Wish You Were Here

Starting my summer holiday in style.  Sitting on a balcony, sipping a cappuccino, and looking out over Lac Leman (which we call Lake Geneva for some reason).  While I am still disappointed about not getting to participate in SFM IPO yesterday (up over 100%), it is pretty hard to have a pity party on such a beautiful morning (should I burst out in song? "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day...).

Last night was spectacular. It was Swiss National Day here, which seems to be the equivalent of 4th of July.  We went walking along the lakefront and their were carnivals, shops, food, artists all set against the beautiful backdrop of the Swiss Alps surrounding the lake.  Then we went back to our hotel and watched e terrific fireworks display from our balcony.

La Prochaine Tranche

Now that we are in August, the countdown to my five new stocks really begins in earnest.  It does seem to be getting harder and harder to find good value out there.  I do not know that the market is overvalued, but it sure feels fully valued.  As you may recall, I plan to focus a little more on potential growth stock stories with this tranche instead of traditional value/dividend plays.  I think this is my official list:

1. KLIC
2. ORCL
3. GTIV
4. FLR
5. CF
6. EBIX
7. RPXC
8. NSU
9. AUXL
10. NVDA

Some stocks on this list that are a little bit under-loved.  But you could have said the same about HLF, QCOR, ESI, GME and GTAT at year end.  Here is their table:

Index	Stock	Start	Last Week	Current	YTD Change
12	GME	25.09	46.40	50.58	101.6%
14	GTAT	3.03	4.74	5.18	70.8%
15	HLF	32.94	59.05	66.12	100.7%
19	ESI	17.31	26.79	26.83	55.0%
34	QCOR	26.72	51.12	70.80	165.0%

I could go for a little less loved as well, with those results!

SLCA reported earnings yesterday morning (U.S. Silica Holdings Increases Sales but Misses Revenue Estimate).  All-in-all, I found them a bit disappointing (as did the market as they sold off about 7%.  I still like their growth story and industry.  I will continue to hold, but I do think if they go up 10 or 15% in a shortish time period, I may think of selling.

Have a great Friday everyone!