Great businesses at fair prices — here's why each makes the list.
…and 320 more buy candidates in the full briefing.
38 name(s) sliding toward Avoid:
Value $98,924 ▼ -1.1% since 2026-07-16 · ▼ -$571 (-0.6%) since yesterday · S&P -0.7% · Cash $1,016
| Stock | Held | Price | Today | Since buy | Grade |
| DUOL | 77 sh | $124.71 | ▼ -6.9% | -3.3% | 90 |
| HIG | 73 sh | $141.98 | ▲ +1.1% | +3.9% | 90 |
| INTU | 33 sh | $289.92 | ▼ -1.3% | -1.7% | 88 |
| LOPE | 69 sh | $138.37 | ▼ -0.8% | -3.3% | 90 |
| META | 15 sh | $643.81 | ▼ -0.3% | -3.1% | 89 |
| NBIX | 58 sh | $179.05 | ▲ +3.5% | +4.4% | 89 |
| NEM | 110 sh | $92.49 | ▲ +3.7% | +1.8% | 91 |
| PRI | 31 sh | $309.53 | ▲ +0.0% | -1.0% | 92 |
| PTC | 78 sh | $120.77 | ▼ -3.3% | -5.2% | 89 |
| RMD | 49 sh | $195.80 | ▼ -1.4% | -3.4% | 89 |
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 319 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 | +13.0% | -1.1% |
| B (65-79) | 162 | +12.1% | -3.7% |
| C (50-64) | 89 | +15.3% | -0.2% |
| D-F (<50) | 24 | +41.0% | +27.2% |
→ higher grades did WORSE here (gap 28.0 pts) ⚠️
3 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 2026-07-19. Educational only — not financial advice.
Q2 earnings just dropped — and it's a loss. Alaska Air swung to a $0.92/share loss (though slightly better than the $0.97 loss analysts expected). Revenue came in at $4.07B, up from $3.7B a year ago but just short of the $4.10B estimate. The culprit: fuel costs spiked roughly 85% and ate into margins. Management expects a Q3 recovery, and full-year guidance projects roughly break-even ($−0.06 EPS) on $15.85B revenue. An SEC 8-K filed July 21 appears related to the earnings release. The grade of 40 already reflects the weak financials — these results confirm the pressure is real and ongoing. Not a name to chase.
Earnings tomorrow (July 23 after close) — the big event. Analysts expect $2.18 EPS on $6.38B revenue; Newmont has been beating estimates recently, so another beat is plausible. Geopolitical tension (U.S.–Iran) is propping up gold prices, which helps Newmont, but rising fuel costs from the same conflict could nibble at mining margins — a double-edged sword. Separately, Newmont exercised participation rights in Metallic Minerals (a small copper/critical-minerals explorer), maintaining its ~9.2% stake for ~$903K — a tiny, strategic bet on copper/critical-mineral exposure, not needle-moving. The stock has slid ~16% over 3 months even as fundamentals remain strong. Tomorrow's report is the real test.
Mixed signals. Piper Sandler downgraded Hartford to Neutral as part of a broad insurance-sector rotation, arguing that large diversified commercial insurers are "losing the defensive advantage they enjoyed as pricing softness spreads." That said, Hartford's fundamentals remain rock-solid (P/E 10, FCF yield 14.5%, steady margins). The company declared its regular $0.60/share quarterly dividend and appointed industry veteran Randy Larsen to the board — both routine, positive governance moves. Peer Chubb topped Q2 estimates, a good read-through for the sector. Institutional buyers (Swiss National Bank, SEB, Mediolanum) added shares. The Piper downgrade is worth watching — if insurance pricing truly softens, even strong underwriters feel it — but the grade reflects current strength, not a forecast.
CEO flagged slower growth ahead, and analysts are cautious. Management projects ~20% daily-active-user growth for 2026 and warned that revenue growth will "slow after Q1 before stabilizing later." AI-driven expansion (Chess, Math, new learning features) will raise inference costs and could compress gross margins before efficiency kicks in. A Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) reflects this near-term uncertainty. Morgan Stanley and others hiked price targets on AI growth hopes, so the Street is split. The stock is down ~77% from its highs. The grade (90) rewards the strong current financials (37% ROE, 38% net margin, 73% gross margin), but the weaker stability score (46) already flags the volatility. The growth slowdown is a real execution risk to watch, not a reason to panic — the business model itself is still very profitable.
No company-specific bombshell — but a useful data point. Primerica published its quarterly "Financial Security Monitor" survey showing 71% of middle-income families say income is falling behind the cost of living and 74% rate their savings ability negatively. That's stressful for families but actually reinforces demand for Primerica's bread-and-butter: affordable financial guidance. Notably, 58% of respondents prefer a human advisor over AI tools — a tailwind for Primerica's agent-based model. The stock recently hit an all-time high ($312). Q2 earnings are scheduled for August 6. The grade (92) reflects excellent financials across the board; no red flags here.
Gartner validation. PTC's Windchill was named a Leader and its Arena product a Visionary in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for PLM Software in Discrete Manufacturing. This is a credibility stamp, not a revenue event — but it matters for enterprise sales cycles where customers check Gartner before buying. Gartner projects 60%+ of manufacturers will rely on PLM as a core AI-innovation system by 2030 (vs ~20% today), which is the market PTC is positioned to ride. No earnings surprise or guidance change; just a steady compounder doing its thing.
UBS trimmed the price target but kept the Buy rating. Target went from $312 to $300. Fiscal Q4 results (August 6) are expected to show strong earnings growth driven by ~8.6% sales increase and improved gross margins. The cloud: a ventilator (Astral) production issue has forced ResMed to redirect manufacturing output to replace affected units, which could limit normal sales in fiscal 2027 — the size of the impact is "unclear." On the positive side, UBS says the GLP-1 weight-loss drug threat to sleep-apnea demand is overblown — the cooling in U.S. device sales reflects natural market maturation, not competition from Ozempic/Wegovy. RBC Capital separately downgraded the stock, so there's analyst disagreement. The grade (89) reflects today's strong profitability and growth; the ventilator issue is worth monitoring into FY27.
Zuckerberg announced Meta is building a cloud computing business from its AI infrastructure. The idea: sell access to proprietary AI models, turning the massive capex ($145B planned this year, nearly 2x last year's $72B) into a revenue stream rather than just a cost center. This is a legitimate strategic shift — Google Cloud grew from $5.5B to $17.7B in three years by a similar playbook. But Meta's track record on big pivots is mixed (metaverse consumed enormous capital with little to show). Analysts from BofA expect Meta to top Q2 earnings estimates as core ad growth remains healthy. Cathie Wood's ARK bought shares. Earnings are upcoming (July 30). The grade (89) reflects the current ad business's profitability; the AI/cloud bet is upside potential, not yet in the numbers.
New Chief Business Officer appointed. Samir Siddhanti, the executive who led the $2.9B Soleno Therapeutics acquisition, was promoted to CBO. This is an internal promotion (he's been at Neurocrine since 2017), not a surprise hire. It signals the company is doubling down on deal-driven pipeline expansion. Neurocrine continues to appear on "best growth-at-a-reasonable-price" screens. No earnings surprise or pipeline setback. Steady.
Quiet week. The main headline is a 13G filing disclosing a 4.03% stake in Scynexis (a small biotech) — that's Federated Hermes acting as an asset manager investing client money, not a company-level event. Broker consensus is "Hold." No material catalyst right now.
Stock hit a new 12-month low ($139.94), down ~5% amid sector-wide selling. There's no company-specific bad news — this looks like a broad education-sector pullback. An institutional holder (Van Berkom) trimmed its position by ~28K shares. The grade remains strong (90) on excellent fundamentals (30% ROE, 20% net margin, near-zero debt). At this price, the valuation pillar (P/E 18, PEG 0.9) looks more attractive, not worse. Worth watching whether the selling is mechanical (index rebalancing, sector rotation) or if something fundamental shifts.
The turnaround is showing real life. Under CEO Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" plan, Q2 fiscal 2026 delivered the first year-over-year EPS growth in two years. U.S. comparable sales rose 7.1% with transaction growth exceeding 4%. Starbucks Rewards hit a record 35.6M active members. The company raised full-year guidance: global comp sales now expected 5%+ (was 3%+) and lifted EPS guidance to $2.25–$2.45. A $2B cost-savings program is on track through fiscal 2028. The grade (45) reflects the still-heavy balance sheet and weak current profitability — those are real — but the trend is improving. Earnings July 29 will be the next checkpoint. Not a buy by MarketMind's standards, but no longer deteriorating the way the "crash-watch" label might suggest.
No material news. Daily stock-movement articles and valuation-debate pieces, but nothing company-specific. Housing demand is supporting timber earnings at a baseline level. The low grade reflects structural challenges (cyclical business, margin pressure). No catalyst either way.
Merger deadline extended after regulatory setback. The $11.5B Blackstone Infrastructure acquisition has been pushed to May 2027. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission voted 2-1 to force TXNM/Blackstone to unwind a $400M stock sale that lacked regulatory approval, and imposed $300K in fines. The deal has cleared federal and Texas regulators but still needs New Mexico PRC and Nuclear Regulatory Commission sign-off. The company declared its regular $0.4225/share quarterly dividend (payable Aug 14). This is a stock where the investment thesis = "does the deal close?" The extension adds uncertainty, though both sides say they remain committed.
Fair value estimate trimmed ~4% (to ~$54), Mexico plant closing, and Q2 earnings due July 27. Multiple analysts (Citi, BNP, RBC, BofA, Goldman, Mizuho — the last setting a $40 target) have cut price targets. The concerns: higher interest costs from recent debt refinancing, soft appliance demand, and a heavily leveraged balance sheet. The Supsa plant closure in Mexico is aimed at consolidating production for efficiency, but restructuring costs will weigh on near-term margins. Seeking Alpha published a bearish downgrade citing recession risk. The grade (44) reflects all of this. Earnings Monday/Tuesday will be the next inflection point.
Honest note on sources: The Hartford's SEC 8-K filing returned a 403 error and could not be read directly; based on context (timing + other headlines), it most likely covers the dividend declaration and/or the board appointment, both of which were reported through other sources. Google News redirect links for several articles could not be followed (known limitation — Google's SPA shell blocks scraping). All material conclusions above are drawn from articles that were actually read, not headline-guessed.
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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