Ariel’s John Rogers likes these small-cap names as the market rally broadens

Covista is among the small-cap stocks Ariel Investments' John Rogers is currently focusing on as the artificial intelligence trade continues sucking all the oxygen out of the market. Rogers, Ariel's chairman, co-CEO and chief investment officer, noted on CNBC's " Power Lunch " on Thursday that in his career, he's never seen as much short-term volatility as the AI trade is currently creating in the market. "I think the broad, broad market is expensive, driven by the AI craze," Rogers said during the interview, conducted in Chicago from the trading floor of the Cboe. "Us value investors have been suffering as these hot companies just go booming higher and higher and higher. I do think that the AI craze will end the same way things ended at the end of the century, when the internet bubble finally burst." To that end, Rogers listed Covista as one Chicago-based small-cap stock he's currently bullish on. "Covista is a for-profit education company focused primarily on educating doctors and nurses. As you know, throughout the world there's a shortage of nurses, a shortage of doctors, and having a great for-profit company like Covista to be able to bring that education is really, really important," Rogers said. "Stephen Beard, the CEO, has done a fabulous job of getting them on track, and we still think there's a lot of room to run for this great Chicago company." CVSA YTD mountain Covista in 2026 Shares of Covista have surged 20% this year. …