Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations. However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.

These dynamics can rattle even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here is one mid-cap stock with massive growth potential and two that could be down big.

Two Mid-Cap Stocks to Sell:

STERIS (STE)

Market Cap: $23.49 billion

With a mission critical role in preventing healthcare-associated infections, STERIS (NYSE: STE) provides infection prevention products, sterilization services, and medical equipment that help healthcare facilities and life science companies maintain sterile environments.

Why Do We Think Twice About STE?

1. Underwhelming 5% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities

At $238.79 per share, STERIS trades at 23.9x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with STE, check out our full research report (it’s free).

CooperCompanies (COO)

Market Cap: $14.19 billion

With a history dating back to 1958 and a portfolio spanning two distinct healthcare segments, Cooper Companies (NASDAQ: COO) develops and manufactures medical devices focused on vision care through contact lenses and women's health including fertility products and services.

Why Are We Hesitant About COO?

1. Free cash flow margin dropped by 6.4 percentage points over the last five years, implying the company became more capital intensive as competition picked up
2. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities

CooperCompanies’s stock price of $71.28 implies a valuation ratio of 17x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than COO.

One Mid-Cap Stock to Watch:

Toast (TOST)

Market Cap: $25.36 billion

Founded by three MIT engineers at a local Cambridge bar, Toast (NYSE: TOST) provides integrated point-of-sale (POS) hardware, software, and payments solutions for restaurants.

Why Are We Positive On TOST?

1. ARR trends over the last year show it’s maintaining a steady flow of long-term contracts that contribute positively to its revenue predictability
2. Estimated revenue growth of 21% for the next 12 months implies its momentum over the last three years will continue
3. Operating margin improvement of 8.3 percentage points over the last year demonstrates its ability to scale efficiently

Toast is trading at $43.90 per share, or 4.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.

While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today