I have reviewed over 80 stocks as investment opportunities. Some were more successful than others; for example, Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) (best performer) gained 99% within a sector that has underperformed the broader market, but Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA) (worst performer) dropped 33% and is unlikely to recover from the share dilution that cut the price. Collectively, 65% of the stocks I have featured have gained, with an average return of 6.6% for all featured stocks (compared to a 6.7% gain for the S&P over the same period). In my review last month, I featured two stocks down double digits on their feature price, but which I own and will be looking to add to in the near future. In this article, I will take a look at featured stocks I don’t currently own, but will certainly consider for my portfolio in the future.
Recent earnings point to a solid recovery supported by investor buying. Quarterly revenue grew by 7% and reversed an EPS loss in the prior year, but at $2.3 billion was below analyst estimates of $2.5 billion. For the full year, the company earned $1.30 per share on $9.9 billion in revenue. Admissions were up, and out-patient surgeries increased 13%. Expanded Medicaid is currently en route for Florida and New Jersey, and CEO Trevor Fetter expects all states will have to do likewise. Twenty per cent of Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE:THC)’s beds are located in Texas, where 25% of the state’s population is uninsured. The company provided $450 million in unpaid care each year, but this could be reduced if more states adopted the health-care law.
The impacts of the health-care reform bill will continue to drive new earnings growth over the next few years, providing the basis for the long term recovery in the stock’s price. Next year is seen as more important for the company. The outlook is more negative for the next quarter, but this shouldn’t matter in the long term.
NetEase, Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:NTES) was featured in April of last year. The stock took a major hit in November, dropping from $56 down to $37 in the space of a few weeks. The stock has worked its way back, driven by strong Q4 earnings that attracted two days of buying which was four times typical average trading volume.
NetEase.com has continues to struggle with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) licensed operations. Activision Blizzard saw a quarterly drop in subscriptions to its World of Warcraft franchise, and attributed the loss to its Chinese operations (which NetEase operates). However, NetEase, Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:NTES) did not express such disappointment in their earnings call. Activision Blizzard’s next foray into the Chinese market is with a new Call of Duty, which it is developing with Tencent. The company hasn’t announced a launch date, but this is expected sometime in 2013. If successful, it could lead to a separation in the NetEase.com – Activision Blizzard relationship, and perhaps thwart any Diablo III partnership. A break in the partnership would also remove marketing costs incurred by NetEase.com for promotion of said games, which are perhaps significant (given their mention), but don’t come with individual specifics.
