Ladies and Gentlemen, I've Lost All My Advertising
Kyle is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
I don’t align myself politically or personally with some of the callers that the producers of the Rush Limbaugh Show allow on air. If you would like to hear my take on some of the chosen few I have actually attempted to digest, I would prefer we do it in another venue, not here on my trading table, for sanitation purposes. But for those of you that trade and have any sort of interest with some of the companies mentioned in the recent dust-up involving someone with a microphone, a radio frequency and a sweet timeslot, spewing opinionated venom on your radio dial, I would ask that you take a deep breath before doing anything rash. Unlike some radio talk show hosts.
I am fairly confident that there will be a small sliver of society that burns their Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) beds, possibly even more that move their internet clouds from Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) based on all the “press” these companies are receiving thanks to on-air comments regarding a Georgetown University student’s testimony about birth control.
Now when I went to bed last night, this was still a somewhat free country, and it looked remarkably familiar when I woke up. So whether or not any radio talk show hosts make themselves out to be the kings of misfits has no influence with how I conduct my trading behavior, and I would suggest others do the same. So please, don’t “rush” out and empty your portfolios if you have positions with any of the companies that are heading for the hills, only to swap those shares and move them into competitors. I would like to think that I have bestowed my mad genius for the vast following I truly appreciate, and I beg you to do even more homework, given the sudden sentiment.
As a trader, and a somewhat compassionate individual, there is nothing morally reprehensible about putting a portion of your hard-earned dollars into a company that quite possibly may not act in tandem with your own personal beliefs. In this case, a few rotten apples don’t necessarily spoil the whole bunch.
Companies like Select Comfort, Citrix Systems, ProFlowers and others, advertise their products with numerous shows, and they tend to do so where there is a specific demographic, with a select portion of the population that has been statistically “proven” to tune in and subsequently offers a decent fit for their products. It’s proven every single second of every single day, far too many companies make questionable decisions, from spending precious advertising dollars on terrestrial radio shows, to entering into contracts with our government for the reconstruction of a country that our very government has just leveled with bombs; Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). Regardless of the fact that the “second-in-command” at the time, once held the CEO position for that company, occupying one of those plush corner offices. From the most recent earnings call, CEO David Lasar mentioned the company had doubled their business over the last five years. With continued global concerns over oil prices and supply concerns, they are definitely worthy of a look. I honestly don’t care if Dick Cheney once used the executive washroom for a spell, even if I’m not a fan of him personally.
Suffice it to say, folks, unless it’s your practice to remove any sort of potential returns because your investment has an advertising relationship with someone you don’t align with in any way whatsoever, you might as well go ahead and drop any shares of Progressive (NYSE: PGR), because they arguably have the most annoying television advertising in the history of publicly traded companies. Don’t be the type of trader that gobbles up every bit of emotion exploding from the pages of People magazine, selling your Buick and cutting up your American Express cards because they use a cheating professional golfer as a spokesperson. That is irrational, and we are better than that, don’t be that investor.
The companies mentioned have good points and bad, there are arguments we can formulate for buying, selling or steering clear of them completely. The very least of which to take under consideration is where they choose to spend advertising dollars. Select Comfort is getting close to reaching 52-week highs, with a Zack’s buy-rating resting comfortably since that call was made (1/9/12), offering a dreamy 30% run over that time span. Citrix is deserving of consideration, with all the cloud hoopla and the potential workforce shift toward mobility, recently announcing their latest "Cloud Provider Pack". IT hiring has been reported to be headed in a positive direction, and Citrix should move with any positive news from the sector. So, ladies and gentleman, let’s not trade emotionally, people say stupid things every day. I’m living proof.
The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. kmet312 has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
