Stocks had their worst 5-day streak in more than two years last week. The last time stocks sank so heavily was January 2016, which coincidentally was when Profit Catalyst Alert launched. The irony of a career bear starting a long-biased newsletter just as the market tanked was not lost on me.

The economy and the market are at very different places than they were in early 2016. The economy was not on firm footing yet, taking one step forward and another back as it tottered forward.

Fast forward and the economy is humming. Employment is almost at full employment levels and the global economy is growing at the perfect Goldilocks pace. But as anyone who’s ever watched a scary movie knows, it’s always that moment when all seems perfect when the monster appears.

The monster du jour is inflation either via tariffs or supply shortages. Shipping has become increasingly expensive as truckers scramble to find more drivers. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and wages are rising.

At the same time, the S&P500 has risen more than 40% since the February 2016 lows and is expecting some pretty darn good earnings.

I’m not bearish on the overall market but as I’ve noted, I think we’re in for a rocky ride. My expectation is that I can offer more bearish put trade ideas that are based on fundamental issues with their businesses but will enjoy more profits in market downdrafts.

The triple put trade on Criteo (NSDQ: CRTO), Snap (NSDQ: SNAP) and Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) are all profitable, by differing degrees (as of pre-open Monday). Keep your eyes open for trade alerts as I may book some of the gains soon and re-enter the trades on any bounce.

As an article in today’s Wall Street Journal points out, advertisers are growing even more cautious about dollars allocated to digital spending and are demanding proof of where and how long their ads are viewed. This increased scrutiny should hurt all of these stocks where I’ve recommended put trades.

Those procrastinators who held onto the Facebook (NSDQ: FB) puts that I sold in early March enjoyed a 200% gain versus my 50% gain. Alas, my crystal ball needs to be brought in for a tune-up.

Around the Portfolio:
I am putting an $83 stop loss on Celgene (NSDQ: CELG). This means if the stock closes below $83 for more than a day, I will sell it out of the portfolio. I believe the company is taking the right steps to fatten up its drug portfolio before its largest drug, Revlimid, begins to lose its patent protection in 2020.

However, the drug group is under enormous pressure and I fear that the extreme selling seen in the pharma group recently will bring this stock lower. If I get stopped out I would likely re-enter the position at a lower price in the future.

Jazz Pharma (NSDQ: JAZZ) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley. I do not have access to the note but point out that Jazz’s earnings estimates have been creeping up since last summer. The stock gets flung around with the pharma sector but I think it has some very good drug candidates to help grow earnings.

Target (NYSE: TGT) saw an off pre-market pop on Friday due to a rumor that is was considering a merger with grocery chain Kroger (NYSE: KR). I don’t see the logic in this mash-up as neither company has a fully developed home delivery process. I don’t see Kroger’s “expertise” in the grocery area to be super helpful to Target either.

Like most rumors, this one was short on details. Looking at the two companies’ market caps, Target overshadows Kroger with a cap of $37 billion versus $20 billion for the smaller grocer. Both trade at similar earnings multiples but Target is cheaper because it is expected to grow earnings 12% this year.

Neither company commented on the rumor but a competing news source deemed it “bogus”. Such is the news in 2018.

For a brief moment, Steelcase (NYSE: SCS) looked like it would be our big winner on the week before succumbing to the market weakness. The stock traded up to almost $15.50 or up 10% on a solid quarter. The company beat estimates by $0.08 and revenue $22 million better than expected.

First quarter guidance was mixed, with earnings $.05 below expectations but revenue slightly better. Like many other companies, Steelcase is getting hit with higher commodity and shipping costs, which it is unable to pass on to customers.

The company raised its quarterly dividend by 6% to $0.135 per share and now offers a remarkable 4% dividend yield.

As is alluded to on its recent earnings call, Smart Sand (NSDQ: SND) announced its purchase of the rights to a New Bakken Frac Sand Transloading Terminal. The $15 million deal will allow Smart Sand to efficiently deliver its frac sand directly to the customer’s wellhead.

The capability is particularly important based on Smart Sand’s recent 66% production expansion to 5.5 million tons. Even better for investors is that the company coincidentally signed on with an “anchor” customer who will buy a fixed amount of product from this terminal.

CEO Charles Young expounded on the new customer agreement:

“We are excited to have an anchor contracted customer for our new Van Hook transloading terminal located in the Bakken. We continue to believe that, over the long term, many customers want a sand service company that can not only provide high-quality sand but also offer efficient and cost-effective solutions for delivering that sand to the wellhead. The addition of our unit-train capable Van Hook terminal, along with our new customer relationship, is Smart Sand’s first step in executing its initiative to expand its geographic and product delivery footprint.”