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Current Market Outlook


After a big run last year and a moonshot during January, the sellers have finally come out of the woodwork, pushing the major indexes (and many leading stocks) sharply lower during the past six trading sessions, including a mini-crash today (the Dow was down 1,500 points at one point!). Looking at the evidence, the bull market (longer-term trend) is still intact, but the intermediate-term trend has turned negative and many leading stocks have come unglued. In the near-term, we certainly wouldn’t be shocked to see a snap back, but following a major extreme in price and sentiment two weeks ago and this abnormal selling, stocks probably need some time to wear out the weak hands and digest their recent gains. We’re moving our Market Monitor down to neutral to respect the change in the evidence—we don’t advise selling wholesale here, but you should honor your stops and loss limits, and on the buy side, be very choosy and keep new positions small until the market finds support.

This week’s list is a potpourri of stocks and sectors, most of which have recently reacted well to earnings. Our Top Pick is Pure Storage (PSTG), a fast-growing outfit that emerged from a base on big volume last month.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Autohome (ATHM)	98.65	73-77	67-69
BofI Holding (BOFI)	42.93	33-35	30-31.5
Harris Corp. (HRS)	198.60	145-150	137-139
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX)	40.61	46-48.5	42.5-44
LPL Financial Holdings (LPLA)	85.22	59-62	56-57.5
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	340-360	310-320
Meritor (MTOR)	21.46	27-28.5	25-25.5
MyoKardia (MYOK)	108.56	47-51	42-44
Pure Storage (PSTG)	25.64	18.5-19.5	17-17.5
Shutterfly (SFLY)	94.71	68-72	59-63

Today’s featured stocks include two new additions to the portfolios and a stock that has ostensibly become a takeover target.

Current Market Outlook


The answer to the question above is simple: Go up! And that’s what all of the major indexes have been doing in recent days, knocking out all-time highs amid a vacuum of selling pressure. Short-term, there are some signs of complacency, and of course earnings season is coming up, which always adds volatility to the mix. Both of those factors probably mean you shouldn’t buy stocks with both fists. But the big picture is clear: It’s a bull market, and while the below-the-surface action continues to show some rotation, the odds favor higher prices ahead. You should be holding your top performers and looking to grab shares of new leaders as opportunities arise.

This week’s list has a nice mix of growth, “old world,” big and small, reflecting the broad strength in the market. Our Top Pick today is HubSpot (HUBS), which is a bit thin and jumpy, but has a great fundamental story and recently broke out on excellent volume.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
BeiGene (BGNE)	170.20	106-112	95-98
Five Below (FIVE)	134.58	54-57	50-52
HubSpot (HUBS)	582.89	82-85	75.5-77
LGI Homes (LGIH)	86.04	49-52	45.5-47.5
MyoKardia (MYOK)	108.56	39-42	34-36
RH Inc. (RH)	252.93	69-73	64-67
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	117-122	109-112
Tronox (TROX)	0.00	23.5-25.5	21.5-22.5
United Rentals, Inc. (URI)	0.00	136-140	126-128
Yelp (YELP)	41.30	44-46	40-41

Current Market Outlook


You can blame interest rates or the Chinese or the economic cycle or politicians or even the celestial bodies, but it when all is said and done, it doesn’t matter why stocks have been struggling; the fact is that they are. And if you simply recognize that fact and accept it, then you can turn to the next step, which is to protect the profits you’ve earned in the long bull market and be selective when it comes to venturing into new stocks. That’s what Cabot Top Ten Trader is all about. The Market Monitor falls one notch lower to 5, but the ten stocks in today’s issue are still—on their own—quite attractive, plus they come from a wide variety of industries.

Our Editor’s Choice is Clean Harbors (CLH), a stock that was last hot in 2011, after which it spent nearly seven years out of the limelight. But now it’s back and the chart risk looks low.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
American Outdoor Brands (AOBC)	13.69	14-15	13-13.5
Canopy Growth (CGC)	38.82	46-50	40.5-43
Clean Harbors (CLH)	66.42	68.5-71	63-64.5
Endo International plc (ENDP)	13.32	16-17	14-14.7
EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG)	101.98	127-131	120-122
Exact Sciences (EXAS)	116.91	67-70	62-64
Glaukos Corp. (GKOS)	67.84	58-61.5	53-55
Novocure (NVCR)	0.00	47.5-49.5	43-44
Roku, Inc. (ROKU)	150.46	63-66	58-60
Square, Inc. (SQ)	91.04	83-86	76-78

Current Market Outlook


The overall market continues to act just fine, the trends are pointed up for most indexes and stocks, and the broad market remains in great shape. That said, it’s not all peaches and cream—the last three days have seen some selling pressure in a few highflyers and money flows into defensive groups (like utilities and consumer staples). Moreover, this action comes after a few short-term signs of enthusiasm, including a huge number of new highs on Nasdaq last Wednesday. Don’t get us wrong: We’re still bullish, and you should hold your strong stocks and be heavily invested. But we’ll knock our Market Monitor back down a notch (to a level 8), and think being selective on the buy side and ditching losers and laggards makes sense.

This week’s list has a broader array of stocks than in recent weeks as money flows shift. Our Top Pick is Square (SQ), which looks like a new leading growth stock after galloping ahead on earnings last week. Keep positions small and try to get in on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI)	0.00	43.5-47	38-40
Autohome (ATHM)	98.65	32-34	30.5-29.5
HubSpot (HUBS)	582.89	57.5-60.5	55-53
Marriott Vacations (VAC)	0.00	93.5-97.5	87-89
Sage Therapeutics (SAGE)	0.00	62-66	56-59
Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI)	54.14	38-40	35-36
Southwest Airlines (LUV)	0.00	55-57	51-52.5
Square, Inc. (SQ)	91.04	17-18	15.2-15.6
Univar (UNVR)	0.00	30.5-32	28-29
Universal Display (OLED)	187.54	82-85	74-76

Current Market Outlook


The market hit a little turbulence early last week on renewed trade worries but bounced back nicely, with the major indexes finishing flat (S&P 500 and Nasdaq) to up (small- and mid-cap) on the week. Short-term, though, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some further ups and downs as the market and many stocks/sectors consolidate their two-month runs; we still favor buying pullbacks rather than breakouts at this time. The good news is that we continue to think current pullbacks and consolidations are leading to some good-looking entry points in a variety of leading stocks. All in all, we remain bullish, though it’s still best to be a bit choosier on the buy side at the moment, while giving some stocks that you own breathing room to consolidate if they’ve enjoyed a good run.

This week’s list has many leaders that are retreating toward support or are otherwise showing solid setups. Our Top Pick is Seattle Genetics (SGEN), which looks like a leader in the biotech field, and the stock is now pulling back for the first time after a big run.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Amedisys (AMED)	174.06	161-164	146-148
The Walt Disney Company (DIS)	144.76	144-147	136-138
DocuSign (DOCU)	107.98	72-75	64-66
GSX Techedu (GSX)	97.59	18-19	15.5-16
Incyte Corporation (INCY)	76.98	92-95	84-86
Qorvo (QRVO)	129.47	105-109	94-96
Seattle Genetics (SGEN)	150.85	112-115	103-105
Splunk (SPLK)	207.67	145-150	132-135
TransDigm (TDG)	599.41	550-565	515-525
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)	818.87	333-353	303-308

Current Market Outlook


There’s nothing bad to say about the market’s quick rebound two weeks ago and its ability to hold those gains—at the very least, such action from the big-cap indexes and many leading stocks is a good longer-term sign. But it’s also important to look at all of the evidence, and on that front, things are mixed—broader indexes are still hanging around their 50-day lines (acceptable, but not overly powerful) and the number of names hitting new highs has dried up. That doesn’t necessarily portend doom, but it does describe an environment that’s a bit more hit-and-miss, especially with a ton of earnings reports set to be released. Overall, you should remain bullish, but be a bit discerning on the buy side, looking for names that have shown excellent recent strength and volume.

This week’s list has many stocks that meet that criteria, including a few that have popped after earnings. Our Top Pick is Lumentum (LITE), which recently came out of a very long launching pad and, after a four-week rest, has taken off after earnings.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
AAXN (AAXN)	87.11	83-86	74-76
Bilibili (BILI)	28.71	23.5-25.5	20-21
Bill.com Holdings (BILL)	88.76	54-57	47-49
DocuSign (DOCU)	107.98	82-84	73.5-75
GDS Holdings Limited (GDS)	80.15	57.5-59	52-53
Insmed Inc. (INSM)	30.64	30.5-32.5	27-28
Lumentum (LITE)	87.00	86-89.5	76-78
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN)	25.35	21-22	18.5-19.5
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL)	221.91	212-216	195-197
Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG)	155.72	119-122	110-112

Current Market Outlook


The market rebounded nicely today, and we won’t pooh-pooh that, as a show of support is always a positive. That said, we need to see more to conclude the sellers have left the building—the intermediate-term trend, for instance, remains on the fence, and while there are no sure things, it’s likely the market will need more than six days to consolidate a four-month advance. Bigger picture, nothing has changed our view that this is a bull market, though, so we’re certainly not advising you to become overly defensive, but we’d stick with the plan of holding some cash, keeping your weakest stock or two on a tight leash and being careful on the buy side, especially when it comes to buying on strength (most moves to new highs are being met with selling). Our Market Monitor will remain at 6 for now, though we’re obviously watching things closely.

Believe it or not, many stocks did well last week, and today’s list features some of them. Our Top Pick is Yeti (YETI), which is set up nicely ahead of earnings in two weeks; you could nibble here, or just wait until you see a powerful breakout.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Atlassian (TEAM)	182.16	143-147	133-135
Dynatrace (DT)	36.59	28-30	25-26
Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS)	81.02	67.5-69.5	63-64
Franco-Nevada (FNV)	125.51	108-111	100-101.5
Momenta Pharma (MNTA)	31.63	27.5-30	23.5-25
Penn National Gaming (PENN)	45.38	28-30	25-26
PulteGroup (PHM)	45.93	43.5-45	40-41
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	328-336	303-306
Tandem Diabetes (TNDM)	74.77	73-76	65-67
Yeti Holdings (YETI)	42.80	35.5-37.5	32.5-33.5

Thank you for subscribing to the Cabot Turnaround Letter. We hope you enjoy reading the February 2024 issue.

This issue focuses exclusively on spin-offs and discusses seven attractive and relatively recently spun-off companies.

This month’s Buy recommendation, Baxter International (BAX), a major producer of medical equipment and hospital supplies, is involved in a spin-off. In this case, it is the parent company of an upcoming spin-off. The transaction, along with fundamental improvements and a long-time low share valuation, makes Baxter shares attractive.

For most people, investing during a bear market is a frustrating experience. Share prices keep going down, profitable positions erode in value, new purchases become money-losers. Short upward bursts in market sentiment bring hope for a new bull market, but these fade quickly. The temptation is to sell everything and wait for better times.

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.

The markets traded sideways through most of April. But since then, the choppiness has returned—along with worries about the uncertainty regarding the debt ceiling, the expiration of the immigration-limiting legislation, and ongoing debate about the possibility of a recession.

Yet, economically speaking, the trends are still healthy. Manufacturing has held up, employment continues to rise, and job openings are still underutilized (as you can tell if you’ve been in a restaurant lately!).

Thank you for subscribing to the Cabot Value Investor. The new name for the former Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor more clearly and broadly describes our mission to serve value-oriented investors. We hope you enjoy reading the May 2023 issue.

Fitting for a value investment newsletter, your chief analyst will be making the pilgrimage to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting this coming weekend.

In this month’s letter, we include our recent new Buy recommendation: NOV, Inc. (NOV). This high quality mid-cap company ($7.3 billion market cap) appears to be in front of an upshift in demand for sophisticated drilling equipment even as its shares trade at a modest valuation.

We also cover earnings reports and provide other relevant updates on our recommended companies.

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

It’s another dreaded inflation week, yet there’s not much dread in the market right now, considering the S&P 500 is up 3.75% in May and the Dow is off to its best winning streak in May ever (!). Still, a “hot” CPI or PPI number this week could prompt another pullback like we saw in April, so this week we’re playing it safe by adding a reliable, large-cap, dividend-paying healthcare stock. It’s been a longtime favorite of Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson.

Details inside.

Heading into the last month of the year, the prospects for the market remain very good, with a plethora of technical indicators telling us the market will be higher in the years ahead, and thus I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested.

Forget tariffs, forget trade negotiations, forget politics, and forget all the “problems” of the outside world. Just hold a portfolio of carefully selected high-potential stocks, and all will be well.

Today’s recommendation is a fast-growing company that’s a major participant in the 5G communications revolution.

Details in the issue.

The market’s intermediate-term trend briefly turned positive last week, but the quick rejection of the indexes on Thursday and today’s battering clearly tell you that sellers are still lurking. That said, we would avoid any big-picture predictions—the weakness of last Thursday and today might mean the downtrend is resuming ... but the market could also be in a bottoming process, which often has many ups and downs as investors place (or take off) their bets. Either way, for an investor in leading stocks, there’s not much to do here; while some stocks have perked up, few have made any real progress, and to this point, most names that poke into new-high ground are quickly swarmed with sellers. Thus, our Market Monitor will remain neutral; some new buying here or there remains fine, but keep cash on the sideline and don’t get aggressive until the market kicks into gear.

This week’s list is a potpourri of differing sectors and stories, though there is a retail bent to the list. Our favorite of the week is Coinstar (CSTR), a company with a solid history of growth that might now have (another) new concept to keep the bottom line humming. The stock has built a solid base during the market’s correction.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
CSTR (CSTR)	0.00	64-66	-
eBay Inc. (EBAY)	0.00	41-43	-
HTWR (HTWR)	0.00	83-85	-
MDC (MDC)	0.00	28-29.5	-
Medivation (MDVN)	0.00	82-85	-
NetSuite, Inc. (N)	0.00	49-51	-
PetSmart (PETM)	0.00	64.5-66.5	-
SolarWinds (SWI)	0.00	42-44	-
VSI (VSI)	0.00	52-54	-
Zumiez (ZUMZ)	0.00	37-38.5	-

Current Market Outlook


The market had been under some pressure since early October, but last week was a different animal, with the sellers coming out of the woodwork and cracking numerous leading stocks and major indexes. Longer-term, this is still a bull market, with the past two months being a (very) tedious up-and-down consolidation period following the huge March-August advance; we still think the next major move is up. Near-term, though, stocks are back in the soup, and while the headlines will be coming fast and furiously this week (earnings and the election), the onus is on the buyers to step up. Until that happens, we advise a cautious stance—holding a good chunk of cash makes sense, while keeping new positions on the small side and honoring your stops and loss limits. We’re pulling down our Market Monitor another notch to a level 5.

Meanwhile, it’s easiest to spot strength in a down market, so the next couple of weeks should be telling. This week’s list has a broad array of stocks and sectors on it, and our Top Pick is Pinduoduo (PDD), one of many resilient Chinese names that’s actually picking up steam while the market sags.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Bunge Ltd (BG)	57.98	56-58.5	49.5-51
Cloudflare (NET)	51.96	49-52	42.5-44.5
Five9 (FIVN)	144.12	136-140	124-127
Martin Marietta Materials (MLM)	270.94	263-273	238-243
Mattel, Inc. (MAT)	13.95	13-13.5	11.5-11.8
Novocure (NVCR)	112.15	110-115	99-102
Pinduoduo (PDD)	91.62	86-90	77-79
Pinterest (PINS)	58.56	53-56	45-47.5
Quanta Services (PWR)	66.45	62-65	55.5-57
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (RARE)	95.53	90-94	83-85

Technology stocks took a hit on Monday when the Nasdaq posted a concerning reversal. However, the current evidence doesn’t yet suggest that we should be moving materially more conservative. That said, we’re not going to chase every hot stock right now. This month’s Issue of Cabot Early Opportunities seeks to offer a balance of rapid and modest growth from fresh faces, including some that have yet to break out and run wild (as many tech stocks have).

For the third time in less than a year, a portfolio stock has received a lucrative buyout offer. The board of directors of chemical company Chemtura (CHMT) unanimously agreed to accept a buyout offer from Lanxess AG in a deal valued at $2.5 billion.

With this month’s new addition, I decided to go in a different direction then we have with previous recommendations. Instead of featuring another rapid-growth medical device or software stock, I’ve selected a consumer defensive stock in a very specialized industry and with a more modest growth profile. It’s the perfect summertime stock for a period in which many growth stocks are acting a little schizophrenic—especially for those investors who like getting out of the house for a bite to eat and a good beer or glass of wine.