Mid-cap stocks have the best odds of scaling into $100 billion corporations thanks to their tested business models and large addressable markets. But the many opportunities in front of them attract significant competition, spanning from industry behemoths with seemingly infinite resources to small, nimble players with chips on their shoulders.
This is precisely where StockStory comes in - we do the heavy lifting to identify companies with solid fundamentals so you can invest with confidence. Keeping that in mind, here is one mid-cap stock with massive growth potential and two best left ignored.
Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Sell:
Zillow (ZG)
Market Cap: $10.93 billion
Founded by Expedia co-founders Lloyd Frink and Rich Barton, Zillow (NASDAQ: ZG) is the leading U.S. online real estate marketplace.
Why Do We Steer Clear of ZG?
- Annual sales declines of 5% for the past five years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market
- Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 10.6% for the last two years
- Returns on capital are increasing as management makes relatively better investment decisions
Zillow is trading at $44.70 per share, or 20.3x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with ZG, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Ball (BALL)
Market Cap: $17.7 billion
Started with a $200 loan in 1880, Ball (NYSE: BLL) manufactures aluminum packaging for beverages, personal care, and household products as well as aerospace systems and other technologies.
Why Are We Out on BALL?
- Annual sales declines of 3.1% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Competitive supply chain dynamics and steep production costs are reflected in its low gross margin of 21.4%
- Low free cash flow margin of -0.1% for the last five years gives it little breathing room, constraining its ability to self-fund growth or return capital to shareholders
At $66.67 per share, Ball trades at 16.7x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than BALL.
One Mid-Cap Stock to Buy:
ATI (ATI)
Market Cap: $20.77 billion
With its materials flying in nearly every commercial and military aircraft in service today, ATI (NYSE: ATI) produces highly specialized materials and components for aerospace, defense, medical, and energy applications using advanced metallurgy and manufacturing processes.
Why Do We Love ATI?
- Operating profits and efficiency rose over the last five years as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage
- Share repurchases have amplified shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 19.5% exceeded its revenue gains over the last two years
- Free cash flow margin expanded by 12.1 percentage points over the last five years, providing additional flexibility for investments and share buybacks/dividends
ATI’s stock price of $152.69 implies a valuation ratio of 36x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
