Last Year’s Sells

I’m going to violate one of my rules in this post. I often tell investors not to fret about what happens to a stock that they sold.

Sure, it can keep going up. They won’t time everything perfectly. The point is to not worry about something that’s already done.

Having said that, let’s look at the five stocks we sold from the Buy List last year.

Ford +4.12
Biogen +22.32%
Stericycle -11.33%
Wells Fargo +11.69%
Bed Bath & Beyond -44.81%

Those are YTD numbers as of midday today. Three are up, two are down. Poor Bed Bath has been clobbered. Only one of the five has beaten the S&P 500 this year.

Here’s what I wrote a year ago:

Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the most frustrating stocks to own. They had a long-time reputation for being a well-run outfit. Unfortunately, they fell behind the times. I simply stayed in this one for too long. I waited for a turnaround that never came. This week, the company released yet another poor earnings report. It’s time to let it go.

There’s a lot I like about Ford. Overall, I think the company did a good job managing its way through the recession. Ford was never bailed out. They also made an impressive change to aluminum-body trucks. I also liked Ford’s generous dividend, plus their special dividend payment. Unfortunately, the outlook for Ford isn’t as rosy as I had assumed.

I’m sad to part with Biogen. There’s a lot to like about this biotech, but I think they need to make some big changes first. Sales of Tecfidera have slowed down dramatically, and their broader pipeline is weak. Next year’s spinoff of Bioverativ is a good start. Despite its terrible name, Bioverativ could turn into a winner. I need to see results first, however.

Stericycle was a mistake from the beginning. I simply missed how poorly organic sales had been performing. Management tried to mask these issues with a series of unwise rollups. This was a massive loser for us this year.

There’s not much else to be said about Wells Fargo that hasn’t been said before. Fundamentally, WFC is a sound bank, but it’s been tainted by its indefensible behavior. At least, the stock has been a terrible performer this year.

Posted by on December 26th, 2017 at 12:49 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.