Top 50 Stocks

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: Quick Pick Palo Alto Networks

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: Quick Pick Palo Alto Networks

Today I posted my two-hundred-and-tenth YouTube video: Quick Pick Defiance Palo Alto Networks. This week’s Quick Pick is Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the cyber security software platform company. During this bear market, it’s not surprising to see some stocks down nearly 50% and trading at 30% to40% discounts, but Palo Alto has managed to drop only 8% for 2022 and is trading at a relatively slight 15% discount to fair value, according to Morningstar. While Palo Alto has had its severe dips, it recently bounced back up after announcing very solid earnings. In the quarter sales were up 25% year over year and annual recurring revenue (from SAAS subscriptions) was up 67% and billings were up 27%. Palo Alto covers a lot of areas of cybersecurity, making it a more attractive alternative for enterprise corporations looking to consolidate their security software and move to a one-stop shop that can cover more aspects of their security needs. I’m reluctant to buy anything in this continuing bear market, but would suggest looking at this stock in February 2023 or so, especially if it dips again. Palo Alto Networks is a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio on my two investing sites. The stock is up 108% since I initiated that position on January 21, 2020. The stock is also a member of my Millenial Portfolio on my subscription site JubakAM.com. That position is ahead 41% since May 21, 2021

How sticky is inflation? Very sticky these specific price increases argue, unfortunately.

How sticky is inflation? Very sticky these specific price increases argue, unfortunately.

Not all price increases are equally sticky.

Some jumps in cost are likely to get countered quickly because the goods or services in question exist in highly competitive marketplaces. And competitors are likely to cut prices to gain market share as soon as that’s feasible.

Other prices are sticky and unlikely to get rolled back quickly if at all. Much of this stickiness results from markets that act as oligopolies where companies don’t compete on price but instead follow the lead of their competitors in pricing higher and higher. The stickiness of inflation matters a great deal right now because it’s a big factor for the Federal Reserve in figuring out how many interest rate increases will be necessary to tame inflation. The stickier inflation is the higher the Fed will have to raise interest rates. From this perspective, the recent round of price increases from package shipping companies–from pretty much all of them–is bad news indeed for the Fed and inflation.

So much for that rumor: China rally stalls on new Covid lockdown at Apple iPhone supplier

So much for that rumor: China rally stalls on new Covid lockdown at Apple iPhone supplier

On Tuesday, November 1, Chinese stocks roared back on an unverified online rumor that the government had formed a committee to assess scenarios on how the country could end its Covid lockdown policy. Today, that rally has stopped dead after the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of such a committee and after the government announced a seven-day Covid lockdown at the factory that produces Apple’s iPhone

Microsoft beats but tumbles on showdown in cloud revenue

Microsoft beats but tumbles on showdown in cloud revenue

Microsoft (MSFT) managed to beat Wall Street earnings estimates for its fiscal first quarter, reporting earnings of $2.35 a share versus the $2.29 expected by analysts after the market close on October 25. But the stock is down strongly today, October 26, on the company’s forecast of slowing growth for the next quarter and a decline in growth from its Intelligent Cloud business unit.

Google kicks off Big Tech earnings with a stinker

Google kicks off Big Tech earnings with a stinker

Alphabet (GOOG) reported a drop of 24% in third-quarter earnings after the market closed on Tuesday, October 25. Gross revenue rose just 6% to $69.09 billion. In the third quarter of 2021, revenue grew by just 6% to $69.09 billion from the third quarter of 2021. In that 2021 quarter revenue had grown by 41%. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.25 a share–instead of the reported $1.06 a share.

Selling TSM out of my long-term 50 Stocks and Millennial portfolios on China fears

Selling TSM out of my long-term 50 Stocks and Millennial portfolios on China fears

I hate to do this. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is the premier chip manufacturer in the world and I see the company continuing to grow revenue from the increasing demand for smaller and more powerful chips. And I certainly hate to sell a stock that’s down 46% for the year to date as of the close on October 18. Under ordinary circumstances, I would hold on and ride out the current slump in the semiconductor cycle. After all, we’ve been here before, right? Except that the U.S.-China trade war and the possibility that China will look for a confrontation over Taiwan make the current circumstances anything but “ordinary.”

Selling ASML Holding today in an effort to get ahead of the trade war with China

Selling ASML Holding today in an effort to get ahead of the trade war with China

Today I’m selling ASML Holding (ASML) out of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio. My take on Asmel hasn’t changed: this is one of the key chip equipment companies in the drive to produce smaller and denser chips. What has changed in the market and the global economy. I think that technology, and especially chip stocks, are in a downtrend that has a lot longer to run. And that recent U.S. restrictions on advanced chip technology exports to China will set off a trade war that will come down heavily on companies such as ASML.

Selling ASML Holding today in an effort to get ahead of the trade war with China

It’s a new trade war with China and this one is really, really serious

If you liked the Trump administration’s trade war with China, you’ll love the Biden administration’s new, more dangerous, escalated version. Rather than slapping tariffs on Chinese goods, and inviting retaliatory tariffs by China on American products, the Biden administration war limits the same of advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment to Chines companies. The action is aimed straight at the heart of China’s efforts to build its own chip industry. And it plays right into a belief, stoked by China’s President Xi Jinping, that China is the victim of a Western plot to prevent the country’s rise to its rightful place in the global order. And the opening blows in this trade war come just as President Xi aims to be installed as China’s newest preeminent leader with a status near that of Mao. I don’t know what the retaliation from China will be, but it is unlikely to stop with a few restrictions on how U.S. companies, such as Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) operate in China. The situation is so dangerous because it is so uncertain and so open-ended.

Special Report–10 Perfect Picks: A Different Kind of Perfect Stock for Long-term Investors in a Different Market with first 6 Picks (LNG,FQVLF, ALB, GM (gasp) FREY, and QCOM)

Special Report–10 Perfect Picks: A Different Kind of Perfect Stock for Long-term Investors in a Different Market with first 6 Picks (LNG,FQVLF, ALB, GM (gasp) FREY, and QCOM)

Is there such a thing as a perfect stock? Depends. Not a chance, if you mean a stock that will be perfect in every market for every time period. No way, if you mean a stock that will go up steadily from the day you buy it. Nah, if you mean a “Buy and Hold Forever Stock.” But there are stocks that are “perfect” for a specific kind of market. And there are stocks that are “perfect” for a specific holding period. And there are stocks that are “perfect” for investors with a specific portfolio goal. And in this Special Report, I’m going to give you 10 of those Perfect Picks.