XBIT

How Some Members Use Valuentum’s Investment Services

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Thank you for your membership to Valuentum. We serve a wide variety of investors, including dividend growth investors, value investors, and pure Valuentum investors, among others. Many different types of investors and professionals use our research and financial analysis in a whole host of applications from individual stock-selection to the evaluation of closed-end funds to an overlay in a money-management setting and beyond. We wanted to make sure that you know that, if you’re a dividend growth or income investor, that there are others that use our website to utilize the Valuentum process, fair value estimates and other metrics. Similarly, if you’re a practitioner of the Valuentum system, I wanted to make sure that you are … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week July 9

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 9. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Caledonia Mining (CMCL): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Civista Bancshares (CIVB): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Eagle Point Income Company (EIC): now $0.09 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0085. First Republic Bank (FRC): now $0.2938 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2200.            Five Star Bancorp (FSBC): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend. Fortitude Gold Corporation (FTCO): now $0.035 per share monthly … Read more

ICYMI: Valuentum’s Brian Nelson on the Latest Howard Marks’ Memo: “Something of Value”

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Valuentum’s President of Investment Research Brian Michael Nelson, CFA, explains why there are not really value and growth stocks, why most of the research in quantitative finance is spurious and needs to be redefined on a forward-looking basis, and why enterprise valuation (not the efficient markets hypothesis) should be the organizing principle of finance. Nelson explains his views about valuation, what it means to be a value investor, and investing in the context of Oaktree Capital Howard Marks’ latest memo, “Something of Value,” January 11, 2021. Please don’t forget to give the second edition of the book “Value Trap” a 5-star rating on Amazon here. Thank you for your membership! —– Tickerized for holdings in the IWM. Valuentum members have … Read more

Value Is Not Static and the Qualitative Overlay Is Vital to Our Process

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With prudence and care, the Valuentum Buying Index process and its components are carried out. Our analyst team spends most of its time thinking about the intrinsic value of companies within the context of a discounted cash-flow model and evaluating the risk profile of a company’s revenue model. We have checks and balances, too. First, we use a fair value range in our valuation approach as we embrace the very important concept that value is a range and not a point estimate. A relative value overlay as the second pillar helps to add conviction in the discounted cash-flow process, while a technical and momentum overlay seeks to provide confirmation in all of the valuation work. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes even before a VBI rating is published, but it will always be just one factor to consider. Within any process, of course, we value the human, qualitative overlay, which captures a wealth of experience and common sense. We strive to surface our best ideas for members.

An Overview on Valuing Junior Biotech Companies — Does Clovis Fit the Bill?

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The biotech industry remains one of the most fascinating yet perplexing industries for investors. Anecdotes of the entry-stage biotech with a home-run new therapy are often romanticized, but the reality is the vast majority of molecules fail in various stages of clinical testing.  Due to the boom-bust nature of the industry, many are wary of investing in the space, and traditional valuation metrics are not as useful due to a large number of such speculative entities being in the pre-revenue stage. With this in mind, let’s take a glimpse into our thought process when evaluating upstart biotech companies. By Alexander J. Poulos Before we dig in, we feel a word of caution is warranted. Entry-stage biotechs (IBB) inherently come with … Read more

Best in Biotech? Global Blood Therapeutics’ Promising Treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia

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We remain impressed with the depth of research conducted over a wide host of disease states. Though a molecule may appear to hold significant promise in the pre-clinical phase, we have often witnessed the unique ability of the human body to react to various treatments. Often an unwanted side effect can torpedo a treatment, thus relegating millions of dollars of research obsolete. However, if a promising molecule is brought to market, the payoff is often well worth the effort. Our goal is to sift through the various clinical data to unearth the most promising treatments with the understanding that nothing is assured until the FDA authorizes the product for marketing in the US. We believe we have identified a promising … Read more

Can Vertex Pharmaceuticals Dominate the Race to Treat Cystic Fibrosis?

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Tickerized for holdings in the XLV and IBB. Cystic Fibrosis is a rare disease that afflicts an estimated seventy-five thousand patients worldwide. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the first to market with a combination treatment to treat a portion of the overall patient population. Will Vertex win the race to bring forth a triple therapy to treat the vast majority of those afflicted? By Alexander J. Poulos Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a recessive genetic disorder. The patient that is afflicted will carry two copies of the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator protein (CFTR) gene. The CFTR gene allows the body to produce the CFTR protein, whose function is to remove chloride from the cells. Patients that have CF will suffer from a “thickening” … Read more

Pharma, Biotech and How to Consider Investing In It

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The Valuentum analyst team digs deep into recent trends in big pharma and biotech from the lofty pricing of drugs to political and competitive pressures to ETF considerations and beyond. ~10 mins. If you cannot view the podcast below, please view the transcript below or select the link here. Tickerized for holdings in the XLV and IBB. Brian Nelson, CFA Gilead’s (GILD) hepatitis C regimen, almost a hundred thousand dollars. Vertex’s (VRTX) cystic fibrosis drug — hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Have the drug companies lost their mind? This is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and today joining me is Mr. Kris Rosemann and Mr. Chris Araos — and we are going to talk everything healthcare, biotech… Mr. … Read more

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

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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

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