Latest Stock Buy or Sell? Make More Informed Decisions!

Market. Markets are showing a sign of fatigue after bouncing off the lows of January and February. There was a very sharp rally from January and February bouncing off the 2,100 level on the S&P 500. $14,000 seems to be an overhead resistance for the TSX. The S&P and TSX are trading at around 17-18 times forward earnings. That is a premium to a 10-year average of 14-15 times. We are going to slow down a bit and be range bound, being a little bit bumpy going forward. The earnings picture on the corporate side hasn’t been very good. There are concerns about global economic growth and geopolitical tensions, whether about the UK or things happening in Venezuela. We have a very uneasy US political backdrop as well. There is also the timing of the US Federal Reserve interest rate. He is about 12% in cash. When investing now, you want to be in the high quality, more defensive areas, lower beta type of stock, and that can include consumer staples, utilities, healthcare or telecom. Those types of names tend to be a little more predictable and reliable.

A premier name and doing very well. Getting into baked goods and the juice area. They are expanding their offerings and doing very well with mobile. Customer loyalty program remains pretty strong. There is international expansion going into China, etc. However the chart is starting to roll down a little and its momentum is starting to slow down. He is keep an eye on that. Trading at 26X forward earnings, which represents a growth company. (Early on this year value companies are starting to outperform growth stocks.)

Some of the biotech names, especially some of the larger cap names, represent some decent value for growth prospects they can give you. Trading below the 200 and 50 day moving averages right now, so not very strong from a technical perspective, but he does see a bottoming process. It hasn’t seen the February lows again. Touched down to it in March, but is now a little bit above those levels. He likes the stock.

US banks. Rising interest rates will represent improved profits through higher net interest margins for US banks. The banks haven’t really participated in the rally we have seen since January/February, which is troublesome for the overall market. They represent some decent values, but there is some concern about where the economy interest rates are going. The sector has moved above the 200 day moving average, which is positive.

This has been a great name and has really powered up in the last 6 months or so. Gold has been a very strong mover. However, you have to be careful as to where the US$ is going to start moving, and will that have a negative impact on gold. If interest rates move up this summer, that might put a bit of a dry spell on some of the commodity space. If you own, start using some stop losses to where you want to hold the stock.

This is tricky. There are a few things happening as to where the US$ may go and how it affects international revenues coming in. If the US$ starts to move significantly higher, you may see this company slow down a bit, as they depend on a lot of revenues coming in from outside of North America. However, there are some things the company is working on such as e-commerce, their labour force and increasing their minimum wage. It looks a little pricey to him, so he doesn’t own it.

Consumer staples sector in Toronto has done extremely well. When you go into May-October, you tend to see consumer staples, healthcare and utilities outperform. They tend to have a higher dividend. However, some valuations tend to be a bit higher.

The chart is starting to look a little rough. The 200 day moving average is falling and the stock is below the 200-day, 100-day and 50-day averages. The concern is how much further can the iPhone actually go. It represents two thirds of their revenues, which is very significant. If Apple does not succeed in China, it is going to spell a little bit of trouble for the company in terms of growth. The years of its extreme growth may be behind it. Right now he is looking for an exit point.

This stock has been tough. Down 83% in the last 12 months, and hit a brand-new all-time low today at $8.62. From his perspective there is no earnings. It is difficult for him to understand the product. Feels it is a bit of a niche product.

Used to own this. As an insurer, it will do a bit better with rising interest rates, but on a technical basis, it is below the 200 day moving average, and that continues to fall. Be careful of this one. Pretty cheap at 8X forward earnings probably a 9%-10% growth rate, but until it changes in terms of its technicals, he is not going to own it. Nice dividend of 3.6%.

(A Top Pick May 21/15. Up 27.36%.) Sold his holdings at the $92 level last month, because it was heading back to its highs, and he thought it was a bit of a double top. He is going to wait and see if it comes down into the low $80s before he picks it back up again. A bit expensive at 25X forward earnings and a 17% growth rate.

(A Top Pick May 21/15. Down 10.89%.) Got stopped out last August around this price level. Very cheap at 5X forward earnings with a 9% growth rate and a dividend at 5%. However, it has not done very well. Expects the market is concerned about the auto market maturing. Also there is very anaemic looking growth globally.

(A Top Pick May 21/15. Up 14.1%.) One of his favourite airlines. If the US$ starts to appreciate, this is a name that is going to start becoming important again. You want a name that is mostly domestic or US$ centric in terms of revenues. This has the best balance sheet out there. Very low debt to capital ratio.

A basket of midstream and infrastructure energy names. Pays about a 9% dividend yield. Has gotten beaten up quite dramatically, but has started to recover from its February lows. If you think the energy sector is recovering and stabilizing, this might be a good name to hold for income and capital appreciation.

BMO S&P/TSX Laddered Preferred (ZPR-T) or iShares S&P/TSX preferred (CPD-T)? The only difference between these 2 is that this one probably has a little bit more in rate reset preferred shares. Those are the shares that will do well when interest rates start to move higher. The both are very similar though. There is going to be some volatility in the preferred share market.