Strong Week Ends With 2%+ Gains

SPECIAL NOTE: The once-in-a-lifetime chance at finding the next Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) right when it hits the market is so compelling that initial public offers (IPOs) are a frequent topic of interest for retail investors. Getting in early on a successful IPO can sometimes lead to massive returns. That’s why Zacks experts Maddy Johnson and Ryan McQueeney explore one of the largest marquee debuts, Spotify, to attract their attention in our new Special Report, After Spotify, 4 Massive IPOs We Want in 2018. They also examine whether investors should expect Spotify’s market entrance to inspire a tidal wave of new stocks hitting Wall Street. In addition, they reveal four private companies that offer an opportunity to prepare for their sure-to-be-historic IPOs, and how you can profit from the next IPO, whenever it may come. Log on to Zacks.com to read it now.


Wasn’t that a fun week! After turning a deaf ear to a strong earnings season amid a three-month correction, the market finally shrugged off its worries and confidently rallied by more than 2%.

The NASDAQ jumped 2.7% this week, while the S&P was up 2.4% and the Dow advanced 2.3%. It marked a dramatic improvement over last week when the NASDAQ rose by about 1% while the other two major indices were mostly breakeven with losses of around 0.1%.

The Dow got most of the attention as it closed in the green each day. In fact, it now has a 7-session winning streak that stretches back to a huge intraday reversal on Thursday, May 3. It was the best performer today with a rise of 0.37% (or about 91 points) to 24,831.2.

The S&P rose 0.17% on Friday to 2727.7. The only disappointment came, ironically, from the NASDAQ, which broke its 5-day winning run with a tiny 0.03% slip to 7402.9. The market’s only hiccup today came when President Trump unveiled his plans for drug price reform, but stocks quickly rebounded as the proposal was not as aggressive as feared.

"This rally has flipped the "story" on its head and has given the bulls the upper hand," said Tracey Ryniec in Value Investor and Insider Trader. "Additionally, if you follow the money, you'll see that it's flowing into stocks, not out, and even into the riskiest stocks, which are the small caps."

While the market was rallying, the portfolios were making a lot of moves. Several editors turned more bullish during this rally, especially Jeremy Mullin in Counterstrike who has routinely been skeptical of any upward movement during the three-month correction. But Brian Bolan made the most news with several moves of late to get his portfolios more aggressive in this improving market. Today, he added to Stocks Under $10 and Technology Innovators.

Also on Friday, Value Investor cashed in its oldest holding for a triple-digit return. Meanwhile,Momentum Trader sold half of an existing position for a double-digit profit and then added a stock in a recently-thriving space. Learn all about it in the highlights section below:

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Value Investor: The merger between Aetna (NYSE:AET) and CVS is expected to go through in the next few months, so Tracey doesn’t think AET shares will be doing much in the meantime. The editor has no desire to get shares of CVS, which are down 15% year to date. Therefore, after more than four years in the portfolio, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Aetna and secure a nice return of more than 140%.

Stocks Under $10: Three materials names were sold yesterday...all of them were positive and two brought double-digit returns. Today it’s time to add a new pick as part of the portfolio’s plan to get more aggressive. On Friday, Brian Bolan picked up email security business Zix Corp. (ZIXI), which has good potential to move higher given its Zacks Style Score of “A” for Growth. Learn more about this new addition in the full write-up and get ready for another aggressive play early next week.

Momentum Trader: In less than two months, shares of Axon Enterprise (AAXN) have climbed so far that Dave thinks it’s a good time to take some profits. The editor sold half of his position in this conducted electrical weapons company (formerly known as TASER) and banked an approximately 47% return. The portfolio will hold onto the other half just in case shares continue to rise on the back of its strong quarterly report, which included a positive surprise of 700%.

The portfolio also bought today in an industry that Dave calls “the place to be”. Now that the Iran deal is off, the energy space seems set to benefit from rising oil. The editor took advantage by buying a 12.5% allocation in MRC Global (MRC), a distributor of pipes, valves, fittings and related products to the energy industry. The name is breaking out on huge momentum, which makes it a perfect pick for this service. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.

Technology Innovators: Yesterday, Channel Advisor (ECOM) reported a loss of 2 cents, but that was actually 4 cents better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Meanwhile, revenues surpassed expectations and guidance was inline. Shares of this cloud-based e-commerce solutions company moved forward on the news. Brian Bolan thinks this stock would be a good move in his plan to get more aggressive during this rising market, so he added ECOM on Friday. Read the full write-up for more.

Have a Great Weekend,
Jim Giaquinto