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And then there were two.
The Wyatt Research March Madness stock bracket has been whittled down to a pair of blue chips: Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL). It’s the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer versus the Internet search leader.
Wal-Mart rode to a Final Four victory over Chevron (NYSE: CVX) on the back of a modest 1.6% weekly share-price gain. For Chevron, it was a nice run while it lasted. The integrated oil major had been up 11.1% since the start of the tourney before shedding 2.9% this week amidst falling crude oil prices.
Meanwhile, Alphabet won ugly during the shortened trading week. Google’s parent company finished in the red for the week – minus 0.1% to be more precise – yet opponent The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) fared even worse, posting a 2% loss.
But a win is a win. I’m just pleased that one of my two finals picks made it to the championship round.
Wal-Mart vs. Alphabet
In a sense, the Wal-Mart vs. Alphabet final is an old school vs. new school matchup.
Wal-Mart, the granddaddy of brick-and-mortar retail, has struggled to grow its e-commerce sales of late.
Alphabet, on the other hand, has its hand in the development of a slew of cutting-edge technologies: self-driving cars, Internet via hot air balloons, an artificially intelligent computer that can crush a South Korean Go master … the list goes on.
Of note is that Alphabet is reportedly abandoning its robotics program and is seeking a buyer for subsidiary Boston Dynamics, which specializes in the development of four-legged robots. According to a Bloomberg report, Alphabet executives became concerned over Boston Dynamics’ ability to create a marketable product within the next few years.
While Alphabet’s robotics about-face is a short-term black eye, in the grand scheme of things it’s a drop in the bucket alongside the company’s other “moonshot” projects and its core search and advertising business.
And while I’ll be the first to admit that the following is a mere guess, I’m sticking with my winning horse and picking Alphabet over Wal-Mart for the win in next week’s conclusion of March Madness, Wyatt Research style.
Here are some of my favorite Wyatt Research articles from the past week:
How to Profit From the Chilean Salmon Shortage – Unusually high sea temperatures have led to toxic algae blooms that have decimated salmon farms in Chile. But that’s good news for Norwegian salmon farmers.
This Junk Food Company Is a Healthy Income Bet– Billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman is having a rough year. His Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund has already lost over 26% this year. So why is he selling a chunk of his largest holding, which is up 18% for the last year?
Why ‘Smart Money’ Is Dumber Than You Think – The term “smart money” is frequently the crutch of the lazy commentator. Can’t pull a convincing explanation out of the air for a notable market move? Blurt “smart money.” Up or down, all bases are covered. Worse, the term implies an investing cabal composed of first-mover individualists possessing the most clairvoyant crystal balls. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Are Any Publicly Traded Hedge Funds Worth Owning? – There are several publicly traded hedge funds that you may not know exist from the likes of such high-profile money managers as Dan Loeb, David Einhorn, Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn. But are any a buy today?
The Logic Behind General Mills’ Landmark GMO Labeling Decision – Rather than just complying with a Vermont state law mandating GMO labeling, General Mills (NYSE: GIS) will start labeling products containing genetically modified organisms nationwide. But will the proactive measure restore investor confidence in a company that was late to the party on the organics trend?
Apple Shares Facing Resistance on Two Fronts as Product Release Underwhelms – Regardless of how investors feel about Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) recent product launch event, the technical picture shows that Apple shares are likely to face two layers of resistance in the coming weeks.
How to Make 12.4% in Less Than 2 Weeks Using ‘Weeklys’ – Weekly options, aka weeklys, have grown exponentially in popularity over the past five years. But just because they’re called weeklys doesn’t mean that Wyatt Research options expert Andy Crowder is trading them on a weekly basis. Instead, he waits for high-probability trades to present themselves in due course and then strikes when the time is right.
A Perfect Color Match in Paint Industry Deal – Sherwin-Williams’ (NYSE: SHW) $9.3 billion purchase of Valspar (NYSE: VAL) puts the company on better footing with its paint industry competition. It also turns Sherwin-Williams into a potential income machine, with expected long-term cost savings of $300 million that can be plowed back into its dividend.
Have a great weekend!