Before we dive into this week’s covered call idea we are going to first move on from our position in Credo (CRDO) as the stock finished below the 40 strike price on Friday, which means the call we sold expired worthless, leaving us with our stock position today which is now trading back above 40 (great!).

Last week’s pullback in the major indexes was pretty disappointing, but when we took a look around at all the evidence this weekend nothing much had changed on an intermediate-term basis: Most leading stocks are acting fine, the trends are still pointed up for the major indexes and, while it’s been a bit more rotational of late, there are still plenty of fresher titles that are advancing. We’ll be watching everything going forward (including the still-steep uptrend in Treasury rates), but at this point, we remain optimistic. We’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 8.

This week’s list is chock-full of growth-y names, many of them familiar ones. Our Top Pick is a big, liquid, well-sponsored e-commerce emerging blue chip that just catapulted out of a big base.

In our last issue before the holiday shopping season hopefully kicks off the next leg of the bull market, today we subtract two underperforming overseas positions and add a mid-cap defense stock recommended by Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld. We also put a bow on Q3 earnings season (minus this week’s Nvidia report, of course), which was mostly a force for good among the stocks in our portfolio.

Details inside.

Not surprisingly the post-election market wiggles continued last week as many stocks and sectors continued to show strength, while others got hit hard. By week’s end the three leading indexes had all lost ground as the S&P 500 fell 2.3%, the Dow declined by 1.7%, and the Nasdaq lost 3.65%.

Not surprisingly the post-election market wiggles continued last week as many stocks and sectors continued to show strength, while others got hit hard. By week’s end the three leading indexes had all lost ground as the S&P 500 fell 2.3%, the Dow declined by 1.7%, and the Nasdaq lost 3.65%.

The election results and Federal Reserve rate cut were seemingly just what the market was looking for as the S&P 500 rallied 4.7% last week, the Dow added 4.65% and the Nasdaq gained 5.4%.

The election results and Federal Reserve rate cut were seemingly just what the market was looking for as the S&P 500 rallied 4.7% last week, the Dow added 4.65% and the Nasdaq gained 5.4%.

It’s been a great couple of weeks in the market, with the major indexes lifting nicely since the election and, more important, with leading growth stocks acting very well—while there have been some earnings wobbles, there’s been even more big rallies, with some stocks going into the stratosphere. It’s been a good couple of weeks, and with the evidence bullish, we are too—but we’re also keeping our feet on the ground, trimming some names on the way up and aiming to enter some fresher leaders, ideally on weakness.

The markets reacted strongly—and bullishly—to the results of the presidential election and also found favor after the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate reduction.

As of today, they’ve pulled back a bit, awaiting the latest inflation report.

However, the economy continues rolling along. Unemployment remains steady, and consumer sentiment is positive. And while the housing market continues to be challenged by low inventory and rising prices, on the local level, I’m seeing improvement in both categories.

The election of Donald Trump has altered the trajectory of the economy and the market.

Investors perceive his election will deliver stronger economic growth, primarily through deregulation and tax cuts. Although interest rates spiked higher on the expectation of a stronger economy, the market views the revised prognosis as overwhelmingly bullish, so far.

The new administration will employ drastically different policies that will have a significant effect on different sectors and can’t be ignored. The most obvious sector beneficiary of the new administration is energy.

A huge beneficiary will be natural gas exports. The U.S. has recently become the world’s second-largest exporter of natural gas. Exporters ideally sell cheap American gas overseas where it fetches a much higher price. More production and cheaper domestic prices are ideal for exporters. At the same time, the new administration is likely to encourage as much natural gas exporting as possible.

In this issue, I highlight a company that runs the largest liquid natural gas (LNG) export facility in the country. It is a subsidiary of existing portfolio position Cheniere Energy (LNG), which is up 15% since the election. It pays a huge income and still sells at a reasonable price.

The election results and Federal Reserve rate cut were seemingly just what the market was looking for as the S&P 500 rallied 4.7% last week, the Dow added 4.65% and the Nasdaq gained 5.4%.

There were a few pre-election wobbles in the market, but last week’s action looks decisive, with many major indexes that had been capped below their summertime peaks bursting to new highs, while leading stocks went bananas, including many out-of-this-world moves on earnings. Now, to be fair, we’re still seeing some earnings duds, and the action is very hot and heavy, which raises the risk of some sort of near-term rug pull. Thus, it’s important to keep your feet on the ground—but overall, there’s no question the evidence is bullish and the buyers are control. We’re moving our Market Monitor back to a level 8 and could go higher if the buying pressures remain intense.

This week’s list is has something for everyone, with a couple of cyclical names sprinkled in among a batch of strong growth titles. Our Top Pick is showing great growth and just staged a solid breakout from a very tight area last week.

The market is at all-time highs, the Chiefs beat the 49ers in the most recent Super Bowl, and so-called meme stocks are headed to the moon. Is it January 2021 all over again? Sure feels like it.

Yes, GameStop (GME), AMC Entertainment (AMC) and the like are back, with those and a few others nearly tripling this week. The last time that happened, things didn’t end so well for the meme stocks. Or the market. Should it be a similar red flag for the bull market this time around?

It’s been a good month in the market, so far. The S&P 500 has regained all the dip from April and is now within a whisker of the all-time high. The driving forces have been an improving interest rate story and solid earnings.

With 92% of S&P 500 companies having reported, earnings increased an average of 5.4% over last year’s quarter. But it’s better than that. If you take out the report of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), average earnings growth would be 8.3% for all the other stocks on the index. That’s a strong gain.

The market has regained its footing. After a 5% pullback in the earlier part of April, the S&P 500 has since regained nearly all that was lost, and the index is within bad breath distance of the high.

Earnings have been good. With 92% of S&P 500 companies having reported, earnings increased an average of 5.4% over last year’s quarter. But it’s better than that. If you take out the report of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), average earnings growth would be 8.3% for all the other stocks on the index. That’s a healthy gain.

Viatris (VTRS) reported 1Q 2024 results yesterday, narrowly missing on revenue but coming in line with earnings expectations at 67 cents per share. Sales of older drugs Lipitor and Norvasc declined, with the branded drugs unit’s revenue dropping 4.5% to $2.31 billion. The company has completed its women’s healthcare business divestiture and expects its API unit sale to close soon. Despite the challenges, Viatris reaffirmed its financial guidance for the year, projecting total revenue between $15.5 billion and $16.0 billion, with adjusted EBITDA estimated at $5.0 billion to $5.4 billion. The company remains focused on debt reduction, having paid down $546 million during the quarter.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Do a little buying. The market’s evidence has improved over the past couple of weeks, with our Cabot Tides on the verge of a green light and our Two-Second Indicator having flashed an all-clear. Even so, growth measures (Aggression Index, Growth Tides) are still broadly neutral, while earnings season has been tricky for individual stocks. Put it together and we’re doing a little buying tonight but starting slow: In the Model Portfolio, we’re adding a half-sized stake (5% position) in TransMedics (TMDX) and adding a 3% position in Cava Group (CAVA), leaving us with around 36% in cash. We’re also placing Pulte (PHM) back on Buy. Details below.

Earnings reports have been on the menu this week. Some have gone our way, with Zeta (ZETA) and EverQuote (EVER) having fantastic reactions. We’ve taken a few punches too, and Talkspace (TALK) was cut on weakness while Alphatec (ATEC) is down but not yet out of the portfolio.

I’ve upgraded Intapp (INTA) this week as that stock looks like it could move significantly higher. We also add to our Weave (WEAV) position today in anticipation of a rebound in the share price.

Warren Buffett doesn’t see any great values in this market. At least that was the gist of the message he delivered in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha last weekend. When asked why Berkshire’s cash hoard had swelled to $189 billion in the first quarter – up from $167.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 – the Oracle of Omaha replied, “We only swing at pitches we like.”

In other words: the world’s foremost value investor doesn’t see many great value stocks right now. Instead, he’s been putting his cash in Treasury bills – investing more every Monday in 3- and 6-month T-bills, which yield roughly 5.4% – and biding his time until he sees an attractive stock investment.

Cannabis stocks look buyable in the current weakness.

Cannabis stocks are always buyable when they are down, but there are potential near-term catalysts on the horizon. That is the case now. There are three to expect over the next few months, and possibly as soon as the middle of May.

The market has shown some renewed strength over the past several days, particularly among interest rate-sensitive stocks. The Fed met last week, and the market dug this month’s vague insinuations.

The rally sputtered in April after sticky inflation soured the falling interest rate narrative. But last week the Fed Chairman indicated that the next Fed Funds rate move would most likely be a cut and not a raise. Although a hike wasn’t expected, investors like hearing the Fed say it. The statement also combines with recent news of weaker economic growth and a slowing job market.

Gannett (GCI) reported after the bell yesterday, beating on revenue but missing earnings expectations by 21%. The company posted an $84M loss on $635M in income but reiterated guidance to 10% growth in its digital division, keeping overall revenue declines to the low to mid-single digits. CEO Michael Reed reiterated the focus on digital transformation, with revenues from that side of the business likely to comprise 50% of Gannett’s income by 2025.

“The whole world is under-followed relative to the Magnificent Seven…Whether you’re looking at a place like Japan… emerging markets… commodity sectors… there’s really a ton of opportunities that people just refuse to look at.”

-Richard Bernstein, CEO and CIO, RBAdvisors

What had been a tug-o-war between the souring interest rate narrative and earnings excitement is showing signs of veering in yet another direction.

The news on both inflation and the economy has been worse. The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE), came in higher than expected at 3.7% last week. Inflation continues to creep higher this year. And that’s with interest rates already at the highest level in decades.

Microsoft (MSFT) is due to announce earnings today after the closing bell.

Our PFE calls expired last week and since we are in the covered call phase of our income wheel approach, I want to sell a few more calls against our shares today, going out 38 days.

Google (GOOGL) continues to rally higher and has now pushed past its short call strike. As a result, the stock is up 26.3% since we introduced GOOGL. By comparison, our poor man’s covered call position in GOOGL is up over 85%.

I will be exiting our Visa (V) trade today. I will discuss the trade in greater detail in our upcoming weekly issue.

Visa (V) is due to announce earnings after the closing bell today. The stock is currently trading for 271.33.

After selling premium today, our IBM position is already up 31.6% since we initiated it just three weeks ago.

Our IBM position is already up over 12% since we initiated it just over two weeks ago.

I want to add some downside exposure; so, with QQQ trading for 422.16, I want to place a short-term bear call spread going out 38 days and outside of the expected range to the upside, or 440. My intent is to take off the trade well before the March 1, 2024, expiration date.

I’m selling more premium in DKNG and GDX today. As stated in the weekly report yesterday, January has been a good month so far as we have locked in over 10% worth of options premium through our Income Trader wheel approach. If all goes well this week, we should be able to add to our January totals as our PFE calls are due to expire.

I’ll be sending out alerts for several of our Fundamentals portfolios over the next two days as we stay mechanical and roll our January 19, 2024, calls into the February/March expiration cycles. For those who are new to the service and wish to add a position, please read through the alert carefully.

Moving Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD) to Sell

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.

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.