How to manage risk in this market when the traditional risk safe havens aren’t working
If you spend a significant part of your day staring at your computer to watch the markets, you know that, perplexingly, the traditional safe havens for mitigating portfolio risk haven’t been working very well. For example, gold, which is supposed to go up when...
FDA sets next date for Incyte arthritis drug, baricitinib
The Food and Drug Administration today announced that its Arthritis Advisory Committee will meet on April 23 to discuss the application by Incyte (INCY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) for approval of baricitinib for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely...
Holding Incyte in my Jubak Picks portfolio for mid-year catalysts
When I sold Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio on March 5, one reason I gave was that the catalysts for this biotech were too far out–results from critical drug trials weren’t likely to be reported for two years. The reason to...
Selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals out of my Jubak Picks portfolio
Today I’m selling Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) out of my Jubak Picks portfolio. I have a 13.52% loss on this position since I added the shares to the portfolio on November 15, 2016. There are short- and long-range reasons to sell. From a short-range perspective...
Nektar blows away revenue projections, gives very positive guidance on drug pipeline
Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) finished up 21.67% today to $102.87 after the biotech company announced after the close yesterday a smaller than expected fourth quarter 2017 loss of 21 cents a share (versus the Wall Street consensus projection of a 36 cents a...
Selling Caterpillar on the President’s tariff announcement
I don’t think there’s any point to waiting around to see how quickly or fiercely China will retaliate against U.S. exporters after today’s announcement that the United States will put a 25% tariff on Chinese (and other imported) steel and a 10%...
Selling Boeing shares on the President’s tariff announcement
I don’t think there’s any point to waiting around to see how quickly or fiercely China (and the European Union) will retaliate against U.S. exporters after today’s announcement that the United States will put a 25% tariff on Chinese (and other...
Saudis push OPEC to go for $70 a barrel
The goal was to cut production enough to reduce global oil inventories to their five-year average. The hope of the coalition of OPEC and Russia that reduction in production would get oil prices up to $60 a barrel. Now with that inventory reduction just about in place...
Big earnings report from MGM Resorts before the market open tomorrow
Tomorrow’s earnings report from MGM Resorts International (MGM) could be make or break for the call options that I hold on this stock in my Volatility Portfolio. The options have been all over the block in recent weeks from up 50% to down 30% on market...
Bristol-Myers puts up potential $3.6 billion in deal for 35% of a Nektar cancer drug
In the deal announced today Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) pays Nektar Therapeutics $1 billion upfront, $850 million for stock valued at a price of $102 a share, and a potential $1.78 billlion in milestone payments in exchange for access to NKTR 214, a drug candidate...
Diamondback Energy beats on earnings and starts dividend
After the close of New York trading today, Diamondback Energy (FANG) announced fourth quarter earnings of $1.56 a share (excluding one-time items). That beat the Wall Street consensus by 5 cents a share. Revenue climbed 116% year over year to $399 million, above...
China slides into correction too: Are Chinese stocks better buy on the dip candidates?
While our eyes have been glued to the volatility in U.S. markets, Chinese stocks have staged their own correction. The Shanghai Composite is down 12.1% from its high on January 24 to the low on Thursday, February 8. With the Lunar New Year and the week-long Spring...
Autoliv earnings beat and spinoff plans buck yesterday’s market plunge
While the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was falling 1.04% yesterday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was giving up 362 point, auto safety supplier Autoliv (ALV) was busy climbing 8.07% on the day to close at $149.48. (The stock, a member of my Jubak...
Starbucks disappoints in quarter but recovery in 2018 is on track
Blame it on Christmas Tree Frappuccino. On Thursday, January 25, after the market close Starbucks (SBUX) reported December (fiscal 2018 first quarter) earnings of 58 cents a share (excluding one-time tax benefits.) The results were ugly on the revenue side where  the...
GDP disappoints, durable goods orders solid
The first read on growth in the U.S. economy during the fourth quarter was a tad disappointing. GDP increased by 2.6% year over year in the fourth quarter. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were looking for growth of 2.9%. In the third quarter of 2017 GDP grew at a...
Caterpillar beats on earnings and guidance but stock falls 1.4% today
Investors and traders were determined to sell Caterpillar (CAT) shares after the stock gained 70% in 2017. That determination overshadowed yesterday’s good news on fourth quarter earnings and positive guidance for 2018. The shares, which I added to my Jubak...
Adding Boeing to Jubak Picks on weak dollar, strong global economy, tax cuts
Shares of Boeing (BA) have tumbled from $351.01 on January 17 to close at $334.69 today. I’m using the pull back to add shares to my Jubak Picks portfolio tomorrow, January 25. The Boeing story right now is one of multiple tailwinds pushing the stock higher. A...
Adding Caterpillar to my Jubak Picks and Volatility Portfolios ahead of earnings tomorrow
Caterpillar (CAT) looks to be a major beneficiary of the lower tax rates in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act and for a lower U.S. dollar. (See today’s encouragement of a weaker dollar from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin at Davos today.) Not that Caterpillar sales...
Turmoil isn’t done in lithium sector with volatility at SQM and ALB
The announcement of a deal between Sociedad QuÃmica y Minera de Chile (SQM) and Chile’s development agency CORFO that resolves a long-standing dispute on royalty rates and that would allow SQM to expand lithium production from the brines at government-owned...
Consumer Electronics Show caps great month for Synaptics
Shares of Synaptics (SYNA) closed up 13.35% today at $49.76 thanks to an upgrade to sector overweight from sector weight from KeyBanc Capital Markets and a very impressive showing for the company’s fingerprint technology for smartphones at the just concluded...
I’m adding copper exposure to my Jubak’s Picks Portfolio by moving Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold from my 50 Stocks Portfolio
By this time I think you get the message: I like the trend in copper prices and copper stocks over the next five years. I’ve added copper producers South Copper (SCCO) to my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio and First Quantum Minerals (FQVLF) to my volatility...
Nektar soars today on J.P. Morgan healthcare conference
Anybody still think that conferences, especially biotech conferences, don’t move stock prices? Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) are up 7.65% today to $61.79 as of noon New York time on the company’s appearance at this week’s J.P. Morgan biotech...
On the fourth day of Christmas my stock pick is Nvidia–and four colly birds
And what’s a colly bird and isn’t it “calling birds”? “Colly” derives from the Old English word for coal. So the song’s lyrics here call for four blackbirds. All the evidence I’ve seen argues that the use of “colly...
Don’t forget to harvest your tax losses by the end of the year
U.S. stocks have had a great year in 2017. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index is ahead 18.66% for 2017 as of the close today, December 22. The NASDAQ Composite, heavy on tech stocks and financials, is ahead 28.2%. But there’s a good likelihood that...
On the second day of Christmas my stock pick for 2018 is Nektar Therapeutics–and two-turtle doves
No point in hoping that Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) will match this year’s gain of 364% as of the close on December 18. But I think the stock could easily climb another 30% or more in 2018 as the company de-risks its very promising drug candidates in the opioid...
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Macao–and for MGM Resorts
The first ten days of December have been strong for gaming revenue in Macao. That has led investment company Sanford Bernstein to project that gaming revenue in Macao will climb 21% to 23% for the month. That would be stronger than expected–and bodes well for...
Synaptics announces top 5 phone OEM will use its in-display fingerprint sensor
This is the kind of news that the very patient investors in Synaptics (SYNA) have been waiting for. The specialist in touch-screen display technologies have announced that a top OEM will put its in-display fingerprint sensors into mass production. The phone maker will...
Autoliv to spin off its auto electronics safety business
No surprise really, which is why shares of Autoliv (ALV) climbed only 0.75% on the news today. Â But it’s still good to have a formal decision: After completing its review of the business, the company’s board has decided to spin off Autoliv’s auto...
A reminder of why Jubak Pick Incyte has been so weak lately
On December 4 MacroGenics (MGNX) announced that it had closed on its previously announced (October 25) license agreement with Incyte (INCY). For an upfront payment of $150 million and up to $420 million in milestone payments Incyte gained the exclusive global rights...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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