What a week it was for the bulls as the Strait of Hormuz went from a major chokepoint and concern for the market, to signs of hope that progress was being made, to “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS” to borrow President Trump’s all-caps announcement Friday (though this is back in question again!).

Despite the war-related turbulence in the global energy market, stocks continue to take everything in stride. And while volatility related to the Middle East conflict is still a factor, the market is mostly looking beyond the noise, which has been good for growthy-type names. Aside from AI leadership, we’re starting to see a slow-but-steady rise in participation from other sectors, which is encouraging, and with the intermediate-term trend flipping back to positive last week, it’s hard not to be optimistic right now. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 7, but that could improve if participation broadens even more.

This week’s list contains a nice mix of names across several of the stronger industries—including growth and cyclical. Our Top Pick is a leading freight shipper that boasts improving operating leverage and pricing power against an improving industry backdrop.

What a difference a month makes! A month ago today, the major indexes bottomed after getting pummeled through the first three weeks of March thanks to the onset of the Iran war. The S&P 500 was more than 9% off its highs, and the Nasdaq was in correction territory, down more than 11%. Now? Both indexes are at all-time highs, with the Dow not far behind.

Hopes for an end to the war have fueled the rally. With the war still going, we’re not out of the woods yet. But we’ve been capitalizing on the suddenly-hot market by adding a couple new growth titles to our portfolio this month, so this week we keep our foot on the growth pedal by adding a resurgent retail name that’s been a favorite of Mike Cintolo’s for years. Now, it has enough momentum again that he recommended the stock to his Cabot Top Ten Trader audience last week. Today, we add it to the Stock of the Week portfolio.

Details inside.

What a week it was for the bulls as the Strait of Hormuz went from a major chokepoint and concern for the market, to signs of hope that progress was being made, to “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS” to borrow President Trump’s all-caps announcement Friday (though this is back in question again!).

What a week it was for the bulls as the Strait of Hormuz went from a major chokepoint and concern for the market, to signs of hope that progress was being made, to “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS” to borrow President Trump’s all-caps announcement Friday (though this is back in question again!).

What a week it was for the bulls as the Strait of Hormuz went from a major chokepoint and concern for the market, to signs of hope that progress was being made, to “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS” to borrow President Trump’s all-caps announcement Friday (though this is back in question again!).

The market had a nice setup two weeks ago, the action since then has been nothing short of fantastic, with the major indexes going vertical and, even better, many growth stocks ripping to new highs. We’ve put a chunk of money to work, both with new buys and then quickly averaging up, and are likely to continue adding fresh leaders in the not too distant future. Open up for all our latest thoughts on the market and new leadership.

In the April issue of Cabot Early Opportunities, I feature three stocks spanning different stages of maturity — from a transformative communications company entering a pivotal deployment phase, to a fast-scaling AI infrastructure provider still working through investor skepticism, to a more established cloud platform benefiting from renewed momentum.

What ties them together is timing: All three appear to be transitioning from “prove it” stories into execution-driven narratives that investors can view with increasing confidence.

All the details are inside this month’s Issue.

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran — announced barely an hour before President Trump’s self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Tehran — transformed what looked like another brutal week for Wall Street into one of the best rallies of the year last week. Oil plunged, fear evaporated (in the short term), and the indexes snapped a five-week losing streak in dramatic fashion.

The ceasefire agreement last Tuesday was met with all sorts of skepticism—but even so, the market’s action has been very solid despite the uncertainties. Of course, there are also more than a few flies still in the ointment, so now it’s a matter of seeing upside follow-through from here. We have our Market Monitor at a level 5 but could ratchet that up quick if more stocks and indexes perk up.

This week’s list has something for everyone, including some hot growth stocks as well as some turnarounds and commodity plays. Our Top Pick has its hands in both the aerospace and AI cookie jars, resulting in a great earnings outlook—and the stock was one of the first to leap to new highs last week.

Stocks continue to get well in April, posting their best results all year this past week. Is the rally as temporary as the two-week ceasefire that sparked it? We’ll probably know by the end of this week. In the meantime, earnings season gets underway, with analysts forecasting a sixth straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth, which could serve as a floor for stocks should the news out of Iran turn blue again. For now, though, stocks are in a better spot, and we try to capitalize on the improved vibes today by adding a growth-y name courtesy of Cabot Early Opportunities Chief Analyst Tyler Laundon.

Details inside.

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran — announced barely an hour before President Trump’s self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Tehran — transformed what looked like another brutal week for Wall Street into one of the best rallies of the year. Oil plunged, fear evaporated (in the short term), and the indexes snapped a five-week losing streak in dramatic fashion.

We’re in cannabis sector earnings season, once again. This is a great time of year because cannabis companies pull back the curtain to reveal and address important company and sector-level trends.

As usual during earnings season, I’ll focus on the most important company and sector developments from the most recently reported quarter. This earnings season report is more comprehensive than any other cannabis sector analysis out there because it cuts through the noise to get to the investing insights. It comes in two parts.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) soared to the highest level since last April. Iran has thrown everything into flux, at least for now.

Oil prices soared to nearly $120 per barrel as war in the Middle East is spreading with no immediate signs of letting up. Several stock markets around the world suffered steep losses in Monday’s trading. U.S. stock market indices started the week’s trading down sharply but recovered somewhat by midday on Monday.

A quick housekeeping note: With the market acting increasingly volatile due to the war in Iran, I wanted to send the March update out today, a few days earlier than normal. Also, we will publish the March Issue of Cabot Early Opportunities one week later than normal, on Wednesday, March 25. This timing will allow me to finalize the issue after my family returns from Europe (my kids are on their March break) and, hopefully, give us a little more time to see how events unfold in the Middle East.

On to the update.

Like everybody else, I’m currently watching the situation in Iran as closely as possible. As far as the market is concerned, it’s really all about the Strait of Hormuz and energy prices. If the Strait remains closed/severely disrupted for several more weeks, then oil & natural gas prices will remain high/go higher. The longer this persists, the greater the damage to the global economy and the stock market.

The temptation among investors and analysts (myself included) to ascribe too much significance to short-term market movements is ever present. Treating the market as a crystal ball by observing how stocks respond to headline-making events—and then trying to discern the future—is something we’re all surely guilty of from time to time.

That’s why the latest happenings in the Middle East are proving once again that the human tendency to use markets to forecast the outcome of global events is alive and well.

The Iran conflict has roiled market and is creating some expected and unexpected winners and losers.

As uncertainty surrounding the conflict escalates, defense stocks are surging, cruise and airline shares are falling. The U.S. dollar edged up, and oil and energy prices are rising given that the Strait of Hormuz carries 20% of global oil supplies.

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.

Today, a whopping eight Profit Booster positions will expire. Most are “slam-dunk,” full-profit trades, while others will go down to the wire.

The big takeaway, before we dive in, is we are going to let the situation play itself out, and come Monday/Tuesday of next week we will revisit our profits, as well as how we will manage the remaining positions.

As I expected, President Donald Trump’s executive order (EO) to reschedule cannabis was a sell-the-news event.

We’re going to continue with our strategy of locking in modest, but relatively quick, profits on some positions while they’re available.

Cannabis stocks were soaring Friday morning on a Washington Post report stating that President Donald Trump plans to go forward with rescheduling. The report cites six sources.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market continues to act fairly well, though most of our timing indicators haven’t really kicked into gear. We’re OK extending our line, but we’re also going slow and honoring stops on what we own as there are still lots of crosscurrents out there. Today’s bulletin is about Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY), which we’re selling today after it’s come under pressure this week following no addition to the S&P 500. We’ll hold the cash for now (near 60%) but could redeploy later this week.

Shares of Argan (AGX) are trading down as of midday after the company missed revenue expectations in Q3 FY26 but beat on EPS. The pullback likely signals that AGX stock will be rangebound for a while – possibly in the 300 - 400 range – not that the run in shares is completely over.

CEO Special Bulletin: Position Updates

Sell a Quarter of Centuri Holdings (CTRI)

We’re going to continue to hold our position in Credo Tech (CRDO), which is now up over 145% (since June), following the company’s strong Q2 FY26 report.

These rules are the foundation of the Cabot Market Letter investment philosophy.

I created Cabot Dividend Investor’s three-tiered portfolio to address the needs of the widest possible variety of investors with some combination of these goals. But this variety means that you need to figure out how to mix and match my recommendations to best fit your goals.

Here’s the criteria we use to select stocks for the Cabot Emerging Markets Investor.

No matter what the market environment, the most common questions we field at Cabot concern selling. Here are some of our most fundamental tools and rules.

Remaining invested in high-quality dividend paying stocks means your investments will continue to reward you even during bear markets.

Chief Analyst Paul Goodwin answers questions about the Cabot Emerging Markets Investor.

These are the six fundamental characteristics that correlated most highly with profits in a 10-year study of stocks bought for the Model Portfolio of the Cabot Growth Investor.

Our instincts warn us that stocks reaching all-time highs are invariably overdue to fall. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We examine two common scenarios involving stocks that are about to rise—or fall—from new high prices.

Here’s exactly what I look for in dividend-paying stocks, whether they’re joining the High Yield, Dividend Growth or Safe Income tiers of our portfolio.

If professional investment companies are not making their decisions based on the price of the stock, neither should you.

Here are some common-sense, down-to-earth ways to control your risk, so that the market’s inevitable potholes never cause fatal damage to your portfolio.

More than six years after the Fed lowered the Federal Funds rate to 0%-0.25% in December 2008, the economy has strengthened to the point that the Fed is considering raising rates to prevent inflation.