Stock Trading

The most critical component of any investment framework rests on determining what a company is worth. There are many ways to do so, but there is only one way that is most appropriate, and that's discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. Think of it this way: do you want your pay check paid in cash? Or do you want it paid in accounting earnings? We think you know the correct answer -- cash, please. And while the DCF process is not perfect, it's the best approach out there and doesn't suffer from the many pitfalls of using multiple analysis, residual income models, and the dividend-discount analysis. Don't get us wrong, investors should use a variety of triangulation tools, but let's dig into what Southern Copper (SCCO) is worth on the basis of its future free cash flow stream.But first, one quick note to help with the understanding of this article:

BlackBerry (BBRY) is on a bit of roll. Market share in Canada has doubled since the Z10 was launched and is likely to continue to grow with the enormous popularity of its new Q10, which hit the market last week. I bought one and it is a delight. I got mine from Bell Canada, and was immediately impressed by the speed of the Bell LTE network. Downloads are incredibly fast. The momentum is not just in Canada. ZD Net reports that two-thirds of people who left BlackBerry for Android are being tempted to come back by the Q10 launch. (click to enlarge) Adding to the buzz, Jefferies just released a bullish report on BlackBerry and commented on a decision by Verizon to switch its 10,000 employees to BlackBerry from Android. An even more interesting comment was the indication that a private company had developed a solution that let

I'm not certain that I understand the chorus of those claiming that our current market reminds them of 1999.Mind you, I'm as cautious, maybe much more so than the next guy and have been awaiting some kind of a correction for more than 2 months now, but I just don't see the resemblance.Much has also been made of the fact that the S&P 500 is now some 12% above its 200 Day Moving Average, which in the past has been an untenable position, other than back when sock puppets were ruling the markets. Back then that metric was breached for years.Back in 1999 and the years preceding it, the catalyst was known as the "dot com boom" or "dot com bubble" or the "dot com bust," depending on what point you entered. The catalyst was clear, perhaps best exemplified by the ubiquitous sock puppet and the short

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) will report earnings before markets open on Monday, May 20th. Camtek Ltd. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets technologically advanced and cost-effective automated optical inspection systems and related products. The Company’s products are used to detect defects in printed circuit boards during the manufacturing process. Here is your Cheat Sheet to Camtek Earnings: Earnings Expectations: Analysts expect earnings of $-0.03 per share on revenues of $17.00 million. Analyst Trends: Analysts have a more negative outlook for the company’s next-quarter performance. Over the past three months, the average estimate for next quarter’s earnings has fallen from a profit of $0.02 to a profit $0.01. For the current year, the average estimate is a profit of $0.15, which is the same as the estimate ninety days ago. Earnings Trends: Here’s how Camtek has been performing on an annual basis: Fiscal Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Revenue ($) in millions 75.46 53.52 87.78 107.03 84.55 Diluted EPS ($) -0.32 -0.40 0.09 0.18 0.00 Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data: Quarter Dec. 31, 2011 Mar. 31, 2012 Jun. 30, 2012 Sep. 30, 2012 Dec. 31, 2012 Revenue ($) in millions 21.10 18.18 25.03 23.72 17.62 Diluted EPS ($) -0.0637 -0.05 0.08 0.08 -0.1097 Past Performance: Camtek has beat analyst estimates 3 times in the past four quarters. Shareholders could expect a boost if the company beats estimates. “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now! (Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Email any earnings discrepancies to earnings [at] wallstcheatsheet.com) Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

For the past several months, I have been working on a model to predict the direction a stock will move after the company reports its quarterly earnings. The underlying assumption is that the level of expectations leading up to the announcement is more important than the actual numbers that the company reports.If expectations are unusually high going into the announcement, something in the announcement invariably seems to disappoint investors, and the stock price usually falls, regardless of how well the company does compared to analyst expectations (or even whisper numbers).The disappointment might be based on something other than earnings - it could be revenues, margins, or guidance, or something entirely different, like an expected dividend boost that didn't come through. In any event, when expectations are through the roof, the chances of some kind of disappointment and a lower stock price are increased dramatically.Surely, anyone who has

This article analyzes the most recent quarterly and the trailing twelve months ("TTM") results of Williams Partners, L.P. (WPZ) and looks "under the hood" to properly ascertain sustainability of Distributable Cash Flow ("DCF"). The task is not easy because the definitions of DCF and "Adjusted EBITDA", the primary measures typically used by master limited partnerships ("MLPs") to evaluate their operating results, are complex. In addition, each MLP may define these terms differently, making comparison across MLPs very difficult. Nevertheless, this is an exercise that must be undertaken to ascertain what portions of the distributions being received are really sustainable.Effective January 1, 2013, management reorganized the businesses into geographically based operational areas. WPZ's reorganized reportable segments are as follows: Northeast G&P: this midstream gathering and processing segment is in the early stages of developing large-scale energy infrastructure solutions for the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. It also includes a 51%

One Approach for Investing in Emerging Biotechnology Stocks I write on biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies of all sizes, but I have spent much of the last year focusing on small biotechnology companies ranging in size from as low as $50 million in market capitalization.to about $400 million. There is much less analyst and investor attention on these stocks, which can lead to pricing inefficiencies. There is also considerable risk as the investment thesis for the stocks often hinges on the outcome of a single clinical trial. While I don't have precise statistics, my impression is that more than half of late stage trials fail. These investment opportunities fit my asymmetric investing approach.What do I mean by asymmetric investing? Some hedge funds have made enormous returns by looking for asymmetric investment opportunities. These stem from finding upcoming events that are not well understood and that have the potential to cause

JA Solar Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:JASO) will report earnings before markets open on Monday, May 20th. JA Solar Holdings Company, Ltd. manufactures solar cells. The Company sells its products principally to solar module manufacturers, which assemble and integrate its products into modules and systems. Here is your Cheat Sheet to Ja Solar Holdings Co. Earnings: Earnings Expectations: Analysts expect earnings of $-1.20 per share on revenues of $228.97 million. Analyst Trends: Analysts have a more negative outlook for the company’s next-quarter performance. Over the past three months, the average estimate for next quarter’s earnings has fallen from a loss of $0.95 to a loss $0.97. For the current year, the average estimate is a loss of $3.75, which is better than the estimate ninety days ago. Earnings Trends: Here’s how Ja Solar Holdings Co. has been performing on an annual basis: Fiscal Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Revenue ($) in millions 801.13 554.27 1,779 1,701 1,077 Diluted EPS ($) -1.695 -0.8801 8.023 -2.679 -6.835 Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data: Quarter Dec. 31, 2011 Mar. 31, 2012 Jun. 30, 2012 Sep. 30, 2012 Dec. 31, 2012 Revenue ($) in millions 308.40 254.08 284.18 260.22 267.68 Diluted EPS ($) -1.939 -1.015 -1.840 -1.515 -2.413 Past Performance: Ja Solar Holdings Co. has missed analyst estimates 4 times in the past four quarters. Shareholders could expect a bust if the company misses estimates. “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now! (Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Email any earnings discrepancies to earnings [at] wallstcheatsheet.com) Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

Is Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) seemingly arbitrary removal of apps from its App Store part of a strategy to intimidate other companies? Many Apple executive’s emails have entered the public record as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against the Cupertino-based company. Although Steve Jobs’ emails to the head of HarperCollins regarding e-book pricing are getting most of the press, Mike Elgan at Cult of Mac noticed another disturbing trend in some other company emails. Is Apple now a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity? Click here to get your 24-page Ultimate Cheat Sheet to Apple’s Stock now! Elgan notes that Random House’s CEO accused Apple of threatening to ban a Random House e-book app if the publisher refused to agree to Apple’s e-book pricing terms. This accusation seems to be backed up by the email records in which Jobs states that Random House would “suffer a loss of support from Apple.” Although Apple has removed many apps that clearly violate its app developer guidelines, others seem to be removed merely for having a whiff of controversy, like the Bang With Friends app that was removed last week. Although Apple certainly has every right to ban apps that clearly break the rules, removing apps without clear cause can be detrimental to the overall App Store environment. More importantly, the seemingly arbitrary nature of some of the app bans creates a precedent for Apple to use its dictatorial banning powers for more nefarious means – such as banning a company’s app in order to pressure it into agreeing to an unrelated contract. Although many commentators speculate that the Bang With Friends app was likely removed for its racy title, a Bang With Friends spokesperson said Apple had not yet revealed its reason for the ban. Even when Apple bans an app like AppGratis that probably did violate the developer guidelines, it seems to prefer to remain tight-lipped about its reasoning. Simon Dawlat, the CEO of AppGratis, complained that “The first communication from Apple we received was an email sent to us after our App had been removed.” Although Apple was probably justified in its ban of AppGratis, keeping the process opaque still creates the appearance of arbitrariness. There’s nothing wrong with enforcing the rules. However, it would benefit Apple’s users and developers for the rules to be clearly explicated and referenced when Apple decides to enforce a ban. This helps to create an atmosphere of fairness as well as protect Apple from accusations of using its app-banning powers as a tool to punish unwilling business associates. NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! Here’s how Apple has traded over the past week. Follow Nathanael on Twitter (@ArnoldEtan_WSCS) Don’t Miss: Apple Goes Big With New Display Technology. Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) will report earnings before markets open on Monday, May 20th. Campbell Soup Company, with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets branded convenience food products. The Company’s core divisions include soups and sauces, biscuits and confectionery, and foodservice. Campbell’s distributes its products worldwide. Here is your Cheat Sheet to Campbell Soup Earnings: Earnings Expectations: Analysts expect earnings of $0.56 per share on revenues of $2.04 billion. Currently, the company’s P/E ratio stands at 19.87. Analyst Trends: Analysts have a more negative outlook for the company’s next-quarter performance. Over the past three months, the average estimate for next quarter’s earnings has fallen from a profit of $0.43 to a profit $0.42. For the current year, the average estimate is a profit of $2.56, which is better than the estimate ninety days ago. Earnings Trends: Here’s how Campbell Soup has been performing on an annual basis: Fiscal Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Revenue ($) in millions 7,998 7,586 7,676 7,719 7,707 Diluted EPS ($) 3.06 2.05 2.42 2.42 2.41 Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data: Quarter Jan. 31, 2012 Apr. 30, 2012 Jul. 31, 2012 Oct. 31, 2012 Jan. 31, 2013 Revenue ($) in millions 2,112 1,821 1,613 2,336 2,333 Diluted EPS ($) 0.64 0.55 0.4019 0.78 0.60 Past Performance: Campbell Soup has beat analyst estimates 4 times in the past four quarters. Shareholders could expect a boost if the company beats estimates. “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now! (Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Email any earnings discrepancies to earnings [at] wallstcheatsheet.com) Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet