Earnings season kicked off last week, with Alcoa leading off by reporting disappointing results last Tuesday. Q3 Earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to drop 2.1%, according to FactSet. As my colleague Jared Levy recently noted, this would mark the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines. #-ad_banner-#Sounds troubling, right? Add that to the ongoing list: The Federal Reserve’s dithering on whether or not to raise rates… stagnant GDP growth… tepid jobs numbers… a slowing Chinese economy… Brexit… a looming U.S. Presidential election… it just keeps piling up. Hopefully none of what I’ve said up to this point has you… Read More

Earnings season kicked off last week, with Alcoa leading off by reporting disappointing results last Tuesday. Q3 Earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to drop 2.1%, according to FactSet. As my colleague Jared Levy recently noted, this would mark the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines. #-ad_banner-#Sounds troubling, right? Add that to the ongoing list: The Federal Reserve’s dithering on whether or not to raise rates… stagnant GDP growth… tepid jobs numbers… a slowing Chinese economy… Brexit… a looming U.S. Presidential election… it just keeps piling up. Hopefully none of what I’ve said up to this point has you panicked. That’s not my intention. But if all of this gloom and doom (and uncertainty) has you feeling nervous for how this will affect your portfolio, remember that there’s nothing new under the sun. In fact, we can turn to history as a guide. For starters, here’s a piece of information that should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention… the stock market is increasingly looking overvalued. With a price-to-earnings ratio of about 25, the S&P 500 is on the upper end of its historical valuation. Since 1900, the S&P 500 usually peaks at a valuation in… Read More

Last week, the major U.S. stock indices added to the previous week’s modest losses as investors seem to be wrapping their heads around an inevitable interest rate hike, which many believe will happen before the end of the year. The small-cap Russell 2000 (-2%) and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (-1.2%) led the way down, as they typically do, but the market weakness was broad based. All sectors of the S&P 500 closed lower except for utilities (+1.3%), real estate (+1.2%) and consumer staples (+0.1%). However, if interest rates manage to rise between now and year end, the gains in real estate… Read More

Last week, the major U.S. stock indices added to the previous week’s modest losses as investors seem to be wrapping their heads around an inevitable interest rate hike, which many believe will happen before the end of the year. The small-cap Russell 2000 (-2%) and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (-1.2%) led the way down, as they typically do, but the market weakness was broad based. All sectors of the S&P 500 closed lower except for utilities (+1.3%), real estate (+1.2%) and consumer staples (+0.1%). However, if interest rates manage to rise between now and year end, the gains in real estate and utilities are unlikely to last, as rising long-term rates act as a drag on home sales and make Treasuries more competitive for yield-seeking investor dollars. From an asset flows standpoint, Asbury Research’s own sector ETF-based metric shows that the biggest positive percentage change over the past one-month and three-month periods was in energy.   If this strength continues, it should push the energy sector higher, which would suggest a strengthening global economy and would bode well for higher equity prices overall into 2017. The Fear Factor In last week’s Market Outlook, I reviewed the Volatility S&P… Read More

It only takes three things to get me very excited about a stock market opportunity: sleeper stocks pushing toward yearly highs, technical price breakouts, and corporate spinoffs. Each one of these items can be signaling bullish times ahead for the shares. Combine all three signals with a 148-year-old, $52 billion market cap behemoth boasting over 90 million customers in more than 60 nations, and it paints a bright future for the shares. First, let’s take a closer look at each of the three bullish factors at work then dig into the specifics of the opportunity. #-ad_banner-#Sleeper stocks are companies holding… Read More

It only takes three things to get me very excited about a stock market opportunity: sleeper stocks pushing toward yearly highs, technical price breakouts, and corporate spinoffs. Each one of these items can be signaling bullish times ahead for the shares. Combine all three signals with a 148-year-old, $52 billion market cap behemoth boasting over 90 million customers in more than 60 nations, and it paints a bright future for the shares. First, let’s take a closer look at each of the three bullish factors at work then dig into the specifics of the opportunity. #-ad_banner-#Sleeper stocks are companies holding little interest to short-term, fast money type stock market investors. They tend to be slow movers but can make great long-term investments. These stocks are often from old, boring industries such as insurance. When a sleeper stock is observed pushing toward new highs, it may be signaling more than just a short-term move based on price alone. That’s because it often takes a seriously bullish fundamental catalyst to trigger a move higher in a sleeper stock. Next, a technical breakout occurs whenever the share price moves above a resistance level on a price chart.  Many technical analysts consider the 200-day… Read More

The third-quarter earnings season kicked off Tuesday, with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) announcing before the bell. According to FactSet, Q3 earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to drop 2.1%, which would mark the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines. #-ad_banner-#This would be an improvement from the 3.5% drop in earnings in the second quarter, though. And while I have voiced my concerns about what the current earnings recession means for the broader market going forward, there’s no denying that the upcoming earnings season will present plenty of opportunity for traders to make quick, outsized profits. FactSet notes that… Read More

The third-quarter earnings season kicked off Tuesday, with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) announcing before the bell. According to FactSet, Q3 earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to drop 2.1%, which would mark the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines. #-ad_banner-#This would be an improvement from the 3.5% drop in earnings in the second quarter, though. And while I have voiced my concerns about what the current earnings recession means for the broader market going forward, there’s no denying that the upcoming earnings season will present plenty of opportunity for traders to make quick, outsized profits. FactSet notes that 72% of S&P 500 companies beat Q2 earnings estimates, while 19% missed expectations. This means only 9% of companies reported results that were in line with analysts’ estimates. Given the high number of surprises, both bullish and bearish, it’s no wonder we see increased volatility (i.e., big stock moves) during earning season. Yet, despite the opportunity for quick gains from post-earnings moves, many investors shy away from trading around earnings reports. Their reason is simple: It’s risky. Sure, you may see gains of 5% or even 10% in a single day if you call it right. But if you’re wrong,… Read More

The U.S. military has been the largest investor in drones since the industry got its start 15 years ago. While U.S. military drone spending will continue growing, a recent regulatory breakthrough from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) sets the stage for commercial drone sales to eclipse military spending and become one of the fastest growing industries in the world in the next five years. #-ad_banner-#A Regulatory Breakthrough The commercial drone industry scored a big win in late August. That was the day the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) opened up the skies to commercial drones. The FAA ruling allows for… Read More

The U.S. military has been the largest investor in drones since the industry got its start 15 years ago. While U.S. military drone spending will continue growing, a recent regulatory breakthrough from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) sets the stage for commercial drone sales to eclipse military spending and become one of the fastest growing industries in the world in the next five years. #-ad_banner-#A Regulatory Breakthrough The commercial drone industry scored a big win in late August. That was the day the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) opened up the skies to commercial drones. The FAA ruling allows for small commercial drones to operate during daylight and below 400 feet. That alone is a regulatory breakthrough for the commercial drone industry. But the FAA also recently loosened its restriction on commercial drone pilots. Before, a commercial drone pilot needed an actual pilot license. Now, commercial drone pilots will only be required to pass a test that costs $150. These key regulatory adjustments clear the path for the most powerful S&P 500 companies to invest billions of dollars into their commercial drone programs. In fact, it’s already happening. Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is testing Amazon Prime Air, its system to use… Read More

Geopolitical issues have dominated the markets this year, and polls have been useless in lending any kind of certainty to asset prices. OPEC has successfully managed expectations for a production freeze, even if an eventual deal is still unlikely, which has driven oil prices to nearly double since their February lows. Few would have predicted in January the momentum of the Trump campaign and the potential uncertainty on global trade. #-ad_banner-#As important as these events have been, however, 2016 will likely be remembered for one event in particular.  A referendum that most polls predicted would fail has forced a massive… Read More

Geopolitical issues have dominated the markets this year, and polls have been useless in lending any kind of certainty to asset prices. OPEC has successfully managed expectations for a production freeze, even if an eventual deal is still unlikely, which has driven oil prices to nearly double since their February lows. Few would have predicted in January the momentum of the Trump campaign and the potential uncertainty on global trade. #-ad_banner-#As important as these events have been, however, 2016 will likely be remembered for one event in particular.  A referendum that most polls predicted would fail has forced a massive selloff in one of the world’s top currencies, and has put in doubt the future of one of its largest economies. As is always the case, investors have rushed to the exits in this environment of economic uncertainty. When the dust settles, though, it may turn out to be one of the year’s best trades. Investors Fearfully Look To The Future Of The UK The British pound is now the worst performing currency of the year, down nearly 16% this year and to its lowest level in 31 years against the U.S. dollar. A flash crash of 6% in… Read More

The health care sector has led the market decline over the past few days, but that’s nothing new. It’s been the worst performer so far in 2016, and it looks like it will continue to move still lower in the coming weeks. The weakness in the sector is pervasive, hitting all subgroups, but drug stocks seem to be technically poised for a serious decline.  #-ad_banner-#I’ve noticed a pattern in some of the biggest drug stocks, specifically Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK), where they trade near their 52-week highs in a tight range or rectangle pattern, break out on… Read More

The health care sector has led the market decline over the past few days, but that’s nothing new. It’s been the worst performer so far in 2016, and it looks like it will continue to move still lower in the coming weeks. The weakness in the sector is pervasive, hitting all subgroups, but drug stocks seem to be technically poised for a serious decline.  #-ad_banner-#I’ve noticed a pattern in some of the biggest drug stocks, specifically Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK), where they trade near their 52-week highs in a tight range or rectangle pattern, break out on news and then fail badly. Pfizer did this in July and has been falling ever since. Merck, on the other hand, broke out and failed just this week, so the jury is still out on that one. A lesser-known drug stock is currently exhibiting the same pattern as Pfizer and Merck, which could result in a nice profit for short sellers. Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS), which focuses on drugs and vaccines for pets and livestock, was actually spun off from Pfizer in 2013, so there’s not a lot of history for chartists to ponder. But the short-term pattern of range, breakout… Read More

Nestled within the beauty of Maine’s Acadia National Park, on the picturesque Mount Desert Island, is a place known to many scientists and health care investors as the place where the term “genomics” was coined.  I’m talking about The Jackson Laboratory. #-ad_banner-#I mention this little piece of trivia mostly because of the timeline. It was only 30 years ago when one of the most powerful game-changing trends in health and science, nameless until then, received its title.  The mapping of the human genome only started in the 1970s. Today, only a few decades later and 12 years after the completion… Read More

Nestled within the beauty of Maine’s Acadia National Park, on the picturesque Mount Desert Island, is a place known to many scientists and health care investors as the place where the term “genomics” was coined.  I’m talking about The Jackson Laboratory. #-ad_banner-#I mention this little piece of trivia mostly because of the timeline. It was only 30 years ago when one of the most powerful game-changing trends in health and science, nameless until then, received its title.  The mapping of the human genome only started in the 1970s. Today, only a few decades later and 12 years after the completion of the Human Genome Project, it’s hard to understate the impact genomics and genetic mapping has made in health sciences and medicine.  Newer, better diagnostic and treatment choices are now available as a result. For instance, because of recent advances in genomics, doctors are now armed with tools enabling them to locate the risk genes for many genetic diseases. Medical researchers are hard at work to apply these tools to heart disease, diabetes, and more. This leads me to Genomic Health (Nasdaq: GHDX), one of several recent additions I’ve made to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. Founded… Read More

Stephen King’s The Lawnmower Man was adapted for the big screen in 1992, the story of a disabled landscaper hooked up to a virtual reality landscape and experimental drugs. The VR experiment boosted the title character’s intelligence exponentially and even helped him talk to the opposite sex.  I watched this moving having just turned 16 years old, and I would be forever hooked on the potential of virtual reality. #-ad_banner-#VR and augmented reality have remained more fiction than fact — until recently. The 2012 Kickstarter campaign for headset maker Oculus Rift raised millions but still lacked the software development to… Read More

Stephen King’s The Lawnmower Man was adapted for the big screen in 1992, the story of a disabled landscaper hooked up to a virtual reality landscape and experimental drugs. The VR experiment boosted the title character’s intelligence exponentially and even helped him talk to the opposite sex.  I watched this moving having just turned 16 years old, and I would be forever hooked on the potential of virtual reality. #-ad_banner-#VR and augmented reality have remained more fiction than fact — until recently. The 2012 Kickstarter campaign for headset maker Oculus Rift raised millions but still lacked the software development to complete the experience. Software and hardware are now coming together and the momentum could create a market to rival the iPhone.  The coming technological leap in consumer electronics could turn a decades long dream into reality… and I’ve found three companies that could benefit big time. This Tech Revolution Is Nearly A Reality Virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) are developing fastest in gaming and entertainment but potential uses can be found in nearly every sector from battlefield training for the troops to buying a home.  There are more than 1.2 billion gamers in the world, an easy market… Read More