Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 09/17/2026

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

• Hot: Steelmaker Steel Dynamics (STLD) is forged by the tariff fight; food safety tester Neogen (NEOG) has five executives buying on the same day
• Not: Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) sits at the very bottom of our model; crypto peer MARA Holdings (MARA) just got cut to Strong Sell

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

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🔥 HOT: Steel Dynamics (STLD) is one of America’s largest steel producers and recyclers, putting it in a strong position as tariffs and trade tensions favor domestic supply. Recent earnings beat expectations, margins are improving, and the balance sheet has strengthened. Shares are up more than 75% from their 52-week low, but still sit roughly 15% below their high, so investors may not have missed the move entirely.

STLD has a Zen Rating of A, a Strong Buy recommendation. Looking at the Component Grades … Growth, Momentum, Financials, and Artificial Intelligence all earn B grades. That is a strong, balanced mix: earnings are improving, the stock trend is healthy, and the financial foundation is solid. Value, Sentiment, and Safety sit at C, so this is not a deep-value play, but there are also no major red flags. Bottom line: tariffs may be providing the latest catalyst, but the ratings suggest Steel Dynamics has enough fundamental strength to support the rally.

🥶 NOT: CleanSpark (CLSK) is a bitcoin miner trying to reinvent itself as an AI infrastructure company, including through a multibillion-dollar data center lease. So far, investors are not buying the pivot. Recent results disappointed, losses have widened sharply, debt has climbed, and projected cash burn is roughly twice the company’s available cash. Adding to the concern, several top executives sold shares on the same day in September.

Shares in the low teens are down nearly 50% from their 52-week high, but our data suggests that drop has not made the stock attractive yet. (For better-rated AI stocks, check this out.)

CLSK has a Zen Rating of F, a Strong Sell recommendation. Value and Sentiment both earn F grades, while Growth, Momentum, Safety, and Financials receive D grades. That says the weakness is broad: the stock still looks expensive relative to its fundamentals, investor confidence is poor, growth quality is weakening, and the financial picture is deteriorating. Artificial Intelligence is the lone C grade, which suggests the AI pivot may have some merit, but not enough to outweigh the rest. Bottom line: CleanSpark has a potentially interesting new story, but investors are still being asked to take on a lot of financial risk while waiting for it to materialize.

🔥 HOT: Neogen (NEOG) makes food safety and animal health testing products, and its turnaround is starting to gain real traction. Recent earnings and revenue beat expectations, a top-ranked analyst upgraded the stock to Strong Buy, and profitability is moving sharply in the right direction. Shares have climbed more than 100% from their low and are now trading near their 52-week high, but the bullish signals are not coming from the price alone.

Five senior executives, including the CEO and CFO, bought shares on the same day in August, putting insiders directly alongside investors in the recovery story.

NEOG has a Zen Rating of A, a Strong Buy recommendation. Looking at the underlying Component Grades, Growth, Momentum, and Sentiment all earn B grades, which suggests the turnaround is gaining support from both improving business trends and the market itself. Value, Safety, Financials, and Artificial Intelligence sit at C, so this is not a cheap or fully proven recovery yet. Bottom line: strong insider buying, improving results, and positive momentum suggest Neogen’s rebound may have further to go, although investors are still betting on profitability continuing to improve.

🥶 NOT: MARA Holdings (MARA) is one of the world’s largest bitcoin miners and, like many peers, is pitching its infrastructure as a future AI data center opportunity. But the underlying business continues to weaken. A recent analyst downgrade added to the pressure, profitability has swung deeply negative, projected cash burn far exceeds available cash, and insiders have been selling consistently.

Shares have lost more than half their value from the 52-week high, but the ratings suggest there is still little reason for investors to treat the decline as a bargain.

MARA has a Zen Rating of F, a Strong Sell recommendation. Sentiment earns an F, while Value, Growth, Momentum, Safety, Financials, and Artificial Intelligence all receive D grades. Not a single Component Grade reaches C. That is an unusually broad warning: the model sees weakness in the business, the balance sheet, the stock trend, valuation, and investor confidence all at once. Bottom line: the AI pivot gives MARA a new narrative, but the ratings suggest investors would be taking on substantial risk before there is evidence that narrative can improve the underlying business.

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