CEO Watchlist: Week In Review (5/10/26)

TOP NEWS AFFECTING THE STOCK MARKET THIS WEEK:

Pandemic 2.0? Why Fear-Driven Headlines Make for Great Trading Opportunities in These 3 Stocks! (Source)

Stocks mentioned: $MRNA, $PFE, $APT

The headlines this past week are reminiscent of 2020. Talks of a new virus has been causing a lot of fear around the world, and people are already taking sides. On one hand, you have people that are deathly afraid and comparing it to COVID. On the other hand, you have people claiming there is nothing to worry about, and the media is just trying to scare people for views. But when it comes to investing, we need to remain unbiased and look for where the opportunities are in the stock market. So whether this is the next COVID or "fake news", we are identifying the opportunities in this market to make a lot of money with short-term trades.

For a little background, this new virus is called the "Hantavirus". It was flagged aboard a Dutch cruise ship in the South Atlantic with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting multiple fatalities as of May 4, 2026. For those unfamiliar, the Hantavirus is a viral pathogen typically transmitted via rodent droppings; in humans, it can trigger Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), a condition where the lungs fill with fluid, leading to a staggering mortality rate that can reach 50% in the Americas. The good thing is, is that the WHO currently assesses global risk as "low." The reason for the low risk is that it's not as easily transferable as COVID and normally symptoms are found before it can spread. So now that you're caught up slightly on what's going on, and what this virus is, let's take a look at some stocks we believe can benefit in the short-term.

Market psychology in these moments follows a predictable, reflexive script: fear acts as a propellant. When a high-mortality virus hits the news cycle, the market doesn’t wait for a full-scale pandemic to price in risk; it trades on the possibility of escalation. This creates a "momentum trade" where capital rotates into perceived safe havens and medical solutions. It is a game of musical chairs driven by sentiment, investors buy the companies that could provide the solution in the short-term, regardless of whether or not this turns into the next COVID. We must be exceptionally clear: these are NOT "buy and hold" investments. These are stocks that are poised to benefit from fear-based momentum. That means we are only doing day/swing trades and/or short-dated options on these stocks. The goal is to ride the upward surge of public and institutional concern and exit before the news cycle cools or the "low risk" assessment from health officials stabilizes the market. You are trading the headline, not the actual fundamentals of the companies.

Below are our 3 tactical picks currently positioned to capture this sentiment:

Moderna (MRNA): As a leader in mRNA technology, Moderna is the market’s go-to "rapid responder." Recent Phase 1 data for their Hantavirus pipeline has already triggered analyst price target hikes, making them the primary beneficiary of any "vaccine-fix" narrative.
Pfizer (PFE): The healthcare giant possesses the unparalleled manufacturing infrastructure and global distribution networks required for any large-scale antiviral response. Investors view Pfizer as the "stabilizer" that the world turns to when local outbreaks threaten global transit.
Alpha Pro Tech (APT): This is the higher-risk play. APT manufactures personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks and protective clothing. As a small-cap stock, it historically skyrockets on viral headlines as the market bets on a surge in demand for physical safety gear.

The risk/reward profile here is asymmetric: the upside is driven by rapid-fire news, while the downside is a return to baseline if the outbreak remains isolated. This is a window for the bold and the disciplined. Now let us just remind you, these are VERY high-risk trades that we are taking. We are only owning them as short-term trades, and are utilizing extreme levels of risk management to get out if the trades reverse. Be cautious and make sure to do your own due diligence when looking at high-risk investments like these. If you're a CEO Watchlist Investment Club Member, just note that our usual Sunday conference call is being moved to Monday due to Mother's Day. We are going to be covering all the new stocks we are buying for this next week, due to the multiple catalysts we have talked about in the group. Make sure you have notifications turned on in the app, so you do not miss any of our alerts. If you're not a CEO Watchlist Investment Club Member, we highly recommend you take advantage of our Mother's Day Sale going on for the next 48 hours. [CLICK HERE] to receive $200 OFF your subscription today and join the CEO Watchlist community that millions are talking about on social media.

Stock Spotlight: Ouster (OUST) ... (Source)

Stocks mentioned: $OUST

We are witnessing the birth of Physical AI, the transition of artificial intelligence from digital screens into the physical world. If large language models are the "brains" of this era, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is the "eyes." Ouster (OUST) stands at the epicenter of this shift. Unlike traditional analog lidar, which is bulky and expensive (think of a hand-built mechanical watch), Ouster utilizes a digital lidar architecture. By consolidating thousands of components onto a single silicon chip, they have effectively followed Moore’s Law, making sensors smaller, more powerful, and cheaper to produce. This isn't just about self-driving cars anymore; it’s about giving every moving machine, from warehouse robots to port cranes, the ability to see and navigate the world with superhuman precision.

Ouster has strategically moved beyond the volatile "robotaxi" hype to dominate high-margin verticals: Smart Infrastructure and Industrial Automation. Their business model is no longer just selling hardware; it’s a "razor and blade" strategy powered by their recent Rev8 OS launch and the BlueCity software rollout. BlueCity, a patented solution, transforms lidar data into actionable traffic and safety insights for cities, creating a high-margin software "moat" that is difficult for hardware-only competitors to cross. By integrating their recent Stereolabs acquisition, they are now fusing 3D lidar with 2D camera data directly on the chip. This creates a unified "perception platform" that makes it easier for a factory manager or a city planner to deploy AI without needing a PhD in robotics.

The bull case for Ouster is grounded in fiscal discipline and dominant growth. While the sector has been a graveyard for over-hyped startups, Ouster recently reported its 13th consecutive quarter of product revenue growth, with shipments exceeding 12,600 units. They maintain a fortress balance sheet with $175 million in cash and zero debt, a rarity in this space. However, we must address the recent "noise." Following their Q1 2026 earnings, the stock dipped 10% afterhours because they lowered their 2026 revenue guidance. The bear case would argue this signals a slowdown or increasing commoditization where LiDAR becomes a low-margin utility. Yet, management’s rebuttal is high-conviction: they are intentionally walking away from low-margin, high-volume "vanity" contracts to focus on the high-margin Physical AI segments. They are prioritizing the bottom line over top-line optics, shifting the massive growth inflection point from 2026 to 2027 to ensure they reach profitability sustainably.

Our conviction stems from the looming Robotics Supercycle. We believe the market is drastically underestimating the "tailpipe" demand for high-resolution sensing. Whether it is the Tesla Optimus humanoid, autonomous forklifts in every Amazon warehouse, or the $100 billion smart city movement, these machines cannot function safely without LiDAR. Currently valued at a modest $1–$2 billion, Ouster is priced like a struggling hardware vendor rather than the foundational sensing platform for the next industrial revolution. If they continue to separate themselves through software attachments and silicon efficiency, we see a clear path for Ouster to scale into a $5–$10 billion pillar of the robotics economy as the world moves from "software-only" to "AI-plus-hardware."

In summary, Ouster is a disciplined, digital-first leader in a messy field. They have the patents, the software "moat" via BlueCity, and the hardware edge with Rev8 to lead the Physical AI era. While short-term guidance shifts might scare off "fast money" traders, the pivot toward high-margin profitability is the exact move an adult-led company should make. By owning the "eyes" of the robotics world, Ouster isn't just selling sensors; they are selling the essential infrastructure of the 21st century.

"Super Investor" Spotlight: Christopher Davis (Source)

Stocks mentioned: $COF, $CTRA, $USB, $VRTS, $META, $MGM, $GOOGL, $CVS, $TSN, $MKL, $AMZN, $AMAT, $CI, $SNPS

This week’s "Super Investor" Spotlight focuses on Christopher Davis, the Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers. For those new to the term, a "Super Investor" is a elite fund manager who manages billions of dollars and has a multi-generational track record of outperforming the broader market. The Davis family has been a fixture on Wall Street for over 75 years, following a strict "value discipline" that focuses on buying durable businesses at prices that offer a significant margin of safety. This past week, they updated their stock holdings and we did all the grunt work to see what they bought, sold, and kept.

Let's start by looking at what their Top 10 stock holdings currently are:

Capital One Financial (COF) – 7.2%
Coterra Energy (CTRA) – 6.0%
U.S. Bancorp (USB) – 5.3%
Virtus Investment Partners (VRTS) – 4.8%
Meta Platforms (META) – 4.5%
MGM Resorts (MGM) – 4.1%
Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) – 4.1%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) – 4.0%
Tyson Foods (TSN) – 3.9%
Markel Group (MKL) – 3.4%
Amazon (AMZN) – 3.3%

Davis made many changes to his stock portfolio this part quarter, but 2 of the biggest changes were in Applied Materials (AMAT) and Cigna (CI). After looking through all his buys and sells, it seems like Davis is de-risking the portfolio. When looking at his AMAT position, he sold off over 70% of his holdings in the name. AMAT represents one of the hottest sectors in the market, which is semiconductors (tech). While on the other hand, he increased his position in Cigna by almost 200%. Cigna represents one of the worst sectors in the stock market, which is healthcare, particularly insurance. Personally, we're not a fan of this move, but we understand it for Davis in particular. Davis runs a "value portfolio" where he is looking not for the most growth, but rather, for a certain level or safety. We at CEO Watchlist prioritize growth over everything, and that means looking at where the momentum currently is. Without a doubt, momentum currently is still heavily favored in the technology sector. So while we disagree for our own personal goals, we fully understand where Davis is coming from.

Whether you are a value investor like Davis, or a growth investor such as ourselves, the goal should be the same, and that is to ourperform the broad market (S&P 500). When we look at Davis' performance over the past 3 years, he does exactly that. Over the past 3 years, Davis has delivered a cumulative return of approximately 90%, significantly outpacing the S&P 500’s 59% return over the same period, as you can see below:

This massive 31% outperformance is a testament to the power of buying "boring", "safe", "value" businesses when they are out of favor and holding them as they return to fair value. He proves that being a "Super Investor" doesn't require chasing every trend, it just requires the discipline to stick to a proven process.

We track Christopher Davis not because his style perfectly aligns with ours, but rather looking for hidden gems in the moves he makes, because you can't deny his outperformance of the overall market. Davis is clearly doing something right, and every now and then, we are able to spot some potential in the stocks he's buying. For example, he did triple his weighting in a stock called Synopsys (SNPS) this past quarter. This is a stock we've had on our radar for a long time, and has been lagging in the technology market. The way that Christopher Davis is finding value in this name, we also are seeing value in addition to a stock that has a ton of potential for growth. For those that don't know, Synopsys acts as a duopology in the chip market when it comes to chip design. Now, for our Investment Club Members, if you want to see all the stocks we are copying from the "Super Investors" this quarter, make sure to log in by [CLICKING HERE] and it will take you to our most recent stock investments. Also, down below, we have included an infographic on the top stocks Christopher Davis' fund owns:

INSIDER STOCK TRADES FROM THE WEEK:

1. Upstart Holdings (UPST) - Dave Girouard (Director) bought roughly $5,000,000 worth of UPST at an average price of $29.37/share on May 7, 2026, but it wasn't reported to the public until May 8, 2026. (Source)

2. CoStar Group (CSGP) - Andy Florence (President & CEO) bought roughly $2,500,000 of CSGP at an average price of $35.20/share on May 1, 2026, but it wasn't reported until May 5, 2026. (Source)

3. Pool Corp (POOL) - Manuel De La Mesa (Director) bought roughly $1,900,000 of POOL at an average price of $190/share on May 7, 2026, but it wasn't reported to the public until May 8, 2026. (Source)

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