Don’t Pop The Champagne Bottles
We look at how the portfolio of six stocks we expected to benefit from the second Trump administration has performed following the U.S. president’s first 100 days in office.
Portfolio Update
Beware The Siren Song Of Non-Cyclicality
Distressed-debt recommendations don’t rely on stories about immunity to recession that may turn out to be fairy tales. No. Instead the Distressed Investing team rolls up their sleeves, gets their hands dirty, and invokes a couple of more clichés that describe rigorous analysis of companies’ financial leverage, maturity schedules, liquidity sources, and cash flows.
Sell Alert: Hughes Satellite 5.25% 8/1/2026 Bond
EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) reported its results for the quarter ended March 31. The news pushed up our Hughes Satellite bonds to a price where we recommended selling. Operating profit for the Hughes Satellite business – the business that issued the 5.25% secured bonds maturing August 1, 2026, in the Distressed Investing portfolio – rose 8.1%
Our Negative-EV Basket, Part II
Unlike in the first negative-EV biotech basket, editor Erez Kalir doesn’t anticipate having a Big Picture catalyst that causes our recommendations to rise in price. This time, the catalyst will come from the biotech sector itself: The advances emerging are as transformative as any in the history of biotech
A Possible Misery Index Renaissance
If the supply of distressed bonds increases, the prices of distressed bonds will likely decline. This suggests some bargains will become available for discerning, patient investors. We’ll be carefully looking over the distressed merchandise to generate profitable recommendations.
A Biotech Tipping Point
No discovery in the history of science has had a larger impact than that of monoclonal antibodies (“mAbs”) – the laboratory-made proteins that act like precision-guided cruise missiles, targeting a specific molecule in the body. Last year, five of the top 10 best-selling drugs in the world were mAbs, including the number-one best-seller Keytruda, Merck’s cancer therapy that did $29.5 billion in revenue.
Sell Alert: QVC 4.375% Bond Maturing 9/1/2028
In Distressed Investing’s December 2024 issue “Rising From The Ashes,” Marty Fridson and his team recommended buying QVC’s 4.375% bond maturing September 1, 2028, then at $840, up to a price of $860. The bonds currently trade for $878, up 4.5% from the entry price. We liked QVC’s business –- which had been improving –
When Bad Things Happen To Good Businesses… Buy
Despite the risks and volatility in the U.S. stock market, there are many bargains emerging – if you know where to look. In this issue, we’re providing updates for six stocks in the portfolio that each trade at highly attractive valuations – and are being overlooked by Wall Street.
What Bonds Do When No One Is Watching
Stocks dropped 10% over a four-week period in February and March. As is usually the case, the performance of bonds didn’t capture quite as many headlines. But their behavior as equities sank is worth examining – especially by investors who don’t know about the benefits of distressed bonds.
A Miracle Drug For A Dreadful Disease
This month, Erez Kalir focuses on a company that has developed a drug that promises to be a game-changing therapy for severe pulmonary conditions for which there is currently no treatment.