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The market’s main trends remain up, and thus I remain bullish, while continuing to remind you that a balanced portfolio with attention to risk management is always smart.

The market’s main trend remains up, with many major indexes hitting new highs in recent days—and many of our stocks doing the same. Those are the stocks you should hang onto tightly—because there’s no telling how far they’ll run.

The market remains healthy, with all major indexes in uptrends and no major signs of divergence, and thus I continue to recommend heavy investment in stocks that meet your portfolio’s goals.

This week’s recommendation is an American apparel company whose stock is cheap and thus has great capital gains potential. Plus it pays a 5.8% dividend!

As for the current portfolio, most of our stocks are performing fine; a few are hitting record highs; and one or two stocks have become worrisome, but not enough to cause me to take action.

As we march toward spring it appears real-world risks are decreasing (more vaccines, lower case count, etc.) while the market risk for growth stocks has gone up (higher yields, volatility, etc.), at least in the short term.

As I scanned through dozens of charts and evaluated stories for this month’s addition my focus was repeatedly drawn to one stock. The chart is compelling, the story is enticing, and the recent Q4 report and forward guidance illustrate sound fundamentals, supported by long-term demand growth.



The stock appropriately balances the potential risks and rewards in the current market.



Enjoy!

This month’s selection is a small company in the health care space given the strength in this group of stocks. The company has a very specific focus on products to treat peripheral nerve injuries, and it’s growing revenue north of 50% annually.

Looking for some timeless investing knowledge? Don’t miss our picks for the best stock books to read right away.

U.S. stocks markets are now continuing their rebound from the horrendous fourth-quarter 2018 market action. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes look quite bullish, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lags a bit.

If you want to build a buy-and-hold portfolio of attractive takeover targets, look no further than undervalued small- and mid-cap growth stocks. Presuming normal stock market action, you’ll reap the benefits associated with owning growth stocks, and you’ll periodically reap the additional exciting benefit of owning takeover stocks.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days, and personal finance is no exception. In this month’s issue we’ll dive into the next generation of personal finance apps, the new tools available to savers and investors, and how to deploy them in your daily lives to optimize your financial wellbeing.

The market succumbed today to some bad news from Europe, although some buyers did support shares after the early-morning dip. Net-net, today and last Friday were bad, but the major indexes remain range-bound; amazingly, the Nasdaq is now in the midst of its sixth 4% swing up or down since early June, and yet, has made basically no progress during that time. It’s choppy out there! Thus, we see no reason to change our Market Monitor from its neutral position. As for individual stocks, it, too, is a mixed bag—some big leaders broke down last week, but many are still base-building and a couple actually poked into new-high ground after solid quarterly reports. All in all, a little buying is fine, but do your buying on weakness, keep positions smaller than normal and adhere to your stops.

This week’s list is a hodgepodge of stocks from different industries; most are strong for individual reasons (earnings, etc.). Our top pick is PPG Industries (PPG), which isn’t an exciting company, but it delivered a solid earnings report and announced a merger that kicked the stock higher. We think it could do well if bought on pullbacks.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
A.O. SMITH (AOS)	0.00	49-50.5	-
ASML Holding (ASML)	350.01	52.5-54.5	-
DVA (DVA)	0.00	94-97	-
eBay Inc. (EBAY)	0.00	43-45	-
Medivation (MDVN)	0.00	90-94	-
Mellanox Technologies (MLNX)	92.00	84-90	-
PPG Industries (PPG)	0.00	109-112	-
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS)	0.00	27-28	-
USG Corp. (USG)	0.00	18.5-20	-
WOR (WOR)	0.00	21-22	-

Last week was shaping up to be another chop-fest but the market took off on Thursday and Friday ... and for the first time, we saw some leading stocks rally and, importantly, build on those gains. (In recent weeks stocks were quickly sold after any strength.) It’s a good ray of light, though we haven’t seen enough power from the market and from potential leaders to switch our Market Monitor out of its neutral stance; we’re a bit more optimistic than last week but still need to see more bullish evidence before we put on our bullish hats. For now, then, stick with the strategy of buying on weakness, keeping some cash on the sidelines and watching your stops.

The good news is that last week’s action brought more stocks to the fore; we’re seeing many more good-looking launching pads, and we saw more breakouts on earnings, many of which are showcased in this week’s list. Our favorite of the group is IAC Corp. (IACI), a conglomerate of Internet businesses that has been in a steady uptrend for years and just blasted off on earnings last week.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
3D Systems (DDD)	0.00	36-38	-
Align Technology (ALGN)	316.20	33-35	-
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX)	547.73	175-181	-
IACI (IACI)	0.00	51-53	-
NetSuite, Inc. (N)	0.00	54.5-56.5	-
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN)	512.96	132-136	-
SolarWinds (SWI)	0.00	48-52	-
Under Armour (UA)	0.00	52-54	-
WPI (WPI)	0.00	77-79	-
Western Digital Corporation (WDC)	0.00	37-40	-

The market remains in good health, though there’s been some weakness among growth stocks, but overall I think this correction provides some decent entry points so I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested in a diversified portfolio of the best stocks—while pruning your portfolio of underperformers.

Today our underperformer is Verizon (VZ), which I’ll sell because the stock has weakened further.



As for the newest recommendation, it’s unusual in that it’s actually in a sector I don’t care for, but the confluence of several factors (including COVID-19) means there’s substantial upside potential right now.

In today’s issue, we’re adding a unique play on financial markets to the Dividend Growth tier. I also have a write-up on interest rates—the driving force behind many of this month’s sector rotations—at the end of the issue.

In addition to a detailed explanation of the market’s moves and our portfolio’s holdings, we write about the puzzling failure of the average investor to take part in the equity rally and how to handle stocks around their Initial public offerings.

Explorer stocks were all up this week though it is not clear we are out of the woods yet. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) jumped from 83 to 90, Infineon Technologies (IFNNY) shares had double-digit gains, and Kraken (KRKNF) was up 8% yesterday and almost 20% over the last two weeks as smaller stocks are in favor.

Stocks showing strength and breadth like we haven’t seen in a long time, particularly with the broad market at a record high. Despite flattish returns from the formerly high-flying mega-cap tech stocks, the broad stock market is no longer grinding higher, it is surging higher, lifting the S&P 500 index to a month-to-date gain of 8.8% through Monday.

January is living up to its volatile reputation but there’s no doubt it’s begun to improve—the intermediate-term trend, which was negative for most everything out there, is back to neutral; the broad market is showing some rapid, intriguing improvement; and individual stocks have improved their standing, with some popping to new highs. To be clear, this isn’t a buying panic, but after a few weeks of tedious action that has brought sentiment down, we’re OK with gradually extending your line while remaining nimble. We’ll up our Market Monitor to a level 7 today.

This week’s list is a mixed bag, with everything from growth to turnarounds to commodity names. Our Top Pick looks like one of the leaders of a new group move after being in the doghouse for a couple of years. Try to get in on dips.

All in all, the evidence remains unchanged: The major indexes are positive but not exactly powerful, with resistance (such as near 500 on QQQ) still capping many measures, but leadership remains intact, with strong stocks refusing to give much ground and fresh breakouts from the past month acting well. Of course, earnings season is still ongoing, and you can never rule out the market’s key leadership being dented or some abnormal action appearing. But you can always find something that could go wrong in the market—right now, the buyers are in control. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 8.

This week’s list is very broad, with everything from industrials to real estate to true-blue growth stories. Our Top Pick is a pure cyclical name that just busted out of a long-term consolidation on giant volume.

Current Market Outlook


The market staged a nice-looking rebound today, especially given that both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were hanging around their 50-day lines coming into today. Up is definitely good, but when examining the evidence, we see a tale of two markets. Growth stocks still look ragged, as many cracked key support last week and have been extraordinarily choppy during the past month (a sign bulls and bears are fighting it out after big runs). However, the broad market is largely fine, with small- and mid-cap indexes perched near their highs and many sectors acting fine. All in all, the evidence has worsened, so we’re knocking our Market Monitor down a notch, but we’re mostly taking things on a stock-by-stock basis, ditching those that break down while targeting new buying at resilient names.

This week’s list is heavy on cyclical and re-opening plays, though chip stocks remain a bastion of resilience. Our Top Pick is Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC), which staged a long-term breakout in November, has huge growth and has been unaffected by the market’s wobbles.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP)	229	218-225	200-204
Amkor Technology (AMKR)	25	23-25	19-20
Avis Budget Group (CAR)	58	53.5-56.5	46-48
Bausch Health Companies (BHC)	32	29.5-31	26.5-27.5
The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)	55	51.5-54	45-46.5
HubSpot (HUBS)	527	490-510	430-440
Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC)	52	48.5-52	41-43
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)	149	141-146	125-128
Shake Shack (SHAK)	118	113-118	100-103
Valmont Industries (VMI)	244	226-236	203-208