When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, focus on those with rising relative price strength.

One stock that fits that bill is Equity Residential, which had its Relative Strength (RS) Rating upgraded from 77 to 81 Thursday.

When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.

IBD's proprietary RS Rating measures technical performance by showing how a stock's price movement over the last 52 weeks compares to that of the other stocks in our database.

History shows that the best stocks tend to have an RS Rating of above 80 in the early stages of their moves.

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Equity Residential broke out earlier, but has fallen back below the prior 85.93 entry from a flat base. If a stock you're tracking clears a buy point then falls 7% or more below the original entry price, it's considered a failed base. Wait for the stock to set up and breakout from a new base and buy point. Also understand that the most recent consolidation is a later-stage base, and such bases are more prone to failure.

Although earnings and sales growth came in at -16% and -8%, respectively, in the latest report, that showed improvement for both the top and bottom lines.

Equity Residential earns the No. 87 rank among its peers in the Finance-Property REITs industry group. Extra Space Storage and National Storage Affiliates Trust are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.