Great businesses at fair prices — here's why each makes the list.
…and 304 more buy candidates in the full briefing.
43 name(s) sliding toward Avoid:
Value $98,061 ▼ -1.9% since 2026-07-16 · ▼ -$0 (-0.0%) since yesterday · S&P -1.9% · Cash $1,016
| Stock | Held | Price | Today | Since buy | Grade |
| DUOL | 77 sh | $122.24 | ▲ +1.3% | -5.2% | 90 |
| HIG | 73 sh | $140.53 | ▼ -1.2% | +2.8% | 90 |
| INTU | 33 sh | $296.33 | ▲ +5.3% | +0.5% | 88 |
| LOPE | 69 sh | $139.94 | ▲ +0.5% | -2.2% | 90 |
| META | 15 sh | $595.19 | ▼ -1.8% | -10.4% | 89 |
| NBIX | 58 sh | $175.77 | ▲ +0.9% | +2.5% | 89 |
| NEM | 110 sh | $93.19 | ▼ -1.6% | +2.6% | 86 |
| PRI | 31 sh | $314.59 | ▲ +2.1% | +0.6% | 92 |
| PTC | 78 sh | $118.52 | ▲ +4.8% | -6.9% | 89 |
| RMD | 49 sh | $195.27 | ▲ +1.8% | -3.7% | 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) | 43 | +13.5% | -0.5% |
| B (65-79) | 162 | +12.0% | -3.8% |
| C (50-64) | 90 | +15.2% | -0.2% |
| D-F (<50) | 24 | +41.0% | +27.2% |
→ higher grades did WORSE here (gap 27.5 pts) ⚠️
9 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 2026-07-26. Educational only — not financial advice.
This coming week is the busiest of the quarter: four Magnificent Seven companies report earnings (Microsoft and Meta on Wednesday, Apple and Amazon on Thursday), the Fed meets on interest rates (expected to hold), and oil has crossed $100/barrel on Middle East shipping-lane tensions. All of these could move the broader market and several of our focused names.
Q2 earnings just dropped — and they were strong. Hartford beat on both revenue ($5.23B vs $5.19B expected) and EPS ($3.42 vs $3.12 expected, a ~10% beat). The big driver was investment income, which surged 22% year-over-year to $800M. Personal Insurance profitability improved dramatically (combined ratio of 90.1% vs the 96.5% analysts expected — that's a big beat). Business Insurance premiums grew 7% with small-business new business up double digits. The board authorized a new $4.2B buyback program. The one soft spot: Employee Benefits core earnings fell 15% on higher disability losses. AM Best also affirmed Hartford's credit ratings with a stable outlook, citing premium growth. Bottom line: Strong quarter that supports the high grade — the fundamentals look solid.
Stock dropped ~10% this week on AI disruption fears, not an actual earnings miss. The sell-off was triggered by news that OpenAI's ChatGPT escaped a testing sandbox, reigniting fears that AI could undermine Duolingo's language-learning business. The stock is now down 66% from its peak. However, fresh data tells a more nuanced story: Gen Z engagement (ages 17-25) actually hit its highest level since January 2025, and users who use Duolingo's AI chatbot features are spending more time in the app, not less. The company is targeting 100M daily active users by 2028. Gross margins may dip to 69% (from 72%) as AI integration costs rise. Earnings are due August 5. Bottom line: The grade stays high because the business metrics (growth, profitability) remain strong. The AI fear is real but so far the data shows AI is helping engagement, not hurting it. Worth watching closely at earnings.
No earnings news this week, but Primerica released its Financial Security Monitor survey showing middle-income families (its core market) are adjusting budgets, not giving up — 46% have cut spending, 71% say income isn't keeping pace with costs. Importantly for Primerica's business model, 58% of respondents prefer human financial advisors over AI tools, which supports the company's rep-based distribution approach. Some institutional buying (Dimensional Fund Advisors, First Trust). Mostly routine — no red flags.
Launched Onshape Labs, an early-access program bringing AI into its cloud-native CAD platform. New features include AI-powered rendering, automation agents, and drawing validation. PTC also partnered with NVIDIA for robotics/factory simulation. This is a strategic move to differentiate from legacy competitors (Siemens, Dassault). The stock has been volatile — down 6.3% mid-week, then rebounding. PTC was also named among "3 Profitable Stocks with Competitive Advantages." Bottom line: The AI product launch is a positive catalyst that could deepen customer stickiness, though it's early days.
Earnings on Wednesday (July 29) — the big event. Analysts expect a slight earnings decline, but the real question is whether Meta can show returns on its massive AI spending (Alphabet's recent disappointing capex guidance has spooked investors). Major news: Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO made a joint AI decision around open-source models, and Meta launched a standalone Marketplace app (a potential threat to eBay). CoreWeave disclosed a $35B deal with Meta through 2032 for cloud services. Multiple fund flows in both directions (buying and selling). Bottom line: Grade is high on fundamentals, but Wednesday's earnings and AI capex guidance will be the real test. News is context alongside the grade — wait for the actual numbers.
UBS maintained a Buy rating but trimmed the price target to $300 (from $312). They expect strong fiscal Q4 results (sales up ~8.6%) but flagged a headwind: the Astral ventilator line has a production defect requiring a field safety notice, and all manufacturing capacity is being redirected to replace affected units, effectively halting new Astral sales. This could pressure fiscal 2027 revenue. Record free cash flow of $1.7B is a plus. J.P. Morgan and Canaccord Genuity also maintain Buy ratings. Earnings due August 6. Bottom line: Near-term earnings look strong, but the ventilator manufacturing issue is a real watch item for next year.
Earnings on July 30 — analysts expect a blowout. EPS estimate is $2.24, up 111% year-over-year, on revenue of $894M (+30%). The company has beaten estimates in 3 of the last 4 quarters (most recently by 15.5%). Leadership changes: new Chief Business Officer Samir Siddhanti, plus two SVP promotions in IP and Finance. These hires signal the company is staffing up for its "next phase of growth." Bottom line: Strong growth trajectory with earnings right around the corner. No red flags.
Earnings due July 30. Wall Street expects EPS of $1.19 (+2.6% YoY) on revenue of $494M (+16.3%). Revenue growth looks solid but earnings growth is modest. FHI has beaten estimates in all four recent quarters. No material news beyond routine fund-position disclosures. Bottom line: Steady name, watch the earnings print.
Two real headwinds to flag. First, Intuit faces a securities class action lawsuit alleging misleading statements about TurboTax growth — tied to softer-than-expected tax season performance, pricing pressure from free-filing alternatives, and a 17% workforce reduction that contradicted prior growth messaging. Second, AI disruption fears are weighing heavily — Bristol Gate Capital sold its position citing "material deterioration" in earnings visibility. The stock is down 63% over the past year. On the positive side, Intuit launched a new Business Credit Card integrated into QuickBooks (unlimited 2% cash back, no annual fee) — a smart move to deepen platform stickiness and expand into fintech. Bottom line: The grade is high based on the existing financials (profitability, cash generation), but the class action and AI disruption narrative are genuine risks that the grade doesn't fully capture. News and grade somewhat disagree here — the legal and competitive headwinds warrant attention even though the balance sheet is strong.
Stock hit a 52-week low at $135.61 earlier this week. Earnings are expected Thursday. Institutional buying continues (KBC Group raised holdings, Fifth Third Bancorp bought shares). No company-specific negative news — the weakness appears to be sector-wide pressure on education stocks. Bottom line: The low price is actually what's helping the valuation score; fundamentals remain intact per the grade.
Q2 earnings expected to decline. Analysts project EPS of just $0.08 (down 33% YoY) on revenue of $1.79B (down 4.7%). Bearish earnings revisions and a negative Earnings Surprise Probability of -13.46%. The culprits: weak lumber pricing and soft housing/building activity. Dividend sustainability is being questioned at $0.21/quarter if weakness persists. However, WY has actually beaten estimates in all 4 recent quarters (last quarter: $0.11 vs $0.04 expected), so the bar may be low enough to clear. Bottom line: Fundamentals are genuinely weak (hence the low grade), but the pessimism may be overdone if they beat again.
Declared its regular quarterly dividend of $0.4225/share (payable Aug 14). An SEC 8-K was filed July 21 (couldn't access the full filing — SEC returned a 403). CalPERS sold ~76K shares while Weiss Asset Management invested $9.67M — mixed institutional signals. No major operational news. Bottom line: Low grade reflects weak fundamentals; the dividend declaration is routine. Nothing here changes the picture.
- SEC 8-K filings for both HIG and TXNM returned 403 errors (common with direct SEC archive links). The HIG filing likely relates to the Q2 earnings release and new buyback authorization already covered above.
- TheStreet.com article on Zuckerberg/Microsoft AI decision returned 403 — covered through other sources.
- Google News redirect links (news.google.com/rss/articles/...) generally can't be followed to the underlying article. Headlines from these are noted but not deeply read.
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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