Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Bob's Advice for Stocks! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisors prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.
One of the tasks I try to accomplish each weekend is to look back at past stock selections and see what happened after I posted them to the blog. For ease of performance calculation, I assume a "buy and hold" strategy to this approach. In fact, in practice I utilize and recommend a more disciplined trading approach to stocks; selling losing stocks quickly and completely, and selling gaining issues slowly and partially. This difference would obviously change the performance evaluation. But for the purposes of this weekend review, the 'buy and hold' strategy works just fine!
On April 18, 2005, I posted Too, Inc. (TOO) on Stock Picks Bob's Advice when it was trading at $23.74. In July 10, 2006, Too, Inc. changed its name to Tween Brands (TWB) and started trading under the new stock symbol. TWB closed at $35.98 on 8/11/06, for a gain of $12.24 or 51.6% since posting.
On May 17, 2006, what was then called "Too, Inc." reported 1st quarter 2006 results. For the quarter ended April 29, 2006, net sales increased 19% to $195.1 million, up from $164.4 millionduring the same period last year. Net income climbed 67% to $.35/diluted share from $.21/diluted share last year. This was $11.7 million this year and $7.4 million of net income in the prior year same period. Comparable store sales increased 10% during the quarter with 9% increase for Limited Too stores and a 30% increase for the 46 Justice stores open during both periods. Another plus imho for the stock was that during the quarter, the company repurchased about 630,000 shares.
On April 20, 2005, I posted St. Jude Medical (STJ) on Stock Picks Bob's Advice when the stock was trading at $39.67. STJ closed at $33.68 on 8/11/06, for a loss of $(5.99) or (15.1)% since posting.
On July 19, 2006, St. Jude Medical announced 2nd quarter 2006 results. For the quarter ended June 30, 2006, net sales came in at $833 million, up 15% from $724 million reported in the same quarter in 2005. Net earnings were $141 million or $.38/diluted share compared with $101 million or $.27/diluted share in the previous year. On a down note, the same day the company cut its estimates for the year reporting:
"Updating its forecast, St. Jude expects consolidated earnings for the third quarter to be in the range of 36 cents to 39 cents a share, and full-year profit to be in the range of $1.49 to $1.55 a share. In April, the company forecast a consolidated profit of $1.55 to $1.60 for the year."
Finally, on April 21, 2005, I posted Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) on Stock Picks Bob's Advice at a price of $16.265. On September 6, 2005, Meridian split 3:2 making my effective pick price actually $10.84. VIVO closed on 8/11/06 at $19.50/share for a gain of $8.66 or 79.9% since posting!
On July 20, 2006, VIVO reported 3rd quarter 2006 results. For the three months ended June 30, 2006, net sales increased 5% to $26.6 million from $25.4 million in the same quarter in the previous year. Operating incomecame in at $6.9 million, up 21% from $5.7 million last year. The company also raised guidance for 2007 sales to $106 to $109 million from the previous guidance of $103 to $107 million. Per share earnings guidance were also increased to $.63 to $.66/share, up from the prior guidance of $.60 to $.63/share. Overall, a nice earnings report for Meridian!
So how did I do for that week a little over a year ago? Pretty darn good actually. Two gaining stocks and one losing stock for an average gain of 38.8% on these stocks assuming equal dollar purchases and a "buy and hold" strategy!
Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com. Also, please be sure and visit my podcast site.
Bob