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(from Navellier Research, pls do your own due diligence)
(SOM also retains IPGP in the model portfolio from previous Top 5 lists. Will sell after next earnings reports. The model portfolio has been marked to market at the year end, so will start at zero gains. Will sell IPGP at the next earning report. Sold at 240.00)
Top 5 Stocks for February
From Navellier – My quantitative and fundamental screens from Portfolio Grader confirmed that my Top 5 Stocks from the prior two months still have significant momentum on their side. These five stocks represent the crème de la crème of our 47 stocks. Let’s take a closer look at what’s keeping them hot.
The Chemours Company
The Chemours Company (CC) has earned the first spot on my Top 5 Stocks list for the sixth-straight month. Shares have bounced 9% since the January Monthly Issue, and it’s no surprise why. As I noted in the December 28 Weekly Update, the company raised the price of its global Tefzel™ ETFE fluropolymer and Viton™ FKM fluoroelastomer products—which can be found in everything from electrical wiring to vehicles—by 10% on January 1. And did you know that among the three chemicals that Chemours specializes in, their fluoroplastics business is vital to semiconductors?
In fact, the Internet of Things (Iot) devices that are increasingly taking over how people live, work and play, all depend on computer chips in order to work. Because Chemours’ fluoroplastics prevent metallic contamination, corrosion and other negative changes from taking place, Chemours makes these chips superior. Aside from the IoT, the company’s fluoroplastics products can be found in air conditioning, refrigeration and foam blowing agents. Clearly, this price change should be a boon to Chemours’ bottom line.
Chemours is scheduled to announce earnings and sales results for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, February 14. The analyst community is expecting sales to jump 17.1% year-over-year to $1.55 billion. Earnings per share are forecast to surge 171.4% year-over-year to $0.95 per share, up from $0.35 per share in the same quarter a year ago. Along with its healthy fundamentals, CC has a 1.27% annual dividend yield and has paid a dividend for nine-consecutive quarters. Chemours will go ex-dividend on February 14. Shareholders of record on February 15 will receive $0.17 per share on March 15. This Moderately Aggressive stock is a good buy up to $60 per share.
SOM Technicals:
9-30-17: In the move up from 44.89 with a secondary entry of 48.00. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes are now bearish. The next target up is 54.57. The stop is at the low pivot of 34.87.
10/8/17: Now at the 54.37 target. Trade pressures are up. Volumes remain bullish. The next target up is 60.74. Raise the stop to 44.07.
10-16-17: At 56.69. Trade pressures are up. Volumes remain bullish. Support at the 25×5 moving average, currently 52.46.
10-22-17: Down this week to 55.89. Support at 53.34. Next target is at 60.74.
10-28-17: closed at 57.23. Trade pressures remain up. Volumes returned to bullish. The next target up is 60.74.
11-5-17: Closed at 52.74. Down hard after earnings guidance disappointed. Next target up is now 54.37. Support has been violated. Wait for seller to abate then assess.
11-11-17: Closed at 50.50. Will wait for the next quarterly earnings report. The next target up is 54.37. Trade pressures are down and volumes are neutral.
11-18-17: Closed at 52.50. A new long entry at 51.81. Trade pressures are down and volumes are now bullish.
11-25-17: Closed at 53.31. Trade pressures are now up and Volumes are bullish. 53.98 is a new target.
12-03-17: Closed a t 52.03. Trade pressures are down. volumes are still bullish.
12-8-17: Closed a t 47.64. Trade pressures are down. volumes are neutral. Need to close above 50.51 to get going again.
12 23-17: Closed at 49.02. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. Near the new long entry.
12-30-17: Closed at 50.10. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The new long entry is triggered at 50.51.
1-6-18: Closed at 50.73. In a new move up. Trade pressures are up and volumes are bullish.
1-13-17: Closed at 52.47. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 59.39.
1-20-18: Closed at 54.02. Trade pressures are up but declining. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 59.39.
1-28-18: Closed at 53.43. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes are bullish. The next target remains 59.30.
2-3-18 Closed at 49.21. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish. The next target down is 47.36.
2-10-18: Closed at 46.46. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral. The next target down is 41.57.
2-17-18: Closed at 48.84. Trade pressures are down but rising. Volumes are bearish.
China Lodging Group Ltd.
China Lodging Group Ltd. (HTHT) is making an appearance on the Top 5 Stocks list for the third-straight month. As a Chinese hotel management company, China Lodging Group is certainly benefitting from the booming Chinese tourism industry. According to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), there were over two billion tourist trips within China by both its urban and rural residents in the first half of 2017. Inbound tourism, or those coming into China, totaled approximately 65 million trips.
Last week, China Lodging Group published preliminary fourth-quarter 2017 results for its hotel operations. The company expects the total number of hotels in operation to grow 15% year-over-year to 3,746, or 379,675 hotel rooms. Also, the analyst community is expecting the company to report earnings of $0.72 per share on $340.55 million sales, which translates to 166.7% annual earnings growth and 30.9% annual sales growth. Even better: In the past three months, analysts have revised their fourth-quarter earnings per share estimates 33% higher. Look out for the official sales and earnings report on or around Tuesday, February 27. I recommend that you buy this Aggressive stock up to $177 per share.
SOM Technicals:
11-18-17: Closed at 125. A second buy signal is at 133.72. Trade pressures are rising out of the neutral zone. Volumes are neutral.
11-25-17: Closed at 120.62. Testing support. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish. Earnings report is on Tuesday the 28th of November.
12-03-17: Closed at 108.75. Great earnings report, but China stocks were sold off on news of stricter lending requirements. trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral.
12-8-17: Closed at 123.60. Trade pressures are rising back into the neutral zone. Volumes have returned to bullish.
12-23-17: Closed at 138.07. Nice recovery off the China selloff. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. Thru the new long entry.
12-20-17: Closed at 145.30. In the new move up from 137.30. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 152.58.
1-6-18: Closed at 153.00. Trade pressures are extended. Volumes have turned to neutral.
1-13-18: Closed at 155.00. Trade pressures are up and extended. Volumes are back to bullish; consolidating.
1-20-18: Closed at 156.81. Trade pressures are up but declining. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 164.52.
1-28-18: Closed at 156.80. Trade pressures are up and declining. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 164.52.
2-3-18: Closed at 141.00. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish. The next target down is 137.67.
2-10-18: Closed at 134.01. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral. The next target down is 120.04.
2-17-18: Closed at 146.99. Trade pressures are up into the neutral zone. Volumes are bullish.
Ferrari NV
Ferrari NV (RACE) has parked itself in the Top 5 Stocks list for the seventh-straight month, driven by strong fundamentals (pun intended). In addition to the recent revelation on the company’s plans to create a battery-powered supercar, there’s a new coupe that’s caught Wall Street’s attention. Ferrari is reportedly close to publicly revealing the “New V8 Sport Special Series,” which would be the fastest V8 car in northern Italy. The car would have more carbon fiber than ever seen in a Ferrari. Car enthusiasts expect to see the vehicle at the 88th International Geneva Motor Show in March.
While I love the performance and versatility of Ferrari’s cars, the company’s fundamentals are what keeps RACE among my Top 5 picks. If you purchased shares at the original time of my recommendation, you should be sitting on a 36% gain. Personally, I don’t think that’s too shabby. As you know, the luxury sports car manufacturer posted better-than-expected results in the third quarter.
Furthermore, analysts expect fourth-quarter sales to rise 4.6% year-over-year to $1.07 billion, and earnings per share to increase 22.2% year-over-year to $0.88. RACE has posted an average 11.5% earnings surprise in the past four quarters, and analysts have revised earnings estimates 6% higher in the past three months. So I’m looking for RACE to post a nice earnings surprise when it reports results on Thursday, February 1. Before then, I recommend that you add shares of this Moderately Aggressive stock up to $130 per share.
SOM Technicals:
9-30-17: In the move up from the 89.42 entry. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes are neutral. Now at the upside target of 119.28. Expect consolidation and possible retracement. Would look to add near the previous target of 105-106.
10-8-17: Still in consolidation above the 105 target. Trade pressures have moved up out of the neutral zone. Volumes remain neutral. Would look to add near the support area of 109-110.
10-16-17: At 116.87. Trading between the 105 level and the 119.28 target. Trade pressures are up. Volumes remain neutral.
10-22-17: down to 114.60. Consolidating at the 115.27 new long entry. Support at the 107.31 pivot.
10-28-17: closed the week at 115.59. Trade pressures are in the neutral zone. Volumes have returned to bullish. The next target up is 119.26.
11-5-17: closed at 116.61. Trade pressures back in the neutral zone. In consolidation here at the 119.28 target. The next target after getting thru resistance is 127.16. Support is 115.59.
11-11-17: Closed at 109.56. Profit taking after good earnings sends the stock down, remains on the top 5 list. The next target up is 119.28. Trade pressures are down, volumes are bearish.
11-18-17: Closed at 109.25. The long entry is 115.27. Trade pressures are down and volumes are bearish.
11-25-17: Closed at 113.71. Trade pressures are down but rising. Volumes are neutral. 115.91 is the next target up.
12-03-17: Closed at 107.47. Profit taking. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral.
12-08-17: Closed at 106.04. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral. A close above 112 would get the move going again.
12-23-17: Closed at 106.54. Trade pressures are up. Volumes have turned bullish. 107.38 would start the retracement, 112 would confirm the move.
12-30-17: Closed at 104.84. Trade pressures are up, but rolling over. Volumes are bearish. Need a move up thru 112 to get the long trade going again.
1-6-18: Closed at 112.39. At the 25×5 moving average which acts as resistance. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish.
1-13-18: Closed at 117.72: The move thru the new long entry has accelerated the move up. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 125.89.
1-20-18: Closed at 120.75. Moved easily thru the 117.48 target. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. the next target up is 128.03.
1-28-18: Closed at 119.86. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are neutral. The next target up is 128.03.
2-3-18: Closed at 127.14. Trade pressures remain up. Volumes are now neutral. Consolidating at the 128.03 target.
2-10-18: Closed at 119.98. Trade pressures are in the neutral zone. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 128.03.
2-17-18: Closed at 129.71. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish.
NVR, Inc.
NVR, Inc. (NVR) was added to the Buy List in September 2017 and the homebuilder has quickly grown into one of my favorite stocks, claiming the fourth spot on the Top 5 Stocks list for the fourth-straight month. As we discussed earlier, the most-recent housing data was disappointing, but there’s actually a little something in there to cheer about. You see, though housing starts and building permits for single-family homes fell in December, permits are now outpacing starts. And this suggests that homebuilding will bounce back in the upcoming months. As home seekers and builders alike start to resume activities that bitter temperatures delayed, demand and construction of single-family homes is bound to come roaring back. And that should be a boon to NVR, which builds homes in 29 metropolitan areas across 14 states.
NVR posted earnings and sales results for the fourth quarter on Thursday, January 25. During the quarter, sales jumped 1.7% year-over-year to $1.78 billion, up from $1.75 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The company’s adjusted earnings per share climbed 14.8% year-over-year to $43.41, compared with $37.80 per share in the fourth quarter of 2016. The analyst community was expecting earnings of $47.96 per share on $1.99 billion in sales, so NVR posted a 9.5% earnings miss and a 10.6% sales miss.
NVR noted that tax-related expenses from the new tax bill, as well as the adoption of new accounting standards, impacted its fourth-quarter earnings. We also need to consider that NVR’s fourth-quarter new home orders increased 18% year-over-year to 4,306 units. And their gross profit margin rose to 19.3%. So despite the earnings miss, this was still a strong quarter for the company. This Conservative stock is a Strong Buy up to $3,515 per share.
SOM Technicals:
10-22-17: New Addition. In the move up from the 2551 price in late June 2017. Trade pressures are up Volumes are bullish. the next target up is 3331. Support is at 2897.
10-28-17: closed at 3240. Trade pressure up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3331.
11-5-17: Closed at 3210.65. Touched the 3331 target, now in consolidation. The next target up is 3961. Support at 3052. Bearish volume is coming in.
11-11-17: Closed at 3289.64. Still at the 3331 target levels. A breakout will set the next target up at 3961.32. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish.
11-18-17: Closed at 3258.47. The 3331 target has produced a lengthy consolidation. Trade pressures are up but declining.Volumes are now bearish. the next quarterly report will tell the tale.
11-25-17: Closed at 3399.12. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3406.26.
12-03-17: Closed at 3480.00. Home builders are strong. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. At fair value.
12-08-17: Closed at 3392.68. In a retracement. Trading pressures are down. Volumes are neutral.
12-23-17: Closed at 3480.00. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3883.
12-30-17: Closed at 3508.22. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3883.
1-6-18: Closed at 3567.00. Trade pressures are up and trending. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3883.
1-13-18: Closed at 3558.23. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes are bearish. Support at the 25×5 moving average, 3478.
1-20-18: Closed at 3700. Trade pressures are up thru the neutral zone. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 3877.
1-28-18: Closed at 3292.23. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes are neutral. Two support levels have been taken out. Hold.
2-3-18: Closed at 3000. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish. Consolidating below the 3100 level.
2-10-18: Closed at 2800.00. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish. Expect consolidation here at the 200 day moving average.
2-17-18: Closed at 3208.23. Trade pressures are down but rising. Volumes are bullish.
Take-Two Interactive Software
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) wraps up the Top 5 Stocks list for the fifth month in a row. The company’s creative games have kept both Main Street and Wall Street on their toes. In fact, last week, the New York City-based developer, publisher and marketer of entertainment products rolled out the Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition game. Kerbal Space is a popular space flight simulation video game available on the Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One platforms. And with Red Dead Redemption 2 coming out this spring, Take-Two is positioned to remain a leader in the gaming industry.
The bad news is that the company is still absorbing costs from a business reorganization plan. For Take-Two’s fourth-quarter results, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, February 7, the analyst community is looking for $0.98 earnings per share on $654.97 million in sales, which represents a 1% decrease in annual earnings and a 12.1% decrease in annual sales.
The good news is that for full-year 2017, analysts are looking for Take-Two to post 18.1% annual earnings growth and 6.3% annual sales growth. Looking out to 2019, analysts are calling for 58.8% annual earnings growth and 44.1% annual sales growth. So the upcoming quarters should be increasingly strong ones for the company. Add this Moderately Aggressive stock up to $129 per share.
SOM Technicals:
9-30-17: In the move up from the 75.88 entry. Trade pressures are in the neutral. Volumes are neutral. The next target up is 107.90. The support at 99.08, the 25×5 moving average has held.
10-8-17: At 107.23 and up against the 107.90 target. Both Trade pressures and Volume are signaling more upside. The next target up is 116.54. Usually expect some consolidation at these targets.
10-16-17: The 107.90 has acted as resistance. 103.81 is a new long entry, formed after the pullback. Trade pressures are up. Volumes remain bullish. The next target up is 116.54.
10-22-17: At 104.93. Trade pressures are down into the neutral zone. Volumes remain bullish. The next target up remains 116.54. Support at 101.08.
10-28-17: Closed at 107.84. Trade pressures are in the neutral zone. Volumes are bullish.
11-5-17: Close at 108.70. Earnings report on the 7th. The next target up is 116.54. Support is 105.36. Volumes closed the week as bearish.
11-11-17: Closed at 115.97. Good earnings report. Traded thru the 116.54 target now consolidating. The next target up is 129.28. Trade pressures are in the neutral zone. Volumes are neutral.
11-18-17: Closed at 118.10. The next target up is 129.26. Trade pressures are up. Volumes closed the week as bearish.
11-25-17: Closed at 117.66. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are neutral. In consolidation after reaching the 120.63 high.
12-03-17: Closed at 110.86. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral.
12-08-17: Closed at 106.81. Trade pressures are down but extended. Volumes are neutral. A close above 112.00 would restart the move move up.
12-23-17: Closed at 109.14. Trade pressures are neutral. Volumes are neutral. 111.55 would signal a new move up.
12-30-17: Closed at 109.78. Trade pressures are rising into the neutral zone. Volumes are bearish. Need a move up back thru the 111 level to get the move up restarted.
1-6-18: Closed 116.91. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are bullish. Nice move up thru the long entry. The next target up is 121.76.
1-13-18: Closed at 117.30. Trade pressures are up. volumes are bullish.The next target up is 130.91.
1-20-18: Closed at 118.99. Trade pressures are up but declining. Volumes are bullish. The next target up is 130.91.
1-28-18: Closed at 119.58. Trade pressures are up but declining. Volumes are bullish.
2-3-18: Closed at 121.30. Trade pressures are up. Volumes are neutral. The next target up is 130.91.
2-10-18: Closed at 108.45. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are neutral. The next target down is 95.68.
2-17-18: Closed at 107.04. Trade pressures are down. Volumes are bearish.