Stocks, technology and everything in between

Selling STLD and Buying back VGR

2007-12-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

I am taking my gains from Steele Dynamics as it has crossed my target price.

I am getting back into VGR with the pull back that happened yesterday ... this stock has great yield.

Adding 5 stocks for the long term

2007-12-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Adding the following stocks for long term growth:

The Shaw Group - SGR
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. - FCX
ConocoPhilips - COP
Raytheon - RTN
VMWare - VMW
Hudson City Bankorp - HCBK

I think all these stocks have great growth prospects and with the recent pull back, this is a great time to buy

Selling YHOO

2007-10-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Yahoo has had a good run ... I am taking my profits and moving on. With Google heading for new dizzying heights I am nervous about Yahoo's return in the short term.

Selling Frontier Oil Corporation

2007-09-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Having gone past my target price of $40 by a loooong margin. I sold FTO today for a gain of over 37%.

Adding Citigroup

2007-09-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Now looks like a great time to buy Citigroup. Stock is near its 52 week low - pays a dividend of 4.6% and Citigroup isnt going away anytime soon with a market cap of 233B :)

Selling Maxwell Technologies

2007-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

The stock has jumped back up over 35% so i am selling and taking my gains.

Adding Maxwell Technologies

2007-08-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Maxwell has lost over 15% value in the last week itself. I am adding it to my portfolio with a target price of $17

Adding FTO and Selling UNFI

2007-08-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here is what Jubak says ... and I agree.
Refining margins continue to soar which should generate a huge cash flow at Frontier Oil (FTO). At the end of the first quarter the company's cash balance was $455 million, more than twice the level of the same quarter in 2006. But it's the future opportunities that the company has to put that current cash to work that I find most attractive at a time when the oil industry as a whole is struggling to find a place to reinvest its profits. The company expanded capital spending by 67% in the first quarter to add capacity to its existing Kansas and Wyoming refineries. In addition, Frontier Oil kicked off 2007 by buying a small ethanol blender giving the company added capacity in that growing market. The long-term future is even more interesting: As more oil flows south from Alberta's oil sands, the Rocky Mountain West will go from being a refining backwater to one of the most promising opportunities for expansion in the industry. Since Jubak added the shares of Frontier Oil to Jubak's Picks with a target price of $57 a share by March 2008, the stock is down by over 25% and is an excellent time to get in.

I am taking my gains with UNFI and moving on ... the recent sell off has created a lot of opportunity to buy and hold.

Adding Yahoo

2007-08-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

The company has strong brand and is THE portal for the world's internet users. They'll always be around and they'll learn how to make more and more money off the net and it's users in good time.

Buying Bebe

2007-07-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

Considering this stock has lost almost 17% in the last 6 months and summer = shopping for women :) ... I have added this to my portfolio as of Friday

Goldcorp Inc

2007-07-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I am selling Goldcorp and taking my 10% gain

Five Ways to Keep Inflation at Bay

2007-07-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting article from Businessweek that I am just summarizing here.

Five ways that investors can protect their portfolios from the harmful effects of inflation are:

1. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities
Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, were created in 1997 to enable investors to avoid having the real returns on their bonds eroded by rising inflation and interest-rate levels. The coupon on the bonds is fixed, but investors get an extra kick: The principal amount on TIPS is increased periodically to keep pace with changes in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. Its interest payment is calculated on the inflated principal, which is eventually repaid at maturity. The yield to maturity on the the 10-year TIPS is 2.71%.

2. TIPS Bond Funds

One disadvantage of owning TIPS individually is that investors are taxed on any increase in principal as if they were receiving it today, even though they won't realize that income until the bond matures, says Matthew Tucker, who heads the investment solutions group at Barclays Global Investors. Investing in bond funds allows people to receive their income in the same tax period in which they're being taxed on it.

3. Laddering Bonds

Apart from TIPS, if you're investing in individual bonds and have some concerns about inflation, the recommendation is to stay short in duration. One way to do that is to buy what's called a "ladder" of individual bonds that mature at different intervals over time.

4. Commodity-based Stocks and Funds

Investors can also hedge inflation by betting on stocks of companies that hold reserves of commodities whose prices you believe will continue to rise.

5. Closed-end Funds

There are also several closed-end funds whose primary objective is to maximize income and capital appreciation over time.

I personally prefer would prefer commodity-based stocks although if I can achieve a 10% return over 12-18 month horizon, I dont see how inflation would affect me so long as I reinvest the gains.

Adding Duke Energy, Selling CDE

2007-07-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Adding Duke Energy (DUK) to the portfolio. Main reasons for adding are
1. The stock is down almost 12% in the last three months
2. The company has been 21 cents a quarter.

Selling CDE. It is up 11% in three months. Taking the gains

Investment Philosophy

2007-06-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of months I have tried to find stocks that have good fundamentals but due to market sentiments posted huge (10% plus) price drops in a day. The idea is that eventually the price climbs back up if the stock is good and its a good way to make a quick buck.

STEC and BRNC worked for me but SIRF has slid further down since I bought it. I am taking my gains for STEC and moving on.

Bronco Whole Foods and Pfizer

2007-06-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of updates this week:

Bronco Drilling, which dropped by 12.5% in a day has climbed back upto its origindal price and I am selling and taking the 10% gain in a month.

Whole Foods Market Inc has hit close to my buy target and I am buying it at $40.08. This is a stock I intend to hold long ... it is in Jubak's Future Fantastic 50 Portfolio.

Pfizer has slumped to my buy target. I am buying it, again with medium to long term horizons. This stock also pays 3.94% dividend and can be classified as an income stock.

Headwaters Incorporated

2007-05-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

I believe now is a good time to buy HW. It has lost 30% in the last one year and is still in Jubak's picks with a target price of $32 by December. I am willing to hold out longer if needed

Tracking Pfizer

2007-05-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Pfizer seems like it is headed down in the short term. Keep track of it and get in at the right time.

Adding United Natural Foods

2007-05-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wherever you run into organic produce, chances are it got there thanks to United Natural Foods. The company is the largest national distributor of organic and natural foods, offering more than 40,000 products from 17 distribution sites nationwide. It serves the gamut of clients, from Whole Foods and Wal-Mart to small specialty retailers, so it seems positioned to profit from growth in demand for organic products wherever it may occur. It faces no significant competition: Wild Oats, a natural foods chain that recently agreed to be acquired by Whole Foods, contracted with a rival distributor in 2002, but brought its business back to UNF three years later.

Added Goldcorp, STEC Inc and Sirf Tech

2007-05-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

STEC posted a 20% drop in a day. In line with my philosophy of buying fundamentally strong stocks with huge drops this looks like a good buy.

I also added Goldcorp and Sirf Tech to my portfolio.

Vector Group Reports First Quarter 2007 Financial Results

2007-05-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

First quarter 2007 revenues were $133.9 million, compared to revenues of $117.7 million for the first quarter of 2006. The Company recorded operating income of $25.7 million for the 2007 first quarter, compared to operating income of $20.2 million for the first quarter of 2006. Net income for the 2007 first quarter was $23.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared to $10.0 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the 2006 first quarter. The 2007 results included an approximate $19.6 million pre-tax gain related to the Company's previously announced NASA settlement.

For the three months ended March 31, 2007, the Company's conventional cigarette business, which includes Liggett Group cigarettes and USA brand cigarettes, had revenues of $132.8 million, compared to $115.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006. Operating income was $35.5 million for the first quarter of 2007, compared to $30.4 million for the first quarter of 2006.

News - Goldcorp

2007-05-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Goldcorp 1st-qtr profit jumps on Glamis takeover. Goldcorp earned $124.9 million, or 18 cents a share, in the period ended March 31. That compares with a profit of $92.4 million, or 27 cents per share in the year-before period. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected, on average, profit of 18 cents per share in the quarter. Gold production surged 89 percent in the quarter to 558,000 ounces from 295,100 ounces, helped by the inclusion of Glamis and of mines acquired last year from Placer Dome. Cash costs were $181 per ounce, Goldcorp said. Operating cash flow rose to $122.6 million from $74.4 million, while revenue jumped by 77 percent to $505.6 million. The company said it expects to produce about 2.5 million ounces this year, a slight dip from previous estimates of 2.6 million ounces. Cash costs are expected at $150 per ounce.

Added Bronco Drilling Company to the portfolio

2007-05-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

This stock just lost 12.5% in a day because of flat earnings in Q1. This is an excellent time to get in with a target price of $19

Icahn Fails to Win Motorola Board Seat

2007-05-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Icahn seems to have failed to win a seat on Motorola board. This buys Ed Zander time till the end of the year to make changes. I am not sure at this stage how this will affect the stock price.

Results of Icahn's showdown with Motorola could take weeks

2007-05-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

For months, Carl Icahn has been waging a not-so-quiet campaign to get a seat on Motorola board. Apparently, it may be weeks before the we find out if his down-to-the-wire proxy battle full of letters, press releases and advertisements was enough to win support of investors.

As things stand ...
California Public Employees' Retirement System said it would support the company's incumbent slate of directors.
ClearBridge Advisors, which owns 2.2 percent of Motorola's shares, said Friday it would support the activist shareholder in his bid for one of 13 seats on the company's board.

General speculation seems to be that Icahn will win a seat.

I own a few shares in Motorla and am not happy about the decline of 30% since October. I'd like to see a shakeup of management and would definitely want to see Icahn get a seat.

Stocks to keep an eye out for... (Motorola, Infosys)

2007-05-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Motorola (MOT) looks like a good buy right now ... this stock has dropeed over 30% in price from a high of $26.30 from October last year. A major factor on where this stock goes will be today's election of Carl Icahn the billionaire who has a stake of 2.9%. Speculations are that if he doenst win then Motorola's price could be fall to as low as $13. If that does happen, that presents a great buying opportunity.

Another stock that I am tracking at the moment is Infosys (INFY). The outlook looks good for the rest of the year, they just posted a revenue surge of 70% and most importantly, this company has a solid management. I am tracking this stock to find a good time to buy it.

My Portfolio proforma

2007-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the current state of my investment portfolio. My intention is to invest $1000 / month over the next year to build a diversified portfolio. I am using Scottrade as my online portal which charges me $7/trade ... I am researching Zecco which is supposed to be free for upto 40 trades a month.

You can find my current portfolio here

Please feel free to recommend any stocks that I should be looking into.

Wonder why someone is willing to spend $69.16 / click on school loan consolidation

2007-05-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

My first post here is an interesting experiment ... since google generates its ads through relevant content, I wonder what would happen if there was a list of the most expensive adwords on a webpage. If (in theory) there were enough people reading this post, and curious enough to find out what each of these terms meant, there might be a lot of revenue through this simple exercise. Of course this is just an experiment, I will be donating the proceeds of this month (since it will get archived) to RedCross!

Adword	Average CPC
school loan consolidation	$69.16
college loan consolidation	$68.35
car insurance quotes	$66.88
school consolidation	$66.29
auto insurance quotes	$65.90
college consolidation	$64.04
student loan consolidation rates	$60.14
sell structured settlement	$59.82
sell annuity	$58.92
federal student loan consolidation	$58.58
auto quotes	$58.09
auto insurance quote	$57.99
student consolidation	$56.96
student loan consolidation	$56.91
student loan consolidation interest rate	$56.52
consolidate student loan	$54.61
san diego dui attorney	$54.56
car insurance	$53.16
structured settlement	$52.96
consolidate school loans	$52.88
student loan refinance	$52.44
consolidation of student loans	$52.43
consolidation loan rate	$52.04
citibank student loan consolidation	$51.85
car insurance quote	$51.80
consolidate student loans	$51.23
private student loan consolidation	$51.05
lasik new york	$49.86
student loans consolidation	$49.82
private loan consolidation	$48.95
insurance quotes	$48.78
teleconference services	$48.72
the art institute of seattle	$48.68
federal loan consolidation	$48.61
plus loan consolidation	$47.74
student loan consolidation programs	$47.58
bad credit equity loan	$47.46
houston criminal attorney	$47.44
student loan consolidation calculator	$47.19
cash settlement	$47.12
consolidating student loans	$47.09
orlando culinary institute	$46.84
student loan consolidation program	$46.77
orlando culinary institute	$46.69
consolidation loan	$46.54
loan consolidation	$46.54
orlando culinary institute	$46.51
ditech	$46.32
auto quote	$45.77
sallie mae student loan consolidation	$45.69