
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 |