How China Accidentally Created Its Own Rare Earth Rival (From The Tomorrow Investor)
Key Points
- Congressional disclosures highlighted five stocks recently traded by lawmakers, including BigBear.ai, Eli Lilly, and Broadcom.
- AI, defense, semiconductors, and GLP-1 healthcare trends appear across several trades, pointing to sectors with strong growth narratives.
- While disclosures lag by up to 45 days, tracking congressional trades can provide useful watchlist ideas for individual investors.
- Special Report: Have $500? Invest in Elon's AI Masterplan (From Brownstone Research)
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have recently proposed banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office. This sentiment dates back to the STOCK Act of 2012, which was supposed to be the fix. This piece of legislation required politicians to publicly disclose trades within 45 days of a transaction.
But critics have long argued it doesn't go far enough. More recent proposals, including the ETHICS Act and the TRUST in Congress Act, would go further and prohibit active stock trading by members altogether.
However, Congress moves slowly. So, until and if those acts become law, those 45-day disclosure windows remain one of the few tools everyday investors have to see where elected officials are putting their own money. A scan of the most recent 90 days of filings showed five stocks worth paying attention to, ranging from a small-cap AI defense play to a large-cap semiconductor giant at the center of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.
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BigBear.ai: A Small-Cap AI Defense Play Getting Repeat Attention
Representative Lisa McClain of Michigan made two separate purchases of BigBear.ai (NYSE: BBAI) in February, first on the 4th and again on the 6th.
Combined, the purchases were valued between $16,000 and $65,000.
BigBear.ai is a small-cap decision intelligence company that derives a significant portion of its revenue from U.S. government contracts in defense and national security.
McClain is not a first-time buyer. In August 2024, she reportedly became the first politician to ever disclose owning BBAI stock. The fact that she's returned to the name multiple times makes this more than a one-off.
Whether her seat on the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security provides any relevant context is a question worth keeping in mind.
Cracker Barrel: A Quick Trade From a Top Congressional Performer
Representative Tim Moore of North Carolina was named the top-performing member of Congress for stock trades in 2025 with a reported 52% gain.
That’s why it’s important to note that he was active in Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL) around the new year.
Moore purchased CBRL stock on Dec. 31, then sold a larger position just days later on Jan. 5, booking what appears to be a quick profit on a beaten-down restaurant stock.
The buy was in the $15,000–$50,000 range; the sale was $50,000–$100,000.
It reads more like a tactical short-term trade than a conviction hold, but when the guy who outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin last year makes a move, even a brief one, it tends to get noticed.
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Simply Good Foods: A Double Buy on a Beaten-Down Nutrition Stock
Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ: SMPL) is a more intriguing purchase made by Congressman Moore. He made two purchases of Simply Good Foods in February, on the 3rd and again on the 11th, each valued between $15,000 and $50,000. According to Quiver Quantitative data, Moore is reportedly the first member of Congress to buy SMPL stock in recent years.
Simply Good Foods, the company behind Atkins and Quest nutrition products, has seen its stock fall roughly 53% over the past year. Moore appears to be buying into weakness with a double purchase in a brand-new position. There's also a macro tailwind argument: as GLP-1 weight loss drugs push more consumers toward high-protein, low-carb nutrition, consumer staples stocks like Simply Good Foods could benefit from that behavioral shift.
Eli Lilly: GLP-1 Momentum and an Upcoming Obesity Drug Catalyst
Representative David Taylor of Ohio purchased Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) stock on Feb. 26. The trade wasn't disclosed until March 6.
That was right around the time Lilly's CFO publicly confirmed the company is on track to launch its oral obesity drug, orforglipron, in the second quarter of 2025, pending FDA approval.
To be fair, orforglipron has been in the public conversation for months, and the disclosure timeline is standard under the STOCK Act. But the sequence of events is the kind of thing that draws attention.
The fundamental case for LLY stock is real: it holds roughly 60% of the U.S. GLP-1 market and has $1.5 billion in pre-launch inventory ready to ship within a week of FDA approval.
Additionally, Medicare coverage of the oral pill could begin as early as April at $50 per month for eligible patients.
Broadcom: Multiple Congressional Buys in a Leading AI Chip Stock
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) stands out because the buying wasn't concentrated in one member—three separate members of Congress purchased AVGO stock in the past 90 days.
Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. made purchases in October, November, and December. Senator Shelley Moore Capito bought it in early February. And David Taylor, the same Ohio congressman who bought Eli Lilly, picked up Broadcom shares on Jan. 29.
Broadcom reported AI revenue of $12 billion for fiscal year 2025, a 74% year-over-year increase, and guided for $10.7 billion in AI revenue in Q1 2026 alone. The company is also a significant federal government contractor, which means congressional members may have more than just Wall Street research informing their view of its prospects.
Congressional Trades Are a Clue, Not a Trading Signal
Investors will do well to remember that congressional trade disclosures are a data point, not a trading signal. By the time a disclosure is public, the trade is already 45 days old, and the thesis may already be priced in. Correlation between a congressional role and a stock purchase does not imply anything improper.
That said, watching where informed, well-connected investors put their own money—especially when multiple members converge on the same name is a reasonable part of any investor's research process.
These five stocks may be worth adding to a watchlist, with independent research completed before any action is taken.
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