3 Stocks Close to Record Highs to Buy Now We've put together a shortlist of 3 stocks close to record highs to buy now to help you capitalize on relative strength and breakout potential. Let's...

Although the market has been pulling back over the past few weeks, the good news is that there are still pockets of strength that stand out as potential buying opportunities. In fact, some stocks are trading close to their all-time highs and have barely budged during the recent market weakness, which tells us that there is heavy demand for their shares. These stocks could be on their way towards big breakouts if the market can turn the corner in the coming weeks, which means that adding shares now could pay off in a big way.

Keep in mind that September is one of the most seasonally weak periods of the year for financial markets, which means that an end-of-year rally might be on the cards if investors can successfully navigate their way through this difficult environment. Adding positions in stocks that are trading close to record highs with the indices red might seem intimidating, but it's important to understand that there is no overhead resistance to contend with if buyers continue to scoop up shares.

We've put together a shortlist of 3 stocks close to record highs to buy now to help you capitalize on relative strength and breakout potential. Let's take a further look below.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO)

This innovative life sciences company is exhibiting serious strength and has one of the strongest product portfolios in the industry, which makes it the type of stock to consider adding as a core holding for your account. Thermo Fisher Scientific is a leading provider of life science tools and services to end markets including pharma and biotech companies, academic and government institutions, diagnostic and health care companies, and industrial and applied science companies. The company's products have played a big role in developing COVID-19 testing and vaccines, which has resulted in meaningful top-line growth over the past few quarters, including Q2 revenue of $9.27 billion, up 34% year-over-year.

There's a lot for investors to like about the market reaction to Thermo Fisher's updated guidance issued on Friday as shares hit new record highs in a very weak tape. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $21.16 next year versus the Thomson Reuters consensus earnings per share estimate of $19.5 and clearly has some attractive growth prospects for investors to consider going forward. The bottom line here is that Thermo Fisher Scientific is a market-leading company that is using its incredibly strong cash flows to continue innovating and developing products that can improve healthcare for people around the world, which makes it a great buy as it trades near record highs.

InMode Ltd (NASDAQ:INMD)

They say that father time is undefeated, but there are still plenty of people out there trying to combat the effects of aging and retain a youthful appearance. That's why InMode Ltd is a stock that should be on your radar, as it's an Israel-based company that is a leading global provider of minimally invasive anti-aging medical products. The company develops, manufactures, and markets products that harness novel radio-frequency-based devices to provide face and body treatments that offer little to no downtime and no visible scarring. There's certainly plenty of opportunity in the global anti-aging market, as the industry is expected to reach $47.8 billion by the year 2027, which would represent a 4.9% CAGR.

This stock is also worth a look thanks to the fact that the company just announced a 2-for-1 stock split that will take effect on September 30, 2021. This announcement could be a strong catalyst for the share price over the next few weeks, and it's also worth mentioning that InMode delivered record Q2 revenue figures back in July. Anti-aging products should see strong demand all over the world during the next decade, which means that this growing company has a great opportunity to provide outsized returns.

Confluent Inc (NASDAQ:CFLT)

This intriguing tech company which went public back in June is another strong option to consider, particularly given that the stock was just able to hit all-time highs during a big down day in the market. Confluent is a company that has developed a full-scale data streaming platform that enables companies to easily access, store, and manage data as continuous, real-time streams. When you consider how much data is generated on a daily basis by companies in today's tech-centric world, figuring out a way to put it all together into actionable insights is a problem that almost every company faces. That's a big reason why Confluent is so interesting.

Data is key to unlocking operational efficiencies and improving the customer experience, and this company's platform is a dream for both developers and enterprises operating in a cloud-based environment. The company delivered impressive Q2 results including total revenue of $88 million, up 64% year-over-year, and 617 customers with $100,000 or greater in ARR, up 51% year-over-year. With so much uncertainty about the overall market, the fact that a high growth name like Confluent is trading around its highs means it's one to watch going forward.