I’ve been looking at the 2010 initial public offerings (IPOs) that have doubled in value — or more — and found a name poised for even more upside and another one that now looks vastly overvalued. Pricing an IPO… Read More
Value Investing
Last month, the world’s top high-tech manufacturers gathered in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. They hobnobbed. They exchanged business cards. But most important, they introduced their latest innovations to the world. Remember, this is the venue where we got our first real glimpse of… Read More
Consumer spending has been improving for at least a year now, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the stock price charts of the retailers across the United States. This disconnect is somewhat confusing given the holiday shopping season was strong, as was January when shoppers stayed busy grabbing… Read More
While it’s unlikely that anything will unseat Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) as the king of retail in our lifetime, that doesn’t mean there aren’t major opportunities to meaningfully penetrate the discount-store space. Take Target (NYSE: TGT), for instance. Despite Wal-Mart’s annoying domination, Target has capitalized on the inherent… Read More
While there are many high-growth tech companies, these can be tough investments to own. It’s often the case that they are one-hit wonders and competition will eat away at the core business. Yet there are some tech companies that are “built to last,” such as Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), IBM… Read More
About 15 years ago I was held prisoner of war in Hartford, Conn., at a large, rookie broker re-education facility. While trudging to class each day, I passed by the headquarters of quite a few famous insurance companies. All were familiar except one: Phoenix. I did some research and learned that, at the time, it was a mutual company (owned by the policy holders) and not publicly traded. However, its investment management arm did trade publicly via master limited partnership (MLP) units. They were clearly trading at a deep discount… Read More
About 15 years ago I was held prisoner of war in Hartford, Conn., at a large, rookie broker re-education facility. While trudging to class each day, I passed by the headquarters of quite a few famous insurance companies. All were familiar except one: Phoenix. I did some research and learned that, at the time, it was a mutual company (owned by the policy holders) and not publicly traded. However, its investment management arm did trade publicly via master limited partnership (MLP) units. They were clearly trading at a deep discount to their actual value, so I bought what few shares I could. In less than a year, after collecting a couple dividend payments, Phoenix bought back all of the units they didn’t own and I made a nice little profit. Fast forward to now. Phoenix (NYSE: PNX) has long since demutualized. The investment arm was spun off a couple of years ago as a free-standing entity: Virtus (Nasdaq: VRTS). Phoenix’s common shares trade at an abysmal sub-$3.00 level The company just can’t seem to get out of its own way. The… Read More
Quick spurts of 50%, 75% or more aren’t uncommon. HiSoft Technologies (Nasdaq: HSFT) has surged 200% since it happened to their stock. JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is already up more than 155%… in a matter of less than nine months. The best news?… Read More
The stock market is dominated by traders and investors. Traders simply focus on today’s market action. Investors hold a much broader view, finding winning stocks that will ride future trends. In recent sessions, traders have found plenty to dislike about employment search firm Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW). Shares were… Read More
A healthy cushion of cash is always valued by large, stable companies. Many companies make good use of that cash by buying back their own stock. Just a few weeks into earnings season, we’ve already seen a hefty slate of new stock buyback announcements. Read More
Not long ago, I took my Game-Changing Stocks readers on a journey to the non-descript offices of an obscure Department of Defense agency that funds research into areas most people never imagine. Occasionally, this cadre of uber-geniuses comes up with a real winner. Take the Internet, for… Read More