3alexd Summary Following my coverage of SAP (NYSE:SAP) in January 2024, for which I recommended a buy rating as I believed the SAP business model was really attractive and defensive and that it would continue to see growth momentum in the cloud, this post is to provide an update on my thoughts on the business…
RapidEye/E+ via Getty Images We previously covered Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:TSLA) in January 2024, discussing why its EV King investment thesis had faded, with it no longer the largest global volume producer as of FQ3’23, with its profit margins likely to continue suffering as an adverse effect of the sustained price cuts. While improved manufacturing scale…
gabetcarlson Investment Overview Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) will announce its Q1 2024 earnings next Thursday, April 18th ahead of the market open. When I last covered the company for Seeking Alpha it was July 2020, and Elevance – then known as Anthem – stock was trading at $271 per share. I gave it a “Buy” rating….
scalatore1959/iStock via Getty Images Overview I previously covered Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) back in August of 2023. Since then, HTGC has delivered a total return of over 13% due to the consistent NII (net investment income) growth and high dividend distributions. The price has run up over the last 6 months and now the dividend yield…
Juliano703/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) stock has soared more than 152% over the last five beating the S&P 500 by a margin of about 66%. Seeking Alpha Following this solid upward trajectory, this stock is currently trading at a premium something which rules it out as a good value investment. However,…
artisteer Overview I frequently ignored Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) due to the falling share price. I figured that there was no way OCSL had the ability to provide a sufficient level of total return with such a fall in share price. Since inception, the BDC (business development company) is down nearly 47% in price. However,…
Sundry Photography Over a year ago, I published “U.S. Bancorp: Net Interest Margin Compression Could Quickly Erase Profits This Year.” At that time, I had a bearish view on U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) under the view that its moderately high leverage combined with rising deposit rates would cause its NIM to compress, causing the company to…
BT Series/iStock via Getty Images I’ve been writing for Seeking Alpha since 2019. Believe it or not, this is my 300th article for the site. Of all of the articles I have written, I don’t know that I have ever had as much confidence in a call as I do in this one. I’m extremely…
valiantsin suprunovich Overview The last time I took a look at Trinity Capital Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIN), I decided to stay on the sidelines and rated the stock a Hold. This was due to the fact that the price traded at a higher premium to NAV (net asset value) than what it averaged over the last 3-year…
Richard Drury There is no question that the Calamos Convertible & High Income Fund (NASDAQ:CHY) has proved very successful over the years, as evidenced by the fund’s performance versus the benchmark and the peer group. Such consistent results are reflected in a double-digit premium to NAV, as opposed to other convertible funds not managed by…
Wasan Tita SPX Technologies (NYSE:SPXC) started 2024 with a bolt-on deal, adding to its string of dealmaking efforts in recent times. M&A efforts have stood at the foundation of a real transformation over the past five years or so, and while topline sales have not grown, the business has become a lot more profitable and…
PM Images Overview While my portfolio is already heavy-weighted with BDCs (business development companies), I continue to get pulled in by the appeal of these high yielding opportunities. TSLX has a solid performance history and juicy high yield of 8.6%. Sixth Street Specialty Lending (NYSE:TSLX) operates as a business development company, offering a diverse range…
Orbon Alija Dear readers, It’s been almost a year since I last covered the Spanish-based utility giant Iberdrola (OTCPK:IBDSF). In particular, I issued a BUY rating last March at EUR 10.70 per share (for the native shares, ticker IBE, which trade on the Madrid exchange). My thesis was based on a reliable 4.6% dividend yield,…
Andy Feng Elevator Pitch Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (OTCPK:PNGAY) [2318:HK] is still rated as a Hold. In my November 11, 2023 initiation article, I drew attention to Ping An Insurance’s risk factors for the near term and the company’s growth potential in the long run. In this latest write-up, I come…
DNY59 We previously covered ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) (OTCPK:ASMLF) in October 2023, discussing how the October 2023 bottom was highly attractive for investors looking to dollar cost average, significantly aided by Taiwan Semiconductor’s (TSM) commentary on the near bottoming of the semiconductor market. Combined with its 20Y moat, we had maintained our optimism on its…
Nature, food, landscape, travel Shares of Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) have lagged the broader market this year, gaining just 8%, but they have outperformed many real estate stocks with most apartment REITs, for instance, posting losses. With its unique business model and asset mix, ELS has significantly outperformed the national rent slowdown in 2023. While…
Toa55/iStock via Getty Images It has been quite a while since I last covered RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM). In the fall of 2016, I offered my last take on the shares of the sound capital allocator after it announced another bolt-on acquisition. In the years which followed, the company has seen solid growth, driven by…
PM Images Overview Trinity Capital (NASDAQ:TRIN) operates as a business development company and venture capital firm with a focus on providing venture debt to growth-stage companies seeking loans and equipment financing. Established in 2019, the company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and maintains additional offices across the United States. We can see an example of…
deepblue4you Back in September, we wrote an article titled “SVOL: The Best Income ETF On The Market Sells VIX Futures“. The core thesis of the article was that NYSEARCA:SVOL, the Simplify Volatility ETF, was a well-designed financial product built to take advantage of typical market conditions, while also hedging out a good bit of black-swan…
alvarez/E+ via Getty Images We previously covered MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in September 2023, discussing its solid prospects over the next few years, thanks to its well-diversified vertically-integrated offerings across online retail, logistics, fintech, and advertising. Combined with the management’s efforts to aggressively grow market share profitably, we had confidently reiterated the stock as a long-term…
The Saga phone comes with extra benefits, including a complimentary month of access to Helium Mobile and a free toy. Moreover, apps on Saga’s dApp Store offer special benefits and rewards for Saga holders. Saga phones, initially experiencing sluggish sales, are now fetching over $2,000 in resale on platforms like eBay, according to completed listings….
Jaromir Ondra In April 2020, when nearby NYMEX crude oil futures (CL1:COM) fell below zero for the first time, the low in the nearby Brent petroleum futures was $16 per barrel. Two years later, in March 2022, when nearby NYMEX futures exploded to $130.50 per barrel, the highest price since 2008, Brent futures peaked at…
mbbirdy/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) has weathered challenges to the traditional print media business far better than most peers. The company has built an impressive digital business with over 9.4 million subscribers. Digital revenue now accounts for ~60% of the company’s total revenue and primarily consists of subscription based…
joeygil Back in April, I wrote that Frontline (NYSE:FRO) had been riding some powerful market trends, but I thought the stock was close to fairly valued in normal market conditions. I followed that up in September, saying that its current valuation looked full. Let’s catch up on the name after it reported results at the…
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images Investment Rundown Investing in water and companies working with either services or setting up new infrastructure has been quite popular it seems the last few years. A noticeable trend I have seen appearing is that a lot of water companies have seen their valuations rise quite rapidly in a short period….
ferrantraite Grayscale Bitcoin Cash Trust (OTCQX:BCHG) is the only way to get Bitcoin Cash exposure through Tradfi infrastructure in the U.S. markets. It is a closed-end fund with around $75 million in assets under management and a 2.5% management fee. The fund is passively invested in Bitcoin Cash. It is of course possible to buy…
Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 mixmotive While the spotlight in the airline industry is on the combination of JetBlue (JBLU) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) is stealing some of the thunder as it announced an agreement with Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ:HA) to combine. In this report, I will be discussing the details of the…
champpixs Investment thesis Asana (NYSE:ASAN) was one of the hottest stocks during the 2021 stock market mania, but now it trades more than seven times below all-time highs. My valuation analysis suggests the stock is still overvalued, but I believe that the premium is well-deserved. The company’s stellar revenue growth is backed by the superiority…
KangeStudio Investment Thesis Comfort Systems USA, Inc’s (NYSE:FIX) revenue growth should continue to see benefits from a healthy backlog of $4.28 billion exiting Q3 2023, and good demand in industrial, technology, and manufacturing sectors driven by medium to long-term secular trends. However, the streak of extraordinarily high growth rate that the company has been witnessing…
Lemon_tm Written by Nick Ackerman. RTX Corp. (NYSE:RTX) has been struggling this year, with shares off over 20% in 2023. They’ve been hit by engine recalls in their Pratt & Whitney division that will be a free cash flow headwind for the next couple of years. However, for patient investors who have a longer-term outlook,…
MasaoTaira Shares of Federal Realty (NYSE:FRT) have not been immune from the impact of rising rates on the real estate sector with its shares down by about 14% over the past year. This comes despite the fact that FRT has raised its dividend 56 consecutive years—the longest such streak in the industry. Given that track…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News With short-dated treasury yields standing at around 5%, the case for high yielding and slow growth consumer staple businesses has waned. That is why it is hardly a surprise that even a high quality business, such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) has a solid Hold rating. Seeking Alpha The current period…
CEO Durov spent $200,000 to buy Toncoin in order to pre-acquire Telegram Premium subscriptions in a giveaway for 10,000 Telegram users. Pavel Durov, the CEO of cross-platform instant messaging service has announced a giveaway of 10,000 Premium subscriptions to celebrate a new feature in the app. The Telegram app officially introduced a few new features,…
YvanDube I’ve had my eye on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) for a long time now. This is my first time covering the company on Seeking Alpha, and I initiate my coverage with a “HOLD” rating. Costco has always intrigued me because it consistently trades at high valuations. Right now, the stock is trading at a…
Darren415 Welcome to another installment of our CEF Market Weekly Review, where we discuss closed-end fund (“CEF”) market activity from both the bottom-up – highlighting individual fund news and events – as well as the top-down – providing an overview of the broader market. We also try to provide some historical context as well as…
AzmanJaka Waste Management (NYSE:WM) shares have been treading water over the past year, up just 2% as the business continues to perform well but valuation has been elevated, particularly in light of higher interest rates. The company recently reported Q3 earnings, which were solid, despite some headwinds in recycling. Since recommending shares last October, Waste…
Nikada By Elizabeth Bebb Factor indices aim to provide investors the means to access factor exposure in a cost-effective and transparent way. S&P DJI offers sustainability versions of factor indices that incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores, which allow investors to align their investments with their interests while seeking to improve risk/return dynamics. Launched…
VioletaStoimenova One of the biggest pitfalls that value investors need to avoid is making a decision to buy a company solely off of that company’s historical financial performance and its current valuation. I would say that nine times out of 10, such a simple analysis can yield attractive results. But it can also result in…
xxwp/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from this fund letter. Tecnoglass Inc (NYSE:TGLS) Tecnoglass is a vertically integrated manufacturer, supplier, and installer of architectural glass, framing systems, windows, and doors. The company’s automated manufacturing base in Colombia allows it to manufacture products at a much lower cost than domestic companies. Shipping expenses…
Darren415 Welcome to another installment of our BDC Market Weekly Review, where we discuss market activity in the Business Development Company (“BDC”) sector from both the bottom-up – highlighting individual news and events – as well as the top-down – providing an overview of the broader market. We also try to add some historical context…
In parallel to the subscription plan announcement, X is taking measures to combat manipulation, spam, and bot activity on its platform. Elon Musk, the CEO of various innovative companies and owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter) recently confirmed the introduction of two new premium subscription plans for X. New Premium Subscription Options on…
I going to make a greatest artwork as I can, by my head, my hand and by my mind. Investment Thesis SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI) is a battleground stock. This means that there are both bears and bulls on either side of the stock. And both sides put across ferocious arguments. Whilst I have a…
Gary Yeowell The John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) is a closed-end fund that invests primarily in financial services companies such as banks, asset managers, and insurance companies. This is a sector of the economy that has been adversely affected by the rapid rise in interest rates over the past year or so, mostly because…
ozgurdonmaz In our previous analysis, we determined that Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) success in the Chinese market in 2022 was due to its aggressive pricing strategy, which gave it an edge over Chinese rivals thanks to stronger profit margins. We believe this allowed Apple to cut prices more than competitors, boosting its competitiveness. Additionally, we believe…
Birkenstock confidently moves ahead with its IPO plans despite mixed performances of other listings in September. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley shall be the underwriters for the IPO. Birkenstock, the renowned German premium footwear brand supported by private-equity firm L Catterton, has announced its intention to pursue a highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO)…
Wasan Tita/iStock via Getty Images Investment Overview In October 2012, Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) completed its initial public offering (“IPO”) of 5m shares priced at $15 per share, raising ~$75m to fund development of a then Phase 3 stage liver disease drug, Ocaliva – obeticholic acid, or “OCA” – a “first-in-class agonist of the farnesoid X…
vm/E+ via Getty Images Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVLV) is making waves with its artificial intelligence-based weapons detection system. The platform intended for high-traffic public venues uses a combination of cameras with proprietary data analytics to visually identify threats during the security screening process. Evolv counts on hundreds of high-profile customers including sports stadiums, entertainment…
The paid plan for Claude Pro has been competitive priced in order to directly compete with ChatGPT Plus. On Thursday, September 7, popular AI startup Anthropic, co-founded by ex-OpenAI employees, announced the launch of its first paid subscription plan for its AI-powered, text-analyzing chatbot Claude Pro. The paid version of the Claude chatbot shall be…
BING-JHEN HONG Investment Thesis I believe Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) stock is a hold at its current valuation. While the company has a robust business model that leverages economies of scale and maintains low-profit margins, forming a virtuous cycle of customer loyalty and competitive advantage, the investment outlook is less clear. The company’s focus on…
mediaphotos Introduction In the title insurance industry, Investors Title Company (NASDAQ:ITIC) has managed to grow rather well over the years and the market cap sits at just under $300 million currently. The company has managed to achieve quite solid margins which seem to have led to the slight premium you have to pay for the…