It was a tough, choppy week for stocks, but the oversold market gave us many opportunities to put some of our cash to work selectively. The Club added to five of our positions. The S & P 500 made another attempt early Friday to break its six-session losing streak but failed. Growing fears around the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer and escalating tensions in the Middle East overshadowed generally positive earnings. Club Director of Portfolio Analysis Jeff Marks said Friday, “We’re still waiting for that truly ugly open before stepping up our buys.” Until then, he said to “stay opportunistic but be gradual.” That was our approach last week. Here’s a day-by-day look at each of the trades. Monday Best Buy Bought 200 more shares of Best Buy Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust , the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, owned 800 shares after the trade Best Buy’s weighting in the portfolio increased to 2% from 1.48% The Club purchased more shares of electronics retailer Best Buy on signs of improving fundamentals, specifically a rebound in personal computer sales. The PC market is embarking on an upgrade and replacement cycle, which should usher more demand for Best Buy’s offerings. Shares have been pressured since our March 27 initiation but not for anything that could ding our thesis. BBY YTD mountain Best Buy YTD Tuesday Tuesday was our busiest for trades, with adds to three companies: Oil and natural gas producer Coterra Energy , Mexican beer king Constellation Brands and Best Buy. Coterra Energy Bought 300 more shares of Coterra The portfolio held 2,900 shares after the trade Coterra’s weighting increased to 2.5% from 2.23% The Coterra trade was spurred by rising oil prices due to escalating tensions in the Mideast. The stock serves as a hedge in the portfolio against geopolitical uncertainty as Iran and Israel traded attacks by air, and the Israeli-Hamas war and Russia’s war in Ukraine continued. Coterra benefits from rising commodity prices. We know the company pivoted earlier this year to oil and lighter on nat gas, which has been under pressure. CTRA YTD mountain Coterra Energy YTD Constellation Brands Bought 25 more shares of Constellation The portfolio owned 375 shares after the trade Constellation’s weighting increased to 3.05% from 2.85% The Club added to Constellation Brands because we thought the beer maker’s stock was overly punished. Shares went on a four-session losing streak, starting one day after the company posted solid quarterly results . The pullback didn’t make sense to us. The April 11 earnings release detailed continued sales growth, along with an upbeat full-year outlook. In down markets, Constellation stock rose Thursday and Friday. STZ YTD mountain Constellation Brands (STZ) year-to-date performance Best Buy Bought 100 more shares of Best Buy The portfolio held 900 shares after this second trade of the week Best Buy’s weighting increased to 2.15% from 1.94% The Club purchased Best Buy stock for the second time in as many days — and for the third time since starting the position in late March. Wednesday Abbott Laboratories Bought 100 more shares of Abbott The portfolio owned 800 shares after the trade Abbott’s weighting increased to 2.8% from 2.45% Abbott posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings Wednesday, but the stock dropped 3%. We bought more on the weakness because the fiscal results indicated great things ahead for the fast-growing medtech company. We like that management raised Abbott’s full-year outlook for earnings and organic sales. ABT YTD mountain Abbott Laboratories (ABT) year-to-date performance Thursday Estee Lauder Bought 50 more shares of Estee Lauder The portfolio held 475 shares after the trade Estee Lauder’s weighting increased to 2.1% from 1.9% Estee Lauder shares have given back all of their gains since the cosmetic giant’s post-earnings advance back in February. At the time, CEO Fabrizio Freda said the firm had reached an “inflection point” and would return to profitability in the second half of 2024. On Thursday, we made a small buy of 50 shares and upgraded the stock to our buy-equivalent 1 rating — hoping we can trust management’s earlier optimism. Estee Lauder is set to report its latest quarter on May 1. EL YTD mountain Estee Lauder (EL) year-to-date performance (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CTRA, BBY, STZ, EL, ABT. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 1, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
It was a tough, choppy week for stocks, but the oversold market gave us many opportunities to put some of our cash to work selectively.
The Club added to five of our positions.