These are the top 5 performing Club stocks from mid-July to our August Monthly Meeting

Published Thu, Aug 17 20232:50 PM EDT

Since the CNBC Investing Club's July Monthly Meeting, the stock market has seesawed up and then down on a slew of quarterly earnings results and inflation data. That's left Wall Street struggling this month. Here's a look at the best performers from the Club's 36 holdings from the market close after the July 12 meeting through Wednesday, the last full session before Thursday's August Monthly Meeting. 1. Eli Lilly Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) is the major winner of our portfolio, surging 23.97% over the period. The health-care name posted a strong quarterly report on Aug. 8, sending shares to an all-time high. Eli Lilly easily topped Wall Street estimates on earnings and sales, adding over $60 billion of market value in a day and even more since. Mounjaro, the diabetes treatment that may soon be approved by regulators for weight loss as well, is contributing to Lilly's multiyear positive outlook. Jim Cramer has predicted that Mounjaro will be " the best-selling drug of all time ." LLY was down less than 1% during Thursday trading at $544. Still, the company is up 48% year-to-date. LLY mountain 2023-08-16 Eli Lilly (LLY) performance 2. Humana Humana (HUM) is up 16.36% since the July meeting, the Club's second-best performing name over the roughly five-week period. The health insurer soared earlier this month after reporting second-quarter numbers that beat expectations . Management commentary assuaged concerns over medical-cost trends that previously soured HUM's share price. Jim said during the August Monthly Meeting on Thursday that he's not as enamored with this stock recently. HUM was trading at $490 a share, down nearly 1% on Thursday. HUM has tumbled more than 4% year-to-date. HUM mountain 2023-08-16 Humana (HUM) performance 3. Pioneer Natural Resources Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) shot up 8.44%. Shares surged after a hearty quarterly earnings beat on Aug. 1, when the company revealed it weathered the three-month period well despite oil prices that were mostly trending downwards. The Permian Basin producer had a combo of spending less despite pumping more, which is an encouraging sign for the Club holding through year-end. PXD was trading 1.88% higher Thursday at $238.53. The company is up 3.7% year-to-date. PXD mountain 2023-08-16 Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) performance 4. Caterpillar Since the Club's last monthly gathering, Caterpillar (CAT) has jumped 8.25%. The industrials giant surged Aug. 1 on an improved quarterly results , sending shares to an all-time high above $287 apiece. During a very bullish investor conference call, the manufacturer's management delivered positive commentary on the operating environment for the company. CAT edged 1% higher to t around $277 on Thursday. The stock is up 15% year-to-date. CAT mountain 2023-08-16 Caterpillar (CAT) performance 5. Alphabet Alphabet (GOOGL) was the best performer of our Big Tech holdings, up 8.21% during the period. The company released solid quarterly results on July 25, reporting a top-and-bottom-line beat, along with operating margin expansion. Still, we remain cautious about Alphabet's long-term upside amid a cloudy U.S. regulatory environment. GOOGL was up more than 1% during Thursday trading at $130 apiece. The mega-cap name has experienced a massive upswing of 47% since the start of the year. GOOGL mountain 2023-08-16 Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) performance (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long LLY, HUM, PXD, CAT, GOOGL. 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. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Jim Cramer at the NYSE, June 30,2022.

Virginia Sherwood | CNBC