Ambastha Financial LLC

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

Nearly every time I strayed from the herd, I’ve made a lot of money. Wandering away from the action is the way to find the new action. (Jim Rogers; https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/wall-street)

I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy. (Warren Buffett; https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/wall-street)

One of the funny things about the stock market is that every time one person buys, another sells, and both think they are astute. (William Feather; https://www.forbes.com/sites/timothyspangler/2014/01/24/11-great-quotes-about-life-on-wall-street/#5ac7d75425a1)

In investing, being contrarian and astute are both critical to success in portfolio management. When a stock or sector is out of favor, buying into it may lead to good results if done properly. Cyclicality can be a friend, as long as proper research is done in advance to find a liquidity play and not a liquidity trap. Buying into a struggling but fundamentally sound position is good. Buying into a struggling and dying position is bad. By developing a thoughtful and rigorous approach to investment research based on sound, time-tested principles, one can become both contrarian and astute in investing matters.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020, the stock of Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) rose by 27.8% for the day. As the coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread around the world and led to a sell-off in the capital markets, Moderna, Inc. announced that its coronavirus vaccine candidate is scheduled to be tested in the USA. This biotechnology company’s experimental vaccine has been delivered to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The vaccine, mRNA-1273, is the first vaccine to be tested in the USA on human beings as part of an official Phase 1 clinical trial. Currently, there are no proven health solutions to cure COVID-19 or prevent infection. Several companies are working on vaccines, therapies, and other such items which may help in managing or curing COVID-19. In summary, due to the potential for success with mRNA-1273, Moderna, Inc. was a star performer during this week.

Keywords – Moderna, Inc., Moderna, MRNA, coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine, mRNA-1273, Phase 1, clinical, trial, USA, biotechnology, biotech, experimental, experiment, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, health, wellness, infection, therapy.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have no positions in MRNA.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) and Legg Mason, Inc. (LM) made big headlines. Legg Mason returned 24.4% for the day, while Franklin Resources (AKA: Franklin Templeton) returned 6.9%. Why? Franklin Resources is buying Legg Mason, in an all-cash deal valued at $4.5 billion. The deal was announced on Tuesday morning. When the deal is finalized, the combined investment management firm will have $1.5 trillion in assets under management. Franklin Resources will be paying $50 per share for the common stock of Legg Mason. Furthermore, Franklin Resources will assume approximately $2 billion of the outstanding debt of Legg Mason. This deal is a continuation of investment management industry consolidation seen in the recent past due to fee pressures plus clients opting for passive investment management instruments over active ones. Franklin Resources and Legg Mason are said to complement each other well and have little pre-existing business overlap. With the two companies combining, Franklin Resources will have a larger global footprint and a well-balanced mix of institutional and retail clients.

Keywords – Franklin Resources, Inc., Franklin Resources, Franklin Templeton, Franklin, Templeton, BEN, Legg Mason, Inc., Legg Mason, Legg, Mason, LM, all-cash deal, investment management, assets under management, common stock, debt, industry consolidation, fees, passive, active, management, global footprint, institutional, retail, clients, client.

Disclosure – The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity and short option positions in BEN. The clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity positions in BEN. The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in LM.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Monday, February 10, 2020, Taubman Centers, Inc. (TCO) was a star performer for the day with its return of 53.2%. A combination of strong quarterly and annual results plus an acquisition offer from Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG) led to this impressive return. 4Q2019 adjusted funds from operations per share (FFOPS) was reported as 97 cents, which beat consensus estimates and also exceeded 4Q2018’s 91 cents figure. The offer from Simon Property Group, Inc. is valued at $3.6 billion. Simon Property Group, Inc. is seeking an 80% ownership stake, while the Taubman family will sell one-third of its ownership interest and stay on as a 20% partner in a new entity called The Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership (TRG). As part of the transaction, Simon Property Group, Inc. will acquire all common stock of Taubman Centers, Inc. at $52.50 per share in cash.

Keywords – The Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership, Taubman Realty Group, Taubman Realty, TRGLP, TRG, Taubman Centers, Inc., Taubman Centers, Taubman, Taubman family, A. Alfred Taubman, Alfred Taubman, Robert S. Taubman, William S. Taubman, TCO, Simon Property Group, Inc., Simon Property Group, Simon Property, Simon, Simon family, Melvin Simon, Herbert Simon, real estate investment trust, REIT, real estate, RE, ownership, stake, interest, quarter, annual, common stocks, common shares, stocks, shares, equity, equities, adjusted funds from operations per share, FFOPS, consensus estimates, cash, transaction.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in TCO. The principals of Ambastha Financial LLC have short option positions in SPG, while the clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in SPG.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Wednesday, February 5, 2020, the stock of Coty Inc. (COTY) rose by 14.5% for the day. This beauty-focused company had quarterly earning (27 cents per share) and revenue ($2.35 billion) figures which beat consensus expectations. Coty Inc. has been implementing a turnaround plan in recent quarters and the plan has been delivering positive outcomes. Strength was seen in the company’s Burberry, Gucci, Tiffany, Lacoste, and Hugo Boss brands. Coty Inc. owns a wide variety of brands, including Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Chloé, and Katy Perry Perfumes. The company’s free cash flow is up $170 million on a year-over-year basis. In summary, Coty had shown great results in its most recent quarterly figures.

Keywords – Coty Inc., Coty, COTY, beauty, brands, turnaround, Burberry, Gucci, Tiffany, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Chloé, Chloe, Katy Perry Perfumes, earnings, earnings per share, EPS, revenue, revenues, free cash flow, FCF, results, consensus, expectations, consensus expectations, quarter, quarterly, quarter figures, quarterly figures, figures, metrics.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in COTY.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) caught our attention this week due to a massive reported profit figure. Its quarterly profit figure of $3.3 billion for the most recent quarter exceeded its $3.0 billion figure from one year ago. The $87.4 billion sales figure was also impressive and exceeded expectations. Furthermore, Amazon Web Services (AWS) had a revenue increase which was 34% higher than one year ago. Amazon.com briefly entered the elite $1 trillion-plus market capitalization club during the day due to its successes, specifically caused by its results exceeding expectations. A surge in Amazon Prime membership and investments in faster shipping (especially one-day delivery for Amazon Prime members) have been instrumental in recent successes, beyond what is noted above. Amazon ended the day of Friday, January 31, 2020 with a $996 billion market capitalization and a +7.4% daily return.

Keywords – Amazon.com, Inc., Amazon.com, Amazon, AMZN, profit, sales, revenue, Amazon Web Services, AWS, elite, trillion, Amazon Prime, shipping, technology, tech, Internet, Web, online, retail, delivery, Jeff Bezos.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in AMZN.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (CEA) stock dropped by 10.4% for the day. China Eastern Airlines is a major Chinese airline company which offers international, domestic, and regional flights. The company is headquartered at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. Changes in company-specific performance metrics were not a factor in the decline of the stock price on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. Instead, the coronavirus outbreak hit Chinese airline and hotel stocks hard. The coronavirus has evoked fears of a possible epidemic, akin to the SARS epidemic of late 2002 in China.

Keywords – China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited, China Eastern Airlines, CEA, Shanghai, airlines, flights, hotels, People’s Republic of China, China, PRC, coronavirus, SARS, outbreak, epidemic.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in CEA.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) stock rose by 9.6% for the day because, as per market research firm eMarketer, Pinterest had 82.4 million American users in 2019. With this data point, Pinterest is now the third-largest American social media platform behind Facebook (FB) and Instagram (also a product of Facebook). Pinterest overtook Snapchat, a product of Snap Inc. (SNAP), in becoming the third-largest American social media platform. By 2022, eMarketer expects that Pinterest will have 90.1 million American users. Pinterest has users among a wide range of age groups because of the broad appeal of its online scrapbooking capabilities. Though Pinterest has yet to turn a quarterly profit, its ad sales growth has been impressive because advertisers want to market to the large and diverse user base of Pinterest. Pinterest will be announcing its 4Q2019 and fiscal year 2019 results after the close of the American stock market on Thursday, February 6, 2020.

Keywords – Pinterest, Inc., Pinterest, PINS, users, user base, age group, diverse, scrapbook, eMarketer, social media, platform, American, profit, growth, 4Q2019, fiscal year, advertising, results, markets, market research, Facebook, FB, Instagram, Snapchat, SNAP.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in PINS, SNAP, and FB.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Monday, January 6, 2020, the stock of SmileDirectClub Inc. (SDC) rose by 21.6%. SmileDirectClub specializes in the teledentistry sector, and has its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. SmileDirectClub has announced a deal with Walmart Inc. (WMT) to sell its products inside Walmart stores plus on the Walmart website. Specifically, the products to be offered include an electric toothbrush, a whitening toothpaste, a teeth whitening system, an ultrasonic UV cleaner, and a water flosser. With this deal, SmileDirectClub may get better name recognition with its products being offered at Walmart, the most prominent retailer in the world. Given that the products to be offered are affordable, these products could move in good volume at Walmart and thus may positively benefit SmileDirectClub’s profits going forward.

Keywords – SmileDirectClub Inc., SmileDirectClub, SDC, Walmart Inc., Walmart, WMT, teledentistry, dentistry, retail, Nashville, Tennessee, TN, The Volunteer State.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in SDC. The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC have long equity and short option positions in WMT.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.

By Kuldip K. Ambastha and Anil K. Ambastha

On Friday, January 3, 2020, Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) delivered a gain of 3.0% closing at an all-time high of $443.01 per share due to positive news. Intra-day, the share price reached as high as $454.00 per share. Tesla beat Wall Street estimates for both car production and delivery during its fourth quarter, and also cut the starting price for Model 3 sedans built in China. Beginning on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, Tesla Model 3 sedans made in China will start to be delivered. The Chinese factory is Tesla’s first factory ever outside of the USA, and points to Tesla’s intention of attempting to succeed in a place which is considered the world’s biggest automobile market. Manufacturing in China specifically for Chinese individuals has allowed Tesla to bypass tariffs, but it is still uncertain if Tesla will become profitable for the long-term. This is especially true in light of the fact that the Chinese government in the recent past has been reducing subsidies for electric vehicle production. The Chinese factory has been able to meet its production target of 1,000 units per week, and Tesla will be doubling its number of service centers and fast-charging stations in China over the course of 2020. Tesla has done well in Europe also and plans to build a plant in Berlin, Germany.

Keywords – Tesla, Inc., Tesla, TSLA, Elon Musk, Tesla Model 3, sedan, automobile, auto, car, China, Chinese, USA, American, factory, tariffs, market, profits, long-term, subsidies, electric vehicle, EV, vehicle, production, unit, service center, fast-charging station, charging station, 2020, Europe, European, all-time high, Berlin, Germany.

Disclosure – The principals and clients of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in TSLA.

Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.