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The market’s correction is about a month old, and so far it’s been fairly garden variety, with some potholes but not much big-picture abnormal action. And, this week, we’re seeing a very encouraging bounce, with most indexes recouping half of their decline in just two days and some growth stocks already testing new high ground. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re holding what we own (some of which act great) and fine-tuning our watch list should the trend turn back up.

This month we’re venturing into the services sector with a stock that fits the Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) strategy that’s come back into favor recently. This isn’t a high-flying stock with a new widget or software solution. It’s a pretty basic business really. In all likelihood, it’s insulated from trade wars, and even recessions too.

This little nugget is helping rebuild America’s infrastructure, one road at a time. With funding for road construction and repairs going up, and a long list of acquisition targets to roll into its business, this young company has a bright future.

All the details are inside the November Issue of Cabot Small-Cap Confidential.

Friday’s big surge upward—200 points for the Dow—was a clear bullish sign, a reminder that there’s lots of cash sitting on the sidelines waiting for a reason to get back into the market, and a reminder that when those billions of dollars eventually do find their way back into stocks, prices will skyrocket! Yet it’s been hard for the market to maintain a strong uptrend as the tug-of-war between stocks and bonds continues. And it’s not the yields keeping people in bonds these days, it’s simply fear. Thus our Market Monitor remains in the neutral zone—which means while it’s fine to target some attractive situations, you should keep some cash in reserve until the broad market is more supportive, and you should continue to practice risk management. That means buying on dips, not at new highs. It means taking some profits off the table when they come easily. And it means cutting losses short when things go against you.

We’re still very enthusiastic about the homebuilding sector, and our Editor’s Choice this week is Ryland, a homebuilder that’s appeared here this year twice before and has great potential to keep on climbing. Also attractive are companies in fertilizer, energy, electronic health records and more. Enjoy the issue and enjoy the summer!

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Agrium (AGU)	0.00	87-90	-
Athenahealth (ATHN)	0.00	78-80	-
Cabot Oil & Gas (COG)	0.00	38-41	-
CLGX (CLGX)	0.00	19-20	-
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC)	0.00	43-46	-
Ryland (RYL)	0.00	23-26	-
Spirit Airlines (SAVE)	57.03	21-23	-
TripAdvisor (TRIP)	55.14	42-44	-
Weyerhaeuser (WY)	0.00	22.5-23	-
Zillow (Z)	76.64	39-41	-

We are smack dab in the heart of earnings season for this portfolio. With the market sputtering along without much conviction, individual stocks are taking center stage, and earnings are a major part of that.

Quarterly and annual earnings will be reported this week from AbbVie Inc. (ABBV), Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE), American Tower Corporation (AMT), Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM). The reports could be a hugely important factor in determining the near-term direction of these stocks.

Tyler Laundon, Chief Analyst of Cabot Small-Cap Stocks and Cabot Early Opportunities speaks about Software Stocks.

Among the topics he covers:
* A look at current software stock valuations
* Software in context: Trends over the last 25 years
* Software today: More options than ever
* Software stock opportunities for 2021

Cannabis investors remain in a depressed state, despite several potentially bullish developments that could move stocks in the sector up significantly over the next year.

Cannabis stocks remain unloved by investors. This makes the group buyable because catalysts are on the horizon.

The tricky part now is that it is more difficult to predict that we may see a catalyst near term, or even when the next one will occur. Patience is required.

Here is a look at the four main potential catalysts.

Cannabis stocks are unloved and in the doldrums.

Typically, in the stock market, that’s the best time to buy.

Neglected stocks offer the best value, as long as there are potential catalysts on the horizon.

I believe that is the case with cannabis. You’ll just have to be patient. I think it is worth being patient for the possibility of 30%-50% gains when a catalyst strikes. There is no guarantee this will happen, but as I discuss below, the odds are good.

Current Market Outlook


The major indexes are getting sloppier, with the S&P 500 and NYSE Composite now a couple of percent below their 50-day lines, and many individual stocks and sectors are getting hit. It’s not pretty, but this remains a split tape—the Nasdaq is holding up relatively well, for instance, and we’ve seen many growth stocks do OK in recent days, even as the market as a whole has dropped. Overall, we’re sticking with a neutral stance, which means holding some cash and being very selective on the buy side. It’s OK to pull the trigger if you see a good set-up or two, but honor your stops and don’t be afraid to book partial profits on the way up.

This week’s list is skewed toward the growth side of the equation, but has a mix of stocks that are in established uptrends and others that are just getting going. Our Top Pick is GoPro (GPRO), which has shown enough strength to tell us the March low was the bottom. Buy on dips and use a loose stop.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Zoës Kitchen (ZOES)	0.00	35.5-37.5	33.5-34
Zebra Technologies (ZBRA)	154.94	109-112	100-101
Skechers (SKX)	0.00	102-105	91-93
Shake Shack (SHAK)	92.08	73-76	66-68
Hologic (HOLX)	0.00	34.5-36	33-33.5
GoPro, Inc. (GPRO)	0.00	56-59	51-52
Global Payments Inc. (GPN)	0.00	104-105	98-99
Dexcom (DXCM)	421.36	70-72	65-66
Axalta Coating (AXTA)	0.00	34-35	31-32
AMAG Pharm. (AMAG)	0.00	68-70	62-63

Trouble usually comes from where investors least expect it, and it’s fair to say that Cyprus was not on most radar screens before this weekend. The much-publicized shock brought up fears of a 2008-style bank run, but it’s important to keep your feet on the ground and stick with the evidence. Right now, the trend is still up, and most stocks are in good shape; we did see some churning among the most extended stocks last week, so they might need a break, but we haven’t seen much abnormal action that occurs when the sellers take control. If that changes, we’ll let you know, but right here we’re keeping our Market Monitor in bullish territory—further short-term weakness could be in store, but the odds continue to favor higher prices in the weeks ahead.

This week’s list has a bunch of charts that look very strong and most are not overly extended to the upside. Our top pick is from the energy patch—Tesoro (TSO) is part of the very strong refining group, and the stock has eased back to support after a powerful run in February. We think it’s a good buy around here.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Tesoro (TSO)	0.00	54-56	-
Parexel Corp. (PRXL)	0.00	36-38	-
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	35-36	-
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)	423.92	176-190	-
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF)	0.00	21-22.5	-
Delta Air Lines (DAL)	54.28	14.5-15.5	-
Cabot Oil & Gas (COG)	0.00	63-66	-
Celgene (CELG)	0.00	109-113	-
Citigroup Inc. (C)	0.00	44-46	-
Aruba Networks (ARUN)	0.00	24.5-26	-

Current Market Outlook


Beneath the market’s surface, there’s been lots of rotation and volatility, with buyers focusing on the laggards of late last year (especially the big-cap growth stocks), while the strong materials and transportation sectors continue to consolidate. (Even as the major indexes probe new high ground, the number of stocks hitting new highs is way down versus a few weeks ago.) That’s something to keep an eye on, but the trends of the major indexes and most stocks are still up, sellers have been unable to put much of a dent in the market despite the huge post-election run and few stocks have broken down. Until that changes, we’re keeping our Market Monitor in bullish territory, though it’s probably best to be a bit more discerning on the buy side, looking for tight setups and big volume breakouts.

Tonight’s list remains heavy on turnaround stocks, especially those in cyclical industries; the odds continue to favor higher prices as these stocks consolidate their strong post-election gains. Our Top Pick is AK Steel (AKS)—you can buy a little here and look to add shares on a powerful move to new highs.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
AK Steel Holding (AKS)	0.00	9.9-10.4	9.0-9.3
Atwood Oceanics (ATW)	0.00	12.5-13.5	11-11.5
CF Industries (CF)	45.23	32-33	29-30
Clovis Oncology (CLVS)	0.00	45-48	41-43
Grand Canyon Education (LOPE)	121.03	57-59	54-55
Greenbrier (GBX)	57.73	44.5-47	40.5-42
Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF-A)	0.00	25-27	23-24
Oil States International (OIS)	0.00	39-41	36-37
Shopify (SHOP)	585.00	45-47	42-43
SVB Financial Group (SIVB)	0.00	170-175	157-160

Last week, our issue was titled “Decision Time,” and after the Federal Reserve’s disappointing report, the market made the decision to go down with force—not only have the major indexes broken their intermediate-term trend lines, but tons of stocks have been nailed as the selling pressures intensify. Yes, there are still many decent-looking names out there, but the market is the elephant in the room at this point; it’s best to hold plenty of cash and do little new buying until stocks find their footing.

The good news from a stock picker’s standpoint is that it’s easiest to spot strength in a weak market; if a stock is holding up well in this environment, it deserves some extra attention. This week’s list has many stocks that fill that bill; our favorite is Infoblox (BLOX), a young, rapidly-growing networking firm. Just be sure to keep any positions small if you decide to buy.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Yelp (YELP)	41.30	28-30	26-27
The ExOne Company (XONE)	0.00	48-50	42-43
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)	818.87	93-103	85-88
SodaStream (SODA)	142.91	65-69	60-61
Charles Schwab (SCHW)	0.00	19.5-20.5	18-18.5
RH Inc. (RH)	252.93	67-71	60-62
Colfax (CFX)	0.00	48-50	46-47
Infoblox Inc. (BLOX)	0.00	27-28	23-24
ANGI Homeservices Inc. (ANGI)	14.81	25-26	23-24
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD)	47.84	16-17.5	13.5-14

Remember the 3D printing stocks that were hot back in 2012 and 2013? 3D Systems (DDD) soared from 9 to 97, while Stratasys (SSYS) zoomed from 18 to 130. Some of the advance was certainly justified. Both companies had demonstrated their ability to grow earnings year after year, and in 2012 and 2013, both companies enjoyed many quarters when revenues boomed more than 50%. But look at the stocks today.