Wondering where that Great Stuff Picks portfolio is or how Plug Power is doing? I’ve got your portfolio right here. It’s Reader Feedback day!

Crack That Whip!

When a problem comes along, you Great Stuff it.

If the market does you wrong, you Great Stuff it.

You will never live it down … unless you Stuff it.

Welcome to Reader Feedback day!

Today is the day when Great Ones get the chance to tell the market — or Mr. Great Stuff — to stuff it.

Stuff it good!

You’re in for a treat today, dear reader. We’re doing a quick review of the Great Stuff Picks portfolio!

I have to say, Great Stuff Picks readers are doing phenomenally well, all things considered. The total average gain on all open positions sits at 47.05%, and your overall win rate is roughly 81%.

What’s more, your most recent trade recommendation — Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG) — is up more than 53% in less than three weeks! Boom!

But don’t just take my word for it, here’s what Great One John H. had to say on PLUG:

Your suggestion that we should buy PLUG last week was spot on. Up 58% in a week!! Yea buddy!!

Thank you, John! OK, I’d be remiss to not mention another reader-who-shall-not-leave-their-name, who wrote in: “PLUG options, 85% return in seven days. Thank you!”

Thank you! But PLUG isn’t the only big winner in the portfolio:

  • Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD): up 178% since June 2019.
  • Roku Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU): up 157% since May 2019.
  • CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWD): up 135% since January!

I could prattle on, but why don’t I just get to the portfolio? Take a look:

That’s the Great Stuff Picks portfolio in all its glory (as of November 12, 2020).

That’s the Great Stuff Picks portfolio in all its glory. Notice the pretty colors? Well, they mean something.

Stocks shaded green are still buys, and they still have more upside.

Stocks shaded yellow are on hold. We’re either waiting for the right time to take profits or, like with Beyond Meat Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND), we’re watching for a sell recommendation. Despite its ridiculous name, that McDonald’s McPlant really put a hurt on the meatless wonder.

Finally, stocks shaded red are sells. That’s right: Today we’ll lock in a minor profit on Cosan Ltd. (NYSE: CZZ). The company is an old-world energy company that specializes in natural gas and ethanol.

We’re selling now as there are other energy technologies taking over for ethanol, such as hydrogen. I don’t see much growth ahead for Cosan, so we’ll take our meager 12% profit and call it a day.

Sell CZZ.

Now, I get questions all the time like, “Where do I find the Great Stuff portfolio?” and “Why don’t you update the portfolio more?”

The answers: First, you can find the portfolio in the Great Stuff archives. It doesn’t have an official, permanent page. Second, because this is a free service, unlike the dedicated trading research services you get from other Banyan Hill gurus. For a quick rundown of just how Great Stuff Picks works, click here. That should shed some light on things.

That said, if you really want to be spoiled with a fully loaded stock research service with all the bells and whistles, wait until you see the greatness you’ll find by clicking here!

Now, let’s get right to answering your emails! If you haven’t written in yet, drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. We don’t bite … unless you ask nicely.

Great Stuff Reader Feedback

Hey Great Ones. You know what’s going on: It’s Reader Feedback time. Does it really need an introduction?

Perhaps so, if this is your first time tuning in. And in that case, welcome! Every week, we dive into the Great Stuff inbox and pull out the ludicrous, the humorous and the surprisingly wholesome to share.

Dig it and dig in!

All We Hear Is … Radio AI

Hi guys and gals,

Everywhere I turn, all I can hear about is Artificial Intelligence, and I would say they are talking about you, BUT there is nothing artificial about the intelligence you bring to my inbox every afternoon.

So, what stock or stocks would you suggest to someone like me who wants to catch the AI train?

The FQ Group

Wait, Fifth Quarter Asset Management UK Limited — aka, The FQ Group that “provides elite service, expert advice, innovative and pragmatic solutions” — has a question for Great Stuff?

I’m seriously flattered. Thank you!

As I’m sure you know, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any pure-play artificial intelligence (AI) companies out there — at least until the industry further blossoms. Right now, many tech giants are simply figuring out ways to incorporate AI into their businesses to help workflow, production, customer service, data management … the list is endless, really.

And that’s why so many Big Tech names are rushing into the AI space. NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the only big name that I’d wager on right now — especially since its chips and other products find so many widespread uses, such as PC gaming, data centers and autonomous vehicles.

I mean, telecoms even use NVIDIA’s graphics processors to power AI that runs 5G services from the cloud … and that’s a whole new crockpot of tech buzzwords I didn’t even know existed.

Other than that, you’ll also find — ahem — a certain Great Stuff Pick called ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) that’s up 83% since we bought it in the summer of 2019. It also started to use AI to analyze data as part of its workflow platforms.

Broker Broker 1-9…

I would like to start off this possibly lengthy email by saying in April I started purchasing these market research publishers such as you. I was a series seven broker back in the Wolf of Wall Street days, and let’s just say we brought many “companies” public.

Great for us kids but not for the guy being promised 35% returns in three to six months. At the time of me writing this email, the only company I see that we worked with is Loral Space. If memory serves me correctly, we were even doing 504 IPOs.

It was morally illegal. Some guys had no problem doing it. I didn’t happen to be one of them…

I haven’t “missed” Bitcoin, but the hundreds of options coming from this technology to create massive amounts of wealth are mind-boggling and we are in the first trimester.

Well, that’s all I wanted to say as I don’t have any questions at this time. Keep up the great work, and please more musical song references.

James S.

Sup, James! I had to keep your email brief here … but I sincerely want to hear more about your brokering days. Stay in touch, will you? Not to dredge up any “morally illegal” past … but it sounds juicy, and Great Ones love a tale most secretive and salacious.

Now, for all you at home: What do you think about the current crop of initial public offerings? Have things cooled off from the 2019 IPO flurry? Or is 2020 only the start of IPO Melt-up 2: The SPAC Boogaloo?

Let us know at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.

Who Disturbs My Lumber?

Mr. Great Stuff,

Great market commentary, as always.

What are some thoughts on the lumber and wood production sector? Namely, companies like WY, BCC, LPX.

Huston S.

Hey Huston, thanks for writing in! Would you trade wood for sheep? Don’t you move that robber, dang it!

Unless you trade in Catan land, here’s the lumber situation right now. Wood production can’t keep up with current through-the-roof demand, spurred by an insane wave of homebuilding that doesn’t show signs of stopping.

With a lack of domestic production, the average homebuilding cost grew as lumber prices lit up, rising 160% since April only to catch the same preelection jitters we saw elsewhere.

With a lack of domestic production, the average homebuilding cost grew as lumber prices lit up, rising 160% since April only to catch the same preelection jitters we saw elsewhere. Now, there’s two halves to the political equation for those in the lumber industry postelection.

First is the possible end to Trump-era deregulation on national forest and private forest harvesting — seen as a hindrance to the wood-working folk as far as boosting domestic wood.

Second, as National Association of Home Builders CEO Jerry Howard said: “If Biden wins, I think you’ll see more restriction on our domestic harvest. I don’t know this for sure, but possibly, he might be more amenable to dealing with the Canadian crisis.”

We’re not tumbling down the Canadian tariff crisis rabbit hole today … but suffice to say, experts believe the Biden presidency would help change the tone of trade with Canada. Don’t expect Canadian lumber tariffs to drop overnight, but this could help ease some of the strain on domestic production.

Overall, the larger trend is that homebuilding demand has skyrocketed this year, and builder confidence keeps ticking up. Is it a good time to be in lumber? Yes — but keep an eye for shifts in homebuilding to guide you.

If demand outstrips supply, you’ll also see the cost of new homes rise significantly, which could temper the housing boom to an extent. What, you think this stuff grows on trees?

McLivin’ in a McFantasy

Great comments on McDonald’s. I, too, am not a McFan. I can’t remember the last time I went to McDonald’s. That may be in part that I turned 70 this year or that I couldn’t care less for the McFaire.

Beyond the McMeat, the McStock never reached lofty heights like some of the other eat on the run establishments. Maybe you can help me understand why Chipotle is worth $1,260 a share and McStock a paltry or poultry (eat more chicken nuggets) $212.

I guess there are some things I will never understand, like why is the sky blue, but air is clear and what happened to Scrooge McDuck?

Dick K. 😎

Admittedly, most of the “due diligence” that I’ve heard online surrounding Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) boils down to “something something … erm, Millennials!”

Fast food like the Moldy Arches doesn’t resonate like it used to … with consumers or my stomach.

Chipotle’s menu is more expensive, but it doesn’t sit in your bowels like a cement mixer chewing through Silly Putty. Mickey D’s breakfast is the lone exception because I’m not sure I’d touch Chipotle for breakfast.

Something about beans for breakfast scares me … a lot.

But we can wax poetic on why the sky is blue and whether pigs have wings until the oysters come home … and neither of us will be any the wiser on what exactly happened to Scrooge McDuck.

Anyway, reader, if you have time to wonder, “Gee, is he really pen palling with this same Dick dude again?” … then you have time to write us a message yourself!

GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com is where the wild things are. Join us, won’t you?

A Great Stuff Gathering

A hearty thanks goes out to all you Great Ones who answered our poll last week!

We asked what stocks were keeping you sane in today’s market, and you pulled out all the diversification stops for this one.

Just kidding. It’s all tech, all the time.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) predictably got a few votes, with some semiconductors thrown in for good measure. I saw a great deal of you got into the new energy game with Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) and Plug though, so good on you there!

A trickle of votes came in as you all bought the dip on Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), while one or two others grabbed a slice of Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) during its dip.

Besides a few votes for the everything-futuristic-under-one-basket folks with the ARK exchange-traded funds, most of your nontech write-ins were for gold and silver miners (and the metals themselves).

But that was all last week, and we’re all about what’s Great right meow. So if you have more to share with us here, by all means, write to us! We’ll catch up with you in the next installment of Reader Feedback.

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