I believe this slow and steady upward progress is more promising for a recovering market than some of the powerful spikes up that we’ve seen in the past month.

For the week the S&P rose 3% and has enjoyed its best start of the year since 1987. Most bullish to me was the action in several large-cap names, which rose despite missing estimates.

Most of our names crept up through the week. Unfortunately, the Urban calls expired with no value. I’ve noted often the risk in buying options. Their prices move quickly, and as perishable items with an expiration date, they will trade at zero if the stock is not above (with a call) or below (with a put) your strike price as of that date. I am still bullish on the stock so suggest continuing to hold it.

This week Abbvie (NSDQ: ABBV) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) both report earnings on Friday, January 25.

Around the Portfolio:

Masco (NYSE: MAS) got caught up in a bearish squall due to a profit miss by Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I believe Sherwin-Williams’ problems stem more from the operations of its stores and its recent decision to have its brand sold as an exclusive brand at Lowe’s. The company likely gave up some price and profits to gain that exclusive deal. Masco’s business is tied to domestic remodels, which I still expect to be strong.

PayPal (NSDQ: PYPL) got a vote of confidence from Morgan Stanley whose analyst James Faucette said merchant acceptance lead widened in Q4. He noted that PayPal (PYPL) added a net of 8 of the U.S.’s top 500 internet retailers while the next largest accepted digital wallet, Amazon Pay (NSDQ: AMZN), lost four net merchants this quarter. PayPal now has acceptance at 82% of the top 500 U.S. Internet retailers, up from 81% last quarter, while Amazon’s acceptance rate slipped to 12% from 13%. The analyst, who think PayPal’s acceptance lead and consumers’ shift toward online purchases should support total payments volume growth at or above the rate of e-commerce, keeps an Overweight rating on PayPal shares and raised his price target to $99 from $97.

Also, CNBC interviewed TradingAnalysis.com founder Todd Gordon who says PayPal shares may soon break through $100 level. “The stock’s been acting extremely well on a volatile tape here in the last several months, and it looks like we’re set to move above resistance,” he said, noting he sees a “beautiful uptrend” in the stock, which has shown “amazing relative strength” amid a very volatile market. I don’t base my recommendations on chart-based technical analysis, but this is a supportive piece of data for the stock.

Tapestry (NYSE: TPR) is called out as one of Abby Joseph Cohen’s top picks in Barron’s Round Table edition which interviews top money managers about their favorite ideas.

CNBC highlighted Target’s (NYSE: TGT) expansion and revamp of its baby line Cloud Island. With the demise of Babies R Us, Target is broadening its in-house brand Cloud Island to include essential items like diapers, wipes, toiletries, utensils, and bowls. It currently comprises infant products like crib sheet and baby bath toys.