Investment Q&A

Q: What are the prospects for of OKTA.US for along term hold. Is selling a put preferable to purchasing and selling covered calls.

Thanks

Thomas

Q: As one of 5i’s early subscribers, I find it a useful thought experiment to give my answer to a question before clicking on the 5i answer. I have found over the years our answers converge and so I rarely send in questions and comments. However my sense is that DeepSeek is a significant change.

On one level it is a clear lesson in the reality that, as Keynes said many decades ago, it’s real resources that matter, not money.

The American approach to AI development was that if you don’t have a $1billion you're not in the game. The Chinese have shown that if you have the pool of talent, amazing things can be done with relatively little money. The prevailing narrative that the Chinese are just copy cats was also blown out of the water. DeepSeek not only upends every assumption underlying the American approach to AI, it shows that the Chinese can out Silicon Silicon Valley and that means that, unlike in the past, China’s most talented minds will want to work for Chinese companies not American ones.

How will the Americans respond? Having staked political capital on the $500 billion Stargate, Trump and his entourage of billionaires have no choice, they will double down. We are hearing the narrative already, they are now saying that $500 million invested in DeepSeek’s advancements will produce even more amazing advancements in AI.

At a moment in history, as America consumes itself, China has taken a leap forward. Not only have they bloodied Trump, they have shaken the world in ways Napoleon could never have foreseen.

There are actually lessons to be learned in how Canada might deal with Trump but the political bobble heads and corporate Canada have actually come to believe the myths of neo-liberalism they started purveying in the 80’s, and are now incapable of rising above their paralysing fear.

Every investor has to ask, what are the implications of DeepSeek for their investments? Doubling down by the Americans will keep the party going for a while but it seems reasonable to expect a reckoning. Where would 5i look for alternatives to AI investments? Please suggest 5 US and 5 Cdn stocks that have strong balance sheets and reasonable growth prospects (without stretched valuations) that would benefit from using much less expensive AI? Also, please suggest a couple of ETF’s for Europe and China that would benefit should those markets surprise to the upside?
Mike

Q: I own RDFN, PYPL, and OKTA. All are down for me. In what order would you sell to take the capital loss? Do you see much growth potential over the next year in any of them? Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i
How were the latest earnings....and how do you view them going forward,.....Shares price down 5% today...would this present an opportunity to increase a small position ---2 year time frame.

Thx

Q: Why it is failing today?

Thanks,
Milan

Q: Could you please comment on their results and outlook?

Thanks,
Milan

Q: I’ve held VEEV and OKTA for a few years in a registered account but they have become a relatively small holdings. Are either of these worth adding to in order to increase their portfolio weighting, letting them ride for a while longer or perhaps selling one or both and consolidating the proceeds into something else. I’m a buy and hold type so don’t mind holding either of them but wondering about the opportunity cost of doing so.

Q: Good morning

I have small positions in the following technology companies: GIB.A; CRWD; HUBS; NVEI: OKTA;TOI:PANW: INTU: TTD: LMN. I would like to clean up this portion of my portfolio. Which of these would you sell, and which ones would you add to? Thanks for your ongoing great advise.

Peter

Q: I have small positions in the above noted companies held in my TFSA. They are all underwater and so there is no tax advantage to selling these losers. I would like to sell some or all of them and either to one or more of them or move on to some small techs that have more prospects. Can you let me know which of these you would sell hold or add to. Thanks for your ongoing great advise.

Q: I've owned this company for 2+ years in a registered account and I'm significantly underwater.
In your analysis would you sell but stay in the security business with another company?

Thank you

Q: These are my candidates for tax loss selling. As a proxy for OKTA I intend to add to my existing position in CRWD, would you agree with that strategy? As for the other 3, I do not intend to buy proxies however I would consider repurchasing after 30 days. Do you suggest proxies for these 3? Also, would you repurchase. Thank you.

Q: Could you please comment on their balance sheet and outlook?
Would you buy it today?

Thanks,
Milan

Q: Hello 5i!
At this point in the cycle can you please rate the following as buy, sell or hold. I know you sometimes say in a different kind of market high growth can do well. Can you please comment on whether one should decrease technology holdings in general or just wait for tech to shine again one day. Thank you!

Q: I am restructuring a non-registered account to be more defensive, and less tech heavy. All of the following US stocks are down: APPS, OKTA, PYPL, PLTR, SE, TTD, MRVL, TWLO, U, VEEV. Do you consider them a sell or hold?
Thanks.
Linda

Q: Would you still endorse OKTA? Can I have your thoughts on earnings and longer term prospects? Thank-you.

Q: Hi 5i,

Amongst other pricey cybersecurity companies, CHKP seems very reasonably valued. It it 'cheap for a reason', or is it a solid stock to pick up now?

Also, do you still like RPD after its recent report?

Is there anything else (besides CRWD) that you prefer in this space?

TIA!

Q: Good morning, what is your view on the reported security breach? Would you add to an existing position, sit tight and hold, or sell?

Q: What are your thoughts on buying OKTA? The recent hack seems like it could be a short term problem but Yahoo Finance shows their earning estimates dropping quite a lot over the last 90 days, which concerns me. Thanks.

Q: What would be your Top 2 names in the Internet Security and Energy sectors?

Thanks Valter

Q: Up until now, I have only part full or nearly full positions in a stock while trying to keep my total number of stocks under 30 in number. However, I am now considering taking a slightly different approach and buying a basket of some beaten-up stocks, likely from those noted above.

Since I am new to this strategy, my question is, what would you consider to be a useful percentage to devote to a stock that will allow for meaningful gains while limited individual risk? I'm thinking 1% is too little, 1.5% might be enough and certainly no more than 2%.

Your insight is appreciated.

regards,

Paul F.