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Stocks cooled off this past week, though they mostly held their gains, which is not a bad way to close out an unusually productive September. Investors can likely thank the Fed for that. But many potential landmines (presidential election, escalating tensions in the Middle East, another jobs report this week) loom, so we’ll see how things go as we enter an uncertain October.

Given all the uncertainty, today we add a large-cap value stock that I recently recommended in my Cabot Value Investor portfolio. It’s one of the largest banks in America, and it’s potentially on the cusp of getting much bigger. Last year, it caught the attention of Warren Buffett. And so far, his bet on it appears to be paying off – with more upside ahead.

Details inside.

The first real market turbulence of 2024 has arrived. But you don’t have to fear it. Pullbacks are normal – no bull market simply goes up in perpetuity – and, in the long run, healthy. It’s best to use it as an opportunity to cleanse your portfolio of some laggards and buy good companies at better prices. We check both of those boxes in today’s issue, adding an up-and-coming retail cookie-cutter story that’s a new favorite of Cabot Growth Investor Chief Analyst Mike Cintolo. Mike loves the upside, and buying on the recent dip makes it even more attractive.

This week and next week’s Monday morning Week in Review will be focused on position updates so that I can spend the last two weekends of the year with my family. Then starting the week of January 6^th, it’s back to full blast for the Cabot Options Trader and Cabot Options Trader Pro service.

This week and next week’s Monday morning Week in Review will be focused on position updates so that I can spend the last two weekends of the year with my family. Then starting the week of January 6^th, it’s back to full blast for the Cabot Options Trader and Cabot Options Trader Pro service.

Cannabis legalization is spreading but cannabis stocks are trading near all-time lows, which leaves these four industry leaders poised for a rebound.

The major indexes haven’t done much since the market’s opening-day jump this year, but the vast majority of stocks and sectors are in firm uptrends. In fact, probably our biggest takeaway of the past couple of weeks is that the sellers look spent—most shakeouts or downdrafts are met with buying within hours or a couple of days, and so far, any pullbacks have come on far lighter trade than their prior advances. Of course, earnings season is getting underway, and that’s sure to add volatility to the mix, but the evidence is bullish and thus you should continue to hold most of your best performers, while looking to add exposure on normal pullbacks.

This week’s list has a bunch of great-looking charts from a variety of industries; many of them have shown excellent buying volume of late, which bodes well. Our favorite is Transocean (RIG), a powerful turnaround situation that is getting going after a rough couple of years. We’re now seeing institutional investors pile back in.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Urban Outfitters (URBN)	0.00	40-42	-
Trinity Industries (TRN)	0.00	35-36.5	-
Seagate Technology (STX)	0.00	31-33	-
Transocean Ltd. (RIG)	0.00	51-54	-
NXP Semiconductors (NXPI)	0.00	26-28	-
Nationstar Mortgage (NSM)	0.00	35.5-37.5	-
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS)	0.00	129-135	-
Facebook, Inc. (FB)	0.00	29.5-31	-
Celgene (CELG)	0.00	92-95	-
Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI)	0.00	45-47	-

Current Market Outlook


Last week began with a reaction to an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, moved on to a confusing Fed statement concerning future rate moves and ended with fears that U.S.-China trade talks were breaking down. But despite all of that and a solid rally the week before, the major indexes held firm, which is a constructive sign and keeps the intermediate-term trend pointed up. Individual stocks remain mixed, with lots of crosscurrents among different sectors and themes, though we are seeing an increasing number of solid charts and set-ups. Overall, the evidence tells us this is still a bull market, which isn’t to be forgotten—you should be keeping your optimist’s hat on. But with individual stocks still a bit topsy-turvy, you should pick your spots (and stocks) carefully. We’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 6, though a bit more positive action could push that up.

This week’s list includes many fresher names that money is now flowing into. Our Top Pick is Pinduoduo (PDD), which, after a big earnings-induced breakout and run higher, has pulled back in an orderly fashion.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Apollo Global Management (APO)	39.69	39-40.5	35.5-36.5
Boot Barn (BOOT)	43.24	35-37	31.5-32.5
GDS Holdings Limited (GDS)	80.15	41-43	37-38.5
Generac Holdings (GNRC)	86.60	78-80	71-72
HUYA (HUYA)	21.51	26-27.5	23-24
J.B. Hunt (JBHT)	115.27	110-114	102-104
KB Home (KBH)	36.05	30-32	27-28
KLA Corp. (KLAC)	158.80	150-154	136-139
Pinduoduo (PDD)	87.53	32-33.5	27.5-28.5
TopBuild (BLD)	111.00	93-96	86-87.5

From a top-down perspective, the intermediate-term trend is up and most dips are met quickly with buying (Friday was a good example of that). But looking at individual stocks, we are seeing more and more iffy action; more groups are acting sloppily after big runs, strength is being sold into, and volatility is on the rise. None of this means you should be running into the storm cellar or that a big drop is a sure thing, but there’s enough worrisome evidence to hold some cash, to keep losers and laggards on tight leashes, and to be discerning in terms of what (and at what price) you buy. We’re knocking our Market Monitor down a peg.

What we like about this week’s list is that it’s mostly stocks that are out of the public’s eye—they haven’t been hot in recent weeks. Our favorite of the week is Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), which just broke free from a multi-month base and is part of the still-strong transportation group.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT)	170.11	39-41.5	35.5-36
Spirit AeroSystems (SPR)	92.54	27-29	25-26
SM Energy (SM)	0.00	85-87	80-81
The Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN)	0.00	1,040-1,070	990-1000
Harman International Industries, Inc. (HAR)	0.00	75-78	68-69.5
Halliburton (HAL)	0.00	52-55	49-50
First Solar (FSLR)	83.74	58-60	49-50
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP)	0.00	140-146	130-131
Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI)	0.00	75-76.5	69-70
Bitauto Holdings (BITA)	0.00	24-25.5	20-21

Current Market Outlook


The first week of the year was historically bad, with all the major indexes breaking lower and most individual stocks going along for the ride. With such dramatic action, we’re sure you’ll hear and read a variety of predictions, but we urge you to ignore the noise and focus on the facts—and the facts today are that the trends are down, so you should remain in a defensive posture, meaning lots of cash, little if any new buying, with the focus on building a watch list of future winners. Obviously, short-term, a bounce is overdue, and when it comes, it could be a great one. But the fact that the market has had trouble rallying even in the face of “oversold” conditions isn’t a good sign. It’s best to stay defensive until we see some sustained buying emerge.

This week’s list contains special situations, income securities, precious metals and even a couple of resilient growth stocks. Our Top Pick is Rovi Corp. (ROVI), a cheap technology stock that just exploded higher following two major license renewals. Nibbling on dips could work out.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
58.com (WUBA)	0.00	58-61	54-55
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	176-182	163-165
Rovi Corp. (ROVI)	0.00	16-17.5	14-15
Children’s Place (PLCE)	0.00	59-62	53-54
National Storage (NSA)	0.00	16-17.5	15-15.5
FLSR (FLSR)	0.00	62-65	56-58
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX)	547.73	300-308	278-282
Athenahealth (ATHN)	0.00	150-155	140-142
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)	15.37	24-25.5	22-23
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)	79.05	28-29.5	25.5-26

Current Market Outlook


The first week of the year was historically bad, with all the major indexes breaking lower and most individual stocks going along for the ride. With such dramatic action, we’re sure you’ll hear and read a variety of predictions, but we urge you to ignore the noise and focus on the facts—and the facts today are that the trends are down, so you should remain in a defensive posture, meaning lots of cash, little if any new buying, with the focus on building a watch list of future winners. Obviously, short-term, a bounce is overdue, and when it comes, it could be a great one. But the fact that the market has had trouble rallying even in the face of “oversold” conditions isn’t a good sign. It’s best to stay defensive until we see some sustained buying emerge.

This week’s list contains special situations, income securities, precious metals and even a couple of resilient growth stocks. Our Top Pick is Rovi Corp. (ROVI), a cheap technology stock that just exploded higher following two major license renewals. Nibbling on dips could work out.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
58.com (WUBA)	0.00	58-61	54-55
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	176-182	163-165
Rovi Corp. (ROVI)	0.00	16-17.5	14-15
Children’s Place (PLCE)	0.00	59-62	53-54
National Storage (NSA)	0.00	16-17.5	15-15.5
FLSR (FLSR)	0.00	62-65	56-58
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX)	547.73	300-308	278-282
Athenahealth (ATHN)	0.00	150-155	140-142
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)	15.37	24-25.5	22-23
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)	79.05	28-29.5	25.5-26

Current Market Outlook


Not much changed with the market last week, as the major indexes finished up a fraction of a percent, remaining in the trading range of the past three months. That said, there’s no doubt that individual stocks are acting better, especially the liquid leaders that are generally a good barometer of institutional sentiment. Not only are most well-traded growth stocks holding firm, some have actually emerged to new highs on earnings. We’re not ready to change our Market Monitor yet (the intermediate-term trend remains slightly negative and there are tons of earnings reports this week), so it’s best to pick your spots on the buy side, hold some cash and practice patience with your resilient performers.

This week’s list has a bunch of good-looking charts from a variety of industries. For our Top Pick, we’ll go one of the liquid leaders that’s just emerged.PayPal (PYPL) exploded out of a 15-month base last Friday on its heaviest volume since the day of its IPO. We think it’s buyable here or on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Copa Holdings (CPA)	0.00	93-89	85-84
Domino’s Pizza (DPZ)	339.47	165-160	151-148
FMC Technologies, Inc. (FTI)	0.00	32.5-31	29.5-29
HDFC Bank Limited (HDB)	0.00	75-72	68-67
ICON plc (ICLR)	0.00	84-82	77-76
Match (MTCH)	0.00	19.5-18.5	17-16.5
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)	423.92	127-123	112-110
PayPal (PYPL)	147.00	44-42	40.5-39.5
Steel Dynamics (STLD)	0.00	26.5-25.5	23.5-23
Zayo Group (ZAYO)	0.00	31.5-30.5	29-28.5

Current Market Outlook


You really can’t ask for better action from the market since the Brexit vote two weeks ago—the quick shakeout in the major indexes has given way to many days of strong buying, pushing the S&P 500 briefly to new highs this morning and driving other indexes toward key levels. Moreover, a ton of individual stocks have either lifted to new highs or look ready to do so. Short-term, a pullback wouldn’t be surprising given the recent run higher, especially with earnings season set to get underway. Thus, we don’t advise going wild on the buy side. But we’re pushing our Market Monitor back into bullish territory to reflect the evidence—we think you can continue to put money to work as opportunities arise.

This week’s list has a bunch of potential leading stocks if the market keeps improving. Our Top Pick is Acuity Brands (AYI), a leader from a couple of years back that, after a long consolidation, has reasserted itself on the upside as it rides the LED revolution.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Vantiv (VNTV)	0.00	57-58.5	53-54
Thor Industries (THO)	104.76	69-71.5	65-66.5
Rice Energy (RICE)	0.00	22-23	20-20.5
Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST)	0.00	157.5-160.5	149-150
LifeLock Inc. (LOCK)	0.00	15-16	13.5-14
KB Home (KBH)	36.05	15-16	14-14.5
Ellie Mae (ELLI)	0.00	90-94	84-85
Acuity Brands (AYI)	0.00	260-270	238-240
Applied Materials (AMAT)	0.00	24-25	22.5-23
Acacia Communications (ACIA)	51.83	44.5-47.5	38-39.5

Current Market Outlook


It’s been four weeks since the August 24 panic low and the market has done a decent job hanging in there—all of the major indexes probed higher into last week before selling off on Friday. Currently, the major trends of the market remain down, so we’re staying defensive. However, the next few days will be telling—if the indexes can advance from here, we could receive an intermediate-term buy signal late this week, which will have us loosening the wallet a bit. But if the sellers show up again, all bets are off. For now, it’s best not to anticipate anything; you should continue to hold plenty of cash and keep new buys small. We’ll let you know on Friday if the outlook has changed.

In the meantime, we are encouraged by the action of many individual growth stocks, which are showing lots of relative strength even as the market struggles. Our Top Pick this week is Activision Blizzard (ATVI), which is pushing higher on the back of some very good product news. Consider nibbling on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Tyler Technologies (TYL)	0.00	145-151	132-134
T-Mobile US (TMUS)	0.00	41-42.5	38-39
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (SCMP)	0.00	26-28	23.5-24
Pandora Media Inc. (P)	0.00	19-21	17.5-18
Masco (MAS)	0.00	26-27	24.5-25
Expedia Group (EXPE)	0.00	120-125	110-112
Dexcom (DXCM)	421.36	98-100	88-90
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI)	0.00	29-31	26.5-27
Athenahealth (ATHN)	0.00	138-140	130-132
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (ADPT)	39.41	110-114	98-99

As the stock market soars ever higher, driven in no small part by the Magnificent Seven mega-cap tech stocks, vitriol again is being heaped upon passive investing. This form of investing, more commonly known as indexing, is considered “passive” because it considers no other traits beyond a stock’s weight in an index. There is no work involved in picking such stocks or setting the weighting – the index passively determines these. The opposite, of course, is “active” investing, in which investors work to select which stocks, and how much, to buy and sell. Active investing can involve a lot of activity.

Inflation is still a problem for many Americans, and it feels unavoidable when it shows up every day at the dining room table. We may not be able to control the price of goods, but this month we’re fighting back against inflation by spending smarter with nine tips that can help keep inflation from busting your budget.

Well, we’re in the thick of it. New citywide, statewide and national mandates are being pronounced daily, the stock market fell dramatically, my two daughters were sent home from college, three close relatives lost jobs/projects, and one close relative is a basket case over potentially losing his business.

We are recommending shares of CNH Industrial (CNHI) as a new Buy. The company is a major producer of agriculture (80% of sales) and construction (20% of sales) equipment for customers around the world and is the #2 ag equipment producer in North America (behind Deere). It also provides related supplies, services and financing.

Jacob’s service is simply awesome. His trades are very carefully researched. I have been his customer since beginning of the year and already we have a a couple of trades with 200%+ gains and I read his daily updates at 5:30AM and make my own trades as well with nice profits as well. I tap into his brain often and He is very prompt with answering questions. I have been a Mike Cintolo fan for 20 years now and now I use both Cabot Top Ten as well as Cabot Options Trader and both have paid me back in spades this year.
G. Hullatti, Milpitas, CA

Apple iPads and Google Android-powered devices can now get books from the library.