2017 wasn’t a great year for the shares of Starbucks (SBUX). The stock is up just 3.8% in the last year. Shares peaked at $64.57 on June 2, 2017 and then plummeted to $52.70 on August 18. They closed today, January 2, at $57.63. But 2018 looks a lot better. So much better that I’m making Starbucks my sixth pick in my 12 days of Christmas stock picks
I’m making Applied Materials (AMAT) my fifth day of Christmas pick. And I’m adding the stock to my long-term 50 Stocks portfolio today (for purchase on January 2.) Applied boasts an impressive global presence with an installed base of more than 30,000 tools and customer engineers stationed in nearly every chip-manufacturing facility in the world. The relationships that come with that installed base of tool and customer engineers is a huge competitive advantage in designing and introducing new generations of chip-making equipment.
