Update on Wuhan 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: 31,000+ Infections, 630+ Deaths

Image Source: 2019-nCoV, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The number of infections and deaths related to the Wuhan 2019 Novel Coronavirus has surged since our last update, but we maintain our view that investors should keep a level head. We continue to wait to add protection to the newsletter portfolios as the market absorbs a massive liquidity injection from the PBOC. By Brian Nelson, CFA The week of trading ending February 7 was a very strange one. Last Sunday, one could have only expected that given the news related to the Wuhan 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak, the bad news related to airlines (JETS) and aerospace players–Boeing (BA), in particular–and the speculative frenzy associated with Tesla’s (TSLA) rise, that the … Read more

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. Summary Make sure you review Value Trap on Amazon. Do so here. We think those that bought equities near the bottom of this swoon may be looking to take profits at present levels. The market is currently reflecting an 80%-85% probability of a return to normalcy before 2021, which we believe is too high at this time. Our main concern is that government … Read more

Which Sectors Are Leading the Market Higher? And Why Is This Important?

Missed the ’13 Most Important Steps to Understand the Stock Market’? Click here. Demand academic evidence regarding the efficacy of the Valuentum process? Click here. Tobias J. Moskowitz and Mark Grinblatt documented the “strong and prevalent momentum effect in industry components of stock returns which accounts for much of the individual stock momentum anomaly” in their scholarly article published in the Journal of Finance, ‘Do Industries Explain Momentum’ (download here; stable link here; updated by Fraulo and Nguyen here). Moskowitz and Grinblatt also concluded that “industry momentum investment strategies, which buy stocks from past winning industries and sell stocks from past losing industries, appear highly profitable.” Such findings are consistent with the ‘Case for the Valuentum Style of Investing,’ and … Read more

Great Year for (Our) High Yield Dividend Ideas! Inquire about the High Yield Dividend Newsletter!

“When I highlighted my concerns about MLPs years ago, we were doubted, but we ended up being right. When we warned about the value factor, we were told the quants had solved the market, but we ended up being right, with the quant factor having its worst year in 2020 in history. We called the COVID-19 crash and highlighted opportunities for dollar cost averaging near the March 2020 bottom. We were bullish on the huge upswing in 2021, and we avoided the worst areas of 2022 to the point where our publishing suite is doing fantastic this year, if not “outperforming.” When I highlighted the second edition of the book Value Trap, our team released a press release warning about the 60/40 … Read more

January 5-9: The Week That Was – Drowning in Crude

By Brian Nelson, CFA The first full week of 2015 was a wild one! Monday and Tuesday brought some hefty losses to the indices, but the middle of the week helped recover most of the ground, only to give some of it back Friday. When all was said and done, however, the S&P 500 still closed comfortably above 2040, a huge leap from just 5-6 years ago. We’re still enjoying the good times, with economic data still coming in relatively sanguine. Like a frog in water, the markets are just waiting for the next shoe to drop, and the Federal Reserve is doing all that it can to assure investors that the Yellen-put is there to prop up the markets should … Read more

Oncology News a Key Driver of Big Pharma

Image Source: Images Money By Kris Rosemann There’s no shortage of excitement in the pharmaceutical (XLV, IBB) sector as of late. It’s almost on a weekly basis that we hear of some pharma giant involved in a merger, attempted acquisition, or buyout rumor, but it makes sense that ongoing consolidation will be an theme across the group, particularly when considering the outlook for top-line growth across the biotech/pharma space, which remains weighed down by pricing pressures. More recently, for example, diabetes giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) noted that it expects average drug prices in 2017 to be down in the low- to mid-single digit range from 2016 levels after the completion of the majority of its negotiations with pharmacy benefits managers … Read more

Which Mid-Stage Biotech Can Grow Into the Next Large Cap Biotech Behemoth?

Image Source: Steven Depolo The biotech field is on the cutting edge of scientific research. The production of new therapies often positively affects the share price of these innovative companies as long-term revenue and earnings expectations become embedded in the stock price. Let’s take a look at several mid-stage biotechs that may grow into dominant players. By Alexander J. Poulos The application of ETFs in investment strategies has gained widespread adoption during the past decade. Though the blind use of ETFs—buying a basket of stocks at any price—comes with myriad risks, there are certain advantages in that some ETFs offer desired exposure to certain themes or sectors. When it comes to biotech, the most liquid biotech ETF is the iShares Nasdaq … Read more

Earnings Roundup for the Week Ended Sunday, April 19, Covering Companies Across the Board

By Callum Turcan 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. By ticker in alphabetical order: BBBY, CPSS, ISRG, LAKE, MRTN, OFLX, SCHW, TSM Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY) Shares of BBBY shot up on April 16 after reporting fourth quarter and full-year results for its fiscal 2019 … Read more

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Race

Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has devasted the global economy (though things are starting to improve) and has fundamentally altered daily human life. According to a draft report from the World Health Organization (‘WHO’), there were 29 COVID-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials as of August 13 along with 138 other candidates undergoing preclinical evaluation. It is a race against the clock. Unfortunately, as of this writing on August 18, there have been ~170,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the US alone according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). We are optimistic that one of the many “shots on … Read more