Search

The market’s evidence continues to improve, with our core market timing indicators returning to the bullish side of the fence. That’s obviously a good thing and has us optimistic -- though upside follow through from here will be key, as many growth measures are still lagging behind, though we are seeing more setups, especially from areas that sat around for much of the past year (see the issue for much more on that). All told, we are doign some new buying tonight, and will have more to come if the market continues to act well.

Stocks are back in business!

Yes, a little more than a month after some of the worst investor sentiment readings in years, soaring volatility, and a 19% decline in the S&P 500 – not to mention both the Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 swinging to bear market territory – stocks are suddenly on a roll, recession fears are abating, and, perhaps most importantly, tariff deals have been struck. The 90-day pause on most reciprocal tariffs initiated by President Trump on April 9 – one week after the deeply unpopular “Liberation Day” was announced – triggered one of the biggest one-day rallies in stock market history. Indexes flirted with their early-April lows two weeks later but eventually stabilized, and May has brought a wave of positive tariff news – first, a deal with the United Kingdom, in which key imports like cars were reduced to 10% and steel and aluminum tariffs were eliminated; then, last weekend came a 90-day truce with China. That sent stocks soaring more than 3% on Monday, and they haven’t looked back.

The market remains in great shape, and even better, growth stocks have (mostly) avoided any further severe rotation in recent weeks, with more and more joining the party. There are a couple of bugaboos out there (especially sentiment, which has gotten giddy), but we continue to steadily put money to work as opportunities arise. Last week, we added a new half position in Halozyme (HALO), and tonight, we’re filling out our position in Uber (UBER), which looks like a fresh, early-stage leader to us.

Open up tonight’s issue for all our latest thoughts on the market, our stocks, some new ideas and the myriad longer-term breakouts we’re seeing across sectors and themes, which should bode well.

One of the reasons I love the stock market is that it’s such a battle of the mind. Of course, few pundits or analysts will tell you that--to them, it’s all about number crunching, research, valuation and industry analysis. And all of those are important. But when you get down to it, with money on the line, buying and selling stocks becomes emotional. Really, though, it’s how you handle those emotions that will go a long way toward determining how much money you make and keep in the stock market. The investors that shoot from the hip and react to every wiggle in the market generally do poorly. Those that have a well thought out plan are usually the ones that excel.

AVPT, AORT and DCBO Still Buys After Reporting

The market has snapped back in a surprisingly strong fashion, but breadth has narrowed, so I’m still suspicious of this rebound. However, there are still plenty of great charts as well as stories to go along with them, and today’s recommendation is one of them. In fact, you may even be a user of the company’s products!

As for the current portfolio, there are no changes today.

Details in the issue.

Passive real estate investing is surging in popularity as it promises the wealth-building power of real estate without the headache of managing properties and tenants. This month’s issue features the pros and cons of passive real estate investing, the types of opportunities available to investors, and what you need to know before you get started.

The New Year is shaping up to be different from recent years. And market leadership is already changing.

The economy is transforming.

The positive effects of tax cuts and deregulation are starting to take effect. There are also significantly cheaper oil prices, lower interest rates, and the absence of much of the tariff uncertainty from last year. The chances are good that 2026 will feature the strongest economy of the bull market so far.

Most cyclical businesses benefit from a stronger economy. In fact, cyclical stocks have been the best performing market sectors for the past few months. Bank stocks in particular are in a great position because of cheap valuations, rising earnings, and a likely steepening yield curve.

Banks took it on the chin during inflation and rising rates. Although bank stocks have recovered from the loss, they are still near the same price level they were four years ago. The recovery should have further to go. In this issue, I highlight one of the country’s largest regional banks. The bank has rapidly growing earnings and the stock price has momentum.

If you’re just starting your journey into the world of investing, these are some of the best investment apps out there.

In today’s note, we discuss the earnings reports from Wells Fargo (WFC). Please note that our comments on Well’s earnings didn’t make it into the podcast.

Today’s special bulletin brings news on one of our stocks, followed by brief comments on additional portfolio stocks.

Back on April 24 I suggested cannabis stocks looked like a buy in their weakened state. I singled out two ETFs for simplicity.

We’re trimming our portfolio a little further, and adding a healthy new financial stock to the Dividend Growth Tier.

This industry is very recession-resistant (sales grew steadily even through 2008-2009) and this stock is leading the charge to its move online (25% of sales online by 2022, up from 14% in 2017) thanks to its product selection (45,000 of them!) and fulfillment (can reach all of the U.S. within two days).

Current Market Outlook


The downtrend continues, with the major indexes extending their latest leg lower, with most reaching new lows this morning and some (like the S&P 600 SmallCap) falling more than 20% from their all-time peaks. We continue to keep a very open mind, especially given the horrific sentiment environment that’s emerged—various measures tell us investors are beginning to throw in the towel, which, combined with the fact that we still see many resilient growth stocks means it wouldn’t shock us to see another rally attempt unfold. But that’s speculation at this point—with the trends pointed down for the market and most stocks and sectors, you should remain in a defensive stance, with most of your portfolio in cash and, if you buy, buying just small positions.

This week’s list is another that’s full of stocks we think can do very well if the market can get going. Our Top Pick is Tableau Software (DATA), one of the strongest growth stocks in the market today as big investors buy into its transition to the cloud.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Ciena (CIEN)	44.25	32-33.5	29-30.5
Cree, Inc. (CREE)	67.96	42-44	39-40
CyberArk (CYBR)	111.74	68-71	63-64.5
Franco-Nevada (FNV)	125.51	69.5-72	63-64
MarketAxess (MKTX)	439.96	213-218	200-204
PayPal (PYPL)	147.00	82.5-85	77-78
Pinduoduo (PDD)	87.53	21-22.5	17.5-19
Tableau Software (DATA)	126.42	116.5-121	107-109
Twilio (TWLO)	183.39	85-89	75-77
Twitter (TWTR)	40.37	32-34	29-30.5

This month, we’re going back to what’s served us well, small business software. The company has a cloud-based software solution tailor-made for property managers. It’s growing revenue by more than 30%, has no debt, and is on track to become profitable this year. The chart is solid. And I believe the company will ultimately be sold, hopefully at a nice premium to where shares trade today.

Few things are more enduring than America’s love of a good hamburger. Indeed, the iconic sandwich is so much a part of the country’s pop cultural heritage that, according to numerous opinion polls, it’s one of the first things foreigners mention when asked to name the most American symbol they can think of.

Our weekly note usually follows the theme of “what’s on our minds.” The topics range from discussions about individual stocks to the overall market to inflation and other matters. We usually have a lot on our minds, so it’s mostly a matter of picking one.

The broad market remains in fine health, with the major indexes trending higher and sentiment measures still bullish. Thus I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested in a diversified portfolio of stocks that fit your investment needs.

Today’s recommendation is a well-known name on the consumer side, the biggest airline on the west coast. And, interestingly enough, it will be replacing our current airline stock, which is now being sold for a decent profit after less than four months.

Beyond that, there’s only one change to the portfolio today. Last week’s recommendation, which was bought at an unfortunately high point, will now be downgraded to Hold. Details in the issue.