Zacks Investment Research recently suggested a handful of midcap stocks poised to climb in the future, especially if the U.S. economy continues to grow amid in the wake of any China trade deal.

“Investment in midcap stocks is often recognized as a good portfolio diversification strategy. These stocks combine attractive attributes of both small and large-cap stocks. If the trade deal breaks down, mid-cap stocks will be less susceptible to losses than their large-cap counterparts owing to less international exposure,” Zacks explained.

Midcap stocks are shares of public companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $5 billion.

If a China trade deal finally sees the light of the day, “these stocks will gain higher than small caps due to established management teams, a broad distribution network, brand recognition and ready access to capital markets,” Zacks said.

All five stocks are currently priced below $15, making them affordable to general investors, Zacks said.

1. Navient Corp. (NAVI), which provides education loan management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare, and government clients at the federal, state, and local levels.
2. Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR), which provides outsourced semiconductor packaging and test services in the United States and internationally.
3. Frontline Ltd. (FRO), a shipping company engaged in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide.
4. Newmark Group Inc. (NMRK), which provides commercial real estate services in the United States and internationally.
5. Vector Group Ltd. (VGR), which manufactures and sells cigarettes in the United States in 109 combinations under the Pyramid, EAGLE 20's, Grand Prix, Liggett Select, Eve, and USA brand names, as well as various partner and private label brands.

Meanwhile, Investor’s Business Daily recently explained that midcap stocks are considered "no man's land" by many investors.

Stocks valued at an average of $4 billion fall between the cracks. They're too small to meet the $8 billion value threshold to join the S&P 500 large-cap big leagues. And they're too large for most small-cap indexes, which own stocks generally worth about a billion.

Roughly 75% of ETF money is invested in large-cap funds or funds that tilt toward the big caps, says Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF and Mutual Fund Research at CFRA. This year, $32.3 billion flowed into large cap ETFs, or more than six times more than went into midcaps, he says.

"We don't think (midcaps are) necessarily getting enough of the overall market share here," Rosenbluth told IBD.

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