The King of Wishful Streaming
Ah, yeah. Do you know what day it is?
It’s Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Thank you, Arthur Dent. I feel like that applies to all of 2020, though.
Today is Great Stuff Reader Feedback day! It also happens to be the last Reader Feedback day of the year … unless some Christmas miracle occurs, that is. So, if you want a special edition Reader Feedback before we ring in 2021, get to ringing those bells, Zuzu.
Now, as regular readers know, today is all about you, the Great Stuff Great Ones. On Thursdays, we don’t wear pink — that’s Wednesdays. Instead, we answer your investing questions — humor your rants. Bask in your praise, and wither under your scrutinizing gaze.
But, instead of leading with one of your emails, I have some critical info on Great Stuff Picks holding Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU) that I must share with you today! (Oh, I must! I must!)
You see, AT&T (NYSE: T) finally came to its senses and signed a deal with Roku — as I told you it would last month. HBO Max will finally join real streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix … it’s a real boy now!
I’d call this a much-needed win for AT&T, but then … it’s not really a win when it’s a problem of your own making, is it?
But, who cares about AT&T … Great Stuff Picks readers are more interested in Roku, and the stock rallied about 4% on the news.
If you’re keeping score at home — and if you bought ROKU like we told you to, you really should be — your Great Stuff Picks ROKU position is up either 277% or 153%, depending on whether you bought in May 2019 or December 2019.
So, congratulations! You truly are Great Ones.
Ann Without an “E”
Finally, I couldn’t let today’s intro go without highlighting at least one of your emails. So, here’s Jean Ann with some of the best praise I’ve received all year:
Dear Mr. Hargett:
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your Great Stuff articles. You’re a talented writer — articulate, literate, witty, and intuitive — and I’m always amused and educated by your pithy observations. Your “She Sells Fuel Cells” subject line in the email today made me laugh — it’s so clever.
I hold an M.A. in English Literature and worked many years in publishing for a leading financial magazine, so I know good writing when I see it. Your articles truly are “Great Stuff” and Banyan Hill is lucky to have you!
Best regards, Jean Ann
And I, Jean Ann, am so lucky to have readers like you! I’m almost blushing over here. And might I say, I love your usage of the Oxford comma!
Thank you so much for writing in and for being a Great One!
If you’d like to join Jean and grace the pages of Great Stuff, all you have to do is email us at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. It’s that simple. And flattery isn’t necessary, but it helps.
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Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for … well, some of you anyway. Here’s today’s Great Stuff Reader Feedback questions.
Like I said, thank you for joining us on this our last Reader Feedback issue of the year! I mean, feel free to keep on writing to us all the same — it’s not like we’re just gonna ghost you all after the holidays! (That’s an Uncle Stu kind of move, for sure.)
Of course, our inbox isn’t the only way you should keep in touch with us. Aside from all our different social media shenanigans — ahem, cough cough — why not vote in our latest Poll of the Week?
Just yesterday, we asked about your experiences with bitcoin — that virtual golden goose of a crypto coin. Gaining massive acceptance as of late, bitcoin keeps shooting up higher than the $20,000 “ceiling” it couldn’t break (until this week, at least).
And yet, only 53% of Great Stuff poll-takers have ever dabbled with buying bitcoin … so far! Like Kim B. here, who says she’s: “six weeks into buying both [bitcoin and Ethereum] due to my son’s recommendation. Now I wish I would have bought when he did in late April! It’s nerve-wracking and amazing at the same time.”
Congrats, Kim! You picked a helluva time to start. But where do you — yes, you out there — stand on the bitcoin boom? Click here and let us know.
On that note, here’s another crypto tale from one of your fellow Great Ones to start us off:
To Coin a Phrase
I bought into Litecoin a few years ago, and it went up $100 a day for the first two days after my purchase. Wow, I thought I had made the best investment ever until it went down and down and has stayed down for three years.
I liken this to the coins that I thought might have value someday and have kept them for over 50 years. I periodically check rare coin prices only to find that none of the coins I have are rare at all.
I will, however, keep the Litecoin in hopes that one day they will be worth something, but I’m going to need them to increase in value soon, as I don’t have 50 more years left to wait.
— Dick K.
No smiley face this time around, Dick? Don’t let Litecoin’s plight(coin) get to you. I applaud you for taking the dive on crypto … and for trying not to be mainstream with your investing!
The thing is, cryptocurrencies aren’t an investment that you want to hunt for on the fringe, at least without the guidance of folks who know the crypto space inside and out.
Me? I’m still holding on to my Kennedy silver half dollars like you … but I’ve seen the difference it makes when choosing between a bitcoin and a $#^!-coin. And ol’ granddaddy bitcoin is still the OG for right now, to mix metaphors. It’s probably your best bet on catching the crypto wave, but my friend Ian King is Banyan Hill’s own resident expert there.
And if you’re still not convinced of getting into the crypto game, check this out.
There are four specific catalysts taking place right now that are set to launch certain cryptocurrencies to astronomical new highs, minting an entirely new generation of millionaires in the process. And this next wave of cryptocurrencies could hand you 12 times your money … in just the next 12 months.
Remember, click here to learn more. Especially if you’re just wading into the crypto waters, you’ll want a guide to show you what’s hot and what’s decidedly not.
I mean, sure Golden Earring’s Radar Love was good, but it was a one-hit wonder, like Litecoin … but it’s no Led Zep.
Come As You Carvana
Personally, I still like to sit in the car, check out the comfort/ergomonics (for instance, having rented a Mustang recently, they are uncomfortable and ‘plasticy’ inside), and take a quick drive to get the ‘feel.’
That said … I might test drive a few models and brands at different dealers and then buy the car from Carvana.
— James G.
I’m with you on Carvana. I don’t see myself ever buying a car without seeing it, checking it out and driving it.
It is a generational thing, and I’m 57 — darn near a fossil.
— Jeff in Vermont
My brother bought a 500 series BMW from Carvana in Atlanta about five years ago. He loved the whole thing. He said the pickup took about five minutes. (‘Here’s your car, here are the papers, sign here and here, here are the keys — and thank you for your business.’)
When you talked about not understanding the appeal of CVNA, the big thing you left out of your comments is the one-week return policy. To the best of my knowledge, you can return the car for seven days, no questions asked.
I’d say that’s a big boost for Carvana. You can do seven days’ worth of kicking the tires, checking the paint, listening to the engine, sitting in the seat, looking at it in your driveway — and of course, you can invite your brother-in-law over to do a more thorough evaluation. You could even hook it up to a diagnostic — and probably for free — at your usual mechanic.
Where’s the downside??
— David M.
Good points all around!
While car-buying may be personal to some (and not to others), the actual experience of buying a car is very personal. I talked with the Great Stuff team, and it seems like it varies regionally.
One lucky son-of-a-gun lives where some dealerships actually offer and care about return policies. I, on the other hand, do not live in consumer-protection Neverland. And what David M. here mentions about Carvana’s seven-day grace period simply piledrives everything my local dealers offer.
The consensus here: Test drive before you buy, search Carvana for a steal, buy a car and/or CVNA shares … profit?
Different strokes for different folks, and different targets for different markets. It’s the same with cars, cannabis and … water!
Treading WTER
I bought Alkaline water (WTER) at $1.31. I thought: What a steal! Then, I watched it drop to $1.11. Being totally shocked, I checked their plans for the future in their prospectus.
It turns out that they are expanding their distribution to several stores using a bigger distribution company. That is when I watched it drop from $1.11 to $1.06. What the sam-hill am I missing? I’m 150 shares deep in this. The price bounces from $1.06-$1.10. Been doing that for a couple of days now.
Common sense is telling me that it will eventually get back to and top $1.31. Everybody needs water! But, what do I know?
I’m drowning in my own investment wondering; Now what??? But all I’m asking you is, what is your best insight with this?
— Jim A.
What’s so great about water? I mean, it doesn’t have its picture on bubble gum cards…
Thanks for writing in, Jim! It’s always a blast to check out a new stock. The nice news is that you’re doing more due diligence than many traders/investors/gamblers I talk to right now. Checking a company’s plans in its prospectus?! You already did more investigating than half of Robinhood would.
The not as nice news is that there are fad stocks … and there are stocks with fad products.
Alkaline Water (Nasdaq: WTER) seems to capitalize on fads. If it were a regular flavored water company, cool. But Alkaline Water is one of those “crystals, sage and jade eggs” companies. I’m surprised there hasn’t been an essential oils IPO yet this year.
Anyway, “alkaline” is the only thing setting it apart. Everyone needs water, yes. But does everyone need alkaline water? Or special energy-boosting ions and revitalizing Paltrow-esque powers? Not so much. What was the last case of water left on the shelf back in March?
On the slightly less faddy side … the company also does CBD-infused water, which could be a rant all in itself. Just go full psychoactive with drinkables! Granted, there are still companies that would do “THC-infused water” better.
See also: yesterday’s issue on the Tilray (Nasdaq: TLRY) and Aphria merger.
If I were to skim the top of the beverage sector’s fizz — something I never thought we’d write up — I’d take a look at National Beverage (Nasdaq: FIZZ) that Richard Z.’s sent me about 18 emails on.
Just joshing, Richard (and Jim). Though, National Beverage has a diverse number of brands and drink types, so it won’t be pigeonholed if the alkaline water market goes kaputt. FIZZ is gaining traction, both on the beverage map and on the market, and that may be a direction to look for something solid in your liquid diets.
Besides … if you’re looking to pull a Nestlé and dominate the drinking water game, why not dip your toe into those newly sprung water futures? (Perish the thought!)
Great Stuff: That’s the Write Stuff
Now, if you want to see your name up here in the Reader Feedback prime time, you gotta write to us first! So water you waiting for?
One more pun, Mr. Great Stuff, I swear…
If you have more to share with us here — or if there’s a stock or sector you want to see covered specifically — send it our way! Not all of these stock breakdowns end in alkaline tears … I promise. So, spill all you have, and we’ll do the same!
GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. Write it on your palm, stick this email on your e-fridge, sear it into your mind’s eye … whatever you do, spin that yarn and feel free to write up a storm!
Of course, you can also follow along with social media too: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Until next time, be Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff
