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.

Kraft Heinz, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. Its leading brands include Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Capri Sun, Ore-Ida, Kool-Aid, Cool Whip, and Jell-O. The company was formed through the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz on July 2, 2015. Heinz was previously owned by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Global Food Holdings LP. Kraft shares are a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 35,000 employees.

With earnings season winding down, the S&P 500 as of this writing is down 0.23% year to date, the Nasdaq is down 2.82%, and the DJIA is up 1.6%. Not exactly a powerful start to 2026. So how are insiders reacting? On a scale where anything above 6.00 indicates bearish insider sentiment and anything below 2.00 indicates bullish sentiment, the NYSE Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio from Vickers Stock Research has moved from a neutral 3.50 on January 5 to the current reading of 5.80 (almost bearish). For the Nasdaq, the January 5 ratio was neutral at 3.82 and the current ratio is just into the bearish zone at 6.05. Finally, Vickers' Total Eight-Week Sell/Buy Ratio (all exchanges) has moved from a neutral 3.64 on January 5 to an almost-bearish 5.84 today. Vickers' eight-week sector ratios offer the following highlights this week. Two sectors are bearish this week (Communication Services and Energy), while none were bearish last week. Meanwhile, three sectors are bullish this week (Consumer Staples, Financial, and Real Estate) while six were bullish last week (the same three just listed plus Healthcare, Materials, and Utilities). From a shorter-term sector perspective, two sectors posted bullish one-week sell/buy ratios over the past week: Financial, with a ratio of 1.3, and Real Estate, with a ratio of 1.5. Within Financial, volume was notable with 135 transactions that fit the criteria for inclusion in our analysis. Conversely, four sectors had bearish one-week sell/buy ratios: Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Energy, and Utilities. While the ratio was particularly high (bearish) for Utilities, coming in at 19.0, volume was light in the sector, with only 20 transactions driving these results. Meanwhile, Consumer Discretionary just reached the threshold for a bearish sell/buy ratio, coming in at 6.0, and volume was the highest of all sectors, with a total of 155 transactions for the week. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at T-Mobile US Inc. (NGS: TMUS) and KKR & Co. Inc. (NSYE: KKR).

In July 2015, Kraft merged with Heinz to create one of North America's largest food and beverage manufacturers. Beyond its namesake brands, its portfolio includes Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, and Philadelphia. While the retail channel drives around 85% of its total sales, the firm also maintains a growing foodservice presence. Outside North America, Kraft Heinz's global reach encompasses a distribution network in Europe and emerging markets, which accounts for around 25% of its consolidated sales base. The company's products are sold in more than 190 countries and territories.