Abbott manufactures and markets cardiovascular and diabetes devices, adult and pediatric nutritional products, diagnostic equipment and testing kits, and branded generic drugs. Products include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, neuromodulation devices, coronary stents, catheters, infant formula, nutritional liquids for adults, continuous glucose monitors, and immunoassays and point-of-care diagnostic equipment. Abbott derives approximately 60% of sales outside the United States.

Rapidly rising inflation in 2022 knocked stocks into a bear market. While growth strategies suffered the most, value strategies also declined. Even bond prices were lower that year. Stocks have recovered and a new bull market has started, but gains have been largely driven by only a handful of high-tech companies. Inflation remains an issue and now, with a new president, a trade war may be in play. Is a recession in the offing? With all the uncertainty, is it time for investors to cash in their chips? Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate. Academic literature and, more to the point, returns history, indicate that Min Vol can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

The insider-sentiment sell/buy ratios from Vickers Stock Research are bullish when they are under 2.00, neutral from 2.00 until 6.00, and bearish over 6.00. Two weeks ago, the Nasdaq One-Week Sell/Buy Ratio jumped to an eye-popping 15.57; last week it relatively calmed to 6.89 (still bearish); and this week it has popped again, to 14.06. Transaction volume is very low due to trading restrictions in place during earnings season, and insiders may be taking profits now -- some 16 months before they will have to pay capital-gains tax. But at the end of the day, those who are trading on the Nasdaq are mostly selling. Meanwhile, the one-week ratio on the NYSE is also heating up, at 7.95 this week. Would we run for the exits based on all of this? No. But this is a reminder that with many indices at all-time highs, stocks are vulnerable to even the hint of bad or unexpected news (such as the DeepSeek drama playing out today). Reviewing portfolios to reflect risk and volatility is always a good idea. On a sector basis, insider buying was the greatest in the Energy sector over the past week, although selling still outpaced buying. Selling was the greatest in the Healthcare and Financial sectors. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at Tempus AI Inc. (NGS: TEM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

Abbott Laboratories is a diversified healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of medical products and services. Its main product lines are nutritionals for adults and infants, diagnostic systems, vascular implants, cardiac rhythm management products, and diabetes care products.