25 Stock Top Picks and 4 ETF (Jan 4-10)

Their big competitor, Intel, disappointed with their report, but he expects AMD to blow away when it reports next week. Xilinx wants AMD to pay a big premium as AMD buys, it, but he doesn't think AMD's CEO (whom he admires) will accept that.

As long as you have the ability to take market share and you're not too exposed to Covid, markets have rewarded. Haven't seen that with Visa. Cross-border shopping is down. But outstanding growth runway. Will move much higher. Core holding.

(A Top Pick Jan 09/20, Down 20%) Orders have slowed down a bit. High quality name. Stock got a bit ahead of itself. What they do is mission-critical. Significant holding for her. Covid delayed projects, but they'll resume and business will improve from here.

(A Top Pick Oct 18/19, Down 64%) He recommended this long before Covid. Still owns it. The oil industry has been decimated and hard to get excited over.

(A Top Pick Jan 08/19, Up 13%) We are starting to see a bit of a recovery in the oil price and in the demand. This is an interesting company to watch.

(A Top Pick Nov 15/19, Down 31%) There were talks of expanding outside of Colombia during better times last year. MNA is no longer a priority. They are trying to maximize their share buybacks. A net cash, debt free company, which is a good position. The valuation is less attractive than others.

Insiders are buying more of the stock. They sold their primary asset. It's up to the team to show that the rest of the assets are as good quality. The streets are sceptic. If the well economics are the same, we will see a rerating.

An income stock. Yield is about 8%, and thinks the dividend is safe. Payout ratio from operations is around 70%. Anything energy is out of favour. Disconnect between fundamentals and valuation. Attractive here. Reaffirmed cashflow targets for the year. It does have higher debt, but it continues to be investment grade.

ETF recommendation? There are a number of them out there. The ones he uses add diversification and are used primarily as a short term trading vehicle for him. He mostly uses SOXX, IGV and FDN.

Brazil is the one country with a growing PMI. This economy could do very well.

If you are getting exposure to US energy, he expects US pipelines to be at capacity so playing it through the MLP is a good strategy. The dividend cut was in response to the pressure on energy price. He owns for the yield and not cap gains.

(A Top Pick May 07/20, Up 8%) Healthcare sector is a bit exhausted right now, and seeing relative weakness. He's walked back from it a bit. Coming up to an election, healthcare can become a political football.

He would stay away. It did not work out for him in 2017. 2018 was a great year for movies but the stock continued to go down. The sentiment was really weak and today they are in a more difficult situation. They still have to service their debt with all their theatres shut down.

(A Top Pick Oct 25/19, Down 3%) Theme parks and cruises brought it down. They have no revenue streams from these but it is almost what it was before the pandemic. They pushed more content through their Disney Plus. He would continue to buy it on dips.

Luxury hotels. The stock has flatlined due to worries over the coronavirus. They are selling their hotels for management contracts. They are using the cash to buy back stocks. He sees it trading over $100. A well-run business with the family having a lot of stocks. (Analysts’ price target is $86.13)

(A Top Pick Oct 04/19, Down 5%) Will be opening all resorts in the Fall. Has both day use and overnight properties. Unique properties. Pleasantly surprised by its recovery since March. Can increase revenues by increasing prices and expanding services to its current user base.

(A Top Pick Sep 16/19, Up 5%) Loves it and bought more at $15. They have massive growth potential. They have over 100 store locations targeted in the US. About 30% of sales are online and the stores will catch up as stores reopen. He targets $25-30 and a long-term grower.

HD vs. Lowes He's come close to buying HD in the past. It pays a 2.1% yield vs. Lowes' 1.3%, and HD boasts better metrics elsewhere. Key point it that scale matters in this business, and the 3x bigger HD enjoys a size advantage and has a wider moat (can get better pricing and service…

The cruiselines have really roared back. RCL is the biggest and has the best balance sheet among the big three cruiselines. Down the road, we'll be back on cruises and revenues will return. He likes this business and it will survive. But don't buy 30% of travel, but rather 5-15%. RCL is a quality name…

Just because interest rates are low, it does not necessarily mean that it is all bad for financial institutions. The rate curves have been steepening which bodes well for banks in net interest rate margins. We will see a return of financials with a gradual return. There has also been good off-set from the sales…

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. It has better yield than some other banks and is slightly cheaper. It has underperformed but historically the worst performer during a period turns better in the next period and reverts to the mean. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

(A Top Pick Oct 09/20, Down 1%) Still likes it for new client money. Global. Diversified. Likes the Oaktree Capital acquisition. Lots of liquidity to take advantage of opportunities. More growth oriented than a big dividend.

Bad news is outside margin pressure in US. Dividend is great, not going away. Terrific balance sheet. Earnings were in line last quarter. Pretty good valuation. Expensive relative to its peers, but exceptionally well run. We're at the bottom of the cycle. Concern is credit. With a better economy, should do very well.

Telco sector has lagged from the March lows. More of a value and dividend play. Yield now is 7.8%, and is that sustainable? He owns Verizon.

(A Top Pick Jul 31/18, Up 10%) A core name, still likes it and they own it. Industrial gas company, everything from oxygen for hospital to hydrogen needed to refine oil. Made a major acquisition in the U.S in 2016, heavily weigthed to the U.S. Reports in Euros so it uses U.S dollar strength to…

(A Top Pick Jan 09/19, Down 69%) He exited. They were likely undercapitalized, so couldn't endure any hiccups, probably overoptimistic and did not issue the best guidance. There is new management. The asset remains good, though. Their project is in northern Ontario, probably run on a shoestring budget at first, then ran out of money.…

Doesn't own any base metal stocks. Chosen to stay away from very cyclical areas of the market. Recessionary environment, so tends to be oversupply for some time. An uneven recovery. You need not only China to recover, but also Europe, etc.

ABT vs. JNJ Similar businesses. You absolutely need exposure to healthcare. He holds JNJ for the dividend aristocrat qualities. ABT has been impressive. Testing platform has been phenomenal and will continue to ramp up. It's a great addition to portfolios at these levels. Tough choice between the two, but ABT probably has more immediate upside.

It has really been bankrupt for year, if not for continual government bailouts. Get out of this position. Think of quality US names right now.