Investment Q&A

Q: hi, wrt John's question about "My Watchlist " from the G&M/Globeinvestor, I have also been using this service for years. Awhile ago (a few years) they required you to 'register' to use this service but you did not have to 'subscribe'. Recently they updated this service. As far as I know, if you were a previously 'registered' user ie you had to login, then you can continue to login to use My Watchlist...at least that is what I have done to continue to use the service. I did not have to create a new account to use the new My Watchlist update. I simply logged in using my previously registered account.
Hope this helps John and others.
And yes they keep removing features of this service ie recently removed the 52 week high/low of a stock from the main view....but you can still see it by selecting the down arrow or expand graphic of each stock but they have also added some other very useful 'views', ie Dividend and Perfomance data

Cheers,
Steve

Q: Hello,

I was wondering what your thoughts are on RHT given it's current price ( ~$2.22 as of today). Based on the most recent share count outstanding (81,871,000), this suggests an EV of about $180 MM for a company that is showing 6 month revenue of $1.1 MM. While I know that early stage companies are based on what the future holds, I also like to keep an eye on what EBITDA needs to be (in the future) to justify valuations. For instance, in the case of RHT, if one believes that within the next 12-24 months they can achieve EBITDA of ~ $12 MM, then this would suggest that today it is trading at a EV/EBITDA multiple of 15 based on future results. EBITDA of $12 MM in turn is achievable if they can hit ~ $20.5 MM in gross revenue with a 78% gross margin (as per most recent financials) and no increase in cash expenses of $4.0 MM annually, as 6 month financials suggest ~ $2.0 MM in cash expenses. In short, does your modelling of RHT suggest/indicate that this is a realistic expectation, and that within the 12-24 month time frame they can reach ~ $20 MM in gross revenue with no margin compression and no increase in cash G&A costs ?

Thanks!

Q: Qualcomm’s offer to buy NXPI is valued around $127.50. NXPI was trading at $125 a couple of days ago. It is at ~ $123.50 this morning 12 March.
There is considerable confusion over Broadcom (AVAGO) offer to buy QCOM. (I also own QCOM). There are reports today of US regulators fuming at AVGO due to alleged disregard of certain notices required by US regulators.

There are apparently also risks that China could block the sale of NXPI. I am fine keeping NXPI but not if the risk-reward is not in favor of private shareholders. Would you guess that the risk of a deal failure is higher than 50%? If NXPI is left at the altar, do you think NXPI would likely drop significantly in value--- say more than 20%--- or is it a good enough company that it will prosper on its own. Prosper means doing much better than just chugging along.

NXPI seems to be fair value even without M&A activity… Is it? would you buy more if you already had QCOM and NXPI? Would you sell NXPI? Or would you simply hold on.

NXPI seems to have an attractive business model and a good market position. Would it make an attractive target for a different buyer ... say an Intel?

Q: Not much had been discussed about PKI over the last little while. Please provide an update on the company and its growth prospects, and if possible, how well it ranks in the BE portfolio. Have 2% and thinking of upping to 3.5%
Thank you
Karlm

Q: Hi gents and Happy Friday,
You will see from the list below my exposure to Europe is mainly through ZWE and DRG.UN with PPL Corp being one of my riskier stocks which also has major Britain exposure. All together its a small, around 5%, portion of my portfolio. I belive Europe is offering good value but am having difficult finding other decent ways to invest there- especially given that through TD Waterhouse I cannot invest direclty in Eurpean Exchanges without much hassle.

Can you offer 1) some guidance on other potential equities/dividend stocks I could pick up on the other side of the pond that perhaps you have in your portfolios here that I am just not aware are European?, 2) any other companies you are watching with interest not in your current portfolios? Lastly, are you sensing Europe is looking like a good investing ground especially since US is getting so expensive?

If I asked any questions in the wrong way, please forgive me. I am learning and open to any and all correction.

These are my other positions below in case I am not seeing that I have more European exposure than perhaps I think I do.

Thanks for the work you do. I did search for other threads on Europe and did not find any, hence the ask. If I missed them please direct me to the pages.


ENT AMC US AMC ENTERTAINMENT HLDG-A
FIN ZWE CA BMO EUR HI DIV CC HDG ETF
FIN ZWB CA BMO COVRD CALL CDN BK ETF
ENERG BXE CA BELLATRIX EXPLORATION-NEW
ENERG CPG CA CRESCENT POINT ENGY CORP
FIN RY CA ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
FIN TF CA TIMBERCREEK FINANCIAL CRP
FIN TD CA TORONTO DOMINION BANK
FIN CM US CDN IMPERIAL BK COMMERCE
FIN CIM US CHIMERA INVT CORP-NEW
TECH FB US FACEBOOK INC CL-A
FIN MFA US MFA FINANCIAL INC
REAL NRZ US NEW RESIDENTIAL INVT-NEW
COMM VZ US VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
ENT BCE CA BCE INC
MINING CCO CA CAMECO CORP
REAL DRG.UN CA DREAM GLB RL EST INVT T/U
MINING PSK CA PRAIRIESKY ROYALTY LTD

Q: amongst CU,EMA, ENB AND ACO,
A.please rank in order, best value buy and what metric is most appropriate for them in terms of assessing "value".
B. Also could you please give me some historical perspective on their value (always hard to decide on when to buy in given all of the recent drop.)

Q: I have a 1/2 position in ENB that is down 21%. Would it be ok to raise my position back up to a half position or up to a 3/4 position.

Thanks for all your advice.

Q: My investment company has changed their calculation of portfolio returns from time weighted to money weighted returns. Do you know where I can find money weighted returns of Canadian and US stock indices, so I can benchmark my results against the markets? Many thanks!

Q: Good morning from the west coast.
Since Alberta is gonna turn off the energy tap for us British Columbia I thought there might be an opportunity with Hanesbrands.
Your opinion please
Thanks
Rick

Q: Is VET is able to get Brent prices for much of their oil production? If so, does that bode well for the company going forward.

Q: So if I'm seeking a 6% yield and wanted your one best pick for a safest both from an income as well as a capital preservation perspective ETF given current entry price which of these do I buy today why and is there another that you'd recommend instead - love - Ken

Q: Good results good value ?

Q: Hi do you have any suggestion of etf that plays us technology. thanks.

Q: I'd like to know your opinion on Step Energy Services. Since your last comment in January they made a large acquisition of Tucker Energy in the US. How does the company look now?

Q: Hi 5i,

I received a notice of a tender offer for ECN shares. The offer advises that existing shareholders can participate by specifying a price between $3.49 to $3.90 per share as a Dutch auction. Can you clarify how this sort of thing typically works, versus just buying at the market price? I'm wondering if this is a good deal for existing shareholders. As of me writing this, the share price is $3.71.

Thanks!

Q: Interested in hearing your current thoughts on Spectra7? thanks!

Q: This is the parent company of Zara and other retail brands worldwide.
Are you able to provide an opinion regarding whether or not to invest in the company at this point in time?
It is near a 52 week low and pays a 2.57% dividend.

Thanks for any guidance or information you can provide.

Q: HI, the Q4 and year end results look pretty good I think. How would you rate their results?
Thanks lots

Q: After the announcement of Cigna buying Express Scripts, the stock dropped a lot. What are your thoughts on the company, is it a buy.

Q: With the recent pull back, would this be a buy?
Thanks
Dave.