(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh here — When Lucid Motors began developing the Lucid Air luxury EV, they realized that speed to market would be important. This led to the obvious realization that in order to move quickly and efficiently, they would need to carry out a lot of simulation. Lucid turned to a company called Ansys (ANSS) for thermal management, battery safety, and aerodynamics simulations for its new vehicle, enabling faster prototyping and accelerating the time to market. Apple and Qualcomm turned to Ansys as well during the creation of their 5G chip designs. They relied on Ansys for electromagnetic and thermal simulation tools to bring these semiconductors online having already been tested under a range of conditions and circumstances. The bottom line is that simulation has become a key part of the development and manufacturing processes of virtually every key industry of the future. Anywhere new products are being shepherded to market, a software company has probably already done extensive modeling and testing in advance. This step saves costs, prevents dangerous outcomes and speeds the innovation cycle up. Everyone wins. One of the main things Sean and I want to do with our Best Stocks list each week is to use the Thursday updates to introduce you to companies and stories you may not have heard about yet. This week, we’re going to focus on Ansys and why this stock looks to be on the verge of a multi-year break out. Sean will get into the fundamentals of Ansys and then I’ll give you some risk levels I’d keep an eye on. Best Stock Spotlight: Ansys Inc (ANSS) On the list since: 6/10/2025. Sean — Niche software companies often provide deeply specialized solutions that solve specific problems for their users. Their value lies not just in functionality, but in the way their tools are embedded into workflows. This is something we are constantly critiquing, optimizing, and improving at Ritholtz Wealth Management. These niche software platforms are the digital infrastructure of our firm. Over time, these platforms become tightly woven into an organization’s operations, with custom integrations, data dependencies, and employee familiarity, all of which play a part in how painful it can be to switch software providers. Transitioning to a new platform isn’t just a matter of installing different software. It can require retraining staff, migrating complex datasets, reengineering processes, and generally disrupting productivity. This complexity makes niche software providers sticky and sometimes irreplaceable, creating long-term value for both users and investors. Ansys (ANSS) fits the label of niche software and is on our list of The Best Stocks in the Market right now. We’re going to focus on ANSS because it’s got a good technical set up and strong fundamentals. Ansys (ANSS) develops advanced engineering simulation software that helps companies predict how products will perform in real-world conditions. Its tools are used for structural, thermal, fluid, and electromagnetic simulations, enabling engineers to test and optimize designs virtually before physical prototypes are built. Ansys is critical in industries like aerospace, automotive, and electronics, where performance, safety, and innovation depend on precise simulation. The company’s last four quarters of gross margins were 91.2%, 91.6%, 92.5%, and 92.5% respectively. It’s tough to get gross margins any higher than that. The company has gone from $496 million in operating earnings as of the year ended 2020, to $717 million for 2024. ANSS is outpacing other software platforms in terms of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) per employee, a sign of leverage and scalability: ANSS is still below all-time highs dating back to the end of 2021, but we are on high alert anytime a stock like this begins to break above into a new channel. We want to see this name get above its upper bands of support and then stay there: Ansys is a highly profitable, indispensable player in its niche. It’s got sticky customer relationships in industries that have massive switching costs. For investors, that means a durable moat, long-term pricing power and scalable profitability. Risk management Josh — Traders can use $350 as a pivot point. The stock gapped from that level and has been consolidating ever since. If the whole gap gets filled, but the $350 area holds, you can stay long. For investors, I wanted to pull the lens back a bit to show you what the battle for all-time highs may look like. Below is a 10-year chart with the 200- week moving average. That area of overhead supply is about $400 to $410. It may pause if bagholders take the comeback and walk away, but I doubt that will represent significant resistance. The stock hadn’t been back to that level ever again and it had barely spent any time up there. The fundamentals are now significantly better than they were the last time this stock traded into the 400s. I think it can get there this time and keep going. Good luck out there! 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. 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