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It continues to be a very bumpy ride for small-cap growth stocks, while those names with a slightly more value-oriented profile are providing a somewhat smoother ride. Big picture, there is no doubt the risk-off environment continues. The good news for more aggressive investors is that valuations have come down significantly, as have analyst price targets. That latter point often seems to be one signal that the worst of the selling is in the rearview mirror. Though, clearly, there are many factors in play.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) serves up tasty, healthy meals and it’s got one heckuva stock.

The standout action this week has been in tech stocks, and it hasn’t been good. With the Nasdaq starting off the week with a big drop and large-/mega-cap leaders like Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Netflix (NFLX) moving materially lower as the week progressed it has felt somewhat disheartening to those with heavy tech exposure.

Legendary investor J.P. Morgan was often asked what the stock market would do. “It will fluctuate,” replied the taciturn Morgan.

The psychology of the markets can be puzzling. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve, America’s Central Bank, raised its benchmark interest rates 75 basis points, the most since 1994. And the market liked it because it was way overdue and will hopefully help stem inflationary pressures in the economy. Will it slow growth, housing sales, consumer spending, and raise the carrying cost of U.S. debt? Yes, of course.

As coronavirus matters continue to dominate the headlines and the world works toward slowly reopening, the action of marijuana stocks continues to impress—and with good reason.

A potential positive catalyst has turned distinctly negative—a swing and a miss. What does this mean for the market going forward?

This is one of those periods when there’s not much going on in the market. Earnings season is essentially over, the summer is winding down, kids are about to go back to school and it feels like fall is right around the corner.

A sure-fire method to find strong stocks is to ferret out high-quality stocks with low PEGnD ratio.

The market seems to want to move higher, albeit slowly and with rude interruptions from the headlines. The S&P 500 is within less than 1% off the all-time high set in July, although the index has been somewhat range-bound since June.

Continue to put money to work. The market and individual stocks are acting very well, and while there are some short-term yellow flags out there (complacency, overbought, etc.), the fact that stocks haven’t given up much ground is encouraging.

Answers to readers’ questions from the Cabot Wealth Advisory survey.

Three months ago a reader wrote: “Timothy, I look forward to your writings everyday. You are definitely doing your part in the BATTLE TO SAVE AMERICA’S BRAINS!” I responded by saying I liked the phrase and might borrow it. But I’ve never found quite the right place to use it. It’s a bit grand. All I’m trying to do is communicate some intelligent thoughts, get you to think a little, and maybe subscribe to some of our investment advice.

It has been one year since the S&P 500 hit bottom and since the then the blue-chip index has roared back nearly 75%. Just imagine if we would have had a pile of cash and the guts to jump in.

The market has been a little soft this week as better-than-feared results from many large caps, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook (META), have been somewhat overshadowed by renewed fears of banking turmoil. Thanks First Republic (FRC). That stock is down 96% from its 2023 high (and that wasn’t a particularly high price).

Today I’m featuring the second in my series of stocks that have both growth and value credentials.

The highlight of my week so far just might be waking up this morning and realizing I can count the remaining days in September just using my fingers. That’s not because the weather hasn’t mostly been beautiful in Rhode Island. It has. It’s because, as you know, the market has struggled this month.

The past week hasn’t been the best for small-cap indices given some concerns around smaller financial institutions and modest weakness in value-oriented areas of the asset class. But big picture, the growthier areas continue to look good and in our specific higher growth arenas (software, MedTech, etc.) I haven’t seen much at all to complain about.

The real test will be how the next three weeks go as that timespan will cover the bulk of earnings reports from our portfolio.

With high home prices and high mortgage rates, it may not feel like you can profit from real estate right now. But you can, and here’s how.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) acknowledged disappointing quarterly results on Thursday, cutting its full-year financial guidance to a range of $2.80 a share to $2.95 a share, down from previous expectations of $3.20 a share to $3.35, and well off analyst estimates of $3.21. CEO Tim Wentworth discussed plans that could lead to the closure of thousands of its U.S. pharmacies as the company’s retail business continues to struggle. “We are at a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable, and the challenges in our operating environment require we approach the market differently,” Wentworth said, also noting that a quarter of the stores are not contributing to operating income. While there were positives – a well-performing international business and a growing U.S. healthcare segment for instance – future performance will heavily rely on the company’s shift toward greater efficiency.