Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 08/04/2026

Happy Tuesday. Two stocks earning their gains, two rallies the ratings won't ratify. Here's today's lineup:

• Hot: Cloud contact center provider Five9 (FIVN) is dialing up serious AI momentum; application security specialist F5 (FFIV) just beat earnings and raised guidance again
• Not: Natural gas producer Expand Energy (EXE) can't turn production into earnings growth; department store chain Kohl's (KSS) is a rally the ratings don't trust

P.S. For more stocks making moves, check out our Zen Ratings Upgrades & Downgrades screener.

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🔥 HOT: Application security and delivery specialist F5 (FFIV) is showing that AI demand can land in revenue rather than just press releases. Q3 earnings and revenue both beat, product revenue grew 19%, management raised the annual revenue forecast again on strong cybersecurity demand, and the company extended its AI security push by integrating its AI Guardrails with NVIDIA's NeMo Guardrails. Shares now sit within 10% of the high. Wall Street is on board: For example, JP Morgan's Samik Chatterjee, a top 1% rated analyst, reiterated his Strong Buy recommendation with a price target that suggests 30% upside potential (See all analyst forecasts here), while DCF models place the stock about 20% below fair value. 

FFIV earns a B (Buy) Zen Rating, a tier that has historically returned over 17% annually, with B grades in Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and AI and nothing on the card below a C. That four-way spread reflects analyst conviction, low volatility, balance sheet strength, and algorithmic support all pointing the same direction. Consider adding this to your complimentary watchlist.

🥶 NOT: Department store chain Kohl's (KSS) has rallied nearly 80% off its 52-week low on turnaround hope, but Wall Street seems to think that bounce has run too far. The consensus recommendation is a Sell, with one price target suggesting the stock could lose nearly 60% in the coming year. The forward estimates support the bears, calling for earnings to fall over 17% per year and revenue to keep shrinking in an industry now down to just four public players. Insiders aren't helping the case either: the CEO sold more than 210,000 shares worth about $2.5 million in May, and the company just announced a board chair transition. 

The Zen Ratings capture the tension. KSS holds a C (Hold) rating with an A for Value sitting directly beside an F for Safety, and C grades filling in everywhere else. That specific pairing — statistically cheap, dangerously erratic — is the classic value-trap signature, with the Safety grade among the weakest in the market, signaling wildly unpredictable earnings and price action. Back-to-school promotions and meme-stock enthusiasm may not be able to save this one. (Related reading: When to Sell a Stock?)

🔥 HOT: Cloud contact center provider Five9 (FIVN) is riding the customer-service AI wave with genuine substance behind it. The company just rolled out a breakthrough release of its Voice AI Agents for agentic self-service, brought in a new CTO and Chief Sales Officer, and published research showing AI adoption across customer experience has reached 92%. Investors have responded in force: The stock is up nearly 60% in the past 3 months alone. What's unusual is that the value case survived the run: DCF models still see shares roughly 40% undervalued, and the PEG ratio sits below 0.5 (anything under 1 is considered a screaming deal), and analysts expect EPS to more than quadruple next year, with earnings growth near 80% annually, nearly four times the industry's pace. 

FIVN holds an A (Strong Buy) Zen Rating, the top tier, which has historically returned over 28% per year, and it ranks #1 among all 128 stocks in Software Infrastructure. Looking at the Component Grades that build the overall grade, it has As for Value and Growth, joined by a B for Financials. This suggests a stock that is cheap and accelerating at the same time, which is the hardest combination to find anywhere in software.  

🥶 NOT: Natural gas producer Expand Energy (EXE) has every headline working in its favor and none of the forward math. Q2 results topped estimates on strong production, and the company announced a $1.25 billion acquisition of Twin Eagle aimed at creating North America's leading integrated natural gas business — yet shares sit about 25% below their 52-week high and barely 10% above their low. What's coming next explains the disconnect: analysts project earnings shrinking nearly 10% per year with revenue contracting alongside.  

The Zen Ratings suggest caution. EXE carries a C (Hold) Zen Rating, a middling tier that has historically returned just over 5% annually, weighted down by an F for Growth and a D for Safety, with B grades in Sentiment, Financials, and AI providing only partial offset. For an energy producer, a failing Growth grade means strong production isn't translating into earnings expansion, while the Safety mark confirms a volatile ride. The Twin Eagle deal and the AI-driven gas demand narrative are interesting, but with earnings forecast to move backward, this is a story worth monitoring rather than chasing. 

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