Long Term

Palo Alto Networks pops–and Why?

Palo Alto Networks pops–and Why?

Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) rose by 5.59% in after-hours trading on Friday. The reason? News that the stock will be added to the Standard & Poor’s 500 index before the market open on June 20. Managers of portfolios that follow the index have to buy shares of Palo Alto to keep up with the change. The move to membership in the index increases ownership of the shares just as the stock is exhibiting extraordinary upward momentum. Shares of the cyber-security company are up 55.68% for 2023 to date as of the close on Friday, June 2, and up 22.81% in the last month. That performance rests on a record of high sustained growth. It’s the “sustained” part that I think the market finds so valuable right now.

10 Stocks for the AI Gold Rush–and WHY these picks

10 Stocks for the AI Gold Rush–and WHY these picks

Artificial intelligence really is a paradigm-breaking, transformative technology. Right now, investors are so enthusiastic about the sector, especially the obvious leader Nvidia (NVDA), that we’re looking at a potential bubble that will collapse with much gnashing of teeth and I-told-you-so “wisdom” casting doubt on the reality of the entire endeavor. I think a bubble is indeed possible. Nvidia did trade at a trailing twelve-month price-to-earnings ratio of 196 on May 31, after all. But I think you do want to own the sector now–because the breaking of the bubble, if it does break is, in my opinion, two quarters or more away. And you want to own the sector for the long run–say, 10 years or more–because it is such a game changer for so much of the economy. But what to own? I’ve put together a list of the 10 stocks that I think are the best way to participate in the AI gold rush.

Intuitive Surgical reports a surprisingly strong first quarter

Intuitive Surgical reports a surprisingly strong first quarter

Last week Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) surprised everybody, including, apparently, management. Intuitive Surgical’s first-quarter revenue grew 14% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. (Wall Street was expecting $1.6 billion.) Surgical procedures performed using the company’s da Vinci system, rose 26% year-over-year, well above expectations for 15% growth. And the company raised guidance for global procedure growth to 18% to 21% from the prior guidance of 12% to 16%.

So much for a global plan to tackle climate change: China and India ramp up coal production and consumption

So much for a global plan to tackle climate change: China and India ramp up coal production and consumption

If the world is to stand any chance of avoiding a catastrophic increase in temperatures, the global economy has to move away–very quickly–from using fossil fuels, and especially coal, to generate electricity. Both China and India pledged at the 2021 Glasow COP26 global climate summit to phase down the use of coal and to reduce carbon emissions from their industrial sector. Pledges. Can’t eat ’em. Can’t use them to pay the bills. Turns out, you can’t even believe them.

Intuitive Surgical reports a surprisingly strong first quarter

Special Report: 7 AI Stocks to Own Now–with a couple of speculative picks to come on Thursday

You can understand the gold rush: One AI stock is up 105% (and 78% in the last month) in 2023 as of the February 17 close.

But are shares of that company, the software artificial company C3A (AI), the stock you want to own, or is this stock simply a beneficiary of hot money jumping on anything that sounds like artificial intelligence? As one market observer put it on Seeking Alpha recently, “The ticker is more valuable than the company.” This doesn’t mean that the current revolution in artificial intelligence isn’t real. And here I give you my 7 picks for investing in the latest AI revolution

Special Report: Fundamentals are back, Baby! Five fundamental value picks–Pick #1 Taiwan Semiconductor and Pick #2 Applied Materials

Special Report: Fundamentals are back, Baby! Five fundamental value picks–Pick #1 Taiwan Semiconductor and Pick #2 Applied Materials

There are bargains in this market. But how do you find them? Not, clearly, by looking to see what is cheaper than it was. The fear that’s stopping so many investors from loading up the truck now on Nvidia or Disney or Microsoft or Johnson Controls–all stocks that I really, really like for the long term–is that today’s “cheap” stocks will be tomorrow’s even “cheaper” stocks. So it’s time to dig into your investor’s toolbox and dust off those tried and true techniques for using company fundamentals to figure out the value of a stock. And for separating the real values in this sell off from those cheap stocks on the road to being cheaper.

Today it looks more like a bear market rally

Today it looks more like a bear market rally

In my weekend Saturday Night Quarterback I said that this week would, probably, answer the question of whether Friday’s big bounce was just a bounce, the start of a buy on the dip rally, or even a bear market rally with a bit of staying power. Two days into the week I think the market action is moving in favor of a bear market rally, one of those often quite powerful upside moves that punctuate extended bear markets.

Special Report: You Can Make Money Investing in Climate Change: Here’s How With Four Sectors and First 10 of 12 Stock Picks

Special Report: You Can Make Money Investing in Climate Change: Here’s How With Four Sectors and First 10 of 12 Stock Picks

All you have to do to find the high profits that will make the risk of investing in climate change stocks worthwhile is to focus on sectors (1) where the rewards are solid and the risk is quantifiable, (2) where companies are making profit the old-fashioned way by building out networks and then charging high rents to use them, by (3) carefully targeting a few technologies (wind and solar and hydrogen and electric cars) that will be part of any mix of solutions, and (4) by investing in bottlenecks that are likely to drive prices up (and provide good profits for companies that resolve the bottleneck.

So much for a global plan to tackle climate change: China and India ramp up coal production and consumption

Happy Earth Day! China will build 18 new coal power plants abroad and increase domestic coal production by 300 million tons in 2022

A study published today, Friday April 22, from the Center on Research on Energy and Clean Air says that at least 18 new coal plant projects abroad will probably go ahead despite China’s pledge to stop building coal power plants overseas. The plants have secured financing and permits. In addition, China’s Premier Li Keqiang confirmed a goal of 300 million tons of new coal production capacity in 2022, up from 220 million tons added last year. China already consumes and produces about half the world’s coal.

Special Report: “An Investor’s Guide to Selling Over the Next Four Months” with just one market “arc” left to post

Special Report: “An Investor’s Guide to Selling Over the Next Four Months” with just one market “arc” left to post

I think these financial market curves will let you map out the longer stories of Federal Reserve interest rate increases and a potential recession–and then chart the shorter stories of war in the Ukraine, global oil and natural gas crunches, summer Pandemic relief, global food crisis, computer chip shortages (and whatever else you think might be important) under those longer curves. That will let you decide when to buy and sell (and what) in order to profit from short-term stories while preparing your portfolio for the longer arcs.