Weathering the storm…
A quick note to my few readers (I can’t believe people actually follow me, but I don’t think Google Analytics is lying). These stock-market posts were intended to be my own personal log of transactions where I try to put some sanity back into my mind and explain my logic to myself. Please take everything with a grain of salt.
These past few weeks have been very tumultuous for the stock market. But, having a strong heart (and a hard head!) is essential in order to survive in this environment. There is no such thing as “avoiding risk” in this market, but I have been trying my best. It’s been 50-50 so far…
Cisco (CSCO)
I believe the chart speaks for itself for this one. Here we have a company with solid fundamentals and great management (I hope I’m not biting my tongue on this last one). Although they exceeded the market consensus for this part quarter, the stock took a massive beating due to a poor outlook from the CEO. I admire that though, it means that management is honest about their expectations thus making it easier for me to predict where they are headed. A breath of fresh air from my past CEO experiences… I stocked up right after the drop and expect it to come back to its rightful place in three quarters.
Intel (INTC)
I cannot sing enough praises about Intel! I acquired it in the beginning of October, which in itself was a good move but I wish I had the cash sooner. I am currently up 12% and expect to be up at least another 8% before parting with it.
Dell (DELL)
I had mixed feelings going into this one. I hate the CEO, hate the product and am conservative at best with the fundamentals. However, during the Cisco beatdown Dell was a victim of “splash damage” and too good to pass up. I am currently down a couple of percentage points but I believe it is momentary. I do think however that at 14% of my portfolio, it is a lot more than I envisioned when I got into it. I am looking towards reducing at least 8% of my position and applying it elsewhere.
Bank of America (BAC), Corinthian Colleges (COCO) and Village Farms (VFFIF.PK)
I hate the whole “diversify your portfolio” talk for a simple reason: I think people should stick to what they understand. I am a tech junkie and as soon as a technology related news comes out I can easily grasp what it means and base my decisions off of it. The same cannot be said for these three stocks. I have never farmed, am barely keeping up with school and hate financials… But, sometimes you have to seize opportunities regardless of how obscure they seem at the time. If you check out Bank of America’s YTD chart you will see why this stock is due for a massive recovery, even amidst the European financial crisis.
Corinthian Colleges is a hard stock to predict. I got it after it dropped 20% after a gloomy outlook and am basically flat on it. Companies going down purely on outlook is a very reactionary move by the shorts and I believe common sense investors will squeeze it at least 10% before we can see clearer skies.
Village Farms… I honestly don’t know too much about agriculture. I do know however that organic produce is trendy and sells well, Village Farms is capitalizing heavily on this front. They consist of purely hydroponic plantations which means that crop production is strictly controlled and very predictable. An overall safe agricultural pick amongst the wave of global warming scares.
I did encounter some roadblocks to get where I am right now. I endured a somewhat substantial loss with SandRidge but recouped nearly everything with my Intel play so I guess everything is good on that end… Here is my current allocation chart for future reference:
