Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice. As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor so please consult with your professional investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.
In this image provided by commuter Alexander Chadwick, taken on his mobile phone camera, passengers are evacuated from an underground train in a tunnel near Kings Cross station in London, Thursday. (AP/Alexander Chadwick)
Before I go on to review anything, I would like to express my condolences to those who have lost loved ones or who have experienced injuries in the London bombings. We truly are one interconnected world around here. I hope that the rest of 2005 finds all of you safe and in good health.
These weekend reviews are my method of trying to determine how the stock picks selected here are performing in practice. These reviews assume a buy and hold technique which is not what I employ in my own trading portfolio. I advocate selling losing stocks quickly (I use an 8% loss as my limit) and selling gaining stocks at targeted appreciation ranges, slowly.
On May 18, 2004, I posted Staples (SPLS) on Stock Picks at $26.39. SPLS had a 3:2 stock split on 4/18/05, making my effective pick price actually $17.59. SPLS closed at $21.92 on 7/8/05 for a gain of $4.33 or 24.6% since posting.
On May 17, 2005, Staples reported 1st quarter 2005 results. Total company sales for the quarter ended April 30, 2005, grew 13% to $3.90 billion from $3.45 billion for the same quarter in 2004. Net income came in at $159 million, this worked out to $.21/diluted share, up 24% from the first quarter of 2004.
On May 19, 2004, I posted Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANSI) on Stock Picks at $33.03. ANSI closed at $41.21 on 7/8/05 for a gain of $8.18 or 24.8% since posting.On April 28, 2005, ANSI announced 1st quarter 2005 results. Revenue increased 21.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2005, to $32.3 million from $26.6 million in the same quarter in 2004. Excluding a gain on a sale of Cyberonics common stock, earnings for the first quarter came in at $.22/diluted share, up from $.19/diluted share last year. 
On May 20, 2004, I posted PetSmart (PETM) on Stock Picks at $28.40/share. PETM closed at $31.43/share on 7/8/05, for a gain of $3.03 or 10.7%.On May 18, 2004, PetsMart (PETM) reported 1st quarter 2005 results. Sales climbed 13.4% to $903.2 million during the quarter, from $796.3 million in the same quarter last year. Importantly, same store sales growth for the quarter came in at 5.7%. Net income grew to $44.7 million or $.30/share, up from $31.9 million or $.21/share last year.
Finally, on May 21, 2004, I posted Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) on Stock Picks at a price of $42.99. MRVL had a 2:1 stock split on 6/29/04, making my effective "pick price" actually $21.50. MRVL closed at $39.91 on 7/8/05 for a gain of $18.41 or 85.6% since posting!On May 19, 2005, MRVL reported 1st quarter 2006 results. For the quarter ended April 30, 2005, revenue came in at $364.8 million, a 35% over net revenue of $269.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2005. Net income (GAAP) was reported at $63.5 million, or $.20/diluted share, up strongly from $14.5 million, or $.05/diluted share in the first quarter of 2005. These were strong results imho, and help explain the strong stock performance.So how did we do that week? Well nothing short of spectacular. My only disappointment is that these four stocks are not in my own portfolio...I can't own everything :(. Anyhow, the average performance of these four stocks works out to a gain of 36.4%!
Certainly past performance is NO guarantee of future price movement, but this is certainly encouraging for what I am trying to do on this website. Also, this represents just four picks from one particular week, so take it all with a grain of salt!
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you have any comments, or questions, please feel free to email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com. (Or feel free to leave comments right here on the blog!)
Bob