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The headlines might be telling investors there’s plenty to worry about in the bull market, but big call buying activity is telling me the market is going much higher.

We haven’t seen this many growth stocks acting well at one time since at least late 2010, and probably more like 2007, which is very encouraging. That said, we are seeing some froth begin to appear—many investors are giddy with their recent gains, and a few smaller-cap, speculative names have gone vertical. Thus, be sure to keep your feet on the ground, and don’t be afraid to book some partial profits here or there. But, in general, the buyers are clearly in control, and the main trends of the market are up, so you should work to get (or remain) heavily invested.
This week’s list has a few of the aforementioned zoomers, but most of the stocks have very solid fundamentals and aren’t far from solid entry points. There are many we like, but our favorite is Concur Technologies (CNQR), one of the many younger Cloud-based software firms that are thriving.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)	0.00	172-177	159-162
LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD)	0.00	228-236	205-208
Chart Industries (GTLS)	72.05	110-115	101-103
Gilead Sciences (GILD)	75.10	59-61	54-55.5
Canadian Solar (CSIQ)	0.00	14-15	11-12
Concur Technologies (CNQR)	0.00	97-100	88-90
Con-way (CNW)	0.00	43-45	41-42
Ciena (CIEN)	44.25	22-23	20-20.5
Athenahealth (ATHN)	0.00	107-112	93-95
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (AEGR)	0.00	89-91	78-80

It seems like nearly every October gives the market something to worry about, and this year it’s (again) the politicians in Washington, D.C.—statements and rumors from various leaders have been pushing and pulling the market in recent days, and there’s no reason to expect anything less in the near-term. That said, despite day-to-day (sometimes hour-to-hour) volatility, the market’s overall stance hasn’t changed much; the indexes are in good-not-great shape, but most leading stocks have taken it all in stride. Thus, we’re sticking with our lean bullish advice, and think buying during weakness can pay off.

This week’s list is encouraging in that many names are new to Top Ten; while the market hits some potholes, money is still finding a home in more and more stocks. Our favorite of the week is U.S. Silica (SLCA), another play on the rebounding oil sector; we like its reasonable valuation, recent breakout and big increase in sponsorship in recent quarters.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
YY Inc. (YY)	0.00	46-48	43-44
Yelp (YELP)	41.30	67-70	59-61
Synaptics (SYNA)	0.00	45-47	39-40
Sanchez Energy (SN)	0.00	26-28	24.5-25
US Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA)	0.00	27-29	24-24.5
Sina Corp. (SINA)	0.00	86-88	78-80
Canadian Solar (CSIQ)	0.00	17.5-19	15-16
Centene (CNC)	0.00	62-64	58-59
Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI)	0.00	67-69	60-61
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)	0.00	112-116	106-107

The market continues to chop around, with forays into new-high ground inviting plenty of sellers and sharp dips quickly attracting bargain-hunting buyers. We are seeing more set-ups out there, which is a good sign—if the market does kick into gear, there should be some solid leadership. However, until then, this is about as neutral and choppy an environment as we can remember. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take any action (this isn’t 2008!), but it’s best to wait for the market to show some bullish action before getting heavily invested. Patience and cash are your allies today.

This week’s list is the first in a while that has a growth tilt to it; there are still some cheap, stable-type stocks, but also some real potential leaders of the next advance. Our favorite is Arris Group (ARRS), which has excellent growth prospects, a huge backlog and a nice-looking launching pad.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
WhiteWave Foods (WWAV)	0.00	29.5-31	26.5-27
Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)	14.25	150-160	138-140
Trinity Industries (TRN)	0.00	78-82	73-74
Rice Energy (RICE)	0.00	29.5-31	27.5-28
Pacira Biosiences (PCRX)	54.85	72.5-75.5	67-68
InterMune (ITMN)	0.00	36-38	33-34
Gilead Sciences (GILD)	75.10	79-83	75.5-76.5
CBRE Group (CBG)	0.00	28-29	26-26.5
Arris Group (ARRS)	0.00	29-31	26.5-27.5
Apple (AAPL)	248.94	580-600	530-540

The market finally bounced following last Tuesday’s big-volume support day, which has allowed many beaten-down growth stocks to get off their knees. It’s also allowed many energy stocks to show their muscle—many have lifted to new highs after multi-month launching pads! Overall, we’re keeping our Market Monitor neutral, as there’s no evidence yet that a sustainable bottom has been reached. But we’re OK with a little buying in the energy sector (as well as some other strong commodity stocks), because if the current rally gains momentum, many of these names could prove to be leaders of the upmove.
This week’s list did pick up on a few growth stocks that are beginning to separate from the pack, but half the stocks are commodity-related. Our favorite of the week is GasLog (GLOG), a shipper of liquefied natural gas that sports both rapid and predictable growth.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Weatherford International plc (WFT)	0.00	17-18	16-16.5
Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)	14.25	140-148	128-130
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)	78.41	19.5-20.5	18.5-19
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK)	0.00	80-82	76-77
Rice Energy (RICE)	0.00	28-29.5	25.5-26
Garmin (GRMN)	97.45	55-57	52-53
Gulfport Energy (GPOR)	0.00	71-73	66.5-67.5
GasLog (GLOG)	21.39	25.5-27	23.5-24
Finisar (FNSR)	0.00	26-27	24-24
Allegheny Technologies (ATI)	27.78	38.5-40	35-36

There are a decent number of warts on this market, including some lackluster action from the broad market, the fact that big-cap indexes have been chopping up and down for the past few weeks, and that small-cap indexes look sick. However, the major trends of the indexes remain up, and most leading stocks, while not tearing up the charts, are still in decent shape. (The many earnings reports last week brought a mixed bag of gaps up and down.) We have our antennae up, especially as more earnings reports push stocks this way and that, but right here the evidence continues to tell us to lean bullish and give our top performers a chance to keep rising.

This week’s list has a bunch of recent earnings winners; if the market is going to continue trending higher, most of these names should do well. Our Top Pick is Steel Dynamics (STLD). We’re usually not big fans of highly-cyclical steel stocks, but STLD just had a big quarter and an even bigger acquisition, with huge earnings forecasts for the next 18 months.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Under Armour (UA)	0.00	65-70	59-60
Steel Dynamics (STLD)	0.00	20.5-22	18.5-19
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	0.00	25-26	23-24
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)	0.00	59-62	55-56
Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)	0.00	36-37	33-34
Polaris Industries (PII)	0.00	143-147	136-137
HCA Healthcare (HCA)	137.60	61-63	56-57
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP)	0.00	190-195	178-180
Cameron (CAM)	0.00	71-73	66-67
Apple (AAPL)	248.94	95-98	89-90

From July 7 through July 17, we saw a harrowing decline among individual stocks and many major indexes. There was enough damage to suggest selling off a couple of your weaker holdings and possibly taking partial profits in a couple of winners. However, the market found some support last Friday, few stocks have broken down and the indexes have generally held support (though small-cap indexes look sick). Because of that, we remain overall bullish—you shouldn’t push the envelope here, but holding your best performers and keeping your eyes open for new leaders (possibly via earnings gaps) makes sense.

This week’s list surprised us (in a good way) by including a bunch of top-notch growth stories. Our Top Pick this week is Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS), a turnaround in the chip sector with huge projected growth. The stock just enjoyed a huge-volume, earnings-induced surge.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Weatherford International plc (WFT)	0.00	22-23	20.5-21
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)	230.36	92-96	87-89
Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)	14.25	190-200	175-180
Newfield Exploration (NFX)	0.00	42-44	39-40
Cheniere Energy (LNG)	63.82	70-72	65-66
Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR)	0.00	117-122	110-112
Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS)	0.00	16-17	14.5-15
Blackstone Group (BX)	49.12	34-36	31-32
Applied Materials (AMAT)	0.00	22-23	20-21.5
Akorn (AKRX)	0.00	31-33	29-30

Current Market Outlook


Just a few days ago, the intermediate-term trend was looking iffy, but the past few days have shown very encouraging action—every major index has tagged new high ground, and we’re seeing more and more stocks react well to earnings and follow through to the upside afterwards. There are still a couple of yellow lights from some secondary measures (short-term sentiment is a bit complacent; small caps continue to lag), so near-term pullbacks wouldn’t be surprising. But there’s no question the trend of the market and most stocks is up, with many areas resuming their post-election advances. We’ll nudge up our Market Monitor to a level 8 (out of 10) to reflect the improved evidence.

This week’s list has a bunch of stocks that are showing excellent power in recent weeks; many have just gotten going after long sideways phases. Our Top Pick is Lumentum (LITE), a mid-sized player in the optical networking field that’s exploded out of a four-month base. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Box Inc. (BOX)	0.00	16.7-17.7	15-15.7
CDW Corporation (CDW)	0.00	55.5-58	51-52.5
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF)	0.00	11-12	9.7-10.3
Lam Research (LRCX)	268.47	112-116	106-108
Louisiana-Pacific (LPX)	0.00	21.5-22.5	20-20.5
Lumentum (LITE)	87.00	45-48	41-43
Medicines Company (MDCO)	56.98	46-49	42-43.5
Morgan Stanley (MS)	0.00	44-46	41.5-42.5
Sanmina (SANM)	0.00	38-40	35-36
Weibo (WB)	98.16	51-54	48-49

Two weeks ago we saw a tremendous number of stocks hit new highs, which usually indicates some short-term euphoria. Sure enough, the major indexes have generally hesitated in recent days, and under the market’s hood, some previously strong sectors (especially metals and transportation stocks) have come under pressure while a few growth stocks perk up. You should always watch your stops, especially if you have losses, but to this point, we’ve seen little in the way of abnormal action—a few stocks look ugly, but most are still holding key support, and many pullbacks are likely setting up solid entry points. Bottom line, while the short-term is likely to bring some bumps in the road, the odds continue to favor higher prices ahead for the market, so we’re OK putting some money to work in strong stocks during the current retreat.

This week’s list is heavy on the old world stocks that have been leading the rally, though there are a few growth names here, too. Our Top Pick is Berry Plastics (BERY)—it doesn’t have the most thrilling story, but the numbers are excellent and shares are in a solid uptrend.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Berry Global (BERY)	64.22	49.5-51.5	45.5-47
Chemours Company (CC)	0.00	23-24.5	21-22
Incyte Corporation (INCY)	76.98	98-103	91-93
KLX Inc. (KLXI)	0.00	43-45	38.5-40
MasTec, Inc. (MTZ)	66.65	36.5-38.5	33.5-34.5
MRC Global (MRC)	0.00	19.5-20.5	17.5-18
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)	423.92	122-126	114-116
Square, Inc. (SQ)	91.04	13.5-14.5	12-13
Thor Industries (THO)	104.76	99-104	90-92.5
Zions Bancorporation (ZION)	0.00	40-42	37-38

Current Market Outlook


There’s no question the rally of the past four weeks has done the market a lot of good—the intermediate-term trend remains up, the broad market has returned to health and many stocks are setting up nicely. However, we’re sticking with a relatively neutral stance until we see the final pieces fall into place—many stocks lifting to new highs while the longer-term trend turns up. We’re optimistic that can happen soon (though possibly after a little digestion phase), but we want to actually see it occur before advising you to become heavily invested. For now, then, we’ll leave the Market Monitor where it is and will be watching the action of potential leaders closely for signs the buyers are stepping up in a big way.

This week’s list is another batch of high-potential stocks from a variety of industries. Our Top Pick is Blue Buffalo Pet (BUFF), a maker of organic pet food whose stock came public just last July. It addresses a huge market and is just beginning to attract institutional investors.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	185-190	172-174
Steel Dynamics (STLD)	0.00	20-21	17.5-18.5
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	0.00	16-17	15-15.5
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)	0.00	50-52	46-47
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)	0.00	15-16	13.5-14.5
Barrick Gold (GOLD)	27.20	87-89	80-82
Express (EXPR)	0.00	19.5-20.5	17.5-18
Ellie Mae (ELLI)	0.00	78-83	70-72
Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF)	0.00	21.5-22.5	18.5-19
Briggs and Stratton (BGG)	0.00	22-23.5	19.5-20.5

Current Market Outlook


The market has put on a good show during the past three weeks, with the major indexes pushing to two-month highs, turning the intermediate-term trend positive. And many sectors (including the most beaten-down sectors like commodity, industrial and transport stocks) have bounced extremely well. All of that is encouraging … but the question is what comes next. Some indexes are starting to butt up against major overhead resistance (the 2,000 to 2,100 area on the S&P 500 has been a thorn in the market’s side for more than a year), and all indexes are still stuck below their longer-term 200-day lines. Overall, we remain neutral—if you see a good set-up, by all means take it, but we would hold off on flooring the accelerator until we see more breakouts and a longer-term uptrend in the general market.

This week’s list has a mix of stocks and sectors—some new, some old, some growth-oriented while others are turning around. Our Top Pick this week is Lumentum (LITE), which is enjoying a round of analyst upgrades on double-digit earnings growth.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Zoës Kitchen (ZOES)	0.00	35-37	31.5-32.5
Wayfair (W)	167.03	42-44	39-40
Vulcan Materials Company (VMC)	137.10	98-102	88-89
Sturm, Ruger & Co. (RGR)	0.00	70-73	62-65
MaxLinear (MXL)	0.00	16-17.5	14-15
MACOM Technology Solutions (MTSI)	0.00	41-43	37-38
Lumentum (LITE)	87.00	23-24	20-21
Kate Spade & Company (KATE)	0.00	21.5-23	19-19.5
Credicorp (BAP)	0.00	120-125	110-115
Broadcom Limited (AVGO)	266.26	142-146	127-131

Current Market Outlook


After a hot and heavy few weeks, the growth stock sellers came out of the woodwork during the past two days, driving many down sharply to support. What happens from here will tell the tale in our view—if most growth stocks hold up in this vicinity or push nicely higher, then the odds will favor this being another shakeout. But should we see a weak bounce (or, worse, no bounce), then it’s likely growth stocks will be entering a longer consolidation following their heady runs. We’ll see how it goes, but right now, you should honor your stops and maybe even take a couple of partial profits if you haven’t recently. As for buying, we’re OK with it, but look for stocks near support and keep new positions small.

This week’s list has far more non-growth ideas, which have found some buying in recent days. Our Top Pick is Penn National Gaming (PENN), which is part of a strong group and looks relatively early in its overall advance.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Abiomed (ABMD)	0.00	136-139	128-131
Berry Global (BERY)	64.22	56.5-58	52-53
CBOE Holdings (CBOE)	0.00	87-90	81-83
Grand Canyon Education (LOPE)	121.03	77-80	70-72
Hancock Holding (HBHC)	0.00	49-51	45-46
ILG Inc. (ILG)	0.00	24.5-26	22-23
Penn National Gaming (PENN)	45.38	20.3-21.3	18.7-19.4
Sherwin-Williams (SHW)	526.09	340-350	320-325
Terex (TEX)	0.00	35.5-37	32.5-33.5
Workday (WDAY)	194.88	94-98	87-90

Current Market Outlook


After nine strong up weeks, the past two have seen most of the market hesitate (at first) and then pull back (the S&P 500 fell all five days last week), resulting in a few stocks hitting potholes along the way. In the short-term, we think some further consolidation could easily come, shaking out some weak hands. But bigger picture, the recent action looks normal to us—none of the major indexes and very few leading stocks cracked any meaningful intermediate-term support, and today’s sharp rally is a good sign that buyers are still lurking. Be sure to watch your stops and loss limits, and it’s a good idea to be discerning on the buy side, focusing on strong stocks that have pulled back to solid entry points. Market-wise, though, we remain bullish and are keeping our Market Monitor at a level 7.

This week’s list has stocks from all corners of the market, which we see as an encouraging sign. Our Top Pick is RingCentral (RNG), a leader in a new cloud communications field with a stock that’s acting great.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Carvana (CVNA)	82.90	48-51	41.5-43.5
EPAM Systems (EPAM)	188.24	155-160	142-145
Keysight Technologies, Inc. (KEYS)	97.20	81-85	73.5-75.5
Lending Tree (TREE)	411.51	307-322	278-288
Omnicell (OMCL)	81.03	80-84	73-75
Planet Fitness (PLNT)	0.00	62-64	57-58
Rapid7 (RPD)	63.52	45-47.5	40-41.5
RingCentral (RNG)	238.73	100-105	91-94
Sea Limited (SE)	132.86	22-24	18-19.5
Tandem Diabetes (TNDM)	74.77	61-65	52-55

The broad market has advanced nicely since mid-day Monday when news that the Fed might lower interest rates sparked a wave of buying. Long-term, the future is bright. But short-term, the portfolio is happy holding a cash level of 23%, deferring new buying.

The market rally that materialized over Thanksgiving week is on temporary hold as investors wait to see if the Fed will, in fact, cut interest rates by another 25 basis points as anticipated this week. If it happens, there’s a good chance the risk-on mood will resume, and the major indexes could reach new all-time highs by Christmas. While I’m not big on predicting what’s going to happen with the Fed, the odds heavily (87%) favor investors getting their wish, so let’s play those odds today by adding a speculative mid-cap software stock recently recommended by Mike Cintolo in Cabot Top Ten Trader.

Details inside.

This was a tough week for all of us as growth stocks, particularly tech stocks, were impacted by concerns over higher interest rates and slower economic growth. Events in China with its economic slowdown and European conflict are not helping matters either. This week we head to Chile for a double commodity play on food and electric vehicles.