Weekly Investor – June 7, 2021
S&P Closes In On High
The S&P 500® Index gained 0.6% last week, closing in on its all-time high. The index has risen since mid-May when fears of inflation weighed on stocks. In economic data, the jobs report released last Friday showed the U.S. added 559K jobs for the month of May, a nice improvement from the prior month, but lower than expectations. The jobs data drove a rally in the market Friday as investors assumed the Federal Reserve would continue its accommodative monetary policies. The expectation of a quicker recovery in the demand for energy helped crude oil advance approximately 5.0% last week, closing in on $70 per barrel. The jump in oil pushed energy to the top sector in the S&P 500, gaining 6.7% for the week.
Notable stocks included AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. that jumped 95.0% on Wednesday as retail investors and speculators continued to increase their positions in the heavily shorted stock. Social media has shown a spotlight on meme stocks, including AMC Entertainment, in hopes of squeezing hedge funds that are shorting these stocks. The movie theater stock is up over 2,150.0% year to date. Earnings announcements expected this week include Brown-Forman Corporation, Campbell Soup Company, Casey’s General Stores, Inc., GameStop Corporation, Marvell Technology, Inc., Thor Industries, Inc., and Vail Resorts, Inc.
The S&P 500 Index was up 0.6% for the week. Its top-performing sectors were Energy (6.7%) and Real Estate (3.0%), while the bottom-performing sectors were Consumer Discretionary (-1.0%) and Health Care (-1.2%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield was even, ending at 1.6%.
We continue to seek companies that reflect our Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Change Based Investment
Monster Beverage Corporation is a beverage company that manufactures energy drinks including Monster Energy, Relentless and Burn.
In addition to stable and attractive growth in the United States, Monster is benefitting from successful expansion into international markets. A key to Monster’s success over the years has been the company’s ability to develop new products and enter new markets. Argent expects international expansion and the company’s product pipeline to drive growth, making Monster Beverage a fit for Argent’s Change-BasedSM investment approach.
Top 5 Equity Holdings
Large Cap Growth
| Alphabet, Inc.(Google) | 7.5% |
| Target Corporation | 6.6% |
| Apple, Inc. | 5.7% |
| D.R. Horton, Inc. | 4.8% |
| Danaher Corporation | 4.7% |
Small Cap Core
| Fortinet, Inc. | 4.4% |
| OneMain Holdings, Inc. | 4.4% |
| Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 4.2% |
| Select Medical Holdings | 3.2% |
| America’s Car-Mart Inc. | 3.1% |
Dividend Select
| Target Corporation | 7.4% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 5.8% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 5.5% |
| Eaton Corporation Plc | 4.0% |
| United Parcel Service, Inc. | 4.0% |
Mid Cap
| Zebra Technologies Corp. | 4.5% |
| CDW Corporation | 3.8% |
| Cintas Corporation | 3.6% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 3.4% |
| United Rentals, Inc. | 3.0% |
This newsletter presents selected recommendations from portfolio managers of Argent Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Opinions reflect the portfolio manager’s judgment on the date above and are subject to change. A list of stocks recommended by Argent is available upon request. You should not assume that these recommendations are or will be profitable. In the course of it’s business, Argent’s client accounts may be buying and selling these stocks.
