More disruptions to the global chip supply chain-I’ll do some trimming in the sector tomorrow by selling ASML, LRCX, and IFNNY

More disruptions to the global chip supply chain-I’ll do some trimming in the sector tomorrow by selling ASML, LRCX, and IFNNY

Right now investors and traders are getting a crash course in how vulnerable global supply chains are to disruption–especially when they become really extended. And how a supply chain disruption can ripple out in unexpected directions thanks to the complexity of many key products.
First, the Pandemic took a hammer to the complicated logistical systems required to get Commodity A to Sub-assembler B in order to make Consumer good C that would show up for sale around the world. Just in time inventory, it turned out, didn’t work very well when nothing arrived on time. Second, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has–or at least it should have–reminded us that global supply chains can resemble Whack-A-Mole.

My Special Report: When will the selling stop? When to buy? What to buy? Complete with the first 7 of 10 Picks

My Special Report: When will the selling stop? When to buy? What to buy? Complete with the first 7 of 10 Picks

If you worry about what worries me right now, I know what you want to know. When will the selling stop? When will it be a good time to buy “bargains”? And What stocks should you buy when you begin to buy? Those are the three questions that I’ll answer in this Special Report. Along with listing my first three buys on this selling.

Trick or trend: Will the selling spread from high-PE tech stocks?

Trick or trend: Will the selling spread from high-PE tech stocks?

As I noted in my latest YouTube video, selling has been concentrated in the highest PE stocks in the market. The top 10% of the stocks in the Russell 1000 index when ranked by Price to Earnings Ratio were down 7.8% for 2022 as of January 6, according to Goldman Sachs. Not that the rest of the stock market has been sending rose petals our way so far in 2022, but the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down just 1.8% for 2022 as of January 7. The NASDAQ 100 is down 4.8% for 2022 as of January 7–which speaks to the same point.So far, the selling is really a blip for most of the market. But it is serious for technology shares and especially high PE technology shares. So now the question is “Will the selling spread?”

With sell of Apple tomorrow I’ll start to unwind my end of the year rally buys

With sell of Apple tomorrow I’ll start to unwind my end of the year rally buys

When I bought shares of Apple (AAPL) in my Jubak Picks and Volatility Portfolios, I was looking for gains from the end of the year rally (which kind of fizzed out) and the traditional Santa Claus rally (which came through as expected) to drive shares higher in the short term. Since that November 23, 2021 pick, shares of Apple, as of the close today January 4, were up 12% to $179.70, just above my $179 target price for this short-term trade.

Remember that volatility creates volatility–time to look to some tax loss selling (like Nektar)

Remember that volatility creates volatility–time to look to some tax loss selling (like Nektar)

With the VIX “fear index” falling back closer to “normal” levels–it dropped to 21.89 yesterday from 31.12 on December 1–it sure feels like the extreme volatility of the end of November and early December is on the ebb. The move to yesterday’s 21.89 close from December 1 was was a surge of 30% in the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index in a week. This move away from panic follows on a jump in the “fear index” in the week from November 24 to December 1 of 67% in the opposite direction. I’d be surprised if we don’t see another surge in volatility in the rest of December or in January with what promises to be a crazy earnings season, but even if volatility holds at something like today’s level–slightly elevated from the historical averages but in the rough ballpark–don’t forget that volatility has a long tail. Volatility, in fact, creates volatility. And not least of all in individual stocks.

After Friday’s panic selling: My update to the 25 buy on the dip stocks in the Dip-O-Meter

After Friday’s panic selling: My update to the 25 buy on the dip stocks in the Dip-O-Meter

Oddly, the big sell off on Friday hasn’t created as many buys among the 25 stocks in the Dip-O-Meter as you might expect. Part of the reason is that the run up in stock prices in 2021 has been so fast that many stocks are still way above the 2021 lows. It’s hard to call Nvidia (NVDA), for example, a buy on the dip opportunity when the stock even Friday’s 3.58% drop to $315.03, is still way above the 200-day moving average at $190.81. Part of the reason is that, in my opinion, we’re looking at some negative trends in the economy, from the resurgence in Covid infections, and from inflation/interest rates/the Federal Reserve in the first half of 2022. Do you really feel in a rush to buy Disney at $148.11 after Friday’s 2.13% drop to $148.11 when it looks like park attendance is going to get slammed again by the Pandemic? Or MGM Resorts International (MGM)? Part of the reason is that existing negative trends haven’t bottomed out. Volkswagen (VWAPY) doesn’t look like a bargain at $18.50 after Friday’s selling because China’s auto market remains in turmoil, for example. Same with Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) on slumping global copper demand. Which doesn’t mean I’ve got nothing to recommend for buying after Friday.

With sell of Apple tomorrow I’ll start to unwind my end of the year rally buys

Stocks get more extended–and riskier–in some not so obvious ways

In my YouTube video posted today I dismissed (pretty much) my worry that this rally was getting narrower and therefore closer to a nasty end. Nvidia (NVDA), up 8.85% at the close ) I noted had dragged a few chip stocks with it after the company reported a significant earnings beat and increase in guidance yesterday. For the day Qualcomm (QCOM) was up 1.63% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) ahead 1.86%. But stocks as a whole didn’t join in and some recent bellwether stocks actually retreated with Coca-Cola (KO) off 0.96%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) down 1.87%, and Disney (DIS) lower by 1.11%. Not good. What you’d like to see as more stocks join in–the rally gets broader–as prices go up if you’re looking for evidence that a rally might continue for a while. But, I noted in my video, not all is lost. Big tech stocks, which have largely been left on the sidelines in the rally, were up strongly today wit Amazon (AMZN) gaining 3.78% and Apple (AAPL) higher by 3.05%. If this group starts to participate the rally would be likely to have another leg. However, that’s not my only worry about this rally. I’m seeing evidence that the gains being racked up by stocks such as Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Apple are based on increasing vague speculation about trends that are way, way off in the future.

Special Report: It’s a Market Melt Up!!! Ten stocks to buy; when to sell; and strategies for long term portfolios–today the first 4 picks

Special Report: It’s a Market Melt Up!!! Ten stocks to buy; when to sell; and strategies for long term portfolios–today the first 4 picks

Tolstoy was wrong when he wrote at the beginning of Anna Karenina that “All happy stock markets are alike; each unhappy market is unhappy in its own way.” (That’s what it says in the original Russian, I swear.) Truth is that all happy stock markets are different.
There are the long rallies from valuation bottoms that come after a disaster like the Global Financial Crisis and the Great Recession. There are the sharp quick explosive moves higher that come after the passing of a panic with less damage than expected like that after the Pandemic meltdown in the spring of 2020. And, among all the other happy markets, there are the market melt ups that come after a long bull market has already driven valuations to nose-bleed levels. Sometimes that melt up turns out to be the final blow out stage that comes before a big correction–but not always. And sometimes the melt up just drives stocks to a high where they stagnate while fundamentals catch up with prices. I believe we’re in the midst of a market melt up now. In this Special Report I’m going to outline the ways in which this “happy” market is different; give you advice on how to adapt this rally to your portfolio goals; and finally give you 10 picks for profiting from this melt-up.