Stairway to Great Stuff
Welcome to Reader Feedback day! The day that’s all about you, the Great Stuff reader — the Great One, if you will.
Today’s the day when we answer your questions, address your concerns about stocks and the market, let you rant … and generally riff off whatever insanity you send our way.
Haven’t written in yet? Now’s your chance: GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.
Let’s start off with one of your most common questions:
Where are the free stock picks?
— Practically all of you
First, let’s all remember that Great Stuff Picks is a free service … sans those bells and whistles of paid services. You know — timely, regularly scheduled trade alerts. For a quick primer on Great Stuff Picks, including a few provisos and a couple of quid pro quos, click here.
Second, I offer up free stock picks when I feel the time is right. You know, you can’t hurry love … and all that jazz. Furthermore, regular readers already know why I’m not recommending anything to buy right now.
To better explain the current drought in free picks, let’s turn to Robert Plant and the lyrical stylings of Led Zeppelin:
Want to tell you about this stock I love, man the gains could look so fine.
It’s the only stock that I been dreamin’ of, maybe someday it will be all mine.
I want to tell you it’s the only one I really looooove.
But I got a market, volatile all day.
I got a market, it won’t be true, no.
I got a market, stay drunk all the time.
I said I got a stock market, and it won’t be true.
For those not hip to the Zep, what I’m saying is: It’s not me; it’s the market.
Instead of buying high and potentially selling low after a market correction, Great Stuff Picks is on hold for the time being.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m still looking for opportunities … just with caution and due diligence. It’s your money, after all. Someone in this crazy market’s gotta look out for you!
There’s also the fact that Great Stuff is a free service, balancing market research, puns, memes, lyrics, stock info, market talking heads … it’s not all free stock picks, you know?
So, hey, hey what can I do, Mr. Great Stuff?
Well, if you want to drop a little cash for dedicated, full-time market, stock and investment research … I know a guy who’s a star. He’s a guy who plays guitars, singing, trading and remembering the times.
Don’t let me ramble on, click here to find out more!
Now, let’s get to the rest of the Great Stuff inbox. If you haven’t written in yet, drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. We don’t bite … that costs extra.
As loyal yet tight-lipped reader Ibrahim A. so boldly declared:
Hello
— Ibrahim
Hello there! (General Kenobi?)
Here’s the story.
An old trader went riding out one dark and windy day. Upon an inbox he rested as he went along his way. When all at once, a mighty herd of ‘Stuff readers he saw, emailing through the ragged market and up the cloudy draw.
All you ghost riders in the sky — whether you emailed us or not — get ready to talk up electric fuel sources and autonomous driving. If you’re as gung ho as we are, dive in!
Bagger Advanced
I like to hear your thought on which of the three stocks will be the next 10X bagger on autonomous driving.
APTV vs. VLDR vs. VNE. All three offer similar autonomous driving technology but which one is winner? Which technology did Google & Tesla use in their vehicle?
Always enjoy your writing in great stuff.
— David
Thank you for writing in David! Three questions in one? You don’t want much, do you?
Let’s start with the easy one. Alphabet Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GOOGL) autonomous driving program — Waymo — originally started out using lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.
Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA), meanwhile, utilized Intel Inc.’s (Nasdaq: INTC) Mobileye.
Both have since moved on to develop their own technologies.
Now, I don’t have the time or space for a tech lesson here, but the difference is that lidar is a specific type of light sensor, while Mobileye is artificial intelligence (AI) processing. In short, Mobileye doesn’t need lidar, just an array of sensors and the right data. But lidar needs AI like Mobileye to be useful.
This brings us to your companies: Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), Velodyne Lidar Inc. (Nasdaq: VLDR) and Veoneer Inc. (NYSE: VNE).
Quick and dirty, Aptiv specializes in vehicle electronics systems with a growing emphasis on autonomous driving. Volodyne makes lidar sensors and systems. And Veoneer most closely resembles Mobileye’s tech.
Picking one of these as a “winner” really depends on your investment goals.
Aptiv is your long-term solid stable pick, already deeply entrenched in the automotive industry via deals with every major manufacturer, including Tesla.
Velodyne is your most likely short-term “10X bagger” candidate. Lidar is all the rage right now in non-Tesla production EVs. These sensors are a critical part of every autonomous vehicle, and Velodyne is the market leader in lidar tech and price point.
However, everyone and their mother makes lidar tech, and the barriers for entry aren’t very high. If Velodyne doesn’t establish itself as the “Xerox of lidar,” it’ll end up like GoPro or Fitbit.
If you’re looking for even bigger returns than that — and you have some patience — Veoneer is the way to go.
Remember, lidar is just the sensor. It doesn’t do anything without AI to back it up. Right now, the AI of choice (for everyone but Tesla) is Mobileye. But, as it goes in the tech sector, Mobileye has an up-and-coming competitor: Veoneer’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Veoneer recently partnered with Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), and the forthcoming joint venture ADAS is expected to be a major rival to Mobileye. VNE is speculative, yes. But the barrier to entry in the AI field — especially in autonomous cars — is very high.
And Veoneer is already gunning for the top.
As a reminder, every single one of these companies chases Tesla in the autonomous car market. Tesla now makes its own chips, its own AI and some of its own sensors (including lidar). If Tesla didn’t make its own vehicles, it would be the market leader in all of these fields.
Variations on an Electric Theme
Yes, you can make your own hydrogen fuel cell by using electrolysis.
There’s already a guy I think over in Arkansas that has one on a Dodge pickup that has over 200,000 miles on it. Not a hard thing to do and it’s free except for a little baking soda and the stuff to make the hydrogen cell, but there’s already something online that shows you how.
— J.G.
I tell you, as soon as some of hydrogen’s stigma goes away — everyone has their own Hindenburg story — you’ll be seeing fuel cell pet projects left and right. I’m just waiting until my neighbor slaps one of those bad boys on a four-wheeler to tear up the cul-de-sac … hey, at least it’d be quiet.
There’s a freaking DIY hydrogen fuel-cell store already (which we’re not affiliated with in any way … just in case that matters to you).
Now, on the other sunny side of the electric vehicle (EV) street: Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK) and its fleet of solar charging stations.
I really enjoy reading your articles and your unique spin on the market :)
On August 14, you mentioned the strong run BLNK has been on. Are you still bullish on Blink stock? It’s been called out as a sure short for October. Is this just a short term view by some?
I continue to see good things coming from Blink. It’s a bit of a mixed message. Maybe it’s the same as those who said to short Tesla… Thanks for your insight.
— Bill E.
Hey Bill! I like Blink as an EV underdog story — not enough to formally put a recommendation out there for Great Stuff Picks, but I like it. As far as specialty charging companies for EVs go, it has a tremendous business model.
The only questions I have center around bringing its solar charging game to scale. Is it efficient enough for when EVs gain mass popularity? Sure it can charge a couple cars at a time now, but what happens if EVs gain broad adoption?
We’re not talking about your local Tesla fandom either but mass, ubiquitous usage, with the same support system you see for gas-powered cars now.
Blink’s growing lightning quick, too, and the little bugger runs thin on the fiscal front. As of last quarter, it had just under $4 million in cash, with a healthy debt load of just half a mil. But Blink’s played the dicey game of fund-grow-fund for years now, with no income still.
The point is, these margins will stay shoestring-budgeted until mass adoption picks up. Can Blink carry that weight (carry that weight) a long time? And anyway, the stock’s technical pattern has me worried … if any of you were looking at BLNK as a short-term play after its insane run-up.
Price resistance is heavy near $12 per share. We all know that hype and speculation is running low in the market right now, so I expect another rejection here. That said, the stock is a steal near its September lows around $6.60 per share.
Near $12 like right now? Not so much.
So where do you go from there? Well … right here. (Click me!)
Bobs and Ends
Keep doing what you’re doing. Sound advice. I love reading about stocks like AT&T, which I discarded some months ago. Couldn’t happen to a better group of tricky liars. Can’t wait to get rid of their monopoly phone service here at my home.
— Bob
Monopoly telecoms deserve payment in Monopoly money. You know what to do, Bob.
More information please.
— Timothy T.
More info? Anything in particular?
Kangaroos can’t jump backward. It’s been almost 43 years since the Lynyrd Skynyrd crash. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Years-old Pepto rarely works in my favor. Any of this help?
Oh, there’s also the fact that we need more of your responses for next week’s edition of Reader Feedback.
Drop us a line! GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.
Great Stuff: Move on My Way
Thanks to you, I’m much obliged … for such a pleasant day of Reader Feedback.
But now it’s time for me to go … the autumn moon lights my way. And now’s the time, the time is now, for you to keep up with us on social media too: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Until next time, be Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff