23 Stock Top Picks and 2 ETF (Jan 18-24)

Very interested in US banks, especially at these levels. Pulled back from $30s. Headwinds right now. Raising rates so quickly makes waves, which impact large financial institutions. Less than 0.9x book value. Capturing regional deposits. Executing well. A reasonable holding, not in as bad shape as Canadian banks.

(A Top Pick Jun 21/22, Up 33%) Continually outperforms the rest of the world. Cash hoard of $150B, so they can jump first on any opportunities. Transition to a younger management team is being really well executed. Unique business.

(A Top Pick Jan 12/21, Up 48%) Great-managed REIT. Taken out.

P&C insurance is doing very well, though this year is tougher than most because of catastrophic losses. So they raise their prices. One of the lower combined ratios in the space. Benefits from higher interest rates. Outlook is for double-digit returns over the next several years.

Interest-rate sensitive, sector's out of favour. More debt, because they invest in hard assets. Generates steady stream of cashflow, indexed to inflation over time. Look at cashflow from operations to assess. Distribution safe. Likes the space, keep holding.

(A Top Pick Jan 22/19, Up 36%) There is some cyclicality in robotics in Japan, but they are one of two world leaders. He still owns it.

Classified as an industrial, but it doesn't have cyclicality. Zero product obsolescence. Sold WCN in favour of this one.

Software-centric sensors for underwater. Two sides: sensor and power. Military, government, research companies are potential customers. Recent US $1.5M contract. Very illiquid. Almost a double from here to the price target. Buy in thirds at $0.52, 0.45, and 0.40. (Analysts’ price target is $0.96)

(A Top Pick Sep 20/22, Up 30%) Core tech holding. Pulling in expenses, improving operating margins. Generative AI tools will be very competitive. Cloud business growing nicely at 28% YOY, which will continue. Very profitable, strong balance sheet, lots of cash.

Just bought Skyworks and Alibaba. China is a great contrary play, and BABA is cheap. Skyworks is in every smart phone in the world, and they've been re-rated 50%. They boast attractive demographics and valuation. 

The Xilinx-AMD merger, which is supposed to close by year's end. Whoever owns Xilinx will make a lot of money. He recommends AMD over Xilinx, because he doesn't like arbitrage risk. Take some profits on Xilinx.

Together with GOOG, very much a leader in the AI space. A Top 5 holding. 

He has added more with the pullback. It has exposure to other fertilizers besides potash. Headwinds from the springtime are lessening and fertilizer demand is good for the long term.

(A Top Pick Feb 25/21, Up 15.3%)Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O’Reilly With the recent completed acquisition by AEM now official, we now consider this position closed. When combined with the previous recommendation to cover half the position, this results in a net investment gain of 22%.

China demand will affect business.Current share price does not justify investment.Hard to predict outcome of business. Cyclical commodity that is hard to earn profits in. 

(A Top Pick Apr 25/23, Down 6.5%)Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O'Reilly Our PAST TOP PICK with TLT has triggered its stop at $100.  To remain disciplined, we recommend covering the position at this time.  This will result in a net investment loss of 6%, when combined with our previous recommendations.

(A Top Pick Jan 16/20, Down 6%) He doesn't hold stocks for long, maybe 3 to 6 months. He trades them and that is how the money is made.

Phenomenal. Well managed, continues to execute. Trend toward dollar stores with inflation being high. Continues to expand, gain market share, and increase geographic footprint. Wait for a pullback, buy, and then keep holding.

The former Priceline (and currently owns several online travel companies) is noted for its share buybacks (buying 8% of shares this year). Shares are up 52% this year.

The dollar stores have reported disappointing numbers recently, triggering a long sell-off.

(A Top Pick Sep 20/22, Down 6%) Chosen for defensive income. All telecoms have faced headwinds from interest rates, regulatory concerns, and increased competition. No one's gone super price-competitive yet. Immigration a positive. Capital spending on fibre should trend down next couple of years. Happy to hold. Yield just over 7%.

Questions on drill results and quality of acreage.Has owned shares in the past.Prefers Headwater Exploration.

Good exposure to multi-lateral drilling. So you get better productivity for a slightly higher cost. Excellent results. Assets are very good. Dividend is safe. A patient hold. Upside once mid-caps are in favour again. See his Top Picks.

(A Top Pick Aug 13/18, Down 61%) They disenfranchised the Canadian shareholders. He sold out sooner before the de listing, so did not do as badly, nor did his subscribers. He disagrees with their move.

Debt concerns? BXE took bankruptcy protection when debt became too much. There is no equity value in it any longer. Companies that have debt that matures in 2020 or 2021 will have issues. He sees no issues with BIR or TVE on this topic. The new Federal relief program for large companies may be difficult…