Josh Brown likes these defensive-oriented stocks as the market navigates tumultuous environment

(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Do you want to be right or do you want to make money? This is the question. The internet and television media is teeming with people who would like to look right for one reason or another. They’re promoting a brand or repping a fund or selling a product or just in search of paid speaking gigs or even retweets. Cool. I have no problem with any of that. I promote my stuff with the best of them. But looking right is not what this column is about. Sean and I are writing up the Best Stocks in the Market in the hopes that enough of our ideas will work to offset the ones that don’t. It is necessary, therefore, for us to be wrong sometimes. If we can’t risk being wrong, we’ll never be able to generate the idea flow that makes it all worthwhile. Looking right is not on the list of priorities for our Best Stock research. Sometimes it happens as a byproduct of what we actually do, which is identifying the kind of set-ups that we believe offer good risk-reward potential. Today we’re going to do some housekeeping and bring you up to speed on some of the stocks that are still in play from when we originally wrote them up. As the market has stalled out and wrestled with a ton of headline risk, these particular trades continue to thrive. If you’re still in them, we’ll tell you what’s happened since our write-ups. If you’re not, stick around and maybe you’ll learn something interesting or new. Enjoy the cherry-picking exercise! But first, some high level stats about what’s happening with the list itself… Sector leaderboard As of Mar. 16 , there are 193 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top sector ranking: Top industries: Top 5 best stocks by relative strength: Sector spotlight: Defensives-oriented stocks Sean — The headlines have been unrelenting. War in the Middle East, higher gas prices, higher fertilizer prices affecting food costs, AI disrupting software, predictions of AI disrupting humanity, private credit rumbles and comparisons to 2007. There is A LOT going on. And yet, through it all, the S & P 500 is 5% below all time highs, and has not sold off further than this level since April of 2025. As Josh has mentioned on this column and on TV, we have lost most of tech and most of the financials. This market has rotated defensive, led by energy, utilities, staples and healthcare. We focus on momentum so we thought it prudent to check in on a few of the stocks we pitched you this past year that are in these defensive sectors, and are contributing to the S & P’s lack of fragility in the face of so many negative headlines. Ventas, Inc. (VTR): Sean — We wrote about VTR on Nov. 6. The stock is up 16% in total returns since we wrote about it. Their year end earnings report had some good news. Their earnings came in at the top range of guidance with funds from operations up 10% year over year and the company has done almost $5 billion in acquisitions since the same quarter in 2024. When we wrote this up, VTR had just broken out of a six-month consolidation. We advised to wait for a pullback to the 50-day MA (low $70s) for a clean entry, or to just buy the next red day. The total return is and was dividend-driven with a 2.41% yield, so we thought treating it as an investment was more applicable over treating it like a trade. Josh — Ventas, and its peer Welltower which is coming next, are in the business of housing seniors and managing these communities. To the best of our knowledge, AI has not come up with a way to disrupt the chronology of aging. People are going to turn 70 this year no matter what, and they’re going to want to spend their golden year in style and comfort. VTR and WELL are extremely HALO. As you can see above. This stock worked off a consolidation period and then broke back out again. VTR has continued to trend higher since the write-up and is still respecting the rising 50-day moving average, currently around $81. The most recent breakout pushed shares into the mid-$80s, where they’re now consolidating with RSI holding in the low-60s, which is consistent with an ongoing uptrend rather than an exhaustion move. For traders, the tactical level to watch is the 50-day around $81. A decisive break below that would suggest the current consolidation is turning into a deeper pullback, likely opening the door to a move toward the mid-$70s. The longer-term trend remains intact for investors as long as the stock holds above the 200-day near $73. A break of that level would signal the intermediate uptrend from last summer has failed. As long as it stays above the 200-day, the primary trend remains higher. To reiterate, I think this is a better stock for investors given the dividend component. Welltower, Inc. (WELL): Sean — We wrote about WELL (along with VTR) on Nov. 6. The stock is up 11% since then. They reported year-end funds from operations growth of 28% year over year along with 20% senior housing same-store net operating income growth, which was their 13th consecutive quarter of 20%+ growth for that segment. 2025 was a big year for WELL, they aggressively rotated out of outpatient medical and skilled nursing and into senior housing. They also launched a private funds management business with $2.5 billion already closed. WELL guided to 17% funds from operations growth and expect to invest $5.7 billion in 2026. At the time of writing, we noted WELL had the best uptrend in the REIT sector, but it was extended with RSI in the low 70s and stock up multiple days in a row. Josh — WELL shares pushed to new highs earlier this year and are now consolidating just above the rising 50-day moving average near $196. The trend remains firmly higher with the stock holding above prior breakout levels while RSI sits around 58, suggesting momentum has cooled but not broken. The tactical level for traders to watch is the 50-day around $196. If the stock loses that level decisively, the next logical support sits near $190, where buyers stepped in during the last pullback. The longer-term trend remains intact as long as shares stay above the 200-day moving average near $178. A break of that level would represent a material deterioration in the intermediate trend. As long as the stock holds above it, the primary uptrend from last year remains in place. I would guess we get a fresh breakout here but the $210 to $215 resistance overhead may be formidable. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM): Sean — One week after we wrote about VTR and WELL, we pitched XOM. The stock is up 33% in total return since then, not bad for four months! Obviously there’s been some news flow since then. For starters, we completed operations in Venezuela, started operations against Iran, and the price of oil went from $58 to $100. We also saw a re-rating of energy stocks — XOMs trailing PE went from 17x to 23x today. When we wrote this up, the stock was at $118, bumping up against $125 overhead resistance that had been held for three years. There was no confirmed breakout yet — and we noted traders should wait for $125 to clear. But investors got the go ahead from us given the 2.7% dividend yield and low expectations. These were Josh’s actual words within the risk management section: But investors can anticipate the breakout and get long in advance. Because if and when this oil tanker starts to move, we may not get another chance. Josh — We crushed it for you guys on the Exxon and Chevron entries. Let’s take XOM first, a stock I bought personally around when we wrote it up last fall. One point I want to make is that oil had not yet done much and the Iranian strike was still on Donald Trump’s whiteboard. Stocks are very good at anticipating what might happen next and getting there in advance of the journalists. This move in the oil names over the winter months is a textbook example of this phenomenon you ought to study. The breakout in energy since the fall has pushed Exxon to new highs, with the stock now consolidating around $156 after a sharp run. The trend remains firmly higher with price well above the rising 50-day near $141, and RSI in the mid-60s shows strong but not extreme momentum. The key tactical level for traders is the 50-day around $141. A break below that would likely mean the momentum phase is cooling and could bring the stock back toward the mid-130s where the last base formed. The longer-term trend stays intact as long as shares remain above the 200-day near $120. That moving average has been rising steadily and represents the line in the sand for the broader uptrend. If you took this ride with us, you can roll up your stocks accordingly and remain disciplined. I still like it for an entry but the easy money has already been made. Chevron Corp. (CVX): Sean — We have written about CVX a couple times, but most recently in January in the wake of our military operation to remove Venezuela’s dictator. CVX was and still is the only U.S. oil company there, representing 25% of oil production. They reported record production in 2025 and noted profitability at a sub $50 Brent price. CVX got in on the re-rating too, trading at a trailing 24x in January vs a 30x multiple today. CVX happened to be added to our list immediately after the gap higher in early January, so it was flagged as not actionable — price was messy and gaps are tricky. As you can see the chart has made some developments… Josh — Chevron has just made an explosive move so if it spends some time digesting these gains, don’t fall out of your chair. It’s very possible to see some chop ahead. A bigger rally in crude would fast-forward this, of course, which is why we counsel staying long with a stop rather than locking in a fast profit. Chevron has staged an even stronger advance, breaking out of a long consolidation and pushing to new highs near $197. The stock is extended above the 50-day moving average around $176, with RSI just above 70, which reflects strong momentum after the breakout. If you’re trading it, the level to monitor is the 50-day near $176, which should act as first support if the stock pulls back after the run. That’s a long way down. Losing that level would likely mean a deeper retracement toward the mid-160s. The longer-term trend remains constructive as long as the stock stays above the 200-day near $158. A break of that level would signal that the breakout has failed and the broader trend has shifted. We’re probably above the 200-day for the foreseeable future which may require you to accept a looser risk management tolerance if you’re coming into the stock today. Once again, there’s a dividend and a buyback thing happening here so I’m okay with playing it a bit looser to see how high the stock can ultimately get. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 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