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Evan Buck

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  • Zion Oil and Gas: Good Speculative Play or Stay Away?

    By Evan Buck - June 18, 2013 | Tickers: DK, NBL, WPL, ZN

    According to geological surveys, the Middle Eastern nation of Israel has potentially game-changing reserves of petroleum and natural gas right off its shores. There are signs that even more natural gas could be in those reserves than initially thought.  Israel's natural gas is a large economic and strategic factor for the country, as well as for investors - after all, these reserves are thought to be some of the largest more »

  • Jumping Through the Hulu Hoops

    By Evan Buck - June 10, 2013 | Tickers: DTV, NFLX, YHOO

    The bidding war for the joint venture company Hulu has just ratcheted up – again. The second-largest American pay TV service, DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV), is reportedly offering upwards of $1 billion to acquire Hulu. Other companies currently jockeying for position in this war include Time Warner and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others.

    As the Hulu board deliberates over at least seven buyout offers, consider this: how will a Hulu buyout reorient more »

  • Kinks in the Under Armour?

    By Evan Buck - June 5, 2013 | Tickers: ADDYY, LULU, NKE, UA

    The sports apparel company Under Armour (NYSE: UA) has enjoyed considerable success in the United States and is rolling out new features to better compete with Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) and arch-rivals Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Adidas (NASDAQOTH: ADDYY). But are Under Armour's profound lack of a large international presence and marketing products for women kinks in its armor?

    Under Armour is a strong growth stock and is the more »

  • Two Sides of the Lithium Coin

    By Evan Buck - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: LIT, TSLA, BA

    Mr. Market is smiling upon electric car manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). The company’s stock has had an incredible run-up in 2013 as Tesla has seemingly left years of losses in the dust by posting very impressive numbers in the most recent fiscal quarter.

    TSLA data by YCharts

    Some investors are most likely seeking a more secure investment that can still ride on Tesla’s success. I believe that the more »

  • Competition Heats Up in the Chinese Internet Industry

    By Evan Buck - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: BIDU, QIHU, YOKU

    The largest Chinese search engine, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), has just announced that the company will acquire the online video business, PPStream, in a $370 million deal. The "Chinese Google" is seeking to become a competitor to the Chinese internet television company Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and is also attempting to fend off rising search engine star Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU).  

    Will this acquisition help out Baidu, or is it simply more »

  • Is the LinkedIn Bubble About to Pop?

    By Evan Buck - May 9, 2013 | Tickers: BBRY, FB, LNKD

    Shares of the professional business social network LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) have jumped 73% so far in 2013, but took a wallop after the company reported its first quarter 2013 sales numbers. LinkedIn was able to far exceed analyst expectations and posted very strong growth, but investors seem to be focusing on LinkedIn’s less-than-bullish outlook for the second quarter of 2013. The conflicting ideas of LinkedIn’s current success and more »

  • The Online Sales Tax Battle

    By Evan Buck - April 30, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, EBAY, M

    The online auctioneer giant eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has just joined the growing fight over a recently proposed online sales tax, coming down firmly against the proposal and trying to enlist the help of its users to fight against the bill. On the opposite side of the aisle are some traditional big-box retailers like Macy's (NYSE: M) and, ironically, fellow online retailer and eBay competitor Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

    As more »

  • Google’s “High Fiber” Diet

    By Evan Buck - April 15, 2013 | Tickers: T, GOOG, VZ

    The Internet monolith of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is continuing to flex its technological muscle. The Silicon Valley giant announced that Google’s high-speed Internet and video project called Google Fiber will be expanding into Austin, Texas after Fiber’s launch in Kansas City last year. Investors appear to be energized about the prospects of superfast Internet and a new way to be an official “cable-cutter” in their own locales.

    The more »

  • Google’s “High Fiber” Diet

    By Evan Buck - April 14, 2013 | Tickers: T, GOOG, VZ

    The internet monolith of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is continuing to flex its technological muscle. The Silicon Valley giant announced that Google’s high-speed internet and video project called Google Fiber will be expanding into Austin, Texas after Fiber’s launch in Kansas City last year. Investors appear to be energized about the prospects of superfast internet and a new way to be an official “cable-cutter” in their own locales.

    The more »

  • Google’s “High Fiber” Diet

    By Evan Buck - April 14, 2013 | Tickers: T, GOOG, VZ

    The Internet monolith of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is continuing to flex its technological muscle. The Silicon Valley giant announced that Google’s high-speed Internet and video project called Google Fiber will be expanding into Austin, Texas after Fiber’s launch in Kansas City last year. Investors appear to be energized about the prospects of superfast Internet and a new way to be an official “cable-cutter” in their own locales.

    The more »

  • The Benefits of Blending Up a Jamba Buyout

    By Evan Buck - March 28, 2013 | Tickers: JMBA, MCD, MNST, SBUX

    Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA) has been turning the heads of some investors lately, posting eight straight quarters of growth, and has rolled out an ambitious plan for expanding into international markets for 2013. This comes on the heels of an impressive 2012 and first couple months of 2013. As Jamba Juice continues to blend up its signature brand of smoothies, other companies might be taking a look at acquiring Jamba more »

  • With a Stock Like Smucker’s, It Has to be Good!

    By Evan Buck - March 14, 2013 | Tickers: CPB, SJM, KRFT

    The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) is still headquartered in the same small town of Orrville, Ohio, where Jerome Smucker first sold apple butter out of a horse-drawn wagon long ago in the late 1800s. The company has become a strong presence in the culinary market as the purveyor of various preserves and jams, but there is more to the company than simply delicious strawberry jelly. Overall, Smucker’s more »

  • The Road Ahead for Groupon and Zynga

    By Evan Buck - March 12, 2013 | Tickers: FB, GRPN, YELP, ZNGA

    Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft Inc., wrote a book in 1995 entitled “The Road Ahead.” This book portrayed Gates’ beliefs about the coming of the Internet age and the massive potential and pitfalls for Internet users down the road. Two companies that have utilized the Internet for their business models are Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) and Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA).

    These two internet tech companies used to be darlings of the more »

  • A “Flickr” of Hope for Yahoo!

    By Evan Buck - March 1, 2013 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, YHOO

    Ever since Marissa Mayer took the helm as CEO at Yahoo in the summer of 2012, things have been going quite well at the Sunnyvale, California media portal.  The company’s stock has appreciated from around $16 to $20 since Mayer came in, and it seems that Mayer is doing a lot of things right in her quest to turn the fortunes of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO).

    In order to compete better with Facebook’s (NASDAQ: FB) photo sharing service Instagram, Yahoo has updated its own photo sharing service, Flickr.  Yahoo has also given a facelift to its homepage, which has resulted in a newer, chic look.  Do these new updates as well as other preceding developments at Yahoo indicate a “Yahoo Renaissance” is imminent, or will Yahoo stay in the cycle of mediocrity that it has been in for the past few years?  The new policies at Yahoo provide a great opportunity for investors, and the long-term prospects for Yahoo are certainly improving even though there is still much work to be done.

  • Office Depot and Office Max are Tying the Knot

    By Evan Buck - February 21, 2013 | Tickers: ODP, OMX, SPLS

    As the Princess Bride movie famously proclaimed, “Mawwage is what bwings us togeva today.”  (Translation: “Marriage is what brings us together today.”)  Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and Office Max (NYSE: OMX) are planning on merging in order to better challenge industry rival Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) and indirect rivals Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Costco (NASDAQ: COST).  OfficeMax CEO Ravi Saligram, in a conference call with analysts, appropriately commented: “It takes two to tango.  Lo and behold, [Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian] and I have decided to tango.”

    The merger would unite the No. 2 company in the stationery and office supplies industry, Office Depot, with the No. 3 company, OfficeMax.  The announcement has closed a chapter on years of rumors about a potential deal, and the “marriage” of Office Depot and Office Max presents an important question to consider.  Should investors jump in feet-first into this new deal, or should investors hold back?  Market movements indicate that investors should hold back from this new deal as the office supply industry as a whole is in decline – although the merger will produce some short-term benefit which gives a chance to lock in some gains.

  • 5 Valentine’s Day Value Stocks – Revisited

    By Evan Buck - February 11, 2013 | Tickers: FLWS, AM, EAT, LTD, ZLC

    Valentine’s Day is the time we celebrate the relationships held near and dear to our hearts and is the traditional holiday of love.  One way that many people choose to express their love is through buying treats, flowers, jewelry, and assorted gifts for their special someone.

    In a strictly business context, Valentine’s Day provides a large boom for companies who specialize in the aforementioned sectors.  Fellow Motley Fool writer Arthur Pinkasovitch, writing on Valentine’s Day 2012, recommended “5 Valentine’s Day Value Stocks” for the investor looking for a way to profit off of Valentine’s Day industry.  Are these five companies delivering on the other 364 days of the year, or are they simply “one-dimensional” stocks?  One year later, as we near Valentine’s Day 2013, let’s take a step back and examine these five companies and how they fared.

  • Will China Legalize Gaming Consoles?

    By Evan Buck - February 4, 2013 | Tickers: CYOU, MSFT, NTDOY.PK, SNE

    Is that Mario bounding over the Great Wall?  China is reportedly considering opening its borders to gaming consoles and that could have significant implications for investors.

    The Chinese government has clamped down on video gaming consoles since the year 2000 over concerns that video games would corrupt China’s youth.  The entire Chinese video game market is PC-based because of the ban on video game consoles.  Now, reports have emerged that China’s government is mulling lifting the ban on consoles.

    Although the growth potential for China’s gaming sector is promising, I still hold to a belief of cautious optimism.  China is a very complex market, and the government’s whims dictate whether or not gaming consoles will be allowed in the first place.  Piracy is also a massive problem which can eat away chunks of profit margins.   I believe that industry leaders like Changyou.com (NASDAQ: CYOU) and NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) will continue to maintain growth and profitability, while companies such as Sony (NYSE: SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nintendo (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY) will be able to reap benefits if China does indeed open itself up to traditional gaming consoles.

  • How Solar Energy Can Begin to Heat Up

    By Evan Buck - January 15, 2013 | Tickers: BRK-A, FSLR, GOOG, SCTY, SPWR

    The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of SolarCity Corporation (NASDAQ: SCTY) has been largely deemed a success, as the company has some strong prospects for growth and is expanding its line of business.  Overall, consumer sentiment for solar is improving, and solar Exchange Traded Funds are producing astonishingly eye-popping results so far in 2013.  But do these numbers actually suggest a permanent turnaround for the solar industry, or will the industry be relegated back unto the “Dark Ages”?  If current trends of “de-subsidizing” and market forces continue to hold, then the solar industry is most likely poised for significant gains in 2013.  If investors allow the solar industry to default to government instead of private industrialization, then the potential of solar energy will be very much unrealized.

  • Shamu Makes a Splash on Wall Street: The New SeaWorld IPO

    By Evan Buck - January 3, 2013 | Tickers: BUD, FUN, GS, SIX, BX

    SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., whose theme parks are the home of killer whales and roller coasters, has just filed for a $100 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  The home of Shamu, sea otters, and approximately 67,000 sea life creatures has not revealed very much yet about its intentions.  Although SeaWorld has revealed that they plan to trade under the ticker “SEAS,” the company has not revealed how many shares of stock will be offered, what stock exchange will host their stock, how the shares will be priced, or when those shares will be offered to the public.  The company is going to be assisted through the process by JPMorgan and Chase and Goldman Sachs.  But, the announcement that SeaWorld is going public raises an important question:  Is SeaWorld a good investment to plunge in to?  I believe that the answer is yes in the short term and no in the long term.  SeaWorld and other similar amusement park companies have been doing fairly well as 2012 draws to a close, but SeaWorld needs to resolve its debt issues and find more stable sources of revenue than what it currently relies on.

  • Three Reasons Why Best Buy Won’t Engineer a Turnaround

    By Evan Buck - December 26, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL, BBY, EBAY | Editor's Choice

    If you are in the mood for a shot of nostalgia, just walk in to any Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) location: you’ll feel as if you were walking through an old Circuit City before the doors were closed for the last time.  In fact, my local Circuit City location was replaced with none other than a Best Buy.  The Richfield, Minnesota based corporation has essentially the same business model as the now defunct Circuit City:  selling electronic equipment in large retail stores.  Other companies with that business model are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with Internet retail giants such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY).

    Best Buy is an exemplary example of the state of the retail industry as a whole.  Sales have fallen for eight straight quarters, with a 0.8% drop in its fiscal 2011 and a 2.1% drop in 2012.  The company’s stock is collapsing.  As the Christmas shopping season has come to a close, an important question needs to be asked:  is there any “ho-ho-ho” left for the fraught electronics retailer?  The Christmas shopping blitz might provide a miniscule short-term bump.   But, unless Best Buy undergoes a radical revitalization, there is pretty much nothing barring Best Buy’s eventual bankruptcy.

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