The market was super slow yet again last week as the indexes were extremely rangebound. The S&P 500 lost 0.05%, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq declined by 0.5%. This week earnings season really gets in gear as 44% of the S&P 500 market cap reports.

The market was super slow yet again last week as the indexes were extremely rangebound. The S&P 500 lost 0.05%, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq declined by 0.5%. This week earnings season really gets in gear as 44% of the S&P 500 market cap reports.

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.

Foreign automakers, including electric vehicle (EV) makers, are losing market share in China as the country doubles down on the EV supply chain.

China makes almost all of EV electric motors and refines most of the chemicals used for lithium batteries. China even leads in developing what could be the next generation of technology, sodium batteries.

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).

Enjoy!

While the action under the surface was hardly encouraging, in the face of plenty of hawkish headlines from the Fed it was impressive that the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, the Dow rallied 1.44%, and the Nasdaq added 1% last week.

SThe story of the broad market is much the same as it has been in recent weeks. To wit, rotation continues across several industry groups while the major averages remain stuck in a lateral range. Things should start to heat up as we head further into the earnings season, though we’re not advising any major change in stance just yet.

This week’s list includes a nice mix of key industries that are benefiting from major fundamental and economic trends. Our Top Pick is a stock that should get a boost from accelerating interest in online foreign language learning.

It’s possible stocks are stretched, at least in the near term, and the just-underway earnings season will put that to the test in the coming weeks. The next big move may be to the downside, so today we’re adding some more portfolio protection in the form of a mega-cap health insurer that pays a modest dividend but has a history of beating the market. It’s the latest recommendation from Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson.

The goal this week is to add some positive deltas to the portfolio. We took a loss in our DIA bear call spread early last week, which was our first loss since February 2. And while the small setback should be expected (losses will occur) we continue to progress higher as the overall returns remain just under 100%, and remember, this is during what has been one of the more volatile periods in market history, a year when the major indexes were deeply entrenched in negative territory.

The message remains consistent again this week in all five of our open positions: All there is to do at the moment is allow time decay to work its magic.

All five positions are shaping up nicely as we head closer to May 19, 2023 expiration. But with earnings season upon us, as I stated last week, I expect to see several short-term positions (30 to 60 days ‘til expiration) being added to the mix. I’ve been very conservative about adding new positions to the mix and I don’t necessarily think all is clear ahead, but I do think we have an opportunity during this earnings season to add a few selective positions to the portfolio.

As we enter our second week of earnings trades, we are greeted with a plethora of opportunities. My focus this week will be on Morgan Stanley (MS) and American Express (AXP). That being said, there are several other stocks that could garner some attention as well, including Netflix (NFLX) and International Business Machines (IBM). So, given the number of potential opportunities this week, expect to see at least two, if not three, trade alerts as we move throughout the week.

After the recent pullback, the All-Weather portfolio is now up 9.88%, with the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) doing the heavy lifting, up 25.36% since it was introduced to the portfolio back on 6/15/22.

I will be rolling all of our LEAPS positions to the 2025 expiration cycle this week. So, be prepared to make a few trades this week as we increase the duration of our LEAPS while simultaneously continuing to sell more call premium.

We comment on recent earnings reports and other company-specific news about our recommended stocks, and include some thoughts on cryptocurrencies and the current burndown in momentum stocks.

The real short version of what’s going on out there is … we’re officially in a bear market in growth. And it’s been particularly tough going in the super-fast-growing small-cap stock arena.

Stocks started off on a positive note today, but once again sold off sharply into the close. At day’s end, the Dow was down another 313 points, and the Nasdaq was off 186 points.

The chances of a recession in the foreseeable future seems exceptionally unlikely. The domestic economy is booming: following last year’s estimated 5.2% growth, the economy is estimated to grow at a 3.3% pace this year. Any further Omicron-related deceleration appears more likely to be a temporary slowing rather than anything more ominous. Bolstering this view: future-watchers expect growth to continue at around a 3% pace in 2023. No recession in sight from their perspective.

As we get towards the end of January, the biggest thing on my mind is the pullback in growth stock. It has been remarkable. According to J.P. Morgan and Bloomberg, the software index is down ~22% from its peak.

The indexes plummeted on rising rate worries and disappointing Goldman Sachs (GS) earnings. The benchmark 10-year Treasury rate soared to 1.85 on Tuesday. That’s the highest level since the pandemic began and up from 1.34% as recently as last month.

Inflation is going on. And it’s starting to sink in. Oil prices are soaring. Interest rates are rising. And the Fed is going to have to be more aggressive than previously anticipated about raising rates and reducing stimulus.

Last year was a stellar one for commodities in general and for industrial metals in particular. Copper, steel, aluminum, nickel and lithium all had stellar gains. There were some declines along the way, but the overall trajectory for the majority of base and semi-precious metals was up.

This week’s Friday Update includes our comments on earnings from Wells Fargo & Company (WFC). We had no price target or ratings changes this week, although we are reviewing Wells Fargo shares as they trade above our price target.

It continues to be a very bumpy ride for small-cap growth stocks, while those names with a slightly more value-oriented profile are providing a somewhat smoother ride. Big picture, there is no doubt the risk-off environment continues. The good news for more aggressive investors is that valuations have come down significantly, as have analyst price targets. That latter point often seems to be one signal that the worst of the selling is in the rearview mirror. Though, clearly, there are many factors in play.

There is this widely held belief that January is a great month for investors. But I always throw cold water on this claim because the fact is, over the past 25 years, it’s been one of the worst months for stocks.

By some measures, Greentech looks more bearish than it has since March last year, with our benchmark Wilderhill Clean Energy Index breaking below support around 70-68.

Greystone Logistics (GLGI) filed its 10-K recently, and I was surprised that sales declined in the 4th quarter by 5%.

I recently downgraded Donnelley Financial (DFIN) to Hold as I had concerns that the company was overearning given buoyant capital market activities which tend to be cyclical.

The top five holdings in this fund are Tesla Inc (TSLA, 11.96% of assets); Honeywell International Inc (HON, 7.71%); Danaher Corp (DHR, 5.14%); Eaton Corp PLC (ETN, 4.44%); and 3M Co (MMM, 4.34%).

This Latin American McDonald’s franchisee is forecasted to grow earnings by 101.5% this year.

Today is the expiration of five of our covered call positions, and I’m not going to sugar coat it, it was a choppy month for the market, and our trades. Importantly, we are going to exit several positions today.

In the past 30 days, four analysts have boosted EPS forecasts for this construction and manufacturing supplier.

The top five holdings in this ETF are: The Estee Lauder Companies Inc Class A (EL, 3.38% of assets); Costco Wholesale Corp (COST, 3.30%); Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB, 3.29%); Clorox Co (CLX, 3.25%); and Church & Dwight Co Inc (CHD, 3.21%).

With a new batch of stocks being added to our portfolio tomorrow and a few of our current names looking just OK we’re going to sell three stocks today.

This bank is innovating with the help of its Laurel Road digital banking platform. It has a current dividend yield of 3.58%, paid quarterly.

**NOTE: Due to time constraints from the Cabot Wealth Summit, the Cabot Early Opportunities issue scheduled for Wednesday, August 18, 2021 will instead be published on Thursday August 19.**

Porch Group (PRCH) reported yesterday afternoon with results coming in ahead of management guidance and significant contributions from acquired companies. Despite the strong high-level numbers, the stock is selling off today and we’re going to step aside with the modest profit we still have (around 25%).

This bank is innovating with the help of its Laurel Road digital banking platform. It has a current dividend yield of 3.58%, paid quarterly.

A few Cabot Options Trader subscribers have asked me about ways to protect gains in their portfolios, so I thought I would write to everyone with a couple of strategies using options to hedge your portfolio.

A subscriber recently asked me if I keep a journal of my trades. Many traders keep journals so they can look back at their trades and evaluate what they did right and what they did wrong.

Want to know how the big institutional investors use options? Here is an example of how one trader spent $132 million on three technology stocks.

Options trading has its own vernacular. To know how to do it, you need to know what every options term means. Here are some of the basics.

Our Cabot Momentum 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 Momentum Trader features.