One company has been called the “most hated” in the world for a number of years. It was even declared “the most evil corporation of the year” in 2011 by NaturalNews.com — beating out BP (NYSE: BP), which had just spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (and which I profiled just last week). #-ad_banner-#Even so, a couple of billionaires are less concerned with this company’s image than in its growth potential. Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital owns 5.8 million shares of Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and George Soros’ Soros Fund Management owns 1.2 million shares. Soros’… Read More

One company has been called the “most hated” in the world for a number of years. It was even declared “the most evil corporation of the year” in 2011 by NaturalNews.com — beating out BP (NYSE: BP), which had just spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (and which I profiled just last week). #-ad_banner-#Even so, a couple of billionaires are less concerned with this company’s image than in its growth potential. Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital owns 5.8 million shares of Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and George Soros’ Soros Fund Management owns 1.2 million shares. Soros’ fund more than doubled its position during the fourth quarter of last year. And Lone Pine has been an owner of Monsanto for a few years now, continuing to own the stock despite the rise of negative publicity. Image Problems Monsanto has been something of an industry scapegoat over the past couple of years, while other seed companies, such as DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Bayer, have gone relatively unnoticed. It has been painted in a negative light by protesters, environmental activists and documentaries. A vow by Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) to drop all GMO (genetically modified organism) products hasn’t helped,… Read More

“Sugar and spice and all things nice” came to mind when I saw last week’s rally in McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) following its better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings report Tuesday. #-ad_banner-#McCormick, which manufactures and distributes spices, herbs, extracts, seasonings and more, posted earnings of $0.62 per share, up 9% from the year-ago period. First-quarter revenue rose 6% year over year to $993.4 million. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $974.5 million. Management reaffirmed its fiscal 2014 earnings forecast of $3.22 to $3.29 per share, in line with analysts’ estimates of $3.27 per share. Not all consumer staples… Read More

“Sugar and spice and all things nice” came to mind when I saw last week’s rally in McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) following its better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings report Tuesday. #-ad_banner-#McCormick, which manufactures and distributes spices, herbs, extracts, seasonings and more, posted earnings of $0.62 per share, up 9% from the year-ago period. First-quarter revenue rose 6% year over year to $993.4 million. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $974.5 million. Management reaffirmed its fiscal 2014 earnings forecast of $3.22 to $3.29 per share, in line with analysts’ estimates of $3.27 per share. Not all consumer staples stocks are created equal, but by definition, demand for their products shows little elasticity, meaning that they’re purchased in roughly the same quantity regardless of the economic cycle. This is especially true of spices, as you can only season your food so much. Boring companies like spice manufacturers also don’t have much in the way of news flow, and can therefore trend nicely higher during bull markets, making for a no-hassle longer-term investment. (My colleague Dave Goodboy made a similar point last week, singling out MKC for unique praise.) As an active trader, I rarely gravitate toward a stock like… Read More

It’s been nearly half a decade since the Deepwater Horizon incident spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers. However, investors and the nation as a whole will not forget the incident anytime soon. #-ad_banner-#Thus, many investors continue to shun shares of one of the key participants in the accident, BP (NYSE: BP). Yet, a couple of billionaires think the overhang from the Deepwater Horizon incident has presented an attractive buying opportunity. First, Seth Klarman and his Baupost Group hedge fund owned 5.6 million shares of BP as of the end of 2013. Read More

It’s been nearly half a decade since the Deepwater Horizon incident spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers. However, investors and the nation as a whole will not forget the incident anytime soon. #-ad_banner-#Thus, many investors continue to shun shares of one of the key participants in the accident, BP (NYSE: BP). Yet, a couple of billionaires think the overhang from the Deepwater Horizon incident has presented an attractive buying opportunity. First, Seth Klarman and his Baupost Group hedge fund owned 5.6 million shares of BP as of the end of 2013. Klarman has been a fan of BP since early 2011. Second, David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital owns nearly a million shares. Greenlight’s stake in BP was a new position at the end of 2013. Recent Contract Wins Since the spill, BP has been making strides in the right direction. The company remains the largest leaseholder in the Gulf region and second-largest oil producer. It has over 650 leases in the region and 10 drilling rigs — up from the six it had in 2010. In 2013, its underlying production in the Gulf grew for the first time since 2009. Read More

I don’t fit in with the Wall Street crowd.  Raised on a farm in rural Kansas, I have quite a different background than your average Wall Street hot-shot. But I’m no stranger to the scene. You see, prior to my role as Chief Investment Officer of Game-Changing Stocks, I spent many years at the business desk of one of the nation’s largest newspapers, the Newark Star-Ledger. And in my time there, I got a first-hand view of how things operate.  Fast-forward to today, and I spend much of my time on the phone with small-company executives who are designing the… Read More

I don’t fit in with the Wall Street crowd.  Raised on a farm in rural Kansas, I have quite a different background than your average Wall Street hot-shot. But I’m no stranger to the scene. You see, prior to my role as Chief Investment Officer of Game-Changing Stocks, I spent many years at the business desk of one of the nation’s largest newspapers, the Newark Star-Ledger. And in my time there, I got a first-hand view of how things operate.  Fast-forward to today, and I spend much of my time on the phone with small-company executives who are designing the next-generation fuel source… Other times I might be looking through government reports to find Pentagon technology that could eventually be used to make life-changing new products.  The majority of Wall Street analysts simply don’t do research like this. Instead, they seem to enjoy sensationalizing companies that are way past their primes.  But there’s another difference between Wall Street and me that I want to talk about today.  While the Street likes to go bonkers over earnings reports, I don’t. I believe wholeheartedly in considering earnings reports in an organized, standardized fashion. And I’d like to share that method with you… Read More

In recent quarters, a very clear trend has emerged among short sellers: #-ad_banner-#As a group, they’ve lost the nerve to go after the market’s most richly valued stocks. They’ve learned that focusing on the extremely rich multiples of many dot-com companies has caused many headaches, and you won’t find most of these firms at the top of the short interest lists these days. Still, these high-flying Internet companies, which I panned earlier this month, often trade for absurd multiples of price to expectations for 2016 free cash flow, which may eventually come back to bite them. Though the shorts are… Read More

In recent quarters, a very clear trend has emerged among short sellers: #-ad_banner-#As a group, they’ve lost the nerve to go after the market’s most richly valued stocks. They’ve learned that focusing on the extremely rich multiples of many dot-com companies has caused many headaches, and you won’t find most of these firms at the top of the short interest lists these days. Still, these high-flying Internet companies, which I panned earlier this month, often trade for absurd multiples of price to expectations for 2016 free cash flow, which may eventually come back to bite them. Though the shorts are still steering clear of these stocks, long-oriented investors appear increasingly inclined to book profits as they start to drift away from their 52-week highs: Notably, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) and Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) all appear to have peaked about a month ago, dropping since by double digits, even as the Nasdaq flirts with new all-time highs. Of all of these stocks, I still think Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) and Priceline represent the greatest openings for short sellers looking to target frothy dot-com stocks. Curiously, short sellers are going after the major tech firms that… Read More

Among people with money to spend, there’s been a significant shift away from ultra-high-end purchases since the financial crisis, say analysts at global banking giant Barclays. #-ad_banner-#It isn’t that top-tier consumers have stopped spending, but nowadays even they’re more likely to scale it back a notch, devoting more dollars to what could be called the “affordable” luxury space. Simply put, wealthier shoppers are still looking for high-quality, fashionable items. But maybe they’re no longer quite so dead-set on the priciest versions like a $2,000 Gucci tote bag, a $1,500 Lanvin T-shirt, or a $4,000 Chanel purse. While this may not… Read More

Among people with money to spend, there’s been a significant shift away from ultra-high-end purchases since the financial crisis, say analysts at global banking giant Barclays. #-ad_banner-#It isn’t that top-tier consumers have stopped spending, but nowadays even they’re more likely to scale it back a notch, devoting more dollars to what could be called the “affordable” luxury space. Simply put, wealthier shoppers are still looking for high-quality, fashionable items. But maybe they’re no longer quite so dead-set on the priciest versions like a $2,000 Gucci tote bag, a $1,500 Lanvin T-shirt, or a $4,000 Chanel purse. While this may not be welcome news for high-end retailers, it bodes well for those specializing in affordable luxury — currently a $285 billion industry worldwide. With its increasing popularity, affordable luxury is projected to grow 8% to 10% a year domestically and 3% to 5% a year worldwide during the next few years. The big question for investors is how best to capture this growth. It might be tempting simply to default to Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) since it’s probably the best-known industry player, what with its iconic brands of apparel, accessories, and fragrances. But that would be a mistake. No doubt RL’s… Read More

Almost two years ago, it was all over the headlines. You couldn’t turn on CNBC or open an issue of The Wall Street Journal without hearing about it.  Then, May 18, 2012 came around — the day Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) went public.  It was the biggest Internet IPO in history — even bigger than Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), with a peak market capitalization of over $104 billion.  But as soon as the stock went public, it became clear that the party was over. #-ad_banner-#Thanks to a malfunction in the way Nasdaq’s computers handled millions of dollars in trades as well as… Read More

Almost two years ago, it was all over the headlines. You couldn’t turn on CNBC or open an issue of The Wall Street Journal without hearing about it.  Then, May 18, 2012 came around — the day Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) went public.  It was the biggest Internet IPO in history — even bigger than Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), with a peak market capitalization of over $104 billion.  But as soon as the stock went public, it became clear that the party was over. #-ad_banner-#Thanks to a malfunction in the way Nasdaq’s computers handled millions of dollars in trades as well as allegations that the company and its underwriters were involved in everything from inflating share prices, issuing too many shares and even overstating earnings, the stock eventually went into a tailspin.  All told, Facebook shares lost more than a quarter of their IPO value in less than a month and lost half their value within three months. While “the herd” was waiting to cash in on the runaway success of Facebook by buying shares as soon as they went public, the “smart money” was busy cashing out — selling their shares to a frothy public that had waited years… Read More

The apparel industry can be quite fickle. Industry trends change quickly and can leave investors owning a retail company with a whole lot of out-of-fashion merchandise. #-ad_banner-#It’s key for investors to look for apparel retailers that offer products that are unlikely to fall out of fashion. The best products are those that shoppers will wear regardless of what new fashions and trends emerge. Guess (NYSE: GES) is one of the best plays in the apparel space, because it’s a leader in a product that many people wear every day: jeans. Although styles of jeans have developed over the years, the… Read More

The apparel industry can be quite fickle. Industry trends change quickly and can leave investors owning a retail company with a whole lot of out-of-fashion merchandise. #-ad_banner-#It’s key for investors to look for apparel retailers that offer products that are unlikely to fall out of fashion. The best products are those that shoppers will wear regardless of what new fashions and trends emerge. Guess (NYSE: GES) is one of the best plays in the apparel space, because it’s a leader in a product that many people wear every day: jeans. Although styles of jeans have developed over the years, the fact that people wear jeans hasn’t changed much over the years. Guess released earnings earlier this month that beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth straight quarter. However, the company offered weak guidance, and analysts lowered their forward estimates and price targets. This spooked investors, and GES is down 10% this year. (In comparison, the Dow Jones U.S. Apparel Retailers Index is flat this year.) Short interest has been on the rise over the past couple years. It’s now up to 13% as of the end of February. That’s because many investors recognized that the shopper’s ability and desire to spend… Read More

There’s a potential time bomb right under our improving economy. #-ad_banner-#This explosive situation affects over 40 million Americans. You probably know at least one person who is feeling its effects. The silver lining in this problem is that it is creating a limited-time opportunity for investors. I was first made aware of this quandary several years ago, when a close friend of mine, a former business owner whose business was made irrelevant by changing technology, decided to follow his dream and get a college degree.   After four years, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree and over $100,000 of student… Read More

There’s a potential time bomb right under our improving economy. #-ad_banner-#This explosive situation affects over 40 million Americans. You probably know at least one person who is feeling its effects. The silver lining in this problem is that it is creating a limited-time opportunity for investors. I was first made aware of this quandary several years ago, when a close friend of mine, a former business owner whose business was made irrelevant by changing technology, decided to follow his dream and get a college degree.   After four years, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree and over $100,000 of student loan debt. He went into the workforce and was shocked that only minimum wage jobs were available to him. There was no way he could make the payments on his college loans.  He even looked into bankruptcy to lift the burden — but was shocked  to find out that student loan debt is not dischargeable.   My friend took a low-paying job with the hopes of advancing but was unable to pay back his loans. He’s now living in his parents’ house with trashed credit and little prospects for getting a better job. My friend is not alone with his… Read More

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) fell from grace in 2013 thanks to the breakup of the Uralkali/Belaruskali potash cartel and plummeting grain prices. In fact, in a banner year for stocks, we see MOS is almost the mirror image of the broader S&P 500. #-ad_banner-#With corn prices below $5 per bushel, their lowest level since 2010, and soybean prices below $14 per bushel, it will be important for farmers to get the maximum yield from every acre, which means increased demand for the crop nutrients produced by Mosaic. Additionally, there is speculation of a potash cartel reunion, which would… Read More

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) fell from grace in 2013 thanks to the breakup of the Uralkali/Belaruskali potash cartel and plummeting grain prices. In fact, in a banner year for stocks, we see MOS is almost the mirror image of the broader S&P 500. #-ad_banner-#With corn prices below $5 per bushel, their lowest level since 2010, and soybean prices below $14 per bushel, it will be important for farmers to get the maximum yield from every acre, which means increased demand for the crop nutrients produced by Mosaic. Additionally, there is speculation of a potash cartel reunion, which would help boost potash prices. I think the risk/reward in MOS favors the bulls at these discounted levels. The stock held above its 2010 lows just below $40 on last year’s pullback. The eight-month trading range from $40 to $50 targets $60 on an upside breakout. Only a close below the $40 channel support level on a weekly basis would negate the bullish trend. The $60 target is about 24% higher than recent prices, but traders who use a capital-preserving, stock substitution strategy could more than double their money on a move to that level. One major advantage… Read More