3 Hidden Gem Stock Picks to Beat the September Market Slump These days the most popular stocks to follow are either meme plays or the most blue-chip SP 500 companies. Very few investors seem to be interested in hidden gem stock picks. About halfway through September, the index is down almost 15% year-to-date. Of the 11 sectors in the index, only energy (up 44.8% ) and utilities (up 7.5%) are up for the year. Of the 503 stocks in the index, 318 are down for the year. One possibility for finding hidden gem stock picks to beat the September slump is to limit your search to the companies in the index that are winning in 2022. However, of the 184 in positive territory, most are either energy or utilities-related, which makes sense given those two sectors are the clear winners this year. So, we need to go further afield to find three winners to bet on to beat the September slump. I’ll use three criteria to find my diamonds in the rough: 1) A constituent of the SP SmallCap 600 or the SP MidCap 400 , 2) Less than five analysts covering the company’s stock, and 3) An EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation) margin of 20% or higher.