Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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May 18, 2020

Excited By COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates
Image Shown: The race is on to find a cure, or better yet a vaccine, for COVID-19. Image Source: Pfizer Inc – First Quarter 2020 Earnings IR Presentation. The race for a COVID-19 cure and vaccine is rapidly evolving with a lot of exciting press releases being put forth. Gilead has taken the lead with a viable treatment, Sorrento is working toward a cure, and it seems most all of big pharma and biotech is racing to find a vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson to Sanofi/GSK and beyond. Though the evaluation of the full data set from a Phase 2 clinical trial means a lot more than the evaluation of a limited set of data from a Phase 1 clinical trial, we think COVID-19 is on the run as modern medicine pushes forward. We’re reiterating our bullish take on the markets today, as we believe that the Fed will do anything and everything to keep this market moving higher, meaning stocks may remain divorced both from economic data and even virus data for some time as they continue to climb. We continue to point to ideas in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio and Exclusive publication. Our top 10 capital appreciation ideas and dividend growth ideas amid COVID-19, respectively, can be found at the following link, “Valuentum's COVID-19 Ideas Have Outperformed Significantly.” As we walk through a ‘who’s who’ as it relates to COVID-19 vaccine candidates, we maintain our view that investors may be facing a “win-win” situation as we outlined in our piece, “Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am.” We remain unequivocally bullish on stocks for the long run.

Apr 29, 2020

ALERT: Going to “Fully Invested” -- The Fed and Treasury Have Your Back
Image Source: BEA. Real GDP fell at an annual pace of 4.8% in the first quarter of 2020, according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. We’re taking the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to “fully invested,” scaling up our existing positions to reflect that status. We plan to consider put options to hedge against downside risk, if or when the time comes. Moral hazard continues to run rampant, and the Fed and Treasury may have no choice but to continue artificially propping up this market, even buying stocks through certain vehicles, if necessary. Having warned members about the impending “Great Crash of 2020” and identifying savvy opportunities near the bottom, we are now withdrawing our S&P 500 target range as we move now to focus more on individual ideas through this turbulence. We expect to continue to identify opportunities for relative outperformance. 2019 was one of the best years in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio yet. In the Exclusive, we just registered our 25th consecutive monthly short idea in a row that has worked out. The markets may go much lower from here before we go higher again, but the Fed and Treasury won’t let this market go down in the longer run, in our view--even as we navigate a Depression-type economic environment in the near term. Stay the course.

Apr 25, 2020

Emergency Update on COVID-19
President of Investment Research at Valuentum, Brian Nelson provides an emergency update on COVID-19. He talks about how policymakers have dropped the ball thus far, and why investors should not let their guards down, despite what has been a nice bounce from the March 23 bottom.

Apr 24, 2020

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 24
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Apr 22, 2020

What To Do Now?
Let's get President of Investment Research Brian Nelson's thoughts...

Apr 19, 2020

ICYMI -- Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?
President of Investment Research and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how US policymakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and how the market may be factoring in too high of a probability of a return to normalcy before 2021. This and more in the latest video report.

Apr 17, 2020

Earnings Roundup for the Week Ended Sunday, April 19, Covering Companies Across the Board
Let's take a look at several earnings reports across numerous industries in this article as the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic forces the global economy to a crawl. Please note that as these reports primarily cover the first quarter of calendar year 2020, the impact of the pandemic has yet to be truly reflected in corporate earnings. That said, these reports still provide an important glimpse into what to expect going forward and how companies are responding to the pandemic.

Apr 16, 2020

Johnson & Johnson Beats Estimates, Adjusts Guidance in Light of COVID-19
Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – First Quarter 2020 Earnings IR Presentation. On April 14, Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Johnson & Johnson increased its quarterly dividend by over 6% sequentially to $1.01 per share which represents the firm’s 58th consecutive annual increase. We view this payout boost in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic as a sign of management’s confidence in Johnson & Johnson’s future free cash flows, which we appreciate. Shares of JNJ now yield ~2.8% as of this writing at the new annualized payout rate.

Apr 12, 2020

ICYMI -- Video: The Question Is If the Economy Can Be Held Together Without Vast Equity Dilution
President of Investment Research at Valuentum and award-winning author of "Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation" explains how the range of probable fair value outcomes of S&P 500 companies has increased as a result of COVID-19 and possible equity dilution on the downside to long-run inflationary pressures on stocks driven by runaway Fed and Treasury stimulus on the upside.

Apr 3, 2020

Repub from July 2019 -- The Valuentum Economic Roundtable
We sat down with the Valuentum team to get their thoughts on the global economy and key issues that may threaten this near 10-year bull market.