Is a Stock Market Crash Coming? — Coronavirus Update and P/E Ratios

Image Source: World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Situation Report — 32 We don’t think this is the environment to put new capital to work, and we remain highly cautious of what COVID-19 means for global economic growth not just in the first quarter of 2020 but for the rest of this year (maybe longer). Right now, the US markets are not really factoring in anything related to COVID-19, and perhaps may be adjusting to China’s stimulus in artificially propping up the markets as if the outbreak is somehow a “positive thing.” With the S&P 500 trading at 19.0 forward earnings estimates–estimates that are likely too high given the evidence we are seeing with respect to a slowdown due … Read more

Resetting Your Mental Model

Image Source: affen ajlfe A version of this article was originally published on our website October 6, 2013. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing. “What is the definition of timeliness? Many believe it is getting information to investors as quickly as possible after an event, or updating something every single day or week for immaterial information. I believe in a different definition of timeliness. I believe timeliness is using all information available in a mosaic approach to accurately predict the event before it even happens. Take Kinder Morgan as the latest example. We were the only ones predicting what was going to happen before it did. To investors, … Read more

Apple Charging Higher

Image Shown: Shares of Apple Inc continue to climb higher and we like the name in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. This is a long-term holding with substantial potential capital appreciation and dividend growth upside. By Callum Turcan Apple Inc (AAPL) is a top holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios, with shares of AAPL yielding ~1.1% as of this writing. The top end of our fair value range estimate for shares of AAPL sits at $280, decently above where shares are trading at as of this writing. Considering the favorable technicals Apple has experienced of late, we see substantial room for shares to move higher still. Please keep in … Read more

Reflecting on Two of Our Favorite Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio Holdings

As we get closer to finishing out 2019, let’s take a look at two of the big winners in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio this year: Facebook and Alphabet. What a comeback Facebook has made since the summer of 2018! On the basis of our fair value estimate, we expect the company to surpass new highs. Alphabet just hit an all-time high last month, too! By Callum Turcan Facebook Image Shown: Shares of Facebook Inc have skyrocketed over the past year as the market shrugged off near-term political/regulatory headwinds and looked out towards the future, with an eye towards Facebook’s strong free cash flow growth trajectory and pristine balance sheet. Facebook Inc (FB) is a company we’ve been pounding the … Read more

Tech Earnings Roundup: AAPL, FB, GOOG

By Callum Turcan Several large tech companies reported earnings this week including three of the top holdings in our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. Apple On October 30, Apple Inc (AAPL) reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2019 (three month period ended September 28) that saw GAAP revenues shift higher by 2% versus the same period last year, hitting $64.0 billion. Its services revenues jumped up by 18% year-over-year while its products revenues declined by a bit over 1% year-over-year, highlighting Apple’s focus on higher margin services sales opportunities. Even so, Apple’s GAAP gross margin fell by over 30 basis points year-over-year due in part to the negative impact of the US-China trade war on top of … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Computer Hardware Industry

Structure of the Computer Hardware Industry The computer hardware space, which spans the personal computer to the iPhone and iPad, is highly competitive. The industry is characterized by frequent product introductions and rapid technological advances that can cause dramatic market share shifts. Though some firms benefit from a strong brand, participants often price aggressively, pressuring margins. Firms are also subject to potential component shortages/disruptions, which can punish performance. Obsolescence may be an eventuality for some, and services revenue has become critical for others. We’re neutral on the space. We’ve optimized our tehnology coverage. To access the reports, please select here.

Apple Surges Higher!

Image Shown: Shares of Apple continue to surge higher and were supported by positive US-China trade talk news on Friday October 11. By Callum Turcan One of our favorite companies, Apple (AAPL), has been off to the races with shares pushing up into the mid-$230s as of this writing. Apple is a top holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. We value Apple at up to $266 per share at the top end of our fair value estimate range, and shares of AAPL yield 1.3% as of this writing. Please note Apple’s fiscal year ends in late September. Let’s start out by covering an area Apple has had some trouble with over the past few … Read more

Apple Makes Its Big Push Into Services

Image Shown: Apple announced that Apple TV+ would launch November 1, 2019, during its big update event on September 10. This marks the beginning of Apple’s transition from a hardware and software company to a hardware, software, and services giant. By Callum Turcan On September 10, Apple Inc (AAPL) held its big hardware and software event but the real star of the show was services. Namely, Apple TV+ which will launch this upcoming November 1 at the relatively low price of just $4.99 per month. That’s below the starting price point offered by Apple’s (future) video streaming competitors including Netflix (NFLX), Walt Disney Company (DIS), and others. Apple is coming out swinging with star studded launches of its own exclusive … 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