CRWD

Large Cap Growth Has More Room To Run

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“The stylistic area of large cap growth has been one of our favorite areas because of the strong net cash rich, free cash flow generating, secular growth powerhouses that make up much of the space. The image is a rundown of the key Valuentum statistics for the top 15 holdings of the Schwab U.S. Large Cap Growth ETF (SCHG). We believe where large cap growth goes, so does the broader market, considering the hefty weightings of some of these stocks in other broad-based indices. Based on the high end of our fair value estimate range for this group of bellwethers, the broader U.S. markets still have room to run, to the tune of 7%+, despite the many highs already reached … Read more

Cisco Systems Continues to Recover; Growth Outlook Quite Promising

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Image Source: Cisco Systems Inc – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On August 18, Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended July 31, 2021) that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Cisco Systems also offered guidance for both the first quarter of fiscal 2022 along with full-year guidance for fiscal 2022, breaking with tradition (usually the company does not offer full fiscal year forecasts). Cisco Systems is included as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. We continue to be huge fans of Cisco Systems, and shares of CSCO initially moved significantly higher during the morning trading hours on August 19. Pivot to … Read more

Cisco Systems’ Financials Remain Pristine, Growth Outlook Improving

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Image Shown: Shares of Cisco Systems Inc initially moved lower after the firm reported its latest earnings update and management provided near-term guidance that disappointed investors. However, shares of Cisco Systems quickly resumed their upward climb as the tech giant’s financials remain rock-solid. We continue to be huge fans of Cisco Systems. By Callum Turcan On May 19, networking hardware and enterprise software giant Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) reported third quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended May 1, 2021) that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The firm’s GAAP revenues grew by 7% year-over-year and its GAAP operating income moved higher by a little over 1% year-over-year, with its ‘Security’ offerings leading the way as that segment’s revenues grew by … Read more

Broadcom Might Buy Symantec: Why Enterprise Valuation Matters

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Image Source: Symantec Corporation – Fall 2018 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Reportedly, semiconductor Broadcom Inc (AVGO) is getting close to acquiring Symantec Corporation (SYMC) in a deal that could be worth ~$22.0 billion when including debt. Symantec offers cybersecurity services to more than 350,000 organizations and 50 million individuals around the world, and would mark Broadcom’s second big foray into the software space after acquiring CA Technologies for $18.9 billion in cash last year. We would like to take this time to highlight the value of using enterprise cash flow analysis, particularly as it relates to the see-saw trading action in shares of Symantec, and why Broadcom has reportedly shown such interest in acquiring the company.  Image Shown: Symantec … Read more

Where Are the Safe Havens?

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“We believe that staying diversified as in holding a broad swath of ideas as in either the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio or Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio as the equity portion of one’s allocation makes a lot of sense in any environment…High yield dividend investing may become more and more popular in coming years as rates across the globe approach 0%, and the amount of negative-yielding debt proliferates.” — Brian Nelson, CFA By The Valuentum Team The Federal Reserve is weighing all its options as it assesses how to balance global economic weakness and strong performance in the US, pressure from the White House to aggressively cut rates, and a 30-year yield that puts the federal funds rate at the highest … Read more

Our Thoughts on Rackspace and Zoom Video Communications

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Image Source: Rackspace Technology Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation The appeal of the SaaS space is that these types of companies are asset-light and are light on capital expenditures, potentially allowing for meaningful free cash flows if scale is achieved. Secular growth tailwinds underpin their free cash flow growth trajectories, and the pandemic has accelerated changes that were already underway long before COVID-19 came into the picture. We appreciate that Rackspace is beginning to pay down its net debt load, though more work needs to be done on that front. Zoom Video Communications posted truly impressive results; however, we caution that there are many competitors in the live online video chat arena and staying on top … Read more

Stock Market Outlook for 2021

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By Valuentum Analysts February 8, 2021 2020 was one for the history books. We covered our thoughts and reflections on the past year in our “2020 Won’t Soon Be Forgotten” article (link here), and now we are looking towards the future. Global health authorities should be able to bring an end to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic sooner than many had expected as several vaccines have already been improved for emergency use and several others appear increasingly likely to get approved. Global vaccine distribution activities are currently underway, and this should allow the world to slowly return to pre-pandemic activities. Before then, immense stimulus measures launched primarily in developed nations should support global economic activities until the public health crisis … Read more

Cisco Systems’ Growth Outlook Continues to Improve

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Image Source: Cisco Systems Inc – 2021 Investor Day Event Presentation By Callum Turcan Things at Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) are beginning to turn around and management made sure to highlight the company’s improving outlook during its big Investor Day event held on September 15. We include Cisco Systems as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios as the firm has a fortress-like balance sheet (i.e., large net cash position), tremendous free cash flow generating abilities, and its growth outlook has improved immensely since contending with serious headwinds from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Shares of CSCO yield ~2.6% as of this writing. On the hardware front, Cisco Systems sells products in … Read more

What Really Is the “S” in ESG Investing

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By Valuentum Analysts Back in October, we explored “Putting the Environmental in ESG” investing. In this article, let’s dig deep into the second consideration of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing — “Social.” While there has been greater attention paid to the social impact of companies in recent years–from the industries they operate in to the ways they impact their communities–this concept is definitely not a new trend. Investors have always cared about the impact of the companies they invest in. In the past, this idea has been encapsulated in the phrase Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), which is essentially the practice of seeking out companies that have a positive social impact on society. Some even put the earliest origins of … Read more

Salesforce Has Room to Run

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Image Source: Salesforce Inc – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Salesforce Inc (CRM) was founded in 1999 as software-as-a-service (‘SaaS’) company built around customer relationship management (‘CRM’) software, initially a version created by its co-founders Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Frank Dominguez, and Dave Moellenhoff. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company offers software that assists its customers with marketing, customer service, sales, digital commerce, business development, collaboration, analytics, recruitment, and numerous other activities. These offerings aim to improve workplace productivity by streamlining certain functions and automating others. Salesforce provides a comprehensive suite of software solutions designed for businesses and government entities across its Customer 360 platform, while using analytics and AI … Read more