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My pick for rising farm commodity prices is Deere; adding it to Jubak Picks Portfolio

My pick for rising farm commodity prices is Deere; adding it to Jubak Picks Portfolio

Wheat prices hit new highs at $7.46 a bushel at the end of April. That the highest since February 2013. Corn climbed to a new eight year high. The day soybeans rose for a tenth straight session to reach on eight year high.
When the prices of farm commodities climb, it’s tough times ahead at the grocery store for consumers. But it’s good times ahead for farmers and that means increasing sales of tractors and other farm equipment for Deere (DE). I’m adding the shares to my 12-18 month Jubak Picks Portfolio

Trick or Trend: The secret message in the first quarter’s 6.4% GDP growth–buy stocks in the service sector for the June quarter

Trick or Trend: The secret message in the first quarter’s 6.4% GDP growth–buy stocks in the service sector for the June quarter

When it comes down to company earnings, we’re seeing a huge lag in revenue growth for companies in the service sector. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (WH),for example, which reported first quarter results today, April 30, saw revenue fall to $303 million in the first quarter of 2021 from $410 in the first quarter of 2020. But, and I think this is the clear implication of the first quarter GDP numbers, those service companies will close that gap in the June quarter as companies open more services–Disney (DIS) opened its California theme parks today, for example–and consumers feel safer in going to theme parks or restaurants or gyms.

Well, DUH! Earnings are beating Wall Street’s forecasts by a record margin this quarter

Well, DUH! Earnings are beating Wall Street’s forecasts by a record margin this quarter

Data from Refinitiv published yesterday show that companies are beating estimates at a historic rate and that the amount by which they are beating projections is also at a historic high. Of the Standard & Poor’s 500 companies reporting so far, 86.8% have beat Wall Street projections. The average beat is a huge 23.5%. According to Refinitiv (where data goes back to 1994) that’s the highest percentage of companies to beat estimates for a quarter on record and also the largest average beat on record. Three things to think about.

Call it the Apple problem although it isn’t limited to Apple: Skyworks post-earnings tumble is example of the market’s huge expectations worry

Call it the Apple problem although it isn’t limited to Apple: Skyworks post-earnings tumble is example of the market’s huge expectations worry

After the close yesterday, April 29, Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), a key Apple supplier and a maker of radio frequency chips for smartphones and WiFi networking equipment, reported earnings of $2.37 a share on sales of $1.17 billion for quarter that closed on April 2 2021. That beat–slightly–Wall Street projections for earnings of $2.35 a share and sales of $1.15 billion. Year over year Skyworks earnings climbed 77% and sales rose by 53%. And what happened to the stock in after-hours trading? It got punished. Shares dropped to $183.37, a loss of $14.49 a share from the day’s close at $197.86. That’s a loss of 7.32%. In a market driven by expectations for constantly higher growth, I think you can see the problem.

Selling Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold out of Jubak Picks on valuation

Selling Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold out of Jubak Picks on valuation

Copper has rallied–again–to a new 10-year high and that has taken Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold to $39.53 today, April 28, as of 3:50 p.m.. That’s above my target price in my Jubak Picks Portfolio of $34. So today I’m selling this position. The stock is up 39.34% as of 3:50 p.m. New York time since I added it to the portfolio on January 6, 2021. I still have substantial exposure to copper through my positions in Southern Copper (SCCO) in my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio and in my Dividend Portfolio.

Selling Intuitive Surgical out of Jubak Picks as it holds above target price

Selling Intuitive Surgical out of Jubak Picks as it holds above target price

Today, April 28, I’m selling Intuitive Surgical out of my Jubak Picks Portfolio with a 9.39% gain since February 15. I think the shares are fully valued here (or perhaps over-valued if there is such a thing anymore in this market) and I’d like to have some more cash just in case”something” creates a little volatility in the financial markets.

Microsoft’s earnings report:  When great isn’t good enough

Microsoft’s earnings report: When great isn’t good enough

Great wasn’t good enough for a stock that had climbed 10.6% in the last month, 17.84% for 2021 as of the close on April 26, and 51.07% in the last year. And Microsoft shares fell in after-hours trading after reporting earnings and revenue above Wall Street estimates. Does the drop set the stage for other BIG TECH stock reporting this week–Alphabet (GOOG) today, Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) tomorrow, and Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday.

Vaxart up almost 50% today (as of 2 p.m. before closing up 37.46%) on what?

As of 2 p.m. New York time, Vaxart (VXRT), a biotech developing a coronavirus vaccine in a pill, was up 48.26% to $9.04. It closed up 37.46% The stock had traded 151 million shares as of 2 p.m., about 11 times the average volume over the last 60 days. I think what we’re seeing is another one of those speculative moves built on a possible news event–Vaxart has announced a webinar for May 3 that is expected to include the release of new Phase 1 data on the efficacy of its Cover-19 vaccine in a pill–plus a plausible story–a vaccine in a pill would be exactly what India needs to stop its current pandemic surge and a vaccine in a pill would be helpful in convincing some of the vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated (no needle)–plus a big short position. According to Seeking Alpha short positions account for about 20.4% of total outstanding shares.

Intuitive Surgical earnings surprise as recovery from pandemic faster than expected

Intuitive Surgical earnings surprise as recovery from pandemic faster than expected

Yesterday, April 20, after the market close Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) reported first quarter GAAP earnings of $3.51 a share, $1.47 a share above Wall Street estimates. Non-GAAP earnings of $3.52 were 89 cents a share above analyst expectations. Revenue for the quarter climbed to $1.3 billion, up 18% from the first quarter of 2020. In 2020 sales of the company’s robotic surgery systems, dropped to $4.4 billion from $4.5 billion in 2019 as hospitals halted elective surgeries during the pandemic. I added the shares to my Jubak Picks Portfolio on February 15, 2021 on expectations with in a post-vaccine global economy sales of its da Vinci Surgical Systems would rebound strongly. In the first quarter the company shipped 298 de Vinci systems versus 237 in the first quarter of 2020. As of 3:45 p.m. New York time today, Intuitive Surgical share were up 9.50% to $888.10. That exceeds my target of $860 a share and I’ll be looking to sell the shares sometime in the next couple of weeks after I’ve received the full benefit from a positive earnings season for BIG TECH stocks.

Microsoft’s earnings report:  When great isn’t good enough

What a difference a week makes: stocks look ahead to BIG TECH earnings next week

Today, April 21, as of 3 p.m. New York time, the major indexes were on track to break their three-day losing streak. At 3 p.m. the Standard & Poor’s 500 was ahead 0.65% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.74%. The NASDAQ Composite was higher by 0.73% and the small cap Russell 2000 had moved up 1.94%. Why the big change in tone from earlier in the week?