Should I Buy Apple (AAPL) for My IRA? Written By: David Neubert 2007-06-11 11:26:39 Someone from the The Panelist family who is a member of the cult of Apple asked the following question:
Hi David,
We were thinking of buying apple (speculating on iPhone earnings), was wondering what your opinion was on current valuation and if this seems like a “good idea”?
Update on ENER - Staircase Up On April 18, Elevator Down on April 19 Written By: Eben Esterhuizen 2007-04-19 21:12:47 A few days ago, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER - Last trade $36.19) announced that they will have a "corporate update conference call." This was seen as a notable development, given that the company has never released its results until mid-May. Option traders got excited and on April 18 over 11,500 calls were traded. The stock price moved up 4% in a single day to $39.40 (staircase up). During today's call, ENER reported preliminary revenues of nearly $27 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, below the Thomson estimate of $32.6 million. The company's solar PV segment, their only profitable unit, is expected to report 3Q07 revenues of $24 million, below analyst estimates of $30 million. At the time of writing this, ENER is down by almost 7% in after hours trade (elevator down).
Using Options to Play Intel as a Value Stock Written By: David Neubert 2007-03-21 15:20:41 I glanced at my portfolio looking for stocks that I love but are unpopular with others right now. I found Intel (INTC) and decided to add to my position with an options strategy (cocktail involving four ingredients) that pays me even if the current price war in which Intel is engaged turns the shares into dead money the rest of the year.
Vikram Pandit Makes Rock Star Status Written By: David Neubert 2007-12-12 15:50:58 Together with Madonna, Sting and Prince, Vikram Pandit, my old boss at Morgan Stanley, has acheived rock star status. He's the only CEO I know of in the world who is referred to only by his first name.
I've been seeing a lot on CNBC and other media dissing the Citigroup Board for choosing Vikram Pandit as its (C - $31.53) CEO. I used to work quite closely with Vikram at Morgan Stanley and I found him to be a thoughtful, insightful, extremely level-headed and intelligent manager. He's one of the few managers I ever had who would understand every screw-ball idea I would throw at him. And believe me, I would dream up a lot of crazy derivative products.
He has a conservative management style and considers every angle of a decision before moving forward. I could almost see him going through his checklist on every decision, Profit Potential, Legal, Employee Morale, Reputation Risk, Credit Risk, Shareholders, Credit Rating, Sovereign Risk. I can see him thinking the same way going forward at Citigroup. Virkam was head of the Equity Division as we openned our Brazil office. He aksed good questions, but unlike several other divisions at Morgan Stanley, was not so risk averse that we walked away from the potential.
So, I'm hanging on to my Citigroup. If you've been watching my Citigroup stock purchases you know that I'm underwater on the position. But I think the market's harsh treatment of Vikram right now is a symptom of a "beat up Citigroup" crowd mentality.
