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Santa Claus hasn’t arrived yet for investors, as stocks are enduring a rough December. As a result, we have two sells today and another rating downgrade. However, we are adding a stock that’s perfect for these turbulent times: a dividend-paying utility that holds up well in sharp sell-offs like this one but features an alternative energy wing that has allowed it to outperform the market for years, even in good times. It’s built for safety and growth and is a longtime favorite of Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson.

August has been a slog for investors, as an uneven earnings season has given the sellers the full buckets they needed to throw a bit of cold water on the 2023 bull market. While high-flying growth stocks have certainly taken it on the chin, especially on earnings, the overall market pullback has been fairly modest, and probably healthy in the long run. With prices lower than they were in July, particularly among growth stocks, today we add a big name with a revolutionary product that many people already use regularly – though only about half the country has access to it. That will soon change, which is why Cabot Growth Investor’s Mike Cintolo is high on it.

We comment on earnings from Adient (ADNT), Dril-Quip (DRQ), ESAB Corp (ESAB), Frontier Group Holdings (ULCC), Gannett (GCI), Goodyear Tire (GT), Janus Henderson Group (JHG), Kaman Corporation (KAMN), Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Western Digital (WDC).

In the September issue of Cabot Early Opportunities, we look into what this afternoon’s Federal Reserve meeting could mean for the market. Then we dig into five small-cap companies from the industrial, biotech, software and clean energy markets. There’s something for everybody.

Enjoy!

While there are still symptoms of a broad unfolding market top, and the market as a whole is soft today, the main trend is still clearly up and thus I continue to recommend you be substantially invested.

In fact, in our recommended portfolio all our stocks look fine; there are no recommended changes today.



As for today’s recommendation, it’s a technology company that’s a household name, but still small enough to grow very fast.



Details inside.

The market’s main trend remains up and thus I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested, always working to “upgrade” your portfolio by selling weak stocks and buying healthier ones.

Today’s recommendation is a well-known big technology stock that’s spent the past eight months going sideways, despite the fact that revenue growth has been accelerating. To me, it’s a very attractive setup.



As for our current holdings, there are no changes. After selling two stocks last week, everything looks good today.



Details inside.

First, a scheduling note: With Christmas coming quick, next Monday (December 27) is the second of our two regular weeks off for Top Ten. We’ll be in later that week, but if we don’t talk to you have a great holiday season!

After an encouraging bounce, the sellers immediately came back to the well last week. While we don’t think this is going to morph into 2008, it’s clear that most of the evidence remains negative: The intermediate-term trend of most indexes and stocks is pointed down and the vast majority of former leaders are in shambles. We’ll let others predict (guess) what happens from here, but with most things acting poorly, it’s best to remain cautious, holding plenty of cash, building your watch list and keeping any new buys on the small side.



This week’s list has a variety of names that are resisting the market’s weakness, so if you want to nibble on something, you’ll find it here. Our Top Pick is a unique IoT-related firm whose stock is acting just fine.

The market’s action last week, while far from perfect, was about as good as you could have hoped for given the prior damage. But in our view, what happens from here will tell the true tale: The overall market’s intermediate-term trend is still down (or at least not up), and while there has definitely been some improvement, many stocks remain in poor shape—especially in growth land, where a lot of names have failed to bounce at all. To reflect the bounce, we’ll nudge up our Market Monitor to a level 6, but the bulls still have more to prove.

This week’s list is a hodgepodge of stocks and sectors, with everything from infrastructure to lumber to transportation included. Our Top Pick, though, is part of the strong networking theme and staged a powerful breakout last week.

Last week brought some renewed chop and crosscurrents, with broader indexes finding some sellers and a few stocks hitting potholes before or after earnings. Moreover, we’re seeing indications that complacency has made a quick comeback, and with many good-looking stocks set to report earnings over the next two weeks, some near-term selling wouldn’t surprise us. Even so, all of this looks normal in the context of where the market has come from: The prior three weeks were excellent, the intermediate-term trend is pointed up and the vast majority of stocks are acting well. Could we see another change in character, with the market falling back into its spin-cycle ways of 2021? It’s always possible, but we go with the weight of the evidence, which today remains mostly positive. We’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 7 today.

This week’s list is another well-rounded one, with some recent earnings winners and stocks from a variety of industries. Our Top Pick is Enphase Energy (ENPH), which appears to be getting going from a deep base after earnings. We prefer entering on a bit of weakness if possible.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Albemarle Corporation (ALB)	256	247-257	220-225
Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI)	56	52-55	46-48
Coinbase (COIN)	331	305-320	267-277
Dexcom (DXCM)	627	605-630	535-545
Enphase Energy (ENPH)	240	220-232	190-196
J.B. Hunt (JBHT)	196	191-197	178-181
Medpace (MEDP)	226	212-222	192-196
Marvell Technology Group (MRVL)	69	66-68.5	60-61.5
SLAB (SLAB)	193	182-192	160-165
WOLF (WOLF)	131	123-129	101-105

Stop us if you’ve heard this scenario before: The market gets a head of steam going, but after some inflationary reports, the Fed begins to jawbone the market, which leads to the market giving up the ghost. That happened at least a couple of times in 2022, so our antennae are up given the recent inflation reports and some tough talk from Fedheads last week. That said, once again, the bottom line is that most of the key evidence is still bullish, so while we’re honoring stops and aren’t piling in here, but we’re also holding onto names that are acting normally. We will drop our Market Monitor down a notch (to a level 6) to respect the recent dip, but we’re most interested in how the market responds now that it’s down near support.

This week’s list again has something for everyone, with our Top Pick a well-situated firm that’s helping to lead a group move and just reacted well to earnings.

The major indexes quickly retreated after the prior couple of good weeks, with growth-oriented areas falling the most, a lot of stocks being rejected near resistance and some old winners being taken out and shot. Despite that, there are some green shoots out there—by the letter of the law, some broad indexes (like small- and mid-caps) are in intermediate-term uptrends, and we’re also seeing some sectors assert themselves, especially in the commodity space. We’re not bullish, and will leave our Market Monitor at a level 4, though our overall advice remains basically unchanged: Hold plenty of cash, honor your stops and, if you do some buying, keep it small.


This week’s list is again heavy on commodity-type names, though we’re also seeing a few recent earnings winners that have some growth to them. Our Top Pick straddles the line between growth and commodity and is one of the few names to move out to recently all-time highs.

Now that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is officially in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, it’s worth knowing more about his views on cannabis policy.


After all, DeSantis will now play an even bigger part in the election debates, even if polls say DeSantis has a slim chance against frontrunner Donald Trump. His voice matters – since cannabis is such a politically driven sector.



The bottom line: DeSantis offers a mixed picture, but it’s not all bad for cannabis investors.

Most of the rubber-meets-the-road evidence is positive when it comes to the intermediate-term, that said, short-term, some wobbles and rotation are beginning to creep in—some growth areas (like chips) are weakening while the broad market (small-caps, etc.) are perking up, and after five weeks of strong gains, investor sentiment has gotten a bit comfortable. That doesn’t have us growing more cautious, and in fact, we’re bumping up our Market Monitor to a level 7—though we are still favoring moving gradually and picking your stocks and entry points carefully.

This week’s list has another nice collection of stocks, including everything from precious metals to chemicals to some powerful earnings gaps in the tech space. Our Top Pick is a tech infrastructure name that isn’t early in its run, but after a choppy three months, it appears ready for its next move.

The news of a new virus variant came out of left field late last week, whacking the major indexes on Friday … though today brought a so-so rally as some think the economic impact of omicron won’t be as bad as feared. We’re not in our storm cellar, but we’re not ignoring the action, either—on the buy side, we advise going slow and starting small, while for names you own, you want to honor your stops and make sure bad situations (losses, etc.) don’t get much worse.

That said, there remain many stocks that are pulling back or consolidating normally despite all the hectic action. Our Top Pick is one of those that already went through the wringer this year, broke out recently and is holding up well

Our recent ratings change from Buy to Sell for an energy company, earnings updates and other comments on our recommended companies, and some thoughts on the amazingly complex macro environment.

Why dividend-paying stocks are important to have in your portfolio.

It’s the last week of August, which means a few things. Volume in the market is drying up as most investors enjoy the last couple of weeks of summer.

Every few months I like to do a frequently asked question (FAQ) issue for Cabot Wealth Advisory. The reason I’m able to do this is that I’m available to subscribers--every editor answers many emails each week, so we have a pretty good idea of what’s on subscribers’ minds. I find the FAQ both makes for a good read and helps me think through some of the most common and intriguing questions out there. A quick note before I start, the answers to these questions are from my growth stock and market-timing perspective. So without further ado, on with the show.