Whenever you hear that a company is a “growth-through-acquisition story,” you should be cautious. Investors tend to shun these types of stocks, as acquisitions bring plenty of risk. The acquired company may not generate the revenue growth that management had been banking on, or hoped-for cost cuts or other synergies… Read More

Whenever assessing a stock’s long-term growth potential, investors also need to focus on the hurdles the company must overcome before growth can take off. If you’re talking about a major technological or regulatory change, for example, then an ample amount of ground work needs to be laid before the stars… Read More

Walking through the halls of Netflix’s (Nasdaq: NFLX) headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif., during the holidays must have been a gloomy affair. Legions of employees that receive some of their compensation in company stock saw their holdings plunge in value as the video service company saw its… Read More

Beware the “sideways chart.” When a specific stock or the entire market stops rising in value and their charts “move sideways,” then there is often something else afoot. The change from a rising market to a flattening market signals… Read More

The U.S. consumer remains in a precarious state. Wages are rising at a slow pace, keeping many workers from boosting their earning — and spending — power on an inflation-adjusted basis. In fact, consumers may start to feel that they are losing ground if gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon… Read More

The key to finding a winning investment involves a degree of far-sightedness. You need to anticipate what a company’s financial results may look like 12-18 months from now, even as Wall Street analysts base their projections on the next quarter’s results. The… Read More

Before the global economic downturn of 2008, a clear investing theme had emerged. Rising incomes across the world were leading to richer diets and triggering a boom for all kinds of stocks that helped farmers be more productive. This emerging trend helped enrich shareholders of Mosaic (NYSE:… Read More

Right before the Thanksgiving break, I singled out Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) as a stock that looked vulnerable to overly-optimistic expectations. [Read the original article here.] At the time, I noted that an imminent quarterly… Read More

When it comes to commodities, there are two factors that dictate prices. The first factor is the underlying demand for the commodity, which can exceed or lag relative supply. The second factor is the technical picture, which is in focus for global… Read More

When it comes to commodities, there are two factors that dictate prices. The first factor is the underlying demand for the commodity, which can exceed or lag relative supply. The second factor is the technical picture, which is in focus for global… Read More

Short sellers face two major risks when they bet against stocks, hoping they’ll sharply decline. First, their research needs to be right on the mark, correctly predicting negative future events will come to pass. Second, they hope and pray the broader market… Read More