Great businesses at fair prices — here's why each makes the list.
…and 357 more buy candidates in the full briefing.
40 name(s) sliding toward Avoid:
Value $107,912 ▲ +7.9% since 2026-07-16 · ▲ +$880 (+0.8%) since yesterday · S&P +2.1% · Cash $3,897
| Stock | Held | Price | Today | Since buy | Grade |
| CF | 83 sh | $125.79 | ▲ +0.1% | -2.9% | 89 |
| EOG | 78 sh | $143.35 | ▼ -0.8% | +6.4% | 88 |
| FHI | 156 sh | $64.41 | ▼ -0.7% | +7.4% | 92 |
| HIG | 73 sh | $138.55 | ▲ +0.5% | +1.4% | 90 |
| INTU | 33 sh | $358.06 | ▲ +2.9% | +21.5% | 86 |
| LOPE | 69 sh | $151.19 | ▲ +0.7% | +5.6% | 90 |
| LULU | 85 sh | $120.81 | ▲ +5.1% | +1.6% | 88 |
| NBIX | 58 sh | $154.06 | ▼ -1.2% | -10.2% | 89 |
| PRI | 31 sh | $290.39 | ▼ -0.4% | -7.1% | 93 |
| RMD | 49 sh | $240.33 | ▲ +1.9% | +18.5% | 84 |
Fictional money · prices update daily · a live test of whether the picks actually work.
Does the grading actually work? Two honest halves — a backtest on past data, and the real live record as it ripens. It reports the truth even when that's “not enough data yet.”
Reconstructed 320 graded moments across 150 companies (a sample of 150 names), then measured what each actually returned over the next 12 months.
Do higher grades earn better returns?
| Grade | Names | 12-mo return | vs S&P |
| A (80-100) | 44 | +13.5% | -0.5% |
| B (65-79) | 161 | +11.8% | -3.6% |
| C (50-64) | 91 | +12.9% | -1.7% |
| D-F (<50) | 24 | +41.0% | +27.2% |
→ higher grades did WORSE here (gap 27.5 pts) ⚠️
32 snapshot(s) since 2026-07-06, none ripe yet — first 6-month check ~2027-01-06.
Backtest limits: ~5 years back, surviving companies only, restated statements — a strong first read, not gospel. The live record is the hindsight-free gold standard and strengthens every month. Refreshed 2026-08-30. Educational only — not financial advice.
What the morning agent actually read today, name by name.
News is context shown alongside the grade — it never overrides it.
CFO placed on administrative leave amid a stock probe. Multiple outlets report that LOPE's CFO has been put on administrative leave while the company investigates stock-related concerns. An SEC 8-K was filed on Aug 21 confirming a material event (the filing itself couldn't be read — SEC returned a 403). This is a genuine red flag worth watching: a CFO departure during a probe can signal accounting or governance trouble, even if nothing is proven yet. The grade (89.5) reflects strong historical financials, but it can't see governance risk in real time. If you're considering this name, keep an eye on follow-up filings before acting.
Earnings Sept 3 — UBS warns the annual outlook may be cut. UBS projects LULU will lower its FY2026 EPS guidance to roughly $9.70–$9.90, well below Wall Street's $10.93 consensus and the market's $10.20–$10.40 expectation. The weakness is in the U.S. and China — soft traffic, brand fatigue, and tariff/promotion margin pressure. UBS kept a Neutral rating and trimmed its price target to $120 from $124. A new CEO starts just one week after the results, limiting any big strategic announcements. The options market is pricing ~10% move on the print. On the other hand, LULU has beaten EPS in each of the last four quarters, and some analysts see international strength as a cushion. The grade (88.2) rewards the strong balance sheet and valuation after the selloff, but the near-term earnings risk is real — this is one to watch through the Sept 3 report before adding.
FDA accepted IND for a Phase 2 Alzheimer's cognition trial. The drug (NBI-1117567, a muscarinic M1-preferring agonist) targets cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's, developed through the Nxera partnership. A $10M milestone payment was triggered. This is a positive pipeline signal but early-stage — it doesn't change the near-term story, which still revolves around INGREZZA pricing and market access. Analysts project $5.2B revenue by 2029 if the pipeline delivers, but high R&D spend on projects like this is a risk if late-stage trials disappoint. The grade (89.4) reflects strong current growth and profitability; this trial nod adds long-term optionality without immediate impact.
Broke ground on Blue Point One — the world's largest low-carbon ammonia plant. A $3.7B facility in Louisiana, co-owned with JERA (35%) and Mitsui (25%), targeting 1.4M metric tons/year of low-carbon ammonia by 2029. It will capture ~98% of CO2 generated during production. CF is investing an additional $550M in shared infrastructure. This is a material long-term catalyst — it positions CF at the center of the clean-ammonia energy transition. Separately, Freedom Broker downgraded the stock on nitrogen price concerns, so there's a near-term headwind from fertilizer pricing. CF shares are up ~44% over the past year, far outperforming its industry. The grade (89.3) correctly flags a weakness in growth (49) — the company is a cash-flow machine but commodity-dependent.
Mixed signals: strong investment business, but term life sales still soft. Q2 Investment & Savings sales jumped 23% to $4.4B and client assets hit a record $140B. But term-life policies issued fell 12% YoY (though improving sequentially), and the sales force shrank 3% to ~148,600 reps — middle-income households are cautious. Truist cut PRI to Hold citing underperformance in new term-life sales (couldn't read the original Seeking Alpha article — paywalled). The president also sold 1,800 shares (~18% of his direct stake) at ~$313/share, likely routine profit-taking per Motley Fool. Analysts are split: 40% buy, 50% hold. The grade (92.9) — the highest in today's list — reflects the pristine balance sheet and profitability; the term-life softness is a watch item, not a crisis.
Upgraded to Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) on rising earnings estimates. Consensus estimates rose 7.8% over the past three months, putting FHI in the top 5% of Zacks-covered stocks for estimate revisions. The company is also expanding into tokenized money market funds and blockchain partnerships with major institutions — an interesting growth angle. Capital returns are solid: dividend raised 11.8% in April, payout ratio just 28%, and $480M cash vs $349M long-term debt. One concern: fee pressure across asset management and dependence on money-market products. The grade (91.5) reflects very strong financial health; the digital-asset push is speculative but doesn't change the core quality story.
Q2 revenue up 8.1% YoY to $7.26B — best in its peer group. Hartford delivered the fastest revenue growth among multi-line insurers and beat net-premium estimates, though it missed on book value per share. The stock dipped 2.2% post-earnings anyway, and multi-line insurers averaged a 3.3% decline since reporting. Separately, Hartford partnered with UC Berkeley's Bakar Labs to support energy & materials innovation — a small but forward-looking move. Mostly institutional flow headlines otherwise (Rakuten, United Capital buying). The grade (90.3) rewards strong valuation and profitability; the Q2 beat supports the thesis.
Declared quarterly dividend; valuation looks fair to slightly cheap. The Excess Returns model suggests a ~31% discount to intrinsic value ($259), but on P/E the stock looks roughly fair at ~15x. The investment case hinges on sustaining its 19.2% ROE. An officer filed to sell 7,500 shares — worth noting but not alarming for a company this size. Five-year total return: 108%. No major business catalysts this week; the news is mostly institutional positioning. The grade (88.4) reflects strong financial health; this is a steady compounder, not a momentum name.
Stock up 14.8% in 12 weeks on blowout Q2 results. Adjusted EPS surged 118.5% to $5.07 (beat estimates), revenue jumped 57.4% to $8.62B, and production rose 24.4%. The company returned $1.83B to shareholders via buybacks and dividends in Q2 alone. Targets: 5% crude growth and 14% total production growth in 2026, backed by ~12B barrels of reserves. The catch: 2027 earnings are projected to decline, and the stock now carries a Zacks #3 Hold — the rally has priced in a lot of the good news. The grade (88.0) flags weaker growth (52) vs other pillars, consistent with a mature E&P compounder.
Gained on a down day but down 13.4% over the past month. Trades at 11.5x forward earnings — a discount to the apparel sector's 14.7x — suggesting the market is cautious ahead of earnings. Revenue is expected up 5.6% to $1.51B but EPS may dip ~1%. A Barron's piece flagged a "footwear apocalypse" at Dick's Sporting Goods, though that's more about Dick's than Deckers specifically. The grade (87.6) reflects a clean balance sheet and strong profitability; the valuation dip is what's keeping it on the buy list.
Data center narrative vs. weak fundamentals. One article argues IRM could be 13% undervalued based on its data-center growth story, but the grade (39.2) reflects the reality of the balance sheet: high leverage and weak financial health are what the scoring engine sees. Mostly institutional flow headlines this week. The data-center pivot is real but speculative, and the debt load is the risk the grade is flagging. No change to the Avoid rating.
Heavy debt, analyst consensus "Reduce." Whirlpool issued $2B in high-coupon secured notes in June to address maturing debt, pushing interest costs higher. The stock trades at ~22.9% below analysts' fair-value estimate, but annual sales and EPS have been falling for years. The company is launching 100+ new products and playing up its 115-year brand legacy, but execution risk is high and the elevated debt-to-EBITDA ratio limits strategic options. Analysts give it a consensus "Reduce." The grade (45.3) correctly reflects the strain; this isn't a turnaround to bet on without clearer evidence.
Only institutional-flow headlines (fund buys/sells) this week — no material business news. NNN REIT holds a consensus "Hold" from analysts. Nothing here changes the picture.
Sources read: Yahoo Finance, Motley Fool, Barron's (via Yahoo), UBS research summaries, Zacks. The SEC 8-K filing for LOPE returned a 403 error and could not be read directly — the CFO-leave story was confirmed via multiple news outlets. Google News redirect links were not fetchable (known limitation — they serve a SPA shell, not article text). Seeking Alpha articles (PRI Truist downgrade) were paywalled.
MarketMind is a personal, educational stock-research tool. Every morning it screens roughly 900 large- and mid-cap U.S. companies, grades each one from 0–100 on five research-backed pillars — financial health, profitability, growth, valuation, and moat — and surfaces the businesses that look strong and reasonably priced.
The idea it rests on: over the long run, a stock's price follows the company's profits. So rather than chasing hype, MarketMind looks for great businesses at fair prices and lets time do the work.
It also runs a Paper Fund — a fictional $100,000 that automatically follows the tool's own Buy ratings — so you can watch, over time, whether the picks actually work. It's pretend money: nothing here is ever bought or sold for real.
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