A few years ago, bank stocks were among the most unloved investments. Many of them traded well below book value and also sported low price-to-earnings multiples. Yet a pair of factors has led investors to rapidly warm up to bank stocks. First, the global economic crisis no longer seems to be a… Read More

A few years ago, bank stocks were among the most unloved investments. Many of them traded well below book value and also sported low price-to-earnings multiples. Yet a pair of factors has led investors to rapidly warm up to bank stocks. First, the global economic crisis no longer seems to be a mortal threat to bank’s balance sheets. A long-anticipated crisis simply never came to pass. Second, a sense that the U.S. housing market — a key source of bank profits — was on the mend, has led to expectations of a brightening profit forecast. Indeed, second-quarter results are in from the major banks, and they look quite solid. A Solid Quarter For Leading Banks As a result, after a 20% surge in the first half of this… Read More

A few years ago, bank stocks were among the most unloved investments. Many of them traded well below book value and also sported low price-to-earnings multiples. Yet a pair of factors has led investors to rapidly warm up to bank stocks. First, the global economic crisis no longer seems to be a… Read More

A few years ago, bank stocks were among the most unloved investments. Many of them traded well below book value and also sported low price-to-earnings multiples. Yet a pair of factors has led investors to rapidly warm up to bank stocks. First, the global economic crisis no longer seems to be a mortal threat to bank’s balance sheets. A long-anticipated crisis simply never came to pass. Second, a sense that the U.S. housing market — a key source of bank profits — was on the mend, has led to expectations of a brightening profit forecast. Indeed, second-quarter results are in from the major banks, and they look quite solid. A Solid Quarter For Leading Banks As a result, after a 20% surge in the first half of this… Read More

For nearly two years, investors have had to climb a wall of worry with regards to airline stocks. #-ad_banner-#Back then, I suggested that my favorite industry operator, Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) was poised to double and the subsequent 145% gain has led a group that has fared quite well. Simply put, investors were ignoring the too-low price-to-earnings ratios, and instead focused on the trauma that airline stocks had… Read More

For nearly two years, investors have had to climb a wall of worry with regards to airline stocks. #-ad_banner-#Back then, I suggested that my favorite industry operator, Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) was poised to double and the subsequent 145% gain has led a group that has fared quite well. Simply put, investors were ignoring the too-low price-to-earnings ratios, and instead focused on the trauma that airline stocks had induced in the past as they shifted in and out of bankruptcy. These carriers’ financial position is so much stronger than in the past that AMR may well be the last industry bankruptcy we see for a very long time. Just four months ago, I reiterated my ardor for Delta, and the carrier subsequently raised June quarter guidance in mid-June, thanks to falling jet fuel prices. But quite suddenly, Delta and its peers look a lot less enticing. This chart should… Read More

Legendary stock picker Peter Lynch used to salivate over what he called 10-baggers — stocks that increased 1,000%. Admittedly, that’s incredible performance, but nothing compared to the track record of Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), one of the largest online travel booking websites. Over the past 10 years, this dot-com gem has rallied more than 9,000%. That’s a 90-bagger!  Shares have skyrocketed, from split-adjusted lows near $10 in 2003 to their current multi-year high above $914. While the biggest… Read More

Legendary stock picker Peter Lynch used to salivate over what he called 10-baggers — stocks that increased 1,000%. Admittedly, that’s incredible performance, but nothing compared to the track record of Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), one of the largest online travel booking websites. Over the past 10 years, this dot-com gem has rallied more than 9,000%. That’s a 90-bagger!  Shares have skyrocketed, from split-adjusted lows near $10 in 2003 to their current multi-year high above $914. While the biggest gains may or may not be behind it, short-term traders can still profit. According to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), there’s still plenty of upside potential. In fact, shares could be the first dot-com to surpass the $1,000 mark — a feat not even Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has achieved.#-ad_banner-# Because of a growing appetite for travel based on the improving economy, Morgan Stanley has set a price target of $1,010. Technically the stock… Read More

Legendary stock picker Peter Lynch used to salivate over what he called 10-baggers — stocks that increased 1,000%. Admittedly, that’s incredible performance, but nothing compared to the track record of Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), one of the largest online travel booking websites. Over the past 10 years, this dot-com gem has rallied more than 9,000%. That’s a 90-bagger!  Shares have skyrocketed, from split-adjusted lows near $10 in 2003 to their current multi-year high above $914. While the biggest… Read More

Legendary stock picker Peter Lynch used to salivate over what he called 10-baggers — stocks that increased 1,000%. Admittedly, that’s incredible performance, but nothing compared to the track record of Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), one of the largest online travel booking websites. Over the past 10 years, this dot-com gem has rallied more than 9,000%. That’s a 90-bagger!  Shares have skyrocketed, from split-adjusted lows near $10 in 2003 to their current multi-year high above $914. While the biggest gains may or may not be behind it, short-term traders can still profit. According to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), there’s still plenty of upside potential. In fact, shares could be the first dot-com to surpass the $1,000 mark — a feat not even Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has achieved.#-ad_banner-# Because of a growing appetite for travel based on the improving economy, Morgan Stanley has set a price target of $1,010. Technically the stock… Read More

Do you want to become a millionaire? That’s obviously a rhetorical question… the majority of us would love it. But what’s your plan for achieving that goal?  If your plan is to make that sort of wealth in the stock market, then what’s your strategy? Blue-chip stocks, index funds, or do you want to watch your “daily paychecks,” as my colleague Amy… Read More

Do you want to become a millionaire? That’s obviously a rhetorical question… the majority of us would love it. But what’s your plan for achieving that goal?  If your plan is to make that sort of wealth in the stock market, then what’s your strategy? Blue-chip stocks, index funds, or do you want to watch your “daily paychecks,” as my colleague Amy Calistri would say, roll in by the truck load?  All of these strategies are great. There’s nothing wrong with them and they’ll probably make you money in the long run. But while investing in just steady-eddy, mature companies may keep the income flowing in, it isn’t going to make you a millionaire anytime soon. They’re not going to give you those “knocked-out-of-the-park” returns that you’ve heard about since you first learned of the stock… Read More

It took awhile, but the IPO market is heating up.  Recent deals have performed so well that investment bankers are hustling the next crop up to the starting gate at a rapid pace. You can’t blame them. A shift in the markets can shut the IPO market down, so these firms and their bankers are looking to strike while the iron is hot. Of course, investors only have access to these deals if they have a brokerage account with one of… Read More

It took awhile, but the IPO market is heating up.  Recent deals have performed so well that investment bankers are hustling the next crop up to the starting gate at a rapid pace. You can’t blame them. A shift in the markets can shut the IPO market down, so these firms and their bankers are looking to strike while the iron is hot. Of course, investors only have access to these deals if they have a brokerage account with one of the company’s underwriters. If you have accounts with any investment banks, it pays to give your broker a call and see what deals the firm is underwriting. #-ad_banner-#Expecting triple-digit gains (sometimes in a matter of weeks) — as these IPOs have generated — is unrealistic. But as long as the stock market stays aloft, many coming IPOs could easily tack on 20% to 40% in… Read More

Do you want to become a millionaire? That’s obviously a rhetorical question… the majority of us would love it. But what’s your plan for achieving that goal?  If your plan is to make that sort of wealth in the stock market, then what’s your strategy? Blue-chip stocks, index funds, or do you want to watch your “daily paychecks,” as my colleague Amy… Read More

Do you want to become a millionaire? That’s obviously a rhetorical question… the majority of us would love it. But what’s your plan for achieving that goal?  If your plan is to make that sort of wealth in the stock market, then what’s your strategy? Blue-chip stocks, index funds, or do you want to watch your “daily paychecks,” as my colleague Amy Calistri would say, roll in by the truck load?  All of these strategies are great. There’s nothing wrong with them and they’ll probably make you money in the long run. But while investing in just steady-eddy, mature companies may keep the income flowing in, it isn’t going to make you a millionaire anytime soon. They’re not going to give you those “knocked-out-of-the-park” returns that you’ve heard about since you first learned of the stock… Read More

It took awhile, but the IPO market is heating up.  Recent deals have performed so well that investment bankers are hustling the next crop up to the starting gate at a rapid pace. You can’t blame them. A shift in the markets can shut the IPO market down, so these firms and their bankers are looking to strike while the iron is hot. Of course, investors only have access to these deals if they have a brokerage account with one of… Read More

It took awhile, but the IPO market is heating up.  Recent deals have performed so well that investment bankers are hustling the next crop up to the starting gate at a rapid pace. You can’t blame them. A shift in the markets can shut the IPO market down, so these firms and their bankers are looking to strike while the iron is hot. Of course, investors only have access to these deals if they have a brokerage account with one of the company’s underwriters. If you have accounts with any investment banks, it pays to give your broker a call and see what deals the firm is underwriting. #-ad_banner-#Expecting triple-digit gains (sometimes in a matter of weeks) — as these IPOs have generated — is unrealistic. But as long as the stock market stays aloft, many coming IPOs could easily tack on 20% to 40% in… Read More

Every intelligent investor’s portfolio must devote assets to aggressive growth. No exceptions. Because finding a winning aggressive growth stock isn’t easy, I want to share with you how I do it…#-ad_banner-# I look for companies with products, technologies or other innovations that materially change… Read More