Nikhil Shamapant

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• How To Prepare For The Inevitable Market Mania

  By Nikhil Shamapant - April 19, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BP, COST, OSTK

  The next four years in market history won’t be anything like the last four. In the last four years, the market has run up 81%, hitting all time highs just days ago. However, the uncomfortable truth is that the market is expensive now, and investors better square with that knowledge quickly, or we all may pay the price.

  Why do I think the market is so overpriced? First, Warren more »

• How To Prepare For The Inevitable Market Mania

  By Nikhil Shamapant - April 17, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BP, COST, OSTK

  The next four years in market history won’t be anything like the last four. In the last four years, the market is up 81%, hitting all time highs just days ago. Things really couldn’t have gone too much better for the everyday investor since 2009, the bottom of the financial crises. However, the uncomfortable truth is that the market is expensive now, and investors better square with that more »

• Disruptive Yet Stable: A Growth Stock Oxymoron

  By Nikhil Shamapant - February 6, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, F, GOOG, NUAN, OPEN

  Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a voice and language solutions provider. Essentially the company uses proprietary voice recognition technology to solve problems for customers in health care, mobile and enterprise areas. The nature of each of Nuance’s business segments is dramatically different, making Nuance one of the more unique growth stocks I’ve ever seen.

  Mobile and others: Nuance’s disruptive growth businesses

  The mobile and health care businesses more »

• 2 Ways To Play J.C. Penney's (Failed?) Turnaround

  By Nikhil Shamapant - November 28, 2012 | Tickers: ARO, GPS, JCP, KSS, M |

  The bears have finally caught J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP).

  After a terrible quarter, shares have settled at around $17, down 50% from Jan. 1. I'm not going to be that bull who continuously clings to the J.C. Penney turnaround story despite the evidence, but whether the turnaround succeeds or fails, there is money to be made here. To really understand how to take advantage of the situation more »

• The Implications of OCZ Technology's Market Price

  By Nikhil Shamapant - October 4, 2012 | Tickers: FIO, LSI, MSFT, OCZ

  OCZ Technology(NASDAQ: OCZ) is worth around 400 million to 500 million in an acquisition, really depending on the value of it's Indilinx subsidiary. On its own, however, it's worth a heck of a lot less.

  For an investor, valuation is all-important. The price you buy is the permanent determining factor in your future investment returns, so it's important to make sure you're getting a deal more »

• My Favorite Growth Stock Was a Big Mistake

  By Nikhil Shamapant - September 19, 2012 | Tickers: FIO, LSI, OCZ |

  Back in June, I took a look at a seemingly magnificent growth stock opportunity. In my article The Cheapest Growth Stock I had ever seen, I said OCZ Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: OCZ), I said that OCZ Technology Corporation was my favorite growth stock because of 4 major factors. First, it was in a stellar growth industry: solid state memory. Second, the company had a quality management and was making some more »

• Holiday Shopping has Never Been this Cheap

  By Nikhil Shamapant - August 13, 2012 | Tickers: AEO, GPS, JCP, KSS

  In my mind, holiday shopping has never been this cheap. It's well known that retailing is a cyclical business. Sales are often much much higher in the fourth quarter than in the rest of the year, and this bit of knowledge is well priced into the shares of most retailers. The defining quarter is the holiday season. So, with that in mind, where is the best retail stock to more »

• Finding Value in The Most Shorted Stock

  By Nikhil Shamapant - August 12, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, HPQ, SKUL, SNE

  "Young and Rebellious"

  That's how the Skullcandy Inc. (NASDAQ: SKUL) annual report describes the Skullcandy brand. It's also a bit how the market is viewing the company as a whole right now. The company is in full growth mode, with revenue almost having doubled in the last two years.  This Graph from Google Finance says it all:

  Even so, Wall Street is of the opinion that this rebellious more »

• My Favorite Growth Stock is Going Insane

  By Nikhil Shamapant - August 2, 2012 | Tickers: MU, MSFT, OCZ, STX

  Recently, OCZ Technology Corporation(NASDAQ: OCZ) was down 40% from pre-market highs. OCZ shareholders have had an absolutely crazy time recently. After hitting lows in June of 4.2, news started hitting the scene. First, OCZ started securing contracts. Announcements came out about contracts with Dynamite Data and Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT) and the stock flew as investors presumably expected something big in the earnings announcement.

  If you were planning on more »

• These Healthcare Companies Aren't Sick

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 20, 2012 | Tickers: BAX, BDX, MDT, TMO

  There's plenty of value in the healthcare sector right now, it just isn't being realized. Why might that be? It's likely due to a lack of a major catalyst. Things like this tend to happen in crazy market conditions like those of today. Entire industries become undervalued due to mere speculation and investor fears, and they're annoying to sit on because value isn't realized. Look more »

• Is Dell a Buy?

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 16, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, DELL, HPQ, LNVGY.PK

  In life, fighting won't solve anything. In business, there really isn't another option. Unless a business is unique or has some special quality, fighting is the way of life for many companies, and even entire industries. It's this competition that has Dell's (NASDAQ: DELL)'s stock price so rattled these days. As competition grows and business returns are eroded, a stock's performance doesn't do more »

• Portfolio Strategy: Don't be a Radical

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 15, 2012 | Tickers: AFL, BAC, DELL, DCIX |

  There are two ends to the argument on how best to construct a portfolio. Some people advise a portfolio of complete diversification. Many would have you believe that a well constructed portfolio should have at least 40 stocks with equal exposure to a variety of industries and countries. Others would say that as an investor trying to beat the market, you can't have a portfolio of more than 10 more »

• Contrarian Views: The P/E Ratio as a Useful Indicator

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 11, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, CCL, JPM, RAX

  In his book, The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham popularized the personification of the market as a guy, Mr. Market, who in his bipolar daily routine would offer both overly high and overly low prices for his friend, the investor. It was the investor's job to take advantage of Mr. Market's low prices and know to stay away when prices got too high. 

  One common way for people to more »

• The Only Reason to Invest

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 10, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, DELL, DMND, ISCA, OPEN

  The True Purpose of a Business is...

  To produce earnings for its owners. As owners put in the capital and take on the business risk they deserve to reap the rewards of a business's success. That’s the inherent reasoning of owning a stock, and it’s something that many companies ignore even as they say they are “seeking to create long-term shareholder value.”

  Since the goal of a more »

• 4 Undervalued Stocks to Watch

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 9, 2012 | Tickers: AFL, KFN, OCZ, SDR

  The investing world is full of surprises. One day a stock is down 20% on an earnings conference call, the next day the stock is up 30% on news of a new contract agreement. While the average investor would look at all of this volatility as risk, an opportunist should use volatility as a time to buy. In fact, in these markets, there are five companies in particular that I more »

• Breaking Down the Facebook Effect

  By Nikhil Shamapant - July 7, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, FB, GOOG, LNKD

  With the screwed up IPO and the proceeding freefall, many investors lost money on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB). At current prices, down 20% from the IPO price, Facebook stock looks expensive and speculative at 100x earnings. Regardless, looking at Facebook’s business alone, it’s perfect. It's a service I use everyday, and it's clearly in demand. Peter Lynch says buy businesses that you know, and Facebook fits the more »

• Imitating Modern Buffett Isn't As Tough As You Might Think

  By Nikhil Shamapant - June 19, 2012 | Tickers: BRK-A, CNI, KO, DPS, IBM |

  To be truly successful at any craft, it is important to study the masters. While copying the master's style exactly is unnecessary, an understanding of how they did their work will often open your eyes to concepts you hadn't fully understood before. In investing, that master is Warren Buffett, and luckily enough he is one of the most generous and open investors out there. Unlike many hedge fund more »

• The Cheapest Growth Stock I've Ever Seen

  By Nikhil Shamapant - June 8, 2012 | Tickers: FIO, LSI, MSFT, OCZ

  Buying growth stocks is dangerous business. While it's easy to buy into the next growth story, people don't tend to realize how hard it is to predict big and grand things like "market positioning" and "industry growth" for a company.  When you add in expensive prices, you can often get big flops on little information (see Mako Surgical's 3-month 32% dive). There are some stories, however, that more »

• Deckers Outdoor Would be a Buffett Buy if...

  By Nikhil Shamapant - June 8, 2012 | Tickers: CROX, DECK, TPX

  Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK) would be a Buffett Buy if...

  I could find it's competitive advantage. Deckers, maker of Uggs Winter Apparel and Teva Sandals, is down 36% in the last year as earnings have cooled down from their high expectations. Apparently things haven't cooled down quite enough as a major reason management cites for weaker earnings was the lackluster winter we just had. Rising sheepskin prices also more »

• Is Apple the Dark Lord of the Financial World?

  By Nikhil Shamapant - June 7, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, DELL, GOOG, MSFT

  You know how in Harry Potter 5, the entirety of the magical world was in denial about the inevitable rise of "You Know Who"? Having already risen into the hearts and minds of the whole world, it was impossible that The Dark Lord could get any scarier or any more powerful. By the end of the book, however, it was clear that the impossible had become possible, and the lives more »

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