This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

Tractor Supply is the largest operator of retail farm and ranch stores in the United States. The company targets recreational farmers and ranchers and has little exposure to commercial and industrial farm operations. As of July 2026, the company operated 2,463 of its namesake banners in 49 states, along with 209 Petsense by Tractor Supply stores. Stores are generally concentrated in rural communities rather than urban and suburban areas. In fiscal 2025, revenue consisted of livestock, equine & agriculture (around 27%); companion animal (24%); seasonal & recreation (around 24%); truck, tool, & hardware (15%); and clothing, gift, and décor (10%).

Tractor Supply Co., with 2025 sales of $15.5 billion, offers a broad range of items for home, land, pet, and livestock owners who generally have above-average income and a below-average cost of living. TSCO, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, has five product categories: Livestock, Equine & Agriculture; Companion Animal (pet); Seasonal & Recreation Products; Hardware, Tools, and Truck; and Clothing, Gift & Decorating. More than 90% of the company's customers have pets or other animals. The company ended 4Q25 with 2,602 stores in 49 states: 2,395 under the Tractor Supply banner and 207 Petsense stores. More than 2,300 stores are in 'rural America.' The stores are typically an hour, or more, outside of major cities. Digital sales are about 8% of the company's total. The goal has been 10%-12%. Formed in 1982 from the assets of a catalog company that had been selling farm supplies since 1938, Tractor Supply is converting its older stores to larger formats (17,000-19,000 square feet) and opening new smaller-format stores and distribution centers beyond its core Southern and Midwestern markets. The company has more than 52,000 employees. TSCO shares are a component of the S&P 500. The company's IPO was in May 1994. TSCO's year ends on the last Saturday of December, which is December 26 in 2026.

Insider-sentiment data provided by Vickers Stock Research continues to show that insiders have taken to the sidelines. Yes, earnings season (when insiders are restricted from trading) is a factor. But a toppy stock market at a time when the newsflow is volatile is almost assuredly a contributor. So how does the data from Vickers stack up against actual market activity? Pretty well, we think. Over the past month -- taking into account a few weeks when insiders could trade ahead of earnings season and the past two weeks of the trading lull -- the S&P 500 has been as flat as a pancake and the Nasdaq Composite is off about 1.5%. Not a bad time to be neutral. On a sector basis, the group with the weakest eight-week sell/buy ratio from Vickers is Information Technology, and that sector (using the IYW ETF) is off about 2% over the last month. The sector with the best eight-week sell/buy ratio is Energy, and that sector (using the IYE ETF) is up 9% over the last month. Digging deeper on Vickers' sector data, four sectors currently have bullish one-week sell/buy ratios, five are neutral, and two are bearish. Of the bullish sectors, Healthcare (which had the greatest level of activity across all sectors this week) was joined by the Financial, Materials, and Consumer Staples. The neutral sector are Communication Services, Energy, Industrial, Information Technology, and Real Estate. The two sectors that are bearish are Consumer Discretionary and Utilities. These results had little impact on the eight-week sector sell/buy ratios, which are unchanged from last week and where only Information Technology is bearish. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at Liquidia Corp. (NCM: LQDA) and Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE: TNL).