Here are my numbers for this month. See the attached Excel file for details.
Its been a tough month. Investors are nervous especially about all the earnings tied to billion dollar investments in AI. Some say it’s a bubble. Some say they can’t all make the profits they envision. Who will be the winners? I continue to believe AI has lots of potential. I’m not selling and am taking the opportunity to add some more. Lots of ++ flat listings. Above moving averages but not moving up.
My list of 189 stocks included 34 up over 15% in the last three months. That included lots of tech stocks led by Sandisk, Western Digital, Teradyne, and Micron. Memory chips seem to be in high demand. AI is hungry for them and prices are up. PC makers are complaining.
Also in the 15% plus list are a few drug companies–Lilly, Regeneron, IONS, and Merck. Also Dollar General–seems to be making a comeback. Dupont shows up again. Has to be spinning off more weaker business. Not a growth company. A few gold players. Caterpillar and Cummins (selling diesels for data center backup power). And a few defense stocks.
Double hats were sparse. Seagate and Viking made my list. I decided to buy those two plus Sandisk and more Micron. I sold Netflix after their proposed acquisition of Warner-Discovery seems to be in for a long antitrust approval. And I sold MPWR, an under performer.
The median was 1.11 up from -1.9 last month. VFINX my S&P 500 indicator came in at 2.15.
The low end included quite a list: SMR, RBLX, ORCL, PCT, ALAB, MOS, HOG, AXON, NFLX, NVO, RACE, SPOT, OKLO, VEEV. All down more than 20%.
Looking at the sectors–
Tech stocks. Best: Sandisk, Western Digital, Terradyne, and Micron. All 63% or more. Worst: Oracle, ALAB, VEEV. All worse than -20%
ETFs/Mutual Funds. Best. SOXX (Philadelphia semiconductor index), EIRL (Ireland). Both 11 to 13%. Worst. KWEB (China), FDIVX, FXI (China) -5 to -12.5%
Homebuilders. Best Toll Brothers +0.07% All others negative -10 to -17%
Paint and Hardware. All negative -6 to -17%
Drugs. Best Lilly, Regeneron, IONS, XBI, Merck All 24 to 42%. Worst NVO, Abbott -21.6 to -7.8%
Beer and cigarettes. Best BUD, TAP, Constellation Brands 1.6 to 8.6%. Worst Altria, Boston Beer. -10-5 to -10.1%
Manufacturing Best Caterpillar, Cummins. 19.6 to 23.5. Worst ITW, Boeing -4.5 to -0.7
Chemicals. Best Dupont, Ashland, Corning. 10.4 to 26.3%. Ashland reports reorganization intended to improve profits. Added to list. Worst PCT, Air Products, Olin, Linde. All -36 to -12%.
Autos and parts. Best CLF, Tesla 13 to 14%. Worst Ferrari, Autozone, BYD -21 to -17%
Finance. Best Accenture, American Express 10 to 13%. Worst Robinhood, Intuit. -2.7 to -2.4
Toys. Best Polaris, Hasbro 10.6 to 25.7%. Polaris spinning off Indian Motorcycles leaving water skis, ATVs, and snowmobiles. Worst. Roblox, Harley, Netflix, Spotify -39 to -20.7%
Instruments. All positive. Waters, Thermo Fisher, Agilant. 8.6 to 25.7%
Railroads. All positive. Best Wabtec 14.5%. Worst Norfolk Southern 2.7%
Consumers. Best Dollar General +34.44%. Worst UTZ, Uber. -19%
Travel Best Delta, Viking, and Marriot. 15.5 to 18.9%. Worst Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Alaska Air, Norwegian Cruise Lines -10.6 to -8.7%
Agriculture Best Bunge 15.54% Worst Mosaic -30%
Energy/Commodities. Best AU, NEM, GLDM, BAR 18.9 to 33.4%. Worst SMR, OKLO -57.8 to -20.7%
Defense Best HII (contract to build navy frigates), Raytheon +22.4 to 15.0%. Worst AXON -23.3%
From the best in each group rank is 1 Tech, 2 Drugs, 3 Consumers, 4 Commodities/energy, 5 Instruments. The worst groups 1 Paint and hardware, 2 Homebuilders, 3 beer & cigarettes, 4 Finance, 5 Autos & parts.
