The Intricacies of the Valuentum Process

Let’s take a quick overview of the Valuentum processes for capital appreciation and dividend growth with a discussion of how we use the Valuentum Buying Index and the Dividend Cushion ratio. By Brian Nelson, CFA There is a lot behind the Valuentum processes for capital appreciation and dividend growth, respectively, and both the criteria for inclusion to either the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio are different. Our best ideas at any time, however, are always included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. We use our research as a means to identify new ideas for consideration in the simulated newsletter portfolios, as well as to consider removing ideas from the simulated newsletter portfolios. As it relates to … Read more

Catching the Bottom?

Image shown: The depths of how far the S&P 500 (SPY) has fallen more recently, and the timing of the decision to move to being “fully invested” in simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.   No Changes to Simulated Newsletter portfolios. This article was sent to members via email January 9. That email can be found at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA On the evening of December 26, we emailed members that we were moving to “fully invested” in both the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. First of all, please let me apologize. I wanted to stay in front of members during one of the most volatile times … Read more

Markets Up Big; Upside Volatility

Image shown: The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since August 2017. The index has broken through support and is now bouncing back to resistance. By Brian Nelson, CFA Good morning everyone, Are you watching these markets? This is incredible. The Dow finished down 660 points yesterday (briefly dropping 700 points), and today, the Dow is currently trading up 600 points at the time of this writing. Granted, there was Apple’s (AAPL) poor first-quarter 2019 guidance yesterday and the strong jobs report today, but this volatility is not “normal,” no matter what others are saying. A couple announcements up front. For those that already ordered our book Value Trap, I will send you the pdf download to your email address just to make sure … Read more

Fully-Invested? Why? Thoughts on Microsoft and Eli Lilly, and Celgene

Our methodology is really easy to understand once you get to know the things we’re looking at. There’s also some subjectivity in how we implement our thoughts in the simulated newsletter portfolios, and please stop calling what we do advice. We’re not an advisor. We’re not a broker. We’re a financial publisher. While we’re at it, let’s talk a bit about Microsoft, Eli Lilly, and Celgene through the lens of our methodology. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA I know many of you have been following our simulated newsletter portfolios very closely. Since inception in 2011, the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter has averaged roughly a 25% cash position. We wrote up an extensive summary of the simulated Best Ideas … Read more

Valuentum Stock Screeners

This article was sent to members via email December 29. That email can be accessed at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update with respect to Valuentum’s stock screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, or data that is important with respect to the investment decision-making process. We publish screens in each of the monthly newsletters, but we also provide a basic weekly screener for download on the left column of the website, “Download Weekly Stock Screener (xls) — login required.”   We also have other products. The more robust DataScreener, for example, is part of the quarterly Financial … Read more

Market Mayhem — Alerts for Members

During these extremely volatile times, it’s important to stay focused. On December 15, we informed all of our members to “Pay Attention.” Shortly thereafter, we notified members of the potential for a stock market technical breakdown. This morning, we offered a pre-market briefing about the importance of thinking about portfolio protection. For Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=e2406cd6-c113-4344-8731-493f33fc44a4&id=preview For High Yield Dividend Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=b3ba530f-38b3-489a-ac96-2961dca89c6b&id=preview For Exclusive members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=ba6d90c0-4433-48b2-9b8a-aac4ddf9006e&id=preview We’re here for any questions. Please just let us know how we can help! Kind regards, Brian Nelson, CFA  brian@valuentum.com

Valuentum’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Distribution

The weighted average cost of capital is one of the most subjective measures in corporate finance, but it is also one of the most important ones. “The most important item over time in valuation is obviously interest rates…If interest rates are destined to be at low levels…It makes any stream of earnings from investments worth more money. The bogey is always what government bonds yield….Any investment is worth all the cash you’re going to get out between now and judgment day discounted back. The discounting back is affected by whether you choose interests rates like those of Japan or interest rates like those we had in 1982…When we had 15 percent short-term rates in 1982, it was silly to pay … Read more

What Are the Downside Risks of Gilead Sciences?

We think the risk-reward at Gilead remains positively skewed in investors’ favor, but let’s examine the downside case for Gilead Sciences so there are no surprises. It’s always a good approach to evaluate where an investor may go wrong with an investment idea, and assessing upside and downside cases, as in a fair value range, remains par for the course. By Alexander J. Poulos Key Takeaways We wanted to highlight a few key points on what could go wrong on our bullish thesis on Gilead Sciences. We believe the HCV market is stabilizing with Gilead on track to meet its dramatically-reduced revenue forecast. Biktarvy–Gilead’s next-gen HIV product–is poised to steal significant market share. Yescarta, the recently-acquired CAR-T treatment, should generate … Read more

The Promise of CAR-T Therapy

Image Source: Gilead The medical field, particularly the biotech industry, is quite innovative, and advances in medicine can help a specific target population with the ultimate gift–the gift of a better life. We’re excited by the stunning advances in the CAR-T field for the treatment for various forms of cancer that have, in the past, come with an often-bleak prognosis. We expect a shift in the advances in immune-oncology as the CAR-T revolution is in its early stages. Key Takeaways CAR-T therapy holds the potential to revolutionize how hematological cancer is treated. The biotech industry remains in the early stages of the revolution, but thus far the results have been promising. We believe Gilead Sciences is best poised to exploit … Read more

Study: Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio

To read the study, please click on the image to download the pdf document (pdf).