Nektar (NKTR) is another one of those stocks that looks to be moving up more strongly right now than the relatively sparse news would explain. Shares of this biotech are up 18.96% in the last week and 24.37% for the last 3 months. I can see a stream of positive news that should be leading the stock gradually higher, but nothing that is especially “current.”
I looked at my Jubak Picks Portfolio with more than a tinge of seller’s remorse this morning. I sold shares of First Majestic Silver (AG) out of that portfolio on Friday, January 29, after the stock rose 21.38% on Thursday. That gave me a gain of 45.52% since I began this position on July 6, 2019.I argued in justification for this sell that the attempt by individual investors on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum to force a short squeeze in silver, as they had in GameStop (GME), were likely to fail because there was such a big stockpile of physical silver ready to enter the market. So I took my profit. Only to have the stock climb an other 21.3% today, February 1, as of 2:30 p.m. New York time as individual investors did indeed drive up the price of silver futures. The Shares Silver Trust (SLV) was up 6.40% as of 2:30 New York time today as the intraday price of silver limbed to the highest level since 2013. And then I thought about that seller’s remorse.
Shares of First Majestic Silver (AG) climbed 21.38% yesterday, January 28, as silver futures climbed on a post on Reddit suggesting profit from a short squeeze on silver. “Any short squeeze in silver paper shorts would be EPIC,” a post on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum said. “Why not squeeze SLV to real physical price,” the poster said referring to the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV). That ETF closed up 5.55% on Thursday. Now I understand the attraction of anything that can be touted as a potential for a short squeeze like that which has driven the shares of GameStop (GME) up 928% for 2021 as of the close on January 28, and 1538% in the last three months. But silver the commodity is actually very different from a stock and a short-squeeze looks very difficult to execute in silver.
U.S. GDP growth slowed in the fourth quarter, gaining just 1% from the third quarter. For the full year the U.S. economy contracted by 3.5%. That makes 2020 the first time that the economy has contracted for a full year since 2009 and the Great Recession. At the bottom of that recession that economy contracted by 2.5%. 2020 is also the worst year for economic growth since 1946 when the economy shrank by 11.6% as the country demobilized after World War II. Consumer spending slowed in all 15 categories tracked by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The sectors that had powered the recovery in the third quarter–restaurants and hotels, for instance–reversed. The growth in spending on cars and health car also slowed from the acceleration in the third quarter. So why is this good news as far as the stock market is concerned?
Microsoft reported its earnings for the company’s fiscal second quarter 2021 earnings today, Tuesday, January 26, after the close. Revenue of $43.1 billion easily beat Wall Street projections of $40.2 billion. Earnings per share of $2.03 crushed expectations for $1.64 a share. Microsoft’s shares were up 1.22% in the regular session and then gained another 4.30% in after-hours trading.
As I noted in my January 13 video “4 picks for the chip shortage,” investors are looking at shortage of silicon chips that has hit the auto industry especially hard and that argues for a multi-year increase in capital spending to expand chip production at foundry companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). As the world’s largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, Applied Materials will see its revenue climb as a result of that capital spending. The company’s equipment can be found at almost every major step in cap manufacturing (with the exception of lithography) from chemical and physical vapor deposition to etching to defect-inspection scanning electron microscopes. The stock is up 60.04% in the last year, as of the close on January 13 with most of that gain coming in the last 3 months where the stock is up 51.9%. The shares are already a pick in my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio where they’re up 91.8% from December 31, 2017. Today, I’m adding Applied Materials to my Jubak Picks Portfolio.
The stock market rally that started so strong this morning as Democrats, surprisingly, rode to victory in both Georgia Senate races, took a big step backwards as the day wore on with scenes of rioters roaming the hall of Congress in an effort to overturn the November election.But the early action gives me a good idea of the thinking of investors and traders as they contemplate not just a Biden Presidency, but Democratic control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. This morning investors and traders were looking to get out in front of a Biden administration agenda
Commodities have soared on prospects for a post-coronavirus vaccine economic recovery. And copper is one of the best commodities to own in order to invest in the recovery of the global economy–and especially the growth in the Chinese economy–as the coronavirus pandemic recedes in 2021. I already own Southern Copper (SCCO) in my Dividend Portfolio and First Quantum Minerals (FQVLF) in my Volatility Portfolio. Those stocks were up 56.83% and 77.64%, respectively, in 2020. Tomorrow, January 6, I will add shares of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold to my Jubak Picks Portfolio.
Yes, the big indexes were down today, January 4, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 off 1.48% at the close; the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.25%; and the NASDAQ Composite lower by 1.47%. But I think we can find some clues about tomorrow’s action–and the moves over the next month or more–from taking a look at individual stocks and sectors.
Sell today if you’re looking to sell to generate tax losses for 2020. After today, December 29, you can still sell but the losses will count for the 2021 tax year.
Today, I made Eversource the fifth pick in my Special Report “Dividend Stocks that will beat the risky rockets.” On Monday, December 7, I will add the shares to my Jubak Picks portfolio. Eversource pays a 2.65% dividend.
I started off with utility stocks and I’ve now moved on to other dividend stocks within the general argument that dividend stocks–if you pick the right one–are perfect for the post-vaccine economy and stock market rally.
