Best Picks List 2013
The figure below shows the list of holdings from my model portfolio which I managed actively (well almost, given the fact that I am a part time student with a full time job and which is not asset management!) throughout 2013. Some commentary on individual names from my holdings:
- Cheniere Energy (ticker: LNG) has been a huge winner in 2013 (+130%) for me and I am continue long the stock heading into 2014, since I think it has a big early mover advantage in the transportation of natural gas from the shale rich gas deposits of U.S. (southern Louisiana) to other parts of the world where natural gas sells for much higher price (higher demand) as compared to that of continental U.S. with a much lower price thus presenting a well economical benefit.
- Michael Kors (ticker: KORS) is another name which I have been very bullish throughout the year and continue to be into 2014. Any major weakness in the market would be a reason to accumulate this name which returned +60% in 2013. As we know KORS has been luring consumers away from Coach Inc. (ticker: COH) with its stylish accessories and handbags and I think KORS is not done yet.
- Continental Resources (ticker: CLR) and Oasis Petroleum (ticker: OAS) are two Bakken Shale names which I have been very bullish about and they returned handsomely as well in 2013 with CLR around +59% and OAS around +55% return. Earlier this year OAS made an interesting acquisition of oil properties in the Williston Basin which is going to further bolster and improve its position in the region. Valuation wise as well, I see OAS around $60 based on future growth prospects and hence continue to be long this name in 2014. I also see OAS as a speculative M&A play with any of the 'big' U.S. based on Asian (Chinese or Korean) or other global oil players (Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, etc.) trying to buy this valuable Bakken shale asset. I have closed my positions in CLR just before the close of the year.
- Pfizer Inc. (ticker: PFE) returned around +26% in 2013 under-performing S&P 500, but I still like this name given the current pipeline and the recent FDA approval of Xalkori. Also diversification of non core assets (e.g. Zoetis, Inc.) had helped the company to streamline its core business.
- Cornerstone OnDemand (ticker: CSOD) - I offloaded this name after around +60% return earlier this year and planning to re-enter given a broad market weakness. This is the only survivor in the cloud software-as-a-service (SaaS) talent and human resource management space including recruiting, employee performance and learning. Other names in this space including Taleo (ticker: TLEO), Success Factors (ticker: SFSF) and Kenexa (ticker: KNXA) has earlier been acquired by Oracle, SAP and IBM respectively.
- Allot Communications (ticker: ALLT) and Fusion IO (ticker: FIO) were bad calls on my part which I closed after couple of months of being long.
Figure A: Best Picks List 2013 - Performance of all holdings
Figure B: Best Picks List 2013 - From my tracking software
