This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Stocks rose on Wednesday morning, led by the Consumer Discretionary sector, as Fed officials again sought to ease concerns about inflation. On the M&A front, Amazon said that it would purchase the MGM movie studio for $8.45 billion. The acquisition will bolster its Amazon Prime video service and help it to compete with rival streaming services. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $66 per barrel, while gold rose $5 to $1903 per ounce.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and are just now coming in from 1Q21. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, according to Vickers.

The stock market was slammed by not one, but two concerning inflation data points in the trading week ending May 14. The consumer price index for April jumped by 0.8% month-over-month and by 4.2% year-over-year. The producer price index was even more concerning, rising a lesser 0.6% month-over-month but a higher 6.2% year-over-year.

Stocks recouped some of their recent losses on Thursday as investors sought buying opportunities and looked past more signs of rising inflation. The Labor Department reported that its producer price index rose 0.6% in April, above the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 0.3%. Producer prices also rose 6.2% from the prior year, above the 5.8% consensus. Meanwhile, first-time jobless claims fell to 473,000, down from the prior week and below the consensus forecast of 490,000. Continuing claims also fell to 3.655 million, down from 3.7 million a week earlier. The Dow rose 1.29%, the S&P 1.22%, and the Nasdaq 0.72%. Crude oil fell more than 3% to $64 per barrel, while gold rose $4 to $1827 per ounce.

As we do each week, we'll offer an update on the ongoing trends in insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research, while also pulling out new insights gleaned from the weekly data.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

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.

Stocks kept the momentum going in April, and are now up almost 12%, including dividends, in the year-to-date. Our analysts have been progressing through earnings season, and have come across many stocks in coverage that have approached target prices. We set target prices through our valuation framework, which includes analysis of historical multiples, peer multiples, future dividends, and cash flows. After adjusting the models for the latest earnings and dividend information -- most of which has been good -- here are some of the stocks on which we have raised target prices over the past month. All stocks are rated BUY at Argus.

This edition features where to look for infrastructure opportunities; the upcoming Berkshire meeting; an earnings roundup; and notes from Sage Group, Caterpillar, and General Dynamics.

The U.S. GDP growth rate accelerated in 1Q21 to an annualized 6.4%, exactly in line with our estimate. The consumer and government sectors were the key drivers of the first-quarter growth, as personal consumption expenditures rose at a 10.7% rate and government spending at a 6.3% rate, offsetting a 5% decline in gross private domestic investment and a 1.1% dip in exports. Drilling deeper, consumer spending on durable goods increased 41.4% and nondurable goods increased 14.4%. Services increased 4.6%. Spending on equipment increased at a 16.7% rate and spending on intellectual property products increased at a 10.1% rate. Residential investment increased at a 10.8% rate. On an absolute basis and despite three quarters of recovery, current GDP is still about 1% below pre-pandemic levels. The National Bureau of Economic Research has not yet declared that the recession is over. They should soon, though, as unemployment is falling and consumers are spending. We look for solid above-trend growth through 2023.

With April winding down, you can count on someone, somewhere saying, 'sell in May and go away.' That pronouncement is mainly popular because it rhymes. While it is true that summer is typically a period of relative underperformance, market timing rarely works. And sometimes summer is a good time for stock performance.