Are you locked and loaded with the financial industry’s so-called “Top Stocks for 2011?” If you are, or even if you’re just mulling them, you may want to look beyond those names — these stocks don’t always pay off no matter how reputable their pickers may be. You don’t even have to look too far back for proof. Last year, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) were among the most-suggested picks for 2010. Yes, Apple and Comcast gained 54% and 29%, respectively, but Hewlett-Packard fell 19% last year,… Read More

Are you locked and loaded with the financial industry’s so-called “Top Stocks for 2011?” If you are, or even if you’re just mulling them, you may want to look beyond those names — these stocks don’t always pay off no matter how reputable their pickers may be. You don’t even have to look too far back for proof. Last year, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) were among the most-suggested picks for 2010. Yes, Apple and Comcast gained 54% and 29%, respectively, but Hewlett-Packard fell 19% last year, while Assured Guaranty lost 22%. By comparison, the broader market gained 11% during this timeframe. That’s not meant to be a critique of the folks who picked those names in early 2010. It’s difficult to see the future. On the other hand, if the odds of success are 50/50 and the losing stocks lagged as badly as the winning names outpaced the market, what’s the point? So which equities were last year’s actual leaders? And to be clear, we’re not talking about any wild and illiquid (not to mention unlisted) penny stocks either —… Read More

Most investors take a look at them before they leap into stocks, but analyst recommendations don’t necessarily have a great track record. So, before you take a buy/sell call on faith, you may want to consider the fact that the folks doing the ratings aren’t always right. But that’s not… Read More

The risky part of investors blindly counting on long-standing hot streaks is that when the streaks finally turn cold, the fallout is enormous. On the flipside, the resumption of those winning streaks makes for incredible turnaround stories. There’s no better example… Read More

Which sector is going to be hot in 2011? If history is any clue, it won’t be what was hot in 2010. In fact, a look back through history tells us the leading groups in one year often become disappointments the next. Moreover, lagging sectors in one particular year often blaze bullish trails in the next. Technology is one such example. Though the sector led the way in 2009 with a whopping +57% jump — and attracted a lot of buyers based on that strength — these stocks have actually scored in the bottom half of all… Read More

Which sector is going to be hot in 2011? If history is any clue, it won’t be what was hot in 2010. In fact, a look back through history tells us the leading groups in one year often become disappointments the next. Moreover, lagging sectors in one particular year often blaze bullish trails in the next. Technology is one such example. Though the sector led the way in 2009 with a whopping +57% jump — and attracted a lot of buyers based on that strength — these stocks have actually scored in the bottom half of all sectors during 2010, trailing the market by more than a little. Before identifying what’s waiting in the wings for 2011 though, let’s just walk through the industry ebb and flow for 2010 — using iShares’ major sector exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a proxy to verify the premise. For the year so far, while basic materials haven’t surprised anyone as a leading group, it has not actually been the hottest sector of 2010. That title belongs to consumer services, up +18% year-to-date. Basic materials stocks are up an average of +14% for the year,… Read More

Back on October 26th I suggested e-commerce software provider Art Technology Group (Nasdaq: ARTG) was an attractive buy at the then-current price of $4.39. [Click here to read the article] A few days later, the company was acquired by Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) at a price just under $6.00 — a… Read More

There’s a balance between performance and stability when it comes to stock prices. Equities priced under $5 per share can offer huge percentage returns, but are generally volatile. Stocks priced more than $10 are generally more predictable, but offer a muted upside. In between $5 and $10 though, stocks offer… Read More

As cliche as the term “stocks on sale” has become, there’s still something exciting about grabbing a great stock for less than five bucks a share. They just seem well equipped to dole out bigger rewards — in terms of percentage gains — than their higher-priced counterparts. Read More

Think the weakening auto sales trend in the United States is an omen of unpleasant things to come, economically speaking? If so, then investors may want to slice the numbers in a way the media isn’t — car sales are still trending bullishly by most measures, even if nobody’s talking… Read More

There’s an old Wall Street adage: “Buy what you know.” It’s not bad advice, as it points investors toward stocks they can reasonably assess. For the year so far, though, sticking with what you know would have kept most investors clear of the market’s best performing industry, as none of… Read More