I don't like to toot my horn much, as there are plenty of loud mouths in this industry ready to tell you how great they are. I prefer to let my work do the talking, and lately that work has been screaming.
I'll make an exception to the rule today. Here goes: Following my suggestions can significantly improve your performance in the market.
Case in point is my list of Top 10 Stocks for 2009. With a week of trading under our belt, the S&P 500 is down approximately 1%. The aggregate return of an equally weighted portfolio consisting of the 10 stocks on the list is nearly 9%.
Included on the list are big gainers Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI), up 25% year to date, and Transocean (NYSE: RIG), up 15% year to date.
Now, a week does not make a year, but keep in mind that as goes January, so goes the rest of the year. I expect these stocks to continue outperforming by a wide margin for the remainder of the year.
You can do well cherry-picking my ideas as well. In early December, I wrote about the merits and potential of investing in the online education sector. In that piece I specifically suggested that Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) was poised for a bull rally, especially after reviewing the technical charts.
Shares of Apollo traded for $74 per on the day that article was published. Shares were up more than 12% at one point to trade at $87 per share. In total, that is an 18% move in less than a month.
The reason for the big gain was Apollo's earnings release. The company stated that its quarterly earnings had improved by 29% for the three-month period ended Nov. 30. The company made $180.4 million, or $1.12 per share.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 98 cents per share. Clearly the company is firing on all cylinders. And that's all the more impressive given the poor economic conditions. Individuals looking to improve their skills and resume are turning more and more to the online alternative.
The audience for Apollo's degrees is growing by the day. Today's unemployment report reinforces that idea. The economy lost 524,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate increased to 7.2%.
These are horrible headlines for sure, but part of the healing process is to retrain workers and improve the overall skill set of the base. It is a natural part of the business cycle.
Apollo is poised to benefit greatly from the trend. The move during the last month is just the beginning. I expect further gains as the jobless picture deteriorates.
Louis Navellier's PortfolioGrader Pro, which offers free ratings for nearly 5,000 Wall Street stocks, rates Apollo an A or Strong Buy. I'll pat myself on the back and concur wholeheartedly.
Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2009 @ 6:10PM
david said...
APOL trading at $85 is perfect value for it, or you may say that it is overvalued:
1)it's profitability to expand is limited based on their headcount 44,000 exployee
2)Competitions in this sector;
3)Fed may oversight financial aid program
to make tough rule;
4)PE 26 is too high for now and following
several years;
5)APOL cannot keep expand by 29% like
last qtr;
I, do believe that APOL is value $50 to 60
at PE 15 to 20. See what happen.