3 Mid-Cap Stocks with Open Questions

Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations. However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.

Luckily for you, our mission at StockStory is to help you make money and avoid losses by sorting the winners from the losers. Keeping that in mind, here are three mid-cap stocks to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.

JLL (JLL)

Market Cap: $14.83 billion

Founded in 1999 through the merger of Jones Lang Wootton and LaSalle Partners, JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a company specializing in real estate advisory and investment management services.

Why Do We Avoid JLL?

1. The company has faced growth challenges as its 9.5% annual revenue increases over the last five years fell short of other consumer discretionary companies
2. Forecasted free cash flow margin suggests the company will fail to improve its cash conversion over the next year
3. Eroding returns on capital from an already low base indicate that management’s recent investments are destroying value

At $316.88 per share, JLL trades at 14.3x forward P/E. If you’re considering JLL for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.

NVR (NVR)

Market Cap: $20.35 billion

Known for its unique land acquisition strategy, NVR (NYSE:NVR) is a respected homebuilder and mortgage company in the United States.

Why Are We Out on NVR?

1. Backlog has dropped by 17.5% on average over the past two years, suggesting it’s losing orders as competition picks up
2. Incremental sales over the last two years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 2.8% annually while its revenue grew
3. Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

NVR is trading at $7,281 per share, or 18.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with NVR, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Markel Group (MKL)

Market Cap: $26.19 billion

Often referred to as a "mini Berkshire Hathaway" for its three-engine business model of insurance, investments, and wholly-owned businesses, Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) is a specialty insurance company that underwrites complex risks, manages investment portfolios, and owns a diverse collection of operating businesses.

Why Are We Wary of MKL?

1. Large revenue base constrains its growth potential, as seen in its unexciting 2.5% annualized increases in net premiums earned over the last two years fell below our expectations for the insurance sector
2. Sales are projected to remain flat over the next 12 months as demand decelerates from its two-year trend
3. Pre-tax profit margin was unchanged over the last two years, suggesting it failed to gain leverage on its fixed costs

Markel Group’s stock price of $2,076 implies a valuation ratio of 1.3x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than MKL.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

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 6 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.