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A look at the third quarter, July though September, when the market plunged.

In the 10 days since Tesla Motors (TSLA) unveiled the prototype of its Model 3 sedan, more than 325,000 people around the globe have put down $1,000 deposits for the car. That’s more than $325 million in Tesla’s coffers, which the company gets to keep for more than a year; deliveries of the $35,000 four-door sedan won’t begin until late next year.

As everyone knows, the price of oil has plunged dramatically in recent months. There is a major upside and a downside to that.

Recently Warren Buffett predicted that the Dow 1 million would happen in 100 years. That sounds like a big jump from today’s level.

Among a number of positives for the best gold stocks is this unexpected correlation that could drive prices higher the rest of the year.

What seemed like a sci-fi dream 50 years ago is getting closer to reality, but is now the time to invest in flying car stocks?

The AI theme came under heavy pressure Monday of last week, which weighed on the markets. However, by week’s end the bulls had bought the dip and impressively the S&P 500 had fallen only marginally, the Dow had eked out a small gain, while the Nasdaq “only” lost 1.5%.

The AI theme came under heavy pressure Monday of last week, which weighed on the markets. However, by week’s end the bulls had bought the dip and impressively the S&P 500 had fallen only marginally, the Dow had eked out a small gain, while the Nasdaq “only” lost 1.5%.

Finding stocks that are hitting new all-time highs is an easy way to spot potential leaders of the next leg of the bull market, and these three large-cap stocks are doing just that.

90% of our focus remains on the intermediate- to longer-term picture of the market and individual stocks. And on that front, nothing has really changed—the trends remain clearly down, and thus, our Market Monitor remains in bearish territory and we continue to advise a defensive stance.

Current Market Outlook


Last week was definitely a good one for the bulls, with the indexes acting well but also many individual growth stocks scoring some great gains (and most of those came after tests of support earlier this month). Interestingly, the strength didn’t come at the expense of the rest of the market, either, which is a pleasant change from the rotational wars of late. If this strength can be sustained, it’ll be time to get more aggressive, but to us, the market still has some proving to do, especially with the chop factor, which continues to lead to some dramatic pullbacks in stocks that have recently pushed higher. All in all, we’re encouraged by what we see, including an increasing number of setups and breakouts—we’re OK putting money to work, but buying dips and starting small continue to mostly be your best bet, along with banging out partial profits on the way up.

This week’s list has a bunch of solid actors, including some that are putting the finishing touches on multi-month launching pads. But for our Top Pick, we’re going with an earnings winner—Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is part of the strong cybersecurity group and just leapt out of its own long rest. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Alkermes (ALKS)	31	29-30.5	25.5-26.5
Continental Resources (CLR)	38	37-38.5	32.5-33.5
Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP)	109	106-110	96-98
Inspire Medical Systems (INSP)	222	217-225	194-198
Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC)	70	65-68	57-59
MRVI (MRVI)	60	55-58	47-49
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	1879	1800-1900	1620-1670
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)	227	219-227	197-201
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)	459	440-455	395-405
Sonos (SONO)	39	38-40	34-35

Boost Your Profits in All Markets With Great Growth Stocks and Covered Calls. Jacob Mintz, Chief Analyst of Cabot Options Trader, Cabot Options Trader Pro, and the soon-to-be launched Cabot Profit Booster, and Chris Preston, Chief Analyst of Cabot Wealth Daily.

We’re still playing the seesaw game in the markets—up, down, up, down, etc. I don’t see any need for excess worry; just a little caution that we buy the right stocks. I’m still very long-term bullish, and why not?

The economy continues to strengthen; 79% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index reported positive earnings surprises for the second quarter, and the third quarter looks even better; home building continues to be strong, although low inventory levels continue to pressure resales. Home prices appear to be stabilizing, and employment remains strong.

The soothsayers seem to think that the Fed will keep rates steady at its next meeting, and the probability of a recession has fallen to 16%. What’s not to like?

The market isn’t in awful shape, but it’s not in as good shape as the major indexes would have you believe—the advance has been narrowing for a while now, and last week, as the Dow and S&P leapt to new highs, many stocks and sectors lagged behind. It’s not the end of the world and there’s nothing that says the market can’t chop around for a bit, get its act together and march higher; we’re certainly not advising you to sell everything. But given the evidence, and the fact that earnings season picks up this week, we think it’s best to keep our Market Monitor in neutral territory and see what comes.

Backing up that thought is this week’s list—there are a few very enticing ideas, but it’s not exactly chock-full of young whipper-snappers. Our favorite of the week is GameStop (GME), a stock that’s strong because of industry-specific factors that should boost earnings later this year.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Yahoo (YHOO)	0.00	23-24	21.5-22
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)	818.87	40-42	35-36
Toyota Motor (TM)	0.00	105-110	98-100
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN)	512.96	195-205	180-185
Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI)	0.00	30.5-31.5	28.5-29
International Paper Company (IP)	0.00	45-46	42-43
GameStop (GME)	0.00	29.5-31	27-28
Avis Budget Group (CAR)	0.00	26-28	24-25
BlackRock (BLK)	0.00	250-260	240-245
BE Aerospace (BEAV)	0.00	58-60	55-56

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

With the market down big today, it’s possible that the growth stock correction has done enough damage—but until we see real strength, it’s better to adjust to the trend—and that means going with a value stock today—an old technology name that you’ll recognize. As for our current holdings, there is only one change, a downgrade of one stock, Broadcom (AVGO), to hold.

Today I’m leaning back toward the low-risk end of the spectrum with a recommendation of a stock that is a potential takeover candidate; I think you’ll like the story.

Happy New Year to everyone and wishing you all the best investing in 2025.

Let’s keep in mind this year the merit in legendary global investor Sir John Templeton’s sage advice:

“Diversify. In stocks and bonds, as in much else, there is safety in numbers.”

With this in mind, I see four big trends out there that offer us the opportunity to take a contrarian approach to make some money and lower risk.

In theory, and often as we prefer, in practice, corporate profits drive stock prices.

J.P. Morgan’s (JPM) booming profits are a testament to this, but what’s behind the profits?

It seems that recently, and perhaps even more in 2025, macro issues will drive the direction of markets and sector trends.

Identifying trends and allocating money to the right sectors and picking the leaders in these sectors is increasingly important. Those that follow the Fed and try to predict the direction of interest rates are one example of this macro-oriented strategy.