The S&P 500 broke back above the 6,000 level for the first time since February last week as the indexes are now within striking distance of their all-time highs (though they do have some work to do). By week’s end, the S&P 500 had gained 1.5%, the Dow had rallied 1.2% and the Nasdaq had advanced by 2.2%

It was another positive week for the market, with some major indexes nosing to new highs, and while it’s far from 1999 out there, individual stocks are seeing very few breakdowns while the leadership ranks gradually expand. Of course, there remain some headwinds out there, but the intermediate-term evidence remains positive, and we’re now even seeing some longer-term evidence start to point up. Thus, we’ll nudge our Market Monitor up another notch to a level 8.

This week’s list has something for everyone, with some zingers, some steady Eddies and more than a few recent earnings winners. Our Top Pick looks like an emerging blue chip in the cloud software field, and shares emerged from a big consolidation after earnings last week.

The market continues to nurse itself back to health, with the S&P 500 back above 6,000 for the first time since February and volatility at a four-month low. Numerous newsy items could derail it, including this week’s inflation reports. But lately, the market has mostly ignored the headlines, and so should you.

So today, we try and capitalize on the strong market in front of us by adding a potential new growth leader with enough momentum that Mike Cintolo tabbed it as his “Top Pick” in last week’s Cabot Top Ten Trader issue.

Details inside.

The S&P 500 broke back above the 6,000 level for the first time since February last week as the indexes are now within striking distance of their all-time highs (though they do have some work to do). By week’s end the S&P 500 had gained 1.5%, the Dow had rallied 1.2% and the Nasdaq had advanced by 2.2%

The S&P 500 broke back above the 6,000 level for the first time since February last week as the indexes are now within striking distance of their all-time highs (though they do have some work to do). By week’s end the S&P 500 had gained 1.5%, the Dow had rallied 1.2% and the Nasdaq had advanced by 2.2%

Most companies that were hit hard by Covid have recovered and then some. Many are faring better than ever. But because of investors’ narrow focus on the Magnificent 7 and a handful of artificial intelligence stocks the last two and a half years, share prices across various sectors have not kept pace with revenue and earnings growth. In recent months, we’ve capitalized on that discrepancy by pouncing on United Airlines (UAL), The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) and, just last month, Carnival Corp. (CCL), with great success.

This month, we hope to mine another quick double-digit winner from the industrials sector. It’s a company that’s thriving like never before, but there’s been a significant lag between the fundamentals and the share price. We hope our timing in adding it to the portfolio now can produce UAL- or CCL-like rapid returns.

Details inside.

Explorer stocks are either steady or performing well with Dutch Bros (BROS) shares up 18.4% during the last two weeks and Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) shares jumping 9.4% this week after a strong first quarter with 41% year-over-year revenue growth.

In addition, Singapore’s Sea Limited (SE) shares are up 18.6% during the last two weeks, and Spain’s Banco Santander (SAN) shares have surged 73% so far in 2025. China’s BYD (BYDDY) shares are up 53% in 2025. New silver and gold play Coeur Mining (CDE) shares were up 13.5% in their first two weeks in the portfolio.

Today’s new addition is a consumer-oriented stock with a range of shooting devices that are quickly becoming the must-haves among sportsmen and those looking for a less lethal self-defense option.

Revenue growth and profitability are on the rise, buoyed by new retail partnerships, domestic manufacturing and the launch of the company’s newest device.

All the details are inside this month’s Issue.

Enjoy!

Coming off a losing week two weeks ago, the indexes mostly regained that lost ground last week as the S&P 500 gained 1.9%, the Dow advanced 1.6% and the Nasdaq rallied 2%.

There’s little doubt the news has gotten worse, with the U.S. debt downgrade, renewed U.S-China trade tensions, another hike in steel tariffs announced last week and a big pickup in war uncertainty over the weekend … but so far, the market has handled itself decently, with some wobbles (mostly among the broad market) but overall a quiet-ish consolidation compared to the recent run-up. To be fair, that can always change, but given everything, we’re pleased with the action thus far. We’ll again leave our Market Monitor at a level 7 as we wait to see which way the market breaks from this tight range.

This week’s list has a ton of overall strong charts with recent tightness, just like the market. Our Top Pick is a steadily growing emerging blue chip in the software space that just left behind an endless consolidation with a powerful earnings gap.

The market has become a bit stagnant and boring. After the last few months we’ve had, boring is good. So today, we lean into the boring theme by adding a “boring” stock to the portfolio. It’s a mid-cap insurance company that Tyler Laundon recommended to his Cabot Early Opportunities audience last month. It may be boring, but like the market, it has plenty of upside in the near term.

Details inside.

Coming off a losing week two weeks ago, the indexes mostly regained that lost ground last week as the S&P 500 gained 1.9%, the Dow advanced 1.6% and the Nasdaq rallied 2%.

March Madness starts today. It’s my favorite sporting event of the year, as the possibilities and unpredictability of a 68-team basketball tournament involving 18-to-23-year-olds never fail to deliver on its “madness” moniker. It’s messy, it’s volatile, and you never know what’s going to happen next. Sort of like the stock market in the era of Trump, tariffs and angst-ridden Fed announcements like yesterday.

Last week the S&P 500 index plunged into correction territory. The Nasdaq was already there. Has the market bottomed out or is there more downside to go?

It’s been a while since selling has gotten this ugly. The last market correction was in October of 2023. This is the second of this bull market, which began in October of 2022. That’s not unusual. Corrections are normal in a bull market. The S&P had run up about 75% in a little over two years and was due for a consolidation, especially the technology sector. But is that all this is or is it something more?

The S&P 500 officially hit correction territory last week, down 10% or more from the high. While the bulk of the selling might be near the end, stocks are unlikely to gain significant and lasting upside traction until current uncertainties dissipate.

Last week’s inflation report was good. The CPI number was better than expected and showed a decrease in the level of price increases for the first time in several months. The economy appears to be slowing, but investors are likely okay with that if there isn’t a recession. Those two things add up to lower interest rates. But the tariff uncertainty seems to be preventing any kind of positive new narrative from taking shape in the market.

In today’s note, we discuss pertinent developments for some of the stocks in the portfolio, including Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM), GE Aerospace (GE), Paramount Global (PARA), Sirius XM (SIRI), Teladoc Health (TDOC) and UiPath (PATH).

Gold and silver continue to benefit from safe-haven buying, boosting our holding of Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).

Trump’s tariffs are directly, or indirectly, roiling some of holdings, including Sirius XM (SIRI) and UiPath (PATH). The favorable long-term outlooks for both stocks remain unchanged, however.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain defensive. Near term, we are seeing a couple of rays of light, including a developing positive divergence from our Two-Second Indicator and some legitimate dips in some reliable sentiment measures, so we’re not sticking our heads in the sand as the vast majority of primary evidence and our market timing indicators are negative, with the indexes so far having trouble finding much support. We could do some nibbling if the market finds a low it can work off of, but in the meantime, we advise staying mostly on the sideline and letting the sellers finish up their work. We have no changes tonight, and the Model Portfolio’s cash position is 83%.

The market enjoyed a little bounce yesterday but is still working to find a level of support from which to mount an eventual recovery. This is a process, not an event. Nobody knows if we have reached that level yet.

We’ve been through these types of volatile markets many times in the past. While the drivers of the volatility are often different, one of the consistencies is that it is best to exercise patience and let new leaders show themselves. They always do.

In this case, the main drivers of the current market correction are Trump’s tariffs/trade war and massive disruptions in the federal government.

It’s amazing what a halfway decent inflation report can do.

On Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in both lower than expected and better than the previous month at 2.8%. Economists were looking for a 2.9% year-over-year gain, down a tick from the 3% gain in January. Instead, it’s down two ticks and up just 0.2% from January – again, a tick less than the 0.3% month-over-month gain that was estimated. So, Wall Street rejoiced, at least for a few hours. All three major indexes were up more than 1% in early Wednesday trading, a welcome reprieve after weeks of getting pummeled into either correction status (the Nasdaq) or near-correction territory (S&P 500 and the Dow). Yes, the thing that’s been feeding this forceful sell-off – tariffs, and an ever-escalating trade war with multiple countries – is still raging. But higher inflation is a big reason people fear tariffs in the first place. And for one month at least, inflation came in cooler than expected.

It’s cannabis company earnings season. So, I highlight fourth-quarter results in this issue.

Before we get to the details, here are the key takeaways from earnings reports:

* Price compression continues, creating an ongoing “Hunger Games” environment in which only the financially strong will survive, given the debt levels at a lot of cannabis companies. Much of this debt comes due over the next two years. Bankruptcies might be the clearing event that helps bring an end to price compression. None of our names appear to be at risk, but no guarantees...

Selling accelerated this week after last week was the worst since September. The S&P is down 4% YTD and at its lowest level in more than five months. The Nasdaq index is in correction territory, down more than 10% from the high.

The big issue seems to be tariffs. Tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico are escalating. The new Canadian Prime Minister also appears to be taking a hard line, and it looks like the trade issues won’t be resolved for a while. But it’s also the fact that tariffs are hitting the economy at a vulnerable point as fears of a slowing economy are growing.

In today’s note, we discuss pertinent developments for some of the stocks in the portfolio, including Alcoa (AA), Janus Henderson Group (JHG), Paramount Global (PARA) and Starbucks (SBUX).

This week’s watch list includes a focus on the suddenly interesting toy market outlook, with two major industry members poised to benefit from it.

Before we get to an update on my journey through Asia, let me offer a few thoughts regarding recent market weakness and volatility, driven by rising economic and political uncertainty. Sea Limited (SE) bucked the trend with another strong quarter while American Superconductor (AMSC) shares had another tough week after a great run, down 15.8%.

The tariff on-and-off news is creating some turbulence as are the pivotal Congressional spending and tax negotiations.

Tariffs have officially arrived. And the market doesn’t like them one bit.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and raised the level from 10% to 20% on China. Stocks fell as of midday on Tuesday, but not dramatically. It’s unwelcome news to a market that was already dealing with still-sticky inflation and diminished economic growth expectations.

WHAT TO DO NOW: We’re paring back further today, not because of any major change in the top-down evidence, but simply taking our cues from individual stocks. Today we’re going to sell our stake in Samsara (IOT), which pulled back normally after earnings last week, but the follow-on selling prompts us to cut bait. That sell will boost our cash position to the upper 30% range, which we’ll hold on to for now. Details below.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Growth stocks are finally hitting air pockets today after massive runs, and while many look fine from an intermediate-term point of view, some appear iffy after massive runs. Thus, we’re paring back today: We’re going to take more partial profits in AppLovin (after already booking some profit this morning), as well as selling one-third of Axon (AXON), which isn’t as extreme as some others but is coming under pressure. Details below.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish, but continue to manage your positions. In the Model Portfolio, we’re going to again take partial profits in AppLovin (APP), selling one-third of what we have left. That will boost our cash position to around 22%. Details below.

I’m recommending that we sell a quarter of our position in American Airlines (AAL).

We’re doing things a little differently this month since there’s potential for a stock-moving announcement tomorrow that could impact this month’s new addition, which is a speculative mining stock.

I’m recommending that we sell a quarter of our position in Super Hi International Holding (HDL).

WHAT TO DO NOW: Last week’s market action was disappointing, though it didn’t change any of our key indicators. Even so, we’re seeing some selling on strength appear, so we’re focused on managing our portfolio. Today we’re going to sell one-third of our solid profit in Palantir (PLTR), leaving us with 23% in cash.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Update: Full Steam Ahead

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.

We continue to get positive signals out of Washington, D.C. for cannabis companies.

Last evening Zeta (ZETA) responded to the Culper Research short report with a scathing review of the allegations, saying, in short, that Culper is full of it and doesn’t know what the heck it’s talking about. It couldn’t even get Zeta’s auditor right. Link to the press release here.

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.