Healthcare company Progyny just recorded an exceptional earnings report and it’s got the attention of ChatGPT.
Is fertility and women’s health benefits manager Progyny (NASDAQ: PGNY) the cure for AI investing malaise?
Since we started the AI Insights portfolio, ChatGPT has repeatedly gone back to the well by picking numerous AI-focused companies (Seagate, Micron and NetApp). Perhaps it’s not surprising that an AI chatbot might appreciate AI stocks (it’s fair to say the market does as well). Not this week, however.
This week ChatGPT decided to switch things up and go with surging healthcare company Progyny. It’s not clear if ChatGPT is trying to diversify the portfolio or simply views PGNY as a target for massive growth in the near future.
Either way, Progyny is a fascinating company, so let’s get right to it.
ChatGPT Stock Pick of the Week: Progyny (PGNY)
ChatGPT wasn’t quite as verbose as last week but this is exactly what it had to say when we asked for a stock pick:
This is not personal investment advice, but one timely idea today is Progyny (PGNY), which was upgraded to Overweight by KeyBanc on Nov 12, signaling improving sentiment on fundamentals and growth durability.
Progyny performance over the last 12 months. Screenshot from TradingView.
Progyny (PGNY) at a Glance
| Company | Progyny, Inc. |
| Ticker (Exchange) | PGNY (NASDAQ) |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, USA |
| CEO | Peter (Pete) Anevski |
| Core business | Fertility and family-building benefits with integrated pharmacy and managed provider network |
| Market cap | $2.11 billion |
| Employees | 680 (2024) |
| Price-to-earnings Ratio (P/E) | 39 |
Our Take
Progyny is a far cry from the buzzy AI companies of the moment, but here’s a quick take from our Senior News Writer, Dave Kovaleski.
Progyny (NASDAQ:PGNY) is a provider of women’s health benefits and solutions, partnering with employers and health plans. It is not a stock we have written about much, if at all. The stock has been a strong performer this year, up 41% YTD. Much of that surge has come over the past week, as it has risen about 35% since reporting third-quarter earnings on November 6.
The firm had a strong quarter, with revenue up 9% and earnings jumping 36% — both of which beat estimates. It also raised its guidance for the fiscal year with some 80 new clients and nearly 100% retention of existing clients. It also had record operating cash flows, expanded its profit margins, and launched a $200 million share buyback plan.
Over the longer term it has struggled, with a five-year average annualized return of -3.9%. Analysts rate it a buy and have a median price target of $29 per share, which suggests 19% upside. It has a trailing P/E of 38, but a forward P/E of only 12 perhaps reflecting the expectation of earnings growth.
It’s safe to say that Progyny is very different than the rest of the companies in the AI Insights portfolio.
What Other Experts Are Saying About Progyny
The sentiment surrounding Progyny is more mixed than some of the previous picks in our AI Insights series.
As ChatGPT noted above, Progyny was upgraded to Overweight by KeyBanc yesterday. The company listed a price target of $30, which represents a significant increase from its current price of $24ish.
Most analysts who are positive on Progyny point to an impressive earnings report this quarter, where the company exceeded expectations. Sales were up 23% on an adjusted basis and that’s taking into account the loss of a very significant client (Amazon). The market for women’s health and fertility, in particular, seems to be growing.
The stock is listed as a moderate buy with a nearly even mixture of buy and hold positions.
Not everyone was positive, however. StockStory didn’t find Progyny compelling and pointed to its relatively small size, which is a disadvantage against rivals that can scale.
How Did Last Week’s Pick Perform?
It’s been a strong start for storage titan Seagate Technology (STX) in the AI Insights portfolio.
Last week ChatGPT suggested another AI play with data storage company Seagate Technology (STX). The early returns on STX are good as the stock is up around 2% since last week.
Seagate is a great example of selling picks and shovels during a gold rush and will likely perform decently even if there is an AI bubble. Currently, however, Seagate (and its rival Western Digital) are riding high.
The overall AI Insights stock portfolio is handily outperforming our control portfolio, which is comprised 100% of Vanguard Total Stock Index Fund.
It’s worth pointing out that the AI Insights portfolio is still being carried by Micron Technology, which is up a staggering 27% since we purchased it for the portfolio.
The rest of the portfolio is significantly less exciting. Data infrastructure company NetApp has been struggling and is down nearly 4.45% since it was added to the portfolio.
Here’s a look at where the AI Insights portfolio stands after four weeks:
AI Insights Portfolio
- Total invested: $400
- Current Market Value: $423.74
- Unrealized Gains: 5.93%
| Stock | Shares | Day Gain | Total Gains | Market Value |
| Seagate (STX) | 0.363 | -1.65% | 2.72% | $102.87 |
| Comcast (CMCSA) | 3.5 | 1.60% | -2.24% | $97.61 |
| NetApp (NTAP) | 0.86 | 1.06% | -4.45% | $95.95 |
| Micron Technology (MU) | .52 | 1.57% | 27.59% | $127.35 |
And here’s how the AI Insights compares to our control portfolio, which is composed entirely of the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund with purchases made at the exact same time frame.
Standard Portfolio (100% VTI)
- Total invested: $400
- Current Market Value: $405.38
- Gains: 1.34%
| Stock | Shares | Day Gain | Total Gains | Market Value |
| Vanguard Total Stock Index (VTI) | 1.207 | 0.04% | 1.37% | $405.38 |
It’s still early days but it’s impressive that the AI Insights portfolio is outperforming the standard portfolio by nearly 5X. It’s unlikely that ride continues, especially if the market experiences significant volatility, but it’s interesting to see it play out.
Methodology
Every week, we ask ChatGPT for a simple stock recommendation after the market closes on Wednesday.
We created some parameters for the recommendation, which you can read more about at the bottom of the first AI Insights article. It’s an extremely simple process, and anyone can try it for themselves.
Disclaimer: Neither the large language models or ValueWalk suggest actually using this as an investment strategy. This article is for educational purposes only.
