chris-preston

Chris Preston

Editor in Chief and Chief Analyst of Cabot Stock of the Week and Cabot Value Investor

Chris Preston is Cabot Wealth Network’s Vice President of Content and Chief Analyst of Cabot Stock of the Week and Cabot Value Investor .

Chris joined Cabot in 2015, where he previously served as staff analyst, web editor, and Chief Analyst of Cabot Wealth Daily, our free investment advisory, which in 2019 was named “Best Financial/Investing Newsletter or Ezine” at the SIPA (Specialized Information Publishers Association) Awards, with Chris at the helm.

Prior to joining Cabot, Chris was an analyst and assistant managing editor with Wyatt Investment Research. He has been an investment analyst for more than a decade and a professional writer/editor for nearly 20 years, picking up multiple writing awards along the way. His bylines have appeared in Forbes, The Money Show, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report and ESPN.com.

Chris lives in Vermont with his wife, two young kids and their golden retriever, Scout. He occasionally sleeps.

From this author

Stock Market

Why You Should Capitalize on the “Trump Trade” Before His Inauguration

The “Trump Trade” has been pushing the market to new heights, but the period between the election and inauguration is almost always fruitful for investors.

November 15, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

November 14, 2024

The honeymoon phase for a second Trump term continues on Wall Street. Stocks are up 3.5% in the week since Trump won the election, with all three of the major indexes advancing to new all-time highs. The reaction is being framed as specific to Donald Trump and his potential influence on stock prices – the so-called “Trump Trade” – but in reality, this is nothing new.

In recent years, there’s always been a honeymoon phase for stocks after a presidential election – regardless of which party or candidate won. And it typically lasts until the newly elected president’s inauguration in late January.

November 14, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: November 11, 2024

The election is over. Earnings season is largely behind us. And the Fed matched investor expectations by cutting rates by another 25 basis points. The result? A market at fresh all-time highs and with newfound momentum on the heels of a sluggish October. And the Stock of the Week portfolio is performing even better, with no fewer than 10 stocks (!) trading at new all-time or 52-week highs as of this writing.

So, let’s lean into the growth environment while it lasts by adding a mid-cap fintech software stock that Tyler Laundon introduced to his Cabot Early Opportunities readers last month.

Details inside.

November 11, 2024

·

Stock Market

What to Do When You Receive Shares in a Stock Spin-off

Investing in stock spin-offs is worth the risk. But you need to know what to do with shares you receive when your larger holding is spun off.

November 7, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

Cabot Value Investor Issue: November 7, 2024

The election is over, a winner swiftly declared, and the Fed is set to cut rates again today. All of that is hugely bullish, as evidenced by the market hitting fresh all-time highs on Wednesday. But it’s even bigger news for small-cap stocks, which are historically overdue for a massive run. So today, we add a new small-cap stock whose name virtually everyone knows – and perhaps has indulged in themselves. That addition is part of a sweeping portfolio overhaul in our November issue, which includes two stocks reaching – actually eclipsing – our price targets, and our one true laggard getting the ax after a bad earnings report.

Lots to talk about today. Let’s get right to it.

November 7, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: November 4, 2024

It’s election week, and it will be the elephant in the room for investors until a winner is declared. Will that be before the market opens on Wednesday, as in 2016? Will it take until this weekend, like it did in 2020? Or could this toss-up election drag out even longer, a la Bush/Gore in 2000? Either of the two former scenarios probably wouldn’t impact the market much. The latter would, at least for a time. So let’s all hope for a quick result. Sprinkle in the latest round of Fed cuts later in the week, plus more than a handful of earnings reports for Stock of the Week stocks, and it’s an incredibly pivotal week for the market.

With so much up in the air, today we add a relatively “safe” large-cap stock with a decent yield, low beta and impressive earnings growth. It’s been a staple of Tom Hutchinson’s Cabot Dividend Investor portfolio for quite some time.

Details inside.

November 4, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

October 31, 2024

As you read this, I am likely fortifying my house in preparation for the 400-500 Trick-or-Treaters that are sure to descend on our place in Vermont in a few hours. That’s no exaggeration – we live on a crowded street that draws kids from all over town, and even adjoining towns, trying to maximize their Halloween hauls. The 1,000 pieces of candy I buy every year and the countless ghouls, skeletons, smoke-emitting jack-o’-lanterns and giant spiders I’ve accrued the last few years to adorn our lawn are almost like an annual tax.

Living in such a bustling Halloween hotbed is fun, and it’s certainly a blast for our two kids. But it’s a lot of work, and we’re always happy when the calendar flips to November. And in that way, it reminds me a bit of the market every October.

October 31, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: October 28, 2024

The deep breath before a toss-up presidential election has arrived on Wall Street, with stocks barely budging in the last two to three weeks. Investors are likely prepared for either outcome but are waiting until a winner is declared before resuming this two-year bull market rally. While we wait, it’s a good time to pare down our portfolio a bit, which we do today by saying goodbye to three recent laggards. We also add a high-growth tech stock with plenty of momentum that Mike Cintolo recommended to his Cabot Top Ten Trader audience a week ago.

Details inside.

October 28, 2024

·

Stock Market

The Fed Is Cutting Rates. So Why Are They Rising Again?

When the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points last month, it was supposed to ring in a new era of low interest rates. Instead, rates are rising again. Why?

October 25, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

October 24, 2024

October hasn’t been accompanied by the type of stock selling we’ve witnessed the last two years, when U.S. markets fell sharply in October and reached a second-half-of-the-year bottom both times. Instead, this October has wrought a more subtle disappointment: rising interest rates.

Indeed, despite the Fed’s 50-basis point cut to the federal funds rate in mid-September ringing in a new era of rate slashing, 10-year Treasury yields have risen steadily since the calendar flipped to October, going from 3.80% to 4.24% – their highest level since July. In fact, Treasury yields are up 15% since September 18, the day the Fed cut rates for the first time in four and a half years.

October 24, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: October 21, 2024

Stocks stayed the course this past week, holding near all-time highs despite myriad existential threats out there (expanding Middle East war, a toss-up presidential election two weeks away, Q3 earnings season underway, etc.). Clearly, the bulls are in control right now. That can change at the drop of a hat – or an unexpected news event. But we have to go with the evidence in front of us, and right now it’s saying, “Buy.”

But it does make sense to add some better values to the portfolio. And this week we do just that, adding an undervalued small-cap utility stock that recently caught the eye of Clif Droke, Chief Analyst of the Cabot Turnaround Letter.

Details inside.

October 21, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

October 17, 2024

We spend the vast majority of our time focused on U.S. stocks, and rightly so.

After all, although America has just 4% of the world’s population and generates 23% of the global GDP, 72% of worldwide investment capital is spent on U.S. stocks. That’s a stat our global investing expert, Carl Delfeld, relayed to me and my colleague Brad Simmerman on our latest Street Check podcast (click here to listen to the entire conversation). I knew the global investment axis tilted toward the U.S. – just maybe not that much.

October 17, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: October 14, 2024

Stocks are at all-time highs, yet again, defying the myriad potential macro tailwinds (expanding war in the Middle East, looming presidential election, another damaging hurricane, Q3 earnings season underway, etc.) that have been threatening to derail the market. One of them still could, but for now, we’ll stick with what’s in front of us, and that’s a market with plenty of momentum. Today, we lean into that momentum by adding a mid-cap tech stock recently recommended by Tyler Laundon to his Cabot Early Opportunities audience.

Details inside.

October 14, 2024

·

Stock Market

Stock Market Performance By U.S. President: Which Party Gets Better Returns?

The stock market performance under Donald Trump was strong. But history says investors favor a Democrat in the White House.

October 10, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

October 10, 2024

Stocks have barely budged for three months.

The S&P 500 is a mere 1.5% above its mid-July highs, while the Nasdaq is actually down 2.5% since its July 10 peak. The Dow has made the most headway, up 2.1% since its July 17 apex. This type of multi-month lethargy is nothing new for an election year.

October 10, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: October 7, 2024

Spooky season is upon us! Yes, the usual October selling has commenced, although it’s been fairly mild thus far. But things feel unsettled, what with the expanding war in the Middle East, a toss-up presidential election less than a month away, and with earnings season getting underway this week. So today, to counter any further turbulence, we trim one modest laggard and add a new, low-beta, dividend-paying European stock that’s been a favorite of Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld for some time.

Details inside.

October 7, 2024

·

Growth Stocks

Apple vs. Amazon Stock: Which Is the Better Buy?

They are two of the most recognizable names out there, and good stocks, but which is the better buy? Let’s break down Apple vs. Amazon stock.

October 3, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

Cabot Value Investor Issue: October 3, 2024

Between the expansion of the war in the Middle East, a U.S. dockworker strike that could slow the supply chain again, and the uncertainty of a too-close-to-call presidential election next month, there are a lot of headwinds out there serving to counterbalance the good vibes created by last month’s Fed rate cut. Add in the fact that we’re in the traditional “spooky season” of October – the month in which the market has bottomed in each of the last four years – and it’s a good time to add some security to your portfolio.

So today we do just that … by adding a well-known home security company to our Buy Low Opportunities Portfolio. It’s been in business for a century and a half but has only been a public company for the past seven years. And with profits accelerating, the stock has become cheap.

Details inside.

October 3, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: September 30, 2024

Stocks cooled off this past week, though they mostly held their gains, which is not a bad way to close out an unusually productive September. Investors can likely thank the Fed for that. But many potential landmines (presidential election, escalating tensions in the Middle East, another jobs report this week) loom, so we’ll see how things go as we enter an uncertain October.

Given all the uncertainty, today we add a large-cap value stock that I recently recommended in my Cabot Value Investor portfolio. It’s one of the largest banks in America, and it’s potentially on the cusp of getting much bigger. Last year, it caught the attention of Warren Buffett. And so far, his bet on it appears to be paying off – with more upside ahead.

Details inside.

September 30, 2024

·

Value Stocks

How to Know if a Stock Is Undervalued

With the market in the midst of a correction it’s important to know how to identify undervalued stocks and not just “cheap” stocks.

September 27, 2024

·

Magazine

What Low Inflation Could Do for Stocks

Inflation has been a major talking point, if not a thorn in the market’s side, for over three years now. But it’s been tamed, and the future looks bright.

September 27, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

September 26, 2024

Value stocks are starting to play catch-up.

The Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF (VTV), a good proxy for value stocks, is up 9% since the first week of August, more than half its year-to-date gain of 16.6%. While value stocks still trail the S&P 500 (+20.9% YTD) and growth stocks (the Nasdaq is +22.4% YTD), the gap is narrowing. Now that the Fed is finally cutting interest rates from multi-decade highs, perhaps this “in name only” bull market will spread to more corners of the market beyond just the Magnificent Seven, artificial intelligence stocks, and the other mostly tech-related plays that have carried this 23-month rally.

September 26, 2024

·

Stock Market

How Long Until Dow 50,000, S&P 6,000, and Nasdaq 20,000?

After a rocky year, let’s look ahead to bigger and brighter things. Like when we might get Dow 40,000, S&P 5,000 and Nasdaq 20,000.

September 26, 2024

·

Stock Market

This 100-Year Stock Market Chart Says the Bull Run Is Far From Over

Worried that the next bear market is long overdue? This 100-year stock market chart may help provide some encouraging perspective.

September 23, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: September 23, 2024

Our national high-interest-rate nightmare is over, as the Fed has (finally) started slashing short-term rates in a big way, cutting by 50 basis points last week. The market likes the aggression, sending two of the three major indexes to new all-time highs. Is it the beginning of a new – and more egalitarian – leg of the bull market? Could be. Regardless, let’s strike while the iron is hot, adding shares of the leading company in one of the hottest new U.S. markets: sports betting. It’s a recent recommendation from Mike Cintolo in his Cabot Top Ten Trader advisory.

Details inside.

September 23, 2024

·

Cabot Value Investor

September 19, 2024

The Fed went big!

Everyone knew Jerome Powell and company were going to (finally) cut the federal funds rate for the first time in four and a half years on Wednesday. The question was by how much – 50 basis points (0.50%) or 25 basis points (0.25%)? To my mild surprise (but not to Wall Street’s – the options market had swung to a 59% probability that it would be 50 bps prior to the announcement), the Fed opted for the larger cut, slashing rates from 5.25-5.5% to a 4.75-5.25% range. So far, the market seems unsure how to take the hefty cut – all three major indexes were up more than half a percent immediately following yesterday’s 2 p.m. ET announcement, but then were narrowly in the red by day’s end.

September 19, 2024

·

Dividend Stocks

5 Water Stocks and ETFs to Consider as the Global Water Crisis Worsens

Water, the most abundant resource on the planet, is becoming increasingly scarce in certain parts. These water stocks and ETFs are thriving.

September 17, 2024

·

Cabot Stock of the Week

Cabot Stock of the Week Issue: September 16, 2024

It’s Fed rate-cut week. Will Jerome Powell and company come out of the gates quickly, slashing rates by a full 50 basis points, as the majority of traders now expect? Or will they start with a more sober, 25-basis point cut … which is what I expect? In the long run, it probably doesn’t matter much. But in the current market, the answer will likely determine whether last week’s bounce-back has legs – or if another October bottom is in order.

In the meantime, today we add a stock that has nothing to do with interest rates: a fast-growing water company. It’s a recent recommendation from Tyler Laundon in his Cabot Early Opportunities advisory.

Details inside.

September 16, 2024

·

Dividend Stocks

Coke vs. Pepsi Stock: Maybe You Can Beat the Real Thing

In comparing Coke vs. Pepsi stock, neither soda giant will blow you away. But over the long haul, both are uncannily reliable. Which is best?

September 13, 2024

·

Tech Stocks

As the Magnificent Seven Stocks Fizzle, the Bull Market Needs New Leaders

This 23-month bull market, led by the Magnificent Seven stocks, has been too top-heavy, and with the Mag. 7 rally seemingly over, new leaders need to emerge.

September 13, 2024

·