I revised my Stock Grader recommendations for 133 big blue-chip stocks.
If you’re a fan of college basketball, then you’re likely familiar with the term “March Madness.” It’s seven rounds of a single-elimination tournament where 68 teams go head-to-head for the national championship.
Well, the tournament kicks off tonight for the men’s bracket and starts tomorrow for the women’s. But basketball fans aren’t the only folks going through some March Madness right now…
You see, as I write this, the S&P 500, the Dow and NASDAQ are all down 8.5%, 6.95% and 12.6%, respectively, for March. But the tides could change this week. The reality is we have a couple of items on the docket that could change the tone of the market…
I should note that yesterday we had a fresh retail sales report. It showed that headline retail sales rose 0.2% in February, missing expectations for a 0.6% rise. Additionally, retail sales for January were revised lower from a prior reading of 0.9% to a 1.2% decline.
Now, the “control group” in this report excludes a few volatile categories in the retail sector, and it actually showed a 1% rise. Economists were expecting a 0.4% gain. That’s significant, because this gets factored into the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ gross domestic product (GDP) estimate for the quarter.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA) GTC event started today. CEO Jensen Huang kicked things off with the opening remarks this afternoon. Look for my follow-up Market 360 later this week, because I expect there to be some big announcements during this conference – especially with Thursday’s Quantum Computing Day.
Lastly, we have the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting beginning today, with the latest interest rate decision coming tomorrow. While I’ll cover all the important things to note from this meeting in Market 360, know that there are two key things I will be watching…
First, any comments on the Trump tariffs. The Federal Reserve is guaranteed to address these, but the question remains: Do they change how the Fed sees the economy?
Second, as it is almost certain the Fed will keep rates unchanged, I am most interested in looking at the latest “dot plot” chart. As I have said, I am expecting four key interest rate cuts this year. And while I don’t expect the dot plot to show this (the Fed isn’t looking that far out), it will be interesting to see where they currently stand.
This Week’s Ratings Changes
Bottom line: Between NVIDIA’s conference and the Fed meeting, there could be some positive news hitting the markets this week. And after the positive inflation data from last week, we could see some strength coming back into the markets here soon.
So, while the market continues to be choppy, the dips we have been seeing lately could make for great buying opportunities. With that in mind, I took a fresh look at the latest institutional buying pressure and each company’s financial health and decided to revise my Stock Grader (subscription required) recommendations for 133 big blue chips (subscription required.) Of these 133 stocks…
- Fourteen stocks were upgraded from a Buy (B-rating) to a Strong Buy (A-rating).
- Sixteen stocks were upgraded from a Hold (C-rating) to a Buy (B-rating).
- Thirteen stocks were upgraded from a Sell (D-rating) to a Hold.
- Two stocks were upgraded from a Strong Sell (F-rating) to a Sell.
- Twenty-two stocks were downgraded from a Strong Buy to a Buy.
- Thirty-five stocks were downgraded from a Buy to a Hold.
- Twenty-three stocks were downgraded from a Hold to a Sell.
- And eight stocks were downgraded from a Sell to a Strong Sell.
I’ve listed the first 10 stocks rated as Buys below, but you can find a more comprehensive list – including all 133 stocks’ Fundamental and Quantitative Grades – here. Chances are that you have at least one of these stocks in your portfolio, so you may want to give this list a skim and adjust accordingly.
| Symbol | Company Name | Quantitative Grade | Fundamental Grade | Total Grade |
| AEG | Aegon Ltd. Sponsored ADR | B | C | B |
| CYBR | CyberArk Software Ltd. | B | C | B |
| DLR | Digital Realty Trust, Inc. | C | B | B |
| EXE | Expand Energy Corporation | B | C | B |
| FLEX | Flex Ltd | B | B | B |
| HDB | HDFC Bank Limited Sponsored ADR | B | C | B |
| IBN | ICICI Bank Limited Sponsored ADR | B | C | B |
| LUV | Southwest Airlines Co. | B | C | B |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corporation | B | B | B |
| RIO | Rio Tinto plc Sponsored ADR | B | C | B |
The Next Tech Breakthrough Could Be Only Two Days Away…
Now, the past two trading days have seen the markets end in positive territory. And while we may retest the recent lows, it’s clear to me that stocks are looking for a reason to bounce.
I think we’ll get that reason on Thursday, March 20.
As I mentioned earlier, this is when NVIDIA will host its first-ever Quantum Computing Day (or Q Day).
I expect this to be the event that kickstarts the next market rally. In fact, the excitement surrounding this event is already building into a frenzy. Last Friday alone, some of the big-name quantum computing stocks were up 17%, 28% and even a whopping 46%!
But this is just the beginning…
I predict that when NVIDIA will make a critical announcement at Q Day… it will set the stage for the company’s continued dominance for years to come.
And it will involve my No. 1 quantum stock pick.
But time is running out, because once the announcement is made, it may be too late to take advantage.
That’s why I put together my latest presentation, The Next 50X NVIDIA Call. During this, I explain what you can expect from Q Day, and how you can situate your portfolio to take advantage of this event.
I strongly encourage you to watch the replay now so you don’t miss out.
Sincerely,
Louis Navellier
Editor, Market 360
The Editor hereby discloses that as of the date of this email, the Editor, directly or indirectly, owns the following securities that are the subject of the commentary, analysis, opinions, advice, or recommendations in, or which are otherwise mentioned in, the essay set forth below:
NVIDIA Corporation