Our top 5 stocks of October so far as Wall Street rebounds from a September slump

Published Tue, Oct 17 20236:01 AM EDT

Kevin Stankiewicz @in/kevin-stankiewicz-b5593466 @kevin_stank

After a rough September, October has so far been much more kind to stocks and has helped Wall Street cut into some of its third-quarter losses . More encouragingly, our biggest winners aren't limited to one sector but come from a range of industries, including retail, health care and cybersecurity. This month through Monday, the S & P 500 gained about 2%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.5%. In September, the S & P 500 sank 4.87%, the Nasdaq tumbled 5.81% and the blue-chip Dow dropped 3.5%. Here are our top five performers so far in October, and the factors that are driving the strong performances. FL mountain 2023-09-29 Foot Locker's stock performance so far in October. Our worst performer for the September quarter, Foot Locker (FL) has rebounded to start the fourth quarter with a 25% gain. The ascent began after Nike 's (NKE) late September earnings report and conference call, when the shoemaker mentioned a "reset" in its relationship with Foot Locker. While the stock move has been encouraging, we don't want to chase it. Shares of FL remain down 42% year to date, and as Jim Cramer mentioned during our October Monthly Meeting , the company's turnaround plan has a tight deadline. LLY mountain 2023-09-29 Eli Lilly's stock performance so far in October. Eli Lilly (LLY) shares have returned to their winning ways after falling about 3% in September. The stock closed at an all-time high Thursday. Its 14.8% climb in October has pushed its year-to-date gains to roughly 68%, the fourth best in our portfolio. We locked in significant profits on Sept. 12 — before the stock began its multiweek draw down — which makes us more comfortable letting the stock ride here. Lilly's best day this month came on Oct. 11, when it rallied 4.5% in sympathy with a bullish GLP-1 trial announcement from rival Novo Nordisk (NVO). Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk's diabetes treatment Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy are in a drug category known as GLP-1s. Mounjaro, a key piece to our LLY thesis, is awaiting U.S. regulatory clearance to also treat obesity. PANW mountain 2023-09-29 Palo Alto's stock performance so far in October. Our third-best performer in October is Palo Alto Networks (PANW), which is up 11.55% through Monday. Similar to Eli Lilly, the cybersecurity company's stock closed at a record high Thursday and has been a big 2023 winner — up 87.4%, trailing only Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META) in our portfolio. Nevertheless, the stock's October gains are notable because they follow three consecutive monthly declines. PANW's recent strength seems tied, in large part, to high-profile cyber attacks at companies such as Clorox (CLX) and Johnson Controls (JCI). The various breaches underscore the importance of security tools that Palo Alto and its cyber peers provide. Palo Alto offers a slew of security features on the same platform, which is attractive to customers looking to consolidate their spending. CTRA mountain 2023-09-29 Coterra Energy's stock performance so far in October. Coterra Energy (CTRA) has gained about 8% in October, building on the stock's 6.9% advance in the third quarter as crude oil prices rallied. Coterra's stock rise was supported by a big jump in natural gas futures early in the month — though some of that move has faded. More generally, sentiment around exploration-and-production companies like Coterra has been boosted by Exxon Mobil 's (XOM) takeover offer for now-former Club holding Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), which some in the marketplace believe could spark additional consolidation in the energy sector. Additionally, the Israel-Hamas war has heightened geopolitical risk in the global oil market, placing some upward pressure on prices. We exited our Pioneer position on Monday. HUM mountain 2023-09-29 Humana's stock performance so far in October. Occupying the No. 5 spot in October is Humana (HUM), which has climbed 7.75%. On Oct. 6, we made good on a pledge to trim Humana when the stock returned to $500 per share amid a recovery from a major sell-off in the summer. Sentiment around Humana has continued to improve in recent days. First, there was positive quarterly results Friday morning from fellow insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH). Then after the close Friday, the U.S. government issued grades on 2024 Medicare Advantage plans, and Humana's offerings scored well. Those favorable grades, known as star ratings, likely contributed to Humana's 3.6% gain in Monday's session. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long FL, LLY, PANW, CTRA and HUM. 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. 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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on August 5, 2022 at Wall Street in New York City.

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