Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Aug 25, 2020

Facebook Hits Another All-Time High!
Image: The Valuentum Buying Index is not a stair-step trading strategy, and we view only 9s and 10s and 1s and 2s as material considerations to consider buying or consider selling criteria. We have held prior 9s and 10s in the newsletter portfolios until they reach our fair value estimates, until their technicals roll over, until they register ratings of 1 or 2 on the VBI, or due to changes in certain criteria with respect to market conditions or overall portfolio constitution. Our best ideas remain in the newsletter portfolios and Exclusive publication.Top-weighted idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio Facebook has hit another all-time high!

Aug 21, 2020

Just How Good Have We Been?
Image: We have been absolutely pounding the table on big cap tech and large cap growth for many months now. It has been one of the rare buckets to have done well this year. By well, we mean superb. Source: Zerohedge. After capping off one of the best years in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in 2019, we highlighted broad market put option ideas in late February and early March--right before the COVID-19 crash that shocked the markets. Then, just about right near the bottom, we highlighted 17 of 20 outperforming ideas--strong net-cash-rich, free-cash-flow generating powerhouses with strong secular growth tailwinds. We then went all-in in the newsletter portfolios in late April, just in time for the best 100 trading days in the S&P 500 in history. But perhaps the chart above says even more. You know that we have been absolutely pounding the table on large cap growth, big cap tech, and the NASDAQ, and the bucket of large cap growth is up 23% this year, significantly ahead of any other style. Significantly.

Aug 19, 2020

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Race
Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has devasted the global economy (though things are starting to improve) and has fundamentally altered daily human life. According to a draft report from the World Health Organization (‘WHO’), there were 29 COVID-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials as of August 13 along with 138 other candidates undergoing preclinical evaluation. It is a race against the clock. Unfortunately, as of this writing on August 18, there have been ~170,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the US alone according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). We are optimistic that one of the many “shots on goal” will end up proving successful. The US launched Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, which involves providing funding to companies with promising vaccine candidates. Furthermore, please note that major economies around the world have adjusted their rules and procedures to allow for multiple phases of clinical trials to be conducted concurrently. Before getting into some of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates, we hope everyone, their loved ones, and their family members are staying safe out there as we ride out the pandemic.

Aug 14, 2020

Our Thoughts on Chevron Buying Noble Energy
Image Shown: An overview of Chevron Corporation’s all-stock acquisition of Noble Energy Inc that was announced in July 2020. Image Source: Chevron Corporation – July 2020 Noble Energy Acquisition Presentation. On July 20, Chevron Corp announced it was acquiring Noble Energy through a $5.0 billion all-stock transaction, or $13.0 billion when factoring in net debt and the book value of non-controlling interests. Shareholders of Noble Energy will receive approximately 0.12 share of Chevron for each share of Noble Energy. At the time the deal was announced, shareholders of NBL were receiving a ~12% premium based on the ten-day average closing stock prices. Chevron intends to issue ~58 million shares to cover the deal, keeping in mind the firm had approximately 1.85 billion shares outstanding on a weighted-average diluted basis as of the second quarter of 2020. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year and is forecasted to generate $0.3 billion in annualized run-rate cost synergies one year after closing.

Aug 11, 2020

Santander Working Its Way Through the Pandemic
Image Shown: Santander’s underlying attributable profit is down 53% in the first half of this year compared to last year. Image Source: Santander 2Q2020 Earnings Presentation. The underlying first-half results from Banco Santander are quite reasonable. We are impressed by how well the South American, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Wealth Management & Insurance segments are holding up in such a tough environment. In its large European operations, pressures that come from the whole continent being overbanked were evident, however.

Aug 10, 2020

Digital Realty Boosts Guidance, Extends Growth Runway
Image Shown: An overview of Digital Realty Trust Inc’s asset base. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. Data center real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’) are well-positioned to ride out the storm created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic due to surging demand for cloud computing services, which in turn is driving up demand for data centers. In short, data centers are primarily facilities that house server farms along with vast amounts of fiber-optic cables that interconnect with existing networks. These facilities form the backbone of modern IT infrastructure. We include Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) as a holding in both our Dividend Growth Newsletter and High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, and continue to like the name. Shares of DLR are up ~32% year-to-date as of this writing, and that does not include meaningful dividend considerations as shares of DLR yield ~2.8% as of this writing. In mid-July, we significantly raised our fair value estimate for shares of DLR given its improving outlook, with the top end of our fair value estimate range sitting at $181 per share.

Aug 7, 2020

Newmont Surges Higher, Posts Solid Earnings Report
Image Shown: Newmont Corporation’s operational and financial performance has held up well in the face of the pandemic, relatively speaking. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. We continue to like shares of Newmont as a holding in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and given the impressive strength seen with gold prices this year, the company’s outlook is quite bright. If Newmont continues to allow cash to build up on its balance sheet, its ability to push through meaningful per-share dividend increases would improve significantly. Newmont remains our favorite miner.

Aug 6, 2020

Disney’s Video Streaming Strength Shines Through Latest Earnings
Image Shown: The Walt Disney Company recently reported earnings which highlighted the ongoing success of its video streaming strategy. Shares of DIS surged upwards on August 5, 2020. On August 4, The Walt Disney Company reported third quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended June 27, 2020) that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus bottom-line estimates. Shares of DIS were higher by ~11% on August 5 as of this writing, as investors looked past its weak historical performance (which was expected) and towards Disney’s improving outlook. We appreciated the announcement that Disney now has over 100 million paid subscriptions across its “portfolio of direct-to-consumer services” including Disney+, EPSN+, and Hulu (Disney owns 67% of Hulu’s equity). Disney’s business model has faced acute stresses due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, making its video streaming growth strategy all the more important. We continue to like shares of DIS at a modest weighing in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Aug 6, 2020

Deutsche Bank is Muddling Along, Aiming for Self Help
Image Shown: Deutsche Posted Meager Second Quarter Results. Image Source: Deutsche Bank 2Q2020 Earnings Presentation. While Deutsche Bank is working on a five pillar self-help plan with the goal of an 8% return on tangible equity by 2022, and seems to be making some progress on these fronts, the fact that the end goal is so timid shows just how overbanked the German and greater European markets are. The CEO is calling for consolidation in the medium term, but it cannot come fast enough, especially for those banks with very little in the way of earnings power, which must deal with a pandemic and the broad effect on the economy and the client base in the meantime.

Aug 4, 2020

Apple Surges Higher Ahead of Stock Split
Image Shown: Shares of Apple Inc have staged an impressive rally since bouncing off their March 2020 lows, with AAPL up ~46% year-to-date as of this writing on August 3. We added shares of Apple back to the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios on June 12, 2020. Later on this August, Apple intends on completing a four-for-one stock split. We added Apple back to both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios on June 12, 2020 (link here). Companies that are supported by secular growth tailwinds and pristine balance sheets, such as Apple, are well-positioned to deal with the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Shares of AAPL have surged significantly higher since mid-June and are now trading well above the top end of our fair value range as of this writing, but we want to stress here that we like to let our winners run. It is not until after a firm’s technicals turn against it that we would consider removing shares of that firm from our newsletter portfolios. Given its stellar third quarter fiscal 2020 earnings report (period ended June 27, 2020) published on July 27, shares of Apple may have room to run further still.