Of course it can be profitable, whether it's day trading or long-term trading if we do it well and are full of careful consideration then you will benefit. But if you plan to trade in the day you must be ready to use each pump and dump it on each coin.
You mean if you choose good coins for longterm investments, as choosing a good coins for daily trading. Not every coin have potential to worth more in the future, like not every coin fluctuate enough on daily basis to be able to make some profit.
What is better is hard to say, each of us have different set of skills. I`m longterm trader, after I lost a nice amount of money in daily trading, and when I tried longterm and made a lot of profit, I found out what is better for me. People should try both and find what is more suitable for them and what is profitable for them and their skills.