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Updates on three of our stocks that reported quarterly earnings, plus updates on two stocks with Strong Buy ratings.

The stock market has started September with a small pullback but the big picture is still bullish. If you’re underinvested, it’s time to come off the sidelines. Most of the stocks in our portfolio are healthy, and I’m putting one of our holdings back on Buy today.

The broad market looks healthy. The S&P 500 is close to breaking out to new highs, and the Dow is at its highest level since February, propelled by strong performances from industrial and consumer staples stocks. Energy stocks are still lagging a bit, but everything else looks healthy. We are putting four stocks back on Buy today.

The latest issue of Cabot Marijuana Investor is now available, with my current advice on the sixteen stocks in the portfolio.

The gains so far this year, in both the sector and the portfolio, have been absolutely spectacular, but they won’t continue. Already I detect signs of a rolling correction and there’s the possibility that short-term, it could get worse. So in this issue, I have some sell recommendations, for investors who are working to develop maximum gains.

For longer-term, more patient investors, however, doing nothing is fine. The long-term prospects for both the industry and the sector remain bright.

With today’s recommendation, I leave the U.S. to return to the fast-growing giant that China has become, with a company that will join Tesla in the fast-growing electric car industry. It’s a low-priced stock, so it’s not for everyone, but it does have enormous growth potential.

The market remains in good shape, generally shrugging off a stream of bad news by marching higher. Pullbacks are certainly possible, but most investors are positioned cautiously, which is another arrow in the bulls’ quiver when looking down the road.
In tonight’s issue, we’re putting another chunk of money to work by adding two half-sized positions (one in a stock we already own). That will leave us with 25% in cash.
Elsewhere in the issue, we write about a couple of additional positive longer-term signs for the market (one based on money flows, one based on the market itself), look at some new ideas and review all of our Model Portfolio holdings.

The market has slowed down just a touch in recent days, with the major indexes hesitating near some resistance. But the trends remain strongly up (our Cabot Trend Lines has joined the bull camp) and individual stocks are acting well, including many reacting well to earnings. Of course, pullbacks are definitely possible, so now’s not a time to jump in with both feet. But we continue to be bullish and to put money steadily to work.
In tonight’s issue, we discuss all our stocks, and take a peek at one of the market’s leading themes, which looks like it could go far as the bull market picks up speed.

The latest issue of Cabot Marijuana Investor is now available, with my current advice on the fourteen stocks in the portfolio.

The cannabis sector is currently in a correction, with both marijuana and CBD stocks trending lower, giving up some of their early-year gains—and perhaps building a bottom here.

In fact some of the biggest stocks, those supported best by institutional investors, are already looking stronger, though it will take time to know if they are in real uptrends. In the meantime, I continue to build cash, which will come in handy when it’s time to buy again.

Last week we sold a portion of three stocks and this week we’re selling portions of two more, raising the portfolio’s cash level to about 33%.

The cannabis sector remains in a correction, with both marijuana and CBD stocks trending lower, giving up some of their early-year gains—and perhaps building a bottom here.

In the meantime, more and more peripheral companies are getting in on the action, and we have been increasing our exposure to these in recent weeks while still holding substantial cash.

This week we’re selling one more of the pure-play marijuana companies, raising the portfolio’s cash level to about 27%.

Full details in the issue.

Current Market Outlook


In the market, it’s the unexpected that you should pay closest attention to. Two weeks ago, the broad market was heading south and the major indexes broke down after a month of distributive action. But since then, the market has zoomed ahead like a rocket, with all the major indexes back above their 50-day lines and many stocks either hitting new highs or racing toward the top of multi-week launching pads. There are still some things to worry about, and we’ll probably get a truer read on things once the big boys come back from vacation next week. But overall, we’re leaning bullish, encouraged by what we’ve seen during the past two weeks.

This week’s list shows a bunch of stocks that have shown big-volume buying of late, a sure sign institutions are sniffing around. Our Top Pick this week isn’t a stock we think is going to double, but rather, one we feel strongly will head higher. It’s Home Depot (HD), the granddaddy of housing stocks, which just busted free from a 15-month base.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
WPX Energy (WPX)	0.00	23-25	20-21
Sensata Technology (ST)	0.00	47-49	44-45
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN)	512.96	340-350	319-320
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL)	0.00	61-63	57-58
Home Depot (HD)	0.00	88-91	83-84
Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR)	0.00	129-135	119-121
F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV)	0.00	120-122	113-114
Community Health Systems (CYH)	0.00	50-52	46-47
Canadian Solar (CSIQ)	0.00	34.5-35.5	31-32
Akorn (AKRX)	0.00	37-38.5	34-35

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It’s time to sell EMAN. I think eMagin remains a mediocre company that has excellent technology and which will continue to have modest success in its military markets. But I don’t think this is “the next big thing.”

I spent a good portion of this past week working on my 2018 Small-Cap Outlook. We’ll be publishing that soon, but I wanted to share a few thoughts from it today, starting with my year-end target for the S&P 600 Small Cap Index.

One of the stocks in our portfolio reported a huge first quarter earnings beat and many of our other portfolio stocks are rising.

This stock released earnings yesterday, so I’m discussing its share price, its fourth quarter earnings report and the company’s outlook. But I also want to talk about the differences between thriving companies and failing companies, and the murky in-between.

We continue to see an unusual amount of rotation in the market, with crosscurrents sending sectors up one day and down the next. However, our portfolio looks healthy. We have a two rating changes today, but overall we are in good shape.

Shares of online travel company The Priceline Group (PCLN, 1,240.12) are up $129.44 or 11.65% as of midday today after reporting stronger-than-expected full-year 2015 results.

Current Market Outlook


Two weeks ago we saw a bunch of positive earnings reactions that bolstered leading stocks, but last week was mostly the reverse—the leaders that had been running for months took on water, often reacting poorly to earnings and/or share offerings. Of course, while we see a few storm clouds, it’s not a hurricane, as the major indexes are in good shape and there are a growing number of “fresher” leaders (just getting going in the past few weeks) that are still acting just fine. All in all, the majority of the evidence is bullish, so we are as well, but it’s a stock-by-stock environment—many names look fine and are even buyable (preferably on weakness), but if you do have some extended stocks that are wobbling, have a plan in place (tightening stops, partial profits, etc.) in case the sellers gain strength.

This week’s list contains many of those fresher leaders mentioned above, including a few that have taken off on earnings. Our Top Pick is Zillow (Z), which should be a great bet to benefit from the new housing boom.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)	79.05	79.5-82.5	71-73
Chart Industries (GTLS)	72.05	69-73	59-61
Digital Turbine (APPS)	24.75	21.5-24	17.5-19
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)	13.78	13.3-14.5	11.5-11.9
Freshpet (FRPT)	107.99	99-102.5	89-91
LivePerson (LPSN)	58.55	55-58.5	47-49
Maxar Technologies (MAXR)	27.02	22-23.5	20-20.5
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI)	103.94	100-103.5	91-93
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)	78.41	75-78	68-70
Zillow (Z)	76.64	77-80	67-68.5

The last two weeks have seen a massive rally into cyclical stocks, and a purge of growth stocks. Massive! Whether this trend will continue is anyone’s guess.

The good news for the Cabot Profit Booster portfolio is we have a relatively diverse portfolio. And as I eyeball our portfolio, I would say we have five cyclical stocks (AZEK, JCI, SONO, GS, APHA) and “only” two growth stocks (DT, AMKR), and the premiums we collected via our covered call sales have partially buffered us from big losses on those stocks that have been hit hard.

Part of what makes turnaround mutual funds an inefficient and therefore profitable investing niche is that most investors avoid these securities. Managers of this small group of funds are comfortable with the contrarian approach of owning stocks that are avoided by more conventional mutual fund managers.

In this issue, we highlight seven of these turnaround-oriented mutual funds we’ve watched over the years.