A Pair of Nimble Stock Buys That Provide Even Keel During Market Uncertainty
Here's how I am navigating through a topsy-turvy market.
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The rollercoaster ride investors have been on for more than a month now has continued into the new trading week.
After the major indexes lost between 2.25% to 2.5% each on Monday on worries that the new POTUS might replace the head of the Federal Reserve, stocks posted similar gains on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury Secretary teased that the two largest economies in the world might find their way out of a trade war.
Up against this backdrop of increased market volatility, it is very important to maintain perspective. For example, much has been made recently about a faltering dollar as the greenback has staged a notable decline. The recent back up in treasury yields has drawn similar scrutiny. However, it is important to note that the dollar is trading 5% higher against the euro than it was in mid-2021. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is back to where it was in mid-2023. And the 10-year treasury was nearly 4.8% on January 10, 2025, 10 days before the new administration was inaugurated. In short, it is important to keep perspective as it is determined whether we are truly at an inflection point in the markets, or if the recent market action will just turn out to be noise in the end.
I won’t even pretend I know the answer to that question. This is why I continue to sell the rips and buy the dips.
When equities plunged on Monday, I added some more exposure to the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF RSP via covered-call orders, for reasons I highlighted in my Sunday column. I also observed on Monday that biotech might have formed at least a temporary bottom. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF XBI posted a slight gain during Monday’s rout, quite unusual for a high beta part of the market. It followed Monday’s action with a just over 2.8% rise on Tuesday.
Toward that end, I added some shares in TriSalus Life Sciences, Inc. (TLSI) to my portfolio on Monday. I first profiled this small healthcare concern at the end of January here on TheStreet Pro. The stock has held up well in 2025 and has posted a decent gain for the year. The company should see little or no impacts from tariffs and management guided to 50% revenue growth in FY2025 in late March. Leadership also believes the company will achieve cash flow profitability by year end.
In addition to TriSalus, I took an initial position in biotech pioneer Amgen AMGN, again via covered-call orders. That trade will be discussed in depth in my upcoming weekend column.
During the bounce back in the markets on Tuesday, I rolled some of my covered-call holdings that looked like they would not be expiring in the money in May or June forward during the rally. This allowed me to capture additional option premiums and boosted my cash balance. This dry powder will continue to be deployed in the markets during selloffs like Monday.
I plan to continue to run my portfolio with this sort of nimbleness until a clear market direction is established. It is the primary way I plan to keep an even keel in a very uncertain environment.
At the time of publication, Jensen was long AMGN, RSP, TLSI and XBI.
