America’s housing market has been in a deep freeze for years, thanks to high borrowing costs and skyrocketing prices. But signs of hope are starting to emerge, and it’s possible a long-anticipated thaw is coming now that mortgage rates have dipped below 6%.

Could 2026 be the year of the U.S. housing turnaround? Possibly. But even if it isn’t, today we add a housing-adjacent stock that should fare well either way – especially since it’s trading at a deep discount. I see 36% upside, possibly within a matter of months. It’s a name you know well – whose products you’ve almost surely used and likely have in your garage right now.

Details inside.

The close of the month of February, which was extremely volatile day-to-day, was another week in the red as a mix of AI-driven growth fears and geopolitical tension put pressure on broader markets. Traders sold heavily into tech and financials, keeping sentiment cautious. By week’s end, the S&P 500 had slid 0.4%, the Dow had lost 1.3%, the Nasdaq had declined by 1% and the Russell 2000 had fallen by 1.2%.

The major indexes and most stocks were hit fairly hard at the open today, though, as the day wore on the losses become minor and many stocks were actually green. Is that encouraging? You bet, especially as the big-cap indexes held support right near recent lows. That said, does it change the intermediate-term evidence at all? Not really, with the themes of the past few weeks (pockets of strength, but choppy action and some yellow flags) still with us. We’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 6 and remain flexible.

This week’s list has something for everyone, with some cyclical plays, growth titles and a few recent breakouts. Our Top Pick is a mid-sized outfit with accelerating growth as its chips ride the AI (and other fast growing) waves.

The U.S.’s involvement in renewed conflict in the Middle East has so far done little to deter this market, despite some modest selling early Monday. That said, risk is decidedly elevated, with many growth stocks still well below their highs and the all-important VIX climbing above the 20 level today. But oil prices are on the rise too, and that means it’s a good time to capitalize in the form of a mid-cap energy play recommended by Tyler Laundon to his Cabot Early Opportunities audience last month.

Details inside.

The close of the month of February, which was extremely volatile day-to-day, was another week in the red as a mix of AI-driven growth fears and geopolitical tension put pressure on broader markets. Traders sold heavily into tech and financials, keeping sentiment cautious. By week’s end the S&P 500 had slid 0.4%, the Dow had lost 1.3%, the Nasdaq had declined by 1% and the Russell 2000 had fallen by 1.2%.

The close of the month of February, which was extremely volatile day-to-day, was another week in the red as a mix of AI-driven growth fears and geopolitical tension put pressure on broader markets. Traders sold heavily into tech and financials, keeping sentiment cautious. By week’s end the S&P 500 had slid 0.4%, the Dow had lost 1.3%, the Nasdaq had declined by 1% and the Russell 2000 had fallen by 1.2%.

Let’s start with some remarkable statistics.

Nvidia’s (NVDA) fourth-quarter revenue reported yesterday was $68 billion, up 73% from the same period last year. It now makes more revenue in a single quarter than most chip competitors generate in an entire year. Nvidia’s profit for the last 12 months was $120 billion. Just three years ago, Nvidia’s profit was $4.4 billion.

It is estimated that more than one-third of the value of the stock market is represented by companies based in the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley area.

We continue to get solid signals from the White House that cannabis rescheduling is on track. That’ll be a significant catalyst for cannabis stocks. The only question is the timing. That remains uncertain and probably unknowable. Cannabis stocks remain a buy on weakness ahead of this catalyst.

The background here is that last December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to move cannabis to Schedule III from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.

The bull market has broadened out beyond technology in a big way. While the S&P 500 is about even for the year so far, most market sectors are beating the index, and by a lot. In fact, six of the eleven sectors have a better than 8% YTD return, not even two months into the year.

The new market dynamic is having a profound impact on the portfolio. Several stocks that had been dead weight in the portfolio have soared in recent months to 52-week highs. The new market has turned previously underperforming stocks into strong income generators.

It has been a strong run for several portfolio stocks. But a largely successful earnings season is almost over. That means there will be no obvious catalyst to continue driving stocks higher, at least for now. The situation makes it a better time to capitalize on recent price surges instead of adding more positions and hoping for more.

Under the current circumstances, the biggest market opportunity right now is income. In this issue, I highlight three more high-priced covered calls on stocks that have had strong rallies.

In researching potential candidates for this month’s edition of the newsletter, I narrowed down my final list of top choices to the usual 10 stocks. What caught my attention when reviewing the list, however, was how many of them were in the healthcare sector—in particular, the therapeutic arena.

I was gratified by this discovery since I feel that a.) medical stocks are underrepresented in the portfolio, and b.) the sector is at once defensive in nature (always a good thing in my estimation) yet also poised to benefit from ongoing sector rotation.

Before we dive into this week’s covered call idea, I need to address two items.

First, we are going to sell our RKT stock as the February call that we sold expired worthless, leaving us with our stock position.

It remains about as mixed an environment as we can remember, which does mean the risk of some sort of convulsion (a correction, a re-rotation into laggards, etc.) is elevated. That said, as opposed to the on-again, off-again action from certain areas in January, we have seen the winners persist of late, so that’s where we’re focusing—while also holding some cash and raising stops along the way given what’s going on. For the moment, we’ll stick with a level 6 on the Market Monitor, but again, we’re OK taking swings at strong stocks.

This week’s list is very heavy on the cyclical side of things, with many names perking up and out of long ranges. Our Top Pick has a solid growth profile and has emerged on the upside after a six-month choppy phase.

Uncertainty in the market has soared. The situation in Iran significantly increases the near-term risk to stock prices.

The earnings catalyst has passed. Market indexes are near the high. In this environment, a very unpredictable situation in the Middle East could tip the balance. Of course, it’s impossible to know what will ultimately happen in Iran.

There is a huge increase in uncertainty with the market near the high. Although stocks were mostly higher by midday on Monday, the situation in Iran adds another degree of risk.

The current situation makes this an even better time to sell covered calls on stocks near the recent high. After a huge YTD rally in several previously underperforming sectors, a few stocks are generating very high-priced call premiums. An unpredictable market with stocks near the high after the strongest rally in years is the ideal time to turn the recent market successes into high income.

It has been called by many pundits the biggest speculative event since the late ‘90s Internet stock mania. I’m referring, of course, to the widely referenced “AI bubble” that has been in play for the better part of the last three years.

But is it truly a “bubble” in the historical sense of the term? The answer to this question is salient for us not only as investors, generally speaking, but also as it concerns at least a couple of the stocks in our portfolio—namely Intel (INTC) and Centuri Holdings (CTRI).

WHAT TO DO NOW: It’s not 2008 out there, but the market environment remains very challenging, especially for growth, where most indexes, funds and stocks are struggling. That said, we have started to see some growth names emerge on the upside, and our watch list is growing—if we can see more than a day or two of strength, we’d like to put some money to work. But until then, we’re content to stay close to shore and patiently wait for growth stocks to get moving. In the Model Portfolio, we’re placing Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM) on Hold tonight; our cash position is still just above 50%.

It’s been an interesting week here in Rhode Island, where most people are finally dug out from the roughly three feet of snow that fell across the state Sunday night and into Monday.

Growing up in Vermont, major snowstorms were certainly disruptive. But more often than not, it was all about how we would get to the ski resort without going off the road.

Hello from sunny Florida!

I am on vacation with my family this week, taking a much-needed break from the harsh, snowy Vermont winter (and narrowly making it down here ahead of the latest blizzard to dump another foot or two of snow on the Northeast). But with so much going on in the market – tariffs rejected! GDP growth slowing! AI panic! – I wanted to provide an update on everything that’s going on with our stocks.

It’s the same basic market story as it has been for the last four months. Technology is floundering while other sectors are killing it. But a couple of events occurring this week could potentially change the dynamic.

For value-focused investors, this year’s prologue has been a welcome change from the turmoil experienced in early 2025.

In just the past few weeks, some of last year’s most ignored or underappreciated laggards have posted outsized gains, with rallies that have made even momentum-driven tech stock traders envious. Even more remarkable is the fact that much of that strength has been concentrated in ultra-defensive areas of the market like consumer staples, utilities and healthcare.

The market rotation continues to be the main story out there this week, though rumblings of a potential strike on Iran, an update from the January FOMC meeting, and a slew of earnings reports and economic data releases have been giving investors plenty to think about.

In terms of the rotation, the equal‑weight S&P 500 ETF (RSP) is up 5.5% so far this year, illustrating that leadership is broadening beyond the narrow group of mega‑cap stocks that drove much of last year’s performance.

Year to date, the S&P 600 SmallCap Index is up 8.3% and the S&P 400 Mid‑Cap Index is up 7.9%. Both are comfortably outperforming the S&P 500, which is up just 0.1%, and the Nasdaq, which is down 2.1%.

Happy Chinese New Year! The year of the horse is upon us.

China is expecting an incredible 9.5 billion trips to be made during the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period. Chinese automakers are also on the move as the country’s numerous brands sold nearly 200,000 vehicles in Britain last year, doubling their market share to almost 10%.

As U.S. investors have shifted from risk-on to risk-off mode in recent months, a clear disparity between the “haves” and the “have-nots” has materialized.

Let’s start with the “have-nots.” Financials have fared the worst so far this year (-4.7%), followed by technology (-3.1%), communication services and consumer discretionary (-2.8% each). The downturn in the two tech-related sectors in particular is a stark departure from recent years, when technology led the charge of the current bull market.

Cyclical stocks are soaring and technology is floundering in the transformed market.

The bull market is turned upside down. For most of the first three years, technology, and particularly AI stocks, soared while most other stocks did very little. Now, previously meandering stocks are killing it while technology sinks.

United Rentals, Inc. (URI) was recommended in Investment Digest issue 715, dated March 14, 2012, at $43.14 by Stealth Stocks. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG) was also recommended by Stealth Stocks, in Investment Digest issue 717, dated April 18, 2012, at $66.86. Both positions were removed from the Stealth Stocksportfolio in recent weeks when they closed below their sell stops ($40...

Today’s recommendation is a housing industry turnaround candidate from George Putnam’s The Turnaround Letter.

“Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR) is a leading supplier and manufacturer of building products for residential construction. It operates in nine states, primarily in the Mid- Atlantic and Southeast plus Texas.

“The company was formed in 1998 through a leveraged buyout...

Earnings season can be a trying time to make new investments, as the potential for large and unpredictable moves is much higher. But it can also provide an opportunity for strong stocks to distinguish themselves. Today’s recommendation is a stock that popped 17.5% on much higher-than-average volume on Friday, after...

There are a lot of ways to play the booming natural gas industry, but today’s recommendation is the first railroad I’ve seen recommended using that rationale. Here’s Keith Kohl, Editor of Energy Investor, with the explanation:

“Believe it or not, there’s a downside to the North Dakota oil industry.

“It isn’t production, which...

I hope you received and enjoyed your new Investment Digest yesterday. Here’s a brand-new high-potential recommendation, from Ian Wyatt’s Top Stock Insights.

“Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) is a well-established company with 40,000 end customers. They sell into four primary markets: wireless communication, wired infrastructure, automotive electronics and computer peripherals. Its 50 years of innovation in...

Today’s Daily Alert features an unusual, high-potential investment from John McCamant’s Medical Technology Stock Letter. This company is seeking to harness the power of “good bacteria” to treat serious medical conditions including Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

“With a proprietary and unique approach for developing drugs for blockbuster pharmaceutical markets such as autoimmune disease...

ARMH was recommended by Blue Chip Growth at $28.69 in Investment Digest issue 692, dated April 6, 2011. ARMH closed yesterday at $25.33.

“After eight weeks on Hold, the time has come to sell ARM Holdings PLC (ARMH). I still love the company and strongly believe it’s in a cutting-edge industry with a bright long-term future....

Today’s recommendation is a stock that jumped 12% in one day on Friday, in response to its earnings report. The stock was already on the Digest radar screen, thanks to Investors Intelligence’s recommendation the day before the earnings report. Then today, the stock got a second endorsement from Cabot Top Ten Trader Editor Michael...

“The European countries are still dealing with a financial crisis that seems to boil over every few weeks without much warning. It is a difficult place to invest because of so much uncertainty. Emerging markets seem to be doing better both in terms of growth and attractive prices of their...

ALXN was recommended by Blue Chip Growth at a split-adjusted $48.52 in Investment Digest issue 690, dated March 2, 2011. ALXN closed at $90.56 on Friday.

“Company leadership at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN) has just released first-quarter operating results that have trumped estimates across the board. Compared with the same quarter last year, Alexion Pharma’s net...

Today’s recommendation is an offshore drilling contractor well positioned to profit from the evolution of its market. The stock also pays a small dividend; the current yield is about 1.5%. Here’s Argus Research’s Philip Weiss with the recommendation:

“After some tough sledding in 2011, BUY-rated Noble Corp. (NE) has gotten off to a good...

BWLD was recommended by Cabot Market Letter at $89.50 in Investment Digest issue 715, dated March 14, 2012. BWLD closed yesterday at $78.17.

“Our market timing indicators haven’t changed -- we continue to believe the market correction has further to run, but the evidence still points to a longer-term uptrend. However, there’s no question the...

Our Cabot Top Ten Trader’s market timing system consists of two parts—one based on the action of three select, growth-oriented market indexes, and the other based on the action of the fast-moving stocks Cabot Top Ten features.