Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 08/13/2026

Happy Thursday. Here's what the Zen Ratings are backing and benching today:

• Hot: Online casino operator Rush Street Interactive (RSI) just raised its bet; water and environmental engineering specialist Tetra Tech (TTEK) keeps stacking contract wins
• Not: Aggregates giant Vulcan Materials (VMC) is priced like a grower but isn't one; auto parts distributor LKQ (LKQ) hit a pothole in Europe

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

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🔥 HOT: Water and environmental engineering specialist Tetra Tech (TTEK) is landing the kind of contracts that survive budget cuts. Q3 2026 earnings and revenues both cleared estimates on core market growth, and the contract news has been almost continuous: a $27 million FAA task order for major airspace redesign, a $25 million EPA water quality and ecological monitoring award, a $49 million multiple-award contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and selection to design the largest dedicated PFAS water treatment facility in the country. PFAS remediation represents a genuine multi-decade spending cycle, and Tetra Tech sits at the front of it. 

Shares are trading around $35, but a DCF on our site pegs fair value at around $65, implying nearly 85% undervaluation. The ratings reinforce the quality read. TTEK earns a B Zen Rating built on A grades for Safety and Financials plus a B for Sentiment. This isn't a rocket, but it is a steady compounder.

🥶 NOT: Aftermarket auto parts distributor LKQ (LKQ) looks cheap, but there are good reasons investors aren't rushing in. The stock has fallen about 15% over the past year, and the underlying business has been moving in the wrong direction too. Earnings are down 34% over the last 12 months, and LKQ hasn't delivered consistent long-term earnings growth. Profit margins have also been squeezed, falling to just 3.4%. That helps explain why a stock that once traded above $37 now sits below $25.

Wall Street sees a potential rebound, with the average analyst price target implying roughly 23% upside. But our ratings aren't nearly as enthusiastic. LKQ earns a C Zen Rating, or Hold, with some clear weaknesses underneath: Growth, Momentum, and Sentiment all earn D grades, meaning the company's fundamentals, price trend, and investor enthusiasm are all lagging. Value and Safety earn B grades, which helps explain the appeal: at less than 14x earnings and below book value, the stock certainly looks inexpensive. But cheap alone doesn't make a stock attractive. Until earnings stabilize and the business gives investors a reason to believe growth is returning, LKQ looks more like a value trap than a bargain.

🔥 HOT: Online casino and sports betting operator Rush Street Interactive (RSI) is pulling off something uncommon: growing quickly while turning an actual profit. Q2 2026 results arrived alongside a raised full-year outlook, the second guidance increase investors have seen from this name. The expansion is tangible too: Analysts now model earnings growth above 65% annually, roughly four times what's expected across the broader gambling industry. 

The share price hasn't caught up to any of that. Just under $25, RSI remains nearly 30% below its high. Our Zen Ratings sniff an opportunity: The stock earns an overall B rating, amounting to a Buy recommendation. This is anchored by strong Component Grades: A grades in Growth and Financials with Value, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, and AI all sitting at C. That describes a company whose results are outpacing its stock, with genuine earnings power and balance sheet strength the market hasn't priced yet.  

🥶 NOT: Construction aggregates producer Vulcan Materials (VMC) has a simple problem: investors are paying a growth-stock price for a company that isn't delivering much growth.The latest quarter was solid, with both earnings and revenue beating expectations, but the stock has struggled to gain traction. Looking ahead, Wall Street expects revenue to grow less than 5% annually, slower than both its industry and the broader market. Yet VMC trades at more than 33 times earnings, more than twice the broader market average. That's a hefty premium for fairly modest growth.

And our ratings suggest investors aren't getting enough elsewhere to make up for it. VMC earns a D Zen Rating, placing it in the bottom 20% of stocks we track and in the Sell tier. Value and Growth both earn D grades, confirming the two biggest concerns: the stock is expensive and the business isn't growing fast enough to justify it. Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, and AI are all middle-of-the-pack with C grades, while Financials are the lone standout at B. Vulcan is a financially solid company with valuable assets, but at this price, solid isn't enough. Until growth catches up with the valuation, investors are paying a premium without getting premium performance.

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