Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Form 13-Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have now come in for 2Q26. We like to review the 13Fs of the major investors -- including Two Sigma, Ark Investments, Citadel, and Berkshire Hathaway, among others -- in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of some of the bigger institutional investors, according to Vickers. The ratings noted are the Argus rating.

Congratulations to Spain for winning a World Cup! Yet Spain wasn't the only "winner," as some estimates have the tournament adding $40 billion or more to global GDP (with the U.S. economy likely getting a kick-up of around $20 billion). The World Cup indeed has been a defining event of this summer, with an estimated 5 billion people watching -- and 1.8 billion people viewing just the final alone. For 39 days, the world's game took over North America as 48 teams competed across 104 matches, 16 stadiums, and three countries. But the final match was the closing act of a much bigger show. This was the first 48-team World Cup, the first hosted by three countries, and (by a wide margin) the biggest World Cup that has ever been played. Historically, the World Cup has boosted relevant industries, like sporting brands, for months if not years after its completion. With 16 cities across three countries hosting, this was a rolling road show rather than just a single-city event. Thousands of fans visited the United States from all over the world. Hotels, airlines, and ride-hailing/short-term rental platforms all had a stake in a month-plus frenzy of fans moving between Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The following is a list of Argus-covered companies we see benefiting from the World Cup.

American Airlines Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a network air carrier in the United States, Latin America, Atlantic, and Pacific. The company has almost 1,000 aircraft and serves destinations in more than 50 countries. It is also one of the world's largest cargo transporters.

The major U.S. stock indices are higher at midday, having been mixed-to-lower for much of the morning. Volatility rules the day. The Nasdaq Composite has been toggling between a slight loss and a slight gain, this on top of yesterday's loses and generally with more pain for investors in semiconductor companies. Even earnings reports that appear to be positive are often not enough in the current environment. The INTC shares of Intel are today's example, as the stock looked ready to pop before the open (after the company reported results). But that did not stick, and INTC is down about 5% as of this writing. We note that Information Technology is the only one of the 11 S&P sectors that has a negative insider-sentiment reading from Vickers Stock Research based on data compiled over the past eight weeks. Meanwhile, uncertainty around the war in Iran is not helping the broader risk-off mood, as headlines suggest a broadening of the conflict that only a few weeks ago seemed to be heading towards some kind of resolution. Oil prices have responded accordingly, and 'pain at the pump' for consumers is again a major consideration for those contemplating the status of the U.S. economy and the future path of interest rates.