As we are in the thick of the first-quarter earnings season, investors should search for stocks that are ready to make a big move. Significant earnings growth generally leads to a jump in share price, but earnings acceleration works even better in boosting the stock price. Earnings acceleration is basically incrementally growing EPS of a company. In other words, if the rate of a company’s quarter-over-quarter earnings growth increases over a considerable period, it is termed as earnings acceleration. If you pick a stock just by focusing on the company’s earnings growth then you are paying for something that has already been reflected in the stock price. Earnings acceleration, on the other hand, considers both direction and magnitude of growth rates. This helps you in betting on a stock that is yet to see significant attention of investors, and consequently a solid price increase. Increasing percentage of earnings growth means that the company is fundamentally sound and has been on the right track for a considerable period of time. Sideways percentage of earnings growth indicates a period of consolidation or slowdown, while a decelerating percentage of earnings growth may at times drag prices down. Hence, earnings acceleration should be viewed as a key metric for share price outperformance. Screening Parameters: Let’s look for stocks for which last two quarter-over-quarter percentage EPS growth rates are more than the growth rates of the previous periods. The projected quarter-over-quarter percentage EPS growth rate is also expected to be higher than the previous periods’ growth rates. EPS % Projected Growth (Q1)/(Q0) greater than EPS % Growth (Q0)/(Q-1): The projected growth rate for the current quarter (Q1) over the completed quarter (Q0) has to be greater than the growth rate from the completed quarter (Q0) over one quarter ago (Q-1). EPS % Growth (Q0)/(Q-1) greater than EPS % Growth (Q-1)/(Q-2): The growth rate for the completed quarter (Q0) over one quarter ago (Q-1) has to be greater than the growth rate from one quarter ago (Q-1) over two quarters ago (Q-2). EPS % Growth (Q-1)/(Q-2) greater than EPS % Growth (Q-2)/(Q-3):The growth rate from one quarter ago (Q-1) over two quarters ago (Q-2) has to be greater than the growth rate from two quarters ago (Q-2) over three quarters ago (Q-3). In addition to this, we have added: Current Price greater than or equal to $5: This screens out the low priced stocks. Average 20-day volume greater than or equal to 50,000: High trading volume implies that the stocks have adequate liquidity. Here are five of the 15 stocks made it through the screen: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR) Medtronic plc (MDT) Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS) HollySys Automation Technologies, Ltd. (HOLI) You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge. The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out. Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today. Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: http://www.zacks.com/performance Zacks Restaurant Recommendations: In addition to dining at these special places, you can feast on their stock shares. A Zacks Special Report spotlights 5 recent IPOs to watch plus 2 stocks that offer immediate promise in a booming sector. Download it free »Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CIRRUS LOGIC (CRUS): Free Stock Analysis Report FLIR SYSTEMS (FLIR): Free Stock Analysis Report HOLLYSYS AUTOMT (HOLI): Free Stock Analysis Report MEDTRONIC (MDT): Free Stock Analysis Report VERTEX PHARM (VRTX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research