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After a multi-week bottoming process, the buyers showed up last week in a big way, producing a rare show of strength that, historically, has always preceded great gains when looking out six to 12 months. That said, the next few weeks are more of a toss-up, as the intermediate-term trends of most indexes and stocks are still iffy and news-driven action (like today’s commodity move) is still the norm. We’re bumping up our Market Monitor a notch and think it’s OK to extend your line a bit, but we still think it’s best to start small, aim for pullbacks and to go slow.

The GLP-1 craze has faded, and with it, so have the share prices of Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO). With both oversold, which is the better buy? Let’s break down LLY vs. NVO.

The bull market rolls on, with Jerome Powell and company only adding fuel to the buyers’ fire by affirming their intention to cut interest rates three more times this year. While the artificial intelligence hype cycle has slowed a bit, other sectors are starting to get noticed. One of them is MedTech. So today, we add a once-great MedTech stock that got slashed in half during the bear market of 2022 but has since climbed all the way back to new highs, thanks in part to a new product just approved by the FDA. It was enough to convince Tyler Laundon to add the stock to his Cabot Early Opportunities portfolio, and today we do the same.

I’m changing the stock rating on BorgWarner (BWA) to Hold, E*Trade Financial (ETFC) to Buy, H&R Block (HRB) to Hold and Vulcan Materials (VMC) to Hold. Quarterly earnings were reported last week by Big Lots and H&R Block. There’s dividend news on Big Lots (BIG), and there’s stock repurchase news on Big Lots (BIG), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and H&R Block (HRB).

We are so accustomed to looking at stocks and markets day by day that we sometimes miss the big trends as well as opportunities.

A number of our stocks were on the verge of all-time highs last week. They pulled back this week so we’ll have to be a little more patient. There are no ratings changes this week.

Current Market Outlook


Given the strong October run-up, we weren’t surprised to see the market retreat last week. However, the severity of the dip in both indexes and individual stocks was a yellow flag—many indexes dipped below their 50-day lines, lots of lagging stocks were crushed and even the leaders came under pressure on Friday and today. The action isn’t necessarily a death knell for the rally, but it does put it back on the fence; we’re switching our Market Monitor back into the neutral zone. It’s vital to get rid of losers, honor your stops and remember to book some partial profits in your winners. And as for new buying, it’s prudent to keep new positions small until we see the rally perk up again.

This week’s list has a broad mix of stocks and sectors—no unifying theme but a bunch of good charts and stories. Our Top Pick is Fleetmatics (FLTX), a unique software company with steady growth and a huge opportunity. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Tyler Technologies (TYL)	0.00	164-170	148-150
Charles Schwab (SCHW)	0.00	31.5-33	29-29.5
NetEase, Inc. (NTES)	0.00	141-147	128-130
Kite Pharma (KITE)	0.00	75-78	66-68
Global Payments Inc. (GPN)	0.00	67-69	61-62
Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL)	0.00	730-750	680-690
Fleetmatics Group PLC (FLTX)	0.00	55.5-58.5	51.5-52
New Oriental Education (EDU)	113.97	26-27.5	23-23.5
A.O. SMITH (AOS)	0.00	74-76	70-70.5
Alkermes (ALKS)	0.00	69.5-72	64-65

Novonix (NVNXF) shares broke above 5 this week and have more than doubled since early August even as the market is under pressure due to the slowing of federal stimulus, China’s property debt issues, and some increase in interest rates and inflation.

It’s election week, and it will be the elephant in the room for investors until a winner is declared. Will that be before the market opens on Wednesday, as in 2016? Will it take until this weekend, like it did in 2020? Or could this toss-up election drag out even longer, a la Bush/Gore in 2000? Either of the two former scenarios probably wouldn’t impact the market much. The latter would, at least for a time. So let’s all hope for a quick result. Sprinkle in the latest round of Fed cuts later in the week, plus more than a handful of earnings reports for Stock of the Week stocks, and it’s an incredibly pivotal week for the market.

With so much up in the air, today we add a relatively “safe” large-cap stock with a decent yield, low beta and impressive earnings growth. It’s been a staple of Tom Hutchinson’s Cabot Dividend Investor portfolio for quite some time.

Details inside.

After an unusually eventful start to the month, stocks have settled into their normal pre-Labor Day malaise. It won’t last long. Early September typically brings a round of selling as Wall Street returns from vacation and starts culling laggards from their portfolios. But with a Fed rate cut now definitely coming just a couple weeks later, could this be a more constructive September than normal? We’ll see. In the meantime, let’s try and sidestep the coming volatility by adding an undervalued mega-cap tech stock that’s well outside U.S. borders. It’s a former market darling that’s become unloved in recent years. But new Cabot Turnaround Letter Chief Analyst Clif Droke spots a bargain, and so today we add it on the cheap to our Cabot Stock of the Week portfolio as well.

Details inside.

The Trump Administration is off and running along with Cabot Explorer stocks as markets closely watch the potential for tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico.

Mexico and Canada are America’s two largest trade partners, and both countries are bracing for major economic disruption should Trump follow through. Mexico and Canada send about 80% of their exports to the U.S. Market turbulence in stocks based in Mexico or Canada could create an opportunity for us.

Current Market Outlook


A week ago at this time, all the major indexes had just broken below their 50-day moving averages, key sectors were lagging and hardly any stocks were heading consistently higher. But since then, the market has acted very well, capped by today’s French election-induced move higher; it’s looking more and more like the prior dip could have been the final, news-driven shakeout (North Korea fears) to the market’s seven-week consolidation. That said, we don’t want to get carried away—while the Nasdaq hit new highs today, other indexes haven’t yet, and we’re still smack dab in the middle earnings season, which will have a lot to say about the market’s near-term fate. All told, we’re bumping our Market Monitor back up to a level 7 and will look to raise it further if the market holds (or builds) on its gains in the days ahead.

This week’s list is heavy on growth ideas, which is good to see given the market’s recent struggles. For our Top Pick, we’ll go with a strengthening liquid leader—Alibaba (BABA) looks ready to challenge all-time highs, though with earnings likely out in a couple of weeks, keep new positions small.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI)	0.00	49-51	45-46
Alibaba (BABA)	254.81	106-112	90-100
Autodesk (ADSK)	229.00	87.5-90	82-84
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)	773.32	455-475	420-430
Cotiviti (COTV)	0.00	40-42	36.5-38
Dycom Industries (DY)	0.00	102-106	94-96
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC)	0.00	74-78	69-71
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG)	0.00	780-815	735-745
Momo Inc. (MOMO)	44.65	36-38	32-33
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI)	103.94	35-37	31.5-32.5

“In the full two years since [its 2008 creation by] merger, this company produced $4.2 billion in gross profit. That’s revenues minus the cost of sales—before all operating costs and capital investments. In those same two years, this company distributed $2.1 billion to shareholders in the form of cash dividends...

The deep breath before a toss-up presidential election has arrived on Wall Street, with stocks barely budging in the last two to three weeks. Investors are likely prepared for either outcome but are waiting until a winner is declared before resuming this two-year bull market rally. While we wait, it’s a good time to pare down our portfolio a bit, which we do today by saying goodbye to three recent laggards. We also add a high-growth tech stock with plenty of momentum that Mike Cintolo recommended to his Cabot Top Ten Trader audience a week ago.

Details inside.

I am in Singapore this week as U.S. markets and Explorer recommendations struggle a bit.

I had a chance to visit three Luckin Coffee shops in Singapore. Hard to draw conclusions from this small sample but all three seemed very professional and fully automated with no cash accepted resulting in no lines at all. Spoke with maybe a dozen customers who like the ease of use, variety of flavors, and the price. Several said they also go to Starbucks. One only needs to download the Luckin app to get service which locks in customers to receiving a stream of deals and incentives.

Centrus Energy (LEU) shares rocketed 40% this past week and have surged 78% so far in 2025 while newcomer American Superconductor’s (AMSC) shares jumped 18% this week.

You may also have noticed that our BYD (BYDDY) recommendation is already up 24% in 2025 and has increased about 80% over the last year. This highlights an important trend in China that is unlikely to reverse.

In China, a consumer preference for multinational brands from everyday items like coffee to luxury markets was clear for decades, boosting the sales and value of companies like LVMH (LVMUY) and Starbucks (SBUX). Since the pandemic, however, preferences have shifted. Which brings us to today’s new recommendation.

Last week saw the softness in leading growth titles spread to most of the market, with most indexes now in intermediate-term downtrends and there’s no question market leadership has taken a hit. That said, the rest of the market isn’t in nearly as bad shape, and what we’re watching closest is how the current bounce phase progresses: Obviously, a strong, big-volume, multi-day bounce in the market and fresher leading names would be encouraging, but right now, we think it’s best to play defense (our Market Monitor now stands at a level 4) but to also remain flexible.

This week’s list has a lot of names that have gone through corrections in recent weeks and months—likely kicking out most weak hands and, in many cases, resetting their uptrends. Our Top Pick is trying to break free from a nine-month rest; given the market, we’d keep it small if you enter and see how the market and breakout attempt go from here.