PSB Portfolio Update August 2013
August 15, 2013
What’s Next For The Market?
Well, it’s something of a surprise, but it’s been a pretty uneventful month in terms of the financial markets. Now, the summer is usually slow. But, it seemed like this could have been a busier period than usual.
Nevertheless, stocks have done very little over the past month. For instance, the S&P 500 is up just over half a percent since our last update. That’s pretty tame considering the benchmark index is up nearly 20% on the year.
Here’s the thing…
No major news has really materialized over the last month to really move the market. Fed tapering talk has calmed down and now some tapering is expected… but at a slow rate.
The economic news has been good, but not great. And, earnings season has been mostly tame. Basically, it’s been a whole lot of nothing.
That being said, September tends to be far more volatile historically. If something big is going to happen, it will likely be in the next couple months. Keep in mind, we’re going to be dealing with another political showdown on the budget/debt ceiling in the coming weeks.
But for now, let’s enjoy the period of calm bullishness and take a look at some of our positions.
Position Updates
Please Note: We don’t necessarily update every open position each month. We focus on the positions experiencing significant news, notable price movement, or a change in recommendation. Please refer to the Performance page on our website for our current buy, sell, or hold recommendation for any positions not mentioned in the Update.
. . . . Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO) – Sell
CXPO has finally announced the closing date of its merger with Contango Oil & Gas(MCF). And it’s just five days from today.
That means there’s nothing likely to happen to the share price between now and then. It also means no other competing bids are going to pop up.
Go ahead and sell your shares of CXPO now (unless for some reason you want to be an owner of MCF shares). By selling now, we’ll preserve all of our initial capital, plus a tiny bit extra.
. . . . Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) – Sell
MWW came out with weaker than expected earnings and the shares plunged. I actually think the selloff is overdone. However, we’re still going to exit our position.
You see, I’m not worried so much about MWW’s earnings so much as what the competition is doing. In fact, I believe the elephant in the room is LinkedIn (LNKD). More and more recruiters are using LNKD for their job search needs.
And with as hot as that stock has been lately, I don’t want to effectively bet against it by staying invested in MWW.
Sell you shares of MWW now while we can preserve most of our capital.
. . . . Aceto (NASDAQ: ACET) – Hold
I don’t have a whole lot to say about ACET. I just wanted to point out that one of our oldest positions has been on an absolute tear.
As of last night’s close, the stock has gained 70% year to date. And for us, the position is up a whopping 114%!
The share price is off a bit today with the overall market selloff, but it will likely hold above $16 per share. If not, we won’t let this stock give up a lion’s share of its gains without taking profits.
Action To Take
- Sell Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO)
- Sell Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW)
Category: PSB Portfolio Updates
