COMMENT

Market. He thinks it has been a tough season with companies that have not been rewarded for good earnings. Even though companies are reporting 18% revenue bumps before the tax reform benefits, companies are only getting about 1% stock price increases. However, if you miss earnings, stock prices fall by 5% on average. He thinks forward guidance has been very conservative, leaving investors wondering if recent earnings are peak. He thinks there is a range on the S&P500 of about 2600-2800 right now. This is a healthy consolidation of the market. He would put positions on in “leadership areas” at the lower range.

WEAK BUY

He likes medical device manufacturers. It seems they are taking market share in a booming market. They are well diversified. The company continues to put up great numbers.

COMMENT

They are well diversified. Rising interest rates will be good for them. He would lean into the U.S. insurance space as he prefers a little more laser focus. Overall, he would favour investing in US financials, such as Schwab or E-Trade instead of insurance.

RISKY

He has not done a lot of work on this company, but is aware they have been putting up monster earnings results. They are consistent earnings beaters, but when there are not on guidance, it is usually earnings lower than target. This makes the stock too risky for his conservative investments, but would consider it a speculative buy.

BUY

He thinks they are ideally positioned for the movement to cloud based storage. Estimates are that global cloud storage has increased by 90% over the past 18 months. They put up a good earnings surprise and are doing well.

COMMENT

He does not like the materials space right now as there is no upward momentum in this sector presently. Given recent inflation trends, it is not being confirmed with upward price movements. He would not go here.

DON'T BUY

The technical chart is not showing any upward momentum. Policy factors and other issues are not fundamentally supportive. The sector is a bond proxy and this is not the time to be investing in this space as interest rates are moving up. He questions if the dividend is safe. This is not a defensive stock with rising interest rates, which he expects will rise to 4%. Yield 6%.

DON'T BUY

They completed a $5 billion buyback recently. They put up a beat on recent earnings, but there were concerns about future earnings. He does not like the space as there is a wall of sellers to overcome and bio-tech is running out of technical momentum. They have great forecasted cash flow, but watch out if they miss their guidance.

DON'T BUY

They are trying to make inventory more accessible by technology. The pharmacy side of the business is still facing headwinds. The mixed story in a tough sector is making this not very attractive.

DON'T BUY

This is a diversified financial. It has good emerging market exposure. He likes owning financials now, but thinks the valuations are getting too expensive. He would prefer Bank of America with a more US focus and the e-brokers.

BUY

This is a fin-tech company that posted great earnings recently. They are doing well and he likes them. The recent consolidation over the last year allowed them to grow into their multiple. He likes the technical momentum as well.

BUY

He would continue to hold this stock as they are doing everything well. They announced a $100 million share buyback. They put up increased iPhone X sales figures and sees it as the gateway into new tech with augmented reality.

WEAK BUY

They had a good beat on earnings and they seem to be turning the corner. The sector as a whole in the router world is critical to future growth of the internet. He would prefer to diversify his risk through an internet ETF.

PARTIAL SELL

If you are holding a capital gain, he would consider taking some profit. There is commodity pricing pressure with distribution issues. He would move on to greener pastures.

WEAK BUY

The exchange space may face some headwinds from a regulatory perspective. They have enormous amounts of data which people pay for. There may be fewer terminals on desks today; however, when there is tenseness in the market, they make more money. He likes it.