As I mentioned last week, this is a shorter version of the Weekly Review, focused on our open positions. Those are...

As I mentioned last week, this is a shorter version of the Weekly Review, focused on our open positions. Those are…

The stock market’s 5% swoon from several weeks ago has quickly become a distant memory as the indexes are back to their previous highs following another week of strong performances, as the S&P 500 gained another 1.3% last week, while the Dow rose 1%, and the Nasdaq added 1.75%.

The stock market’s 5% swoon from several weeks ago has quickly become a distant memory as the indexes are back to their previous highs following another week of strong performances, as the S&P 500 gained another 1.3% last week, while the Dow rose 1%, and the Nasdaq added 1.75%.

Going back to 1960, nearly 85% of the cumulative total return of the S&P 500 Index can be attributed to reinvested dividends. And that’s why today we’re adding a new high-yield fund to the portfolio that gives us exposure to fast-growing overseas markets.

Quick note: Because next Monday is Memorial Day, our next issue of Profit Booster issue will be published Wednesday, May 29.

Coming out of May expiration we had five positions close for full profits (noted below), and we are going to exit one position today for a virtual breakeven as PR closed below the strike price that we had sold (totally fine). First, let’s start with the one trade we need to adjust …

Quick note: Because next Monday is Memorial Day, our next issue of Top Ten will be published Tuesday after the close, May 28.

The market’s good-looking rebound continued last week, with big-cap indexes notching new highs and most other indexes close to doing so. Granted, a lot of individual stocks are still battling with resistance from their prior highs in February/March and many growth names are set to report earnings during the next couple of weeks. Throw in the fact that sentiment has definitely gotten a bit complacent again and you want to pick your stocks and entry points carefully. Still, right now the intermediate-term trends are up for the market’s major indexes and most leading and potential leading stocks. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 8.

This week’s list has a lot of enticing names, with some showing power and others set up nicely to break out if the bulls remain in control. Our Top Pick is a retail name that appears to be finally getting going after a long, tedious consolidation.

The market is at all-time highs, and so are many of our Cabot Stock of the Week stocks. Sure, there are potential landmines out there – inflation, the Fed, this Wednesday’s Nvidia (NVDA) earnings report if it fails to meet lofty expectations, etc. – but right now, Wall Street is buying, so we will too. Today, we add one of the market’s best growth stocks so far this year. It’s been sitting in Carl Delfeld’s Cabot Explorer portfolio since late last year – he has a huge gain on it already – and we were reluctant to add it to the Stock of the Week portfolio until it pulled back a bit. Now it’s done so – the stock peaked in mid-March – but it’s building momentum again. It’s one of the best AI plays not named Nvidia or Microsoft.

Details inside.

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.

Somewhat quietly, the Dow has rallied eight straight days, and is leading the market higher as of late. Such is the rotation of the market, especially during earnings season (which I touch on in this issue).

For the week the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, the Dow rallied 1.75% and the Nasdaq gained 1%.

Somewhat quietly, the Dow has rallied eight straight days, and is leading the market higher as of late. Such is the rotation of the market, especially during earnings season (which I touch on in this issue).

For the week the S&P 500 gained 1.4%, the Dow rallied 1.75% and the Nasdaq gained 1%.

In the May Issue of Cabot Early Opportunities we dig into prospects across next-gen AI-enabled devices, emerging markets, meal replacement shakes and picks-and-shovels type infrastructure plays.

As always, there should be something for everybody.

Enjoy!

This was a quiet week for our stocks. Earnings season starts next Friday, with Wells Fargo (WFC) reporting, followed by Nokia (NOK) and First Horizon (FHN) the next week. Based on the preliminary calendar, the earnings deluge starts on Tuesday, July 27.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain optimistic but keep an open mind. At this point, our market timing indicators remain bullish and we’re seeing little abnormal action among leading stocks—that said, the Fed/interest rate situation refuses to go away, and near term, some more shaking of the tree is certainly possible to raise the fear level. Tonight, we have no new buys or sells, but we’ll place Inspire Medical (INSP) and Monday.com (MNDY) on Hold and see how things progress. Our cash position will remain in the 30% range.

This is a short week as we begin the second half of 2023 with inflation down, recession fears fading, and the animal spirits of investors alive and well.

In the first half of 2023, market performance was positive and narrow, largely driven by the big tech names, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks. The Dow was up 3.8%, the S&P 500 gained 15.9%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 31.7%. We will continue to explore the world for the best value and growth stocks providing both conservative and aggressive ideas. EVs across the supply chain, resources, and emerging markets remain the focus but we have the flexibility to change course as opportunities arise.

The S&P 500 delivered an impressive 16% return in the first half. Can the good times continue in the second half?

A big part of the latest surge higher has been the artificial intelligence (AI) excitement. After Nvidia (NVDA) blew away expectations citing far greater demand for AI technology, the market-leading tech sector caught fire. But returns were impressive even before then as the market is sensing a soft landing.

Hope you had a wonderful 4^th of July!

The weather was less than ideal (raining all day in Wellesley, MA, where I live) but we made the most of it and had friends over for some hot dogs and hamburgers.

This has been the rainiest start to the summer in a long time. Fingers crossed better weather awaits us in the second half of July and August.

It has been a fabulous rally that has proven naysayers wrong. The S&P 500 is up about 15% YTD just before the midpoint. Stocks have also rallied more than 20% from the October low into a new bull market.

How much gas is left in the tank?

Inflation is falling and the Fed is almost done hiking rates. It is also looking less likely that there will be a recession this year. Investors are optimistic that we can get to the other side of this hiking cycle without too much pain.

This week, we comment on earnings from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). We also include the Catalyst Report and a summary of the July edition of the Cabot Turnaround Letter, which was published on Wednesday. We encourage you to look through the Catalyst Report. This report is a listing of all of the companies that have reported a catalyst in the past month. These catalysts include new CEOs, activist activity, spin-offs and other possible game-changers. We source many of our feature recommendations from this list. You will find it nowhere else on Wall Street.

Small caps put together a decent week as the iShares Core S&P 600 Small Cap ETF is up 3.6% from last Thursday’s close.

Digging a little deeper, we’ve seen a lot of strength in small-cap industrials and tech plus some stability in small-cap financials and energy.

Things are looking up. Inflation is falling. The Fed is almost done hiking. And there is no recession to be found.


The market has surprised just about everybody in the first half of the year. The S&P had risen 13% as of days before midyear and over 24% from the October low. This new bull market is not what was expected.



After an abysmal 2022, most pundits were expecting more ugliness in the first half of this year and a recovery somewhere in the second half. But investors sensed that we could get through this Fed rate hiking cycle with minimal pain. Then artificial intelligence (AI) gave stocks a further boost.

Last week, I wrote about how the U.S. markets look expensive both on an absolute basis and relative to international stocks.


Since then, the market has pulled back by about 3% following a couple of hawkish comments by Jay Powell.



Nonetheless, the S&P 500 chart looks relatively healthy and I’m not in a rush to “fight the tape.” Upward trending markets tend to continue to trend upwards.

Within the span of the weekend, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of mercenary army Wagner Group, launched a highly publicized and well-armed takeover attempt against Russia’s Vladimir Putin-headed government, then melted away into the murkiness that is the Kansas-sized Republic of Belarus.

This past week, none of our companies reported earnings and there were no ratings changes.

Shares of ESAB Corp (ESAB) are approaching but remain below our 68 price target. We like the company’s fundamentals, and the valuation isn’t stretched, so we see no reason to change our rating, at least until the shares reach or exceed our price target.

There is little to no premium left in our March 3, 2023, 46 calls. As a result, I want to buy back our March 3, 2023, 46 calls, lock in profits and immediately sell more calls.

Even with a probability of success that sits just over 80%, we still have 16 days until our IWM March 17, 2023, iron condor is due to expire.

The market is testing key levels, as are many indicators, but today’s bounce is a small positive. Today’s bulletin is about Shift4 (FOUR), which cracked support on huge volume two weeks ago and hasn’t been able to bounce at all since. We’re going to sell one-third of our position today and see what earnings brings tomorrow. Our cash position will be around 38% after the sale.

Expensify (EXFY) reported after the bell yesterday and revenue was a touch light (2% miss) while EPS beat expectations on the back of strong margins. Revenue rose 7.8% to $43.5 million (missed by $850K) while adjusted EPS of $0.07 beat by a penny. Management reaffirmed long-term revenue guidance of 25% to 35%.

With the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) trading for 397.25, I want to place a short-term iron condor going out 57 days. As always, my intent is to take off the trade well before the April 21, 2023, expiration date.

WFC rallied over the past expiration cycle and as a result, our February 17, 2023, 45 calls were assigned, and our entire position was “called” away last week. We made 10.17% on the trade.

Earnings Updates: FTI, PWSC, OPCH

TransMedics Group (TMDX) reported another terrific quarter after the bell yesterday that should have shares trading higher today. Revenue grew 223.7% to $31.4 million (beating by a whopping $7.8 million) while GAAP EPS of -$0.21 improved from -$0.46 in the year-ago quarter and beat by $0.11. That result caps off a year in which TransMedics grew revenue by 209% to $93.5 million.

Sprout Social (SPT) reported Q4 results after the close yesterday that were close to expectations as bigger deals, partnerships (i.e., Salesforce.com) and price increases drove revenue and annualized recurring revenue (ARR) higher, despite a challenging market for IT spending. Revenue in Q4 was up 30.8% to $69.7 million (missed by $200,000) while adjusted EPS of $0.03 increased from -$0.05 a year ago and beat by $0.05.

Just 12 days ago we added a bear call spread in DIA. The recent decline has given us the opportunity to take some nice profits off the table.

We allowed our February 17, 2023, 59 puts to expire worthless. As a result, per our Income Wheel guidelines, we will remain mechanical and sell more puts in KO today.

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.