I don’t normally chime in on well-known stocks. As Chief Investment Strategist of Game-Changing Stocks, my goal is tell readers about “The Next Big Thing” — under-the-radar trends or companies with the potential to change the market’s outlook on an entire industry. #-ad_banner-#If I’m right, my readers and I enjoy triple-digit gains. And not to boast, but my record of uncovering profitable opportunities is second to none. Every once in a while though, I come across a well-known company that leaves me shaking my head — it’s just too good to pass up. A few months ago, I told my… Read More

I don’t normally chime in on well-known stocks. As Chief Investment Strategist of Game-Changing Stocks, my goal is tell readers about “The Next Big Thing” — under-the-radar trends or companies with the potential to change the market’s outlook on an entire industry. #-ad_banner-#If I’m right, my readers and I enjoy triple-digit gains. And not to boast, but my record of uncovering profitable opportunities is second to none. Every once in a while though, I come across a well-known company that leaves me shaking my head — it’s just too good to pass up. A few months ago, I told my Game-Changing Stocks readers about one of these opportunities. Today, I’d like to give you an update on it. Retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), announced its fourth-quarter and full 2014 results on February 26. The good news — strong holiday sales — was already priced into the stock, but the bottom-line number disappointed investors. It was a bit of a heartbreak: Since January 1, shares inched their way from the gutter to close above $9 on February 26. That’s a gain of more than 40% in less than two months, compared with the S&P 500’s 2.5% advance in the same time… Read More

At the height of the recent financial crisis, consumers discovered that banks were in no mood to make any sort of loans. In response, they sought out a new kind of bank, known as a peer-to-peer lender. Banks now likely rue the day they turned those consumers away. Peer-to-peer lending represented just $26 million worth of loans in 2009. Today, it’s a $1.7 billion business and could be a $10 billion business within five years. Peer-to-peer lending is just one of the radical changes taking place in the banking landscape. For example, banks issued 90% of all mortgages in 2009. Read More

At the height of the recent financial crisis, consumers discovered that banks were in no mood to make any sort of loans. In response, they sought out a new kind of bank, known as a peer-to-peer lender. Banks now likely rue the day they turned those consumers away. Peer-to-peer lending represented just $26 million worth of loans in 2009. Today, it’s a $1.7 billion business and could be a $10 billion business within five years. Peer-to-peer lending is just one of the radical changes taking place in the banking landscape. For example, banks issued 90% of all mortgages in 2009. Today, that figure has dropped to 58%. And small businesses, which are at the backbone of the U.S. economy, are now going out of their way to get loan quotes from alternative finance providers. #-ad_banner-#Gone are the days when local banks cultivated deep relationships with local businesses and citizens. Many of those banks have been gobbled up in an industrywide consolidation, and borrowers are quickly discovering new alternatives. Frankly, it’s easy to see why both consumers and businesses are flocking toward the upstarts. Not only do the “non-banks” offer slightly better loan rates, but they are also much more likely… Read More

Understanding this one catalyst could dramatically change where and how you invest… Right now, it’s the foundation of the largest wealth transfer in history. More money will change hands over the coming years from this trend than the annual sales of Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Target and Sears combined. It’s revolutionized entire industries, created new markets and saved entire corporations. Take the baby food industry for example. In the early 40s and 50s this very catalyst helped launch a relatively unknown company, called the Freemont Canning Company, into a global icon. The company — now better known as Gerber — went… Read More

Understanding this one catalyst could dramatically change where and how you invest… Right now, it’s the foundation of the largest wealth transfer in history. More money will change hands over the coming years from this trend than the annual sales of Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Target and Sears combined. It’s revolutionized entire industries, created new markets and saved entire corporations. Take the baby food industry for example. In the early 40s and 50s this very catalyst helped launch a relatively unknown company, called the Freemont Canning Company, into a global icon. The company — now better known as Gerber — went from selling just 590,000 jars of baby food per year to nearly two million jars per day. By 1955, Gerber’s sales swelled to 1.8 billion jars of baby food per year. It sold more jars of baby food in one year than in the company’s first 18 years combined. It’s also what helped boost Buster Brown’s shoe sales. The company went from selling $6 million worth of merchandise in 1949 to more than $30 million in sales in less than nine years — a 400% increase. Nobody understood this trend better than a man named Lee… Read More

While the Nasdaq Composite index recently rebounded to levels last seen in 2000, investors shouldn’t celebrate: as a group, technology stocks provided essentially zero return for 15 years. But that’s only true of investments that tracked the tech-laden Nasdaq. Results were far better in another very unique tech fund: the Fidelity Select IT Services Portfolio Fund (NYSE: FBSOX). #-ad_banner-#Those who put money in the mutual fund at the peak of the tech boom on March 10, 2000, have since seen their investments advance nearly 11% annually, compared to less than 1% a year for the Nasdaq. That makes FBSOX the… Read More

While the Nasdaq Composite index recently rebounded to levels last seen in 2000, investors shouldn’t celebrate: as a group, technology stocks provided essentially zero return for 15 years. But that’s only true of investments that tracked the tech-laden Nasdaq. Results were far better in another very unique tech fund: the Fidelity Select IT Services Portfolio Fund (NYSE: FBSOX). #-ad_banner-#Those who put money in the mutual fund at the peak of the tech boom on March 10, 2000, have since seen their investments advance nearly 11% annually, compared to less than 1% a year for the Nasdaq. That makes FBSOX the top tech fund since the bubble burst, according to Reuters. As the following chart shows, FBSOX chugged along as the Nasdaq soared into the stratosphere and then plunged back to earth. The fund was eventually caught in the downdraft, but managed to elude the worst of the meltdown. This fund is the classic tortoise versus the hare. It avoids buzzworthy tech stocks, many of which are prone to boom-and-bust cycles and instead focuses on another type of tech stock: the behind-the-scenes, unsung heroes of the IT revolution. For example, this fund’s third-largest holding, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq:… Read More

Although diet crazes come and go, one trend has become clear:  Americans are drinking less soda. Per-capita soda consumption has been in decline since 1998, according to the industry publication Beverage Digest. That hasn’t stopped the big three beverage companies, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) from being fantastic investments. All have more than doubled over the past five years, in addition to sporting roughly 3% yields. Although the declining soda trend doesn’t look to be reversing anytime soon, PepsiCo, with its great international and product diversification, is poised… Read More

Although diet crazes come and go, one trend has become clear:  Americans are drinking less soda. Per-capita soda consumption has been in decline since 1998, according to the industry publication Beverage Digest. That hasn’t stopped the big three beverage companies, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) from being fantastic investments. All have more than doubled over the past five years, in addition to sporting roughly 3% yields. Although the declining soda trend doesn’t look to be reversing anytime soon, PepsiCo, with its great international and product diversification, is poised to be the outperformer. Why Not Dr. Pepper? Dr. Pepper has run away from Pepsi and Coca-Cola in the past six months, climbing 25% while shares of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have fallen or remained flat. However, that’s almost certainly a function of the strengthening U.S. dollar. Dr. Pepper generates more than 90% of its revenue from North America and is nearly immune to the currency headwinds faced by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. While Dr. Pepper has benefitted from that focus on North America in the past six months, its attractiveness to investors could wane if the dollar were to weaken. Read More

Although the market may seem expensive to many investors, solid bargains remain in many individual stocks.  You can find opportunity in both value stocks and riskier stocks. Risk-tolerant investors might consider Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE: PBYI), a development-stage pharmaceutical firm. Puma is on the cusp of receiving FDA approval for a promising new breast cancer treatment. Investors have already shown their growing interest in Puma, boosting shares 1,600% in the past five years. Yet, I’d argue that Puma has by much more room to run. The firm’s appeal stems in large part from its value as a buyout target. If… Read More

Although the market may seem expensive to many investors, solid bargains remain in many individual stocks.  You can find opportunity in both value stocks and riskier stocks. Risk-tolerant investors might consider Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (NYSE: PBYI), a development-stage pharmaceutical firm. Puma is on the cusp of receiving FDA approval for a promising new breast cancer treatment. Investors have already shown their growing interest in Puma, boosting shares 1,600% in the past five years. Yet, I’d argue that Puma has by much more room to run. The firm’s appeal stems in large part from its value as a buyout target. If you’re familiar with biotech, then you know mergers and acquisitions, or M&A, has been a major industry theme for many years. Larger drug makers have been snapping up smaller ones in their quest for growth and deeper product pipelines, pushing M&A activity back to levels not seen in more than half a decade. To illustrate that, take a look this chart I saw in Reuters recently. In Puma’s case, its flagship breast cancer drug, neratinib, could fetch a hefty premium from any number of the big pharmaceutical names. Indeed, analysts at RBC Capital Markets have called… Read More

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been unmatched in its role as a global superpower. No one can dispute the country’s influence shaping the world economically, politically and culturally.   However, in the last several decades, new powers have begun to emerge.  This inherent tension presents a wealth of opportunity for the companies that design and manufacture products for the cash-rich defense industry. Take, for example, the Asia-Pacific region. India, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Laos and the Philippines are all on the rise. As nations grow, they aim for greater power and influence over… Read More

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been unmatched in its role as a global superpower. No one can dispute the country’s influence shaping the world economically, politically and culturally.   However, in the last several decades, new powers have begun to emerge.  This inherent tension presents a wealth of opportunity for the companies that design and manufacture products for the cash-rich defense industry. Take, for example, the Asia-Pacific region. India, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Laos and the Philippines are all on the rise. As nations grow, they aim for greater power and influence over their neighbors. And while many of these nations are trade partners and allies with the U.S., all of these countries share a common concern: China. China — whose GDP has grown 90-fold since 1978 — overtook Japan as the world’s second largest economy in 2010. Despite slowing down in 2014, its economy is expected to grow by 7.4% in 2015, nearly tripling the expected growth of the United States. In 2013, U.S. military spending fell 7.8%, while China’s rose 7.4%. Between 2004 and 2013, China’s military spending grew 170% to $188.5 billion. Wary of China’s growing reach, the United States… Read More

As a regular subscriber to all of the leading car magazines, I am delighted to read about the technological advances taking place. Sure the gas mileage of many vehicles keeps rising, and the electrification of propulsion is a clear game-changer, but the most fascinating changes are taking place in every nook and cranny of today’s vehicles. The cars you’ll drive in just a few years will have a range of systems that couldn’t even be dreamt half a decade ago. Many of those changes involve communications and information technologies. How hot is this segment for investors? Well, shares of Harman… Read More

As a regular subscriber to all of the leading car magazines, I am delighted to read about the technological advances taking place. Sure the gas mileage of many vehicles keeps rising, and the electrification of propulsion is a clear game-changer, but the most fascinating changes are taking place in every nook and cranny of today’s vehicles. The cars you’ll drive in just a few years will have a range of systems that couldn’t even be dreamt half a decade ago. Many of those changes involve communications and information technologies. How hot is this segment for investors? Well, shares of Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HAR) have surged 40% since I profiled the company five months ago. Frankly, this stock may be getting ahead of itself, especially when you consider that the company’s cutting edge infotainment systems will still yield just 10-to-15% annual growth. I still love the investing angle, but am less enamored of this high-flying stock. Perhaps it’s time to broaden the scope with some other auto technology stocks. Here are three on my radar: Mobileye N.V. (NYSE: MBLY) This company, which focuses on vehicle piloting technologies, was one of the hottest initial public offerings of 2014. It… Read More

Public health insurance is a fast-growing business. The number of people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has soared 19% to nearly 70 million since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect in 2013. This group of new enrollees, which represents more than 20% of the U.S. population, qualifies for public health insurance by meeting ACA requirements for annual household incomes that are less than 138% of federally-defined poverty levels (an annual salary of $11,770 for an individual and $24,250 for a family of four). Although highly controversial, the advent of government-sponsored health insurance has been… Read More

Public health insurance is a fast-growing business. The number of people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has soared 19% to nearly 70 million since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect in 2013. This group of new enrollees, which represents more than 20% of the U.S. population, qualifies for public health insurance by meeting ACA requirements for annual household incomes that are less than 138% of federally-defined poverty levels (an annual salary of $11,770 for an individual and $24,250 for a family of four). Although highly controversial, the advent of government-sponsored health insurance has been a boon to firms involved in delivering health benefits. Analysts are especially high on managed care provider Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH). Molina is not a well-known stock, but is clearly gaining a following these days. Following recent share price gains, investors may think they’ve missed the boat, but that’s not the case. Molina’s focus on providing healthcare to those receiving government assistance makes it a key beneficiary of public healthcare’s rapid expansion and a solid bet to outperform again this year.  Molina’s recent operating trends are quite impressive: the company now insures more than 2.6 million people,… Read More

  While many investors like to pursue hot stocks, others prefer investing in companies in the midst of an operational turnaround.   #-ad_banner-#In today’s market, I see potential for one high-profile stock that has been underperforming the market lately: auto industry icon Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).   Ford’s post-recession sales momentum has cooled a bit in recent months. For example, the company’s February sales in the United States fell roughly 2% year over year, well below analyst forecasts for nearly a 6% gain.   However, main rivals Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Honda… Read More

  While many investors like to pursue hot stocks, others prefer investing in companies in the midst of an operational turnaround.   #-ad_banner-#In today’s market, I see potential for one high-profile stock that has been underperforming the market lately: auto industry icon Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).   Ford’s post-recession sales momentum has cooled a bit in recent months. For example, the company’s February sales in the United States fell roughly 2% year over year, well below analyst forecasts for nearly a 6% gain.   However, main rivals Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) all boosted U.S. sales in February, posting year-over-year gains of 13%, 4% and 5%, respectively. This news wasn’t the type that inspires confidence in Ford, especially following a tough 2014. Sales fell a modest 2% to $144 billion and per share profits fell by more than half to $0.80 a share for the year.   So what’s been holding Ford back?   For one thing, the automotive division stumbled in North America last year, posting declines in revenue and pretax profits of nearly 5% and 22%, respectively, in the region. The problem was Ford just… Read More