NiseriN This is my second BioCryst (NASDAQ:BCRX) article, following 04/11/2022’s “BioCryst: After The Fall” (“FALL“). The downdraft referenced in the title to FALL was caused by its decision to pause enrollment in phase 2 trials for BCX9930 in treatment of diverse diseases. FALL closed with the following statement “… I fear its shares are going…
PM Images The PIMCO High Income Fund (NYSE:PHK) is a closed-end fund that income-focused investors can employ as a means of achieving their goals. This seems only logical given that the name of the fund strongly implies that its intent is to provide its shareholders with a very high level of current income. The fund…
Boarding1Now/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Much has gone in favor of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in the recent past, driving its price up by ~20% year-to-date after a 22% increase in 2023. Continued improvements in travel demand, an easing in inflation impacting costs positively, the resulting profits, and a positive outlook all support the DAL…
champpixs Almost a year ago, I penned a draft for Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) titled: Upstart: Too hard basket until interest rates turn. I had expected the nearing quarterly report to be negative, but instead it was very positive, and instead I completely rewrote the article as “A leaner Upstart can grow from here” and rated the…
Monty Rakusen/DigitalVision via Getty Images Since I wrote about China’s automotive services provider SunCar Technology (NASDAQ:SDA) last November, its price is up by over 16%. Even at that time, a 20-25% upside was evident for the stock in the short term, after it significantly overcorrected when a follow-on offering took place at a price lower…
J Studios Nvidia Corporation’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock price has been on a tear since October 2022, rising from a low of $108/share to $974 in March 2024. Recently, the stock price has slid to $762, falling by 10% on Friday, April 19, 2024 (the market cap is still $1.9 trillion). Is it a buy or sell?…
ugurhan By Warren Patterson The risk of disruption to Middle Eastern supply grows While price action in the oil market has been somewhat surprising following Iran’s attack on Israel, the risk of tensions in the Middle East impacting oil supply is certainly growing. The lack of price strength following Iran’s recent attack is largely due…
Jeremy Poland Following my articles on Sunnova (NYSE:NOVA) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), today’s analysis will focus on Sunrun (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:RUN), another company operating in the distributed systems sector. As I have extensively discussed in previous articles, I am particularly bearish about the sector, as it is characterized by companies with high levels of debt, high capital requirements,…
Just_Super Investment Thesis Zuora (NYSE:ZUO) is a cloud-based software company that aims to help traditional businesses transition into a subscription-based business. The recent FY24 results were decent, although growth was certainly not that impressive as there were multiple issues such as unexpected churns and continued issues of longer sales cycles. While the firm is trading…
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction Last year, I started covering Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS), the animal health-focused healthcare giant. My most recent article on this stock was written on January 10, when I went with the title “Animal Kingdom’s Ally: Zoetis And Its Path To 10%+ Returns.” Here’s a part of my takeaway back then:…
gopixa Finding stable income without taking excessive risk has been hard over much of the last decade. With interest rates at historic lows for much of this time, a number of creative investments have come to market to try to offer investors inflation-adjusted income. One new ETF that recently was indexed in September of 2023…
PhonlamaiPhoto The semiconductor industry has boomed since the beginning of 2023, riding the tailwinds of OpenAI’s introduction of ChatGPT to the market, which sparked the generative AI revolution. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) has ridden that wave higher; the stock was up 68% in 2023 and, as the following chart shows, was up 25.50% in 2024 as…
bopav Introduction In my quest to find income funds that focus on asymmetric risk and reward situations, I stumbled upon the Defiance NASDAQ 100 Enhanced Options Income ETF (NASDAQ:QQQY). I covered its first 60 days back in November 2023. This article will serve as a follow-up to my previous conclusion, which was: I will try…
gorodenkoff Introduction Recently, I have covered numerous banks and the preferred stocks they have issued. Financial institutions are the major source of preferred stocks since they can, for the most part, count them as part of the Tier 1 capital requirements. That said, finding an issue that allows investors to diversify away from bank issues…
tum3123 By Saskia Kort-Chick & Markus Schneider Understanding the social risks posed by climate transition requires discipline, nuance and a systematic approach. The concept of a “just transition” has gained ground among responsible investors concerned about the economic consequences of the social risks that countries face in moving from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources….
Ridofranz The ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKW) is on a comeback trail with the actively managed equity strategy returning 55% return over the past year, ahead of tech-heavy benchmarks like the Nasdaq-100 (QQQ). The momentum at least offers some reprise for long-time shareholders who went through a period of extreme volatility where ARKW saw…
Grand Warszawski Overview Founded in 2010, Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) is a leading mobile gaming company known for its diverse portfolio of popular games. The company made its initial public offering (IPO) on January 15, 2021, with an initial valuation of approximately $11.4 billion. Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, Playtika has established itself as a prominent player in…
borchee/E+ via Getty Images So far in 2024, the market has proven to be a “winner take all” game. Though the S&P 500 is sitting at all time highs, that growth has been driven by AI stocks – while many less prominent companies have conversely seen dramatic declines in share price. Fiverr (NYSE:FVRR) is in…
pingingz Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) is one of the biggest beneficiaries of digital transformation and companies moving to the cloud. Additionally, the proliferation of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) and edge computing is driving a massive increase in machine-generated data, a secular trend that could potentially drive significant future revenue growth for the company’s observability platform. The…
lechatnoir Investors have been pouring money into US stocks. According to this week’s fund flow update from EPFR, equities received a massive $56 billion influx of capital – that is the biggest inflow since March of 2021, a period marked by intense fiscal stimulus along with an accommodative Federal Reserve. Today, the Effective Funds Rate…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Investment Thesis Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) just reported its earnings for the first fiscal quarter (three months ended March 1st), and I think they did well. Revenue stood at a record of $5.18 billion. That’s pretty impressive. Now, a 12% growth rate (13% constant currency) might not sound a lot, but that…
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…
Andrew Burton Downgrade to hold Readers following our articles know that we have been bullish on Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) in the past 1~2 years. Well, this update is our throw-in-the-towel article. In the remainder of this article, we will detail why we’ve changed our mind and downgraded the stock to a HOLD after weighing several factors,…
Snizhana Galytska/iStock via Getty Images Investment thesis: Following an over 60% gain in Greenbrier’s (NYSE:GBX) stock price in the past year, the inevitable question is whether there are enough significant drivers, both internal as well as external, to push this stock higher from here. Internally, the company continues to operate well, financially, and it is…
Drew Angerer/Getty Images News On March 5, 2024, SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) announced to the market a $750 million Convertible Senior Notes Offering (due 2029). The notes will pay interest at a rate of 1.25% and the conversion price is set at $9.45 (30% above SOFI closing price of $7.27). To mitigate the potential dilution impact,…
imagewerks Thesis In my previous article (released before Q3 2023 reported in November 1) about Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH), I explained how Norwegian was still undervalued despite a 20% dilution, in which case the stock’s future price for 2028 would be $47.43 and if there was no dilution, the future price would be…
Neilson Barnard In our last coverage of Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ:IEP), we pointed out that the distribution was nowhere near safe, despite the large initial cut. We expected another one within a year and felt the risks were materially skewed to the downside. Investors have put those warnings on snooze and the stock is flat…
Andrii Yalanskyi Kimball Electronics’ (NASDAQ:KE) Q2 Results missed analyst expectations, and the stock has significant risks related to its momentum and revisions at this time. Over the long term, I believe returns from the shares could be quite good. However, the potential for short-term downside is enough to stop me from making an investment. Operations…
Ong-ad Nuseewor How should investors be thinking about the recent run higher in stocks? MoneyTalk’s Greg Bonnell discusses with Brad Simpson, Chief Wealth Strategist with TD Wealth. Transcript Greg Bonnell: Despite plenty of risks out there, the markets have climbed into record territory. But can that run continue? Joining us now to discuss is Brad…
onurdongel The following segment was excerpted from this fund letter. MRC Global (NYSE:MRC) Another recent addition to our portfolio is MRC Global, a distributor to oil & gas drillers, natural gas utilities, and other industries-think fittings, valves, pipes, and the like. MRC is an “ok” business-neither wonderful nor terrible, but simply boring and profitable. It…
Lemon_tm Gold gives back gains Gold prices fell back to US$2,053/oz, to finish the month 1% lower,1 and departing from historical seasonal strength (Table 1). A retracement following such a stellar finish to the year was probably on the cards, with global gold ETF outflows accelerating to 51t and a reduction in COMEX futures net…
ChristianChan Introduction It’s time to talk about one of the most “dangerous” stocks on my radar. In this case, “dangerous” refers to the mix of economic headwinds, business turnaround risks, and dividend cuts. As the title already gave away, that company is apparel manufacturer V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC), a $6 billion market cap giant that has…
champpixs Trading at a big discount to its portfolio’s value with a juicy yield, Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) looks like an option for risk-tolerant investors looking for yield. Company Profile BBDC is a business development company (“BDC”). It looks to invest in the debt and equity of middle-market companies that typically have EBITDA of between $15-150…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Investment Thesis Despite Alphabet Inc. aka Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) posting solid Q4 earnings (minus the slight miss on ad revenue), I still believe the search giant is a strong sell. The company’s operating performance, while I’ll admit was fairly strong in this recent earnings report, unfortunately does not mitigate my underlying…
Viorika International Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI) looks like a strong addition to portfolios looking for stable growth and relatively low risk at this time. The company’s shares look undervalued to me despite P/E ratio concerns, and profitability weaknesses could be eased through operational shifts. Operations International Money Express, or Intermex, is a specialist in money remittance…
Kobus Louw Today, many investors are looking for very high-yielding stocks and bonds. Ultra-high-yield investments are prevalent today due to the growing number of retired individual investors. Over the past decade, there has been a solid trend toward high stock ownership among older Americans as the traditional conservative retirement investing strategies are undone. On the…
oatawa BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) is a well-managed business development company that has produced a high degree of excess dividend coverage in the last couple of years. The portfolio is well-diversified and management has handed investors a 13% increase in the regular dividend in the last year. Though I consider the discount to net…
mediaphotos Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) reported earnings on January 24th with a favorable reception. Elevance Health is the largest commercial insurance company in the United States. Its comprehensive business model centers on ‘whole health’. Elevance Health’s services extend across various domains of healthcare. These include medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans…
Brandon Bell Investment thesis Our current investment thesis is: CMG is far too expensive for what it is. The company is trading at SaaS valuations with a <2% FCF yield and >30x EBITDA multiple. We believe Management is executing exceptionally well, delivering incremental improvements that are keeping investor sentiment positive, such as through “Chipotlanes” and…
Aerial_Views/iStock via Getty Images Alexander’s, Inc. (NYSE:ALX), founded in 1928 and headquartered in Paramus, NJ, is a REIT that owns, (re)develops, leases, and manages 5 retail properties in New York City through its manager, Vornado Realty Trust (VNO). The REIT’s operating performance is concerning and there are many risks here, with a potential dividend cut…
MicroStockHub Closed-end funds can play a very important role in asset allocation, income generation and diversification. One closed-end fund that I valued highly was the PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (NYSE:PDI) which presently provides passive income investors with a 14.2% dividend yield. I am modifying my stock rating on the closed-end fund from Buy to Hold,…
Laurence Dutton/E+ via Getty Images Thesis Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) is a leading provider of collaborative work management, ITSM, and DevOps solutions, such as Jira, Confluence, Trello, and Bitbucket. The company has a distinctive strategy that has driven its fast growth in recent years, and it is investing heavily to maintain its growth momentum. Looking at its…
COROIMAGE/Moment via Getty Images Many companies thrived during the terrible COVID-19 pandemic. Companies such as DocuSign (DOCU), Zoom (ZM) and Peloton (PTON) rose to colossal heights as these companies benefited greatly during that time. However, the majority came crashing down and investors who bought during the pandemic are now likely holding significant losses, if still…
Nikada/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Entering the year as the most valuable company on the planet, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) faces some large potential risks. The question is can the company get back to innovating to overcome these hurdles. Company Profile AAPL designs hardware and software for its own brand of smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets, wearable devices,…
Michael Burrell/iStock via Getty Images Investment thesis: Perdoceo Education (NASDAQ:PRDO) sports an attractive valuation at just 8.4x forward P/E versus the sector median of 15.4x and has posted solid financial performance including expanding operating margins and a healthy balance sheet. However, the for-profit education industry faces intensifying scrutiny under the Biden administration over issues like…
SBWorldphotography/iStock via Getty Images The more dovish narrative that has overtaken the markets since December, resulting in the S&P 500 sitting close to a fresh all-time high, means excessive value exposure might hurt returns in 2024. Obviously, this is not an opportune moment for investment vehicles like the Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF…
AndreyPopov/iStock via Getty Images In the most recent BLS employment report, the percentage of full-time jobs relative to the population dropped sharply. The robust headline number of 216,000 led most media commentators to suggest a “soft landing” is at hand. However, the decline in full-time employment suggests recession risks are higher than thought. To understand…
Justin Sullivan The Invesco Building & Construction ETF (PKB) was a surprising winner in 2023 with shares up more than 50% and currently trading near an all-time high. Despite high interest rates and a challenging environment for real estate, the leading U.S. construction and engineering companies ultimately benefited from resilient economic conditions. Acknowledging what has…
BraunS The cruise line sector has seen a strong and multi-year recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the industry in 2020 and in 2021. Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) has also seen a strong valuation recovery in 2023, reflecting positive fundamentals as well as a raised guidance for the current fiscal year. Since a major re-rating has…
Hispanolistic The US Dollar Index got off to a hot start in 2024. After falling below the 101 level for a moment during the holidays, the greenback has shot higher, above 102, near a key area of long-term support. Financial conditions loosened substantially from October amid rising stock prices, compressing credit spreads, lower interest rates,…