Apple is a sell at least until its developers conference in June

Apple is a sell at least until its developers conference in June

Apple (AAPL) shares are down 12% for 2024 to date as of March 5. But I don’t think Apple’s troubles are over. And it will take some pretty fast taking at the June WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) to reverse the downtrend in the shares. Absent a knock-it-out-of-the-park performance from CEO Tim Cook, I think the weakness will continue the company’s product announcements in September. And maybe longer. Those of you who have long memories may recall that I sold my shares of Apple in my 12-18 month Jubak’s Picks Portfolio back on September 12, 2023 at $176.30 a share. (I kept my long-term position in Apple in my 50 Stock Portfolio.) That sell turned out to be early. Painfully early. The stock hit a 2023 high of $198 on December 14. And it has only recently moved below my September sell, closing at $169.62 on March 6. But the iPhone China problem that led to that sell call has gotten worse. And since then Apple has developed an AI problem as well. And unfortunately the China problem and the AI problem mix to form an especially potent negative brew.

Don’t stand in front of the Nvidia train right now–shorts lose $3 billion and counting

Get ready for the Nvidia circus

Can you hear the barkers yelling to the crowd? It’s Wall Street analysts rushing to raise their target prices for Nvidia (NVDA) ahead of next week’s quarterly earnings report. On February 21, after the close, Nvidia is expected to report earnings of $4.18 share, up from $0.65 a share in the quarter a year ago, on revenue of $20.5 billion. And even though the stock is up 47% for 2024 as of the February 15 close and up 219% for the last year, Wall Street analysts are rushing to increase their target price on the shares.

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs Pick #5 VWDRY

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs Pick #5 VWDRY

My 10 Penny Stock Homeruns Pick #5: Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY).

Technically, the Vestas Wind Systems ADR (VWDRY) isn’t a penny stock. By the strict definition, a penny stock sells for $5 or less and the Vestas ADR closed on $9.06 today, February 14. But I included Vestas in my previous penny stock list back on July 11, 2022, even though the stock closed at $7.80 that day. With the company reporting a return to profitability for 2023 in its fourth quarter earnings report released today, I think Vestas has (finally) turned the corner. And, frankly, I just don’t want drop it from this list just as things get good again for the company and its investors. (Vestas is a member of my Jubak’s Picks Portfolio. The position is up 65.6% since initiation on March 4, 2019.) Tomorrow, February 15, I’ll also add Vestas to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio.

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs–Pick #2 PILBF

Special Report: 10 Penny Stock Home Runs–Pick #2 PILBF

This one is very simple. When the price of lithium rebounds, high-quality low-cost lithium producers will see the revenue roll in. That’s why I’d got the world’s leading lithium-producer Albemarle (ALB) in my long-term 50 Stock Portfolio. But a smaller, high-quality, low-cost producer like Australia’s Pilbara Minerals will show gains even higher than Albemarle since the current price of $2.29 a share comes close to discounting the company’s survival.

Visa beats but falls on guidance–that’s what “priced for perfection” means

Visa beats but falls on guidance–that’s what “priced for perfection” means

After the close yesterday, Visa (V) reported earnings of $2.41 a share (after adjusting for one-time items) for the December 2023 quarter. (That the company’s fiscal first quarter.) Analysts had been looking for $2.34 a share in adjusted earnings. Revenue grew 8.8% to $8.63 billion, again beating analyst forecasts for $8.55 billion in revenue. Visa said payments volume grew 8%, and that its processed transactions rose 9% in the period. And yet the stock was down $4.70 a share, or 1.72%, to $267.91 at the close today, Friday, January 26. Why?

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

Shares of ASML Holding (ASML) closed up 8.85% today after the company reported record orders for its chip-making equipment in the fourth quarter. ASML sales grew 12.5% year-over-year. And orders more than tripled from the third-quarter. I added shares of ASML Holding to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio on December 12, 2023. The position is up 17.6% since then as of the close on January 24.

ASML–and chip stocks in general–soar on equipment-maker’s big growth numbers

Here’s the 3-year road map for AI hardware–and a buy on AMD

It’s important to remember exactly how young artificial intelligence is as a market product. I certainly don’t think it’s possible to project the long-term winners on either the software or hardware side. Remember the days when Apple (AAPL) thought it was worth buying a Super Bowl add to urge consumers to smash the IBM PC empire? But I do think the hardware road map is petty clear for the next two to three years. Which is why I’m adding shares of Advanced Micro Devices to my portfolios tomorrow.

Special Report: 10 Great Growth Stocks that Are Getting Greater–today my 9th pick PANW

Special Report: 10 Great Growth Stocks that Are Getting Greater–today my 9th pick PANW

GREATER Growth Stock Pick #9: Palo Alto Networks (PANW). I’m not going to try to convince you that shares of cyber-security favorite Palo Alto Networks are a value stock. It trades at 166 times trialing 12-month earnings per share. And I’m not going to try to convince you that this is an undiscovered stock that’s going to sneak up on anyone. The shares was up 111% in 2023. (The stock has been a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio since July 17, 2019. In that time the position is up 296%.) But remember the point of this Special Report–I’m looking for great growth stocks, which aren’t cheap in this market by any means, with catalysts in the next year or two that will push growth higher. And here I think Palo Alto Systems rings the bell three times over.