After a very strong April and May, the market and most growth stocks have been bobbing and weaving for most of June, with this week’s selling almost a continuation of what we saw a couple of weeks ago. For now, then, we’re staying somewhat close to shore, with a few stocks rated Hold and being selective on the buy side. That said, we’re also overall bullish until proven otherwise, with most of the intermediate-term evidence pointed up, so we’re giving our strong names a chance to build bases and putting money to work as opportunities arise. Tonight we’re making one small new addition, though are still keeping one-third of the portfolio on the sideline.

This remains a “buy weakness” market. Sure, there are plenty of reasons for concern – which is almost always the case. But the positives continue to outweigh the negatives. So, I’m moderately bullish on stocks, particularly the ones that insiders favor.

Let’s start with three negatives.

It’s true that seasonal demand for certain foods and drinks—and the companies that produce them—is typically discounted well in advance by investors. Nonetheless, there’s evidence that interest in this category is picking up appreciably this summer.

My recent screening for turnaround candidates has picked up more than a few food and beverage companies that had fallen out of favor but are now attractive—and even showing signs of accumulation in some cases.

Despite the major indexes trading near the highs, most stocks have struggled.

For most of the rest of the market, the problem is oil. The price per barrel of crude oil skyrocketed to over $110 from under $60 before the war. And prices stayed elevated for more than three months. Oil is involved in everything. And that means inflation. And inflation means high interest rates.

But that’s in the past. The future is likely to be different.
Peace changes the dynamic. Without war, oil prices will fall. Interest rates will come down. That rate hike may be off the table. And stocks held back by inflation and high interest rates should be poised to move higher.

The pessimists have it all wrong. The resilient economy isn’t precarious. The restraints were precarious. When the falling oil prices unleash a stronger economy, it will change things. Let’s get ahead of the curve with stocks that will benefit.

Before we dive into this week’s covered call idea we need to move on from three stock positions coming out of June expiration, as the calls we sold expired worthless.

To execute these trades you need to:

Sell YOU stock

Sell PL stock

Sell VIAV stock

Moving on ...

Last week was a bit of a disjointed, volatile affair, so we’re being a bit more selective when it comes to stock selection and entry points. That said, the intermediate-term picture remains as bright as ever, with the trends for leading indexes, sectors and stocks pointed up and with impressive resilience and mostly-normal action even after many stocks posted massive gains in April and May. We’re leaving our Market Monitor at a level 8, aiming to give our winning stocks some rope and look for fresh buys on dips.

This week’s list is again heavy on growth names, though there are a few newer titles that haven’t appeared before. Our Top Pick is an out-of-the-way AI play that’s seeing humongous new orders and just completed a major acquisition.

Editor’s Note: There will be no issue of Cabot Stock of the Week next Monday. You will receive your next issue on Monday, July 6.

Rotation is in full swing, and that’s making for a healthier, less top-heavy market despite the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trading below their early-June tops. As the air has come out of the AI trade a bit, investors have simply moved money into the many unloved and undervalued sectors – financials, healthcare, utilities, materials. The latter sector is where today’s new portfolio addition comes from. It’s a little-known name Tyler Laundon dubbed his Top Pick in this month’s issue of his Cabot Early Opportunities newsletter. It’s a stock with tremendous upside and momentum.

Details inside.

After more than three months of dictating every move on Wall Street, the Iran war finally headed toward the exits last week — the U.S. and Iran agreed to a framework to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and lift the U.S. naval blockade, sending oil tumbling back toward the mid-$70s. The other headliner last week was new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first meeting on Wednesday: The Fed held rates steady, but its updated projections flipped hawkish, with the median policymaker now penciling in a rate hike rather than a cut before year-end — a shift that knocked stocks lower midweek before a sharp Thursday rebound.

After more than three months of dictating every move on Wall Street, the Iran war finally headed toward the exits last week — the U.S. and Iran agreed to a framework to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and lift the U.S. naval blockade, sending oil tumbling back toward the mid-$70s. The other headliner last week was new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first meeting on Wednesday: The Fed held rates steady, but its updated projections flipped hawkish, with the median policymaker now penciling in a rate hike rather than a cut before year-end — a shift that knocked stocks lower midweek before a sharp Thursday rebound.

After more than three months of dictating every move on Wall Street, the Iran war finally headed toward the exits last week — the U.S. and Iran agreed to a framework to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and lift the U.S. naval blockade, sending oil tumbling back toward the mid-$70s. The other headliner last week was new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first meeting on Wednesday: The Fed held rates steady, but its updated projections flipped hawkish, with the median policymaker now penciling in a rate hike rather than a cut before year-end — a shift that knocked stocks lower midweek before a sharp Thursday rebound.

It was a better week for markets and Explorer stocks. GE Vernova (GEV) came to life this week, up 21%. Coeur Mining (CDE) shares rebounded this week, soaring 13.8% following a recent announcement that it will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

And new Fed chairman Kevin Warsh signaled yesterday that he is an inflation hawk. Overnight, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to its highest level since 1995. Officials signaled more hikes ahead to combat too-high inflation.

But our bull market seems to confirm that rising interest rates do not matter much.

The June issue of Cabot Early Opportunities is focused on three companies benefiting from powerful structural growth trends that are still in the early innings.

Whether it’s a newly independent materials company gaining exposure to nuclear and AI demand, a critical power infrastructure provider solving bottlenecks in next-generation computing, or a semiconductor supplier riding a surge in testing complexity, these businesses are seeing improving fundamentals that continue to pull in fresh money.

All the details are in the June issue of Cabot Early Opportunities.

[Note: The Cabot Turnaround Letter weekly update will be published next Thursday, July 2, in advance of U.S. markets being closed on Friday in observance of Independence Day.]

As if we needed reminding, Thursday’s lead headline in the Financial Times tells us all we need to know about the ongoing reality of supply-shock inflation: “Iran tells ships in Strait of Hormuz to turn back.”

June has been a return to form for stocks in 2026, with value outperforming growth the way it did in the first quarter before the April and May AI-fueled boom. This month, value stocks are up roughly 3% while the S&P 500 is down 2.5% and the Nasdaq is off more than 4%. That mimics the first-quarter outperformance by value stocks, which added 2.5% from January through March while the S&P and Nasdaq tumbled 4.5% and 7%, respectively.

Small caps just passed their Fed test – and continue to hold up well.

The S&P 600 SmallCap Index is up about 2.5% since last Thursday’s close and up 4.2% since last Wednesday’s close (the day of the FOMC meeting). The index is trading at an all-time high this morning.

A sharp selloff in chip stocks rattled markets this week but the AI buildout and AI demand are moving at a breakneck speed and the cost to run AI models seems to be going down.

In short, confusion reigns as AI costs are weighed against potential returns. The backdrop is that stocks of most of the chip companies have had crazy runs so a sharp pullback was inevitable. Taiwan and South Korean stocks have been particularly volatile.

The peace rally is again being overshadowed by more technology ugliness.

The selloff in artificial intelligence that began after Broadcom’s (AVGO) earnings at the beginning of the month is gaining steam early this week. Technology had been red-hot and lifted the market in April and May. Now, it’s spoiling the peace party.

Has there ever been anything as overvalued as SpaceX (SPCX)?

Elon Musk’s rocket and space-based internet company reported $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025. That’s less than half the revenue declining electronics store chain Best Buy (BBY, $41.7 billion) generated last year, less than International Paper Company (IP, $23.6 billion), and barely more than Casey’s General Stores (CASY, $17.6 billion). Those three companies have a combined market cap of roughly $67 billion. As of this writing, SpaceX has a market cap of $2.7 trillion. That’s more than the combined market cap of Walmart (WMT), JPMorgan (JPM) and Visa (V). Together, those three companies generated $847 billion in revenue last year.

Small caps continue to hold up well. The S&P 600 Small Cap Index is up modestly since last Thursday and is trading just below the fresh all-time highs it hit earlier this week. The group’s resilience stands out, especially against a backdrop of narrowing leadership and ongoing rotation beneath the market’s surface.

The main macro development this week was the Fed’s June meeting and Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference, which confirmed a shift in policy direction.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market’s bounce has been a good one, and the intermediate-term outlook remains bright. That said, near term, there are still some crosscurrents (rotation into the broad market, Dow outperforming the Nasdaq) that tell us growth stocks could throw us another curveball in the coming week or two. Overall, then, we’re mostly standing pat, but we’re going to add a half-sized stake in Guardant Health (GH) here, leaving us with a still-good-sized cash position of 37% or so. Details below.

Stocks started this week with a huge rally as the Iran ceasefire deal appears to be the real thing.

Of course, it’s been months of supposed peace deals falling apart. It’s hard to believe. I’m sure that fact is holding the market back somewhat. But this one is different for a couple of reasons.

Stocks are starting off this week with a huge rally as the U.S. and Iran have reached a ceasefire deal.

We’ve been here before. These peace deals have fallen apart several times. I’m sure that fact is holding the market back somewhat. But this one is different for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the furthest a peace deal has gotten with both sides agreeing and independent verification from Pakistan. Second, this is what a peace deal would look like at this point if it’s real and lasting.

[Note: The Cabot Turnaround Letter weekly update won’t be published next Friday, June 19, due to the market being closed for the Juneteenth holiday.]

Before we get into the main topic for today’s newsletter update, a quick note on the portfolio is in order. I’m continuing our “spring cleaning” effort that we began last week by trimming a couple more of our holdings, but I’m also adding a new position to take the place of the recent deletions.

After two near-record-setting months, stocks are encountering their first real turbulence since March. It’s no surprise.

While stocks go up an average of 10% a year, they rarely do so in a straight line. And after the S&P 500 rallied nearly 20% in April and May and the Nasdaq shot up nearly 30%, a pullback of some kind – or possibly even a true correction – was to be expected. It seems it’s happening all at once.

Today’s Daily Alert features a new small-cap recommendation and an update on one of our Top Picks for 2013.

Solta Medical (SLTM)
from The Cheap Investor

Solta Medical is a global leader in the medical aesthetics market providing ... aesthetic energy devices for skin resurfacing and rejuvenation, acne reduction, body contouring and skin...

Update

Google (GOOG)
from $100k Portfolio, chosen as a Top Pick for 2013 at $733 in Investment Digest issue 734, dated January 9, 2013.

Google shares are finally getting the respect they deserve.

On October 17, the company reported a great quarter. The results sent shares soaring 14% in a single trading session. And the stock...

Today we have a new buy and a sell from Stephen Leeb.

Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA)
from The Complete Investor

Twenty-First Century Fox is one of the two companies created when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. split itself into two, and it got all the fast-growing media and content assets. It’s arguably the most...

NVR Inc. (NVR)
from The Complete Investor, recommended at $903 in Investment Digest issue 729, dated October 24, 2012.

We’re selling three picks whose performance hangs more on macro considerations than on hard metrics like free cash flow. ... NVR, whose business model makes it a standout among housing stocks, was the...

Today John Reese recommends a stock that scores well on his tests of both earnings growth and value characteristics.

Bridgepoint Education (BPI)
from Validea Hot List

Strategy: Price/Sales Investor

Based on: Kenneth Fisher

Bridgepoint Education is a provider of postsecondary education services. The company’s academic institutions include Ashford University and University of the Rockies. Its...

Today we have a concise retail sector recommendation, followed by updates on Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) and DreamWorks (DWA).

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA)
from US Investment Report

In retailing our newest pick is oddly-named Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) of Bolingbrook, IL. Call it a beauty retailer, if you will. With...

Update

Eagle Bancorp (EGBN)
from Upside, recommended at $15 in Investment Digest issue 715, dated March 14, 2012

Eagle Bancorp retreated 4.3% today despite posting solid September-quarter results. Per-share earnings were $0.44, up 10% and a penny above the consensus. Revenue, which consists of net interest income and noninterest income, also rose 10% and...

Sell Alert

DreamWorks Animation (DWA)
from The Primary Trend, recommended at $24 in Investment Digest issue 696, dated June 1, 2011.

We have sold DreamWorks Animation (DWA). Its 50%-plus move since the spring, culminating with “good news” on its Netflix deal, gave us an opportunity to get out while the getting’s good. Sell...

Today’s new buy idea is an energy stock that just surged higher after reporting better-than-expected third quarter results. The stock has pulled back slightly from its post-earnings high, creating a good buying opportunity for new investors.

Core Laboratories (CLB)
from Blue Chip Growth

Oil companies are finding it increasingly difficult to extract...

Today’s new idea comes from value guru J. Royden Ward. You’ll receive your October Investment Digest issue this afternoon.

Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRAA)
from Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Investor

Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRAA) purchases, manages and collects defaulted consumer receivables from credit originators such as banks. The company either buys the receivables...

Today Michael Cintolo recommends a strong and fast-growing oil exploration and production stock.

Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI)
from Cabot Top Ten Trader

Bonanza Creek is another in a long line of energy exploring stocks that have morphed into powerful leaders. The company is making most of its hay in Colorado, thanks to an...

Christian DeHaemer of Crisis & Opportunity recently recommended China Green Agriculture for its great value. This company, which was the first Chinese firm to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has significant appreciation potential. DeHaemer notes that that firm’s valuation is very low, and asserts that since the...

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.