Tag: stocks

Visa Delivers - Visa Europe Integration Begins To Shine

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Introduction

As cashless societies forge ahead, Visa remains at the forefront of this movement with its dominance in the credit card space. Visa Europe acquisition, growing dividends, share buybacks and accelerating revenue and EPS growth culminates into a compelling investment as a great long-term core portfolio holding. As many countries make a secular transition towards cashless societies, the credit card transaction space will continue to reap the rewards of this trend via swipe fees and other services. Globally, Visa has been at the forefront of this space, accounting for more than 45% and 68% of all credit card and debit card transactions, respectively. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) has it eyes set on capturing more market share from competitors, notably American Express via securing long-term branded credit card relationships with Costco, Fidelity and USAA. Visa has recently signed a partnership with PayPal which allows U.S. merchants with a Visa payWave reader to accept PayPal as a form of payment thus leveraging Visa’s payments network while benefiting Visa and merchants alike. Visa is unique in that it does not take on any financial liability as it serves as an intermediary to process payment transactions and capturing a fee for its payments technology/network. I feel that Visa is a great long-term holding that offers growth and stability independent of banks and/or interest rates. This thesis is further supported by the most recent earnings announcement. Continue reading "Visa Delivers - Visa Europe Integration Begins To Shine" →

Visa - A Great Long-Term Core Holding

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


Introduction

Visa’s worldwide industry leading payments technology, dominance in the credit transaction space, secular growth towards cashless societies, Visa Europe acquisition, growing dividends, share buybacks and accelerating revenue and EPS growth culminate into a compelling investment case as a great long-term portfolio holding. As many countries make a secular transition towards cashless societies, the credit card transaction space will continue to reap the rewards of this trend via swipe fees and other services. Globally, Visa has been at the forefront of this space, accounting for more than 45% and 68% of all credit card and debit card transactions, respectively. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) has it eyes set on capturing more market share from competitors such as Mastercard and more notably American Express in recent months via securing long-term branded credit card relationships with Costco, Fidelity and USAA. Visa has recently signed a partnership with PayPal which allows U.S. merchants with a Visa payWave reader to accept PayPal as a form of payment thus leveraging Visa’s payments network while benefiting Visa and merchants alike. Visa is unique in that it does not take on any financial liability as it serves as an intermediary to process payment transactions and capturing a fee for its payments technology/network. I feel that Visa is a great long-term holding that offers growth and stability independent of banks and/or interest rates. Continue reading "Visa - A Great Long-Term Core Holding" →

The Presidential Nominees Are Set

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


The political lines have been drawn, it’s Clinton verses Trump. I written several pieces evaluating the massive sell-offs in the biotech sector. Utilizing the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) as a proxy, I proposed a loose correlation between opportunistic political posturing by political front-runners and the chronic price suppression of IBB. I content that political posturing played a significant role in the sell-off of the healthcare cohort and more specifically biotech stocks. Drug pricing was used as a centerpiece as the scapegoat for political gains. Throughout this political process, this rhetoric has negatively impacted the sector. IBB fell from $401 in July of 2015 to $240 in February of 2016 or alternatively a 40% hit. This sell-off coincided with political rhetoric aimed at the collective cohort of healthcare and biotech companies. I strongly felt that these events were seasonal and would eventually subside without any significant impact to the underlying stocks within IBB. I felt this political induced sell-off presented a great buying opportunity after the 40% decline. I put my money where my mouth was by purchasing two tranches of IBB at a strike price of $250 in February and June during the market-wide sell-off and the Brexit, respectively. I feel that this is great entry point for any long-term investor that desires exposure to the biotechnology sector.

Are Drug Prices Really The Culprit?

In terms of the overall cost to the healthcare system, drugs comprise less than 10% of the pie. Allergan CEO Brent Saunders stated in an interview with Jim Cramer on Mad Money (Figure 1): Continue reading "The Presidential Nominees Are Set" →

IBB: Brexit Collateral Damage Provides Brief Buying Opportunity

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

Noah Kiedrowski - INO.com Contributor - Biotech


As Brexit wreaked havoc on international financial markets, it presented a brief opportunity to capitalize on the collateral damage fallout within the biotechnology cohort. This event may continue to offer entry points as the reverberations are felt throughout the markets. I didn’t factor in the possibility that a major economic power within the EU would vote to relinquish its membership and move forward as an independent nation. However as Brexit became reality, I utilized this opportunity to deploy capital in the biotechnology cohort via the iShares Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) as a long-term investor within the space. As the UK proceeded with its divorce from the EU, markets sold off in a meaningful way. Brexit introduced instability throughout the region thus negatively impacting financial markets abroad. I largely view the Brexit as an extraneous event unrelated directly to the biotechnology cohort; thus I utilized this brief opportunity to add to my position in IBB and may continue to add in periods of weakness. Continue reading "IBB: Brexit Collateral Damage Provides Brief Buying Opportunity" →

A Value Stock That's Out Of This World

Posted on by Daniel Cross

Daniel Cross - INO.com Contributor - Equities


Value investors know that the long game is important when picking a stock. Short term gains fluctuate, but solid fundamentals mean that a company will outperform over the long-term regardless of temporary ups and downs in the market.

A few decades ago the field of technology was in its infancy and the computer space was considered highly risky and volatile. Of course, anyone who bought into companies like Apple or Intel back then are certainly reaping the rewards today.

Technology is still an investor's best bet for finding the next breakout industry. Right now IoT (Internet of Things) is the frontrunner with advances being made in data storage, infrastructure, and other forms of "smart" tech. Big data stocks and chipmakers have already seen big gains in the past couple of years and should continue to thrive. But there's another industry that looks very much like computers did back in the late 70's and early 80's – spaceflight.

The introduction of commercial space agencies is brand new. Richard Branson helped kick off the new space race with his Virgin Galactic company and now Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have joined in with their SpaceX and Blue Horizons companies.

While still privately owned entities, there are still ways for investors to hop aboard this exciting new enterprise. Satellite telecommunications hasn't been an industry in focus for Wall Street analysts, but rapidly growing interest in spaceflight and space-related technology means that these companies may be about to enter a new bullish environment that could last decades. Continue reading "A Value Stock That's Out Of This World" →