Global Market Comments
June 2, 2020
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(CYBERSECURITY IS ONLY JUST GETTING STARTED),
(PANW), (HACK), (FEYE), (CSCO), (FTNT), (JNPR), (CIBR)
Posts
Global Market Comments
May 28, 2020
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(THE IRS LETTER YOU SHOULD DREAD),
(PANW), (CSCO), (FEYE),
(CYBR), (CHKP), (HACK), (SNE)
Global Market Comments
December 20, 2019
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(DECEMBER 18 BIWEEKLY STRATEGY WEBINAR Q&A),
(BA), (CRSP), (BABA), (GLD), (PANW), (VIX), (VXX)
Below please find subscribers’ Q&A for the Mad Hedge Fund Trader December 18 Global Strategy Webinar broadcast from Silicon Valley, CA with my guest and co-host Bill Davis of the Mad Day Trader. Keep those questions coming!
Q: What is the status of Boeing (BA) and when should I buy it?
A: Their 737 production was shut down because they literally ran out of space to park completed planes. They have something like 400 of them now sitting around on tarmacs all around northern Washington state. This is the worst-case scenario so it is a very tempting place to buy; I would do something like a February 2020 $250-$270 vertical bull call spread, make 10% in a month, and be conservative. If it weren't year-end, and I didn't already have my year in the bag, I would probably buy Boeing right here.
Q: Do you recommend CRISPR (CRSP) therapeutics as a buy?
A: Yes, but on a dip. I always hate buying stocks after they doubled. At some point in 2020, we will see correction in biotech stocks, and then you want to load the boat again. Here, I’m buying nothing.
Q: Is Palo Alto Networks (PANW) a buy at these levels?
A: Yes, it’s already had its correction—it's one of the few stocks that are buyable at these levels. But I would do something like a call spread, which is limited risk. As far as a pairs trade with Palo Alto vs Nvidia...I would not touch that with a ten-foot pole, because you can’t know the internal nature of two companies like that well enough to buy one and sell short the other against it. You could really get destroyed on that pairs trade, so don’t make that mistake.
Q: Do you think the US dollar (UUP) will head higher or lower next year?
A: It will go a lot lower, as the chickens from all the government borrowing come home to roost. More borrowing brings a lower dollar, which brings lower everything in the US; all US dollar-denominated assets will get hurt, and this may be what eventually kills off the bull market in stocks. Start buying the Euro (FXE) on dips.
Q: What do you think about Boris Johnson winning the UK election?
A: It is a disaster and will lead to the end of Great Britain. Scotland will go independent, Northern Ireland will join the Republic of Ireland, and even Wales may break off and form its own country. So, England will be reduced to a tiny rump of a country with a much lower standard of living. It may take 10 years to happen, but that’s where it’s going.
Q: Does the recent positive housing data mean we aren’t having a recession in 2020?
A: Yes, in fact the market has been backing out of a 2020 recession for the last three months; and the leading sector in the recovery has been housing, caused partly by extremely low-interest rates but also partly by millions of new millennials pouring into the housing market for the first time. Finally, my basement is empty. That explains why the entry-level and middle level of the market are strong, and the high end is still decreasing in price.
Q: Back in August, the global economy looked to be stalling, yet it was a great time to buy stocks.
A: That is exactly when to buy stocks—when the economy is terrible. If you get used to buying on the bad news and selling on the good news you will do very well as a trader. Most people do the opposite—people were dumping stocks in August. And that of course was when we went with one of our rare 100% longs. By the way, this happens every August, which is why I take my vacations in July.
Q: Do you see a global slowdown during the melt-up?
A: Well, the economy is still slowing down. It never stopped slowing down—we’re probably looking at a 1.5% GDP this quarter. However, in liquidity-driven markets, you don’t look at fundamentals; you look at the amount of cash that is available to buy equities, that’s why you buy equities. That said, if we ever do get a real economic recovery, you might actually have stocks going down because a price-earnings multiple of 20X is not an ideal place to buy stocks.
Q: What do you prefer for a Volatility Index (VIX) trade?
A: An option on the iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (VXX) is one. Go long dates, like a year, and deep out-of-the-money, like the $18 strike price, to minimize the hot from Time decay. If your (VIX) goes back up to $25 the (VXX) will soar to $27 and you will make a fortune.
However, if you have the facility to trade futures, then options on the futures in the VIX is how most professionals will trade that.
Q: Should we be worried about the Repo crisis as we approach the end of the quarter?
A: Absolutely, you should be worried—the Fed might have to come through with another round of quantitative easing in order to prevent a surprise overnight pop in interest rates to 5%. That’s what happened last quarter; it could certainly happen again. The basic problem is that the structure of the US debt markets aren't built to handle the volume of borrowing that’s coming through from the US government, so with debt at an all-time high, we’re kind of in new territory here in terms of whether or not markets can actually handle that amount of borrowing. Total government borrowing next year will probably be $1.75 trillion dollars.
Q: What do you make of gold (GLD) at these levels?
A: Cheap but getting cheaper. You want to buy it the day the stock market peaks out in Q1 2020.
Q: Are Chinese equities a buy after the phase one trade deal?
A: Yes, and Alibaba (BABA) is probably your first pick in the Chinese area. During the whole trade war, the Chinese took significant action to stimulate their economy in order to offset the drag on trade. That stimulus is still out there, so we could see a reacceleration in the economy now that the trade war is no longer worsening.
Mad Hedge Technology Letter
December 18, 2019
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(CYBER SECURITY IS STILL A BUY)
(SYMC), (PANW), (CSCO), (FTNT), (AAPL), (MSFT)
What does the technology sector’s “last gasp up” mean for tech stocks?
At the Mad Hedge Lake Tahoe Conference in late October, I correctly identified that the tech sector would experience a last leg to the price appreciation that has been part of a broader 10-year bull market in American equities.
The past 7 weeks have been nothing short of spectacular for tech shares as not only have the heavy hitters delivered in spades, like Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), but tech growth shares have been released from the penalty box after a short-dated growth scare and joined the rally with zeal.
How long will the “last gasp up” last?
The bar was set exceptionally low in 2019 because senior management spun the trade war acrimony into the accounting calculus effectively offering CFOs a chance to lower expectations to the point of getting away with murder.
Even with earnings’ expectations reset at nadir data points, performance was a mixed bag.
Superior tech companies were able to jump over the pitiful expectations, then if that wasn’t enough, they pushed backwards any inklings of earnings growth by guiding as low as they possibly could.
An archetypal example is Palo Alto Networks (PANW) whose shares dipped more than 8.5% in pre-market trading after issuing their quarterly earnings report.
The company announced sales of $771.9 million with an adjusted EPS of $1.05 topping analysts' estimates.
Why did shares sully?
Palo Alto Networks tanked guidance by telling investors they expect sales between $838 million and $848 million in the second quarter.
The expectation represented a midpoint sales forecast of $843 million, which is lower than the consensus estimates of $845.12 million.
The adjusted EPS in the second quarter is estimated to be $1.11–$1.13, below the consensus earnings forecast of $1.30.
Palo Alto Networks is forecasting sales between $3.44 billion and $3.46 billion with an EPS between $4.9 and $5.0 for next year, compared to analyst projections of $3.46 billion in revenue and an EPS of $5.07 in 2020.
PANW accounts for a big piece of the pie in the cybersecurity trade comprising 16.2% in 2019.
Overall industry growth is strong at 10.4%, and PANW managed to increase its sales by 22.3% to $633.7 million.
This cybersecurity company is one of my favorite tech stalwarts and is as rock-solid as they come for a second-tier tech growth company.
Another trend that dovetails closely with the last gasp up thesis is buying growth.
At this stage in the tech cycle, the low hanging fruit has been plucked and tech companies are increasingly finding it hard to generate organic growth.
Companies are now resorting to inorganic growth with Palo Alto Networks announcing that it will acquire Aporeto for $150 million in an all-cash transaction.
This isn’t just a one-off for PANW, they have acquired four other companies in 2019 to plug into their growth puzzle.
They have also completed the acquisition of an IoT cybersecurity firm Zingbox.
Palo Alto Networks acquired two cloud security startups in July as well - Demisto to gain traction in the AI security segment and Twistlock, the leader in container security.
The other top players in this field are Cisco (CSCO), Fortinet (FTNT) and Symantec (SYMC).
The bullish secular trend in cybersecurity is watertight and comments from Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, only reconfirmed the strength in cybersecurity when he said, “As a growing number of organizations move their business to the cloud, developers increasingly rely on cloud-native technologies such as containers and serverless infrastructure to accelerate the development, testing, and deployment of modern applications and services.”
What’s next for investors?
Barring any exogenous shocks, the last gasp up continues and recent macro policy developments have supported this hypothesis as well as the tailwinds of an improving economy.
Palo Alto Networks is part of a high growth segment and many corporates are on record contemplating lower enterprise tech spending heading into 2020.
This sets up another incredibly low bar for cybersecurity companies to hop over next year and I believe the best in show such as PANW, Fortinet, Cisco, and Symantec will pass with flying colors.
The interesting acid test will occur at the end of 2020 when tech firms and sub-segments of tech such, as cybersecurity, release commentary on whether 2021 guidance could signal ensuing risk of being dragged into recessionary turbulence.
A 2021 tech sector recession is certainly not priced into current tech share valuations in this frothy period of asset appreciation.
Mad Hedge Technology Letter
December 13, 2019
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(WHY THE FANGS ARE BREAKING INTO YOUR HOME)
(GOOGL), (AAPL), (AMZN), (ALRM), (ADT), (ARLO), (RESI), (PANW), (CRWD), (FTNT), (CSCO), (CMCSA), (BBY)
The house is the new smartphone and I will tell you why.
The projected market growth of 18% in smart home technology sales according to Acumen Researching and Consulting will deliver opportunities to shape and prioritize this sector.
The revenues up for grabs from the smart home mean that internet of things’ (IoT) companies will create systems that mesh together with the bare minimum human participation, meaning that tech will have a dramatic influence in our daily lives.
I get several moans and groans a day that the Mad Hedge Technology Letter only shines the spotlight on the FANGs.
But it is hard not to when it comes to the future of the home.
Just look at recent M&A activity.
Automation and connected smart appliances have consumed Amazon by recently acquiring Eero, producer of routers for apartments, houses, and multi-story homes, and after already paying $1 billion to acquire Ring, a doorbell-camera startup. It had also bought Blink, a smart camera maker in 2017.
Google hasn’t shied away either by investing in smart home products pocketing Nest, a firm producing smart home products, for $3.2 billion.
Nest took a few years to sort out its production phase but finally managed to launch new temperature sensors, a video doorbell, and an outdoor smart camera.
What are the trending IoT products now?
The flavors of the day are smart lights, security, entertainment systems, and temperature control.
They are the low hanging fruit of the smart home industry – a de facto gateway into this world.
Most of these smart devices operate with voice assistants, but because of the nature of competition, certain products are aligned with certain ecosystems and compatibility issues will persist until the competition flushes itself out.
A layman’s example would be Apple’s Homekit dovetailing nicely with Apple’s Siri.
Companies are in the first innings of the product iteration cycle and the variations of smart home products are endless stemming from showers that remember preferred water temperature and flow rates or climate-control systems that change in real-time to suit the user.
Security of home networks and connected devices are still a controversial question mark because the receiver of this type of data has the keys to the most intimate details of personal lives.
Even avid technologists are hesitant to dive in and put up smart home products all over the house, and most are being cautious.
In fact, privacy issues are the most distinct headwind to fresh adoption rates.
Many people simply aren’t willing to make the jump yet until they are more convinced of its use case.
Even with all the reservations, an alternative global shipment company believes smart home devices will post 24% in growth next year.
For the smart home device believers, this cohort averages 6 smart home devices per household and will certainly rise to 7 or 8 by the end of 2020.
Popular items include the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple (AAPL) HomePod.
Smart speakers are already present in 36% of American homes and rising.
Consumers are also worried about technology invading their daily lives along with allowing artificial intelligence to dominate personal decision making.
Others have concluded that items such as smart microwaves are a waste of money and are unneeded when analog devices function admirably.
Another legitimate reason is that the software and technology involve a perceived steep learning curve to operate which many people do not have the patience for.
And some are just burnt out by the volume of technology thrown in our faces.
Who wants to operate 50 apps on their phone to control their smart home devices when there are other pressing needs in life?
Companies with skin in the game are Alarm.com (ALRM), ADT (ADT), Arlo Technologies (ARLO) and Resideo Technologies (REZI) and they will be outsized winners if they can solve many of the industries lingering issues.
The value thesis in the case of home automation companies is that they are financially efficient, time-effective, boost wellness and will be easy to use.
About 11% of U.S. broadband households have smart thermostats and Nest’s smart thermostat is the most popular.
Networked security cameras by Arlo are in 10% of homes.
Video doorbells from Amazon.com (AMZN), Google are in 8% of homes and help deter theft of e-commerce packages.
Smart light bulbs and lighting are at 8% market share while smart door locks are at 7% penetration.
There are several second derivates bet on this as well.
The most common user interface for the smart home is apps on a smartphone or tablet and voice commands to smart speakers are second.
The conundrum of installation complexities leads to the demand of professional installers.
This demand has delivered opportunities for companies like Comcast's (CMCSA) Xfinity and Vivint.
Electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) has stepped up its footprint in this market as well.
Another stock play would be cybersecurity companies because they will win contracts protecting the software that smart home products rely on.
Hackers are getting more sophisticated and a private cybersecurity company Firewalla can track where data is flowing to and from your devices.
Firewalla management recommends buying devices from reputable home automation companies like Amazon and Google because they have more accountability and are of higher quality.
There will be a huge onramp of cybersecurity contracts doled out to the likes of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW), CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD), Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT), and Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO).
We are in the first mile of a marathon and smart home product manufacturers, cybersecurity companies, 5G internet, and semiconductor companies will all benefit from the broad-based integration of these next-generation home consumer products.
Global Market Comments
November 19, 2019
Fiat Lux
Featured Trade:
(BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT OFFER FOR THE MAD HEDGE TECHNOLOGY LETTER),
(ADBE), (EBAY), (PANW)
The Mad Hedge Technology Letter has been on an absolute tear lately.
It has posted an eye-popping 25.25% net profit since August. The last 14 consecutive trade alerts have been profitable, a success rate of 100%. Some 20 out of the last 22 trade alerts have been profitable, a success rate of 90.9%.
We nailed the 27.3% move in the multimedia software company, Adobe (ADBE). We killed the 23.28% pop in e-commerce leader eBay (EBAY). And we hit a total home run with a positively ballistic 30.42% gain in cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks (PANW).
And here’s the method to our madness. While no one was looking, the stock market has made a dramatic shift from buying in large-cap tech techs to smaller cap ones. In order words, we’ve moved from the FANGs to the mini FANG’s, and WE CAUGHT ALL OF IT!
Which brings me to the topic at hand. You absolutely HAVE to get in on this move, the most important of the year. And I’m going to make it incredibly easy for you to do so. For here at Mad Hedge Fund Trader, Black Friday comes early.
I am offering the Mad Hedge Technology Letter at an insanely bargain-basement price of $998. That is a full 61% discount to the $2,500 list price offered on our website.
I’m not doing this to make money. I am chopping prices so YOU can make money. And there is nothing I like better than happy, money-making customers. For focusing in on this one crucial sector will be the most important investment decision you make in your lifetime.
With the Mad Hedge Technology Letter, you will get:
*A three times weekly morning newsletter covering the most important technology stocks and trends of our time.
*Technology trade alerts sent out at market sweet spots telling when and where best to enter the market.
*Trade alerts sent out at market tops on where best to take profits or stop out of the rare losers.
*Invitations to biweekly Strategy Webinars with live Q&A.
*The best customer support in the industry with same day answers to all questions.
*Access to a searchable ten-year database of technology research.
*Invitations to Mad Hedge Strategy Luncheons around the world (the last one was in Zermatt, Switzerland).
In order to take advantage of this one time only offer, please click here.
Let me give you a warning. We are only accepting 25 orders at this deep discounted one-time offer so it’s a first-come, first-served basis.
I look forward to working with you.
John Thomas
CEO & Publisher
The Mad Hedge Technology Letter
