Welcome to week 23 of my stock-picking throwdown with Mr. Market. Let's get right to the numbers:
Company |
Starting Price* |
Recent Price |
Total Return |
---|---|---|---|
Akamai |
$22.23 |
$13.49 |
(39.3%) |
Harris & Harris |
$6.22 |
$3.40 |
(45.3%) |
IBM |
$128.33** |
$84.12 |
(34.4%) |
Oracle |
$22.75 |
$16.53 |
(27.3%) |
Taiwan Semiconductor |
$10.34 |
$7.37 |
(28.7%) |
AVERAGE RETURN |
-- |
-- |
(35.00%) |
S&P 500 SPDR |
$125.26** |
$84.40 |
(32.62%) |
DIFFERENCE |
-- |
-- |
(2.38%) |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
* Tracking began on Aug. 7, 2008.
** Adjusted for dividends and other returns of capital.
A rotten week for Mr. Market was slightly worse for my tech portfolio, which fell another 26 basis points behind in our three-year race to the finish line.
The good news? My tech stocks held up better than most. Apple
Worst of all, though, was the news from Nortel. Canada's once-dominant networking equipment supplier finally gave in to market and competitive pressure and declared insolvency this week. Hello, Cisco
The only remedies for times like these are prudence in picking stocks -- stick with the very best -- and patience in waiting for gains. That's how David Gardner produced a decade of 20% returns in the real-money Rule Breaker portfolio. Tom Gardner's "simpleton portfolio" was also a 10-year winner. I believe that, with these five tech stocks, I will achieve similar success.
Checkup time!
Now, let's move on to the rest of today's update:
- Earlier this week, Merrill Lynch analysts cut their rating of Akamai from buy to neutral, citing a few known catalysts and competitive challenges. I'd say the company's very fair valuation -- Akamai trades for 17 times trailing and eight times forward earnings -- is compensation enough for the uncertainty.
- IBM has taken to "in-sourcing," choosing East Lansing, Mich. and Dubuque, Iowa for its two newest service centers, according to BusinessWeek.
There's your checkup. See you back here next week for more tech stock talk.
Get your clicks with more techie Foolishness:
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- Some superstar investors are buying Chinese tech.
- Sorry, but that nifty Facebook profile of yours is only worth $4.