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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I was left with a small position in MS due to a partial fill on a sell order. Recently however MS has stirred back to life, and I now wonder: rather than sell the remaining MS, perhaps add and bring it back to a full position.
1. I understand MS has a very good and growing wealth management business. Is this true?
2. Is MS a good buy based on:
ROE
ROCI
PEG
Price to FCF and Price to EDITDA
Dividend growth

3. I assume one cannot compare MS to a retail-oriented bank like BAC or any of the regionals. Is this correct? If yes, is MS less vulnerable to ultra low interest rates which squeeze net interest margin than , say, Goldman Sachs?
Read Answer Asked by Adam on January 29, 2020
Q: Hi guys
From what i have been reading (Tony Siba) next year is the tipping point for purely economic reasons, it won't make any sense economically to buy a gasoline powered vehicle. From his point of view Batteries are going to be a huge disruptive technology in the future in both, transportation and energy (natural gas) as they become cheaper, and much more powerful.
Have you guys been looking for any investment opportunities in this sector.?
Thanks Gord
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on January 29, 2020
Q: I have some consumer disc and staples stocks, but I am looking for a few USD with some momentum. Could you suggest a five or more, best to last that I can explore? Many thanks for all you do.
Read Answer Asked by Elaine or Gerry on January 27, 2020
Q: regarding cyberark software - CYBR-US - do you think there is more upside in this stock? What do you think of this company for a long term investor - any other stocks in this sector you like - any stocks you like in the e-gaming space? - Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Karen on January 27, 2020
Q: Hello, ABB has developed a flash charging option for buses which has been tested in Geneva and now being rolled out to bus manufacturers in China and India. What are your thoughts on investing in Abb as a company, its finances, prospects and management etc. Thanks.

Shyam
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on January 27, 2020
Q: Are there any stocks that will benefit from the coronavirus scare?
Read Answer Asked by dan on January 27, 2020
Q: I seek your comments (substance only please) on VIAC and CMCSA. If I am incorrect on the following conclusions I made on VIAC, please yell at me:
- Debt is high and is not well covered
- YET the dividend looks supportable given cash flow
- Shares trade well below fundamental value (traditional definitions of value) by some 30% to 40%
- Business model is not the strongest but company has plans to replace cord-cutters with streaming services
- Future growth seems limited.... only 6% growth is expected by analysts (but earnings grew by 101% this past years)

Is VIAC a value trap? All I wanted for Christmas was a Bloomberg terminal. I didn’t get one. Still , when researching a stock I give much weight to BUSINESS model and risks thereto, AND to metrics like PEG, FCF , ROCI (not to book value which is meaningless except in certain sectors).

If not VIAC , based on the metrics I pay more attention to (above) , do you believe CMCSA is a better buy? I bought a half position in CMCSA after I read through the earnings release . CMCSA reported January 23 and fell sharply after the earnings release. CMCSA fell even more (more than S&P) the day after Friday January 24. I see that CMCSA is one of the top 30 holdings of hedge funds ---for what that is worth. Notwithstanding the negative momentum , is CMCSA a company one would be reasonably fine to add to instead of buying VIAC?
Read Answer Asked by Adam on January 27, 2020
Q: I was planning to sell DFS but stopped when the stock price fell almost 10% after earnings release. Were the results THAT bad? The company stated its expenses were significantly higher than budgeted. There is insufficient information in the release or the call transcript for me to determine if the high expenditure is INVESTING in the business ---or just very poor management .

What is wrong with this idiot management... To wit: the company claimed expenses will be high due to tech. But the need for financial institutions to spend on technology is not new--- that’s been known for decades!

Earnings grew by 22% last year but are forecast not to grow at all next year.... does this sound correct or is the company setting a low bar for itself? Shares are now some 45% below fair value , it seems (?)

Can management be trusted after the incredibly poor budgeting and even worse marketing ? To quote Warren Buffet, “...be aware idiots will one day run the company you invest in” ( Source is the book “Snowball”). My efforts to escape dumb managements the world over have proven to be as futile as attempts to escape gravity.
Notwithstanding my above-noted frustrations, do you think its fine as a continuing hold based on:
PEG ; ROE ; ROCI and other measures like FCF etc

Read Answer Asked by Adam on January 27, 2020
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