Entries by Steve Birenberg

Good Earnings Reports for CBS, Virgin Media, Discovery Communications, and DirecTV

Over the past two weeks, three of Northlake’s media long positions reported second quarter 2010 earnings. In addition, the recently sold DirecTV (DTV) reported results. The other three companies to report were CBS, Discovery Communications (DISCK), and Virgin Media (VMED). All four companies met or exceeded consensus estimates on most important financial and operating metrics. […]

Demand for Apple Products Supports Plenty of Upside for Apple Shares

Apple reported another great quarter. Below are the “tweets” I posted on Twitter as I as updating my spreadsheet model and listening to the conference call. For Apple, I continue to find that my first impressions are the most valuable so the Twitter comments capture my thinking well. That said, after reading post call commentary […]

Moving to Mid Cap for July

Northlake’s Market Cap model shifted from small cap to mid cap for July, ending a five month run favoring the small company theme. As a result of the shift, all Northlake client assets invested in the Market Cap model have sold IWM and purchased the S&P 400 Mid Cap (MDY). There was no change to […]

Update on Discovery Communications Spread Trade

A few months ago I swapped all Northlake client holdings in Discovery Communications voting shares (DISCA) into Discovery Communications non-voting shares. At the time the voting shares were trading at a $4.23 premium to the non-voting shares. Last week, the spread ballooned to almost $7 when it was announced that DISCA would enter the Russell […]

Lots of Movement for June But Still Favor Small Cap and Value

May’s sharp market correction caused a lot of underlying movement in Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models but not enough to change the signals for June. The Market Cap model continues to signal small cap and the Style model remains favoring value. As a result, Northlake client positions dedicated the Core and Explore strategy will […]

Media Stocks Ignore Solid Quarterly Earnings

One of the oddities in specializing in media stocks is that most all of the companies report quarterly earnings within a tight two week window including the last week of the first month of the new quarter and the first week of the second month. This quarter media earnings season overlapped with two trips to […]

Another Month at Small Cap and Value on Tap for May

The latest signals from Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models once again are unchanged. For May, the Market Cap model still favors small cap and the Style model remains in value mode. Northlake client positions dedicated to the models will remain invested in the Russell 2000 (IWM) for small cap and the Russell 1000 Value […]