Category Archives: ALTR

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: May 8, 2015

Performance Review

Below is the performance of the Nasdaq 100 watch list from May 9, 2014:

Symbol Name 2014 2015 % change
DISCA Discovery Comm. 37.33 31.33 -16.07%
BBBY Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. 61.31 71.44 16.52%
ISRG Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 353.06 494.32 40.01%
NTAP NetApp, Inc. 34.19 35.65 4.27%
EBAY eBay Inc. 50.54 58.82 16.38%
ALTR Altera Corp. 32.38 44.46 37.31%
WFM Whole Foods Market, Inc. 39.32 42.58 8.29%
SIRI Sirius XM Holdings Inc. 3.16 3.87 22.47%
VRSK Verisk Analytics, Inc. 60.53 73.66 21.69%
COST Costco Wholesale 115.39 145.88 26.42%
LMCA Liberty Media Corp. 34.18 37.93 10.97%
SRCL Stericycle, Inc. 113.90 134.01 17.66%
CERN Cerner Corporation 50.19 68.02 35.53%
CA CA Technologies 29.41 31.60 7.45%

The average gain of the entire list was +17.78% while the top five stocks (DISCA, BBBY, ISRG, NTAP, EBAY) gained an average of +12.22%.  This compares with the gain for the Nasdaq 100 index of +23.41% in the same 1-year time period.

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As has frequently been the case, analyst expectations were too optimistic for stocks on the far right (DISCA, CA, CERN, SIRI, NTAP) where the average gains of +10.73%.  Likewise, the view was too pessimistic for stocks on the far left (LMCA, ISRG, WFM, COST, BBBY) which averaged +20.44% in the above chart.

The absolute change in Liberty Media (LMCA) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was the most extreme.  Liberty Media saw its p/e ratio expand from 20 to 72 while ISRG’s p/e ratio increased from 26 to 39.  The increase in the p/e ratio should be expected with the increase in price.  However, value oriented investors would have overlooked these stocks simply because of the high p/e ratios and the expectation of lower earnings by analysts in 2014.

Watch List: May 8, 2015

Below are the Nasdaq 100 stocks of interest:

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Nasdaq 100 Watch List: April 24, 2015

Performance Review

Below is the performance of our April 25, 2014 watch list.

Symbol Name 2014 2015 % chg
BBBY Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. 62.48 72.53 16.09%
CTRX Catamaran Corporation 38.95 59.56 52.91%
SIRI Sirius XM Holdings Inc. 3.12 3.96 26.92%
NTAP NetApp, Inc. 35.00 36.12 3.20%
ISRG Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 366.37 505.92 38.09%
DISCA Discovery Comm 39.14 32.71 -16.43%
VRSK Verisk Analytics, Inc. 57.81 72.68 25.72%
COST Costco Wholesale 115.01 148.12 28.79%
ALTR Altera Corp. 33.09 40.89 23.57%
SRCL Stericycle, Inc. 113.96 136.94 20.16%
CERN Cerner Corporation 49.51 73.32 48.09%
ROST Ross Stores Inc. 67.77 104.38 54.02%
MAT Mattel, Inc. 37.99 30.20 -20.51%
DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. 51.36 81.14 57.98%

The average return for the entire list was +25.62% compared to the Nasdaq 100 index gaining +28.41% in the same period of time.  The top five stocks on our list (BBBY, CTRX, SIRI, NTAP, ISRG) gained +27.44% in the last year (excluding dividends).

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As is common with our watch lists, a stock is being acquired at what we believe is a premium.  CTRX is being acquired by UnitedHealth (UNH), a Dow Jones Industrial Average component.  At the time of our watch list last year, CTRX was within 3% of the low.  Additionally, the announcement of the purchase by UNH followed the pattern of many companies buying the intended target after a gain over of +24% within the year and +177% within the last 5 years.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: April 24, 2015

Below are the 9 Nasdaq 100 stocks that we think are worth your consideration:

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: January 9, 2015

Performance Review

Below is the performance of the seven stocks from the January 10, 2014 Nasdaq 100 watch list compared to the performance of the Nasdaq 100 Index in the last year.

Symbol Name 2014 2015 % change
ALTR Altera Corp. 31.47 36.96 17.45%
SHLD Sears Holdings 36.71 34.3 -6.56%
GOLD Randgold Resources 61.57 74.91 21.67%
MXIM Maxim Integrated Products 28.15 32.99 17.19%
CHRW CH Robinson Worldwide 57.7 72.06 24.89%
EBAY eBay Inc. 52.16 55.63 6.65%
FAST Fastenal Company 47.7 45.99 -3.58%
  Average change 11.10%
         
  Nasdaq 100     18.18%

As a group, the stocks on our list underperformed the Nasdaq 100 by a wide margin. The first five stocks on our list averaged a gain of +14.92%.  Two stocks that we took positions in at the time were Altera (ALTR) and Randgold (GOLD).

Analyst Review

The chart below is what the analysts suggested the stocks would do…

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…This is the graphical representation of what actually happened.

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The observation of the data should be clear, the analysts expected declines for the coming year and the opposite occurred.  The projections were that Randgold (GOLD) would decline by nearly –50% and the stock increased by +21.67%.  From our perspective, the analysts provide a reasonable sound board for what to anticipate, as has been demonstrated with our Canadian and U.S. Watch Lists.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: January 9, 2015

Below are the nine Nasdaq 100 companies that are on our radar.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: December 26, 2014

Performance Review

The December 6, 2013 watch list contained the following companies and resulted in the accompanying 1-year results:

Symbol 2013 2014 % change
CTRX 44.99 51.93 15.43%
ALTR 32.12 38.27 19.15%
ISRG 377.38 531.24 40.77%
MXIM 28.46 31.65 11.21%
CHRW 57.89 76.75 32.58%
EBAY 52.01 57.04 9.67%
EQIX 165.48 232.76 40.66%
GOLD 65.44 66.26 1.25%

The companies on our watch list from last year gained an average of +21.34% as compared to the Nasdaq 100 which gained +23.11%.  Our analyst estimate section of the watch list from last year shows what the stock on our list were expected to do over the following 12 months.

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All of the stocks were expected to decline in value, overall.  However, what is most striking about the one year performance is that while companies on the far left were expected to do the worst those on the far right were expected to the best (sort of).  Below is the actual one year performance:

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A side by side comparison will demonstrate that (again) the trend of performance favors those stocks that have been pinned with the worst expectations.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: December 26, 2014

The following stocks are on our radar and should be on yours:

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: December 5, 2014

Performance Review

Below is the watch list from December 6, 2013 and the subsequent performance over the last year:

Symbol Name 2013 2014 % change
CTRX Catamaran  44.99 51.25 13.91%
ALTR Altera Corp. 32.12 37.93 18.09%
ISRG Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 377.38 508.86 34.84%
MXIM Maxim Integrated 28.46 31.36 10.19%
CHRW CH Robinson Worldwide 57.89 74.63 28.92%
EBAY eBay Inc. 52.01 54.81 5.38%
EQIX Equinix, Inc. 165.48 231.68 40.00%
GOLD Randgold Resources 65.44 64.85 -0.90%
Average change 18.80%
Nasdaq 100 Index 23.04%

Below is the chart of analyst estimated returns from December 6, 2013 compared to the performance one year later:

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In the example above, we see that, in general, the stocks performed in opposition to what analysts had anticipated.  It is important to note that we routinely recommend that investors consider the stocks that have the worst prospects first based on analyst estimates.  After appropriate due diligence, stocks deemed unacceptable risks should be eliminated.

As has been the case for some time, analyst estimates have fallen far from the mark when assessing the prospects for stocks.  At the time, Equinix (EQIX) was considered by analysts to have the worst prospects.  As it happens, Equinix managed to gain the most among the stocks that we tracked last year.  For our part, we had EQIX on our radar as early as July 26, 2013.  We said the following of the stock:

“A stock that is establishing a significant technical pattern is Equinix (EQIX).  It seems that Equinix is developing a ‘head and shoulder’ formation.  this suggests that a further decline below $176 will result in a minimum decline to the conservative downside target of $158.37.  We would consider a review of EQIX fundamentals at or below $110.”

Our concern for downside risk resulted in being too cautious.  However, after our July 26, 2013 commentary, EQIX declined from $183.75 to the Edson Gould SRL conservative downside target of $158.37.  Once achieving the low at $155, EQIX started to make the long climb higher.

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Nasdaq 100 Watch List: December 5, 2014

The following are the stocks that are on our watch list with Analyst Estimates:

Chip Sector Cycle Says Sell

On December 6, 2012, we said the following of our Nasdaq 100 Watch List:

“We’ve highlighted the chip sector stocks to put emphasis on the fact that, as an industry group, the sector may be at or near a low.”

After a year and a half, the chip sector stocks have achieved all that we had anticipated when we wrote about them in late December 2012.  As seen in the chart below, all of the stocks except Altera (ALTR) achieved gains that beat the Nasdaq Composite growth of +46.22% in the same period.

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The chip sector does run on a cycle and it is our belief that while this may not be the top it is time to sell the principal in those stocks that have had a decent run.  The profit portion should be allowed to compound until new relative lows are achieved. 

We’ve been fortunate to successfully identify two chip sector cycles lows on March 20, 2010 and December 6, 2012.  As we have in the past, we will notify subscribers of investment opportunities at the next cycle low.  Investors may want to consider rotating into sectors that we’ve identified as worth accumulating using the proceeds from the sell of chip sector stocks.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: April 26, 2013

Below are the Nasdaq 100 companies that are within 10% of their respective 52-week lows. Stocks that appear on our watch lists are not recommendations to buy. Instead, they are the starting point for doing your research and determining the best company to buy. Ideally, a stock that is purchased from this list is done after a considerable decline in the price and rigorous due diligence.

Symbol Name Price P/E EPS Yield P/B % from yr low
BIDU Baidu, Inc. 85.02 17.87 4.76 - 7.77 2.46%
EXPD Expeditors International. 35.42 22.56 1.57 1.6 3.61 3.57%
FFIV F5 Networks, Inc. 74.2 21.2 3.5 - 4.24 5.10%
TEVA Teva Pharmaceutical 38.55 17.13 2.25 2.8 1.44 5.24%
ALTR Altera Corp. 31.2 18.14 1.72 1.3 3.16 5.44%
GRMN Garmin Ltd. 34.72 12.58 2.76 5.1 1.96 6.77%
ISRG Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 486.76 28.57 17.04 - 5.16 6.94%
AVGO Avago Technologies Limited 32.11 14.27 2.25 2.4 3.19 8.11%
AAPL Apple Inc. 417.205 9.46 44.11 2.7 3.01 8.34%
WFM Whole Foods Market, Inc. 88.61 33.43 2.65 0.9 4.62 8.87%
CTXS Citrix Systems, Inc. 61.8 33.23 1.86 - 3.76 9.25%

Watch List Summary

Baidu (BIDU) has topped our list this week.  Despite having “unfettered” access to the Chinese market for search, the stock continues its long slide from the high price of $165.

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Apparently, in the controlled environment of internet search in China, competitors are gaining ground in terms of market share.  Since Google (GOOG) exited the search arena in China on April 10, 2010, the stock price performance of Google and Baidu has been exactly the same, albeit through opposite routes as indicated in the chart below.

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There is at least one lesson in this reversal of fortune for Baidu and the departure from China by Google as it relates to the stock price, the largest market in the world is not necessary for a stock price to rise.  In fact, it could be considered that if you’re in the largest market, after having tapped into every other market on the planet, then you’re probably at the end of the line in terms of growth.  This brings us to the view that Baidu has some opportunity for growth since its global reach is limited, for now.

In the February 15, 2013 Value Line Investment Survey, fair value estimates for Baidu are:

  • 2010: $34.60
  • 2011: $68.00
  • 2012: $104.00
  • 2013: $124.00
  • 2015-2017: $210.00

The Speed Resistance Lines for Baidu are very compelling at this time as shown below:

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The conservative downside target of $93.43 has been achieved and we are now sitting at the extreme downside target of $54.79. All indications, based on the SRL, are that Baidu is worth considering in a two stage purchase plan, once at the current level and again at $67 or lower.

Watch List Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the Nasdaq 100 Watch List, we have taken the top 5 stocks from April 27, 2012 (found here). The top 5 companies from the watch list are provided below with the closing price from April 27, 2012 to April 26, 2013.

Symbol
Company 2012 2013 % Change
CHRW CH Robinson Worldwide  59.02 58.44 -0.98%
FSLR First Solar, Inc. 18.35 44.08 140.22%
EXPD Expeditors Int’l 39.90 35.42 -11.23%
CTRP Ctrip.com Int’l 21.66 22.22 2.59%
EA Electronic Arts Inc. 15.32 17.88 16.71%
Average 29.46%
NDX Nasdaq 100 Index 3420.80 3747.15 9.54%

As can been seen in the table above, First Solar (FSLR) is the stock that carried the performance for the top 5 stocks.  If FSLR were excluded the gain for the top 5 if bought and held for the full year would have been +1.42%.  To be honest, we would not have bought FSLR at that time but this explains why we run these numbers.  We want to see how well or poorly an investor would do if they knew nothing about the names and simply bought the top five stocks.  Four of the top five stocks gained at least +10% with Expeditors Intl (EXPD) being the only stock to fall short of that mark.

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The three stocks that we identified to be of interest from the April 27, 2012 watch list had the following performance in the last year as compared the Nasdaq 100 Index.

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All three of the stocks, Symantec (SYMC), Infosys (INFY) and Electronic Arts (EA) hit the first estimated downside target before rising above the watch list price.  All three of the stocks gained at least +15% within the year.