Signal brief № 512 · Wed 13 Aug 2026 · 06:58 ET

Alpha before
the open.

Every night, QuantStocks runs institutional-grade factor models across 6,214 U.S. equities — and hands you the ten strongest signals by 7:00 AM ET, with every assumption shown.

Backtested net of costs · Nothing hidden · Not investment advice

Fig. 01 Growth of $100, Jan 2019 – Aug 2026
10015020025030020192020202120222023202420252026Indexed, Jan 2019 = 100QuantStocks+212%S&P 500 TR+94%
Growth of $100, quarterly, January 2019 to August 2026
QuarterQuantStocks compositeS&P 500 total return
Jan 2019100.0100.0
Apr 2019108.7107.8
Jul 2019117.8114.2
Oct 2019126.1121.4
Jan 2020134.6128.6
Apr 2020124.6100.3
Jul 2020140.5114.7
Oct 2020158.1127.7
Jan 2021171.2140.2
Apr 2021181.1146.9
Jul 2021189.7154.7
Oct 2021198.6162.2
Jan 2022202.3161.2
Apr 2022192.5145.7
Jul 2022185.9131.6
Oct 2022185.8131.3
Jan 2023200.5139.2
Apr 2023209.3145.3
Jul 2023218.6151.0
Oct 2023228.9156.3
Jan 2024237.0162.8
Apr 2024247.8167.5
Jul 2024255.3174.3
Oct 2024266.0178.9
Jan 2025269.6181.3
Apr 2025263.9175.1
Jul 2025272.8177.8
Oct 2025286.3186.3
Jan 2026300.3190.6
Apr 2026304.6193.2
Jul 2026312.5193.4
QuantStocks composite: top-decile signals, equal-weight, rebalanced monthly, net of 10 bps per-side costs. Backtested — live since Jan 2025. Hover for monthly values. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

The brief

Ten names. Full workings. No black box.

Each signal arrives with its composite score and the factor exposures that produced it — so you can disagree with the model on the merits.

Table 01 Top signals, brief № 512
TickerCompanyScoreMomentum zValue zQuality zDirection
NVDANVIDIA96.2+2.1−0.8+1.6LONG
CATCaterpillar91.8+1.4+0.6+1.1LONG
UNHUnitedHealth89.5−0.4+1.8+1.3LONG
PANWPalo Alto Networks87.1+1.7−1.2+0.9LONG
XOMExxon Mobil84.6+0.8+1.5+0.4LONG
DASHDoorDash82.3−1.6−1.9−0.7SHORT
Sample output, truncated to six of ten rows. Signals shown are illustrative. z-scores are sector-neutral standard deviations from the cross-sectional mean.

The run

While the market sleeps, the model works.

The nightly run is a fixed pipeline with a hard deadline: the opening bell. Here is exactly what happens, and when.

  1. 00:00 ET

    Ingest

    410M rows land: prices, fundamentals, filings, options flow, and borrow availability across every listed U.S. name.

  2. 02:10 ET

    Features

    218 factors computed per stock — momentum, value, quality, crowding, and flow, each winsorized and sector-neutralized.

  3. 03:40 ET

    Inference

    An ensemble of gradient-boosted trees and a cross-sectional transformer scores all 6,214 names against the next 21 trading days.

  4. 05:55 ET

    Risk screens

    Liquidity floors, borrow cost, earnings blackouts, and crowding caps knock out signals you couldn't actually trade.

  5. 07:00 ET

    Your brief

    The ten highest-conviction signals — direction, sizing, and the full factor breakdown — in your inbox before the open.

The numbers

We publish what most services bury in footnotes.

1.87

Sharpe ratio

Composite, 2019–2026, annualized, net of costs.

61.4%

Hit rate

Signals profitable over their 21-day horizon.

−14.2%

Max drawdown

March 2020. The S&P 500 drew down −33.9%.

6,214

Names covered

Every U.S. common stock above $50M ADV screen.

Methodology: signals backtested Jan 2019 – Aug 2026 with point-in-time fundamentals and delisting-adjusted returns; 10 bps per-side transaction costs; no leverage. Live track record begins Jan 2025 and is published, unedited, in every brief. Backtested performance has inherent limitations and past performance is not indicative of future results.

Access

The beta desk is open.

We onboard a small cohort each week so signal capacity stays honest. Request a seat and we’ll send tomorrow’s brief — workings included — when yours opens.

250 beta seats · Reviewed weekly · Not investment advice