Current Market Outlook


Major indexes, including the S&P 500, Dow Industrials and Nasdaq Composite remain range bound, chopping sideways in very tight ranges during the past five to seven weeks. But the broad market is looking better and better—most small- and mid-cap indexes hit new highs last week, and we’ve seen some improved action among growth stocks. All told, we remain positive on the market and believe the path of least resistance remains up. Individual stocks have been a bit trickier, but many are acting well. We think it’s best to remain heavily invested.


This week’s list includes many smaller, rapidly growing companies, reinforcing the view that money is flowing toward growth ideas. Our Top Pick is Shopify (SHOP), which has enormous potential as e-commerce expands. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Wix.com (WIX)	302.53	39.5-41.5	35-36
Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT)	170.11	50-52	47-48
Shopify (SHOP)	585.00	40.5-42.5	36-37
Ingevity Corp. (NGVT)	99.98	42-44.5	39-40
Microsemi (MSCC)	0.00	38.5-40	36-37
LGI Homes (LGIH)	86.04	37.5-38.5	33-34
Green Plains Energy (GPRE)	0.00	23.5-24.5	21.5-22
Finisar (FNSR)	0.00	21.5-22.5	19.5-20
Exact Sciences (EXAS)	116.91	18-19	15.5-16
Autodesk (ADSK)	229.00	66-68	60-61

Current Market Outlook


Despite the never-ending Fed watch (many investors are looking forward to this week’s jobs report for clues on the Fed’s next move), the major indexes remain in a very tight trading range, with some (including the S&P 500) basically unchanged since mid-July. Still, by our measures, the intermediate- and longer-term trends remain up, and the fact there has been little giveback by the major indexes in recent weeks is a positive. Individual stocks have been trickier, with some potholes emerging on earnings, rotation among industry groups or simply profit taking, but most remain in good shape. Overall, the odds continue to favor the next big move being up, so you should stay heavily invested in strong stocks.

This week’s list has a nice mix of stories to consider, including a couple that are benefiting from recent acquisitions. But our Top Pick is NetEase (NTES), a leading online game company out of China—growth is excellent, and after a brief shakeout, the stock is back in new high ground.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc (ZLTQ)	0.00	35-37	32-33
Cimarex Energy (XEC)	0.00	129-134	122-124
Thor Industries (THO)	104.76	78.5-79.5	73-74
Proofpoint (PFPT)	113.79	75-77.5	70-71.5
NetEase, Inc. (NTES)	0.00	208-214	195-196
NetApp (NTAP)	0.00	33.5-35	31-32
Microchip Technology (MCHP)	79.12	59-60.5	55.5-56
Lumentum (LITE)	87.00	32-33.5	29-30
Dexcom (DXCM)	421.36	89-91.5	82-83
Berry Global (BERY)	64.22	43-44	39-40

Current Market Outlook


All eyes are on Janet Yellen this week, who is set to speak Friday morning, and whether she’ll offer hints to the Fed’s next move. As always, we’ll let others slice and dice the comments; we’ll stick with the market’s action itself. And on that front, things look solid—the market’s consolidation of the past few days has been normal thus far, and while a short-term shakeout of some sort wouldn’t surprise us, the odds continue to point toward higher prices down the road. We continue to advise you to remain heavily invested, though be sure to honor your stops for any stocks that break support.

This week’s list includes a nice array of stocks and sectors, including a few recent earnings winners. Our Top Pick is Gigamon (GIMO), a hot stock that’s recently taken a few weeks to catch its breath. Further dips are possible but buying here with a tight stop makes for a good risk-reward opportunity.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Yelp (YELP)	41.30	35-37	32-33
US Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA)	0.00	38.5-40.5	35.5-36.5
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	80-83	74-75
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)	0.00	177-183	164-166
Insulet (PODD)	175.69	40.5-42.5	37-38
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	160-165	149-150
Line Corporation (LN)	0.00	44-46	39.5-40.5
Gigamon (GIMO)	0.00	43.5-46	40-41
Dicks’s Sporting Goods (DKS)	0.00	56-58	50-51
Acuity Brands (AYI)	0.00	273-280	253-256

Current Market Outlook


While most investors are either bearish, neutral or not paying attention at all, the market remains healthy as a horse—most major indexes reached all-time highs last week, which is music to our ears. And we saw improved action among individual growth stocks, too, with some super-hot names racing higher. As we’ve said repeatedly, pullbacks and shakeouts will occur at some point, and if you have a couple of stocks that are very extended to the upside, feel free to book partial profits. But our focus remains on the intermediate- to longer-term, and just about all the evidence on that front continues to point to higher prices in the weeks and months ahead. Thus, you should remain heavily invested.

This week’s list has a mid-cap focus to it, but our Top Pick is a big-cap stock that just emerged from months of base-building: Alibaba (BABA) has all the makings of a liquid leader, and we think it’s starting its first major advance. Details inside.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Twilio (TWLO)	183.39	55-60	46-48
Symantec Corporation (SYMC)	0.00	21.5-23	20-20.5
Nevro Corp. (NVRO)	0.00	91-95	84-86
MasTec, Inc. (MTZ)	66.65	27.5-29	25.5-26.5
Inphi (IPHI)	120.16	40-42	36-37
Etsy (ETSY)	112.97	13.5-14.5	11.5-12
Copa Holdings (CPA)	0.00	79-81	71-72
Callon Petroleum (CPE)	0.00	13-14	11-11.5
Alibaba (BABA)	254.81	93-96	89-90
Applied Materials (AMAT)	0.00	26-27	24-25

Current Market Outlook


From a top-down perspective, our bullish market stance has not changed—the small- and mid-cap indexes have now joined the large-cap S&P 500 in all-time high territory. Obviously, dips and shakeouts are possible, but to this point, we’ve seen a vacuum of selling pressure on the major indexes. Individual stocks have been a bit trickier, partly because of earnings season; more than a few stocks and sectors have been nailed as money hunts for the leaders of the advance. Overall, we remain bullish and advise you to stay heavily invested, but you should also follow the plan—book some partial profits on the way up and if a stock cracks through support or trips your stop, be sure to exit. Conversely, aim to let most of your winning positions run, as this is the kind of market that should produce many big winners over time.

This week’s list includes many recent earnings winners, including a couple of energy stocks. Our Top Pick is Parsley Energy (PE), which we think is probably the top stock in the sector. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
XPO Logistics (XPO)	0.00	34-36	31-32
Wright Medical (WMGI)	0.00	23-24	21-22
Wingstop (WING)	121.52	28.5-30	26.5-27
Trex Company (TREX)	117.56	57-59	51-52
Shopify (SHOP)	585.00	35-37	31-32
Rice Energy (RICE)	0.00	23.5-25	22-22.5
Parsley Energy (PE)	0.00	30-32	27-28
Paycom Software (PAYC)	0.00	49-51	45-46.5
Louisiana-Pacific (LPX)	0.00	19.5-20.5	18-18.5
Align Technology (ALGN)	316.20	88-91	81-82

Current Market Outlook


One thing that keeps coming up in our research is that the majority of investors think the market is ready for a pullback. Of course, a dip is certainly possible—the major indexes have had a great run over the past month and some short-term measures of sentiment are elevated. But we don’t expect a large market retreat, and besides, obsessing over the next week or two misses the big picture—that a new uptrend is likely underway, and many stocks and sectors are performing extremely well. You still want to find advantageous buy points and cut your losses when things go awry. But we continue to advise you to be heavily invested in strong stocks and let your winners run.

This week’s list has a great batch of high-potential stocks, many of which have excellent growth stories. Our Top Pick is Cirrus Logic (CRUS), a chip firm with great earnings estimates that just exploded out of a year-long base. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
United States Steel Corporation (X)	0.00	24.5-26	22-23
VCA Inc. (WOOF)	0.00	69-71	65-66
Wix.com (WIX)	302.53	33-35	30.5-31.5
Tempur Sealy (TPX)	85.53	73-75	66-68
Lumentum (LITE)	87.00	28.5-30	25-26
GrubHub (GRUB)	140.03	35-38	32-33.5
Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS)	0.00	46.5-49	42.5-43.5
Buenaventura (BVN)	16.23	13.5-14.5	12-12.5
B&G Foods (BGS)	0.00	50-51.5	46-47
Abiomed (ABMD)	0.00	117-120	108-109

Current Market Outlook


The market remains in very strong shape. Whether you’re looking at breadth, the trends of the indexes, the action of leading stocks, or sentiment among investors (mostly apathy with some disbelief thrown in), most of the evidence continues to point to higher prices ahead. Of course, that’s for the market as a whole—for individual stocks, earnings season is likely to rock the boat a bit, with some failing while others take the leadership mantle. You should remain heavily invested, but make sure you have your plan in place when it comes to handling your stocks during earnings season. As always, we’ll ditch any stocks that crack and hop on board new leadership that emerges.

This week’s list has a nice mix of sectors, including a few that have already reported earnings. Our Top Pick is Burlington Stores (BURL), a retailer that’s firing on all cylinders and recently pre-announced bullish earnings. Try to buy on minor weakness.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Yelp (YELP)	41.30	28.5-30	26-27
UFPI (UFPI)	0.00	100-104	91-92
PulteGroup (PHM)	45.93	20.5-21.5	19.5-20
Proofpoint (PFPT)	113.79	69-72	62-63
MSCI Inc. (MSCI)	0.00	80-82	76-77.5
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	145-150	138-139
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND)	267.14	128.5-133	116-118
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD)	0.00	13.5-14	12-12.5
New Oriental Education (EDU)	113.97	42-44	39-40
Burlington Stores (BURL)	193.95	71-73	66-67

Current Market Outlook


We always strive to go with the evidence the market has presented. Right now, just about all of it is bullish: The intermediate- and longer term trends are up, the broad market is in terrific health (new highs are expanding while new lows are minuscule), we’ve seen some rare, powerful blastoff indicators flash (which almost always portend solid gains in the months ahead), leading stocks are perking up and many investors remain on the sideline. Obviously, a pullback could occur at any time, and earnings season is sure to create some potholes among individual stocks.

But overall, the path of least resistance is up, so we’re pushing our Market Monitor further into bullish territory. This week’s batch of stocks includes many that report earnings within a few days, which makes buying a bit tricky. For our Top Pick, we think a small position in Masco (MAS) can work—it’s shown great power, has buoyant earnings estimates and is part of the newly-strong housing group.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Zendesk (ZEN)	82.19	27-28.5	25-26
Tahoe Resources (TAHO)	0.00	15-16	13-13.5
Dave & Buster’s (PLAY)	57.01	46-48	42-43
Nucor Corporation (NUE)	66.20	55-56.5	50-51
Match (MTCH)	0.00	15.5-16.5	14-14.5
Mobileye N.V. (MBLY)	0.00	46-48	41-42
Masco (MAS)	0.00	33-34	31-31.5
EBIX Inc. (EBIX)	0.00	51-53	48-49
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	19.5-20.5	17.5-18
CBM (CBM)	0.00	54-56	48-49

Current Market Outlook


You really can’t ask for better action from the market since the Brexit vote two weeks ago—the quick shakeout in the major indexes has given way to many days of strong buying, pushing the S&P 500 briefly to new highs this morning and driving other indexes toward key levels. Moreover, a ton of individual stocks have either lifted to new highs or look ready to do so. Short-term, a pullback wouldn’t be surprising given the recent run higher, especially with earnings season set to get underway. Thus, we don’t advise going wild on the buy side. But we’re pushing our Market Monitor back into bullish territory to reflect the evidence—we think you can continue to put money to work as opportunities arise.

This week’s list has a bunch of potential leading stocks if the market keeps improving. Our Top Pick is Acuity Brands (AYI), a leader from a couple of years back that, after a long consolidation, has reasserted itself on the upside as it rides the LED revolution.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Vantiv (VNTV)	0.00	57-58.5	53-54
Thor Industries (THO)	104.76	69-71.5	65-66.5
Rice Energy (RICE)	0.00	22-23	20-20.5
Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST)	0.00	157.5-160.5	149-150
LifeLock Inc. (LOCK)	0.00	15-16	13.5-14
KB Home (KBH)	36.05	15-16	14-14.5
Ellie Mae (ELLI)	0.00	90-94	84-85
Acuity Brands (AYI)	0.00	260-270	238-240
Applied Materials (AMAT)	0.00	24-25	22.5-23
Acacia Communications (ACIA)	51.83	44.5-47.5	38-39.5

Current Market Outlook


Our title last week was “What Happens from Here Will Tell the Tale.” And so the market’s impressive and immediate snapback from the two-day Brexit decline is a good sign that the bears just aren’t able to take control of this market, even when obvious bad news hits. That said, while the panic low from last Monday should hold, we can’t say the bulls are in control, either, as all the major indexes are still stuck below longtime resistance levels dating back to early 2015. Altogether, we’ll nudge our Market Monitor back up a notch, but what we’re really looking for is a decisive move to new highs before getting bullish. For now, you should hold your top performers, but keeping new buys relatively small and holding some cash is also prudent.

This week’s list has a bunch of mid-cap names that are showing excellent strength—they could be among your leaders if the bulls step up to the plate. Our Top Pick is Beacon Roofing (BECN), a growing play on housing and construction, which may actually get a boost as interest rates plunge.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
TAL Education (XRS)	0.00	60-62.5	56-57
TransUnion (TRU)	83.09	32.5-33.5	30-30.5
NetEase, Inc. (NTES)	0.00	181-185	169-170
Newfield Exploration (NFX)	0.00	41.5-43	38-39
Dycom Industries (DY)	0.00	85-88	79-80
DOC (DOC)	0.00	20-21	19-19.5
Beacon Roofing (BECN)	0.00	45-46.5	42.5-43
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI)	0.00	38.5-40	36-36.5
AG (AG)	0.00	13.5-14.5	12-13
Abiomed (ABMD)	0.00	106-109	98.5-100

Current Market Outlook


Following the Brexit reaction, all of the major indexes are now decisively below their respective 50-day lines. Thus, we consider the intermediate-term trend to be down, which means it’s best to pare back. (We’ve knocked our Market Monitor down two notches this week.) It’s fine to hold your resilient, profitable performers (there are many stocks and sectors taking this selloff in stride), but you should honor all stops and loss limits and limit new buying to just small positions in strong stocks. The net result will be a higher cash position (around 50%, give or take, depending on what stocks you own and how you run your portfolio) and a handful of top performers in your portfolio. The next few days will be important—a quick snapback would be encouraging, but continued deterioration would have us advising an even more defensive posture. We’ll be watching.

This week’s list is a combination of defensive stocks, yield stocks, some precious metals and a couple of resilient growth ideas. Our Top Pick is Dollar Tree (DLTR), a defensive-type stock that should show excellent earnings growth thanks to last year’s game-changing buyout of Family Dollar.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Veeva Systems (VEEV)	180.23	32-34	29.5-30
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	0.00	20.5-21.5	19-19.5
SiteOne Landscape Supply (SITE)	98.49	31.5-33	28-28.5
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	67-69	61-63
Jack in the Box (JACK)	0.00	82-84.5	77-78
Gigamon (GIMO)	0.00	33-35	30-31
Dollar Tree (DLTR)	0.00	89-92	84-85
Communication Sales & Leasing (CSAL)	0.00	26-27.5	24-24.5
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP)	0.00	16.5-17.5	15.5-16
Align Technology (ALGN)	316.20	75.5-77.5	72-73

Current Market Outlook


With some weekend polls showing the chance of a “Brexit” lessening, the market gapped up this morning and finished with solid gains. Today’s rally is obviously encouraging and hints that, should the vote on Thursday go as expected, buyers could take control afterwards. Still, as always, we don’t predict—right now, the evidence remains more bullish than not, so it’s best to hold your strong, profitable stocks and add new leaders as they develop. That said, the intermediate-term trend of the indexes is mostly neutral, and until the uncertainty clears up, it’s a good idea to keep new positions smaller than normal, and to honor your stops and loss limits.



The good news is that most top performing stocks handled the market’s 3% dip in fine fashion. This week’s list is another batch of (mostly familiar) names that look great. Our Top Pick is Weibo (WB), a little-known Chinese firm that looks like one of the market’s top glamour stocks.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
wb (wb)	0.00	26-27.5	23.5-24.5
symc (symc)	0.00	19.5-20.5	18-18.5
simo (simo)	0.00	43-45	39.5-40.5
oled (oled)	0.00	67-69	60-62
nvro (nvro)	0.00	71.5-74	66.5-67.5
nuva (nuva)	0.00	57-59	54-55
lulu (lulu)	0.00	69.5-71.5	66-66.5
five (five)	0.00	44-45.5	41-41.5
cprt (cprt)	0.00	47.5-49.5	44-44.5
Barrick Gold (ABX)	0.00	19-20.5	17-17.5

WHAT TO DO NOW: Big picture, the market and most leaders look great, and our market timing indicators are in fine shape. Near-term, though, there’s little doubt things have gotten a bit giddy, with many names and indexes extended to the upside. Tonight, we’re placing Cava (CAVA) on Hold as that stock has been caught up in some group weakness; we’ll hold our 45% cash position for now, but stay tuned, as we’d like to add some new names (or add to existing names) in the near future.

What a difference a month can make! What an April! The S&P rose 9.6% in April, making it the best single month for the market in six years. It hit an all-time high on Friday.

Sure, the war isn’t over. But the market doesn’t really seem to regard it as a war anymore, more like a blockade situation with the possibility of some skirmishes. While there is still headline risk, investors have moved beyond this war and are focusing on earnings. And for good reasons.

The results are in for the month of April. It was fabulous. The S&P rose 9.6%, making it the best single month for the market in six years. It hit an all-time high on Friday.

Sure, the war isn’t over. But the market doesn’t really seem to regard it as a war anymore, more like a blockade situation with the possibility of minor skirmishes. While there is still headline risk, investors have moved beyond this war and are focusing on earnings.

Now before you call me crazy concerning today’s newsletter headline, hear me out.

Even though large-cap names have garnered more than a fair share of attention among investors this year, I think a case can be made that companies with big capitalizations have a lot more room to run higher before they can be truly regarded as “overbought” or “played out.”

The market is digesting the push and pull of higher oil prices, a deeply divided Federal Reserve, prospects for a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and fading momentum from the AI trade that helped push markets to all‑time highs earlier this month.

Despite the crosscurrents, the overall tone still tilts bullish, supported by investor comfort (for the time being) with the geopolitical tension, resilience in the U.S. economy, and improving visibility into earnings growth over the coming quarters.

Yesterday, four tech giants, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, representing 22% of the S&P 500’s market value, reported strong quarterly earnings that highlighted the importance of AI.

You might think the above companies and their AI brethren are “asset light” companies but you would be very wrong.

It’s been a glorious April following a miserable March for the market. What happens in May may determine which direction stocks are headed for the rest of the year.

That’s probably overstating things a bit, but May should be crucial for the reasons we discussed last week: namely, the fate of the Iran war, but also the bulk of first-quarter earnings season and the introduction of a new Fed chair.

What war? This market is moving on. We may not be out of the woods yet, but investors are looking beyond the Iran war.

Stocks have already made up all losses from a rough March and then some. The S&P 500 had fallen 7.7% in the month of March by the 30^th. Since then, the index has rallied over 13%. The S&P is now at a higher level than before the war began and is hitting new all-time highs.

The other day I was paid a visit by a roving ISP salesman who was pitching his company’s fledgling internet service over the local monopoly’s. We struck up a conversation and he asked what I did for a living. When I told him, his eyes lit up and he asked, “Got any good stocks you can recommend?”

Without thinking I blurted out, “Anything AI-related. You can’t go wrong.” The advice was only semi-facetious, for there’s undeniably a degree of truth behind it. My instinctive response to that question also prompted me to consider the question: just how long can the broad market continue its “all things AI” run without broader sector participation

Note: I’m out of town this week, so I’ll be a bit briefer on the update today—but I’m still checking my laptop a couple of times a day if you have any questions or comments. I’ll be back at my desk come Monday. Cheers.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain optimistic. The market and some leaders have hesitated, but all of our market timing indicators are bullish, and most stocks we own or are watching are working. Last Friday, we bought a half-sized stake in Nebius (NBIS) and added a 3% additional stake in ProShares S&P 500 Fund (SSO); earlier this week, we sold our small remaining position in GE Aerospace (GE); and tonight, we’ll buy a half-sized position (5% of the portfolio ) in Cava (CAVA). We’ll still have 46% in cash or so after these moves.

Despite all the headline noise lately we’re marching deeper into first‑quarter earnings season with the market’s path of least resistance still pointing higher.

Optimism around the extension of the tentative ceasefire in the Middle East has reduced geopolitical anxiety to a seemingly manageable level. The U.S. economy continues to show resilience, and the corporate earnings outlook points toward meaningful growth in the coming quarters and years.

The old saying, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes,” is an apt one for the stock market these last two years.

In early 2025, the S&P 500 raced to new all-time highs before peaking in late January/early February, only to get dragged down in March and April by a geopolitical crisis (tariffs/Liberation Day), before rallying in a V-shaped pattern as the severity of the crisis abated.

I have three pieces of news about BorgWarner (BWA), maker of engineered automotive systems for power train applications.

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 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.