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The last two weeks have seen a massive rally into cyclical stocks, and a purge of growth stocks. Massive! Whether this trend will continue is anyone’s guess.

The good news for the Cabot Profit Booster portfolio is we have a relatively diverse portfolio. And as I eyeball our portfolio, I would say we have five cyclical stocks (AZEK, JCI, SONO, GS, APHA) and “only” two growth stocks (DT, AMKR), and the premiums we collected via our covered call sales have partially buffered us from big losses on those stocks that have been hit hard.

Current Market Outlook


Up is good, so last week’s rebound in growth and continued push higher in the broad market was encouraging. That said, nothing much has changed with the overall evidence—many areas of the market look just fine, with a few indexes actually hitting all-time highs, but growth stocks are still (mostly) in a corrective mode, with a bunch of names having rallied only into resistance. Really, we think the action of the next week or two will tell the tale—resilience and upside from here would suggest the huge pullback earlier this month was more of a shakeout, but renewed selling pressure would hint toward another leg down. Right now, we’re playing things halfway—we’re OK with some buying, especially in stronger names that pull back some, but we’re not pushing the envelope and need to see more from growth before concluding the storm has passed. We’re leaving our Market Monitor at a level 5 today.

This week’s list is very much a mixed bag, with cyclicals, retail, growth and turnarounds all making the cut. Our Top Pick is Thor Industries (THO), which looks like the leader of a fresh move for that group. You could nibble here or (preferably) on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Big Lots (BIG)	71	66-69	59-61
Devon Energy (DVN)	25	22-23.5	19-20
Dropbox (DBX)	28	26.5-28	24-25
Dycom Industries (DY)	100	95-98	85-87
Groupon Inc. (GRPN)	60	57-60	48-50
Inari Medical (NARI)	114	110.5-115.5	98-101
Macy’s, Inc. (M)	21	18-19.5	15.5-16.5
Owens & Minor (OMI)	37	33.5-35.5	30-31
Summit Materials (SUM)	30	28-30	25-26
Thor Industries (THO)	147	140-147	125-128

Current Market Outlook


With the major indices in record territory and the leading growth stocks showing strength, it’s hard to be anything less than bullish right now. Even at these elevated levels, the market has provided us with a few attractive entry points recently. But with earnings season well underway and sentiment still elevated, the potential for near-term volatility has increased. Thus, it’s imperative not to throw caution to the wind in this news-sensitive environment. Given the weight of evidence, being selective when buying is the preferred tactic. The dominant intermediate-term trend is clearly up, though, so you don’t want to be too defensive. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at 7 and see how things go from here.

This week’s list has a nice mix of stocks across several industries benefiting from different trends. Our Top Pick this week is CarParts.com (PRTS), which recently had a high-volume breakout from a huge basing pattern.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Agilent Technologies (A)	128	127-129	121.5-123
Analog Devices (ADI)	160	156-161	149-151
CarParts.com (PRTS)	21	19.5-22	17-18
Chegg (CHGG)	112	105-111.5	97-100
eXp World Holdings (EXPI)	80	74-79	62-65
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)	33	31-33	27.5-28
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI)	53	52-54	49-50
Pinterest (PINS)	89	85.5-88	76-78
Square, Inc. (SQ)	276	263-273	240-250
Twitter (TWTR)	74	68-72	63-66

Thank you for subscribing to the Cabot Turnaround Letter. We hope you enjoy reading the March 2021 issue.

This month we look at post-bankruptcy energy stocks. Companies that have emerged from bankruptcy are generally shunned by investors, as are energy stocks in general in the current market. Combined, these two traits offer some attractive investment opportunities. We discuss four of them.



We also look at tobacco stocks. Shares of these companies have fallen sharply in recent years due to an acceleration in the decline rate of cigarette volumes. However, that trend appears to be moderating, leaving the shares undervalued yet paying high dividend yields. Our feature recommendation, Altria Group (MO), is a stand-out value among the group.



We also include comments on recent price target and rating changes, including our recent Sell recommendations on Trinity Industries (TRN) and ViacomCBS (VIAC).



Please feel free to send me your questions and comments. This newsletter is written for you. A great way to get more out of your letter is to let me know what you are looking for.



I’m best reachable at Bruce@CabotWealth.com. I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

Buying a stock is easy, talking yourself into selling one is much harder, which is why you need a selling strategy before you buy.

Retirement is often associated with getting by on low-risk investments. But if you truly want to grow your nest egg, risk is essential.

With a big Fed meeting on tap for this afternoon, we’re continuing to maintain a steady pace of adding new positions, selling off some weaker ones, and adding fresh names to our Watch List.

Details on all of the above are included in this September’s Issue. Enjoy!

The market looks great. But the indexes are teetering around the highs while uncertainty is still swirling around.

Fortunately, some of the highest dividend paying stocks are still reasonably priced ahead of an increasingly promising future. Midstream energy stocks have been flying under the radar while paying some of the highest dividends on the market. These stocks are also well suited for whatever lies ahead.

Midstream energy stocks have provided a high income and a solid return throughout most market cycles. And that makes them ideal for the current unpredictable environment. But that was before. Things are changing for the better. The environment for energy is undergoing a radical transformation that could make these stocks better than ever before.

The growing demand from utilities and exporters will provide an unprecedented runway for growth in the years ahead that historical performance doesn’t reflect. In this issue, I highlight one of the very best midstream energy companies on the market.

Now that the Fed is cutting rates again, housing stocks may get a bump on improved sentiment. The question is, will it last?

The market just keeps on going. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq made yet another new high on Monday. And that makes me nervous. I guess I’m just not built to receive continuing good news without getting suspicious.

So much for the cranky post-summer investor and the historically rough September. The S&P is up 3.4% for the month so far. It’s also up 13.8% YTD and 38% from the April low. Why not? We’re in a Fed rate-cutting cycle. The AI catalyst is going strong. And the economy is nowhere near recession.

Gold has been on a tear this year, especially over the last month-plus, but the economic backdrop and elevated inflation mean that gold’s run may just be getting started.

Insurance costs have been rising for years, even rapidly outpacing inflation in many areas, and households are feeling the pinch of higher prices. This month, let’s take a closer look at why the costs to insure your home and autos are rising and what you can do about it. We’ll explore who’s paying these higher prices, comparison shopping for new or replacement policies, and the other steps you can take to keep your costs manageable.