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Number six in our 10-part series on the best forever stocks in 2018 is GrubHub (GRUB), a pioneer in the online and mobile food ordering industry.

Since I was child, Memorial Day has meant a canoe trip on the Ipswich River here in Massachusetts, and that’s where I am today, enjoying nature, unplugged. A small part of the day, as always, will be devoted to honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But for me, a larger part will be devoted to wondering whether war will ever become obsolete as a tool for conflict resolution. In the long term, I’m optimistic that mankind will eventually evolve to put the practice of war behind us. War is destructive, and I’d rather be productive. But I’m not holding my breath.

My next idea really gets me excited, and the reason is that I’m not talking about a broad industry group.

Current Market Outlook


Last week was a solid one for the market, not necessarily in the major indexes but in the action of leading stocks, many of which bounced nicely off key intermediate-term support. Looking at the evidence, the vast majority of it is bullish, so we are, too—we’re bumping our Market Monitor up to a level 8 in tonight’s issue. That said, earnings season is just getting underway for most stocks, which will obviously be important. There will surely be the usual ups and downs, but we’ll be looking to see if any new leadership emerges or, conversely, if some of the leading stocks that have had good moves show abnormal weakness.

In the meantime, we’re just following the system, looking for strong stocks that are relatively early in their overall runs. Our Top Pick this week is Okta (OKTA), which looks to be resuming its run after a seven-week rest.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Armstrong World (AWI)	88.01	80.5-83.5	73.5-75.5
Avalara (AVLR)	102.00	52.5-55.5	48.5-50
The Walt Disney Company (DIS)	144.76	128-132	117-120
Heico (HEI)	134.84	96-99	91-92.5
Marvell Technology Group (MRVL)	36.88	22-23.5	20-21
Nexstar Media Group (NXST)	105.68	111-115	101-103
Okta, Inc. (OKTA)	148.41	92.5-95.5	82.5-84.5
Yeti Holdings (YETI)	42.80	29.5-32	26-27.5
Yext Inc. (YEXT)	21.32	20.5-21.5	19-19.5
Zscaler (ZS)	126.22	63.5-67	57-59

Today’s focus is the energy revolution that’s recently begun, and which will transform the world.

Don’t look now but the market is in rally mode and has been for a couple of weeks. We will continue to favor safer, more recession-resistant stocks and investments for the foreseeable future but the selloff may be over. One rating change as we move a position from buy to hold.

There isn’t one stock that can’t go south at a moment’s notice, so build your portfolio of a group of stocks and use a strict sell discipline.

What should the average investor to do in a challenging market environment? My recommendation is ...

Small caps are off about one percentage point over the last week while the S&P 500 is almost dead flat.

All things considered, that feels like a win to me – largely because the Fed signaled potential for two more rate hikes throughout the year. The Fed’s rate hike program has been the market’s bogeyman for over a year. The message the market is sending now is that, yeah, you might keep us on our toes, bogeyman, but we’re not scared any more. You can be dealt with.

Higher volatility in the big banks equates to higher options premium, here’s how I plan on playing the bank dip.

The Iran saga continues. But the market is starting off the week on a positive note because of optimism that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and relieve oil price pressure.

The Iran situation is by far the main event in the market right now. The war could end quickly or drag on for a while. So far, the market is taking things in stride. The S&P closed last week down 3% for the month of March. That’s nothing like the tariff sell-off last April. But there is still downside risk.

Pot stocks, marijuana stocks, cannabis stocks – call them what you will, but they’re suddenly red-hot. Here’s how to play them with straightforward options trades.

The major market indexes have talked themselves off the ledge over the past couple of days, not exactly roaring back to health, but showing signs that buying interest isn’t completely gone. Headlines about a trade war between the U.S. and China have been a major disruptor, and I have some thoughts about that in this week’s commentary. I also have a Chinese stock that’s been ignoring the market’s wobbles and etching a great rally.

Another year has come and gone. I can’t believe it. They never used to go by this fast. Anyway, it was a terrific year for stocks. The market is up 28% for the year.

The big news this week is the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in Africa. The news prompted a steep selloff last Friday and then again yesterday. This throws a wrench in the works.

The market has crashed during the past three weeks, with the major indexes down 25%-plus and many stocks down much more than that. We’re seeing some truly historic oversold extremes, which tell us a bounce could get underway at any time, but we’re also not seeing the market able to bounce from those extremes. The bottom line is the same as it’s been since late February: The sellers remain in control of the market and the vast majority of stocks, so we’re holding plenty of cash and paring back as need be.

Bigger picture, the market (and the country) will get through this pandemic in time, so it’s important not to lose your cool. There will be big money to be made down the road, and we’re on the hunt for stocks showing some minor relative strength and studying up on some new stories (a couple of which we highlight in the issue). But the goal is to get to the next uptrend in one piece--right now, you should respect the action and remain defensive.

In this week’s video, Mike Cintolo says that there’s no shortage of good-looking stocks out there as the buyers remain active.

The emergence of AI has the potential to create society-wide benefits, but the costs must be borne equally as well. This is how we achieve it.

Most financial planners agree there are seven levels of wealth. Hiding in plain sight in those levels are three great reasons to invest in stocks.