This was pretty much the market you’d expect on the day before a big announcement. The Fed meeting started today; the fallout comes tomorrow. There’s going to be a hike, but how many more hikes can we expect this year? The market is betting on 3. If Fed Chair Yellen suggests any more than that, then we might have a problem.
For today though, the major indices just had no energy to get positive. Speaking of energy, it didn’t help that oil prices continue to slump. The S&P was down 0.34% on Tuesday to 2365.5, while the Dow declined 0.21% to 20,837.4. The NASDAQ was off 0.32% to 5856.8.
The Short List had a double-digit winner in this week’s realignment, along with two other positive short coverings. Of course, there were also 3 new buys to complete the swaps. Options Trader added a couple bull call spreads, while Stocks Under $ 10 picked up a company from one of the editor’s favorite spaces right now. Finally, RTA saw some “obscene” profit potential due to pullbacks during this sector rotation. Learn more about all this in the highlights section below:
Today’s Portfolio Highlights:
Zacks Short List: The portfolio made 19.2% on today’s short covering of CF Industries (CF). It also had nice profits for Terex (TEX, +4.3%) and Shutterfly (SFLY, +2.1%), which left the portfolio on Tuesday as well. The new additions replacing these names in this week’s adjustment are Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Amazon.com (AMZN) and DigitalGlobal (DGI). Learn more about this emotion-free portfolio that takes advantage of falling and volatile markets by reading the Short List Trader Guide.
Options Trader: The portfolio added 2 bull call spreads on Tuesday. ManpowerGroup (MAN) is a leading employment services organization, so it’s part of a space in the top 36% of the Zacks Industry Rank. Kevin bought to open a Sept. 100.00 Call AND sold to open a Sept 110.00 Call. If the stock closes at or above $ 110 by its mid-September expiration, then this spread will gain $ 590.
The other bull call spread was in Cavium (CAVM), a provider of semiconductor processors. Sales are at record levels and its projected sales growth is more than 59%. The editor bought to open 2 Sept. 75.00 Calls AND sold to open 2 Sept. 80.00 Calls. If the stock closes at or above $ 80 by the mid-September expiration, then the spread will gain $ 640. Read the full write-up for all the specifics on these new moves.
Stocks Under $ 10: Brian likes the shippers right now due to good macro catalysts. Exactly one month ago today, he bought Golden Ocean (GOGL) for the portfolio and it is up nearly 21% in that time. Today, he picked up Scorpio Bulkers (SALT), a shipper that has seen sequential revenue growth in each of the last three quarters. Most importantly though, the Baltic Dry Index is moving higher, which bodes well for the whole industry. Read more about this new addition and get ready for more buys as the editor works to get the portfolio back to 20 names.
Reitmeister Trading Alert: There are some obscenely oversold shares out there due to the continued sector rotation. Do you know what that means to Steve? It means there are some obscenely good buys to be had. On Tuesday, the editor took advantage by adding more shares of MasTec (MTZ) and Thor Industries (THO), bringing those allocations up to 7.3% and 7.4%, respectively. Learn more in the complete commentary.
Have a Great Evening,
Jim Giaquinto
A Couple More Things…
• Remember, the first episode of the brand-new Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session will be available for viewing on Wednesday, March 15th. Steve Reitmeister and Kevin Matras will cover the investment landscape from most every angle in this “must-see-TV” event. Of course that includes a rundown of what has just happened in the market and how you can best prepare for what lies ahead. Don’t miss your chance to hear their Agree to Disagree segment, Steve’s answers to your questions in Reity’s Mailbag, tips for improving your portfolio and more. So be sure to mark your calendars then login to Zacks.com and bookmark this page .
• Eric Dutram shares 6 tickers to feed off this emerging revolution projected to be worth $ 1.7 trillion by 2020. Read the report today to see how you can profit. Simply log on to Zacks.com and access this new report here.
Recommendations from Zacks’ Private Portfolios:
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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