Barrons summary: cautious on 3D printers (DDD, SSYS, XONE, VJET); cautious on SCTY, AOL; positive on MET, DAI.DE, GLDD, 1910.HK
Cover story: Cautious on DDD, SSYS, XONE, VJET: Wall Street has been well ahead of the hype regarding 3-D printing, but shares of the four major players are overpriced; 3-D printing holds vast potential and could eventually reshape U.S. industry, but thats because of its applications in industrial manufacturing, which the publicly traded 3-D outfits dont address as effectively as some private companies; Investors need to look away from pure-play companies for exposure to the 3-D market, to companies such as ADSK, ADBE, DASTY, GE, F.
Features: Positive on MET: Shares are among the cheapest in the industry, and could rise 20% based on rising book value and higher profits; company is also expected to boost its dividend; Positive on Daimler: Popular new models and improving demand for trucks should lead automakers profit growth this year to outstrip rivals Volkswagen and BMW and give share price a 20% boost; Positive on ARCC, CVRR, EPR, HPT, NTI: For investors with an appetite for risk, economically sensitive REITs, MLPs, and BDCs offer outsize payouts and low valuations and should gain value as business conditions continue to improve; Positive on Samsonite: The worlds largest luggage maker is taking advantage of growing middle class prosperity in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., shares could rise 20-30% in the next 12 months.
Tech Trader: Cautious on SCTY: Companys predictions that customers leasing its solar panels will continue to do so after the initial 20-year lease has expired may be too rosy; while a company such as TSLA has delivered terrific innovations, SCTY is basically a specialized finance company.
Trader: Cautious on AOL: Online giant has improved its position from a few years ago, but the stock discounts that and more, and bulls are extrapolating its Network divisions double-digit sales rise far into the futureIt wont take much of a miss in quarterly results for the stock price to suffer; For all the nervousness now, investor sentiment looks complacent by historic measures, and the individual investor is returning to stocks, which suggests more a bull in its later stages than a bubble.
Small Caps: Positive on GLDD: Move by federal government to spend billions of dollars on coastal restoration, along with dredging projects to accommodate larger ships, should bode well for market leader in dredging sector.
Follow-Up: Puerto Rico is expected to come to market with a $3B tax-exempt general obligation bond deal yielding about 9% for which demand will likely be strong, though investors will need patience, as commonwealths economic and financial outlook appear dicey; Russia is likely to remain cautious in its handling of relations with Baltic states, since they need to maintain their market for exports in Europe; Positive on GNW: Shares have made an almost 20-fold gain since 2009, but remain undervalued with plenty of room to climb.
Mutual Funds: Interview with Taizo Ishida and Kenichi Amaki, Portfolio Managers, Matthews Japan, who are betting Japans emergence from its slump will benefit both global giants and smaller companies (top holdings: Toyota Motor, ORIX, Honda Motor, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Softbank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Sysmex, Itochu, Hitachi, Fanuc); Interview with Patrick Wolff, Portfolio Manager, Grandmaster Capital Management (picks: AXP, NVR; pans: ADT).
European Trader: A deepening rift between Russia and the West could undermine Europes fragile economic recovery, with investors paying a heavy price; Positive on International Consolidated Airlines Group shares have risen, and could still go higher following restructuring and cost-cutting.
Asian Trader: Positive on SNE: Following strength of new PlayStation 4 console, company has embarked on its own restructuring that looks likely to generate substantially more profit even if it doesnt go as far as Dan Loeb and others would like.
Emerging Markets: Cautious on Gazprom, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Mobile Telesystems, VimpelCom, Mail.ru, Yandex: Russian companies are exposed to Ukraine and could face risk depending on how the current crisis there plays out.
Commodities: Commodities prices have been trading at six-month highs, but analysts expect them to pull back toward the end of the year as U.S. growers harvest a much larger crop.
CEO Spotlight: Profile of FAST chief Willard Oberton, whose focus on frugality has contributed eye-popping gains in revenue, earnings, and shareholder returns.
Streetwise: Though its easy to find tech companies with valuations reminiscent of the dot-com boom such as TSLA, NFLX, and TWTR, overall valuations are far from absurd, and tech giants such as AAPL, GOOG, and FB have more cash than they know what to do with.