(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Merry Christmas, everyone. Let me show you something: FedEx (FDX) sold off at the open on Friday and institutional money came pouring in to buy the stock red on the open. When you see a long, white (hollow as opposed to filled in with red) daily price candle like this, it’s evidence that a stock is being meaningfully accumulated on dips. See the black volume bar below confirming the buying frenzy. A long hollow daily candle forms when a stock opens well below its eventual close but finishes the session higher than where it began, producing a white (hollow) body with a large total range. This typically reflects a volatile day in which sellers initially push prices down — often due to news, earnings, or a gap lower — before buyers step in aggressively and drive the stock higher into the close. Technicians generally read this as a bullish intraday reversal or as a rejection of lower prices, especially when accompanied by elevated volume. It shows that demand from the buyers overwhelmed early selling pressure and that the buyers controlled the session by the end of the day. Fedex is an institutional stock, not a retail name. Its institutional shareholder base is about 80% versus 65% to 70% for the average large cap name. The money buying that dip and taking this name higher is professional money. Sean’s going to tell you more about the turnaround at FDX. We also have some stuff on another Transport name, railroad CSX (CSX) , as well. But first, some stats on the Best Stocks in the Market list… Sector leaderboard As of Dec. 22, there are 193 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top sector ranking: Top industries: Top 5 best stocks by relative strength: Sector spotlight: Transports Sean — The Dow Jones Transportation average is within 1% of new all-time highs. This index has some grit to it with holdings like Union Pacific, FedEx, Old Dominion and J. B. Hunt. A lot of these transports are tied to the cost of money. When rates are rising, it usually means borrowing is more expensive for companies that rely heavily on debt to buy planes, trucks, ships, and rail equipment, which can squeeze profits. Higher rates also tend to slow the economy, reducing demand for shipping and travel as businesses tend to move fewer goods and consumers pull back on spending, as does the snip/snap nature of tariffs, which are hopefully over for the time being. What we’re seeing as we head into 2026 is a noticeably different setup: lower fuel costs, easing interest rates, easier policy and some relief in raw material prices. That shift is starting to show up in the underlying rail data. CSX posted volume growth in the most recent quarter, driven by strong intermodal demand and strength in several merchandise categories like minerals, fertilizer and metals, while utility coal volumes surged on higher power demand. Coal tonnage was up 22% year-over-year from power demand and higher natural gas prices. Even where there are pockets of weakness, the company is positioning for growth by converting truck freight to rail, which tends to benefit when fuel and financing costs fall. On to FedEx (FDX), which just reported earnings last week . Revenue was up 7% with U.S. domestic package revenue up 12% and freight revenue down 2%. U.S. domestic volume was up 6% while international volumes declined, especially China to the U.S., but were partially offset by Asia to Europe and intra-Asia growth. The freight side of the business, which is primarily business to business, has been struggling. This past quarter, average daily shipments were down 4% year-over-year and adjusted operating margin declined 300 basis points. The industrial economy has been relatively weak and this has weighed on shipment volumes. The positive spin on this is that FedEx’s pricing discipline is helping cushion the impact of weaker volumes. During the quarter, freight yields inflected positively, meaning pricing trends turned higher after being flat or declining. Revenue per shipment increased 2%, driven by heavier shipments and higher revenue per good shipped, even as shipment volumes fell 4%. Service quality is also at some of the best levels in company history, with on-time performance reaching its highest level since fiscal Q3 2021. It’s important to note that FedEx will be spinning off its freight business into a new publicly traded company in June of 2026 under the ticker FDXF. FedEx has conviction this will unlock value for both segments of the business, just in time for what the market is pricing in as a comfortable environment for transports. Josh — Before I show you the technicals on FedEx, can we just stop to appreciate how monumental the coming challenge this stock is going to face? Look at this long-term price chart: The resistance level to watch is this $300-$315 area, which has been like a lid on top of this stock in 2020 – 2021 and 2024. Third time’s a charm? I don’t believe in triple tops, as you know, so I would take a shot on it. Okay, the candles: This stock is under massive accumulation. Sometime in September, probably when the Fed finally cut rates for the first time this year, the stock found a meaningful bottom and it’s been on an escalator ever since. I like an entry here for investors with a stop at the 50-day moving average around $260. Roll it up as we challenge $300. Traders can wait for the breakout above $300, first resistance is not until $315 from there. Okay, let’s do CSX. This is a buy right now. CSX is in the middle of a textbook breakout and retest, with former resistance in the $35 – $36 zone now acting as support after the stock pushed decisively higher. Following the breakout, price pulled back in an orderly fashion to the rising 50-day moving average near $35.50, which also aligns with the prior breakout level. That retest held, sellers failed to regain control, and momentum reset with RSI cooling into the mid-50s rather than breaking down. So long as CSX holds above $35.50, the breakout remains intact. The range should be expanding higher from here. Like Fedex, this stock has been in a consolidation period for a long time and is now challenging the upper bounds of the range dating back to Christmas 2021: Above that level, on this third attempt, there are no old sellers. I like this setup both long and short-term. Traders can honor thy stops at $35.50 risking a point or so in potential downside. Feel free to give it a longer leash down to $33.50 — the Thanksgiving low — if you’re feeling more adventurous. Wishing you a happy holiday season. We’re off this Thursday but back next Monday with an all new Best Stocks column. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC” TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.