Latest Stock Buy or Sell? Make More Informed Decisions!

AWS has real growth potential. Ad revenue up ~20%, AWS and cloud services up ~19% last quarter. Prime subscription prices increased again. Firing on all cylinders. Capital expenditures on employees is a long-term positive, you want to invest in your workers. No dividend.

It will go down only 9 more points. The new CEO needs to invest AI, cut overhead and increase profit. 

He liked it when they were paying a 3-5% dividend yield, but not at the current 2.5%. The stock has had too big a move up.

He believes in the CEO. Shares are up 10% and expects it to reach $61-62.

It is a meme stock and has momentum because retail investors keep piling into it. It's not so much a stock, but a barometer of enthusiasm of a business that may or may not be doing well.

Is good to own with our without rate cuts.

Yesterday, CRM launched their AI tool, AgentForce. Shares sank today when the Fed cut 50 bps, but CRM shares will shine on other days because of this AI tool. AF could be a game-changer. The CEO has introduced many products, but seems most excited about this and many companies have already signed up for it.

The acquisition was actually announced in April, ans is just moving towards completion now. Business-wise, we think it is a decent deal to combine the two companies, gain synergies and get a better valuation as a larger company. BUT....it was a very big premium for the deal, and the deal will see EFR issue a lot of new shares. This is what concerned investors, we believe, and the stock is down 33% YTD. The sector has struggled somewhat, but EFR has lots of cash and is expected to be profitable next year. We do not like the momentum, but it looks better at the lower price. For those who really want exposure to the sector we would be OK with a started position today. 
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We would be comfortable slowly accumulating before the election. Typically, markets tend to fall a bit right before the election, and move higher once the uncertainty of the new President has passed. But, many of these things cannot be timed properly, and thus we would be comfortably accumulating here.
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REAL has had a difficult time since its IPO, but its earnings results are beginning to improve, growth is expected to pick up, and with a declining interest rate environment, it could see market tailwinds. It has slowed down on share buybacks and earnings estimates have been falling. We would like to see its earnings estimates pick back up, but with that said, growth is still expected to be strong. Its valuation is OK, but we think a pullback might be warranted after its strong recent run, and overall, the name is not as attractive as it initially was at IPO. We think it can do OK, but its track record has not been excellent.
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Manulife (MFC) vs. Sun Life (SLF):

Manulife (MFC)

Manulife Financial (MFC) is a Canadian multinational financial services company that operates under ‘Manulife’ in Canada and Asia, and through its John Hancock division in the US. It offers services include life insurance, wealth management, and investment services to individuals and businesses. 

Sun Life (SLF)

Sun Life Financial (SLF) is a financial services company that offers savings, retireent, and pension products globally. Its operations include five business segments: Asset Management, Canada, US, Asia, and Corporate. Its services include life insurance, health insurance, and investment management. 

Looking at valuation, we can see that both names are trading at similar levels (SLF at 11X forward earnings and MFC at 10X forward earnings). Although, SLF has been trading at a premium valuation relative to MFC over the past few years, and we think that MFC’s recent strong execution has caused it to re-rate. Both names have similar dividend yields (around the low 4% level). We can see how since early 2024, MFCs returns have begun to take off, and this is largely attributable to a combination of a previously cheap valuation and execution in cost management. 

Both names have performed well over the years and have sustainable dividend policies, but recent performance has begun to shift from prior years. We think with declining rates, that both of these names have certain tailwinds, particularly in the asset management space, but MFC has shown strong execution in its recent earnings results. We think that investors looking for a strong momentum play and a larger name might prefer MFC today, however, for a more conservative play, we give SLF the edge due to its longer track record of success in margin expansion, causing it to trade at a premium to MFC, and its generally lower levels of volatility. 
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