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After much thought and soul-searching, I’ve compiled a list of the Seven Deadly Sins of Growth Investing. I hope it does your investing soul a lot of good. Here it is. My apologies that I couldn’t match the elegant, single-word terseness of the original.

Remain optimistic but pick your stocks carefully. The overall market is in good shape, and there’s definitely more good than bad among individual stocks, though it’s also tricky, with plenty of rotation and news-driven moves.

Our Emerging Markets Timer has turned negative, but its action of the past two months looks more like a trading range than a downtrend. Overall we continue to take things on a stock-by-stock basis; we have several stocks that are teetering on the edge of being kicked out of the portfolio, but we’re inclined to be patient unless a stock’s decline forces our hand.

The market is down today with the Dow falling 400 points so far. It might get uglier before the day is over.

Altogether it felt like a calm week. Considering the worsening performance of the S&P 600 Small Cap Index, which broke below its comfort zone, and the S&P 500, now 6% off its high, our portfolio’s resiliency continues to stand out.

The market hit a new bear market low. That means that the summer rally was indeed just a bear market rally. And stocks may go lower.

Two things spooked investors, persistent inflation and a consequentially persistent Fed. After four Fed rate hikes, a bear market, and two straight quarters of negative GDP growth, inflation remains sky high and barely budging. The Fed will have to remain hawkish for longer.

The Fed insinuated that it is willing to drive the economy into recession, or deeper recession, to tame inflation. That makes it increasingly likely that only a hard landing can bring prices down. The economy is likely to weaken in the months ahead, dragging corporate earnings down with it.

Many stocks are acting just fine, so once this pullback ends, there should be plenty of leaders to jump on. Here are some stocks on our watch list.

A few months ago, I wrote how Target’s bathroom policy has hurt TGT stock. The stock has since bounced back - but that hasn’t changed my long-term outlook.

I think I just heard a major news story go swooshing by without attracting much attention.

Even stock investing systems with simple rules are difficult to implement.

Last week was another up week for the S&P 500. The index has made up all the losses since April and is now in positive territory for the year.

After a multi-month barrage of relentlessly negative headlines, the S&P is within 3% of the all-time high. Seven of the eleven market sectors are higher YTD, and two of the negative sectors are down less than 1% for the year so far.

The best way to make money in the stock market is to invest in conservative stocks for long-term holding.

Current Market Outlook


The market’s not all peaches and cream, as many sectors have been doing more gyrating than advancing, the broad market is iffy and the number of stocks hitting new highs has been falling on each push higher. But we always place most of our emphasis on the primary evidence—the trend of the major indexes and the action of leading stocks—and on that front, the evidence is clearly positive, so we remain heavily invested. The goal from here is to simply follow the system—hold on to your strong performers (though taking partial profits here or there is fine), honor your stops with any stocks that hit potholes and look for new leaders that show explosive strength.

This week’s list is again heavy on recent earnings winners, though it has more of a small- and mid-cap flavor to it. Our Top Pick is Splunk (SPLK), a leading Big Data software firm that has gotten going after a long consolidation.

Scheduling Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no Movers & Shakers this Friday or Top Ten issue next Monday (one of our two scheduled weeks off all year). Have a great holiday weekend!

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Bluebird Bio (BLUE)	0.00	153-161	137-141
Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS)	46.21	24.5-26	22-23
Cypress Semiconductor (CY)	0.00	26-17	15-15.5
ICU Medical (ICUI)	0.00	202-207	188-192
Nutanix (NTNX)	55.91	28.5-30	25-26
Red Rock Resorts (RRR)	34.70	27-28	25-25.5
RH Inc. (RH)	252.93	96-101	86-90
Splunk (SPLK)	207.67	78-82	71.5-73.5
Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK)	0.00	90-93	84-86
Wingstop (WING)	121.52	37-39	34.5-35.5

Current Market Outlook


The market backed off late last week, but the overall picture hasn’t changed much—following a successful retest of the February lows, the major indexes are in a solid rally attempt, but that rally has yet to turn the intermediate-term trend up, either for the indexes or for the majority of leading stocks. There are many encouraging signs, and if the market rallies from here, the trend could turn up later this week; we’re ready and waiting for an all-clear signal should it come. But we learned long ago not to anticipate signals—right now, the trend is mostly sideways, few stocks are running away on the upside (most that have perked up fall back quickly) and most companies are set to report earnings over the next three weeks. Thus, we advise sticking with a cautious stance, which means holding some cash and keeping new positions on the small side.

This week’s list has a wide variety of stocks and sectors, all of which have shown great relative strength. Our Top Pick is Cheniere Energy (LNG), which has a unique story and a stock that’s built a great-looking base. Earnings are out soon, so start small.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)	15.37	25-27	23-24
Autohome (ATHM)	98.65	92-95	85-87
Cheniere Energy (LNG)	63.82	56-58.5	51.5-53.5
E*Trade Financial (ETFC)	0.00	58-60	53.5-55
First Solar (FSLR)	83.74	72-75	66-68
InterXion (INXN)	0.00	63-65	58.5-60.5
Loxo Oncology (LOXO)	186.59	127-135	115-120
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)	423.92	310-320	287-292
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)	0.00	190-195	177-180
TransUnion (TRU)	83.09	63-65	57.5-59

Join Timothy Lutts, chief analyst of newsletters Cabot Marijuana Investor and Cabot Stock of the Week, as he shares his ideas on what to expect from the cannabis stocks in 2022. Here are a few topics he will discuss:
-With the sector down 70% from Feb 2021, these stocks are cheap!
-New Jersey and New York are poised to go legal, expanding the market substantially.
-And one of Tim’s favorites is a company that came public in 2021, so it’s still unknown.

Current Market Outlook


For the first time in two months, last week saw some sellers stepping up to the plate, taking profits in leading names despite some good earnings reports. And today we saw very strong selling across the board, with leaders falling sharply across the board, including many that dipped toward support. In the short-term, given the prolonged run off the bottom, more consolidation is likely, so we’re fine taking a profit (or partial profit) here or there. Intermediate-term, though, we’re still optimistic—while some of the action looks iffy, very few (if any) leading stocks or indexes have broken down at this point, and these type of sharp, scary pullbacks (assuming they find support at logical levels) aren’t unusual during bull moves. We’re knocking our Market Monitor down a notch, thinking the near-term will be more challenging, but remain overall bullish.

This week’s list has a bunch of strong names that have recently emerged, so they shouldn’t have as much pent-up selling pressures. Our Top Pick is MercadoLibre (MELI), where business is reaccelerating and the stock just came out of a big consolidation.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Acacia Communications (ACIA)	51.83	53-56	47.5-49.5
CoStar Group (CSGP)	589.55	450-470	420-430
Cronos Group (CRON)	17.62	20-22	16.5-1705
DocuSign (DOCU)	107.98	52-54	46-47.5
Etsy (ETSY)	112.97	66.5-69.5	60-62
Euronet Worldwide (EEFT)	142.83	130-134	119-122
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	445-465	400-415
Novocure (NVCR)	0.00	50-53	45.5-47
Universal Display (OLED)	187.54	143-148	128-131
Zscaler (ZS)	126.22	55-58	49.5-51.5

Current Market Outlook


There remain some imperfections in the market’s armor, including a continued lack of pep from small- and mid-cap indexes. And there are still plenty of uncertainties, including the upcoming earnings season and the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiation/battle. But you can always find things to worry about in the stock market—the key is to focus on a handful of time-tested indicators and let them guide you. For us, that involves the trends of the major indexes (intermediate- and longer-term trends are pointed up), the action of Top Ten stocks (vast majority look solid) and, to a lesser extent, sentiment (which remains neutral at best). You should still be following your loss limits and stops, and on the buy side, picking your stocks (and your spots) carefully, especially if something has earnings coming up in a couple of weeks. But overall, you should remain in a constructive stance.

Impressively, this week’s list has a nice batch of growth-oriented stocks with solid stories. Our Top Pick is Sunrun (RUN), which is a bit thin and wild, but has shown fantastic action lately and has a solid growth story.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Amarin (AMRN)	14.06	21.5-23.5	18-19.5
Arconic (ARNC)	17.00	24-25	22.5-23
Avalara (AVLR)	102.00	75-78	67.5-69
Baozun (BZUN)	44.24	50-52	43-45
First Solar (FSLR)	83.74	64.5-67	58.5-60.5
Illumina Inc. (ILMN)	289.74	360-370	330-335
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI)	980.83	605-630	545-565
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	99-102.5	90-92
Sunrun (RUN)	38.40	18.5-20	16-17
Zscaler (ZS)	126.22	80.5-83.5	71.5-73.5

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

Current Market Outlook


The market continued to unravel last week, with leading growth stocks getting battered again and the rest of the market joining the downturn. In the near-term, we have seen some signs of panic and also some support, so it’s certainly possible the market can get off its duff a bit in the days ahead. But given the severity of the selling and the fact that the intermediate-term is firmly down, the odds favor more correction and consolidation ahead. That means the main goal here is the preservation of your capital and your confidence, both of which will come in handy during the next upturn. Nibbling on a name or two if you already hold a lot of cash is fine (we have some intriguing resilient situations in today’s issue) and could prove profitable if we bounce. But the big money will be made in the next sustained uptrend, so it’s best to stay mostly safe until that arrives.

This week’s list is a hodgepodge of stocks and sectors, which isn’t surprising given the environment. Our Top Pick is Ulta Beauty (ULTA), which remains resilient and looks ready to be a steady leader once the market correction is over.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)	82.24	25-26.5	22-23
Amarin (AMRN)	14.06	18-20	15-16
Callaway Golf (ELY)	20.21	22.5-23.5	20.5-21.5
Ensco plc (ESV)	6.52	8.0-8.5	7.0-7.3
Kirkland Lake Gold (KL)	51.30	20-21	18.4-18.9
Match (MTCH)	0.00	51-54	47-48
The Mosaic Company (MOS)	29.22	31.5-33	29.5-30.5
PBF Energy (PBF)	38.93	47.5-49.5	45-46
Petrobras (PBR)	14.78	14.5-15.5	13.5-14
Ulta Beauty (ULTA)	331.95	275-280	258-261

The stock market enjoyed a big upside reversal last week, snapping back strongly from the recent slump. The DJIA rose 3.9% for the week while the S&P 500 gained 4.6%. Big-tech stocks reasserted a leadership role thanks in part to blow-out earnings from Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL), propelling the Nasdaq to a 6% advance for the week.