Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) may have held up slightly better than the rest of the market over the past year, but there may be few shareholders who are comforted by that. The stock has been on an almost non-stop downdraft since the turn of the millennium, losing more than 70% of its value since its mid-2000 peak.
Pfizer recently tried to jump-start its engines by buying competitor Wyeth (NYSE: WYE ) , but there are big integration challenges ahead, and some Fools even think that the acquisition, along with health-care reform, could put the company's premier credit rating at risk.
On the Motley Fool's CAPS service, more than 5,000 members have weighed in on Pfizer, and as the stock's four-star rating suggests, many think the future will be brighter than the past. CAPS member cjacked98, the current score leader on Pfizer, has managed to rack up a pile of points by making some short-term calls on it. The calls have been in both directions, but the five most recent -- including one in late February -- have all been bullish.
Cjacked98 is one of CAPS' All-Stars -- players with a rating of 80 or greater -- and has managed a stock-picking accuracy of 68% while racking up more than 1,100 points. Pfizer isn't this player's only great call. Here's a look at a few of the other prescient picks:
|
Company
|
Date Picked
|
Call
|
Points
|
CAPS Rating (out of 5)
|
|
Trump Entertainment Resorts
|
June 18, 2007
|
Underperform
|
54
|
*
|
|
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC )
|
April 6, 2009
|
Outperform
|
45
|
***
|
|
AMR (NYSE: AMR )
|
June 6, 2008
|
Outperform
|
43
|
*
|
Data from CAPS.
So what else is this investor looking at these days?
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Company
|
Date Picked
|
Call
|
CAPS Rating
|
|
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS )
|
April 6, 2009
|
Outperform
|
***
|
|
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG )
|
April 6, 2009
|
Outperform
|
*****
|
|
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC )
|
April 6, 2009
|
Outperform
|
***
|
Data from CAPS.
While not all of these picks may pan out, they could be a good place to start some further research. I decided to take a closer look at Goldman Sachs.
Betting on Goldman
Let's be honest here: Trying to be more like Goldman Sachs helped bring down Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch. And could you blame them? Behind those locked doors at 85 Broad Street, this financial savant seems to print money.
It would appear that the firm's results for the first quarter just go to show that it hasn't lost its touch, either. After posting negative revenue in its final quarter of last year, Goldman Sachs opened up fiscal 2009 with a fat $1.8 billion profit. Bang on, right? Well, maybe.
An overwhelming portion of the first-quarter results came from its FICC (fixed income, currency, and commodities) division -- the same group that produced negative $3.4 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter. Investors should ask whether an investment in Goldman Sachs is dependable, or a gamble on if its big bets will pay off.
The stock's two-star rating on CAPS reflects the mixed emotions of CAPS members. CAPS All-Star kirkydu, for example, gave the stock a thumbs-down on Monday after news about the firm's share offering, saying:
My first red thumb. Feels good to give it to these guys given their HUGE role in the undoing of the economy. Sort of like fllipping somebody off who cut you off at a highway ramp. In short, [Goldman Sachs'] stock offering will be dilutive and their earnings won't ramp up for at least another year to offset that.
CAPS All-Star Josher429 is on the other side of the table, calling Goldman Sachs "best of breed," while crazyhorse49 says: "Still the premier Investment Bank, even if you don't use that term anymore. WAAAYYYYY undervalued."
But here's the important question: What's your take on Goldman Sachs? Will it continue to prove that it's better than the rest and prints money? Get in on the action by clicking over to CAPS. CAPS is absolutely free and already has more than 130,000 stock pickers chipping in to find the best stocks out there.
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