When struggling wireless firm BlackBerry (Nasdaq: BBRY) provided a quarterly update in late December, Merrill Lynch’s Tal Liani didn’t mince words: “Third-quarter results were abysmal, with hardware and services revenue continuing to decline at an alarming pace, and margins deep in negative territory,” he wrote. Shares, trading at $7.25 at the time, would soon fall to $6, he predicted. Liani’s views were digested by the market, and then summarily ignored. BlackBerry has gone on to post one of the best returns of any tech stock over the past two months. If you bought this stock just ahead of that quarterly… Read More

When struggling wireless firm BlackBerry (Nasdaq: BBRY) provided a quarterly update in late December, Merrill Lynch’s Tal Liani didn’t mince words: “Third-quarter results were abysmal, with hardware and services revenue continuing to decline at an alarming pace, and margins deep in negative territory,” he wrote. Shares, trading at $7.25 at the time, would soon fall to $6, he predicted. Liani’s views were digested by the market, and then summarily ignored. BlackBerry has gone on to post one of the best returns of any tech stock over the past two months. If you bought this stock just ahead of that quarterly earnings release, you’d be sitting on a quick 60% gain.   With BlackBerry again set to deliver quarterly results at the end of this month, it’s fair to ask: Should you buy it? Nothing to Sugarcoat As Merrill’s Liani noted, Blackberry’s fiscal third quarter (ended November) was awful. Not only did all of the key financial metrics fall far short of consensus forecasts, but the company likely sold just 1.1 million BB10-based phones in the quarter. This is the company’s newest and most advanced operating system, which was released to considerable fanfare a few years ago. Read More

There’s an old saying in the restaurant business: “Feed the rich, eat with the poor. Feed the poor, eat with the rich.” #-ad_banner-#It’s pretty self-explanatory. The guy who owns the four Popeye’s Fried Chicken locations probably has better personal cash flow than the owner of the high-end, nouvelle, southwest creole joint in a rehabbed old cotton warehouse downtown. Interestingly enough, that same philosophy can be applied to the car business. From 1919 to 1937, the Duesneberg name was the gold standard in transportation for tycoon and Hollywood types. Only 712 cars were produced. But 39-year-old… Read More

There’s an old saying in the restaurant business: “Feed the rich, eat with the poor. Feed the poor, eat with the rich.” #-ad_banner-#It’s pretty self-explanatory. The guy who owns the four Popeye’s Fried Chicken locations probably has better personal cash flow than the owner of the high-end, nouvelle, southwest creole joint in a rehabbed old cotton warehouse downtown. Interestingly enough, that same philosophy can be applied to the car business. From 1919 to 1937, the Duesneberg name was the gold standard in transportation for tycoon and Hollywood types. Only 712 cars were produced. But 39-year-old Henry Ford had a different business model. Ford (NYSE: F) had moving assembly lines and a good quality, but produced only a bare bones Model T automobile. You could get it in any color you wanted — as long as it was black. The rest is history. Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA), I’m afraid, is today’s Duesenberg. And the company’s stock does not merit its price. Led by another young business visionary, Elon Musk, Tesla manufactures an amazingly stylish and powerful all-electric sports car. My 11-year-old son has had the privilege of riding in one. “Dad!” he exclaimed. “It doesn’t… Read More

Large investors — the 3,600-plus people managing more than $100 million — are required to report their holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) every quarter. These investors have to submit a Form 13F within 45 days of the end of the quarter. In a market where information is literally swapped at the speed of light and news becomes stale after an hour, a 45-day-old snapshot of what an investor was holding may seem downright ancient. But the information can still provide plenty of value, if you know what to look for. As with any data related to the… Read More

Large investors — the 3,600-plus people managing more than $100 million — are required to report their holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) every quarter. These investors have to submit a Form 13F within 45 days of the end of the quarter. In a market where information is literally swapped at the speed of light and news becomes stale after an hour, a 45-day-old snapshot of what an investor was holding may seem downright ancient. But the information can still provide plenty of value, if you know what to look for. As with any data related to the stock market, it is important to isolate the information that is valuable and ignore the rest. In the 13F reports, the most important information will be found in the filings of long-term investors. Filings from short-term traders should be ignored. #-ad_banner-#This is because some high-frequency trading (HFT) firms could be required to report their holdings if they manage money for others, but their filings would simply be a snapshot of what the firm held at the close on the day the quarter ended. Odds are high that the firm had completely different holdings an hour after the open the next… Read More

There is no question that China has a bright economic future. China remains the fastest growing economy on Earth despite its recent slowdown. #-ad_banner-#Remember, just like the stock market, economies never travel at the same velocity in a straight line higher. There are always aggressive periods of growth and slow periods. Long-term investors can use the negativity surrounding the weaker-than-expected economic numbers to find bargains in this burgeoning market. One of my favorite sectors to profit from the Chinese economic growth story is telecommunications, specifically the mobile phone market. A recent study published by Business Insider revealed that smartphones are… Read More

There is no question that China has a bright economic future. China remains the fastest growing economy on Earth despite its recent slowdown. #-ad_banner-#Remember, just like the stock market, economies never travel at the same velocity in a straight line higher. There are always aggressive periods of growth and slow periods. Long-term investors can use the negativity surrounding the weaker-than-expected economic numbers to find bargains in this burgeoning market. One of my favorite sectors to profit from the Chinese economic growth story is telecommunications, specifically the mobile phone market. A recent study published by Business Insider revealed that smartphones are the fastest growing segment and will soon overtake feature phones in the nation.   The Chinese smartphone boom has helped a variety of companies prosper. One of my current favorites is Sky-mobi Limited (NASDAQ: MOBI). The company operates as a mobile application store that provides a platform to purchase smartphone applications, games, music, books and other media. It also provides a mobile social media network named Maopao Community. MOBI is well imbedded in the space and has contracts with 106 smartphone handset companies and 1,170 feature phone makers. Boasting a market cap of around $200 million and over 110 million… Read More

One of the big advantages here at StreetAuthority is that we have access to each other’s brains. That collective brain consists of a whole slate of investing minds across the StreetAuthority universe — experts who are constantly pulling together critical insights from all over the investing world. It was a recent dispatch from one of our top analysts that jogged my memory on a lesser-known way to invest in the consumer sector — one that I believe has considerable upside, but with much less risk of loss than your average consumer stock if the economy does happen to zig when… Read More

One of the big advantages here at StreetAuthority is that we have access to each other’s brains. That collective brain consists of a whole slate of investing minds across the StreetAuthority universe — experts who are constantly pulling together critical insights from all over the investing world. It was a recent dispatch from one of our top analysts that jogged my memory on a lesser-known way to invest in the consumer sector — one that I believe has considerable upside, but with much less risk of loss than your average consumer stock if the economy does happen to zig when we think it should zag. That dispatch came in the latest edition of Amy Calistri’s The Daily Paycheck. While looking for sectors with big dividend yields — but also below-average risk profiles suitable for income investors — Amy pointed out a very interesting chart, one I haven’t seen any other analysts talking about yet. #-ad_banner-#Her chart shows how there’s a boom underway in a place you might not expect: shipping. As the chart below shows, shipping rates — as measured by the Baltic Capesize Index — were on a tear in the second half in 2013. Amy points… Read More

The defense industry may now seem like an area best avoided by investors, what with the sequester eroding the U.S. defense budget and imposing total projected defense cuts of about $1 trillion over a 10-year span. #-ad_banner-#I wouldn’t categorically dismiss defense stocks, though. You could end up missing opportunities for some very nice investment returns. There’s one defense firm in particular that has held up quite well so far in spite of the sequester, with earnings per share (EPS) growing by 50% in the past 12 months. During that time, the company’s stock has more than doubled, compared with a… Read More

The defense industry may now seem like an area best avoided by investors, what with the sequester eroding the U.S. defense budget and imposing total projected defense cuts of about $1 trillion over a 10-year span. #-ad_banner-#I wouldn’t categorically dismiss defense stocks, though. You could end up missing opportunities for some very nice investment returns. There’s one defense firm in particular that has held up quite well so far in spite of the sequester, with earnings per share (EPS) growing by 50% in the past 12 months. During that time, the company’s stock has more than doubled, compared with a 23% return for the S&P 500. The firm has remained strong in large part because it’s so crucial to national defense, providing the bulk of the equipment and services necessary to keep the U.S. Navy operational. I wouldn’t be surprised if most investors were unfamiliar with the company because it certainly isn’t among the first names that typically come to mind when you think of firms involved in defense like Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Boeing (NYSE: BA) and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). However, the company was spun off a few years ago from another well-known defense firm, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:… Read More

My great-grandfather owned a small department store in the Pacific Northwest. With the help of my great -grandmother (who, I am told, watched the cash register like a hawk), they built a successful business — which they sold before the onset of the Great Depression. #-ad_banner-#From what I can piece together, my great-grandfather was a shrewd merchant — but I’m thankful the family got out of the department store business back then. Today, I don’t think we’d be as lucky. Two years ago, I gave the bear case for J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP). (Last week, my colleague David Sterman gave… Read More

My great-grandfather owned a small department store in the Pacific Northwest. With the help of my great -grandmother (who, I am told, watched the cash register like a hawk), they built a successful business — which they sold before the onset of the Great Depression. #-ad_banner-#From what I can piece together, my great-grandfather was a shrewd merchant — but I’m thankful the family got out of the department store business back then. Today, I don’t think we’d be as lucky. Two years ago, I gave the bear case for J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP). (Last week, my colleague David Sterman gave a bullish take.) Back then, JCP traded at around $27. Today, the stock is treading water just above $6. Granted, most of J.C. Penney’s wounds seemed mostly self- inflicted due to the hedge-fund-controlled board selecting a CEO with zero department store experience who tried to radically revamp the entire franchise and wound up alienating the store’s well-established core demographic. However, the company (and the department store sector as a whole) had been in critical condition prior to the stumble. Face it. Big department stores are a dying breed — and I’ve found the next casualty. Window Dressing My wife’s… Read More

One of the biggest success stories in the market over the past several years is the amazing performance of electric car pioneer Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA). That company’s shares have delivered a mighty 625%-plus gain over the past 12 months, and the stock has shown no real signs of slowing down. #-ad_banner-#Yet many traders and investors I know have already made big money in Tesla, and they’re now looking for peripheral electric car plays with the potential for Tesla-like returns. Enter Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI). This China-based company is a maker of vehicles such as ATVs, motorcycles and other small… Read More

One of the biggest success stories in the market over the past several years is the amazing performance of electric car pioneer Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA). That company’s shares have delivered a mighty 625%-plus gain over the past 12 months, and the stock has shown no real signs of slowing down. #-ad_banner-#Yet many traders and investors I know have already made big money in Tesla, and they’re now looking for peripheral electric car plays with the potential for Tesla-like returns. Enter Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI). This China-based company is a maker of vehicles such as ATVs, motorcycles and other small utility vehicles, including electric cars. And while its vehicles don’t approach the high-tech, luxury level of a Tesla Model S, they are in demand in China, and that demand is expected to continue in the years to come. According to a recent SEC filing, which was actually a Q-and-A session from the company’s December shareholder meeting, Kandi, which is a joint venture with China manufacturer Geely, said it expected to deliver some 2,800 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2013. That’s huge when compared with the 3,915 vehicle deliveries the company had in all of 2012. Kandi CEO Hu… Read More

Buying in bulk remains a great value proposition for shoppers, but it can also be a great way to invest. #-ad_banner-#There’s only one pure play on the U.S. warehouse retail market. Even better, this stock is one of the best investments in retail thanks to its wide moat. Sadly, investors won’t get a discount for buying the stock in bulk — but they can still make money over the long term by buying the stock in bulk. Costco (Nasdaq: COST) remains the only pure play on the U.S. warehouse retail market. Its most formidable competitor, Sam’s Club, is owned by… Read More

Buying in bulk remains a great value proposition for shoppers, but it can also be a great way to invest. #-ad_banner-#There’s only one pure play on the U.S. warehouse retail market. Even better, this stock is one of the best investments in retail thanks to its wide moat. Sadly, investors won’t get a discount for buying the stock in bulk — but they can still make money over the long term by buying the stock in bulk. Costco (Nasdaq: COST) remains the only pure play on the U.S. warehouse retail market. Its most formidable competitor, Sam’s Club, is owned by Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and another major peer, BJ’s Warehouse, was taken private in 2011. To shop at the major warehouse retailers, customers must buy a membership, which then allows them to save money by buying a wide variety of products in bulk. Costco uses its membership fees to offset the cost of the goods it sells, keeping its prices even lower for shoppers. Costco often gets unfairly grouped with many of the discount and variety retailers. These include the likes of Wal-Mart and Target (NYSE: TGT), as well as the various dollar stores. However, many of these other retailers lack… Read More

After the market closed for trading on Wednesday, Feb. 26, short sellers quickly scanned the latest short interest data (which had just been released for the two weeks ended Feb. 15). These shorts know that if a company they are targeting is also being targeted by many others as well, they can get badly burned in a short squeeze ensues. #-ad_banner-#The fact that the short interest in struggling retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) had just spiked another 10 million shares in just two weeks (to 128.5 million shares, representing 43% of the trading float) was a… Read More

After the market closed for trading on Wednesday, Feb. 26, short sellers quickly scanned the latest short interest data (which had just been released for the two weeks ended Feb. 15). These shorts know that if a company they are targeting is also being targeted by many others as well, they can get badly burned in a short squeeze ensues. #-ad_banner-#The fact that the short interest in struggling retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) had just spiked another 10 million shares in just two weeks (to 128.5 million shares, representing 43% of the trading float) was a cause for concern. The morning after the fresh short interest data came out, shares were squeezed a stunning 25% higher. Management’s prediction that J.C. Penney would not run out of money any time soon was not wanted short sellers were hoping to hear. At this point, both the shorts — as well as the company’s bulls — are wondering: What’s next for this stock? Let’s take a closer look at each argument. Going Terminal? Short sellers love to target stocks that they believe will eventually fall to zero, known as a “terminal short.” And at first glance, J.C. Penney… Read More