Despite a downbeat month for stocks and mounting macroeconomic uncertainty, several Club names outperformed the market in October — and landed in the green. While the S & P 500 had its third consecutive down month — weighed down in part by soaring yields on government bonds and a mixed start to third-quarter earnings season — we held our conviction on certain names and put cash to work as our discipline mandates. Indeed, we made four small buys last week amid an oversold market. Meanwhile, the benchmark index slumped in October, down 2.2% month-to-date. Around 38% of companies listed on the index were outperformers, with just over 29% of listed companies in positive territory for the month of October. The S & P closed up 0.67% Tuesday. Meanwhile, 19 of the Club’s 34 holdings — roughly 55% of the portfolio — outperformed the index for the month. And a total of 15 stocks beat the S & P 500 while ending the month in positive territory — the top 10 of which we unpack here. FL YTD mountain Foot Locker (FL) year-to-date performance Shares of Foot Locker (FL) surged 21% month-to-date, bolstered by peer Nike (NKE) releasing strong quarterly earnings results on Sept. 28. The sneaker giant, which touted improving inventory levels, beat on profit and gross margins, sending its stock soaring. Still, we’re hesitant to chase Foot Locker’s rally. That’s because of Nike’s ongoing reset of its relationship with Foot Locker, as it focuses on expanding its direct-to-consumer business while de-emphasizing wholesale channels. Foot Locker reports quarterly results on Nov. 17. HUM YTD mountain Humana (HUM) year-to-date performance Humana (HUM) shot up 7.6% month-to-date. The health insurance company has been catching up since June when shares experienced a 11% single-day drop on concerns about prolonged higher utilization rates. These woes failed to materialize after a brutal selloff, prompting a slight rebound for the firm in October. On Oct. 6, the Club sold 15 shares of Humana as a result, booking small profits after waiting out the stock’s slump. The company reports third-quarter results on Wednesday. Shares of Humana, which are up 2.2% year-to-date, edged 1% higher Tuesday, to close at $524 apiece. MSFT YTD mountain Microsoft (MSFT) year-to-date performance Microsoft (MSFT), whose shares are up 7.1% month-to-date, has been on a tear since its fiscal first-quarter earnings release on Oct. 24. The Big Tech name recorded revenue beats across the board. Investors, however, cheered a surprise acceleration in revenue at Microsoft’s cloud computing business, Azure, showing that the software giant’s massive bet on artificial intelligence has been paying off. The Club believes Azure will be a key long-term growth driver for Microsoft as the world continues to shift to cloud computing. The software giant’s stock, up 41% since the start of 2023, ticked nearly 1% higher Tuesday, to close at $337.60 per share. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon (AMZN) year-to-date performance Shares of Amazon (AMZN) climbed 4.7% throughout October on the company’s better-than-expected third-quarter results . The ecommerce giant beat analysts’ estimates for earnings, boosted by improving profitability in its retail business, but fell short on concerns over the performance of the Amazon Web Services cloud unit. Once worries over AWS were dismissed by CEO Andy Jassy on the post-earnings conference call, shares pushed higher. Amazon, which jumped 58% year-to-date, traded slightly higher Tuesday, to close at $133 apiece. PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks (PANW) year-to-date performance Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) rose 3.7% month-to-date. The stock has been lifted by strength in the cybersecurity sector, an industry thought to be a haven for investors amid macroeconomic uncertainty. Enterprises need protection regardless of the state of the economy. Palo Alto surged 1.7% during Tuesday trading at $242.7 apiece. The company is up 74% year-to-date. LLY YTD mountain Eli Lilly (LLY) year-to-date performance Eli Lilly (LLY) is up 3.1% month-to-date after a weak September performance. Still, there’s a lot of anticipation around Lilly’s GLP-1 drug Mounjaro , which should prove to be an ongoing tailwind for the pharmaceuticals firm. Eli Lilly reports third-quarter results on Thursday. The stock declined 2% during Tuesday, to close at $554 a share. Still, shares are up 54% year-to-date. PG YTD mountain Procter & Gamble (PG) year-to-date performance Procter & Gamble (PG) edged 2.9% higher in October. Shares of the company got a boost from fiscal first-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations for earnings and revenue. P & G, down 1% year-to-date, edged slightly higher on Tuesday, to close at $150 a share. LIN YTD mountain Linde (LIN) year-to-date performance Shares of Linde (LIN) rebounded on the company’s stellar quarterly earnings release last week. The industrial gas giant reported double-digit earnings growth and solid operating-margin expansion, along wit an upbeat profit outlook. The stock, up 2.6% in October, has surged 17.2% year-to-date. Shares of Linde gained 0.87% Tuesday, to close at $382.16 each. SWK YTD mountain Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) performance year-to-date Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) increased 1.8% in October on better-than-expected earnings . On Oct. 27, the tool manufacturer’s quarter showed continued progress on its cost savings plans and inventory-reduction programs. The Club reiterated a 1 rating on Stanley Black & Decker on Tuesday. The stock, up 13.2% year to date, edged nearly 1% higher Tuesday, to close at roughly $85 a share. CTRA YTD mountain Coterra (CTRA) year-to-date performance Coterra Energy (CTRA) notched gains of 1.7% in October. The company has received a boost from continued strength in natural gas, along with crude oil gains on the back of the escalating conflict in the Middle East following Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel earlier this month. While there is no major oil production in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, analysts have said a broader conflict in the Middle East could create risks for oil supplies. Shares of the company were steady during Tuesday trading, closing at $27.46 apiece. Coterra stock has risen 11.9% since the start of 2023. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long FL, HUM, SWK, MSFT, LLY, CTRA, PANW, PG, AMZN, LIN . 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. 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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 26, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Despite a downbeat month for stocks and mounting macroeconomic uncertainty, several Club names outperformed the market in October — and landed in the green.
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