Baidu: Downside Targets

On April 27, 2013, we wrote a short piece on Baidu (BIDU) that concluded with the following remark:

“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.”

The chart that we included for the above assessment was based on the work of Edson Gould’s Speed Resistance Lines (SRL) and is shown below.

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Since that recommendation to buy at $85, Baidu had increased to as high as $251.  What was not included at the time was the upside targets based on the work of Edson Gould.  At that time, the upside targets were:

  • $140.16 (conservative target)
  • $210.23 (mid target)
  • $280.31 (extreme target)

Baidu was able to achieve two of the three upside targets that were indicated for the stock based on the interpretation of Gould’s work.  With the Chinese stock market experiencing significant turmoil, Baidu has declined from the $251 level to the current price of $144 making a review of the technicals useful.

Baidu Downside Targets

Below is the updated Speed Resistance Lines based on the work of Edson Gould:

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Commodity Index Review: Upside Targets

The Bloomberg Commodity Index has finally reached the extreme downside target of 79.26.  Initially, we didn’t think that the index would fall to the extreme downside target as indicated in our October 29, 2013 posting.  However, after declining below the long-term technical support level, we had to acknowledge what is now obvious.

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U.S. Dividend Watch List: August 28, 2015

There's no secret that it has been a rough ride for the market. Two weeks have gone by and the S&P 500 shed -4.9%. The sudden drop in the market can be scary but alternatively, it provides an opportunity to purchase quality equities at lower prices. Because of the quick recovery this week, there are fewer companies than our previous U.S. Dividend Watch List and those that appear on our list below are likely to be the lowest relative strength companies as they remain close to their yearly low. Continue reading

Berkshire Hathaway: 10-year Price Projections

In our May 6, 2012 posting on Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) titled “Should Berkshire Hathaway Be Trading at 1995 Prices?”, we gave price projections based on Edson Gould’s Altimeter using very conservative estimates if BRK-A paid a dividend.

The data based on that 2012 article has proven to be accurate as we’ve managed to achieve all of the undervalued levels for Berkshire Hathaway since then.  Below is the 10-year price where BRK-A would be considered undervalued.  As of August 28, 2015, BRK-A closed at a price of $205,344.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List: August 28, 2015

Performance Review

Below is the performance of the companies that appeared on our August 26, 2014 watch list.

symbol Name 2014 2015 % chg
MAT Mattel, Inc. 34.66 23.2 -33.06%
CA CA Technologies, Inc. 28.31 27.26 -3.71%
SPLS Staples, Inc. 11.06 13.75 24.32%
WFM Whole Foods Market, Inc. 38.495 32.85 -14.66%
XLNX Xilinx Inc. 41.78 42.27 1.17%
FOSL Fossil Group, Inc. 102.5 61.6 -39.90%
FAST Fastenal Company 45.73 38.69 -15.39%
DLTR Dollar Tree, Inc. 53.51 76.73 43.39%
EXPD Expeditors Intl of Wash 41.64 49.66 19.26%
SRCL Stericycle, Inc. 119.06 142 19.27%

The list of stocks achieved an average gain of +0.07% compared to the Nasdaq 100 gain of +6.28%.

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This watch list achieved exceptional performance based on the analyst estimates as six of the ten stocks exceeded analyst expectations (MAT, WFM, DLTR, EXPD, SPLS, SRCL).

Nasdaq 100 Watch List

Below are the Nasdaq 100 stocks worth your consideration along with the analyst estimates of price change for the coming year.

Shanghai Composite Index: Upside Target

On August 26, 2015, the Shanghai Composite Index traded as low as 2,850.71.  While the most recent rise may only be a bear market rally, we think that resistance to the rise might kick in around the 4,400 level.  Rising above 4,4oo would suggest that a run to the previous peak of 5,166.35 is not out of the question.  Keep in mind that a bull market in this index is not confirmed until the index exceeds the prior high, until that time the Shanghai Composite is in a bear market rally.

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Dow’s Theory on the Role of Dividends and Earnings

Dividends are a reward after earnings have been applied to improving prospects

“It may be said that only a part of these gains in earnings can be fairly credited to dividend accounts.  That is true, because it has been deemed wise to take a portion of the earnings in each of the cases above named for betterments (Dow, Charles H.Wall Street Journal. Review and Outlook. October 12, 1900)."

Shanghai Composite Index: Where To Now?

On August 23, 2015, we said the following:

“The next move in the price to the downside should confirm the downside move or indicate the ongoing battle between buyers and sellers.  The point indicated as the critical support will reveal the overall short-term direction of the index.  Although the move up or down is academic, it is the size of the move that will be most fascinating as we believe it will be massive.”

So far, the Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) has confirmed that the direction of the index is down, now it is only a matter of magnitude.  Already the Shanghai Composite Index has reached the mid-range downside target of 2,867.34.

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A large bounce at this level is hoped for as a continuation of the declining trend could spark a genuine panic.  If an upside bounce were to occur at this level, the SSE would face resistance at the ascending conservative downside target of 4,012.56.   It would be a +48% rise to the 4,400 ascending conservative downside target from the close of August 25, 2015. 

The flip side of a reversal to the upside is a decline to the extreme downside target of 1,722.12.  Our breakdown of the potential reversal points are as follows:

  • 2,450
  • 2,100
  • 1,722

The actions of the Chinese government have not been constructive for a change in the declining trend of the market.  The sooner restrictions intended to stop prices from falling are lifted the better the chance for Chinese stocks to fully recover.  The more involved the government becomes in the stock market the more we believe that 1,722 on the SSE is likely to occur.

Shanghai Composite Index: Downside Targets

The index to watch in the coming week is the Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) as it represents the raw emotions of the stock market in China.  Below we have applied Edson Gould’s Speed Resistance Lines [SRL] to the SSE to determine the potential downside targets to watch for.

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The SRL is ideally suited for a stock or index that has experienced a parabolic move to the upside.  When viewed from a historical perspective, the Shanghai Index meets the criteria of entering the entropy stage. 

Already the Shanghai Composite Index has declined below the conservative downside target of 4,012.56.  The July 23, 2015 upside failure coincided with the ascending conservative target.  This is the first true test of weakness in the upside move.  The next move in the price to the downside should confirm the downside move or indicate the ongoing battle between buyers and sellers.  The point indicated as the critical support will reveal the overall short-term direction of the index.  Although the move up or down is academic, it is the size of the move that will be most fascinating as we believe it will be massive.

Because the Shanghai Composite Index has a history of parabolic rises and subsequent crashes, our guess is that  declining to the 1,722.12 level should be expected.  In addition, if the SSE were to replicate the previous rise and fall in the period from 2005 to 2008, the index could drop as low as 1,447.37.

Canadian Dividend Watch List: August 2015

Below is the performance of the stocks that were on our Canadian Dividend Watch List from August 2014:

symbol Name 2014 2015 % Chg
TA.TO TransAlta Corp. 12.72 6.42 -49.53%
ESI.TO Ensign Energy Services Inc. 16.25 9.06 -44.25%
CGX.TO Cineplex Inc. 40.35 46.29 14.72%
RCI-B.TO Rogers Communications Inc. 43.24 46.9 8.46%
D-UN.TO Dream Office REIT 28.95 21.48 -25.80%
TLM.TO Talisman Energy Inc. 11.32 9.48 -16.25%
CMG.TO Computer Modelling Group Ltd. 12.46 11.68 -6.26%
CJR-B.TO Corus Entertainment Inc. 24.85 13 -47.69%
NWC.TO North West Company Inc. 24.29 27.12 11.65%
IGM.TO IGM Financial Inc. 50.64 36.24 -28.44%
CWT-UN.TO Calloway REIT 26.25 29.41 12.04%

The entire list lost –15.58% which is compared to the Toronto Stock Exchange decline of –12.16% in the period from August 15, 2014 to August 21, 2015.  The top five stocks on our list averaged a loss of –19.08% which is substantially more than the index.  Below we’ve outlined the performance of the watch list stocks compared to the analyst estimates.

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This is one of the best examples (so far) of the analysts being accurate about the estimated price change that we’ve seen so far.  Talisman, TransAlta, Dream Office REIT, Rogers Communications, North West Co. and Cineplex all came within reasonable distance of the projected targets or move in the stock price.  The remaining stocks that did not meet expectations failed miserably and in a directions that was highly unfavorable to investors.

Canadian Dividend Watch List for August 2015

Below is the list of stocks that we think are worth your consideration and due diligence.

In-Depth Analysis: W.W. Grainger

We came across W.W. Grainger (GWW) on  last week's U.S. Dividend watch list. At the time, Grainger traded down to its yearly low and on the surface appeared to be very intriguing. As such, we did some research and would like to share some findings. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: August 14, 2015

The market was flat for the week as trading volume continued to decline. Although there was a good deal of chatter about the technical pattern know as the "death-cross", which is when 50-day moving average crosses 200-day moving average to the downside. The "death-cross" a bearish pattern that suggest a change in the trend. Only time will tell if this bearish indication will materialize. Until then, we will continue to search for good companies trading below fair value. Continue reading

Gold Stock Indicator: August 14, 2015

In the past month, gold and gold stocks have been on a rollercoaster ride.  Gold declined as much as –4.59% while gold stocks, as represented by the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Stock Index (XAU), declined –17.88%.

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Although there has been a recovery of sorts, we cannot be sure that the decline is over.

Transaction Alert

On Wednesday August 12, 2015, we executed the following transaction(s):

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Coppock Curve: July 2015

It's been quite sometime since we've updated our readers on Coppock Curve.  We've gotten more excited to see this indicator approach zero because it would point to a major opportunity to be long equities. While the indicator provides buy signals it doesn't offer any sell indication. As such, one can only take this as a buy only indicator.

Coppock July 2015

About Coppock Curve

The Coppock Curve is one of the technical indicators that we focus on for long-term buy signals for the stock market. The Coppock Curve is only useful as a BUY indicator when the chart goes from positive territory to the negative territory then turns decidedly upward. As previously indicated, the Coppock Curve does not provide SELL signals in any way.