John Dorfman Columns category, Page 12
John Dorfman: Cheapest stocks in each sector could be bargains
What would happen if you bought the cheapest stock in each of the major stock market sectors? I’ve explored that question in 11 columns, from 2002 through 2006, and from 2013 to the present. I call this concept the Cheapskate Portfolio. I think it can be a way to find a...
John Dorfman: MarineMax, Miller Industries may be undiscovered gems
Twenty-five Wall Street analysts cover International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and 22 follow Pfizer Inc. If you invest in big, well-known stocks like these, it’s a challenge for you to see what others don’t. Your odds of finding an undiscovered gem are higher, in my opinion, in the realm of...
John Dorfman: Baseball has 30-30 club; here’s 1 for companies
To join the 30-30 club in baseball, you have to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season. Only 40 players have ever done it — stars such as Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. I have a 30-30 club for companies. It’s not as exclusive as baseball’s...
Add Biogen, Walgreens to the Casualty List
Biogen Inc. and Walgreens Boots Alliance head my Casualty List this quarter. The list is for stocks that have been slammed in the latest quarter, and that I think have potential to regain their losses and then some. Over the years, the Casualty List has averaged a 17.3 percent gain...
John Dorfman: Omaha man wins Derby of Economic Forecasting
“What did everybody get wrong this year?” my wife asked me at breakfast Sunday. It was a good question. I’ve been running the Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent, or DEFT, more or less annually since 1999. Contestants must predict six economic variables — gross domestic product, inflation, the interest rate...
John Dorfman: Williams-Sonoma and Movado at inflection point
If you want an edge in investing, one path is to find companies whose stocks are cheap but whose profits are improving. I went hunting for some this weekend, and found a few, including Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) and Movado Group Inc. (MOV). To qualify for consideration in today’s column, a...
John Dorfman: The near insanity of investing at 100 times revenue
The height of folly. That’s what I call it when people pay 100 times a company’s pre-share revenue to buy a stock. You see this behavior mostly with young biotechnology stocks and fledgling technology stocks. Investors mentally build what economics professor Burton Malkiel called “castles in the sky” when they...
John Dorfman: 4 stocks that flaunt both value, momentum
In a stock market where momentum reigns, what’s a bargain hunter to do? One answer is to look for stocks that possess both value and momentum. Today, I offer four such stocks for your consideration. Applied Materials Let’s start with Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), up 20 percent this year through...
January is running true to form this year
No month has more stock-market lore associated with it than January. Yes, October is known as the haunt of crashes. But January is known for several things, including the “January effect” and the “January barometer.” The so-called January effect is really a confluence of three effects: • Most stocks tend...
Micron and Systemax make this year’s Casualty List
A harsh December capped a hard fourth quarter for stocks. Many good companies have been knocked down, some to bargain levels. I’ve picked four of them for my Casualty List, a quarterly compilation of wounded stocks that I believe may recover strongly. The Casualty List has a profitable track record....
