Investment Q&A

Q: How does decision to delist on NSDQ impact company? Do you see any small spur in momentum for share price come New Year? Thank you.

Q: On Nov 28, a member commented on an scare-mongering article from "Frisco Fastball." Bear in mind that no human being was involved in the creation of this article (or, as far as I can tell, any other from this publisher.) Investors may indeed have sold on jitters, and FF may have been part of that dynamic, but most of its blather is transparently kooky. Smear jobs still need human trolls - at least, they do for now.

Q: just a comment on crh, i bought 25000 shares between 6.56 and 7.10 yesterday, i thought the drop was ridiculous since the target was increased from 7.00 to 8.50 by rbc and their return on equity is north of 20 per cent, also i already owned 20,000 shares at prices below 5.00.
furthermore it seems most of the selling was retail investors panicking and selling.
and if it goes lower from here i will buy even more. dave

Q: Not that you need another CRH question. So just a comment. It is interesting that it could pile up 4x average volume with only two trades as big as 10,000 shares. Jitters and shorts maybe. "Frisco Fastball" posted an extremist sounding article on Friday: "CRH Medical Corp Can't Be More Risky - Trades Significantly Lower". The almost substance-free article is accessible via Google Finance.

Q: Hi Peter,
I went over your replies with respect to CRH. RBC increased the target price. I would have expected shares to stay the same or go higher. Hence, is this just profit taking by institutions and if so, they basically control the market. What is a retail investor to do? Last week, cRH was hitting new highs and now all of a sudden drops due to RBC's call. Can you please advise on how a retail investor should react? I am thinking just stay put given CRH is doing well(based on last earnings ) and it was not a really a downgrade on the target price. Please advise.

Q: I realize this is a question you've already answered, but seriously, CRH is down over 15% today on a moderate downgrade to perform from outperform? I've never seen a single downgrade, even one that downgraded a stock to sell affect a stock this severely. Is it possible there's more at work here? Is this stock mainly held by timid retail investors who are simply following its momentum (which it no longer has)? Are there institutional investors involved in this stock, perhaps one which is trying to leave quickly?

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, PLI has had a down day today. Is there anything happening and is this a good entry position? Do you still believe in this company?

Q: Although I am using CRH in the heading this question is really applicable to any number of situations where a share price drops on an analyst's "downgrade", especially when there is no material news on the company e.g. - management malfeasance, loss of a contract etc.

I am not particularly concerned here about the company's future and fully expect the share price to go back to where it was relatively soon, especially in light of the fact that the target price is higher that what it was trading at and that the consensus price is much lower that the new target.


But I am left wondering why this or any other stock would have dropped so much. Is it because it was an RBC analyst and as a matter of course, all RBC brokers are instructed to put in sell orders (their clients are probably all up given the recent share price increases) to show clients the value of their firm's research (and then start buying it back when the price drops) or are there trading programs that always sell on downgrades or is this a particularly "good" analyst with a wide following or am I just being too cynical?

As I said, this isn't just about CRH and RBC. Or is every situation so different that you can't generalize and this is just "noise" that should be taken with a grain of salt?

Appreciate your insight?

Paul F.

Q: Hello Folks:
In reading your answers to previous questions on GILD you recommend the company for it's strong cash position and low valuation, but recommend having the patience of a 2 year outlook. I have owned GILD for several years and not done very well as of late. Being I am 70 yrs. old should I hang in with GILD or move into another health related company? I have a full position with Johnson & Johnson, but am unaware of other very good health care options. I am not a frequent trader, tending to hold mostly American blue-chip companies,and welcome your advice...I greatly appreciate your good service!
brian

Q: Can you shed any light on the huge drop in CRH this morning? Thanks

Q: CRH is down about 10% today, but I can't find any news. Do you know why it is down today? Have any of the brokers dropped their target price or rating?

Thanks

Q: Good afternoon,

Eli Lilly has fallen by nearly 20% in two days after its phase 3 trial Alzheimer's flopped. Do you think there is a good buying opportunity here? Would you step in?

Thx,

KR

Q: Do you think CRH has risen too quickly recently and is a sell candidate? I note that the 3 month return is 75% without a lot of news. I have owned the stock since the $3 level and I am talking myself into selling. I recall the Auto Canada, Badger and Patient Home Monitoring debacles and this feels similar. Too well liked, excessive momentum.

Q: Could you give us your latest opinion of mph and their latest acquisition.

Q: Which of these ETFs would you prefer for a TFSA, XHC or ZUH?

Thanks

Q: I would like to invest in 11 ETFs that track the TSX's 11 sectors. Are there individual ETFs for each of the TSX's 11 sectors. If so what ETFs for each sector would you recommend. Thanks ... Cal

Q: Hi,

I am holding RBC Life Science and Tech mutual fund (RBF1030)which is a nice mix of U.S. technology and health care stocks.
What would be a good ETF to replace it or, alternatively, which stocks combination would replace it advantageously ?

Thanks again for your exceptional service,

Jacques

Q: Hi, What ever happened to MDT? It dropped a lot today. Still a good company?

Q: Could you please provide about 10 fundamental parameters to search out a potential US stock for me to buy in healthcare sector. I am looking at ABC and CVS, but want to be sure I am looking at the right things to judge them. I would purchase these in a non-registered US dollar account so no currency conversion issues. Many thanks always,
Marilyn

Q: For health care stocks I look outside Canada. Is there anything in particular one should look for in these? I view them differently due to the long process to bring a drug to market and potential law suits etc.

Any thoughts on whey a recent downturn in this sector?

I am considering purchasing Cardinal Health.

Many Thanks

Paul