Fool Portfolio Report
Tuesday, April 23, 1996
(FOOL GLOBAL
WIRE)
Keith Pelczarski (MF
Czar)
ALEXANDRIA, Va./SALT LAKE CITY, Ut., Apr. 23 -- Wow!
I think it bears repeating -- wow!
While I collect my wits, let me present comments made by David and Tom from their hotel room. We had to take some dictation over the phone, since the brothers Gardner had some trouble locating a phone jack that would handle their modem. Because of this, their comments are somewhat brief, but I think they go straight to the heart of the matter.
David:
For the past 24 hours Tom and I have had the great pleasure of meeting 100 Fools who flew to Salt Lake City from almost every state united by a few things:
First, most of us are Iomega shareholders and very much the better for it both in terms of the amount we've learned and the amount we've made. But second, we are a group of people of every age and from every walk of life who understand the value of online communication for small investors like us today. Iomega's share price boost following a 2-for-1 stock split announcement at the end of the day yesterday was an astounding $10. For those of us who bought a year ago and paid $5/share, a $10 move would seem to blow away all perspective, but it doesn't because we found a great company with great management, we found great analysis online from great people and yet, there's something about all this that tells me we're still only at the very beginning.
Tom:
This is a shareholders meeting that should have been covered by anyone and any organization with even a passing interest in dynamic growth companies. It provides far and away the single best example of what consumer business will be about in the 21st century.
~~~~~
In our last report, Erik mentioned that we may never see another one-day gain like Tuesday's 4.33%. Well, he was right. :) That mark was more than doubled today, crushed by an onslaught of afternoon IOMG buying. Iomega closed at $51 3/4 today, up more than 25%, bringing the Fool Portfolio to the following record heights:
-- up 9.75% on the day
-- up 14.50% for the week
-- up 30.14% on the month
-- up 65.41% year-to-date
-- up 208.87% historically
I'm sure that the daily and historical figures are records, and I'm sure that the Fool Port hasn't had two back-to-back days like this. It makes the head spin.
As if Iomega's performance weren't enough, America Online was on the wires today, as Bear Stearns upgraded AMER to a buy, while Everen Securities initiated coverage with an "outperform" and a six-month price target of $85. The stock has had an incredible run over the past week, though a 25% gain over 7 days will always be overshadowed by a 25% gain over 7 hours.
There's been an unsung hero of late in the Fool Port, chugging along in the shadows of IOMG and AMER. KLA Instruments is up 32% for April, not too bad for a three week return. It closed up $2 3/4 today, to $29 3/4.
You know what boggles my mind the most about the past few days? The fact that although I am the keeper of the Fool Portfolio spreadsheet, do almost all the grunt work in the Hall of Portfolios, and sit within spitting distance of David and Tom, I don't own a single share of any of the Fool stocks.
It's true -- MF Czar, working day in and day out at Fool HQ, doesn't own a single Fool Portfolio stock. Amidst all the high-fiving and giddy giggling here in Alexandria, there's no joy in my Mudville.
Why didn't I buy IOMG and AMER? My original logic escapes me. It probably had something to do the uncertainties surrounding both of them. Even as time went on, and both companies proved themselves, I held off, feeling I had missed the ride. I saw the moves every day, and like a magnifying glass, my vision was focused too tightly to see the big picture. All I saw was the huge run-ups they had already had, blinding me to the huge run-ups they still had in store. It's time to polish up the old crystal ball, and start looking toward the future.
Does this mean I'm running out tomorrow to buy Fool stocks? Nope.
What it means is that I'm going to take a good, hard look at my modest portfolio, to make sure that the reasons for holding my stocks are still valid. I encourage every Fool out there to do the same. It's always good to revisit your portfolio planning process, to keep the cobwebs cleared, and to keep things in perspective. After all, no stock moves up forever, and maybe mine are due.
Someone's got to clean up after the party.
Transmitted: 4/23/96 7:15 PM
Day Month Year History FOOL +9.75% 30.14% 65.41% 208.87% S&P 500 +0.57% 0.94% 5.79% 42.14% NASDAQ +1.14% 5.93% 10.89% 62.00% AMER +2 1/2 ...AMAT +1 5/8 ...CHV +1 7/8 ...GE - 1/8 ...GPS +1 3/8 ...IOMG +10 5/8 ...KLAC +2 3/4 ...MDRX + 3/8 ...S + 5/8 ... Rec'd # Security In At Now Change 8/5/94 680 AmOnline 7.27 65.00 793.73% 5/17/95 1005 Iomega Cor 5.04 51.75 927.21% 4/20/95 310 The Gap 16.28 29.00 78.19% 8/5/94 165 Sears 28.93 51.50 78.05% 8/11/95 95 GenElec 57.91 79.38 37.06% 8/11/95 110 Chevron 49.00 57.63 17.60% 1/29/96 250 Medicis Ph 27.86 27.88 0.06% 8/24/95 100 AppldMatl 57.52 38.75 -32.64% 8/24/95 130 KLA Instrm 44.71 29.75 -33.46% Rec'd # Security Cost Value Change 8/5/94 680 AmOnline 4945.56 44200.00 $39254.44 8/24/95 100 AppldMatl 5752.49 3875.00 -$1877.49 5/17/95 1005 Iomega Cor 5063.13 52008.75 $46945.62 4/20/95 310 The Gap 5045.25 8990.00 $3944.75 8/5/94 165 Sears 4772.65 8497.50 $3724.85 8/11/95 95 GenElec 5501.87 7540.63 $2038.76 8/11/95 110 Chevron 5389.99 6338.75 $948.76 1/29/96 250 Medicis Ph 6964.99 6968.75 $3.76 8/24/95 130 KLA Instrm 5812.49 3867.50 -$1944.99 CASH $12147.13 TOTAL $154434.01
