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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Small-Cap Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Motley Fool. This strategy looks for small cap growth stocks with solid fundamentals and strong price performance.

LIVE OAK BANCSHARES INC (LOB) is a small-cap growth stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 59% to 72% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company. The Company conducts business operations through its commercial bank subsidiary, Live Oak Banking Company (the Bank). The Bank specializes in providing lending and deposit-related services to small businesses nationwide. Its segments include Banking and Fintech. Banking segment specializes in providing financing services to small businesses nationwide in industries and deposit-related services to small businesses, consumers, and other customers nationwide. The Fintech segment is involved in making strategic investments in emerging financial technology companies. The Fintech segment is comprised of the Company's direct wholly owned subsidiaries, Live Oak Ventures, Inc. and Canapi Advisors, LLC, and the investments held by those entities, as well as the Bank's investment in Apiture, Inc. The Bank's loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, construction and development loans, commercial real estate, and commercial land.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of LIVE OAK BANCSHARES INC

YALLA GROUP LTD - ADR (YALA) is a small-cap value stock in the Business Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 59% to 72% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Yalla Group Limited is a United Arab Emirates-based entity which is operating as holding company. The Company through its subsidiaries is operating in one segment, which is the social networking and entertainment platform. The Company operates a voice-centric social networking and entertainment platform in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Company's mobile application, Yalla facilitates online voice-based chatting among users or voice live streaming, and Yalla Ludo provides a platform for board games such as Ludo and Domino. The platform allows individual users free access to the basic functions on the platform. The Company operates its business through Yalla UAE, Hangzhou Yale and Shenzhen Moov. Yalla UAE functions as its primary business operation center and engages in sales, marketing, customer service and other business operations. Hangzhou Yale performs technology and product development functions.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of YALLA GROUP LTD - ADR

HCI GROUP INC (HCI) is a small-cap growth stock in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 69% to 83% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: HCI Group, Inc. is engaged in property and casualty insurance, information technology services, insurance management, real estate and reinsurance. The Company operates through four segments: HCPCI insurance operations, TypTap Group, real estate operations, and corporate and other. HCPCI insurance operations segment includes property and casualty insurance, which provides various forms of residential insurance products such as homeowners insurance, fire insurance, flood insurance and wind-only insurance to homeowners, condominium owners and tenants, and reinsurance and other auxiliary operations, which operates through its subsidiary, Claddaugh Casualty Insurance Company Ltd. TypTap Group segment is engaged in the property and casualty insurance business, focusing on standalone flood and homeowners multi-peril policies, and is uses internally developed technology to collect and analyze claims and other supplemental data to generate savings and efficiency for its insurance operations.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of HCI GROUP INC

ETHAN ALLEN INTERIORS INC (ETD) is a small-cap value stock in the Furniture & Fixtures industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 49% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. is an interior design company, which is a manufacturer and retailer in the home furnishings marketplace. The Company operates through two segments: wholesale and retail. The wholesale segment is involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand and encompasses all aspects of design, manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, sale, and distribution of the Company's broad range of home furnishings and accents. The retail segment sells home furnishings and accents to clients through a network of 139 Company-operated design centers. The Company operates approximately 139 retail design centers with 135 located in the United States and four in Canada. The Company also owns and operates ten manufacturing facilities, including four manufacturing plants, one sawmill, one rough mill and one kiln dry lumberyard in the United States, two manufacturing plants in Mexico and one manufacturing plant in Honduras.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of ETHAN ALLEN INTERIORS INC

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About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

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