We saw relatively little portfolio activity in March, with most of our portfolios looking quite healthy now. Of particular note is James Coffey’s CMC Markets LON:CMCX pick, which is now up +131.2% since he wrote it up. Our gold bet, which we kept on the books in the short term trading portfolio, also came good as the gold price soared in March.
We had almost doubled our money in Yellow Cake LON:YCA thanks to the surge in uranium prices by the end of the month. Other notable gainers include Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA, up 95.4%, and Babcock LON:BAB up 79%.
It remains a tough environment for stock picking. There are several factors still working against the small and mid cap space, not least of which are dysfunctional markets, an ongoing obsession with the interest rate cycle, and the conflict in Ukraine. March also saw investors worrying about escalation in the Middle East war, a theme we saw playing out further in early April.
ME Group
ME Group LON:MEGP joined James Coffey’s FTSE 350 pick list. The company is probably best known for its photo booths, but has also built up a considerable market in launderette machines. It is also now getting into food vending and instant printing. James likes the fact that it is cash rich with attractive unit economies. Profits in terms of earnings per share have grown 30%. ME Group recently joined the FTSE 250, has raised its dividend and begun a small share buyback programme.
Meta Platforms
Raine’s North American stock of the month was Magnificent 7 member Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META. He likes it because he believes it is one of the best adaptors of AI technology so far in 2024. The Meta Platforms results from last quarter and the whole of 2023 saw the share price grow for shareholders 322% over two years. This helped to address the demands from large investors in Meta, notably from Silicon Valley where investors have started to demand that large tech companies should also concentrate on the bottom line as well as top line growth.
Sold in March: Globalstar [NYSE:GSAT]
So how are our picks getting on?
James Coffey’s FTSE 350 share tips
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volution Group LON:FAN | GBX 379.80 | 423.50 | +11.5% | Report |
| Rightmove LON:RMV | GBX 512.00 | 532.40 | +4.0% | Report |
| CMC Markets LON:CMCX | GBX 98.63 | 228.00 | +131.2% | Report |
| JD Sports [LON:JD] | GBX 115.00 | 133.05 | +15.7% | Report |
| Entain LON:ENT | GBX 973.80 | 757.60 | -22.2% | Report |
| ME Group LON:MEGP | GBX 166.00 | 164.20 | -1.1% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 29 March 2024
Raine Lahtinen’s US stock tips
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA | USD 462.41 | 903.63 | +95.4% | Report |
| Skechers NYSE:SKX | USD 48.29 | 61.32 | +27.0% | Report |
| Palantir Technologies NYSE:PLTR | USD 17.79 | 22.86 | +28.5% | Report |
| General Dynamics NYSE:GD | USD 244.83 | 291.55 | +19.1% | Report |
| Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ:PANW | USD 340.00 | 279.42 | -17.8% | Report |
| Live Nation Entertainment NYSE:LYV | USD 88.00 | 104.22 | +18.4% | Report |
| Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META | USD 506.00 | 491.35 | -2.9% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 29 March 2024
Tactical trading portfolio
These are shorter term equity and commodity trades which we can see playing out within one to three months. We will sometimes keep these on longer if the trade is still quite range bound but we are anticipating further upside. These trades have the tightest risk parameters.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raytheon Technologies NYSE:RTX | USD 73.32 | 97.76 | +33.3% | Report |
| SPDR Gold Shares ETF [LON:0KZF] | USD 173.00 | 210.32 | +21.6% | Report |
| Arbuthnot Banking Group plc LON:ARBB | GBX 947.00 | 1,045.00 | +10.3% | Report |
| CDW NASDAQ:CDW | USD 174.00 | 253.06 | +45.4% | Report |
| Severn Trent (Short Trade) LON:SVT | GBX 2574.00 | 2,489.00 | +3.3% | Report |
| iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF [NYSEARCA:SGOV] | USD 100.38 | 100.29 | -0.1% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 29 March 2024
Longer term buy and hold portfolio
These are positions where we see a longer term growth scenario, usually in the small to mid cap space, but sometimes larger companies. We will typically be keeping these stocks on the list for at least six months and often longer. Consequently our risk tolerance is higher for these positions than for the trading list.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Cake LON:YCA | GBX 211.50 | 629.50 | +197.6% | Report |
| Nordnet [STO:SAVE] | SEK 152.20 | 197.70 | +29.9% | Report |
| First Rand [JSE:FSR] | ZAC 5,229.00 | 6,116.00 | +17.0% | Report |
| Turkish Airlines [IST:THYAO] | TRY 13.86 | 297.75 | +2048.3% | Report |
| Live Nation [LON:0JVD] | USD 81.78 | 103.83 | +27.0% | Report |
| Airtel Africa LON:AAF | GBX 109.60 | 104.80 | -4.4% | Report |
| Riverstone Energy [LON:RSE] | GBX 566.00 | 891.00 | +57.4% | Report |
| VinaCapital Vietnam [LON:VOF] | GBX 498.00 | 463.50 | -6.9% | Report |
| Implenia [SWX:IMPN] | CHF 26.95 | 32.60 | +21.0% | Report |
| Babcock LON:BAB | GBX 291.00 | 521.00 | +79.0% | Report |
| Gaming Realms LON:GMR | GBX 25.00 | 33.50 | +34.0% | Report |
| Michelmersh Brick Holdings LON:MBH | GBX 97.14 | 99.00 | +1.9% | Report |
| Tsukada Group [TYO:2418] | JPY 417.00 | 446.00 | +7.0% | Report |
| Indian Investment Trust [LON:IGC] | GBX 137.50 | 162.00 | +17.8% | Report |
| Literacy Capital LON:BOOK | GBX 505.00 | 482.00 | -4.6% | Report |
| Attendo [STO:ATT] | SEK 37.20 | 41.45 | +11.4% | Report |
| Ichigo [TYO:2337] | JPY 367.00 | 463.00 | +26.2% | Report |
| Fabasoft Group [FRA:FAA] | EUR 22.50 | 20.20 | -10.2% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 29 March 2024
Venture portfolio
These are companies which we see as having long term and considerable growth prospects. Due to their size and the nature of the business they are in, we feel that our normal risk management constraints should not be applied to these stocks.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano One [TSE:NANO] | CAD 1.13 | 1.84 | +62.8% | Report |
| Kodiak Copper [CVE:KDK] | CAD 0.24 | 0.66 | +175.0% | Report |
| Euro Manganese [CVE:EMN] | CAD 0.44 | 0.09 | -79.5% | Report |
| Thunderbird Entertainment [CVE:TBRD] | CAD 1.05 | 1.96 | +86.7% | Report |
| Pineapple Power LON:PNPL | GBX 5.64 | 2.74 | -51.4% | Report |
| Atlas Salt [CVE:SALT] | CAD 0.82 | 0.77 | -6.1% | Report |
| Net Zero Infrastructure LON:NZI | GBX 4.50 | 1.35 | -70.0% | Report |
| Electric Guitar LON:ELEG | GBX 4.00 | 2.10 | -47.5% | Report |
| Fortitude Gold [OTCMKTS:FTCO] | USD 6.70 | 5.31 | -20.7% | Report |
| FPX Nickel Corp [CVE:FPX] | CAD 0.50 | 0.31 | -38.0% | Report |
| Medigene AG [ETR:MDG1] | EUR 2.40 | 2.19 | -8.8% | Report |
| Sogeclair [EPA:ALSOG] | EUR 22.90 | 21.90 | -4.4% | Report |
| Warpaint London LON:W7L | GBX 168.50 | 412.50 | +144.8% | Report |
| Synectics LON:SNX | GBX 119.00 | 167.50 | +40.8% | Report |
| Perimeter Medical Imaging [CVE:PINK] | CAD 1.92 | 0.87 | -54.7% | Report |
| Shin Maint Holdings [TSE:6086] | JPY 1,686.00 | 1,419.00 | -15.8% | Report |
| Smith-Midland NASDAQ:SMID | USD 41.00 | 47.07 | +14.8% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 29 March 2024
