23 Stock Top Picks and 7 ETF (Nov 30 Dec 6)

Opinion about AAPL-Q: Has incredible gross margins. They just reported a fine quarter, but tariffs in China didn't help. The street perceives that as the last great quarter, so shares fell. Apple is trying to move production from China to India but who know how long it will take. Services revenue disappointed and a monopoly…

Opinion about MA-N: (A Top Pick Jul 25/24, Up 30%) Not as constructive on it, simply because the valuation's been reset. Still a core part of his portfolio, and has been for a decade.

Opinion about ZWU-T: For dividend seekers. Gives you exposure to great Canadian dividend payers like telcos, utilities, pipelines. Lots of diversification, so when a BCE has a bad run you're still generating income.

Opinion about XFR-T: Current yield of 5%. You want floating rates in your portfolio when yields are going up, as it mitigates the negative impact of prices changing. The floating nature means the coupons can set a lot more frequently than would a 10-year bond.If you think about a series of 3-month bonds or other…

Opinion about VGG-T: A global ETF that focuses on dividend growth. In the U.S. market many big companies have global exposure. It is low cost.

Opinion about XLP-N: (A Top Pick Nov 10/23, Up 4%) Will continue to hold. Likes direction of chart. Consumer staples do well regardless of direction of economy. Believes still upside left in stock. 

Opinion about AMLP-N: Above $35, has sold all exposure to AMLP. Closer to $30, it is a good place to enter for a trade. Probably will do well buying dips and selling rallies in the near term. Maximum upside is probably $40. Long term, there are some challenges.

Opinion about XLRE-US: It's all about interest rates. Probably we need to see the 30-year fall below 6.0% to trigger pent-up demand and will likely get it. We're 5 million homes short in the U.S. and have been underproducing for 14 years.

Opinion about XLV-N: He's overweight healthcare and within that is overweight biotech and pharma. There's a reversion to the mean after a brutal election year, but that's always the case. Relief comes when presidential policies are not as dire as expected. These stock have tremendous valuations and pay good dividends and there's growth with aging…

Opinion about BNS-T: Likes it. Their exposure in Latin America offers exposure to copper and other minerals. Management is shifting focus from Latin America to outside that area. He sees success here, and the stock is priced well now. The yield is generous and safe. This could be a core holding.

Opinion about TSU-T: (A Top Pick Sep 10/24, Down 14%) Took write downs on non-core business operations. Now focused on growing highly profitable businesses that are generating very good combined ratios, both in Canada and US. Book value per share has increased. Great buying opportunity. 

Opinion about QQQ-Q: He is seeing growth being the biggest draw down in the market. There are tailwinds for tech so you can look to add if you have a long time frame.

Opinion about RY-T: (A Top Pick Mar 15/24, Up 27%) RY is the least-exposed bank exposed to tariffs. Good. Volatilty in capital markets benefits RY's cap markets division. The dividend is reasonable and now trades at a premium valuation in this sector, but this is deserved.

Opinion about ALL-N: They home and car insurance in North America, doing an amazing job. Over 20 years, they bought back 66% of their shares. At this rate, they will buy the rest in 16 years. Trades at 11x PE with double-digit earnings growth. Insurance rates are rising. (Analysts’ price target is $219.32)

Opinion about TCN-T: The market has punished it too much. It is in the residential rental sector in the U.S., especially in the sun belt. The rentals are affordable and appeal especially to the 35 to 44 year old demographic who want to rent good homes rather than buy. The share price is at a…

Opinion about INVH-N: (A Top Pick Dec 05/18, Up 45%) It's a Blackstone-sponsored company that bought a bunch of single-family homes and rent them out. Blackstone IPO'd this and sold it in tranches over time. Now, the stock has legs and doesn't need the parent's support. They rent to tenants and are adding ancillary businesses,…

Opinion about ARE-N: The largest US office REIT. Used to own it, still likes it alot for owning specialized spaces, like labs for biotechs. But this niche has problems, lacking IPOs and new companies. Is down 20% YTD.

Opinion about CRH-T: He does not own this one, despite the earnings metrics looking solid and there is no net debt. They missed on a recent quarterly earning, but not a bid deal. They are trading at 7 times cash flow and 7 times EBITDA. He would like to see the ROE improve a bit.…

Opinion about BHC-T: Kudos to the new executive at delevering and cleaning things up. Inexpensive valuation. Still a lot of debt. A turnaround story. 3% of your portfolio is a bit heavy. Add some diversity. Had a great move. Be cautious.

Opinion about UNH-N: Major leader in the Medicare space. Recent rare miss on earnings, and he sold just before. Shares now well below 200-day MA, which is starting to trend down a little bit. Earnings growth rate now 6-7% going forward, at 14x forward PE.Very oversold, around 25 RSI. At some point, shares will bottom…

Opinion about CELG-Q: (A Top Pick Dec 03/18, Up 47%) Celgene had made a number of mis-steps, including management applying for multiple FDA approvals. One thing he really liked about the acquisition was the price it was bought. The acquisition by BMY helped them diversify and it seems to be going well.

Opinion about MRK-N: Keytruda is now a decade old, and a lot more competition has come on. Great company. You could probably buy here, but see his Top Picks.

Opinion about PHG-N: Medical equipment. In trouble years ago with large sleep apnea settlement. Struggling since then. With everything down, better places to look.

Opinion about PFE-N: Failure in a couple of drugs. Huge research program; they will find new drugs. Outstanding stock to accumulate because, at some point, they're going to announce a new drug and the stock will pop. Yield is close to 7-8%.

Opinion about NFI-T: Competition has withered away. Pays no dividend. He's held this through some tough periods. The problem with a seat suppliers seems to be resolved. Huge backlog. They can withstand tariffs. If they deliver some buses in Q2, 3 and 4, the stock will look good in 12 months. (Analysts’ price target is…

Opinion about VLN-T: Bought in just before the takeout deal was nixed by the French government. Rocket ride lately on the nuclear bid hype, so he sold. De facto world gold standard in nuclear valves. Cheap vs. tangible book value. May buy again if cheap enough. Sees eventual takeover.

Opinion about 6859-JP: (A Top Pick Jun 02/20, Up 26%) A Japanese company, a leader in test equipment. They are incredibly well positioned without a lot of competition. A global leader. They have zero debt.

Opinion about CHH-T: It is an interesting business. It is specialty pharmacies. They do medication for long term care facilities. They have an interesting pouch technology. They had quite a significant debt load and made a big dent in it when they sold their surgical business. They are trying to pick up new contracts. He…

Opinion about ATD.B-T: Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research EPS of 68c matched estimates; sales of $20.90B missed estimates of $21.21B. EBITDA of $1.64B beat estimates by 3%. Supply-chain optimization could let Couche-Tard maintain fuel profitability across its key markets for the rest of the fiscal year. US fuel margins declined…

Opinion about SU-T: He likes the big integrated names, but doesn't own any oil producers now. His team deemed that group as having first-derivative vulnerability to tariffs on volumes and profitability. Premium brand in the space. He's waiting out some of the volatility on the price of oil before getting back in. Nice dividend.