The alpha Brief: Insights on Quant Investing and the alpha Brief Portfolio (aBP)

I am rating Diodes Incorporated a Strong Buy because the company is entering a margin led earnings inflection driven by a durable mix shift toward higher value automotive, computing, and industrial markets.

Despite recent successes, Chevron remains appealing compared to Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips when considering valuation alongside portfolio quality, dividend reliability, and disciplined cash returns.

Western Digital sits at the center of the AI data explosion. Its HDD and NAND flash platforms serve as essential infrastructure for AI training data, inference workloads and cloud storage, where capacity scale, cost efficiency and reliability are critical.

I am rating Penguin Solutions a Strong Buy because the company is at a structural inflection point monetizing AI inference infrastructure where memory performance is the primary bottleneck.

Movado Group: A Cash‑Rich Brand Platform at a Discounted Valuation

Valuation is no longer distressed, but it still looks reasonable relative to peers when set against Aura's growth profile, cash generation, and unusually low FWD PEG

I am rating Astec Industies a BUY because the company has entered a structural margin‑expansion phase that is supported by backlog visibility, aftermarket mix shift, and operating leverage rather than cyclical recovery alone.

I rate Poet Technologies Inc (POET) a strong buy as it is positioned at the intersection of AI infrastructure and silicon photonics, addressing a critical data center bottleneck as electrical interconnects struggle to scale with next generation AI workloads.

I rate Astera Labs a Strong Buy due to its leadership in next gen AI data center connectivity and first mover advantages in PCIe, CXL and fabric scale interconnect solutions.

I’m rating Dana a STRONG BUY because the company has already completed a structural reset, simplifying its portfolio, embedding cost savings, and materially improving balance‑sheet flexibility—while the market continues to price it on legacy assumptions

I rate PG&E Corporation(PCG) a Buy because the company is transitioning from a legacy restructuring story into a regulated utility with improving balance‑sheet strength, restored regulatory credibility and visible earnings growth.

I rate NVIDIA a Strong Buy. NVDA is the key platform for global AI infrastructure, with unmatched control over compute, networking, systems and software, making it the default architecture for large scale AI workloads.

Kodiak is leveraging a tight compression market to achieve higher margins, stronger cash flow, and clear growth by 2026.

I’m rating KARO a BUY because the company has entered a clear growth inflection, with four consecutive quarters of ARR acceleration and record subscriber additions.

I am rating Ituran Location and Control a Strong Buy because it is being priced like a hardware manufacturer but performs like a high margin SaaS style telematics platform.

GE Vernova started 2026 with a stronger backlog, improved backlog quality, and higher expectations for free cash flow.

Texas Instruments is entering a powerful multi year expansion phase, driven by its dominant analog franchise, internally owned 300mm manufacturing capacity and consistent FY2025 performance that delivered 13% revenue growth and 40%+ operating cash flow margins.

SSR Mining ended 2025 with $471Mn in operating cash flow and $241.6Mn in free cash flow. All this while its most scrutinised asset isn’t fully operational. And I think the market hasn’t caught up to that yet.

PBF is rated a strong buy for three main reasons: the Martinez refinery is restarting, the West Coast oil product market is tightening, and the company is significantly cutting costs through its Refinery Business Improvement (RBI) program.

Centerra Gold is given a strong buy rating. It trades at a significant discount on forward P/E and EV/EBITDA compared to sector medians. Backed by a strong balance sheet, the company is driving growth through self-funded cash flows and active share buybacks. While geopolitical and operational risks remain, Centerra’s deep value and disciplined capital allocation make it a compelling investment opportunity in the mining sector.