TWTR

Twitter Prices at $45.10 Per Share, Up 70%+ From $26 IPO Price

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<< Twitter’s Form S-1/A What Is Twitter? Adapted From Twitter’s S-1/A: “Twitter (TWTR) is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to create, distribute and discover content, the firm has democratized content creation and distribution, enabling any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered. The firm’s platform is unique in its simplicity: Tweets are limited to 140 characters of text. This constraint makes it easy for anyone to quickly create, distribute and discover content that is consistent across its platform and optimized for mobile devices. As a result, Tweets drive a high velocity of information exchange that makes Twitter uniquely “live.” The firm aims to become … Read more

Third-Quarter Results Strengthen Our Confidence in Facebook

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Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio option position Facebook (FB) once again flexed its advertising muscle when it reported fantastic third-quarter results Wednesday. Revenue swelled 60% year-over-year to $2 billion, soaring past consensus estimates, while non-GAAP earnings per share rose 108% year-over-year to $0.25, also above consensus estimates. Year-to-date, free cash flow is phenomenal at $2.1 billion, equal to 40% of total revenue. The Words that Clouded the Quarter “Our best synopsis on youth engagement in the U.S. reveals that usage of Facebook among U.S. teens overall was stable from Q2 to Q3. So we did see a decrease in daily users specifically among younger teens.”           –      CFO David Ebersman   In spite of overwhelmingly positive financial results and a few … Read more

LinkedIn’s Growth Doesn’t Disappoint But Its Valuation Is Absurd

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Professional social networking giant LinkedIn (LNKD) posted another strong quarter Tuesday night after the market close. Revenue exceeded consensus estimates as it soared 56% year-over-year to $393 million. The bottom line followed suit, as non-GAAP earnings per share jumped 77% year-over-year to $0.39. LinkedIn also revealed decent free cash flow, which stands at $133 million year-to-date, equal to 12% of total revenue. However, Mr. Market was none too pleased with LinkedIn’s guidance, but we’ll get into that later.  Engagement Remains Strong Image Source: LNKD 3Q13 Slides Though down slightly sequentially, LinkedIn continues to take steps with respect to engagement. According to comScore (shown above), LinkedIn had 142 million unique visitors during its third quarter, an increase of 29% on a year-over-year … Read more

Ads Are (Finally) Coming to Instagram

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Facebook-owned (click ticker for report: ) picture and video sharing social network Instagram announced Thursday that it will begin displaying ad content. Although several brands are already active on the network, this will be the first time that companies will pay to reach Instagram’s 150 million users. Since Facebook paid $1 billion for the company back in April 2012, we think advertising was an inevitable development. Some users will be upset about Instagram introducing ads (the image below is taken from the announcement page), but users also predicted the demise of Facebook and Twitter advertising. Source: Instagram Yet, the popularity of Facebook and Twitter has remained resilient. As long as Instagram delivers relevant content in a reasonable amount, we doubt … Read more

S&P 500 Poised to Make New Highs…Again?

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The equity markets have welcomed a strong earnings season thus far, but valuation risk and tail uncertainties remain, not the least of which is the possibility of failed tax reform in the US. By Brian Nelson, CFA Money is cheap, and investors are partying like its 1999 all over again. The latest move on the trading vehicle for the S&P 500, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is yet again approaching new highs. We like the ongoing momentum in the stock market, something that we outlined in our “shocking” predictions for 2017, but we continue to reiterate our cautious stance, not only with respect to underlying valuations but also as it relates to the possibility of failed tax reform in … Read more

Update: Frequently Asked Questions About Valuentum Securities, Inc.

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What is Valuentum Securities? Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports and dividend reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. How do I subscribe to Valuentum’s investment research services? 1)    Click the following link: signup-page. 2)    Select your membership plan. 3)    Enter your contact details. 4)    Click ‘Sign Up.’ 5)    Complete your purchase. 6)   Your payment profile may be recurring, so please check … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

ALERT: Facebook at All-Time Closing Highs

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“I’m completely baffled by Facebook’s pricing action, and I still think this one will again return to new highs.” — Nelson, December 20, 2018, with shares trading at ~$130 each. Shares of Facebook registered an all-time closing high of $218.30 per share January 9, 2020. By Brian Nelson, CFA We lost so much business at Valuentum because of our call on Facebook. Let’s talk about it. Facebook (FB) has been one of our best calls since it was added as an idea to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Facebook was first added to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in late January 2016, and on a price-basis, it has more than doubled since then, outerperforming the S&P (SPY) by about 40 percentage points. … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?

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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