The market’s momentum continued last week as a benign inflation print and another round of solid earnings backed up bullish sentiment—with virtually all of the major indexes moving higher. For the week the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2%, but the Russell 2000 slipped 1.4%.

The big-cap indexes have been leading for a while now, but more recently, we’ve seen an even greater dichotomy out there, with the broad market actually coming under pressure and with most (non-big-cap) indexes testing or breaking intermediate-term support. On the flip side, the number of growth-y stocks in good shape has actually increased. As we wrote last Friday, these sorts of divergences tell us the risk of some unpleasantness has increased, though that doesn’t guarantee it will happen and, if it does, when. Thus, it’s best to go with the flow right here—aiming to buy strong, fresh leaders at decent entry points, but also being willing to book partial profits on the way up and raise stops when needed. We’ll again leave our Market Monitor at a level 7.

This week’s list has a major growth tilt, which goes along with the emergence of many growth stocks from multi-week (or, sometimes, multi-month) consolidations. Our Top Pick is getting going from a two-and-a-half-month rest following another great quarterly report.

The major indexes continue to hover near all-time highs, even as more issues beneath the surface crop up. Another strong earnings season, dwindling U.S.-China trade tensions, and another interest rate cut are helping prop stocks up, even as volatility begins to creep higher again. So today, to account for a possible pullback, we opt for a stock that’s a household name but one that has become so undervalued that Clif Droke just added it to his Cabot Turnaround Letter portfolio.

Details inside.

The market’s momentum continued last week as a benign inflation print and another round of solid earnings backed up bullish sentiment—with virtually all of the major indexes moving higher. For the week the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2%, but the Russell 2000 slipped 1.4%.

The market’s momentum continued last week as a benign inflation print and another round of solid earnings backed up bullish sentiment—with virtually all of the major indexes moving higher. For the week the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2%, but the Russell 2000 slipped 1.4%.

We’re seeing lots of crosscurrents in the market right now, especially when it comes to the evidence -- the big-cap indexes are in good shape and we’ve seen a few more breakouts from growth stocks ... but the broad market is very iffy and most other indexes are stuck in the mud. We think it’s best to go with the flow--ditching stocks that break down but selectively adding stronger, fresher names, all while holding some cash for future buying power (if more breakouts come during earnings season) and for cushion (if the market weakens again). We’ve had a few changes in the past two weeks (including some in our special bulletin today), and we go over all the details in tonight’s issue.

Cannabis investors have turned into bored apes.

After President Donald Trump said on August 11 he’d get around to cannabis reform “in a few weeks,” cannabis speculators concluded making money was as simple as pulling out a calendar, counting forward three weeks, and buying ahead of the expected big pop on that date – which was in early September.

It goes without saying that a big part of being a turnaround investor is having a contrarian bent. Let’s face it, we’re a hardy bunch who typically shun the crowd and buy what are, in most cases, stocks that are completely out of vogue with the typical market participant.

Stocks made yet another new high this week.

The S&P 500 has returned 17% this year and is well on its way to another 20%-plus return year, making it three consecutive years of such returns for the first time in nearly 30 years. Sure, the market likes rate cuts, but artificial intelligence is the main force driving the market higher.

Technology stocks, which now comprise more than a third of the S&P index, have driven the market higher for most of this three-year-old bull market. While AI is the primary driver of the market, it isn’t about just technology stocks anymore. The AI catalyst is driving other sectors higher.

AI is transforming the utility sector. The best stocks now offer strong growth in addition to defense. After being stagnant for decades, electricity demand is exploding. AI requires enormous amounts of electricity for the data centers that house the computer components. Electric vehicle proliferation and rapidly growing onshoring of manufacturing are also juicing demand.

In this issue, I highlight one of the best utility stocks on the market. This unprecedented environment is transforming the market’s most defensive sector into one that also offers exciting growth. The combination of defense and growth is unbeatable.

Despite some mid-week wobbles for stocks, especially in the growth sector, the market once again closed the week at new highs as the S&P 500 gained 1.9%, the Dow rallied 2.2% and the Nasdaq advanced by 2.3%.

While there are new headlines each week that push and pull the overall market and individual sectors, the overall picture mostly remains the same: From a top-down perspective, the buyers continue to show up where they “should” after every pullback, keeping the intermediate-term trend of the major indexes up. Individual stocks remain trickier, and with earnings coming for most, that will probably tell the tale. We have seen a couple more breakouts of late, which is encouraging, but tonight we’ll stick with our level 7 on the Market Monitor and monitor how the gaggle of earnings reports are received in the days ahead.

This week’s list has something for everyone, including recent earnings winners, setups heading into quarterly reports and pullbacks in names that are already in strong uptrends. Our Top Pick rested in the summer and fall and has re-emerged on the upside.

Strong earnings results, Fed rate cuts, and easing trade tensions with China. It’s no wonder stocks are stretching to new all-time highs! Of course, it’s been a bit topsy-turvy getting there these last few weeks. But Wall Street is ultimately a sucker for a strong economy, and that’s essentially what we have until further notice. And in strong economies, it makes sense to invest in financials. So today, we add one of the biggest-name U.S. banks – a stock that made the cut in last week’s Cabot Top Ten Trader issue.

Details inside.

The market yawned off great news over the weekend but managed to make a new high nonetheless.

Investors don’t seem to care about tariffs anymore, and the market continues to forge slowly higher regardless of the news. Tariff concern is so last April.

It’s another new high! The market continues to forge slowly higher.

There was positive tariff news over the weekend. President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to the framework of a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on European imports and an agreement by the EU to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over three years. Although the deal so far is considered highly advantageous to the U.S., it’s only a broad outline with many details to be worked out.

The proposed merger between Union Pacific (UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NSC) throws into sharp relief an accelerating—some would say disturbing—trend of mega-consolidation across a number of key industries.

The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high yesterday, while the S&P 600 SmallCap Index closed at its highest level since February 21.

While there is plenty for the worriers to worry about in the short term – next Wednesday’s Fed meeting, next Thursday’s PCE price index (the Fed’s preferred inflation data), tariffs and Liberation Day 2.0 next Friday – the market seems to be saying, “Don’t sweat it, this will all work out.”

This was a good week for Explorer stocks with Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) up 6.2%, Alibaba (BABA) up 5.9%, Banco Santander (SAN) shares rising 6.2%, and BYD (BYDDY) shares surging 8.1% this week.

It was a painful process with America’s most valuable ally, but a trade/investment deal was finally reached with Japan, which buoyed markets. Frameworks for deals with the Philippines and Indonesia were also agreed to, sending the S&P 500 to a new high. The market seems mostly concerned with China. The reason is that annual S&P 500 revenue from China is $1.2 trillion, roughly four times the U.S. trade deficit with China.

GameStop (GME) became a household name to investors long after it was a household name to young gamers who liked to play Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and EA Sports video games. In January 2021, the struggling and widely shorted stock experienced an almost unprecedented resurgence thanks to a Reddit message board-fueled short squeeze orchestrated by someone named Keith Gill, under his more public alias Roaring Kitty.

The renewed tariff uncertainty is affecting the market. Stocks are going up slower now.

It looks like a market that wants to go higher. The tariff stuff is just holding it back for now, but just barely. The S&P 500 still made a new high on Monday. And earnings season is starting to heat up. Later this week and next week, several big tech companies report. Good news could ignite a market rally despite anything going on in the world besides artificial intelligence.

Just when it looked like happy days were here again, volatility has reared its ugly head.

Granted, this week’s volatility spike was muted by historical standards, but relative to the ultra-low volatility of the last few weeks, it was enough to give pause for the bulls.

WHAT TO DO NOW: We remain overall bullish, but fewer growth stocks and sectors are making headway of late, and with earnings season revving up, we’re becoming more selective on the buy side while tightening stops on some laggards. In the Model Portfolio tonight, we’re going to sell our stake in Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), start a half-sized position in Life360 (LIF) and place Uber (UBER) back on Hold. Our cash position will remain around 32%.

After hitting multi-month highs last Thursday, the S&P 600 SmallCap Index has since pulled back modestly.

Given all the talk of tariffs and Trump firing Powell, and the beginning of earnings season (so far so good), I’d say a modest pullback is a win.

Summer stasis has taken hold of the market as it often does this time of year, with the S&P 500 virtually unchanged (+0.3%) since the calendar flipped to July. Considering stocks entered the month at all-time highs despite a slew of existential threats (tariffs, high interest rates, two major overseas wars, etc.), holding the line counts as a victory.

Will it last? I’m guessing we’ll get a pullback of some kind – probably at least 5% – sometime in the next couple months, perhaps not until just after Labor Day, when institutional investors and hedge funder types return from their summer getaways in the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard and start selling out of their long-neglected weakest positions (a major reason why September is by far the worst month for stocks, historically).

The market is stuck in the mud. But that might be a good thing, considering that tariff uncertainty is back. This time, tariff fears are just keeping stocks from going higher and not crushing the market, so far.


The administration is currently threatening to enforce 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union (EU) starting on August 1. However, investors perceive a strong chance that President Trump will either back off the threat or make deals.

The market has quickly moved from one in which companies were given the benefit of the doubt when things weren’t perfect to one in which everything that’s not perfect is a disaster.

Shares of Weave (WEAV) are selling off today following yesterday’s Q4 report that beat on both the top and bottom lines.

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.

Primo Brands (PRMB) and FTAI Aviation (FTAI)

Enovix (ENVX) reported yesterday after the close, and once again the financial results are way down the list in terms of what matters most, for now. It’s all about executing the ramp-up to full-scale production, securing customer orders, and continuing to develop batteries that major electronics manufacturers will qualify for their devices and then order in mass quantities.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The growth stock environment remains challenging, with lots of selling on strength and, this week, more than a few air pockets showing up, and this morning is showing ugly action. We’ve been holding plenty of cash for weeks and probing small new buys here and there without much luck, while paring back or kicking out names that break. Today we’re going to pare back further based on the action of individual stocks: First, we’ll sell one-third of our remaining Palantir (PLTR), while also ditching our half-sized stake in Reddit (RDDT). That will leave us with around 58% in cash—as always, we could redeploy some of that soon, but we want to see institutions step up.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market is nosing generally higher of late, however, the action remains very hit or miss among individual stocks, with some emerging and others getting hit. Today’s bulletin regards Shift4 (FOUR), which is cracking today after a mundane Q4 report and a big announced acquisition—we took partial profits a couple of months ago and are going to take the rest of our gain off the table today.

Shares of Perpetua Resources (PPTA) are having a tough day today following the release of a Financial Update. This Financial Update is part of the process for formalizing its loan application with the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM), which indicated potential financing of up to $1.8 billion in the Stibnite gold project via a Letter of Interest in April 2024.

Reddit (RDDT) and Cellebrite (CLBT)

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market remains resilient, but range bound, so we continue to go slow, with lots of hit-or-miss action out there. Happily, most of the Model Portfolio stocks are acting normally, though ahead of tonight’s update we’re going to make one small change—we’re going to sell one-third of what we have left in AppLovin (APP), which is up big again today after earnings, though it’s fading during the day. We’ll take some more profits off the table and hold the rest.

Sell OneStream (OS)

Astera Labs (ALAB) Delivers

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.