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Hey folks, it's Karen, Head of Data Science at Stock Card. This week I used the COVID-19 Testing Kit and meshed it with one fundamental indicator and two technical indicators using the new Filter function on the Discover page, used to result to come up with stock on my Watchlist. Let me share with you how I went about this screening.  Steps to followVisit Stock Card's Discover page, and follow these steps:
If you are a Stock Card user (on our free Starter plan or premium plans), you can see the final results by clicking on this link. It is noteworthy that the results may vary day to day due to price changes in the stocks included in the collection. As of the closing on Friday, September 11, 10 stocks are included in the screening results. Click to view the results, or continue reading.  Using filter resultsThe overall market has been quite volatile since the indices (e.g., Nasdaq-100, S&P 500) peaked on September 2. In particular, the rally of tech stocks fueled by Softbank has receded, and cautious investors may be inclined to refrain from “buying the dip” in the FAANG and tech stocks resulting in drastic declines in some of Stock Card most popular stocks. What other stocks can investors consider to diversify their portfolios away from the technology sector? Investing in the stocks in the COVID-19 Testing Kit collection could be an excellent way to get exposure to the biotech and healthcare sectors and diversify one’s portfolio. Let’s take Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE: TMO), one of the ten stocks in the filtering results, as an example.  Add to watchlistThe chart below shows that TMO has outperformed the S&P 500 index throughout the year and is very close to the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) Year-to-Date returns daily based on returns. In the most recent pullback since Sept 3, as both S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been laggard, TMO has shown increasing strength, which is reflected in the daily returns. This may qualify TMO as a good addition to your watchlist. 
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Investing in biotechnology companies that focus on the fight against COVID-19 involves understanding four main components: diagnostics, cure, vaccine, and distribution. More than 100 companies are competing in the vaccine development race, and several others are already getting ready to produce and distribute it. However, to contain the spread, diagnostic testing is an important frontier as the vaccine development is. As always, what becomes a society's priority tends to become a noteworthy investment too. This week, we turn our focus on COVID-19 Testing Kit stocks to give StockCardians and our broader community a starting point for their fight against COVID-19, investing-style.  Research methodologyThe overall process of diagnostic testing depends on several different products such as swabs, glass vials, RT-PCR testing machines, a laboratory apparatus most commonly in DNA segmenting via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electronic or disposable pipettes, filter tips, and refrigerated microcentrifuges. To those products, one can add services such as test sample transportation and imaging centers. To build a robust list of companies involved in manufacturing testing kits and distribute diagnostic testing, we first referred to Stock Card’s proprietary market database to look for diagnostic testing companies. We then validated the list with holdings of exchange-traded funds such as the GERM ETF, which seeks to track the Prime Treatments, Testing, and Advancements Index. Main challengeBecause of the priority and popularity of the COVID-19- related topics, almost every pharmaceutical, and healthcare company associate its operations with developing a testing kit, vaccine, or cure. However, the tricky part of the research was to screen for companies that are much more committed to finding the cure, assisting with diagnostics, and producing materials needed for various efforts in the COVID-19 ecosystem and are achieving early success. Our analyst team spent more than two weeks evaluating the list qualitatively, and the result has turned out to be a reliable yet robust list of companies worthy of your attention. Risk and opportunityAs always, when you invest in companies without a proven track record of product and financial success, it involves risk. The risk is exacerbated when dealing with biotechnology companies in the COVID-19 ecosystem of vaccine and testing kits developments and has no other revenue sources. Your investment success would have two possible extreme outcomes. Either the company succeeds, and you win with it. Or, despite all the efforts and stock price volatility, the investment loses all its value. A binary result is the most typical risk you'd need to be ready to face, should you choose to invest in the COVID-19 testing kit stocks. The evidence of such binary outcome is visible in the rapid decline of the stock prices of testing kit frontrunners such as Quidel, Hologic, and Quest Diagnostics, since the launch of the low-cost testing kit by Abbot. While that's a substantial risk, it may also mean an opportunity. It is worth evaluating some of the beaten-down testing kits stocks to find well-managed companies that are not purely reliant on a testing kit's success and can recover into more reasonable valuation in the future. ResultsAfter the thorough research and curation of the list, we identified more than 80 companies involved in producing the COVID-19 testing kits and providing diagnostic testing services. You can access them directly by clicking on the below button. Alternatively, type in "COVID-19 testing kit" in the search bar, and you get the list.
Stock Card's Founder and CEO invited Dr. Alex Koh from the Family Investments YouTube channel to dig deep and research Fastly's stock. There is a surprise stock pick at the end of the video. It may or may not be Crowdstrike (CRWD)! Disclaimer: Stock Card, Inc. and Family Investments YouTube channel have an ongoing marketing partnership, and Stock Card sponsors some of Family Investments' videos and content.
Investing in promising innovations that can potentially shape the future could be one of the best long-term investment strategies. One prominent example is the Electric Vehicles market. Electric vehicles date back to the 1830s when the first generation of eco-friendly cars came about. Later on, companies like Tesla brought the technology into the limelight and made it somewhat affordable for mass production. Since then, the wave of fuel-efficient and low-emission cars has spread to all types of vehicles, including heavy trucks and trains, and the technology has even spread to adjacent markets such as electric spacecraft!  To become a part of such an innovative market, one can invest in the growing electric vehicle companies for several years and benefit from the long-term price appreciation. How do you find such companies, especially those that are not yet well-known but are developing the critical components of this truly future-defining industry? When we say "electric vehicles," one would almost immediately think of Tesla! However, even though Tesla is one of the leading companies in this market, some well-established automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW, and Nissan, have entered into this new market as competitors. And, the story doesn't stop there. Who builds the batteries, the software, and other components that enable this industry? To answer that question, Stock Card team (Shama Patwardhan, Head of LiveOps and Raj Arora, Research Analyst Intern) dug deep into the industry and identified the companies that are enabling the “Electric Vehicles” to evolve and grow. Our research methodologyInvesting in the electric vehicles industry is not limited to just EV manufacturing companies. A large number of companies support the supply chain, which qualifies them as potential investment choices. Investors may find hidden gems among these lesser-known companies. We began our research by mapping all of the different markets associated with the electric vehicles manufacturing process. We looked at the various components manufacturers, electric car charging businesses, lithium-ion technology-based battery manufacturing companies, lithium miners, and software development that powers electric self-driving cars. Here are a few markets associated with the “Electric Vehicles” collection:
ResultsAs we wrapped up our research on electric vehicles, we discovered close to 100 companies that belong to the "Electric Vehicles" collection. Before jumping in, let's remember that this market is still relatively new, and investing in rapidly evolving but new technologies come with inherent investment risks. For instance, manufacturing electric vehicles requires a significant investment in the infrastructure, which may get delayed or impact investors' short-term returns. Moreover, several companies on this list are still in the early stage and do not have a commercial product (e.g., Nikola Corp). Investors may need to stay invested and be patient with their investment through several possible volatile periods before the investment pans out. Keep those risks in mind and explore our new "Electric Vehicles" collection to discover investment-worthy companies to add to your watch-lists and portfolios Disclaimer: Stock Card team owns shares of Tesla.
When there is the wind, you can either build a wall to protect yourself or erect a windmill to harvest it. The stock market is volatile, and most good investors learn how to "build a wall" to protect themselves from volatility. However, great investors learn to harvest it.
According to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of Antifragile, whatever that doesn't like volatility, is fragile. A teacup hates sudden movement because a sudden change means the demise of the teacup. Similarly, most stock market investors hate market volatility. There is an entire financial services industry built to create teacups, stable, low-volatility portfolios. Diversification is a classic example of "teacupification." Financial advisors and experts take clients' money and put in a diversified portfolio. They also ask the clients to be patient and give the portfolio enough time to overcome the volatility. Less risk, less reward, and longer time horizons are the typical ways investors deal with volatility. For my entire life as an investor, I have been in this camp.
Avoiding risky stocks, such as recent IPOs, and giving my portfolio time to let volatility pass have made me an excellent investor. The evidence is my "Roll With Our CEO" portfolio. On Average, it has outperformed the S&P 500, the leading benchmark for gauging performance. I have overperformed the market, which is excellent. However, my overperformance in the market is not massive. In most years, I've overperformed the market by a few percentage points. In a few good years, I crushed the market by doubling the market return. It's great! I can continue doing so, and time can heal most money losses. You can do it too. Pick well managed, well-funded winners, let them grow over the years, and grow your investment with them. A few percentage overperformances every year, over a few decades, become good enough to retire safely. But, what if there was another way. What if instead of controlling volatility and protecting your portfolio from volatility, we could erect a windmill and harvest it?
Introducing the "Windmill" portfolio
The windmill portfolio is a portfolio designed to harvest market volatility. It is built on the foundation that risk is reasonable and must be harvested not mitigated. Four pillars guide me in the creation and management of this portfolio:
With those criteria in mind, and as always, I would document and share my assessment of each stock added to the Windmill portfolio with our VIP subscribers. Make sure to follow the portfolio by clicking on the bell icon on the top-right corner of the portfolio page. I will also add the decision to my "Roll With Our CEO" portfolio since that portfolio includes every decision I have made since November of 2014. Roll With Our CEO portfolio is my overall report card as an investor if you'd like to call it.
The Coronavirus pandemic engulfed the whole world at the beginning of 2020, bringing all economies to a standstill. Offices and stores closed down to prevent the spread of the virus. Developing, producing, and distributing a cure and vaccine to immunize the world population became a race many pharmaceutical companies have embarked on. Consequently, media, investors, and traders have been speculating, discussing, and pouring money into those pharmaceutical companies. The hope for a vaccine has fueled unprecedented market volatility we have rarely seen in the recent market history. After all, there is a race going on, the race to COVID-19 vaccine.  The launch of "COVID-19 Vaccine Race" collection In May 2020, the United States government introduced a framework for 'Operation Warp Speed,' a national program to accelerate the development, production, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The program aims to have the vaccines ready by January 2021. More than 100 biotech companies began investing in the development of vaccines for the COVID-19 virus in the first quarter of 2020. According to the Federal Drug Administration, as of June 2020, there have been approvals to more than 25 companies to fast track the development and testing of their vaccines. And, another 141 companies are still in the development phase. Our research methodology As always, the Stock Card team took on researching the most viable investment opportunities that our users and community must add to their watchlist, if they plan to participate in the race to the vaccine. We investigated different activities that support the development, production, and distribution of a vaccine and added a list of companies involved in the process to our collections and themes. This list enables you to discover promising companies to invest in easily should you choose to participate in the race to the vaccine. To create the "COVID-19 Vaccine Race" collection, a lot of research went into understanding the whole process involved in the end-to-end development of the vaccine, and the pre- and post-vaccine steps required in the process. We identified all the industries and markets which play crucial roles in making the vaccine a success. For example, one of the primary core markets is the vaccine components and raw materials. Our research found a high demand for vaccine adjuvants, which are essential in any vaccine. Few other markets that are discussed less frequently but are as important as the vaccine development are the companies involved in the vaccine production, including glass vials, cold chain logistics, and syringes, and needles. Therefore, the race to a vaccine isn't only about Vaccine development and encompasses an entire ecosystem of companies working together to take the global population to immunity destination. Here's a list of the primary markets vital to the vaccine development and distribution: Results In the race to the COVID-19 vaccine, the competition between companies is fierce as all companies strive to win. We put together a list of 60 companies, accelerating their development to win the race. Some of these companies may be very small but watchlist-worthy. Some are large and stable, with several products already in the market. Start your research by visiting Stock Card's COVID-19 Vaccine Race collection. You can always add additional filters to narrow down the list to your portfolio's most suitable stocks.
Which internet and social media company will dominate the market next? Is it either Snap (SNAP) or Sogou (SOGO), and whether either of them a safe buy as a long term investment?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Sogou's research: Sogou (SOGO) is a Chinese search engine with a language input technology that captures Chinese expressions and phrases on the internet. Recently, the company's shares were moving up, which has speculative investors interested in the stock. Its recent earnings report shows that the company's search business is outperforming the market despite the pandemic. Total revenue grew by 2% compared to a year ago and reached $257 million, and the company is profitable with a 12-month EPS of $0.15. However, compared to the industry benchmark, it has a smaller gross profit margin, which is concerning, and the revenue growth, while positive, is small.
Snap's research:
Snap (SNAP) calls itself a camera company. However, most people know the company by its social networking app Snapchat. Since going public in mid-2017, it has evolved its app in many ways. Starting from a simple image and video app, Snap has added image enhancing, ads, video content, games, and augmented reality capabilities. While seeing steady growth, Snap has recovered quite well from the low of March. Its recent earnings report shows that despite its struggles with profitability, sales growth is robust. However, the company's gross profit margin and 12 month EPS are both negative and lower than the industry benchmark.
Final decision:
While Sogou has a massively larger audience to tap into, Snap already has its position as a market leader and is widely popular in the U.S. among the younger crowd. Moreover, the company's focus on enhancing its platform beyond basic social media features and into augments reality capabilities are some of the features that may lead to its rapid growth in the future.
Which renewable energy company is a more lucrative investment? With Plug Power (PLUG) and Canadian Solar (CSIQ) taking different approaches to renewable energy, which company is poised for growth in the future?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here.
Research and analysis:
Plug Power (PLUG) and Canadian Solar (CSIQ) are two leaders in the renewable energy industry. The two companies have a history of being at the forefront of the extremely popular niche and are pioneering developments in fuel cell and solar panel technology.
Plug Power's analysis: Plug Power is an innovator of modern hydrogen and fuel cell technology. According to the company's quarterly earnings release, "it has revolutionized the material handling industry with its full-service GenKey solution, which is designed to increase productivity, lower operating costs, and reduce carbon footprints reliably and cost-effectively." Based on Scott Levine's analysis, shares of Plug Power are up 180% year-to-date due to investors growing more confident that the company is on track to meet management's 2024 projection of generating sales of $1.2 billion and an operating income of $170 million. Plug Power has also strengthened its business profile by acquiring two companies in June that will aid in the business of hydrogen generation. While the company has a track record of growing its top line, many experts are wary of its future. The company's history of diluting shares also has investors skeptical about the future of the company.
Canadian Solar's analysis:
Canadian Solar is an integrated provider of solar power products, services, and system solutions. While many solar panel companies have gone bankrupt, Canadian Solar has thrived over the past decade, and investors are quite confident in its future. The solar panel expert set a goal of solar module shipments this year and expects to increase its growth rate by over 15% by the end of this year. Canadian Solar also has a strong focus on the energy storage market with a massive 2,820 megawatt-hours of storage projects. According to the company's Stock Card, the company's profitability seems quite positive last year, with an EPS growth trend of 10%. Its last quarter's profit margin is also at around 27%, which is over 10% higher than industry benchmarks. One prevalent risk that financial analysts like Scott Levine discuss is that solar panel businesses tend to sacrifice pricing power for market share. Final decision: Although the fuel cell market is expected to grow by around 13%, Plug Power's financials seem to be weak compared to Canadian Solar's. Canadian Solar has a long history of profitability and growth as well as the market for solar panels being expected to grow substantially.
With tech companies like Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) and Alphabet (GOOG) leading the way for everything from internet content to gaming, which of these companies is better investment? Which company has bigger growth potential, especially after the pandemic has shaken up the market?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Stock research and anaysis: Tencent and Alphabet are two of the world's most influential tech companies. Tencent's businesses consist of market-leading gaming, mobile messaging, advertising, cloud, and media streaming businesses. Tencent's stock has surged nearly 50% over the past 12 months, and many investors are hyped about the Chinese internet giant's growth potential. Much of this surge has to do with Tencent being the largest video game publisher in the world. Tencent’s massive video game publication list includes League of Legends, Clash of Clans, Honor of Kings, and has a stake in Epic Games and Bluehole. According to Leo Sun, a tech and consumer goods specialist, the gaming section generated 35% of Tencent's revenue last quarter and grew substantially due to COVID-19 forcing people to stay at home. Tencent's online advertising business, its second most profitable sector, was also flourishing due to online education, and e-commerce companies trying to push ad purchases to stay-at-home consumers. The increase in revenue in ad purchases offset the slower growth of the ad purchases in the travel, auto, and consumer goods markets due to COVID-19 . Overall, Tencent is a stable and diversified company that has few risks. One major risk for the Chinese internet giant is that it has some major competitors. Companies such as ByteDance and Alibaba (BABA) are fierce competitors in the internet space and control a majority of the market share. Alphabet is a large tech company that owns Google and is fairly diversified in internet content and information. Alphabet's Google dominates online searches, its Android OS leads the smartphone market, and its YouTube division reached over two billion users. The company's stock has grown roughly 35% over the last 12 months, making it a bit less than Tencent. The slower growth rate could be due to the Alphabet's reliance on Google's advertisement business, which generated 82% of the company's revenue last quarter. This dependence on advertisement revenue leaves the company a bit more exposed to the market's dynamics and sensitive to the cost of acquiring traffic. In the latest quarterly earnings report, Google's traffic acquisition costs remained steady year-over-year at 22% of its total ad revenue. However, that percentage could rise as the COVID-19 crisis throttles ad purchases, and fierce competitors, such as Facebook and Amazon, expand their advertising platforms. Moreover, in the recently announced quarterly report, Alphabet's revenue rose 13% annually in the first quarter and seems to be going steady with a 3% increase today. The slower than expected advertisement revenue growth is a risk investors in Alphabet have to consider. Considering that both companies are the heavy-weight titans of their respective markets and industries, which one is a better investment choice?
Final decision:
While both stocks are solid long term investments, I'd buy Tencent for its better-diversified business, stronger financials, and stronger growth rates.
With COVID-19 boosting the success of Dominoes Pizza (DPZ) and Wingstop (WING), which of these companies is a better buy? Are these growth numbers sustainable for both these casual restaurant giants?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Stock Card's Watchlist for Beginners list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Stock research and analysis: The restaurant industry is experiencing some extreme difficulties at the moment. According to the National Restaurant Association, roughly 100,000 restaurants are expected to close permanently in the next month, with more than 30,000 already shut down. With over three million restaurant workers out of a job and $25 billion lost, the industry is forced to adapt to the delivery business model or to shut down inevitably. Two casual restaurants that have been more than prepared to tackle the pandemic and adjust their business model are Domino's Pizza and Wingstop. Domino's is a leading competitor in the $84 billion global pizza market. It has caught many investors' eyes with their move to delivery and a new menu addition of chicken wings. Domino's quarterly earnings report was shared by the company yesterday and reported revenue and earnings that far exceeded investor expectations. The second quarter totaled $920 million, which is up from $811 million last year. Wingstop's same-store sales and its international sales grew 16% and 1% respectively. These positive numbers, combined with its move to offer chicken wings on its menu, make Domino's a lucrative option for investors. One prevalent risk of this well-established pizza stock is that experts are cautious of the high share price due to the positive earnings report. Experts are informing investors that it's likely smarter to wait for a pullback to around mid 300's to look to invest in the pizza giant seriously. Wingstop is a high-growth franchisor and operator of restaurants specializing in cooked-to-order, hand-sauced, and tossed chicken wings. Wingstop has planned on becoming a top 10 restaurant/food brand in the U.S. despite the harsh conditions of the pandemic. When dining rooms closed across the country, Wingstop was quite prepared due to 80% of its sales being to-go orders. Its digital sales were already 40% of total sales, giving it a robust technology platform to accommodate the sudden shift in consumer behavior. Wingstop shares flew 61% higher during the first half of the year, making it the top restaurant stock. Domestic same-store sales rose 30% higher in April, meaning that its sales growth streak of 16 years is still intact. Wingstop even ended the first half of the year with its first "ghost kitchen," a small space designed entirely for a to-go operating model. This shows the company's commitment to the changing landscape of the struggling industry. ​ While Wingstop has a very successful business plan, experts associate some risks with the company. With a ridiculously high valuation, investors assume that Wingstop's success will never stop, and that could be a dangerous assumption. A shift in dietary preferences among Americans could spell serious trouble for the chicken wing company. With waves of "healthy lifestyle" campaigns, Wingstop's products might not match the health benefits of other foods. Companies like Beyond Meat (BYND) are hitting billion-dollar valuations and could be a serious potential competitor in the future.
Final decision:
With the pandemic changing the restaurant industry's landscape, these two companies are in a prime position to grow due to their adaptable business models and reliable use of technology. While both of these stocks are lucrative, I would bet on Domino's due to its recent strong earnings numbers and willingness to dip its feet into different food products to appeal to a larger crowd.
Today I want to talk about two giant tech innovators that have just become competitors. Apple (AAPL) and Zoom Video Communications (ZM) weren't competing directly until the lastest product launch by Zoom. Now, the question is which one is a better buy, and why? This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Stock research and analysis: Apple (AAPL) is a mature brand in an established but growing market. According to the company's Stock Card, the consumer electronics market is set to grow by almost 9% annually. The tech giant tops $267 billion in yearly revenues and even posted an impressive 9% topline growth in its annual report last year before the pandemic. With COVID-19 slowing sales, though, its most recent quarter's year-over-year growth was only 0.5%. Analysts estimate Apple's full-year gains to come in just above 1%. While Apple is one of the premier blue-chip stocks, there are still risks associated with the company. A slowdown in the smartphone market's growth could be exponentially painful since over half its current revenue comes from its iPhone products. Moreover, Apple relies on its device owners' base to grow its other revenue segments, such as financial services and content. It is paramount to Apple to maintain and slowly increase its device owners' base. Zoom Video Communications (ZM), founded in 2011, is a video communication platform that has skyrocketed in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom is a small upstart that's posting massive growth in the number of users. The pandemic has strengthened the video platform's most recent quarter's revenues to a massive 169% year-over-year growth. The full year outlook of the company is set to top $1.7 billion, which is almost a 200% increase from the previous year. Rather obvious risk of investing in Zoom now is its high stock price thanks to the seemingly unstoppable stock price rally since the start of the pandemic. The interesting new development in this market is the launch of Zoom's iPad's lookalike. The company just announced a hardware device for home videoconferencing, not too, unlike Apple's iPad. On the one hand, I applaud the company's bold move in the hardware market. On the other hand, I'm pausing to ask whether Zoom believes its growth rate in the video communication software has reached maturity this fast that it would need to launch a hardware product to continue to grow. Perhaps the rapid growth due to the pandemic accelerated the adoption of video conferencing by businesses and schools, and Zoom might have already reached its peak. Final decision: The choice between these two depends on your investment style. If you are looking for a very established low-risk stock, then Apple would be a solid buy. If you are looking for the chance for a more highly valued growth stock with more risk attached, then Zoom would be a great pick. I would choose Zoom due to its massive potential for growth and high returns.
With COVID-19 cases at an all-time high in the U.S., which biotech companies are leading the race for a vaccine? Will Moderna (MRNA) or Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) create the first COVID-19 vaccine? This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Stock research and analysis: The COVID-19 vaccine race has been on the mind of many investors looking to take advantage of the pandemic. With several biotech titans and new-comers tackling this issue, many investors are confused about who is at the forefront of this race. Out of many choices, Moderna and Inovio Pharmaceuticals seem to be in the running to create the first successful COVID-19 vaccine. Shares of Moderna are up almost 7% today due to its unveiling of positive test results for a phase one study. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine contains mRNA that tells the body to produce a structure similar to the spike protein. The theory behind this is it will stimulate the immune system to create antibodies. This potentially groundbreaking research has investors eagerly awaiting the beginning of a phase three test that includes around 30,000 test patients. Despite the positive technological outlook, Moderna still has a couple of issues as an investment. It does not sell any commercial products at the moment, and it has reported quarterly losses for several years. This by itself is significant enough for investors to take a second look before investing, regardless of investor hype. Inovio Pharmaceuticals is a contender due to its results for a phase one study. However, they are quite behind compared to Moderna. Inovio focuses on DNA instead of mRNA. The company's vaccine uses strands of DNA, which are called plasmids, and inserts them directly into the cells. It uses a quick electrical pulse that opens tiny pores in the cells allowing the plasmids to enter (a process called electroporation). While the research is sound, investors are not as confident in Inovio as of late. Shares of Inovio are down almost 7% today after hitting a high point in late June. While they seem to be slower than Moderna with the testing of its COVID-19 vaccine, the results from its phase one study are promising. A staggering 94% of participants aged 18 to 50 demonstrated immune responses six weeks after two doses of the vaccine were given. Like Moderna, Inovio is a risky investment due to the lack of strong operations irrespective of the technological advances in producing the vaccine. Final decision: While Moderna seems to be leading the race with its efficient testing and groundbreaking research, betting on a single company in a volatile race could spell disaster for investors riding the wave. If something goes wrong with the clinical trial's final stage, it may lose a significant portion of its value. Investors who invest in this stock should be ready for volatility and the probability of losing money in exchange with an outsized return likelihood. I'm not confident that any of these two stocks are fit for a beginner investor.
The market rally following the March 2020 Covid-19 dip has somewhat distorted everyone's views. The line between what's worth buying and holding, and what's only pushed by an extraordinary, and most likely short-lived transition of living at home are very blurry. The job of a good investor is to distinguish what's here to stay and what's not. A point of distinction between those two sets of companies is their growth rate before the pandemic. Today, we updated our "A Gift of Stock" portfolio with a company that was already growing before the pandemic.  The new stock pick for our "A Gift of Stock" portfolio is a company that was growing rapidly, even before the start of the pandemic, and the pandemic has only proliferated its growth. With less than 3% market share in one of the oldest industries in our economy, the new stock pick is an excellent fit for our "A Gift of Stock" portfolio. Our CEO's nephews, who will be holding on to these shares for more than a decade without worrying about the ups and downs of the market, got a new gift today. Stock Card VIP users have a chance to view the pick. You can subscribe to a free trial and join them reading about this new stock pick and check out all other stocks in this portfolio. Are Joyy (YY) and Cloudflare (NET) undervalued at the moment? Is the pandemic increasing the growth rate of these companies? This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list. If you want to see other stocks in this category, click here. Stock research and analysis: Two stocks that seem to have high growth potential in the coming years are Joyy (YY) and Cloudflare (NET). Joyy is a Chinese based social media and online digital streaming platform that has garnered a large amount of attention in the east. China's population is around 1.4 billion people, and almost 800 million of these people have access to the internet. That is more than double the population of the United States to put it into perspective. With a considerable audience to potentially attract, investors are excited about the future of this company. Joyy's stock is up 50% year-to-date, and the share price chart shows that it wasn't hit as hard by COVID-19 than other companies. A critical part of Joyy's growth in recent months is its acquisition of a Singapore based live streaming platform called Bigo. Bigo has become the 5th fifth largest site in the world for streaming apps and is continuing to grow. Experts are raising Joyy's price target to about $125, which is a massive $43 difference from the current share price. Cloudflare is a multibillion-dollar online network operator that offers content delivery network services, web infrastructure and website security, and domain name server services for businesses. With more people working remotely from home and businesses relying on teleconferences, Cloudflare's products and services are in high demand. The last earnings report shows that Cloudflare's revenue is surging and beating the predicted forecasts by a wide margin. It also reported 250,000 new customers in the previous quarter, which adds to their existing customer base of over 2.5 million. With revenue and sales doing well, experts are raising the price target to around $52, which is $15 more than the current share price. Final decision: Although both companies have strong qualities for the current landscape of their market, Joyy seems to have more explosive growth potential. While the pandemic has shot Cloudflare up significantly, Joyy seems likely to succeed due to a massive market that it can tap into.
With the recent acquisition of Vivint Solar (VSLR), will Sunrun (RUN) dominate the residential solar panel industry? Will the merger fix the long term business model problems that both companies have?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. These stocks are apart of our Companies Shaping the Future stock list, if you want to see other stocks in this category, click here.
Stock research and analysis: The global solar energy market is a multibillion dollar industry and according to Allied Market Research is projected to reach $223 billion by 2026, growing at a rate of 20% annually. The need for new sustainable energy has caused many companies to tackle this issue by offering solar energy to mainly residential customers. Two prominent solar companies that have investors excited are Vivint Solar (VSLR) and Sunrun (RUN). Sunrun is in the process of squiring its smaller rival, Vivint Solar. If approved, the merger will create a new titan in the American solar market: the largest solar installer and solar panel lessor in the country, with annual sales exceeding $1.2 billion. The deal comes as America’s consumer solar panel industry claws its way back from the difficulties of the pandemic. Door-to-door sales, a common marketing practice for solar panel businesses, practically ceased as lockdowns were enforced in most states. Experts are quite positive on the deal though and are bumping Vivint Solar's price target from $12 a share to $18 and Sunrun's from $25 to $32. Once merged, the company is expected to control a massive 23% of the solar installation market, beating out other competitors such as Tesla (TSLA). While many investors are excited about the acquisition, there are still several of problems that these companies face in the long term. Long term solar products are considered risky due to how fast the solar panel industry is changing and evolving. Customers, as a result, might not be receptive to older solar panel models in their house and on their rooftop. Costs also seem to be an issue for both Sunrun and Vivint Solar. The residential solar market has been very liberal with their pricing methods.The entire market tends to resort to falling prices to appeal to a larger audience. A team-up between Sunrun and Vivint Solar will have little impact on their cost problem over the long term. While this acquisition could allow Sunrun to maintain higher prices for longer due to reduced competition, Sunrun will still have to contend with a shaky business model. Lastly, the quality of competition in the residential solar market is going to increase dramatically moving forward with new competitors in the space.
Final decision:
There seems to be plenty of reason to get behind this merger due to their large market share as well as positive investor sentiment. However, both these companies' business models will be tested in the long term once better solar technology is developed.
Is the gene-editing industry set to grow expansively in the next five years? With all the speculation behind gene-editing, are CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) and bluebird bio (BLUE) good investments over the long term? This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not. Stock research and analysis Gene-editing technology is a rapidly growing industry that manipulates the basic building blocks of life. Two of the leaders in the space of gene-editing are CRISPR Therapeutics and Bluebird bio. CRISPR Therapeutics received some attention last year when it announced positive results from an experimental trial with a product called CTX001. This product is being developed as a potential treatment for two blood disorders called sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. With newly released data that points to the massive potential for success, investors seem to be quite positive about this company's future. Currently, the company has over $900 million in cash, compared to about $240 million in annual expenses. If successful, gene therapy will target a $5 billion market opportunity for hemoglobin related blood disorders. Bluebird bio stock price has been down since the beginning of the year by almost 30%. However, many experts are still quite enthusiastic about the company's future potential. Unlike most of its competitors, Bluebird bio already has a product in the market with its Zynteglo, a treatment for TDT(terminal transferase) approved in 2019. This company had many investors excited because, before Zynteglo, there were no treatments available for TDT. Bluebird also collaborates with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) to develop a potential cancer treatment called ide-cel, which many people are excited about. Moreover, the company has a lower price point that could take off in the coming years due to how fast the gene-editing industry is expected to grow annually. Final Decision While Bluebird has a ton of upside in addition to its already successful product in the market, CRISPR Therapeutics looks much stronger. It has a history of outperforming the market and promises new trial results. Between the two, I would add CRISPR to my watchlist, and revisit Bluebird after a few quarters.
With many industries having to revamp their business model due to COVID-19, How will two titans in the Cruise Line industry tackle the pandemic? Will Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) return to their success before the pandemic, or are they permanently damaged?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I don't own these two stocks, and my goal here is to study them to decide whether to invest or not.
Stock research and analysis
Cruise Line stocks are in an extremely volatile position at the moment due to difficulties being presented by the pandemic. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line stocks, the world's second and third largest cruise companies, are down around 6% and 5% today. However, many experts are saying that cruise stocks could be an interesting long term play since their stock price has fallen so low. Before COVID-19, the cruise industry was enjoying some of the most robust industry growth rates outside of the technology sector. According to a graph from cruising industry trade group cruising.org, the number of global ocean cruise passengers has grown by an average of 5.36% annually since 2009. Industry group Cruise Lines International Association had even projected an acceleration to 6.7% growth in 2020 before the pandemic. Some investors are clinging to the hope that once normalcy returns, the cruise line industry will see the return of these high growth numbers, while other investors are concerned with just how much damage COVID-19 could happen due to the industry. Health authorities have banned ships with more than 250 passengers from sailing from the U.S., the sector's largest market. Royal Caribbean also has built up a numerous amount of debt over the years due to acquiring other smaller cruise lines over the years. According to the quarterly report, Royal Caribbean has around 12 billion dollars in debt while also not being able to resume business until September, most likely. Norwegian Cruise Line, on the other hand, has 6 billion in debt and is the smaller of the two companies.
Final Decision
My pick of the day is neither of the two stocks. However, I would watch Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for now. It has a lower debt as well as an extremely low price point compared to Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL). However, investing in both companies seems to be a bit of a gamble right now because the impact of the COivd-19 pandemic is still in full force.
We are looking at Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) today.
Why Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) shares fell more than 3% today?
Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals lost more than 3% on Wednesday. The SEC is fining the company for bribing foreign government officials to receive favorable treatment. The company's subsidiaries from 2010 to 2015 in Turkey and Russia from 2011 to 2015 bribed officials and maintained false records of such payments. The fine is adding up to a bit more than $20 million, but investors hate such dealings with the SEC, as they should. And, the stock is paying the price.
The company is still a very well-managed, cash-rich pharmaceutical that develops treatment for rare diseases such as multiple sclerosis (M.S.). Its SOLIRIS® (ECULIZUMAB) is a leading drug in the U.S. Assuming that this bribery case doesn't snowball to a bigger fraud, the stock is hovering in an undervalued range that may be worth adding to your watchlist. Check out the company's Stock Card to see the evidence of its strong operations.
The recent news of Walmart's subscription program ignites the old Walmart (Ticker: WMT) vs. Costco (Ticker: COST) debate. Aside from the launch of Walmart+, the question is whether these retail giants benefit from the pandemic? And whether their performance during the COVID-19 pandemic justifies adding to our portfolio?
This is Sailesh Tirupasur. I'm a part of Stock Card's summer internship program in 2020, and this post is a part of my Stock Battle series. I used to publish them every day in our private user community, and I'm expanding them to the blog as of July 8th, 2020.
Stock research and analysis
Costco and Walmart are two of the biggest retail store chains in the United States. While the retail industry seems to be shrinking due to pandemic difficulties and the rise of online shopping, these two retail giants seem to still be going strong.
Costco has recovered from a 30% year-over-year drop in-store visits in April to only a 6.5% drop in June. Moreover, with Texas, Florida, and Arizona seeing a massive rise in cases of COVID-19, Costco is one of the first places consumers visit to stock up on anything from food to household appliances. Costco has seen significant success with its membership model, and almost 20% of all its members are part of their more expensive business membership. On top of that, the wholesaler last reported May sales numbers on June 3 that show a 5.5% U.S. sales jump from the same month last year. Walmart is planning to announce its own membership program later this month called Walmart+, and is expected to offer several perks designed to get customers to shop more often. This has investors excited as loyalty programs like Amazon Prime or Walmart+ tend to lock customers into longer-term relationships with the company. However, some experts are relatively cautious due to the amount of expenditure required in replicating Amazon's delivery system. Amazon has seen nearly a 30% increase every year in delivery costs, which seems to keep going up.
Final decision
While Walmart+ program seems quite promising for the massive retail store, I would have to go with Costco as a safer investment. Costco has a better performance against the overall market and already has a tried-and-teste membership model with many loyal customers. It's a safer bet.
We are looking at Livongo (LVGO) today.
Why Livongo (LVGO) stock jumped today?
Shares of Livongo Health were up more than 20% on Tuesday. The company announced a preliminary second-quarter report, and revenue growth is exceeding everyone's expectations.
If you don't know the company, this might be a good time to add it to your watchlist. The company is a technology platform provider for the detection and prevention of diabetes in the United States. The company's solution expands into other medical conditions, such as weight management. Livongo is not profitable but has more than a 70% gross margin. With no debt on its balance sheet, it continues to fund its growth without worrying about cash. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped the company grow even faster ad more employers are looking for digital ways to help their employees manage their health. Check out the company's Stock Card to have an eye on it:
We are looking at Dominion Energy (D) today.
Why Dominion Energy (D) stock fell today?
The outbreak of Coronavirus has changed the way we live and work dramatically. The impact is not limited to people having masks on, and sitting 6 feet apart. The more prominent but less visible change is the transition of work from offices and commercial physical spaces to our homes. Working from home is not just limited to having a desk set-up, although that's certainly a necessity. The more critical enabler of the working-from-home era is digital infrastructure, such as a smoother log-in and access to the tools employees need to do their job. The more digital works become, the more significant is the need for easier online communications, document management, payment, and cybersecurity. Such a simultaneous and rapid shift to a new way of working has boosted companies' growth prospects associated with "work-from-home" products. At Stock Card, we live by the belief that our investment is a financial image of our lives, and it was only a matter of time before we completed our research to introduce a new list of companies that enable the work-from-home era.
Launching Stock Card's "Work-From-Home" collection
Last week, we introduced a collection called "Companies Shaping the Future." Many users told us that it helped them discover new growing companies to add to their portfolios. We hope the new "work-from-home" collection does the same. To build this list, we picked themes and markets associated with making "work-from-home" possible, less expensive, and more reliable. We have included companies from 40 different markets to create this new list. Some of these markets are:
You can click on the above links to see the individual market collections.
Results
The above screening gave us a list of 450 companies as a starting point for your research. The best way to use this new collection is to look it up in the search bar, use the "advanced filters" to add your criteria and get a list of stocks that fit your investment goal. The video below shows you how, or click here to get the full list...
If you don't have a brokerage account to invest in Work-From-Home stocks, here is one of the best. We like the M1 Finance app that has an easy-to-use interface. Give it a try if you are in the market for a new brokerage account:
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We are looking at Workhorse Group (WKHS) today.
Why Workhorse Group (WKHS) stock jumped today?
Shares of Workhorse Group (WKHS) were up more than 18% on Wednesday. It seems that the company is getting a nod of approval from financial analysts and investors alike. As an example, BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis almost doubled his price target for the stock. It also didn't hurt for the stock to join the Russell 3000® index, which brings more attention, media, and analysts coverage.
So, what's all the fuss about?
Founded in 2007, the company already has nearly 400 vehicles on the road. The company has a partnership with USPS to manufacture electric delivery vehicles for the United States Postal Service. The company is already delivering its product to customers such as UPS. More interesting is the company's last-mile delivery vehicles that are equipped with delivery drones. The last-mile delivery market is an $18 billion market opportunity, and Workhorse has a head start. What has caught investors' attention is the recent partnership with Lordstown Motors, who plans to license and manufacture electric pickup trucks utilizing the Workhorse's W-15 Technology. The bothersome aspect of the company's operations is its balance sheet. It has a high debt-to-equity ratio, and its earnings are not enough to cover its debt obligations. Despite the steady progress and rapid revenue growth the company is making, this is a risky bet for investors who are in love with the electric truck market. Check out the company's Stock Card before you decide what to do with it. Here you go ...
One of the best ways to invest in risky stocks such as WKHS is to go slow and small and avoid taking too much risk. Here are our top three brokerages that allow you to invest with a small amount of money:
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We are looking at Boeing (BA) today.
Why Boeing (BA) stock fell today?
The news is that airlines have gradually started to cancel their 737 Max orders, which means the company will have a tough time moving its already 400 manufactured planes. This corporate crisis is much deeper and lingering longer than most investors had previously expected.
Moreover, a 52-page report is expected to get released on Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (IG) to outline what has gone wrong during the certification process of 737 Max jets that ended up causing two fatal crashes.
Boeing's story is a perfect reminder to investors that corporate crises last much longer than we all expect. There is no rush to buy the dip. True dips are extremely painful. True dips are hard and agonizing, and they typically take longer than expected to recover. This means to generate an outsized return from a stock dip, and you need to be extremely patient. Visit Boeing's Stock Card to review the 737 Max's impact on the company in more detail.
Investing in companies such as Boeing takes patience. If you choose to invest in it to benefit from its lower historical price, you need to have a long-term horizon as part of something like a retirement account with decades of waiting time. Personal Capital is an excellent platform we came across to manage your long term goals. Check it out:
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We are looking at Simon Property Group (SPG) today.
Why Simpon Property Group (SPG) stock jumped today?
Shares of Simon Property Group were up more than 17% on Monday. Like most REITs, the company had stopped its dividend payment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the commercial real estate market. On Monday, the company resumed its dividend at 50%, and that was enough to give investors confidence about the future of the company.
It's no surprise that the stock was initially hit significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Investors were expecting a drastic shift to work-from-home living and e-commerce across the world. The fear of drastic change in the way people live and work spooked investors away from real estate income trusts such as SPG. However, with a solid and robust balance sheet, SPG is among some of the most reliable REITs (get the list). The hopes of reopening the economy are renewing trust in the future of the stock and its dividend payment power. Make sure to have a look at the company's Stock Card.
If you don't have a brokerage account to invest in REITs, here is one of the best. We like the M1 Finance app that has an easy-to-use interface and automatic dividend-reinvestment feature. Give it a try if you are in the market for a new brokerage account:
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Disclaimer: StockCard.io is not, neither operated by a broker, a dealer, or a registered investment adviser. Under no circumstances does any information posted on StockCard.io and Stock Card Weekly represent a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, investment advice or recommendations. The Stock Card team may buy and sell securities before and after any particular article and report and information herein is published, with respect to the securities discussed in any article and report posted herein. In no event shall StockCard.io be liable to any subscriber, visitor, guest or third party for any damages of any kind arising out of the use of any content or other material published or available on StockCard.io, or relating to the use of, or inability to use, StockCard.io or any content, including, without limitation, any investment losses, lost profits, lost opportunity, special, incidental, indirect, consequential or punitive damages. Past performance is a poor indicator of future performance. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, investment advice or recommendations. The information on this site is in no way guaranteed for completeness, accuracy or in any other way.