My Portfolio’s Latest Casualty And Addition
The Casualty Last Monday, I discussed how I had recently reviewed Railpower Tech with a view to potentially adding to my position on grounds that: (a) the company had a fair amount of cash in the bank, which reduced the need to go to capital markets for financing for a while; and (b) that it was getting badly battered by general market conditions, potentially offering an attractive entry point. Although my portfolio has taken a beating in recent weeks, I remain ready to take small positions in stocks if I feel they are being unfairly bashed, including in...
Trading Alert: Purchased Beacon Power Corp (NASDAQ:BCON)
I purchased some more Beacon Power Corp. (NASDAQ:BCON) on Friday after watching the stock slowly dwindle over the past 2 weeks back toward its 3-month low. I purchased it at $1.07 Beacon Power makes flywheel-based, environmentally-friendly energy storage devices that can help smooth out supply-demand swings in electricity grids, notably by storing base-load power and releasing it during peak-load periods. More on Beacon Power’s flywheel technology. Beacon is not a company that looks particularly attractive fundamentally at the moment. For Q3 2006, the company reported a net loss of $3,165,000, or -$0.06 per share, on...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2020: Navigating the Storm
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
This monthly update for my Ten Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio is in two parts. I published my thoughts on the current market turmoil on March 2nd. You can find them here. I'm not even going to get into the Fed slashing interest rates like they were a furniture warehouse going out of business on March 3rd except to say that apparently they are more afraid of the effects of covid-19 on the economy than they are of appearing to panic.
You can see overall performance for January and February in the following chart. Not that...
10 Green Energy Gambles for 2009
The credit crunch made me reassess my investing strategy last September. First, my expectation of the lack of availability of credit for companies without reliable cash flow led me to sell several early stage and troubled companies. Second, my experience of attempting to re-orient my portfolio in a hurry convinced me that I simply own too many companies. For the purposes of diversifying company-specific risk, nearly all the benefits can be achieved with as few as 10 companies, if those companies have sufficiently different performance characteristics. In less ideal circumstances, 20-40 companies will usually be sufficient. I currently own...
Shares of Hydrogenics Purchased
Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) is a developer of fuel cell technology and hydrogen generation. They are also working with wind farm technology in the generation of hydrogen. Back in January of this year they successfully completed the purchase of Stuart Energy which compliments their product portfolio. Shares of the stock have been under pressure for the last couple of months due to missed expectations on Q1 revenue results. There is also some major concern about an increase in product backlog. In August, HYGS issued their most recent quarterly earnings and are attempting to reassure the...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2018: Second Quarter Earnings
Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA
July and August saw some mild recovery for the stock market after a difficult first half of 2018. Clean energy income stocks continue to lag the broader market, but my Ten Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio has managed to maintain its lead over its broad market benchmark.
Through August 31st, the model portfolio is up 7.5%, compared to its broad dividend income benchmark SDY, which is up 5.3%. Its clean energy income benchmark YLCO is down 1.2, even after dividend income. The private portfolio I manage, the Green Global Equity Income Portfolio (GGEIP), is slightly behind the...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2010
Tom Konrad, CFA A mini-portfolio of stocks that not only are green, but should outperform the market in an environment of increasing concern about climate change and peak oil. This is the third annual list of green stocks I have published. In 2008, it was a list of ten speculative alternative energy companies (in three parts) that I thought might catch public notice that year. As we all now know, 2008 was a horrible year for speculative stocks, and my stocks were no exception, losing an average of 55% that year, although that still ended up being better than...
Performance Update: 10 Solid Clean Energy Companies to Buy on the Cheap
Unlike my Ten Speculations for 2008, my Solid Clean Energy Companies series will be much more difficult to benchmark. The intent of the series was to list some "stocks to buy when you think we've hit bottom." Since I obviously don't know when you think we've hit bottom (My opinion: not yet), I don't know what prices you'd have paid. Instead, I'll look at what would have happened if you bought only those stocks which dropped 10% since I wrote about them, and you bought them at the close that day, in equal dollar amounts. Here's...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2017: January Jump
Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA The year got off to a spectacular start for my tenth annual Ten Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio. (You can read about the performance in 2016 and prior years here.) The portfolio and its income and growth subportfolios were up 9%, 8%, and 14%, respectively. Clean energy stocks in general also did well, with my three respective benchmarks up 2 to 3% each. (I use the YieldCo ETF YLCO as a benchmark for the income stocks, the Clean Energy ETF PBW as a benchmark for the...
Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ:ENER): Jefferies Vs. Cramer
Two different opinions on Energy Conversion Devices came out last Thursday (Jan. 11). Analyst Jeffrey W. Bencik at Jefferies & Co said that ENER was one his top 2 picks in the solar industry for '07, opining that despite continued volatility this should be a rewarding year for ENER investors. He believes that attention will "shift from company specific performance to a top down focus on the evolution of solar incentive schemes." Jim Cramer, on Thursday's Mad Money, said he could not, "in good conscience, recommend that stock with oil at $51, going to $49. So,...
Valeo February Update (Ten Clean Energy Stocks)
I'm trying something different and doing quick updates on individual stocks in my 10 Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio as I have time to write. The portfolio as a whole has been accelerating with the instant torque of an electric vehicle this year (details here.) I thought I'd start with the company that's newest to my readers,
Valeo SA (FR.PA, VLEEF)
12/31/18 Price: €25.21/$28.20. Annual Dividend: €1.25. Expected 2019 dividend: €1.25. 03/4/19 price: €29.13/$33.00. YTD gain: 15.5% Euro/ 12.8% USD.
I added this stock to the portfolio because it has great technology and and improving market share, but weak industry growth and overoptimistic management projections in 2018...
Five Alternative Energy Stocks For 2014
By Jeff Siegel There's no doubt about it: 2013 was a fantastic year for alternative energy investors. The big story this year was Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). A company that we began touting years before the company even went public, Tesla soared this year, taking the stock from $34.71 in January to a high of $194.50 a share in September. Folks, a 460% gain from an electric car company in just nine months would've been laughable in 2013. Today, it's the one of the most hyped stories in the world of finance... And if you listened to me...
Q3 Performance Update: 10 Green Energy Stocks for 2009
My annual green energy stock picks continue to hold up, but the Obama Effect for clean energy seems to have been lost in the summer's healthcare debate. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA For the first 9 months of 2009, my ten green energy stocks for 2009 are up 23.4% vs. the S&P 500, and up 20.4% over my clean energy benchmark, the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index (ICLN). For the third quarter, that amounts to a loss of 1% relative to the S&P 500, and a gain of 7% relative to ICLN. In my second quarter update, I...
The Pros Pick 14 Cleantech Stocks for 2014
Tom Konrad CFA Over the last few weeks, I’ve brought you articles about the top Cleantech stock picks for 2014 from my panel of Cleantech money manager. This article puts them all in one place. Disclosure: I am long MIXT, ACCEL, SBS, and HASI. Originally, there were twelve picks. Then, a mis-communication with Rafael Coven, Managing Director at the Cleantech Group, and manager of the index which underlies the Powershares Cleantech ETF (NYSE:PZD) had me listing two more stocks he likes. Through a happy coincidence, that brings the total picks...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2015: Marching Ahead
Tom Konrad CFA My Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2015 model portfolio added a second month to its winning streak, with a 6.1% gain for the month and a 5.7% gain for the year, despite a continued drag by the strong dollar. If measured in terms of the companies' local currencies, the portfolio would have been up 7.5% for the month and 10.5% for the quarter or year to date. For comparison, the broad universe of US small cap stocks rose 1.5% for the month and 4.0% for quarter, as measured...
Shares in Altair Nanotechnologies Purchased
I purchased shares in Altair Nanomaterials (ALTI) this morning for both my personal portfolio and also the mutual fund. ALTI is a holding company that specializes in nanomaterials and also contains a life sciences division. The materials company has research in high performance batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. Altair announced earnings today and the stock is up on the morning trading. Revenue Increases 68 Percent for Third Quarter and 230 Percent for Nine-Month Period "An increase in revenue of 230 percent for the first three quarters of 2005 is representative of the significant progress Altair has...
