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Today, for a change, I’ll cover the news first, and the investing advice second. In Illinois, marijuana taxes exceeded alcohol taxes in the first three months of 2021. Marijuana tax revenue amounted to $86,537,000 while alcohol taxes brought in $72,281,000. I expect the gap to widen from here and there’s no question other states have taken note.

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

This month we look at the oil refining industry. Unlike many technology stocks, this group is the opposite of “priced for perfection.” The industry’s products will remain relevant for a long time, despite investors’ enthusiasm for a shift to electric-powered vehicles. Also, the pandemic will eventually pass and demand for refined products (gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel) will return, lifting these company’s earnings and stock prices. We acknowledge the tax and regulatory risks but see real value in the higher quality and better-financed refinery companies.



We also look at technology turnarounds. Successful tech turnarounds are rare, so our discussion briefly explores why this is the case and identifies six that have interesting turnaround potential.



Our feature recommendation is the oil refining company Valero Energy (VLO), offering what we see as the best risk/reward traits among a group with strong cyclical turnaround potential.



The letter also includes a summary of our recent sale of Amplify Energy (AMPY) and our change to a Sell rating on Consolidated Communications (CNSL), as well as the full roster of our current recommendations.



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



I’m best reachable at Bruce@CabotWealth.com. I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

How often do you trade your stocks during a year? Do you turn over your portfolio once a year?

It’s been one of the top-performing assets of 2024, but should you buy gold here? Let’s dig into the mystery surrounding the strength of the yellow metal.

Now there are platforms where you can make money on almost anything, but are they investing?

Utilities have long gotten a bad rap as being stale and slow, but the emergence of artificial intelligence has upended that narrative, and the best utility stocks are now moving like growth stocks.

Is your investment portfolio made up of all the most popular stocks? You may not get the investing returns you’re hoping for.

Picking the single best growth stock of the year can be a futile exercise. But my most recent recommendation checks a lot of my personal investing boxes.

Some investors may view Wells Fargo stock as a value buy after its recent struggles. I say sell WFC and search for other growth and value investments.

There are no rating changes in today’s weekly update.

Two years after the yield curve inverted, there’s still no U.S. recession in sight. As a result, financials – beaten to a pulp during the double whammy of the 2022 bear market and the March 2023 bank collapse – have become the fastest-growing non-tech sector of the market. It’s also one of the most undervalued. So in this month’s issue, we add a very recognizable big bank that does a little bit of everything – and seems to be everywhere. It’s growing at a healthy clip and yet is cheaper than even the average financial at the moment.

Details inside.

A year ago, college kids laid out the case for a Trump’s victory. And they did it with a mess of disparate data in just 20 hours, using a data prep platform by the little-known company that I’m recommending today.

Today’s investment idea is in the biotech field. I’m stuck on these stocks for several reasons. One, they’re strong. Two, many actually boast growing earnings trends. Three, the group has failed many times in past decades to put together a lasting advance, so maybe now is the time. Four, there will be tremendous demand for health-improving products as baby-boomers age; biotechnology offers the best chance we have to stay healthy.

How often do you trade your stocks during a year? Do you turn over your portfolio an average of once a year, twice a year or a dozen times a year? In this age of super-fast computers that are programmed to trade in nanoseconds, should we trade more often to keep up with the ever-changing stock market? My opinion is no.

The International Energy Agency issued a report earlier this month predicting that a “golden age of gas” could be coming.

The Canadian government announced tha trusts will lose their tax-favored status in January.