Market noise is relentless. Financial headlines scream about the same handful of stocks while important opportunities—the kind that can meaningfully impact your portfolio—often fly completely under the radar.
That’s exactly why we publish this watchlist each week.
While most investors are distracted by mainstream narratives, we’re digging through earnings transcripts, analyzing technical setups, and monitoring institutional money flows to identify companies at potential inflection points. Our focus isn’t on what’s already priced in, but rather on what the market hasn’t fully appreciated yet.
Each week, we spotlight three stocks that merit your attention. We focus on opportunities where timing, valuation, and catalysts align to create potentially favorable entry points.
Our rigorous analysis goes beyond surface-level metrics to identify opportunities that most retail investors don’t have time to uncover. Each pick comes with clear reasoning, specific triggers to watch for, and a compelling risk-reward profile designed to help you make more informed investment decisions.
Here’s what we’re watching this week:
The Trade Desk (TTD) — Ad Tech Leader With 150% Upside Potential
The Trade Desk represents a compelling contrarian opportunity as the largest demand-side platform for open internet advertising has fallen 71% from record highs despite maintaining structural competitive advantages that Wall Street believes are undervalued. Trading around $37 per share with an $18 billion market capitalization, the stock carries a median analyst price target of $60 implying 53% upside, while BMO Capital’s Brian Pitz projects $98 representing potential 150% gains based on the company’s dominant positioning and independent business model.
The investment thesis centers on The Trade Desk’s differentiated approach as an independent ad tech platform without owned media content that could bias spending decisions. This independence creates crucial advantages over competitors like Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Amazon, which have clear incentives to steer advertisers toward their own inventory creating conflicts of interest. Publishers prove less willing to share data with technology companies that compete directly with them, giving The Trade Desk superior measurement capabilities across the open internet where the company is particularly dominant in connected TV advertising—the industry’s fastest-growing vertical.
The recent 71% decline stems from concerns about intensifying competition with Amazon, which recently secured deals to include Netflix and Roku connected TV inventory on its own demand-side platform while reportedly undercutting The Trade Desk’s fees substantially to capture market share. However, this pessimism appears overdone given that consumers spend more time browsing the open internet than within closed ecosystems, while The Trade Desk’s independence typically delivers better data, targeting, and measurement capabilities that publishers and advertisers value.
The valuation appears reasonable at 45 times earnings for a company with earnings forecast to grow 20% annually over the next three years. The Trade Desk’s market position reflects years of relationship building and technology development that cannot be easily replicated despite Amazon’s aggressive pricing. For growth investors seeking exposure to digital advertising evolution through a company with defensible competitive moat trading at depressed valuations, The Trade Desk’s combination of independent business model advantages, connected TV leadership, and Wall Street targets suggesting 53% to 150% upside creates compelling risk-reward for patient investors willing to look past near-term competitive concerns.
Markel Group (MKL) — Baby Berkshire Approaching Breakout to New Highs
Markel Group presents an exceptional opportunity as this “Baby Berkshire Hathaway” approaches breakout above year-long consolidation toward new record highs with a business model mirroring Warren Buffett’s legendary approach. Trading around $2,100 per share with a $26 billion market capitalization, the company is run by Buffett disciple Tom Gayner who replicates Berkshire’s strategy of running disciplined insurance operations while reinvesting float into concentrated stock portfolios. Markel’s top five equity positions include Berkshire A and B shares, Alphabet, Brookfield Asset Management, and Amazon comprising over 27% of total holdings.
The fundamental appeal stems from Markel’s exceptional underwriting capabilities focusing on hard-to-place risks that don’t fit standard industry criteria including international operations and niche businesses. The company has maintained 20 consecutive years of favorable prior year loss reserve releases, consistently finding they over-reserved money leading to more stable, higher-quality earnings. Between 2020 and 2024, Markel’s insurance operations earned a 12% average after-tax return on equity while the diversified model produced $7 billion in adjusted operating income across six segments: insurance underwriting ($1.9 billion), fee businesses ($0.8 billion), fixed income ($1.8 billion), short-term investments ($0.6 billion), and operating companies ($2.1 billion).
The diversified earnings mix generated almost $13 billion in operating cash flow over the five years ending September 2025, enabling $1.9 billion in stock repurchases demonstrating management’s commitment to shareholder-friendly capital allocation. This financial strength positions Markel to continue Berkshire’s playbook of acquiring quality businesses, maintaining disciplined underwriting standards, and compounding shareholder value over decades rather than quarters.
The technical setup appears pristine with the stock approaching January and November resistance near $2,100 after year-long consolidation. The shorter-term moving average is turning upward as RSI reaches 63—bullish yet contained suggesting minimal momentum exhaustion risk. A breakout above resistance would eliminate overhead supply from investors with losses or lacking conviction, creating clear path for continued appreciation. The $26 billion market capitalization remains far smaller than Berkshire’s $1 trillion-plus valuation, suggesting substantial runway for long-term compounding if Gayner continues executing the Berkshire playbook. For investors seeking Buffett-style investing through a smaller, faster-growing vehicle led by proven management, Markel’s combination of pristine technical setup, exceptional underwriting track record, and Baby Berkshire positioning creates compelling long-term wealth creation opportunity.
Citigroup (C) — Banking Turnaround With Improving Profitability
Citigroup represents an attractive banking sector opportunity as multi-year transformation efforts drive improving profitability that JPMorgan believes warrants premium valuation. Trading around $112 per share after gaining 59% year-to-date, the stock received a JPMorgan upgrade to overweight from neutral with a December 2026 price target of $124 implying 11% additional upside. Analyst Vivek Juneja emphasized that “improvement in profitability will be the key driver to further upside — this is a multi-year journey for Citi.”
The investment thesis centers on Citigroup’s positioning to benefit from multiple favorable trends heading into 2026 including solid economic conditions, pickup in mergers and acquisitions activity, and supportive regulatory environment. The concentration of Citigroup’s revenues in markets-related activities provides disproportionate leverage to strong capital markets activity, while ongoing transformation initiatives including improving efficiency ratios, progress on consent orders, reducing stranded costs, and addressing deferred tax assets should continue enhancing profitability over time with return on tangible common equity expected to increase more than peers.
The valuation opportunity appears compelling with shares trading at approximately 1.1 times tangible book value representing a discount versus other major banks despite improving fundamental trajectory. This discount reflects lingering skepticism about transformation execution and regulatory overhead, creating asymmetric upside as management demonstrates sustainable profitability improvements. The stock’s 59% year-to-date gain validates improving sentiment, though JPMorgan’s upgrade suggests further appreciation as transformation benefits materialize.
Wall Street consensus supports the constructive view with 18 of 23 analysts rating Citigroup buy or strong buy, while the average price target of $115 aligns with JPMorgan’s $124 forecast suggesting continued upside. The multi-year transformation timeline means improvements should compound over several years rather than representing one-time benefits, creating longer-duration earnings growth visibility than typical cyclical banking opportunities.
For value investors seeking exposure to banking sector recovery through a transforming institution trading at discount valuations, Citigroup’s combination of markets-focused revenue concentration providing economic leverage, multi-year transformation driving sustained profitability improvement, and 1.1 times tangible book value discount to peers creates compelling risk-reward as management executes on strategic initiatives while benefiting from favorable 2026 operating environment.
