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Current Market Outlook


Following the Brexit reaction, all of the major indexes are now decisively below their respective 50-day lines. Thus, we consider the intermediate-term trend to be down, which means it’s best to pare back. (We’ve knocked our Market Monitor down two notches this week.) It’s fine to hold your resilient, profitable performers (there are many stocks and sectors taking this selloff in stride), but you should honor all stops and loss limits and limit new buying to just small positions in strong stocks. The net result will be a higher cash position (around 50%, give or take, depending on what stocks you own and how you run your portfolio) and a handful of top performers in your portfolio. The next few days will be important—a quick snapback would be encouraging, but continued deterioration would have us advising an even more defensive posture. We’ll be watching.

This week’s list is a combination of defensive stocks, yield stocks, some precious metals and a couple of resilient growth ideas. Our Top Pick is Dollar Tree (DLTR), a defensive-type stock that should show excellent earnings growth thanks to last year’s game-changing buyout of Family Dollar.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Veeva Systems (VEEV)	180.23	32-34	29.5-30
Silver Wheaton (SLW)	0.00	20.5-21.5	19-19.5
SiteOne Landscape Supply (SITE)	98.49	31.5-33	28-28.5
Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)	129.66	67-69	61-63
Jack in the Box (JACK)	0.00	82-84.5	77-78
Gigamon (GIMO)	0.00	33-35	30-31
Dollar Tree (DLTR)	0.00	89-92	84-85
Communication Sales & Leasing (CSAL)	0.00	26-27.5	24-24.5
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP)	0.00	16.5-17.5	15.5-16
Align Technology (ALGN)	316.20	75.5-77.5	72-73

Current Market Outlook


There’s little question the overall market environment remains bullish—the intermediate- and longer-term trends are up, most stocks and sectors are in the same boat and we’re spotting more set-ups (either pullbacks or longer bases) out there. Short-term, though, nothing would surprise us—most major indexes haven’t made any progress since mid-December, we’re entering the thick of earnings season and some sentiment measures have gotten extended, indicating investor complacency. We’re not advising any drastic change in stance; our Market Monitor remains in bullish territory at a level 8 out of 10, and we’re looking to latch on to any new leadership that lifts off. But just be sure to have your plan in place, both on the buy side and sell side, as earnings season revs up.

This week’s list is a mixed bag and includes a few stocks that are reporting earnings within a couple of weeks. Our Top Pick is Coherent (COHR), a little-known laser company that’s benefiting from an uptick in OLED demand and from a major acquisition that’s just closed. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Alaska Air Group (ALK)	0.00	90.5-93.5	84-85.5
Charles Schwab (SCHW)	0.00	39.5-41	36.5-37.5
Coherent, Inc. (COHR)	0.00	138-145	128-130
Glaukos Corp. (GKOS)	67.84	37.5-39.5	35-36
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY)	70.70	45-48	40-42
Incyte Corporation (INCY)	76.98	112.5-118	102-104
MSC Industrial (MSM)	0.00	95-98	91-89
Rio Tinto plc (RIO)	57.05	40-42	37-38
Tesaro (TSRO)	0.00	148-153	134-137
Univar (UNVR)	0.00	27-28.5	25-26

This morning, from Normandy to Washington, D.C., there will be ceremonies honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Now, we are amidst a different type of struggle, and semiconductor chips are at the heart of it all. And today’s new Explorer recommendation is one of the more important cogs in that global struggle.

We need to begin with some bad news. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock tumbled 32% yesterday after its audit firm, Ernst & Young, resigned. The auditor said it had recently learned of information “which has led us to no longer be able to rely on management’s and the audit committee’s representations, and to be unwilling to be associated with the financial statements prepared by management.”

China’s benchmark CSI 300 index has surged 25% in the five days following Beijing’s stimulus measures to unleash its economy and financial markets. This has led to some catch-up growth for Explorer stock and fund recommendations.

The action was not limited to just Chinese stocks but also stocks looking to China for growth. I mentioned commodities last week, but another winner was the luxury business.

JPMorgan (JPM) is due to report results Friday, kicking off bank earnings season. Lately, the market seems to be more focused on earnings than Fed interest rates, and this is a good thing.

As markets move towards the “Great Rebalance”, looking to diversify portfolios with different asset classes and international stocks, the Explorer and I are headed to Europe, Asia, and Latin America during the next year. But today, stick to the U.S. and add a very familiar face to the portfolio.

You might not think that flowers are a global business but American Airlines moved 417 tons of flowers from the Netherlands to America for Valentine’s Day.

The Cabot Global Stocks Explorer portfolio is led by our rocketing Virgin Galactic (SPCE), which has zoomed from 11 to 37 in a wink of the eye. Meanwhile, Sea Limited (SE) and Luckin Coffee (LK) were both up 10% this past week even as our emerging markets timer (EEM) moved to neutral.

Concerns over the impact of coronavirus are deepening as Apple announced revenue will be below expectations. In this issue, we’ll address these concerns, as well as why and how to hedge them, plus I’m putting a European 5G player on my watch list.

We’re now presented with an interesting situation. The broad market, which hit record highs just last week, is now sick, thanks to investors’ perception that the coronavirus will negatively affect global trade. But the marijuana sector, which has been in a correction for more than two years, has many stocks that have been building bottoms.



No one knows how this will shake out in the short term, though clearly, the long-term potential of the marijuana sector remains intact.



Nevertheless, by observing the action of individual stocks and following time-tested procedures, we will come through this in fine shape. Today’s issue includes a few partial sells as well as a handful of downgrades while we wait for the dust to settle.



Full details in the issue.

As the market gets back on its feet after the recent 33% drawdown, all Cabot analysts are looking for opportunities—with the growth-oriented analysts looking for strength and the value-oriented analysts looking for value—and it’s value that describes today’s featured stock perfectly. A well-known pharmaceutical giant, the stock is a bargain today.

The market’s intermediate-trend has turned decidedly down, so taking steps to minimize the risk from your most aggressive stocks is critical. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! The market’s long-term trend is still up, and I’m confident there is still more upside potential for a well-diversified portfolio of carefully-chosen stocks.

The market looks pretty good these days. I’m not saying we are completely out of the woods, but the indicators are promising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen about 1,500 points since last issue. And while Energy (up 36.8%) and Utilities (up 3.7%) are the only two sectors ahead for the year, we’re seeing positive moves in several other areas.

On the good news side, expectations for inflation seem to be tempering. We’ll know more tomorrow, but right now economists are calling for a decline in the inflation rate from 9.1% in July to 8.7%. And in better tidings, the three-year inflation rate is now forecast at 3.2%, down from 3.6%.

Last Friday, while the Dow was dropping 250 points, I took a look at the new highs list. I found 34 stocks, many of them too illiquid and some too stodgy, but one in particular that interests me. It’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY), a major Indian pharmaceutical maker.

OK, by now you’re probably sick about hearing of New Year’s resolutions; heck, Paul Goodwin even wrote about a few pointers a couple of weeks ago and Elyse Andrews discussed some in last weekend’s digests. Even so, I like to write down some New Year’s investing resolutions every January, and I think you might get a valuable nugget or two out of them. So here are 10 to consider, in no particular order. Adopt one of them, adopt them all--whatever works for you. But I’m hoping to adhere to all of them (and more) in the months ahead.

Last week I ran a quiz here, which was designed to give me a better picture of exactly who you are.

So on to the stock. To refresh your memory, Force Protection is a South Carolina company with $340 million in annual sales that makes trucks for the military ... trucks that resist the force of various explosive devices. The majority of these vehicles are bought by the U.S. government, and they’ve proven quite valuable in Iraq. Some have been sold to Canada. And last Monday the British government, which has already bought 100, ordered 140 more.