11. Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR)

Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On March 30, 2026, the trust filed its annual report for the year ended December 31, 2025. Distributable income prior to cash reserves withheld for trust expenses was $510,906 in 2025, compared with $534,956 in 2024. After reserve adjustments, distributable income available for distribution rose to $433,915 from $393,144, while distributable income available for distribution per unit increased to $0.2328 from $0.2109.

The filing shows the improvement came despite lower royalty income. Royalty income fell to $601,840 in 2025 from $649,164 in 2024, mainly because prices for natural gas liquids and oil and condensate declined, natural-gas volumes fell, and natural-gas operating costs increased. Mesa said those pressures were partly offset by higher natural-gas prices, lower operating costs for liquids and oil, and lower capital expenditures, which declined to $102,300 from $142,351. The trustee also said the contingent reserve stood at $1.95 million at year-end 2025 and that it intends to increase that reserve to $2.0 million.

Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR) is a Texas trust that owns overriding royalty interests in oil and gas properties in the Hugoton field of Kansas and the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado.

10. Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI)

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On March 10, 2026, the company reported a net loss attributable to stockholders of $53.2 million, or $1.86 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with net income of $22.8 million, or $0.80 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. For full-year 2025, Valhi posted a net loss of $57.6 million, or $2.02 per share, versus net income of $108.0 million, or $3.79 per share, in 2024. Management said the decline was driven primarily by weaker operating results in its Chemicals segment.

That business remained the main drag. Chemicals segment net sales slipped 1% to $418.3 million in the fourth quarter and 1% to $1.9 billion for the full year. The segment swung to a $60.1 million operating loss in the quarter from operating income of $32.6 million a year earlier, as lower TiO2 selling prices, reduced operating rates, and about $10.3 million of workforce-reduction costs hit results. For the full year, the segment recorded a $24.5 million operating loss versus $138.5 million of operating income in 2024. Valhi also said fourth-quarter results included an $8.5 million non-cash deferred income tax expense tied to a valuation allowance in the Chemicals segment’s German deferred tax asset.

Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI) operates in chemicals, component products, and real estate management and development.

9. TXO Partners, L.P. (NYSE:TXO)

TXO Partners, L.P. (NYSE:TXO) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On March 10, 2026, the company said Cross Timbers Energy, LLC, a joint venture in which TXO owns a 50% interest, signed purchase and sale agreements with multiple private buyers to sell oil and gas properties for about $200 million in aggregate consideration. If completed, the sales would represent substantially all of Cross Timbers’ assets. TXO said it expects to receive about $100 million in net proceeds, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

The company said it plans to use part of those proceeds to pay the $70 million deferred payment tied to its 2025 acquisition of assets from White Rock Energy, LLC, which is due on July 31, 2026. TXO also said that, after the deal, its operations will focus on the Williston Basin, San Juan Basin, and the Vacuum and Parker fields in the Permian Basin. The transactions are expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, although the company said there is no assurance that all closing conditions will be satisfied.

TXO Partners, L.P. (NYSE: TXO) is a master limited partnership focused on acquiring, developing, optimizing, and exploiting conventional oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in North America. Its acreage is concentrated in the Permian Basin, San Juan Basin, and Williston Basin.

8. Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC)

Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On March 9, 2026, the company said it earned a Platinum sustainability rating from EcoVadis for its 2025 performance, placing it in the top 1% of companies evaluated worldwide. Orion said the assessment covered environment, ethics, sustainable procurement, and labor and human rights. The company tied the result to several 2025 initiatives, including the launch of bio-circular grades of carbon black, energy-efficiency improvements across its operations, expanded leadership training programs, and an industry safety award for its plants.

The release also pointed to related sustainability markers beyond EcoVadis. Orion said it maintained a B score from CDP, the environmental disclosure nonprofit, and noted that its Supplier Engagement Assessment rating was upgraded to A. Management framed the EcoVadis result as a benchmark that will be harder to maintain as standards tighten, but the announcement still gives investors a fresh signal about how the company wants to position its operating model and product portfolio, especially around lower-impact and specialty-grade offerings.

Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) is a global supplier of carbon black used in tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics, and other specialty applications. The company operates 15 plants worldwide and four innovation centers.

7. Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On March 18, 2026, the company marked the grand opening of an expanded Performance Products manufacturing unit in Petfurdo, Hungary, where operations began earlier this year. Huntsman said the investment increases its global capacity and gives it greater manufacturing flexibility for customers in polyurethane, coatings, metalworking, and electronics markets.

The company said demand for its JEFFCAT amine catalysts has continued to grow globally. Those specialty amines are used in products such as automobile seats, mattresses, and energy-efficient building insulation. Management said the expansion should strengthen Huntsman’s ability to support customers in faster-growing markets, improve manufacturing flexibility, and support next-generation products. The project was also backed by an investment grant from the Hungarian government, which Huntsman said helped bring the expansion to completion. While the release did not attach a financial contribution target to the project, it does add fresh production capacity in a business tied to specialty applications and efficiency-related end markets.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) is a global manufacturer and marketer of diversified chemical products. The company said it generated about $6 billion of revenue from continuing operations in 2025.

6. Largo Inc. (NASDAQ:LGO)

Largo Inc. (NASDAQ:LGO) is one of the best short-term stocks to buy now. On April 1, 2026, the company reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results and said U.S. tariffs disrupted vanadium sales in the final quarter of the year. Largo said order cancellations tied to those tariffs drove vanadium pentoxide sales volumes down 21% year over year in Q4 to 2,396 tonnes from 3,033 tonnes and left more than 300 tonnes of inventory sitting in bonded warehouses in Baltimore. For full-year 2025, revenue fell 12% to $109.9 million from $124.9 million in 2024, while net loss widened to $68.7 million from $50.6 million.

Even so, the company pointed to better operating momentum late in the year. Vanadium pentoxide production rose 67% in Q4 to 2,961 tonnes from 1,775 tonnes a year earlier, and full-year production of 9,150 tonnes landed within Largo’s guidance range. The company ended 2025 with $9.7 million in cash and $107.1 million in debt, while also highlighting previously disclosed steps to defer debt principal payments and recent U.S. tariff relief entering 2026.

Largo Inc. (NASDAQ:LGO) is a vanadium producer with operations anchored by the Maracás Menchen mine in Brazil and additional exposure to energy-storage and vanadium-products businesses.

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