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There were a few positives last week, including some intriguing early-week strength, with some very powerful breadth, and, even with the slide of the past couple of sessions, far fewer stocks were hitting new lows compared to a couple of weeks ago. Given how everyone is leaning bearish, there’s plenty of upside potential if the market can catch a spark, but the jobs report-induced selling reinforces the pattern of selling on each and every rally. Long story short: While our eyes are open, nothing has changed with the major evidence. We’ll stick with a level 3 on our Market Monitor.


This week’s list is heavier on energy and medical areas, though our Top Pick is a name that should benefit from higher rates. As usual, though, we think aiming for dips is the right move.

The major indexes quickly retreated after the prior couple of good weeks, with growth-oriented areas falling the most, a lot of stocks being rejected near resistance and some old winners being taken out and shot. Despite that, there are some green shoots out there—by the letter of the law, some broad indexes (like small- and mid-caps) are in intermediate-term uptrends, and we’re also seeing some sectors assert themselves, especially in the commodity space. We’re not bullish, and will leave our Market Monitor at a level 4, though our overall advice remains basically unchanged: Hold plenty of cash, honor your stops and, if you do some buying, keep it small.


This week’s list is again heavy on commodity-type names, though we’re also seeing a few recent earnings winners that have some growth to them. Our Top Pick straddles the line between growth and commodity and is one of the few names to move out to recently all-time highs.

It has been a busy week in emerging and global markets.

The MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) remains in a negative position, just below 20-day and 50-day moving averages. Our portfolio has a 35% cash position and maintains 10% allocation to an ETF that moves opposite the EEM.

Last week was a good one for the bulls, not because the indexes finished in the green but because after three poor weeks, the broad market finally found some support, with breadth improving and the number of stocks hitting new lows drying up. We wouldn’t say the broad market is completely out of the woods; another few days of positive action would be necessary to conclude that. But, overall, we’re optimistic—the intermediate- and longer-term trends are pointed up, most stocks outside of commodity sectors remain in good shape, and we’re even seeing some rotation into more growth-oriented groups, which is usually a good sign. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 7 right now as we wait to see further confirmation from the broad market.

This week’s list is chock full of strong stocks with solid growth stories from a variety of industries. We’ll keep it simple with our Top Pick this week, going with Adobe Systems (ADBE), a liquid growth leader that just reported a strong quarter.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Adient (ADNT)	0.00	70-73	64-65
Adobe Inc. (ADBE)	315.23	123-127	116-119
Axalta Coating (AXTA)	0.00	31-32.5	28-29
Broadcom Limited (AVGO)	266.26	215-223	200-205
Children’s Place (PLCE)	0.00	114-117	105-107
Glaukos Corp. (GKOS)	67.84	46-48.5	41.5-43
KB Home (KBH)	36.05	18.5-19.5	17-17.5
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)	43.31	25-26	23-23.5
Olin Corp. (OLN)	0.00	31-33	29-30
Veeva Systems (VEEV)	180.23	47-50	44-46

Insider buying is all well and good, but it shouldn’t be treated like a primary buy signal because big funds, not CEOs, move markets.

I expect the S&P 500 index to trade between the recent high and low for a while, several weeks or months, before attempting new highs again. Start investing your cash. Lots of the portfolio stocks are down, and I encourage you to buy any of the buy-rated stocks this week. We’re moving one stock from Hold to Strong Buy.

Our comments on recommended companies that reported earnings, news on several companies and some brief thoughts about the effects of the war in Ukraine on investments.

Not much has changed with the market’s big picture—some energy stocks are still doing well and the broad market is holding up near its highs, but many growth stocks and sectors are still in base-building phases. The goal as investors isn’t to discern what comes next (a leg up or leg down), but to be ready to act in either scenario. That means having your watch list ready (there are a good number of growth stocks beginning to set up), but also remaining defensive until you see evidence that the trend has turned up.

This week’s list is chock-full of energy stocks, which remains the clear leading group in the market. Our favorite of the week is Weatherford (WFT), a turnaround in the oil services space that recently staged a monstrous breakout on bullish earnings.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Weatherford International plc (WFT)	0.00	19.5-21	17-18.5
US Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA)	0.00	43.5-45.5	39-40
RPC Inc. (RES)	0.00	21-22.5	19.5-20
Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)	0.00	32-33	30-30.5
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)	43.31	25-26	23.5-24
Level 3 Communications (LVLT)	0.00	42-43	38-39
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. (ITUB)	0.00	15-16.5	14.5-15
Garmin (GRMN)	97.45	55-57	52-53
Greenbrier (GBX)	57.73	48-50	45-46
Consol Energy Inc. (CNX)	0.00	42.5-44	40.5-41

The market remains in full bull mode, despite the “shocking” (to some) news that the U.S. economy contracted by 2.9% in the first quarter. We’re not easily shocked, and we know that the message of the market is what matters, so we continue to recommend that you invest heavily in leading stocks, particularly those that present attractive entry points. Happily, there are plenty to choose from these days, and this week’s issue offers a fine variety, from energy to medical to retail to restaurants to automobiles.

Our favorite stock in today’s crop is Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), a gold miner that has solid growth prospects and a great technical set-up. While the big jump in gold stocks two weeks ago got a lot of attention, Agnico’s capable management has made a lot of moves that augur well for the long term.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)	818.87	232-245	215-216
Sanchez Energy (SN)	0.00	35-37.5	32-32.5
Schlumberger (SLB)	0.00	109-113	102-103
SolarCity (SCTY)	0.00	68-70	59-60
KapStone Paper (KS)	0.00	32-33	29-30
JD.com (JD)	39.58	27-28	24-25
InterMune (ITMN)	0.00	42-45	37-38
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)	0.00	160-165	147-148
Allegheny Technologies (ATI)	27.78	42.5-44.5	39-40
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)	79.05	35-37	33-34

Current Market Outlook


The market bounced back nicely last week, though the major indexes are still in no-man’s land, sitting in the middle of their two-month ranges, and with many stocks still hovering just south of new highs as earnings season gets underway. We have seen a couple of rays of light (growth stocks are showing a hint of outperformance this month, which is a good thing), but overall, the environment remains on the edge—decisive upmoves by the indexes and breakouts from leading stocks would be bullish, while a move below support and a bunch of downside earnings gaps would be bearish. For now, we’re keeping our Market Monitor neutral, but we’ll let you know if we see a sustained trend getting underway.

This week’s list contains a couple of recent earnings winners, as well as a couple of others that shot to new highs on big volume last week. Because of the market environment, our Top Pick will be a slower, but surer, play—Starbucks (SBUX) isn’t going to double, but it’s just the type of mega-cap name that institutions can pile into following a great quarterly report.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Zebra Technologies (ZBRA)	154.94	81-84	75-76
WisdomTree (WETF)	0.00	17-18	15.5-16.5
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	132-137	122-124
United Continental Holdings (UAL)	96.76	68-71.5	61-62
Starbucks (SBUX)	64.49	85-88	77-78
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	72-74	65-67
Janus Capital (JNS)	0.00	17-18	14.5-15
Dexcom (DXCM)	421.36	58-61	54-55
Dollar Tree (DLTR)	0.00	68.5-70.5	64-65
Agrium (AGU)	0.00	101-105	94-95

Current Market Outlook


The ping pong environment we referenced on this page last Monday continued last week, with growth stocks bouncing back from a ragged prior week, while some of the recently-strong cyclical groups took a breather. We expect more under-the-surface volatility going forward, mostly due to earnings season, which is now moving ahead at a breakneck pace; so far, there have been a few potholes, but many stocks have reacted well to their reports. All in all, we remain mostly bullish, but two pieces of advice: First, don’t forget to book some partial profits when you have them, and second, be sure to keep your feet on the ground and look for advantageous entry points. We’ll keep our Market Monitor where it is as we see how leaders react to earnings.

This week’s list is heavier on emerging market and retail stocks than usual, which could be a clue to future leadership. Our Top Pick is ServiceNow (NOW), a blue chip-ish cloud software firm that decisively broke out of a tight launching pad on earnings next week. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
GDS Holdings Limited (GDS)	80.15	37-39	34-35
Huazhu Group (HTHT)	30.89	41.5-43.5	37.5-39
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI)	103.94	93.5-97	85.5-87.5
Pilgrims Pride (PPC)	25.52	25-26.5	22-23
Sea Limited (SE)	132.86	24.5-26	21.5-22.5
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	263-273	237-244
Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI)	54.14	42-44	39-40.5
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	345-355	320-325
VeriSign (VRSN)	190.71	191-196	178-181
Workday (WDAY)	194.88	200-206	185-188

Current Market Outlook


The past week saw yet another round of rotation, but this one was the sharpest and most violent we’ve seen all year, with many leading growth stocks getting crunched while other areas of the market (especially those benefiting from likely lower corporate taxes) surged. Our advice, as usual, is to follow the plan—some growth stocks look very toppy after long, uninterrupted runs, and for those, selling (or partial selling) makes sense. But other growth stocks are pulling back normally, and some new leadership is emerging. It makes sense to pull in your horns a bit, possibly holding some cash until the market settles down; we’ve nudged our Market Monitor down to reflect that. Right now, we advise taking things on a stock-by-stock basis, holding your resilient/advancing issues, while honoring your stops and selling names that break down.

This week’s list is heavier on cyclical, building and retail stocks, all of which have caught huge updrafts during the past few days. Our Top Pick is Warrior Met Coal (HCC), a big turnaround play in the coal sector. Buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Beacon Roofing (BECN)	0.00	60-63	55-56.6
CH Robinson (CHRW)	0.00	84-87	78-79.5
E*Trade Financial (ETFC)	0.00	48-50	44.5-46
Gardner Denver (GDI)	0.00	30-32	27.5-28.5
GrubHub (GRUB)	140.03	64-67	57.5-59.5
Michael Kors Holdings Limited (KORS)	73.22	55.5-57.5	51-52.5
Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU)	43.32	32.5-33.5	29.5-30.5
Tyson Foods (TSN)	0.00	80-83	74-76
USG Corp. (USG)	0.00	36.5-38	34-35
Warrior Met Coal (HCC)	0.00	21-22.5	17.5-18.5

With many utility stocks trading near multi-year lows, now’s a perfect time to buy these 2 beaten-down stocks before the market’s winds shift and defense is back in vogue.

The market is healthy again, or at least WAY healthier than it was a month ago, as tariff worries have faded, for now, and encouraging inflation and jobs data have helped restore investors’ faith in the U.S. market. Stock of the Week stocks have performed even better, as is often the case, led by the likes of Sea Limited (SE), Banco Santander (SAN), BYD (BYDDY) and old reliable, Tesla (TSLA). Today we add to our haul by striking while the iron is hot on growth stocks by recommending Mike Cintolo’s latest addition to his Cabot Growth Investor portfolio.

Details inside.

The market has become a bit stagnant and boring. After the last few months we’ve had, boring is good. So today, we lean into the boring theme by adding a “boring” stock to the portfolio. It’s a mid-cap insurance company that Tyler Laundon recommended to his Cabot Early Opportunities audience last month. It may be boring, but like the market, it has plenty of upside in the near term.

Details inside.

Stocks continue to prove resilient in the face of myriad economic and geopolitical fears. And the U.S. consumer – despite declining sentiment and confidence – is doing enough to make those fears seem overblown, pushing large-cap companies toward their fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth. So today, we add a stock that’s well-known to the U.S. consumer – and one that’s making a strong comeback after being overly punished by investors. It’s a recent addition by Clif Droke to his Cabot Turnaround Letter portfolio.

Details inside.

Here are a few options that you have to get a safe return on investment that will allow you to retire without worrying about burning up your capital.

Cyclical stocks are soaring and technology is floundering in the transformed market.

The bull market is turned upside down. For most of the first three years, technology, and particularly AI stocks, soared while most other stocks did very little. Now, previously meandering stocks are killing it while technology sinks.

We’re putting our mining helmets back on today and taking a position in a speculative micro-cap gold and copper exploration company that’s just about to get the drills turning.

This type of stock is intended to scratch the speculator’s itch. It’s not suitable for investing money that you need. That said, if things go well – and I think there’s a good chance they will – the returns could be spectacular.

But please, go in with eyes wide open. This is supposed to be fun.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain bullish. The market has reacted well to the election and took today’s Fed decision in stride; both of our trend-following indicators are bullish and leading growth stocks remain in good shape. Today, we took partial profits in AppLovin (APP) via a special bulletin after it went vertical on earnings. But tonight, we’re putting that and a bit more money back to work via two new positions—starting half-sized stakes in Samsara (IOT) and the ProShares Ultra Russell 2000 Fund (UWM), leaving us with a cash position around 18%.