There was plenty of political risk still on the table in May, but despite that, and idle speculation about interest rates, many key stock indexes seemed intent on pushing to new highs.
Investors need to be cautious given the highly concentrated scenario around the Magnificent 7 stocks: there is too much money riding this wave, and I worry about liquidity issues should it all try to run for the door.
Our figures below reflect a substantial change in the NVIDIA stock price. This was due to a 10:1 stock split to allow more retail access to NVIDIA shares, which were becoming very pricey for the small buyer. NVIDIA is obviously hoping that its stock will lead to the same upside performance as that of Amazon, for example. Brokers we spoke to think the split should see more investors entering the stock in the short term.
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Talen Energy [OTCQX:TLNE]
Talen Energy joined the long term buy and hold portfolio in May. The stock was trading on the OTCQX but conversations with fund managers led us to expect that the company may be prepping a move onto a major bourse in the US in the near future. Talen is one of the leading US power infrastructure companies and is coming off the back of the strongest year financially in its history. It has also just concluded a major deal with Amazon Web Services for the sale of Talon’s Cumulus Data business, which brought a staggering USD 650m into its treasury.
Oscar Health NYSE:OSCR
Regular followers of this tips column will know I like healthcare stocks. Oscar Health operates in the large and lucrative American healthcare insurance market. This is rapidly expanding following the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Oscar Health caters to people who don’t work for big companies or benefit from the healthcare insurance benefits which typically come with a US employment package. In my view the company should benefit from a strong shift by the US healthcare insurance market to a much more customer-centric model.
Watches of Switzerland LON:WOSG
Once a market darling in the UK, Watches of Switzerland has had a tough couple of years. The stock dropped 77% from a 2021 peak to a low established last year. James Coffey in his column in May said he felt the last few updates from WOSG suggest the business is in a stronger position than the market currently believes. WOSG sales growth as reported in its 16 May update was 5%, representing an uplift in momentum compared to a sluggish year overall. This could represent a fairly early entry point for a company which has a strong retail following in the UK.
Sold in May: Euro Manganese, VinaCapital Vietnam
How are our picks getting on?
James Coffey’s FTSE 350 share tips
| Holding | Start price* | Current | Change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volution Group LON:FAN | GBX 379.80 | 451.00 | +18.7% | Report |
| Rightmove LON:RMV | GBX 512.00 | 533.20 | +4.1% | Report |
| CMC Markets LON:CMCX | GBX 98.63 | 281.50 | +185.4% | Report |
| JD Sports [LON:JD] | GBX 115.00 | 127.50 | +10.9% | Report |
| Entain LON:ENT | GBX 973.80 | 675.20 | -30.7% | Report |
| ME Group LON:MEGP | GBX 166.00 | 182.80 | +10.1% | Report |
| Chemring LON:CHG | GBX 365.00 | 386.00 | +5.8% | Report |
| Watches of Switzerland LON:WOSG | GBX 396.00 | 409.60 | +3.4% | Report |
Raine Lahtinen’s US stock tips
| Holding | Start price* | Current | Change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA | USD 45.57** | 109.63 | +140.6% | Report |
| Skechers NYSE:SKX | USD 48.29 | 71.42 | +47.9% | Report |
| Palantir Technologies NYSE:PLTR | USD 17.79 | 21.68 | +21.9% | Report |
| General Dynamics NYSE:GD | USD 244.83 | 299.77 | +22.4% | Report |
| Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ:PANW | USD 340.00 | 294.91 | -13.3% | Report |
| Live Nation Entertainment NYSE:LYV | USD 88.00 | 93.74 | +6.5% | Report |
| Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META | USD 506.00 | 466.83 | -7.7% | Report |
| RTX Corp NYSE:RTX | USD 100.00 | 107.81 | +7.8% | Report |
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.
| Holding | Start price* | Current | Change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raytheon Technologies NYSE:RTX | USD 73.32 | 107.81 | +47.0% | Report |
| SPDR Gold Shares ETF [NYSEARCA:GLD] | USD 173.00 | 215.30 | +24.5% | Report |
| Arbuthnot Banking Group plc LON:ARBB | GBX 947.00 | 970.00 | +2.4% | Report |
| CDW NASDAQ:CDW | USD 174.00 | 223.62 | +28.5% | Report |
| Severn Trent (Short Trade) LON:SVT | GBX 2574.00 | 2,386.00 | +3.3% | Report |
| iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF [NYSEARCA:SGOV] | USD 100.38 | 100.75 | +0.4% | Report |
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.
| Holding | Start price* | Current | Change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Cake LON:YCA | GBX 211.50 | 638.00 | +201.7% | Report |
| Nordnet [STO:SAVE] | SEK 152.20 | 208.80 | +37.2% | Report |
| First Rand [JSE:FSR] | ZAC 5,229.00 | 6,500.00 | +24.3% | Report |
| Turkish Airlines [IST:THYAO] | TRY 13.86 | 302.75 | +2084.3% | Report |
| Airtel Africa LON:AAF | GBX 109.60 | 121.90 | +11.2% | Report |
| Riverstone Energy [LON:RSE] | GBX 566.00 | 900.00 | +59.0% | Report |
| Implenia [SWX:IMPN] | CHF 26.95 | 34.50 | +28.0% | Report |
| Babcock LON:BAB | GBX 291.00 | 565.50 | +94.3% | Report |
| Gaming Realms LON:GMR | GBX 25.00 | 40.40 | +61.6% | Report |
| Michelmersh Brick Holdings LON:MBH | GBX 97.14 | 100.50 | +3.5% | Report |
| Tsukada Group [TYO:2418] | JPY 417.00 | 474.00 | +13.7% | Report |
| Indian Investment Trust [LON:IGC] | GBX 137.50 | 161.00 | +17.1% | Report |
| Literacy Capital LON:BOOK | GBX 505.00 | 522.50 | +3.5% | Report |
| Attendo [STO:ATT] | SEK 37.20 | 42.50 | +14.2% | Report |
| Ichigo [TYO:2337] | JPY 367.00 | 395.00 | +7.6% | Report |
| Fabasoft Group [FRA:FAA] | EUR 22.50 | 21.70 | -3.6% | Report |
| Darktrace LON:DARK | GBX 461.60 | 588.00 | +27.4% | Report |
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.
| Holding | Start price* | Current | Change | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano One [TSE:NANO] | CAD 1.13 | 1.70 | +50.4% | Report |
| Kodiak Copper [CVE:KDK] | CAD 0.24 | 0.54 | +125.0% | Report |
| Thunderbird Entertainment [CVE:TBRD] | CAD 1.05 | 1.81 | +72.4% | Report |
| Pineapple Power LON:PNPL | GBX 5.64 | 2.74 | -51.4% | Report |
| Atlas Salt [CVE:SALT] | CAD 0.82 | 0.64 | -22.0% | Report |
| Net Zero Infrastructure LON:NZI | GBX 4.50 | 1.35 | -70.0% | Report |
| Electric Guitar LON:ELEG | GBX 4.00 | 1.90 | -52.5% | Report |
| Fortitude Gold [OTCMKTS:FTCO] | USD 6.70 | 5.00 | -25.4% | Report |
| FPX Nickel Corp [CVE:FPX] | CAD 0.50 | 0.32 | -36.0% | Report |
| Medigene AG [ETR:MDG1] | EUR 2.40 | 1.20 | -50.0% | Report |
| Sogeclair [EPA:ALSOG] | EUR 22.90 | 23.00 | +0.4% | Report |
| Warpaint London LON:W7L | GBX 168.50 | 504.00 | +199.1% | Report |
| Synectics LON:SNX | GBX 119.00 | 185.00 | +55.5% | Report |
| Perimeter Medical Imaging [CVE:PINK] | CAD 1.92 | 0.53 | -72.4% | Report |
| Shin Maint Holdings [TSE:6086] | JPY 1,686.00 | 1,330.00 | -21.1% | Report |
| Smith-Midland NASDAQ:SMID | USD 41.00 | 37.00 | -9.8% | Report |
*Prices as of close of play on 31 May 2024, all prices in GBX (Pence Sterling) unless indicated.
**Price is adjusted to account for the stock split in 2024. Original entry price was USD 462.41.
