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

They reported a big earnings beat driven by a huge reserve release. Sales disappointed though. Its most important business, consumer & business lending missed too, as did the global markets division. BAC is the most sensitive to interest rates, so the collapse in bond yields makes it difficult for them. This is one to buy,…

(A Top Pick Jul 22/20, Up 46%) Driver remains the insurance operations, which will benefit from rising rates. Suffered in 2020 with a couple of acquisitions, though earnings are starting to rebound. A core holding. Still excellent value.

Trades in USD and CAD. Implied cap rate is just under 5%. Focused on industrial space. Loves that space, tailwinds are immense. Yield is 4.0%. (Analysts’ price target is $24.08)

If we get inflation that translates into higher long term interest rates then it should help insurance companies. It has a big equity portfolio compared to others. The risk-reward ratio is different. He prefers MFC-T.

(A Top Pick Aug 17/20, Up 23%) Pays a nice, growing dividend. He still believes in it. They make good acquisitions in counter-cyclical times.

(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.

Whole industry is mature and grows through consolidation. A local business, so prices are set by marginally small players. Not an area she's interested in. Other industries have more exciting growth opportunities than by acquisition alone.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. Cash position is strong despite revenues falling in 2020 compared to the large order they received in the prior year. Margins have improved. It continues to secure orders. High risk but doing many things right. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

They report Tuesday. He expects amazing numbers given Twitter and Snap's blow-out reports last night. GOOG has a booming ad business, YouTube is gangbusters and their cloud division is hitting.

Rules are different for Chinese and EM stocks. 20% earnings growth. Premier Chinese e-commerce company. Incredibly cheap. Risk is more government intervention. At current valuation, looking out next 5 years, upside seems to outweigh downside, if you can handle the volatility.

AMD has the weakest balance sheet among the semis, but is entering a deal with Xilinx to diversify away from PCs against a resurgent Intel. Xilinx, also, sells chips to different markets--cars, aerospace, healthcare. This deal makes sense.

(A Top Pick May 13/21, Up 18.8%)Stockchase Research Editor: Michael O'Reilly Our PAST TOP PICK with MSFT has achieved our $290 objective. To remain disciplined, we recommend covering 50% of the position at this time and trailing up the stop (from $200) to $265.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. The company has benefitted from the merger between Potash and Agrium and there has been synergy. More cyclical than expected. However the market share, valuation, growth potential and market cap makes it the best bet in the sector. Strong earnings growth is expected and results…

A core intermediate gold producer. They own the largest Canadian gold mine and have a reputation for running high-grade mines like Fosterville in Australia. Their Detour acquisition was meant to stabilize their production base. He believes in management. It's about generating strong free cash flow to fund their new shaft, the Macassa Mine, which is…

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. The recent trend is probably due to the overall market and not specific to the company. Inflation fears are starting to subside over the course of the last weeks. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

Represents the 20+ year maturity of the USD treasuries. You get USD exposure and the long duration exposure. For a Canadian portfolio, if we get a deflationary wave, the USD and long bonds do well.

A strong one. Vanguard and iShares also have offerings. EM can benefit going forward. One of prime beneficiaries of a Covid recovery, steepening interest rates, and a Biden presidency. Allocate more capital to this space.

(A Top Pick Jun 11/20, Up 13%) He sold. Still likes the company, but he had better ideas in the near-term. Windfall last year, as it was an essential retailer. This year, comparisons will lag and some aisles are off-limits as non-essential.

This is a tech, travel and reopening giant that will benefit as more countries allow their people to travel, which will unleash pent-up demand. It's a large travel company that owns Booking.com, Kayak.com, Priceline.com and Rentalcars.com. Use BKNG to book plane tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars, often at a discount. Like all travel stocks,…

Stockchase Research Analyst: Michael O'Reilly DG recently reported EPS at $2.82 versus $2.14 expectations. Higher profit margins helped contribute. Management updated EPS guidance to $9.50-$10.20 for the year, compared to $8.80-$9.50 previously. Analysts target EPS at $9.63. It pays a modest dividend, backed by a 16% payout ratio. We would buy this with a stop…

The market worries all these telcos are overpaying on spectrum. He predicts the Rogers-Shaw deal will happen. The telcos will benefit from 5G and should be held in a TFSA as you collect the good dividends.

Profoundly miss-priced energy stock. Has done a good job with pivoting into the two exciting plays, Clearwater and Charlie Lake. 31% free cashflow yield, which means they can privatize themselves in 3 years. Could easily pay a 5% dividend and buy back stocks with free cashflow left over. Biggest holding for him.

Consolidation of the small and mid-cap names is an important theme. There are better names to own in the space.

(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…