Post-Fourth Rally Turns Dow Positive for 2018

Remember, the latest episode of the Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session will be available for viewing no later than this Wednesday, July 11. Sheraz Mian, Dr. John Blank and David Borun will cover the investment landscape from most every angle in this informative event.

Don't miss your chance to hear:

• Sheraz and John Agree to Disagree on whether investors should buy Tesla or Ford for U.S. electric and autonomous vehicle exposure
• Sheraz answers your questions in Zacks Mailbag
• Sheraz and David choose one portfolio to give feedback for improvement
• And much more

So be sure to mark your calendar then log on to Zacks.com and bookmark this page.


The post-Independence Day rally hit another gear on Monday as each of the major indices completed a third straight session of gains.

The Dow outperformed its counterparts today, which hasn’t happened much since trade war fears moved to the front of the market’s mind. But this time the financial and industrial sectors helped the index jump by 1.31% (or 320 points) to 24,776.6. The Dow is back on positive ground for the year by 0.2%.

The S&P moved closer to 2800 with today’s advance of 0.88% to 2784.2, while the NASDAQ increased by the same percentage to 7756.2.

The market remains impressed with the 213,000 jobs that were added last month, which beat expectations of around 200,000. This impressive jobs report and the lack of any new trade headlines gave the green light for this rally to continue. Investors are preparing for earnings season too and hoping that it can also take some attention away from the trade turmoil.

“It now seems like we are in the clear to run higher the rest of the summer, perhaps even achieve all-time highs in the S&P before the holiday season arrives,” said Jeremy in Counterstrike.

“While I’m putting my bull hat on, I want to remind everyone how quickly this can change. The trade war hasn’t gone anywhere, if it intensifies, the bears will be coming back quickly,” he continued.

Counterstrike was one of several portfolios that made moves on Monday in what turned out to be a busy day for the editors. All in all, two portfolios cashed in double-digit winners while four added new positions. Learn about all of it in the highlights section below:

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Momentum Trader: Since reporting strong second-quarter results one week ago today, shares of BioLife Solutions (BLFS) have taken off. Dave thinks this is a good time to take some of those profits off the table. The editor kicked off the week by selling half of BLFS for a 31.6% return in just three weeks.

TAZR Trader: Late last month, Kevin put a 25% chance on the S&P breaking through 2800. Unfortunately, the odds haven’t improved since then. The market may be coming off a positive week and started this one with a broad rally, but the editor doesn’t believe the market is truly accounting for trade war unknowns and their potential consequences. Therefore, he cashed in a couple of profits while he could by selling half of MasTec (MTZ) for a nearly 28% return and the rest of his NASDAQ 100 3X Bull ETF (TQQQ) position for a 17.5% gain. Read the full write-up for more.

Counterstrike: If you’re one of the 80% of Americans who live in an urban area, then you’ve probably heard of GrubHub (GRUB). You’ve probably even used it. Jeremy takes advantage of this popular mobile food ordering company at least once a week…and today he added it to the portfolio with a 12% allocation. GRUB has put together five impressive quarters in a row, including a positive surprise of 44% last time. With 19% of the stock sold short, the editor is expecting another run higher after it reports again in early August. He has longer-term targets for GRUB of $133 and $152. Learn about the strategy for this trade in the full write up.

Technology Innovators: You may not think that Healthstream (HSTM) is a technology company by its name, but a closer look shows why it belongs in this portfolio. The company offers a unified suite of solutions to millions of healthcare employees to help them improve patient outcomes. The company is getting set to report quarterly numbers later this month, and Brian Bolan added it today in anticipation of another solid performance. HSTM has easily beaten earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters with an average surprise of 69%. Last time, earnings soared past expectations by more than 80% and revenues were guided higher for the full year. Read the full write-up for more specifics on this move.

Surprise Trader: Earnings season is finally upon us, giving investors something other than trade to think about. Things will really be “rocking and rolling” next week, but Dave is getting this busy period started now. The editor’s first pick of the season is Mellanox Tech (MLNX), a semiconductor name that will help the portfolio take advantage of the bullish move in tech stocks. It reports on Tuesday, July 17th and has an Earnings ESP of 4.44%. MLNX beat by 15 cents last quarter and 14 cents the quarter before. It was added with a 12.5% allocation. Learn more about this new buy in the complete commentary.

Black Box Trader: The portfolio swapped out four positions this week. The stocks that were sold include:

• Terex Corp (TEX, +4.7%)
• Anthem Inc. (ANTM, +1%)
• Envision Healthcare (EVHC)
• G-III Apparel (GIII)

The new buys that replaced these names are:

• Assurant Inc. (AIZ)
• Avnet Inc. (AVT)
• Rent-A-Center (RCII)
• Tegna Inc. (TGNA)

Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.

All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto

Recommendations from Zacks' Private Portfolios:

Believe it or not, this article is not available on the Zacks.com website. The commentary is a partial overview of the daily activity from Zacks' private recommendation services. If you would like to follow our Buy and Sell signals in real time, we've made a special arrangement for readers of this website. Starting today you can see all the recommendations from all of Zacks' portfolios absolutely free for 7 days. Our services cover everything from value stocks and momentum trades to insider buying and positive earnings surprises (which we've predicted with an astonishing 80%+ accuracy). Click here to "test drive" Zacks Ultimate for FREE >>

 
Zacks Investment Research