Investment "Logic"

With a holiday shortened week, there wasn't a lot really going on.  Trading was light on volume, and events were virtually non-existant.  We have entered a period of time in the market that has been heavily weighted towards positive gains, though not huge gains.  We see more geopolitical turmoil again, though not enough to make energy surge higher.  Retail in the US is strong, but only in pockets as warm weather makes for difficult apparel sales.  Housing appears to be strong and there's the looming interest rate discussion coming up as well.   The only big event coming in the week ahead will be the November jobs results, which will be announced on Friday.  There will be other government numbers published through the week to keep an eye on, but they typically have little impact past a day or two's worth of trading.   Notes: Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell a

Notes: Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning. Earlier this week, Home Deopt delivered what can only be called an incredible quarter.  The company had sales of $21.8B which turned into earnings of $1.35 per share.  This beat  EPS Estimates of $1.32 on revenues of $21.76B on a quarter that was expected to have harder compares.  Additionally, the key metric for retail - same store sales - was up 5.1% while the US same store sale results were up 7.3%.  These numbers are nothing to slouch at.  The home improvement segment of retail is clearly strong, whereas clothing and other retail appears to be suffering mightily.   With the third quarter's results in, they have also provided guidance for 2015.  Sale

Notes: Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning. On Monday, Isis Pharma announced their third quarter results.  Losses per share came in at $0.30 and revenues were $49.1M.  This had earnings in line with estimates of   $0.31, while revenues were a little lighter than the estimated $52.9M.  Despite the inline to missed numbers, cash reserves increased $50M from the previous quarter, to $800M.  The stock, also, has launched like a rocket and you're looking at an investor trying to stop kicking himself for not following his own rules and buying the stock in the low $40s.  You can't say you had it right if you don't act, but you can certainly be greedy for not buying stock just as much as you can fo

Notes: Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning. Cedar Fair announced their third quarter results on Thursday.  The recorded record revenues of $645M which generated EPS of $2.92.  In addition, they increased their quarterly payout by ten cents, which is a rather significant increase in shareholder distribution.  EPS was a bit below analyst estimates of $3.46 due to currency translation and increased spending, while revenues beat expectations of $633.34M.  This is where EPS is hard to leverage as a gauge for company performance due to the heavy investments that take place to generate revenues.  In these situations, EBIDTA (Earnings Before Interest, Depreciation, Taxes, and Amortization) becomes a key indica

Notes: Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning. Last week On Semi reported their third quarter results, posting $904.2M in revenues and $0.23 EPS.  Earnings were in line with expectations, while revenues were slightly below what was expected of the company.  Additionally, the company repurchased just over $100M worth of stock at a weighted repurchase price of $10.64. The quarter was relatively mixed, as there were unexpected pressures seen in the macroeconomic conditions.  China is a major geographical revenue source and slowdowns were seen there across all of the four business segments.  The fourth quarter isn't looking to be a any stronger as management sees the supply chain working off excess inve