By Doug Busch
Every once in a while, we review our past stock picks. Doing so is an essential part of the investment process, offering a clearer view of what worked, what didn't, and why.
In a market where conditions can shift quickly -- especially now, as the war in Iran continues -- revisiting past calls helps separate skill from timing and highlights patterns that may inform future decisions. It also provides a useful check on discipline, ensuring that lessons from both successes and missteps are carried forward.
This week we discuss the following picks:
Freeport-McMoRan was introduced by Paul La Monica in March.
JBS was written by Andrew Bary last August.
Invitation Homes was covered by Andrew Bary in January.
This note revisits recent stock picks where new developments favor fresh buy or sell signals. Read last week's edition here.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan, a global mining company focused primarily on copper, have gained 55% over the last year. Year to date the stock has climbed 16%, although over the last month it has fallen 13%, providing a buying opportunity. The stock has fallen 4% since our recommendation, in part due to fears that rising oil prices will result in a global economic slowdown and lessen demand for the cyclical metal.
Freeport-McMoRan shows overall strength compared with basic materials rivals, as seen on the ratio chart against the State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund, with the exception of March. Round number theory came into play at the $50 figure, where former resistance on July 8 (a bearish shooting star candle) turned into support, with a bullish hammer off the same level on March 19. A double top occurred at the $70 mark, featuring two spinning tops surrounded by a doji on Feb. 26, but I feel this is the start of a double bottom base. One can enter here and add to above a $69.85 pivot and look for a move toward $90 by the first quarter of 2027, which represents a 53% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $54.
Freeport-McMoRan was trading around $60 Wednesday.
JBS, a giant meat and food processing company from the Netherlands, is up 25% year to date, with a 17% advance during the last month to change hands around $18. The stock is trading at 52-week highs and is on a seven-session winning streak. It has climbed 26% since our recommendation.
The stock's weekly chart has been a firm actor relative to its defensive rivals since the fourth quarter, as seen on the ratio chart against the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF (ticker: XLP). This week JBS is showing excellent relative strength, up 5.5% while the XLP is flat. Last week it climbed 20% following a well-received earnings reaction, marking its best weekly gain in one year and breaking above a double bottom with handle pivot of $17.05.
The next two days are crucial to see how this closes as bulls want JBS to finish the week near highs for the weekly range. The last two times the stock reached this $18 level, in April and August 2025, it retreated hard. The stock could trade toward $21 by mid-2026, a 17% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $16.75.
Invitation Homes, a residential real estate investment trust, has had a tough go of it lately: It has slid 29% over the past year and is down 11% so far in 2026. It pays a handsome dividend yield of 4.75%. The stock is 31% off its most recent 52-week high, and this week is striving for its first back-to-back weekly gains of 2026. It is lower by 8% since our recommendation.
However, the stock's daily chart shows it has started to outperform peers as seen versus the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF over the last six weeks. It is still well below both the downward-sloping 50- and 200-day simple moving averages, but some recent candlesticks suggest some bottoming action. A bullish morning star completed on March 24, and a doji candle formed the day before. And then Monday produced a bullish harami. With these patterns occurring so close in succession, the risk/reward scenario for a long entry here makes sense. The stock could travel toward $28 by mid-2026, a 13% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $24.
Invitation Homes was trading around $25 Wednesday.
Write to Doug Busch at douglas.busch@barrons.com
Doug Busch is the senior technical analyst at Barron's Investor Circle . His technical view is added to stock picks, including those published exclusively for Investor Circle readers. A glossary of technical terms is updated regularly with new entries.
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
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April 01, 2026 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)
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