On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration approved Mounjaro from Lilly, as an obesity drug, after clinical trials showed that patients lost an average of 18% of their body weight. The drug will be marketed as Zepbound in the obesity market. This puts Lilly into direct competition with the wildly popular Wegovy weight-loss drug from Novo Nordisk (NVO)
Yesterday, Thursday, November 2, Barrick Gold (GOLD) reported earnings of 24 cents a share for the company’s this quarter. That was ahead of the 21 cents a share consensus estimate among Wall Street analysts. In the third quarter of quarter of 2022, the company reported earnings of 13 cents a share. The surprise was the fourth for Barrack in the last four quarters. But to me other news overshadowed the earnings themselves.
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%.
After the market close on February 21, cyber security company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reported fiscal second-quarter 2023 year-over-year revenue growth of 26% to $1.7 billion. Billings in the quarter also rose by 26% to $2.0 billion. The rock-solid consistency of revenue and billings growth in this quarter and as projected for the rest of the year got a cheer from the market. In after-hours trading shares gained 8.56%.
As I said in my recent video “Quick Pick Kimberly-Clark,” I’m adding this stock to my Dividend Portfolio effect tomorrow July 6. The stock pays a dividend of 3.39%. That’s not knock-your-socks-off stuff, but very good for a very defensive consumer staples stock as we move closer to a recession. The stock is down 2.69% year to date as of the close on July 1 but the shares are up 10.31% in the last three months
I’m looking for stocks and ETFs that will go up even if the stock market as a whole goes south and Teucrium Corn ETF (CORN) is a good candidate. (Year to date return is 35% as of the close on June 16.)
I’m using the continued weakness in natural gas prices and in the U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) to add the shares to my Jubak Picks Portfolio. The U.S. Natural Gas Fund was down another 5.90% today to close at $23.78.
On Friday in my Quick Pick video on YouTube (have you subscribed yet–why not? It’s free and that way you’ll know when a new video goes up) I said I would add Truist Financial (TFC) to my Dividend Portfolio on Monday. And so I will. My rule of thumb at the moment is to buy dividend-paying stocks when the yield breaks 4%. At the time I shot the video, Truist paid 4.1%. Thanks to Friday’s sell off and the stock’s 3.69% drop, the yield rose to 4.18%.
My one-hundredth-and-thirty-fourth YouTube video “Quick Pick Middleby” went up today. My Quick Pick this week is Middleby (MIDD), a manufacturer of restaurant equipment. I’ve been following the company for 20 years, during which time they’ve pursued basically the same slow and steady strategy of acquiring smaller players in their market area (where they are the largest player) and them using Middleby’s marketing leverage to grow sales at the acquisition. The stock took a hit on its recent announcement that it expects to feel the impacts of inflation and supply chain difficulties. It’s difficult to catch a falling knife, but I think this stock is a good buy long term and I am adding it back to my 50 Stocks Portfolio, which has a holding period of 5 plus years.
My one-hundredth-and-twenty-eighth YouTube video “Quick Pick Alibaba” went up today. Alibaba (BABA) and other Chinese internet companies have been struggling recently under the pressure of a government crackdown. However, with the slowing of the Chinese economy due to ongoing Pandemic lockdowns, the government has signaled that it will let up a bit on this crackdown (and move to add more stimulus to the economy.) Not surprisingly the shares of these companies have picked up some momentum. This is not a long-term pick–the government can and will reverse this loosening. Get some profits on Alibaba while the getting’s good. (Which is why I’m adding it to my 12-18 month Jubak Picks Portfolio and not by long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio.
The Chinese government has promised more stimulus to prop up growth in the country’s economy and the Politburo has indicated that, at least temporarily, it will slow the pace of its regulatory crack down on China’s Internet companies. The combination, as I posted in today’s Quick Pick YouTube video, has launched a huge rally in China’s Internet and e-commerce stocks. As of 3 p.m. on Friday, April 29, the New York traded shares of Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) wee up 8.95%. JD.com (JD) hadgained 7.72%. And Ablibaba (BABA), the big name among foreign investors and the leading target of government regulators is up 8.26%. On this trend, I’m adding shares of Alibaba to my JubakPicks Portfolio today
Tomorrow I will add shares of Walmart (WMT) to my Jubak Picks Portfolio. The stock is one of the 12 “Recession Picks” in my current Special Report: A Recession is Coming–Three Portfolio Strategies for a Recession; and 12 Recession Stock Picks. Right now I think Walmart’s stock has three things going for it. And only one of those is explicitly linked to a recession, which makes it a great recession stock
