They’re some of the most talked-about and well-known stocks on the market. But I wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole. That’s because according to the most successful indicator in StreetAuthority’s history, they’re all rated as a “sell.” #-ad_banner-#We spend a lot of time here at StreetAuthority talking about which stocks to buy — and rightfully so. We also dedicate these pages to our thoughts on what it takes to be successful at investing. And knowing what to stay away from is oftentimes just as important as knowing what to buy. So today,… Read More

They’re some of the most talked-about and well-known stocks on the market. But I wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole. That’s because according to the most successful indicator in StreetAuthority’s history, they’re all rated as a “sell.” #-ad_banner-#We spend a lot of time here at StreetAuthority talking about which stocks to buy — and rightfully so. We also dedicate these pages to our thoughts on what it takes to be successful at investing. And knowing what to stay away from is oftentimes just as important as knowing what to buy. So today, I’m going to share with you a list of 10 stocks you should absolutely stay away from. And if you own any of them, consider getting out as soon as possible. According to our indicators, tough times are likely ahead for any investor that owns these stocks. Sure, they won’t underperform forever. Things can change over time. But as of right now, all signs point to more pain ahead. Before I show the list to you, you should know that these numbers come straight from my colleague Jimmy Butts, who runs StreetAuthority’s Maximum Profit system. Jimmy, along… Read More

If the economic growth attributed to the use of data were a country, it would be the fourth largest economy in the world, just behind Japan in terms of GDP. According to McKinsey & Co., the flow of data has directly contributed to global GDP growth. In fact, the consultancy firm estimates that from 2004 through 2014, “the openness to global flows has raised world GDP by at least 10%. That’s worth $7.8 trillion alone.” #-ad_banner-#In other words, without the virtual flow of data, the world would be $7.8 trillion poorer. In real-world measurements, the number of terabits per second… Read More

If the economic growth attributed to the use of data were a country, it would be the fourth largest economy in the world, just behind Japan in terms of GDP. According to McKinsey & Co., the flow of data has directly contributed to global GDP growth. In fact, the consultancy firm estimates that from 2004 through 2014, “the openness to global flows has raised world GDP by at least 10%. That’s worth $7.8 trillion alone.” #-ad_banner-#In other words, without the virtual flow of data, the world would be $7.8 trillion poorer. In real-world measurements, the number of terabits per second — a measure of data flows — is 45 times higher now than it was less than a decade ago. This means that data is not only an efficiency, but a good, with a tangible value. And while you can’t trade it on the CME like gold or soybeans, you can trade its leveraging effect by selecting the companies making the most of using data to boost efficiencies and reach customers… or by investing in the digital infrastructure itself. For example, we’ve seen a huge jump in the number of ecommerce companies and transactions. By some estimates 10-15% of the… Read More

It’s been a tough year for investors. The S&P 500 tanked more than 11% by the middle of February on crashing oil prices, concerns over China and Europe’s health, and a “hawkish” Federal Reserve that planned to hike short-term interest rates. Then the market pivoted faster than basketball superstar LeBron James inside the key. The rebound rally that followed was one of the fastest in history, but the S&P 500 is still up just 1% year to date. #-ad_banner-#However, in the midst of all this volatility, there have been some clear outperformers. Read More

It’s been a tough year for investors. The S&P 500 tanked more than 11% by the middle of February on crashing oil prices, concerns over China and Europe’s health, and a “hawkish” Federal Reserve that planned to hike short-term interest rates. Then the market pivoted faster than basketball superstar LeBron James inside the key. The rebound rally that followed was one of the fastest in history, but the S&P 500 is still up just 1% year to date. #-ad_banner-#However, in the midst of all this volatility, there have been some clear outperformers. Nine of the 12 open positions in the Alpha Trader portfolios are up double digits year to date. That’s more than 10 times better than the S&P 500. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Alpha Trader is an exclusive research service that uses a proprietary indicator known as the Alpha Score, delivering the highest-ranked stocks across 10 different types of investments that range from small caps to blue chips. While I don’t want to give out all the names of this year’s top performers, here are three… Read More

Shares of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) have been slammed lately after weak user growth and an inability to monetize its platform led investors to question the future.  The big move in shares of the 140-character social giant is nothing new. Shares have moved higher or lower by 20% or more in one week three times in the past year. The concern is that Twitter has yet to effectively monetize its massive user base and that growth in monthly active users (MAUs) may be slowing.  #-ad_banner-#The concern over social media monetization is also a familiar story. It was the same issue that… Read More

Shares of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) have been slammed lately after weak user growth and an inability to monetize its platform led investors to question the future.  The big move in shares of the 140-character social giant is nothing new. Shares have moved higher or lower by 20% or more in one week three times in the past year. The concern is that Twitter has yet to effectively monetize its massive user base and that growth in monthly active users (MAUs) may be slowing.  #-ad_banner-#The concern over social media monetization is also a familiar story. It was the same issue that led a 53% nightmare in shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) during its post-IPO 2012 plunge, but has turned into 550% return since August of that year. Can Twitter do the same or should investors be worried? Turns out, higher revenue might not be far away, and the company may be hiding a secret user base that dwarfs reported users. Shares could be set to jump as early as this fall with the potential to double.  Twitter’s Secret Users And Real Power Of The Platform Even as the company reported a 36% increase in quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth… Read More

We all make mistakes, especially in the investment racket. But one great thing about this business, thanks to a fluid marketplace we often get second, sometimes third, even fourth chances. So, many times, it all works out. #-ad_banner-#Three years ago I sold all of my positions in AbbVie, Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) shortly after the company was spun off from Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). I had held Abbott Labs for many years. It was one of the most revered, steady, dividend growers out there. The stock performed consistently in my clients’ portfolios.  But the company decided to, basically, split in two. Read More

We all make mistakes, especially in the investment racket. But one great thing about this business, thanks to a fluid marketplace we often get second, sometimes third, even fourth chances. So, many times, it all works out. #-ad_banner-#Three years ago I sold all of my positions in AbbVie, Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) shortly after the company was spun off from Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). I had held Abbott Labs for many years. It was one of the most revered, steady, dividend growers out there. The stock performed consistently in my clients’ portfolios.  But the company decided to, basically, split in two. Abbott focuses on nutritionals, diagnostics, generic drugs, and medical devices while AbbVie is the research driven pharmaceuticals business. I was used to having all of those things in one bundle and, honestly, I didn’t understand the reasoning for the split or the complexion of the two new companies. I decided it was best to wait till the smoke cleared. So I sold my positions. Don’t get me wrong, I still made money. But I ended up leaving a lot of money on the table. Three years is long enough for the smoke to clear and I… Read More

We’ve all heard the trading adage, “Sell in May and go away.” This annual warning tells investors to pull all of their money out of stocks on May 1 and keep it out until Nov. 1. “Sell in May” isn’t a cliche or an old traders’ tale; it’s supported by data. According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac:       After decades of historical research, we discovered that most market gains occur during the months November through April. Investing in the Dow Jones Industrial Average between November 1st and April 30th each year and… Read More

We’ve all heard the trading adage, “Sell in May and go away.” This annual warning tells investors to pull all of their money out of stocks on May 1 and keep it out until Nov. 1. “Sell in May” isn’t a cliche or an old traders’ tale; it’s supported by data. According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac:       After decades of historical research, we discovered that most market gains occur during the months November through April. Investing in the Dow Jones Industrial Average between November 1st and April 30th each year and then switching into fixed income for the other six months has produced reliable returns with reduced risk since 1950. That being said, I know many traders, myself included, aren’t content to sit on the sidelines for half the year. So, to make money in these trickier summer months, they need an edge. #-ad_banner-#I have uncovered just such an edge that can help you land big winners year round, and I plan to share it with you. But first, I promised to alert you to four big-name stocks you most definitely should sell… Read More

Few companies have suffered a faster rise and fall lately than Theranos, Inc. The company got tons of attention in recent years based on a seemingly innovative technology: a hand-held blood-testing device that promised to replace dozens of traditional blood tests by analyzing a few drops of blood obtained via pinprick rather than using vials of blood drawn with a needle. Noninvasive blood tests are a holy grail of the medical lab industry, so it’s not surprising that the privately held company attracted investors — its valuation hit $9 billion in 2014 based on hundreds of millions raised from investors. Read More

Few companies have suffered a faster rise and fall lately than Theranos, Inc. The company got tons of attention in recent years based on a seemingly innovative technology: a hand-held blood-testing device that promised to replace dozens of traditional blood tests by analyzing a few drops of blood obtained via pinprick rather than using vials of blood drawn with a needle. Noninvasive blood tests are a holy grail of the medical lab industry, so it’s not surprising that the privately held company attracted investors — its valuation hit $9 billion in 2014 based on hundreds of millions raised from investors. A partnership with Walgreens (Nasdaq: WBA) that same year seemed likely to make Theranos a household name. But starting last fall, Theranos’ credibility was damaged by a series of negative reports about the effectiveness and accuracy of its device. Federal officials at more than one agency reportedly are probing the company, including a potential criminal investigation, and Walgreens has threatened to drop its relationship. Some analysts predict the company won’t survive.  #-ad_banner-#If this episode casts a pall over other medical lab testing companies, it will only obscure the investment potential of that rare gem: a surefire growth industry. Medical lab… Read More

Technologists tell us we’re in the early stages of the third wave of the Internet: the Internet of Things (IoT). It follows the first wave, in which people adopted the Internet through desktop computers, and the second wave, in which the world adopted use of the Internet through mobile devices, such as smartphones. In this third wave, millions of people around the world are adopting apps, devices and systems that integrate the Internet with our day-to-day lives in new ways. Within the next decade, every machine, vehicle and electronic device will incorporate features that connect to the Internet and make… Read More

Technologists tell us we’re in the early stages of the third wave of the Internet: the Internet of Things (IoT). It follows the first wave, in which people adopted the Internet through desktop computers, and the second wave, in which the world adopted use of the Internet through mobile devices, such as smartphones. In this third wave, millions of people around the world are adopting apps, devices and systems that integrate the Internet with our day-to-day lives in new ways. Within the next decade, every machine, vehicle and electronic device will incorporate features that connect to the Internet and make use of its advantages — including remote monitoring and control, data accumulation and retrieval, and automation of functions now done manually. #-ad_banner-#Some examples of IoT already in widespread use are Fitbits, credit-card-accepting parking meters and smart TVs. More and more cars are equipped with Internet connections, and it’s no longer a novelty when a friend says he can control his thermostat or lock his front door remotely. From smoke detectors that automatically call the fire department to factory machinery that responds to orders made 5,000 miles away, the IoT will soon become a fact of life. It’s estimated that 90%… Read More

“The future is already here,” science fiction writer William Gibson famously said. “It’s just not evenly distributed.” While that statement is in some sense obvious — global inequality makes it so — it’s also of profound importance to investors looking for high-growth stocks. #-ad_banner-#Information technology transformed every area of human life in the 20th century. The rate of change accelerated with the personal computer in the 1980s, shifted into overdrive when Internet access became ubiquitous in the 1990s and exploded with the proliferation of mobile Internet in the 2000s. We’re now experiencing the domino effect of these enormous technological changes… Read More

“The future is already here,” science fiction writer William Gibson famously said. “It’s just not evenly distributed.” While that statement is in some sense obvious — global inequality makes it so — it’s also of profound importance to investors looking for high-growth stocks. #-ad_banner-#Information technology transformed every area of human life in the 20th century. The rate of change accelerated with the personal computer in the 1980s, shifted into overdrive when Internet access became ubiquitous in the 1990s and exploded with the proliferation of mobile Internet in the 2000s. We’re now experiencing the domino effect of these enormous technological changes as tens of thousands of innovators around the world expand on these technologies and popular platforms to create products, services and new technologies. An investor’s challenge is to see the future that’s already here — in a publicly traded company’s technology — and connect the dots to a few years from now, when the company is distributing that technology to a much wider market. The further challenge is determining when a stock is trading at a valuation that underestimates the revenue and cash flows generated by that future distribution. To that end, consider two up-and-coming tech stocks that I think… Read More

This is a true story about how a ragtag group of Average Joes made millions trading futures contracts… And I promise if you stick with me, then there’s a very good chance you just might rethink everything you ever thought about what it takes to be a successful investor. #-ad_banner-#I actually came across this interesting story awhile back and it was said to have been inspired by the 1983 Eddie Murphy movie “Trading Places.” It all started with a simple bet between two partners: Could the average person with absolutely zero… Read More

This is a true story about how a ragtag group of Average Joes made millions trading futures contracts… And I promise if you stick with me, then there’s a very good chance you just might rethink everything you ever thought about what it takes to be a successful investor. #-ad_banner-#I actually came across this interesting story awhile back and it was said to have been inspired by the 1983 Eddie Murphy movie “Trading Places.” It all started with a simple bet between two partners: Could the average person with absolutely zero Wall Street experience be taught to successfully trade the markets? On the one hand you had Richard Dennis — a self-taught commodities trader who reportedly made his first million by the age of 25. He believed he could teach someone his trading system so that the student would be just as successful as the teacher. Then there was his partner, William Eckhardt, who thought differently. He believed people were born with an innate skill or intelligence that made them better investors than the average person. To settle the bet, Dennis and… Read More