Jubak Picks

Yes, I’d buy Palo Alto Networks today–with these caveats

Yes, I’d buy Palo Alto Networks today–with these caveats

After yesterday’s earnings report–the company beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter–and radically lower guidance for next quarter and the rest of 2024–total billings for next quarter will grow by just 2% to 4% and revenue for all of 2024 will grow by just 15% to 16% from 2023–shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) took a big hit right between the eyes. The stock fell 28.44% at the close and lost $104.12 a share to $261.97. What do I recommend? I’d say “buy” with a couple of caveats. Why buy?

Palo Alto takes a beating after it lowers guidance; preview of Nvidia tomorrow?

Palo Alto takes a beating after it lowers guidance; preview of Nvidia tomorrow?

t should be a familiar story in this priced-to-perfection market: Company beats big in current quarter but lowers guidance and stock takes a dive. Latest victim? Palo Alto Networks (PANW). The stock is down 14.09% at 4:30 New York time today. And with Nvidia scheduled to report tomorrow after the close, you can bet the market will be on edge tomorrow.

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs Pick #5 VWDRY

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs Pick #5 VWDRY

My 10 Penny Stock Homeruns Pick #5: Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY).

Technically, the Vestas Wind Systems ADR (VWDRY) isn’t a penny stock. By the strict definition, a penny stock sells for $5 or less and the Vestas ADR closed on $9.06 today, February 14. But I included Vestas in my previous penny stock list back on July 11, 2022, even though the stock closed at $7.80 that day. With the company reporting a return to profitability for 2023 in its fourth quarter earnings report released today, I think Vestas has (finally) turned the corner. And, frankly, I just don’t want drop it from this list just as things get good again for the company and its investors. (Vestas is a member of my Jubak’s Picks Portfolio. The position is up 65.6% since initiation on March 4, 2019.) Tomorrow, February 15, I’ll also add Vestas to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio.

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs–Pick #2 PILBF

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs–Pick #2 PILBF

This one is very simple. When the price of lithium rebounds, high-quality low-cost lithium producers will see the revenue roll in. That’s why I’d got the world’s leading lithium-producer Albemarle (ALB) in my long-term 50 Stock Portfolio. But a smaller, high-quality, low-cost producer like Australia’s Pilbara Minerals will show gains even higher than Albemarle since the current price of $2.29 a share comes close to discounting the company’s survival.

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: Microsoft Shows Priced-to-Perfection Risks

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: Microsoft Shows Priced-to-Perfection Risks

Today’s video is Microsoft Shows Priced to Perfection Risks. This quarter, the company reported Tuesday,  Azure, its cloud services flagship, grew revenue by 30% last year. While a 30% growth rate would be a great for many companies, Wall Street and analysts were disappointed in this news from Microsoft. This is the “priced to perfection” problem. Although the company beat earnings estimates, beat revenue estimates, and showed 30% growth in a key part of the company, the stock went down. Maybe a $3 trillion market cap on Microsoft is a lot of weight to push up hill. We could see more of this during this earnings season as Amazon, Apple and Meta release their own reports. The “Magnificent Seven” that were responsible for most of the 24% gain in the S&P in 2023 are beginning to wobble. My hope was for more market leaders to emerge but that doesn’t seem to be happening. I don’t expect “wobble” to cause anything that terrible in the market, but a sideways move is likely as investors ponder their next move.

Visa beats but falls on guidance–that’s what “priced for perfection” means

Visa beats but falls on guidance–that’s what “priced for perfection” means

After the close yesterday, Visa (V) reported earnings of $2.41 a share (after adjusting for one-time items) for the December 2023 quarter. (That the company’s fiscal first quarter.) Analysts had been looking for $2.34 a share in adjusted earnings. Revenue grew 8.8% to $8.63 billion, again beating analyst forecasts for $8.55 billion in revenue. Visa said payments volume grew 8%, and that its processed transactions rose 9% in the period. And yet the stock was down $4.70 a share, or 1.72%, to $267.91 at the close today, Friday, January 26. Why?

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

Shares of ASML Holding (ASML) closed up 8.85% today after the company reported record orders for its chip-making equipment in the fourth quarter. ASML sales grew 12.5% year-over-year. And orders more than tripled from the third-quarter. I added shares of ASML Holding to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio on December 12, 2023. The position is up 17.6% since then as of the close on January 24.

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

Here’s the 3-year road map for AI hardware–and a buy on AMD

It’s important to remember exactly how young artificial intelligence is as a market product. I certainly don’t think it’s possible to project the long-term winners on either the software or hardware side. Remember the days when Apple (AAPL) thought it was worth buying a Super Bowl add to urge consumers to smash the IBM PC empire? But I do think the hardware road map is petty clear for the next two to three years. Which is why I’m adding shares of Advanced Micro Devices to my portfolios tomorrow.

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

Special Report: 10 Great Growth Stocks that Are Getting Greater–today my 10th (and final) pick QCOM

GREATER Growth Stock Pick #10: Qualcomm (QCOM). I think the market and the current stock price are missing a good prt of the growth story for Qualcomm. Which is why I find the stock undervalued enough to buy here. Right now the market disagrees. However, I’ll be adding the stock to my Jubak Picks and Volatility Portfolios on Tuesday, January 16.