Stocks Excited for Earnings Season

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Check out our own John Blank on CNBC’s Closing Bell this afternoon by clicking here. 


Earnings season really gets going this week, and the market seems excited for the reports. Each of the major indices started this week with record closing highs. If the afterhours report from Netflix is any indication of things to come, then they have reason to be optimistic. The streaming giant had its best third quarter in history with subscriber growth, earnings and revenue beating expectations. The stock was up 1.6% on Monday and a further 1.2% afterhours as this is being written. 

The Big 3 indices had closed before Netflix reported, but they had enough fuel to move higher without it. The Dow is now flirting with 23,000 after climbing 0.37% today to 22,957. The NASDAQ advanced 0.28% to 6624 and the S&P was up 0.18% to 2557.6. 

Once again, Brian Bolan is editor of Home Run Investor. In his first day back at the helm, he sold three positions…and one of them was a double-digit return. Zacks Confidential is giving you a crash course on the Zacks Rank right before earnings season, and Black Box Trader swapped out four names. See more below: 

Today's Portfolio Highlights: 

Home Run Investor: In his first day back as editor of HRI, Brian Bolan decided to clear out of a few names. Fortunately, Dave left the portfolio in fine shape, including a double-digit winner for one of the sells. Tucows (TCX), the second-largest domain registrar in the world, was bought back in January. Despite an earnings beat and a new acquisition, the stock remains stuck in the 50-60 range. The editor decided to sell TCX today while it was at the upper end of that range and collect a nice profit of 17%. 

Also, NuVasive (NUVA) has slipped to a Zacks Rank #4 (Buy) and seems pretty weak at the moment, so Brian sold it for a 5.5% return. Finally, the editor is wary of investing in China, so today was a good opportunity to sell Momo (MOMO) for a 1.9% gain. Read the complete commentary for more on these moves, and get ready for a new position on Wednesday. 

Zacks Confidential: You’ve undoubtedly heard of the Zacks Rank, but do you really know how it works? Do you use this proven tool in your investments? In this week’s Zacks Confidential, Kevin asked Eric Dutram to go back to the basics of the Zacks Rank and show how to apply the principles for stock-picking success. Learn about Eric’s three favorite parts of the system and get a few “stocks to watch” along the way: Breaking Down the Zacks Rank.

Black Box Trader: This week’s adjustment had the portfolio swap out four names. The sold stocks were:

• Pilgrim's Pride (PPC)
• UnitedHealth Corp (UNH)
• Live Nation Entertainment (LYV)
• Meritor Inc. (MTOR) 

The new additions that replaced these names are:

• Huntsman Corp (HUN)
• PBF Energy (PBF)
• Sysco Corp (SYY)
• Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) 

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

Options Trader: "Nice start to the week with all of the major indexes in the green and new highs across the board. 

"President Trump and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell held a press conference today, reiterating their commitment to getting tax cuts/reform done by year’s end. The parade of optimism regarding tax cuts is energizing the market. 

"But that also means it’s now more important than ever that they follow through and get this landmark legislation passed. For now, the market is believing this indeed will get done. Fingers crossed." -- Kevin Matras 

Have a Good Evening, 
Jim Giaquinto

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