Latest Summary
CABOT EVENTS
Cabot Weekly Review (Video)
In this week’s video, Mike Cintolo says the evidence has deteriorated this week, partly due to the soft broad market and some earnings implosions among potential leaders. Even so, he’s still in the same stance -- cautious but flexible -- and still sees a bunch of names holding and setting up well ahead of a tsunami of earnings the next two weeks. For now, he’s holding plenty of cash (and a few small positions in resilient names), but he’s willing to pounce should big investors pile in and we see some strong breakouts going ahead.
Stocks Discussed: ANET LVS DUOL DV FRPT INSP ONON NVDA HUBS LULU PLNT OLLI
Cabot Webinar
How to Profit from the Biotech Bear Market
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Quarterly Cabot Analyst Meeting
The recording of the Cabot Prime Members Meeting with the Analysts from January 18, 2023 is now available for you to listen to at your convenience—click here for access. This private call with our analysts is one of your exclusive Cabot Prime Pro member benefits.
RECENT BUY AND SELL ACTIVITY
This table lists stocks bought or sold in the most recent Issues or Updates.
Portfolio Updates This Week
Cabot Growth Investor
Bi-weekly Issue April 20: The market continues to show many small positives, but we’re really looking for a BIG positive to change the market’s character and kick individual growth stocks (many of which are set up well) higher. Until then, many names are subject to potholes, as we saw this week; we trimmed our Shift4 position further and are placing Allegro on Hold. That said, our general outlook is unchanged--the odds favor the next big move is likely up, but until that happens, we’re playing things cautiously, holding some resilient names, small positions and plenty of cash. Tonight’s issue goes into detail into all our stocks, discusses one reason why the market is so choppy and talks about the hugely negative sentiment out there that could propel the market down the road.
Bi-weekly Update April 27: WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious. The market and (especially) growth stocks have come under further pressure this week, and while many names are still setting up well, more are hitting air pockets. Overall, we think the general environment is mostly unchanged (tedious, up and down, etc.), but we are making a couple of small defensive moves today—we’ll sell one-third of our stakes in both Academy Sports (ASO) and Wingstop (WING), taking some profits and holding the cash (around 63% of the portfolio) for now.
Cabot Top Ten Trader
Weekly Issue April 24: Last week was quiet, which keeps the overall evidence mostly unchanged—the indexes are hanging in there despite a rash of worrisome news, but there remain plenty of potholes and news- (and rumor-) driven action, including continued selling on strength. The question is whether Q1 reports will bring buyers out of their slumber and launch of bunch of fresh leaders higher. If so (given the hugely bearish sentiment out there), there could be tons of opportunities—but until it happens, it’s best to remain cautious. Once again we’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 5.
Movers & Shakers April 28: It’s been a highly divergent week in the market—everything started the week lower, but some positive mega-cap earnings have brought the Nasdaq and S&P 500 back to even-ish for the week. However, the action is far, far worse under the hood, with small- and mid-cap indexes down and, among growth-oriented stocks, many more air pockets emerging (including lots of poor earnings reactions).
Cabot Value Investor
Monthly Issue April 4: We comment on the price of gold and what we see as its primary drivers. Gold is now trading above $2,000/ounce. We also provide updates on our recommended stocks.
Weekly Update March 28: This past week, among the 1,000 largest companies by market cap, the average percentage share price change was zero. Half of the stocks had moves of no more than +/- 1%. And, only 14 stocks had share price movements of +/- 10% or greater.
Cabot Dividend Investor
Monthly Issue April 12: So far, this has been a positive year for the market. But an enormous amount of uncertainty remains. The painful high inflation/hawkish Fed conundrum that caused last year’s bear market appears to be ending. But a high risk of recession is taking over. It will be difficult for stocks to rally into the next bull market without knowing the timing, severity, or duration of a possible recession.
Weekly Update April 26: This is a big earnings week that could determine the near-term direction of the market. This earnings quarter started at the beginning of this month. But the rubber hits the road this week. Big technology companies including Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) as well as energy companies Exxon Mobile (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and Valero Energy (VLO) all report this week.
Cabot Early Opportunities
Monthly Issue April 19: In the April issue of Cabot Early Opportunities, we take a quick look at what to expect from portfolio positions set to report in the coming weeks and dive into fresh opportunities that are shaping up nicely now. At the top of the buy list is a software name we just added to our Watch List last month. We also take a position in a cosmetics stock that looks superb, pull back the curtain on a rising biotech star, tour an enterprise software name based in Canada and revisit a MedTech stock that’s finally getting some respect from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Cabot Income Advisor
Monthly Issue April 25: In the middle of an earnings recession and a slowing economy, defensive stocks are probably the best places to be. These companies can maintain earnings growth while most companies are sliding and remain consistent even as the economy deteriorates further. Defense is king right now. But defensive stocks are even better when they offer growth as well. In such uncertain times, it makes sense to bank on things that are more certain. Stocks poised in front of a megatrend are the best bet. A megatrend acts as a powerful tailwind for a stock that can make a mediocre pick very good and a good pick great. In this issue, I highlight a defensive stock that is also one of the world’s largest producers of alternative energy. At the same time, it is also one of the best traditional regulated utilities in the country. It offers defense as well as growth and can thrive in any kind of market.
Weekly Update April 18: The market is changing. The risk is shifting from more Fed rate hikes and inflation to a growing possibility of recession in the quarters ahead. The math is changing and so is market rotation. At the same time, earnings season is here, and we are likely in an earnings recession already. Average S&P 500 earnings shrunk 4% last quarter and are forecast to fall 5% this quarter. Much of that expectation is already reflected in prices and investors will be carefully watching the guidance for future quarters.
Cabot Turnaround Letter
Monthly Issue March 29: This issue focuses exclusively on the banking industry. Given the recent turmoil and the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history, we examine the question on the minds of value and contrarian investors: is it time to jump back into bank stocks? Our feature recommendation this month is First Horizon Corp (FHN), a relatively plain mid-sized regional bank that provides an appealing way to exploit the bank sell-off: merger arbitrage. Due to regulatory delays, the bank’s shares trade at a 33% discount to the $25/share all-cash offer from TD Bank Group, a large and well-capitalized Canadian bank. We believe that the deal will close at the $25 price, providing an attractive return, even as the shares’ discounted valuation offers considerable downside protection.
Weekly Update April 14: This week kicks off our earnings season, with Wells Fargo (WFC) reporting. There were no ratings changes this past week.
Cabot Money Club
Monthly Magazine April: Bonds or bond funds should be part of most investors’ portfolios or retirement plans because of the predictable income they generate. But with interest rates vacillating wildly, let’s take some time to explore how that impacts bond investors and some strategies you can employ to optimize your fixed-income returns.
Stock of the Month April 13: The broad markets have improved nicely in the past month, albeit with a recent pullback. Leading sectors were Communication Services, Consumer Staples, Healthcare, Technology, and Utilities. Style-wise, large-cap growth stocks beat their value peers, gaining 3.64% for the month. The employment picture remains healthy, with 236,000 jobs added in March, taking the unemployment rate down to 3.5%. This was the slowest job growth in two years, so economists are hoping that will slow inflation—and the Fed’s rate hikes!
Ask the Experts
Prime Question for Mike: Just wanted your opinion on the regular S&P 500 vs an equal weighted one and your feeling about the regular S&P 500 being so concentrated in a few stocks. Thx!
Mike: Yeah, it’s not super bearish per se, but it’s definitely not ideal – and as more and more stuff comes under pressure (today is a bloodbath for growth earnings) it becomes more iffy.
Long story short, it’s not something I particularly key off of, but whether it’s the RSP vs SPY, or just looking at small/mid cap indexes, etc., it’s clear fewer stuff is hanging in there. Not enough to say the choppy environment is over (and we’re going down), but heading in that direction.