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.
These dynamics can rattle even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here is one mid-cap stock with massive growth potential and two that could be down big.
Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Sell:
STERIS (STE)
Market Cap: $23.49 billion
With a mission critical role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, STERIS (NYSE: STE) provides infection prevention products, sterilization services, and medical equipment that help healthcare facilities and life science companies maintain sterile environments.
Why Do We Think Twice About STE?
- Underwhelming 5% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities
At $238.79 per share, STERIS trades at 23.9x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with STE, check out our full research report (it’s free).
CooperCompanies (COO)
Market Cap: $14.19 billion
With a history dating back to 1958 and a portfolio spanning two distinct healthcare segments, Cooper Companies (NASDAQ: COO) develops and manufactures medical devices focused on vision care through contact lenses and women's health including fertility products and services.
Why Are We Hesitant About COO?
- Free cash flow margin dropped by 6.4 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
- Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities
CooperCompanies’s stock price of $71.28 implies a valuation ratio of 17x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than COO.
One Mid-Cap Stock to Watch:
Toast (TOST)
Market Cap: $25.36 billion
Founded by three MIT engineers at a local Cambridge bar, Toast (NYSE: TOST) provides integrated point-of-sale (POS) hardware, software, and payments solutions for restaurants.
Why Are We Positive On TOST?
- ARR trends over the last year show it’s maintaining a steady flow of long-term contracts that contribute positively to its revenue predictability
- Estimated revenue growth of 21% for the next 12 months implies its momentum over the last three years will continue
- Operating margin improvement of 8.3 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently
Toast is trading at $43.90 per share, or 4.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
