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Stock Pickers Digest newsletter gives you Pat McKeough’s latest picks from the aggressive segment of the Canadian and U.S. markets, where risk is high, but the potential for profit is much greater. The newsletter zeroes in on undervalued stocks that could explode for gains of 50% or more in six...

Cyclical stocks have been getting clobbered over the past month amidst virus concerns. But I think the recent action is creating an opportunity.

The inflation and Fed contraction issues, which are good for energy and financial stocks, will outlast this latest virus strain. The virus will fade away before too long, but the other problems are much stickier. Certain stocks are being knocked back temporarily ahead of a very promising new year.



In this issue I highlight one of the very best financial stocks on the market. It’s has pulled back recently and is about 15% below the 52-week high, yet the company is poised for a fantastic 2022.

Good news was able to outrun the problems in 2021. But the problems are catching up. The economy ran so hot because if was picking up the slack from the pandemic and making up for lost time. But that slack will soon run out.

We are likely heading towards a more normal environment on the other side of the pandemic recovery. It is highly unlikely that market returns going forward are as high as they have been. That pace can’t be sustained. We are likely headed for choppier waters and a more sideways market where stock picking should be more crucial.



Inflation and rising interest rates may not be great for the overall market, but certain sectors can thrive in such an environment. In this issue, I highlight one such stock. The stock should shine on the other side of the pandemic recovery that lies ahead in the new year.

The big news this week is that we: (1) recovered some of last week’s losses and (2) have a notable acquisition in the small cap cloud software space.

This month we’re digging into a recovering healthcare specialist that is both a self-help and an AI automation story.

After a few missteps in 2022, a significant acquisition and a new management team have the stock on the right track again.

Moreover, high healthcare utilization and a rapid acceleration in the company’s automation capabilities suggest strong revenue and profit margin growth throughout 2023 and into 2024. Enjoy!

While Cabot Top Ten Report is often seen as being for more aggressive investors, some of its picks have turned out to be great longer-term investments. The key is finding stocks that have appeared multiple times in the Report, often as Editor’s Choice.

Today I’m highlighting three different types of trading opportunities: buying stocks in the days leading up to earnings reports, buying stocks when they fall a silly amount on neutral or good news, and putting great stocks on watch as we await pullbacks. There are many changes in Buy recommendations today, reflecting both dramatic changes in year-to-date price action and significant earnings revisions as Wall Street contemplates final 2018 numbers and solidifies their 2019 earnings projections. I’m not trying to be fickle! I’m just trying to stay on top of the facts so that you can have a clear idea of where tomorrow’s profitable opportunities can be found.

Thank you for subscribing to the Cabot Turnaround Letter. We hope you enjoy reading the December 2023 issue.

Every investor has loser stocks. We discuss two ways to convert this year’s losers into assets and winners, including tax loss selling and buying shares that others have discarded for artificial reasons. Last year’s crop of bounce stocks performed exceptionally well. We discuss five for this year that look promising.

One of our more productive methods for sourcing new ideas is to see what other like-minded investors are buying. We discuss how to refine the vast data in 13F filings and review four from the most recent batch of filings that look attractive.

This month’s Buy recommendation, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), was used in a February 2023 article about how we evaluate candidates. It was too expensive then, but its recent 26% share price slide and encouraging fundamentals make it attractive to buy now.

The market’s evidence has clearly improved during the past couple of weeks, so much so that our Cabot (and Growth) Tides are now on the fence, while our old Two-Second Indicator is starting to pick up on a bullish change in character for the broad market. That said, it’s close, but we haven’t seen anything definitive yet--tonight, we have no changes, but if we see some green lights, we’ll be on the horn with two or three new additions most likely.



In the meantime, we continue to hone our watch list and put together our game plan should the evidence continue to improve; we’re not going to go whole hog right away, but after six months of punishing action, we’re remaining flexible and write about a few potential fresh leaders in tonight’s issue.

Patience remains a virtue in this market, as the major indexes and individual stocks have been unable to get going, though for the most part, sellers have failed to take control, too. We’ll see if today changes that; today’s post-Fed selling was ugly, though it hasn’t cracked our Tides buy signal or most stocks that were setting up. Either way, we’re remaining defensive, with nearly three quarters of the portfolio in cash.

Tonight’s issue is very stock heavy, with a big watch list and write-ups on on a variety of names (including some recent IPOs) that are acting well and have great stories. We continue to think a few good days could make all the difference, but until we see it happen, less remains more as we keep our eyes open for signs the buyers are showing up and the sellers have left the building.

Current Market Outlook


The major indexes found some decent support last week, rallying back to the top of their ranges, but overall they’re still thrashing around in the same range they’ve occupied since early August, keeping the intermediate-term trend sideways-to-down. The one thing that did change late last week was a bout of rotation, with money flowing into the beaten-down areas (financials, transports, energy, etc.); it’s something to keep an eye on, but we can’t say it’s a new trend quite yet. All in all, the market is showing us a lot of movement, but little net progress—and thus, our overall advice hasn’t changed. We’re keeping our Market Monitor at a level 5, meaning you should be choosy and keep things small on the buy side, while holding some cash and honoring stops and loss limits with your weaker performers.

The good news, as it has been all year, is that there remain many stocks that looks ready to enjoy meaningful upmoves if the market can get its act together. Our Top Pick is New Oriental Education (EDU), a rare China-related stock that’s making new highs on good volume.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Burlington Stores (BURL)	193.95	195-198	179-182
Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC)	89.83	86-88	79.5-81
Meritage Homes (MTH)	102.20	63-66	57.5-59
Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX)	123.40	95.5-98.5	88-90
New Oriental Education (EDU)	113.97	106-108	98-100
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)	123.32	129-133	120-122
Tandem Diabetes (TNDM)	74.77	67-70	60-62
Trex Company (TREX)	117.56	80-83	74-76
Twitter (TWTR)	40.37	40.5-42.5	37-38
Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM)	34.43	28-29	25.5-26.5

Gold and precious metals expert Clif Droke, chief analyst of Sector Xpress Gold & Metals Advisor, explains why you need to have exposure to gold in your portfolio.

October proved to be a challenging month for stocks, but one good thing came out of it—it helped me identify stocks that investors really want to own!

Thank you for subscribing to the Cabot Turnaround Letter. We hope you enjoy reading the May 2022 issue.



One of the enduring features of the stock market is that near-term share prices are driven by momentum and narratives. While this may yield huge money-making stocks on the way up, losses can be devastating on the way down. Fortunately for value investors, downturns driven by negative momentum and unfavorable narratives can create impressively attractive opportunities.



We discuss two groups of stocks that fit this bill: homebuilders and stocks with valuations below 5x EV/EBITDA. Our featured recommendation this month is homebuilder M/I Homes (MHO), which trades at a large discount to its liquidation value despite what may be a reasonably steady industry over the next several years.



We note our recent move of Vistra Energy (VST) from a Buy to a Sell.

Teaching your children basic financial literacy pays serious dividends throughout their lives. It helps them avoid debt, practice responsible budgeting and can even help them pay for college and retirement. In this month’s issue, we’ll explore the best ages to teach your children important financial skills, the best apps and tools for learning about money, and even the best games to make financial learning less of a chore.

Current Market Outlook


May and June were generally great for leading stocks, but some yellow flags began to appear during the past couple of weeks—the major indexes were showing widening divergences, sentiment reached giddy levels and some stocks (like many recent IPOs) went vertical. Some sort of retreat was likely, but the severity of the selling in recent days looks abnormal; many stocks are pulling back after big runs, but a bunch of others are cracking, and the lagging indexes look sick—the NYSE Composite is below its 200-day line! We don’t advise hitting the panic button, as most indexes and stocks are still above intermediate-term support, so you can hold your strong, profitable stocks. But given the evidence, it’s smart to pare back—honor your stops and loss limits, and on the buy side, keep new positions small until support appears.

This week’s list has stocks that have been yanked down recently, but the action looks normal after strong prior advances. Our Top Pick is Carvana (CVNA), which is early stage and holding up well after a big run. Again, keep new positions small and try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Carvana (CVNA)	82.90	36-39	32-34
Cheniere Energy (LNG)	63.82	64-67	59.5-61.5
Darden Restaurants (DRI)	106.63	104-107	96-98
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)	35.25	38-40	33-34.5
Illumina Inc. (ILMN)	289.74	271-276	255-258
Spotify (SPOT)	272.82	166-171	154-157
Stitch Fix (SFIX)	36.79	26-27.5	23-24
Trade Desk (TTD)	468.02	86-90	78-81
Turtle Beach (HEAR)	26.70	19.5-21.5	15.5-17
Wix.com (WIX)	302.53	96-99	87-89

The market rolled over this week, but it’s too early to say if it’s the start of another correction or just some turbulence. Either way, we’re well prepared, with exposure to a broad range of sectors, including some benefiting from the uncertainty.