The top-down evidence remains mostly positive out there, but growth stocks have been hit very hard--taking things on a stock-by-stock basis has us with more than 50% in cash and, given the breakdowns out there, we’re holding that cash tonight. That said, we’re remaining flexible, too, as the major indexes aren’t in bad shape, the broad market’s resurgence has held so far and we’re heading into the meat of earnings season; given it all, we still think some fresh breakouts could occur if things go well. Thus, for now, we’re cautious, but we’re keeping our eyes open for opportunities.

We’ve been around a while, but this is one of the most unusual environments we’ve seen, with today’s major rotational action another example of a pickup in volatility while few names are really making much sustained progress. Taking things on a stock-by-stock basis, we’ve pared back some in recent weeks, yet because most of the names we’ve been targeting for buying are just sitting there, has led to an increasing cash position--now up to 41% after a partial sale of Cava Group earlier this week.

The good news is that the mostly sideways action from much of the market has led to many setups heading into earnings season, which results in a straightforward game plan -- we’re holding our cash tonight, but we’re aiming to grab some fresh breakouts if they occur.

Outside of a few mega-cap names, the market remains stuck in neutral, with the vast majority of stocks (including growth stocks), sectors and indexes meandering sideways, resulting in plenty of trendless, tedious action. Of course, many areas are within shouting distance of new high ground, so we’re not negative--but while we’d love to put some money to work (a couple of names on our watch list are fairly enticing), we think less is essentially more, at least until the market shows its hand. We’re again standing pat tonight, though remaining flexible for what may come.

Long-term, the market’s picture remains bright, with our most reliable indicator (Cabot Trend Lines) firmly positive, which we write more about in today’s issue, as well as one name that’s probably at the very top of our watch list. All in all, we’re ready to make some moves, but right now, patience is the best course.

The market remains a mixed bag, with some big-cap indexes moving up, but just about everything else still stuck in a trading range, while leading growth stocks remain hit or miss. That said, there are some encouraging signs, including some fresher leadership and resilient action among a bunch of names we’re watching and own, so we continue to play things in the middle--we’re holding some strong names and actually averaging up on one of our stocks tonight, but we’re also holding a chunk of cash and being selective.

The market’s rally has run into trouble, with our Cabot Tides and Two-Second Indicator effectively back on the fence. When it comes to growth stocks, most are acting more resiliently than the broad market, but even there it’s hit and miss, with lots of air pockets though many names that are acting well, too. Because of the divergent action, we’ve had a flurry of moves since the last issue, paring back or selling three names, but putting money to work in two names (including a new addition last week). All told, we’ll still have about 27% in cash and have a few stocks that look great, but are also keeping a close eye on a couple that remain iffy.

In tonight’s issue, we go over all our thoughts on the market and our various moves, as well as write about the solar sector that may be getting going after a long slumber, as well as small caps in general, which could finally get going ... if interest rates behave themselves.

The market has steadily improved its standing since its low three weeks ago, so much so that our Cabot Tides and Two-Second Indicator have returned to bullish territory; that had us start putting money to work last week and we’re doing a bit more buying tonight. Granted, this isn’t the same environment as, say, last November, as buying pressures are still sporadic and growth stocks are good (not exceptional), so we’re moving in steps and want to be “pulled” into a heavily invested position via more strength.

In tonight’s issue, we review all of our stocks, especially our recent buys, and write about one growth area where it appears investor perception has changed for the better in a big, big way.

The market has hung in there during the past couple of weeks, which is good to see, but there hasn’t been enough strength — from the major indexes or from growth stocks — to tell us the buyers have retaken control. At the same time, nothing has changed with the big picture, either, which leaves us with the same thoughts we had two weeks ago: Right now, it’s best to be cautious as the correction plays out and as earnings season goes along, but you want to be prepared to move when the tide turns back up.

For our part, we’re holding a good chunk of cash and standing pat tonight, but we have an expanded watch list as we monitor earnings season for signs of future leadership.

The market has definitively changed character, with our Cabot Tides and Two-Second Indicator now negative—when combined with breakdowns among leading growth stocks, the odds favor more short-term weakness ahead. We’ve been holding some cash for a while and have boosted that this week, with 37% on the sideline, and we could raise more if the selling continues.

That said, we’re not aiming to hide out in our bunkers--following some short-term pain, the odds favor further long-term gains given the underlying trend and the lack of big-picture abnormal action out there. Thus, having taken partial profits in many names, we’re OK giving them a chance to find support, as some are likely to have another leg up after this downturn. In tonight’s issue, we’re moving a couple more stocks to Hold, hanging onto our cash and writing about many names that are taking the selling in stride and could have upside if the market finds its footing.

Most of the evidence remains bullish, so we continue to hold our winners and selectively put money to work — but the fact is that most growth stocks have been chopping sideways overall for a month or two, so we’re OK holding some cash and waiting patiently for the market and leaders to show their near-term hand. Tonight, we’re booking a little more partial profits in one of our winners, but are standing pat otherwise and will follow the lead of the market—and of leaders—going ahead.

Most growth leaders and even the Nasdaq itself has been churning since early February, with a lot of ups and downs but not much price progress—but this week has been more encouraging, as the selling pressures have been unable to persist and the major uptrend may be reasserting itself (basically the opposite situation that was seen repeatedly in 2022-2023). That doesn’t mean it’ll be smooth sailing from here, so we’re still being discerning on the buy side, but we’re holding our winners and remaining in an overall optimistic stance.

In the Model Portfolio, we cut bait on one half position earlier this week that was heading in the wrong direction, but we’re holding our strong performers and tonight are putting a chunk of money to work.

The market remains in a solid uptrend, though there’s no question some sellers are beginning to step up, with more volatility in the Nasdaq seen in the past month and, outside of chip stocks, some churning in the leading stocks. That’s not bearish, per se, as we’re still riding our winners, but for new buying we’re being more selective and looking for fresher leaders that have recently emerged with some power. In the Model Portfolio, we sold one stock in the past two weeks while starting a half-sized stake in one of those fresher leaders, and tonight, we’re averaging up in that name and starting another new position, too.

The market had an excellent snap back today, which was good to see, but we’re still playing things a bit near-term cautiously for now—many leaders have suffered some distribution after good runs (and after some yellow flags near the turn of the month). Tonight, we’re holding some strong names, but also about one-third in cash, waiting a couple more days to see if today really does put in a low for most leaders.

Big picture, though, we remain quite optimistic—we’re certainly not looking to raise more cash if we can help it (we do have three names reporting next week), and we could put some cash back to work very soon if things hold up. Stay tuned.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Today is a horrid day for most growth and AI-related stocks, continuing the rotation that began last week. All in all, there remain lots of crosscurrents, with our market timing indicators now positive, but individual growth stocks remain very hit or miss, all while earnings season is starting to rev up. Thus, we continue to favor holding a chunk of cash on the sideline while taking things on a stock-by-stock basis. In the Model Portfolio, we did some buying earlier this week, adding half-sized stakes in the ProShares Russell 2000 Fund (UWM) and Robinhood (HOOD), though tonight we’re going to sell our remaining small position in Uber (UBER) while placing Pure Storage (PSTG) on Hold as it takes on water with most peers. Our cash position is around 36%, which we’ll hold onto tonight as we watch to see how the rotation progresses from here.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The evidence remains mostly the same, with trendless, choppy action among the vast majority of stocks and sectors out there—we’re still overall bullish (especially longer-term), but for now, less seems to be more when it comes to taking action. In the Model Portfolio, we cut bait with Pulte (PHM) earlier this week as the stock broke down, leaving us with 37% in cash, and tonight we’re placing On Holding (ONON) on Hold, as the stock has turned weak. We are seeing more setups out there, so if the buyers can show up, we’ll likely put at least a little money to work, but today we’ll sit tight and see what comes after the holiday.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Today is an ugly day for growth stocks, with sellers driving many stocks lower as the Nasdaq and some mega-cap winners wobbled. That said, the evidence is basically the same—very mixed and divergent on an intermediate-term basis, with some names doing well but much of the market chopping sideways. We think holding a good-sized chunk of cash makes sense given that risk is elevated, but we’re also holding on to our stocks and giving them some room to wiggle around. In the Model Portfolio, we’re watching things closely, but will sit tight tonight, holding our 30% cash position.

WHAT TO DO NOW: With the market’s intermediate-term evidence mixed, you should take things on a stock-by-stock basis—holding what’s working but selling what’s not, while holding some cash as we wait for the market and growth stocks to show their hand. Our Cabot and Growth Tides remain neutral and our Two-Second Indicator is iffy, so even though we do see a few tempting names, we’re going to hold our 35% cash position tonight and see if the bulls can step up for more than a few hours. We have no changes tonight.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain optimistic, but continue to pick your spots. Most of the evidence is positive, but the action among growth stocks is good but somewhat mixed, with many names acting great but some hitting air pockets and lots hitting resistance near prior highs. In the Model Portfolio, we’re doing a little reshuffling tonight—we’re going to sell one-half of DraftKings (DKNG) and sell one-quarter of Uber (UBER), but we’re also going to start another half-sized stake in On Holding (ONON). We’re also placing Pulte (PHM) on Hold. We’ll still have about 23% in cash after these moves. Details below.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Do a little buying. The market’s evidence has improved over the past couple of weeks, with our Cabot Tides on the verge of a green light and our Two-Second Indicator having flashed an all-clear. Even so, growth measures (Aggression Index, Growth Tides) are still broadly neutral, while earnings season has been tricky for individual stocks. Put it together and we’re doing a little buying tonight but starting slow: In the Model Portfolio, we’re adding a half-sized stake (5% position) in TransMedics (TMDX) and adding a 3% position in Cava Group (CAVA), leaving us with around 36% in cash. We’re also placing Pulte (PHM) back on Buy. Details below.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious, though remain flexible. The market’s initial bounce this week was good to see but it didn’t offset the recent weakness, and today’s Meta-inspired selloff didn’t help the cause. All told, our Cabot Tides remain negative, and most growth stocks are still in rough intermediate-term shape—though the long-term picture is still positive. After selling the rest of our Arista (ANET) position last Friday, our cash position is 44%—we’ll sit tight tonight with our remaining names and our cash and see how earnings season continues to play out.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish, but continue taking things on a stock-by-stock basis. We’re seeing another round of sharp selling in many leading growth stocks today, though few (if any) have cracked meaningful support. To us, it’s another shot across the bow, not prompting any major moves but putting us on alert with certain names. In the Model Portfolio, we’re making one small move—selling 20% of our stake in CrowdStrike (CRWD)— while doing a quick flip on Celsius (CELH), placing it on Hold after last week’s half-position buy after today’s drop on news. Our cash position will now be 25%, and we’re keeping our eyes on a few names should the selling continue.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish, but keep some dry powder on the sideline. Most of the evidence remains positive, but the choppy, churning action among some leading stocks (as well as the Nasdaq itself) is still in place. To be fair, many fresher names are acting well, but we’re content to hold some cash and our strong performers and see how things play out. After putting some money to work last week, we’ll stand pat tonight with a cash position of around 27%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish, but continue to be selective on the buy side. The market continues to act well, and we’re encouraged by the snapback seen in many leading stocks of late, as well as a fresh barrage of positive earnings reactions in recent days. In the Model Portfolio, we’re happy to own some very strong actors, and tonight we’re going add one new half-sized stake (5% of the portfolio) in Applovin (APP), while also restoring our Buy rating on Nutanix (NTNX), which reacted well to earnings today. Our cash position will be around 28%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Hold your strong stocks, but near-term, it’s OK to sit on your hands a bit and see how things shake out. The overall evidence remains bullish, but there have been some yellow flags of late and yesterday’s broad, sharp decline is likely to have some near-term reverberations. We took partial profits in Arista (ANET) yesterday, selling one-third of our shares, and placed Pulte (PHM) on Hold, leaving us with around 33% in cash—and some great performers. We’ll stand pat tonight, though if things settle down for a couple of days, we could put some of our cash back to work.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The major indexes are bouncing some this morning, but growth stocks remain mixed, and after last week, many are damaged. We’re going to sell the rest of our small CrowdStrike (CRWD) position, as not only is the stock fading again, but we think perception has likely been crushed and could stay that way. That will leave us with 54% in cash—that’s too high given the top-down evidence, so while we’ll hold onto it for the moment, we could put some back to work this week if things shape up a bit.

WHAT TO DO NOW: It’s been a brutal week for growth stocks in general, with the major indexes off some but with more breakdowns than we have seen in a few months. Today’s update involves CrowdStrike (CRWD), which is getting hammered today after an update glitch has disrupted a ton of the world’s operations overnight and this morning. To respect the action, we’re going to sell one-third of what we have, though we’ll hold the remaining small-ish position for now. Many more details below. Our cash position will be just shy of 50%, which we’ll hold onto as we wait for growth stocks to find support.

The market and growth stocks are getting hit once again today (partially because of rumors of geopolitical tensions regarding China and Taiwan), but as always, we go with the evidence, and the selling wave in growth stocks that popped up a week or two ago has continued this week with more and more name flashing intermediate-term abnormal action.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Four days doesn’t guarantee success, but the sharp broad market rally during the past few sessions has turned our Cabot Tides positive and improved our Two-Second Indicator; growth stocks remain choppy, but some names are perking up there, too. All told, we’re going to put a little money to work today, adding half-sized stakes (5% of the portfolio) in Robinhood (HOOD) and ProShares Ultra Russell 2000 Fund (UWM). That will leave us with around 30% in cash. Details below.

WHAT TO DO NOW: While a couple handfuls of mega-cap stocks act well, we continue to see more stocks hit air pockets than get going on the upside, which, combined with our mixed market timing indicators, has us staying relatively close to shore. Today we’re going to sell one-third of our stake in Cava (CAVA)—like so many names, the stock has been unable to break through resistance, and now it (and its peer group) has come under heavy selling pressure. Our cash position will now be just over 40%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market’s evidence remains unchanged, with a choppy, narrow and challenging environment. Many stocks are hanging in there, but there continue to be air pockets here and there, and our goal is to get out of names that are truly breaking down while holding (and possibly adding) resilient growth titles. Tonight, we’re going to sell PulteGroup (PHM), which hasn’t been able to bounce and cracked support today on a big rise in rates. Our cash position will be around 37%, which we’ll hold onto tonight but could put some back to work in the days ahead.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Do a little more selling. We’re seeing another round of selling in growth stocks, with some more abnormal action among a few names. To be fair, most of the action is mixed at this point, whether looking at the overall market (Tides on the fence, etc.) or individual stocks, but the increasing number of air pockets out there has us paring back a bit more today—we’re going to sell one-third of AppLovin (APP), which is our largest position, as well as cut bait on Toast (TOST), which is our biggest loser. Our cash position will now be around 36%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market’s rally has run into trouble, and while there are more than a few growth stocks that look fine (if not great), air pockets are reappearing in many issues. Today, Nutanix (NTNX), which looked picture-perfect heading into its earnings report, is getting mauled along with most other software stocks. We’re going to sell the rest of our stake today, thinking today’s meltdown after a prolonged run isn’t likely to lead to good things in the intermediate term. We’ll have more details (and likely other changes) in tonight’s issue of Cabot Growth Investor.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish, but continue to prune weak names and hold/buy stronger ones. In the Model Portfolio, we’re letting go of the rest of our small position in DraftKings (DKNG), which is breaking down further today after bad news on the tax front. We’ll hold the cash for the moment, leaving us with around 28% on the sideline.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious as the market’s correction accelerates. Today is another poor day in the market, and while nothing’s changed with the evidence, more stocks are melting away. Today we’re going to sell the rest of our stake in Arista Networks (ANET), which hasn’t been able to get off its knees since last Friday’s decline and is our weakest stock. Our cash position will now be around 44%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Continue to play things a bit carefully as the market’s position deteriorates. Our Two-Second Indicator and Cabot Tides are weakening, and leading stocks, which had been churning for weeks, are continuing to give up ground. It’s possible this morphs into some sort of news-driven shakeout (especially given the hourly Middle East headlines), but we’re simply taking it as it comes. We already have 28% cash in the Model Portfolio, but we’re going to pare back further, cutting our loss in our half position in Celsius (CELH) and selling one-third of our position in Pulte (PHM). Our cash position will now be around 36%.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market and especially leading stocks are still very choppy, with news-driven moves becoming the norm of late, and today we’re seeing another wave of selling in the names. Big picture, we’re still optimistic, but we’re taking things on a stock-by-stock basis at this point. Today we’re going to sell Shift4 (FOUR), which was hit hard yesterday after saying it received no worthwhile buyout bids and, without any bounce, we’re going to cut bait here, leaving us with 32% in cash. Details below.

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So how can you pick stocks that have a good chance to become winners? Interestingly, the best way is by looking backwards!

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Some stocks in the Model Portfolio and others we’ve recommended have had great runs during 2017 but have come under pressure recently. And that’s naturally led to a lot of questions about how exactly to handle big winners, so that’s what we’ll dive into today.

This is a collection of tips on stock chart reading, something that’s key to Mike Cintolo’s growth stock methodology, but something few individual investors (and even professional investors) understand too well.

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If you’re a typical Cabot growth investor, you like to own stocks of fast-growing companies ... the kind that go up fast and come down fast. The ride up with these stocks is wonderful. But the ride down can be shocking. Stocks like these can easily fall 40%, 50% or more in a prolonged market decline, destroying the value of your portfolio.

Our market timing indicators are discussed in every issue of Cabot Growth Investor. Here are detailed explanations of what they are and how we use them.