XLC

3 Undervalued Stocks to Consider Buying Now

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Dear readers:   With the markets retracing most of their recent drawdown, we’re taking a victory lap as we didn’t panic, nor should have you. We highlighted our wait-and-see approach amidst the worst of the pullback, and we expect the Magnificent 7 (large cap growth and big cap tech) to continue to propel the markets higher, as they have done.   We’ve been busy rolling valuation models as we finetune our assumptions for a great number of companies under coverage. While doing so, we came across three undervalued stocks that are also included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. We think they’re prime for highlight.   The three stocks are UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOG). We spend a lot of time on discounted cash-flow valuation, … Read more

This Remains a Technically-Driven Stock Market

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Image: We expect the S&P 500 (SPY) to test support at both its technical uptrend and the 200-day moving average. In the event the SPY breaks through technical support, we’d be looking to “raise cash” across the newsletter portfolios. By Brian Nelson, CFA S&P 500 companies will end 2022 with roughly a 4%-5% decline in fourth-quarter 2022 earnings, according to a February 17 report from FactSet. The Communications Services (XLC), Materials (XLB), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) were the three weakest sectors showing year-over-year earnings declines in the fourth quarter. The two biggest earnings misses during the quarter, in our view, were Goldman Sachs’ (GS) nightmare report and Intel’s (INTC) huge miss and terrible outlook. However, for the most part, fourth-quarter earnings … Read more

Microsoft Hinted at Trouble in Calendar Q2 But AMD’s Massive $1 Billion Quarterly Q3 Revenue Miss Spells Big Problems for PC Market; Search and News Advertising Revenue Also Likely Weakening Substantially

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  Image Source: Fritzchens Fritz By Brian Nelson, CFA Things aren’t going well across the technology (XLK) landscape these days. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) said in mid-July Windows OEM revenue faced pressure in its quarter ended June 30, its fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, and noted that the “PC market…deteriorated in June (slide 15).” On its fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 conference call, the software and gaming giant said that its outlook “has the trends (it) saw in June continu(ing) through Q1 (the quarter ending in September 2022). Continued weakness in the PC market demand and advertising spend (is expected to) impact Windows OEM, Surface, LinkedIn and search and news advertising revenue.” We took note of this weakness at the time, but it … Read more

Shares of Best Idea Alphabet Remain Incredibly Undervalued

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Image Shown: Alphabet Inc Class C shares are trading at bargain basement levels, in our view. By Callum Turcan Alphabet Inc (GOOG) (GOOGL) reported second quarter 2022 earnings that missed consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. However, investors were clearly expecting the tech giant to perform much worse as shares of GOOG leapt higher following the report. We continue to like Alphabet Class C shares (ticker: GOOG) as a top-weighted idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Our fair value estimate (adjusted for Alphabet’s recent 20:1 stock split) sits near $157 per share of GOOG, well above where shares are trading at as of this writing. Earnings Update During the second quarter of 2022, Alphabet’s GAAP revenues grew 13% year-over-year and … Read more

Three Growth Stocks That Offer Tremendous Value!

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Image: Some of the most attractive stocks on the market have both growth and value characteristics. By Brian Nelson, CFA As the market struggles to find a near term bottom, three of our favorite ideas are on sale. Meta and Alphabet are dirt cheap, in our view, while Microsoft has tremendous dividend growth prospects. We expect these three names to bounce back considerably once economic uncertainty subsides. Meta Platforms Meta Platfoms (META), formerly Facebook, has a portfolio of properties the world simply cannot do without, and the network effect that emanates from the nature of its properties creates a sizable competitive advantage where its advertising business model can proliferate, despite heightened competition from TikTok and the like. But for Meta, … Read more

Disney’s Video Streaming Strength Shines Through Latest Earnings

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Image Shown: The Walt Disney Company recently reported earnings which highlighted the ongoing success of its video streaming strategy. Shares of DIS surged upwards on August 5, 2020. By Callum Turcan On August 4, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported third quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended June 27, 2020) that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus bottom-line estimates. Shares of DIS were higher by ~11% on August 5 as of this writing, as investors looked past its weak historical performance (which was expected) and towards Disney’s improving outlook. We appreciated the announcement that Disney now has over 100 million paid subscriptions across its “portfolio of direct-to-consumer services” including Disney+, EPSN+, and Hulu (Disney owns 67% of Hulu’s equity). … Read more

Facebook’s Growth Story Continues

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Image Shown: Shares of Facebook Inc are up ~23% year-to-date as of the end of normal trading hours on August 3. We continue to like shares of FB as a top-weighted holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, and we see room for meaningful capital appreciate upside. By Callum Turcan On July 30, Facebook Inc (FB) reported second quarter 2020 earnings that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates by a mile. Advertising revenue was up 10% year-over-year last quarter, a slower growth rate than the 17% year-over-year increase posted during the first quarter of this year but still very impressive given the headwinds facing the digital advertising space due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Facebook’s revenues and bottom-line grew … Read more

AT&T Remains Free Cash Flow King, Though Deleveraging Efforts Are Getting Tougher

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Image Shown: AT&T Inc continued to be a free cash flow cow last quarter, though the ongoing pandemic created headwinds for its various businesses. Image Source: AT&T Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has created some very serious headwinds for AT&T Inc (T), but that did not stop the telecommunications and entertainment giant from being incredibly free cash flow positive last quarter. On July 23, AT&T reported its second quarter 2020 earnings report and we remain confident in the firm’s ability to keep making good on its dividend obligations going forward. Shares of T yield ~7.1% as of this writing, and we include shares of AT&T in our High … Read more

Disney’s Outlook is Improving

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Image Source: Marc Levin and Valuentum added a solid line black border to the image. By Callum Turcan Shares of The Walt Disney Company (DIS) are trading near our fair value estimate of $111 per share, as of this writing, after recovering sharply from their March 2020 lows. Disney’s stock price came under intense pressure from the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though the firm’s outlook has improved materially as various economies around the world have started opening back up. We include shares of DIS as a holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter at a modest weighting. Reopening Theme Parks and Resorts On May 27, Disney provided an update on the reopening process for its US theme parks in California and Florida … Read more

Disney’s Financials Will Eventually Rebound

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Image Source: Marc Levin By Callum Turcan On May 5, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported second quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended March 28, 2020) that beat consensus top-line estimates but missed consensus bottom-line estimates. The firm’s financial and operational performance has taken a hit from the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic; however, in our view the firm will bounce back considerably once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available (which isn’t a certainty, but a lot of companies are actively pushing forward with human clinical trials as we speak including this firm). We continue to like Disney with a modest weighting in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. As an aside, Disney’s former CEO Bog Iger stepped aside recently and is … Read more