Scott Wachsler's  Instablog

I read an article the other day that suggested that the current market may not be as cheap as many of the pundits are saying.

I try and keep up with what the markets are doing in a casual way, but as far as considering the markets cheap or not, well, I really don't have a clue.

Admittedly, I probably would be a much better investor had I paid closer attention to some of the broader market metrics. But for me, it just isn't that important.

The article I read was a typical article when it comes to the broader markets, full of graphs and charts all attempting to illustrate the point the author was trying to make; the markets are expensive.

Okay they are expensive. Now what?

I could tell from reading the article and examining its presentation that the author did quite a lot of digging to find the historical data he needed, and he built lots of graphs and charts based on the historical data he found, and maybe he even ate a hot dog or two along the way, I have no idea.

But in the end, just like the rest of the Wall Street Wizards, he failed to tell anyone what to do with the information he provided, thus rendering his well written article, meaningless when it came to usability.

As I said. The markets are expensive. Now what?

Hi. My name is Wax, and I am an individual investor, a working class investor, just trying to do the best I can in a world that was never intended for investors like me.

Throughout the course of the week, I post a Daily Alert, which is my review of an individual equity. It is intended to help the reader decide of that particular equity is worth their time to research.

The other thing I do, is let the world watch as I manage the The Wax Ink Portfolio.

Perhaps watching me make the mistakes I make will help other blue collar investors avoid the investing pitfalls that seem to find me.

Markets
The Wax Ink Portfolio was down 0.5% for the week. By comparison the Dow was up 0.9%, the Nasdaq was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 was up 0.8%, and the Russell 2000 was up 0.4%.

The Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, is back almost to the starting point for the year, closing at 15.14, down 7.1%. The VIX is now down 0.7% for the year.

Year to date, the Wax Ink portfolio is up 10.8% while the Dow is up 16.4%, the Nasdaq is up 14.5%, the S&P 500 is up 15.2% and the Russell 2000 is up 16.3%.

Breakdown
The portfolio breakdown remains the same, with roughly 70% of the portfolio in equities, 30% of the portfolio in cash, and 0% of the portfolio in bonds.

Research
Again this week, I paid little attention to the Research List as there just wasn't any time.

My thought is to simply include links to the Value Alerts created during the course of the week, along with my rating for the equity. I'll figure it out eventually.

Holdings
This week's moving on up stocks were ultra-capacitor manufacturer Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL), up 6%, engineering contractor Ducommun, Inc. (NYSE: DCO), up 5%, and trucking company Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS), up 4%.

This week's floaters in the bunch bowl stocks were industrial construction contractor Layne Christensen (Nasdaq: LAYN), down 7%, drug maker Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBST), down 7%, and refiner Holly Frontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC), down 5%.

Not Performing
The top non-performers remain communications equipment company Tellabs, Inc., down 61% since being added to the portfolio, iron ore company Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc., down 47% since being added to the portfolio, and garage door/telephone headset maker Griffon Corporationdown 37% since being added to the portfolio.

Wax

Wax Ink is a baseline equity research company comprised of individual investors NOT licensed or registered with ANY government agency.

Copyright © 2013 Wax Ink

Disclosure: I am long MXWL, DCO, ABFS, LAYN, CBST, HFC.

Texas (June 7, 2013) Wax Ink has issued a Loss of Investment Interest rating for B/E Aerospace, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAV) based on a recent baseline equity review which placed fair value between $42-$51.

The recent close of $64.69 is approximately 155% above the fair value buy target for the stock and approximately 24% above the fair value close target for the stock. The recent close is also 8% below analysts' twelve-month $70.00 median price target for the stock.

The recent close represents a 73% increase in price since the last baseline equity review was conducted in April of 2010.

The stock currently has a trailing twelve-month PE Ratio of 17, and a PEG Ratio of 1.0 basis estimated forward earnings growth of 17.5%.

In the past 52 weeks, share prices have moved between a high of $64.93 and a low of $36.51, placing equilibrium at $56.38.

Basis the recent close, the stock is trading 1% below the 52 week high, 43% above the 52 week low, 13% above equilibrium, and has an average daily trading volume of 812,000 shares.

B/E Aerospace, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services cabin interior products for commercial aircraft and business jets worldwide.

The company's competitors include Align Aerospace LLC, Premium Aircraft Interiors Group Ltd, and Zodiac Aerospace.

Financial information that may be contained herein, is based on the company's most recent annual SEC filing for year ending December 31, 2012. All prices are per share unless otherwise noted.

Wax Ink currently has no investment position in the company mentioned in this alert.

Wax Ink is a baseline equity research company comprised of individual investors, NOT licensed or registered with ANY government agency.

For use by Accredited Investors as defined under Title 17, CFR §230.500, Regulation D

Copyright © 2013 Wax Ink

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Texas (June 6, 2013) Wax Ink has issued a Loss of Investment Interest rating for Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) based on a recent baseline equity review which placed fair value between $35-$43.

The recent close of $59.64 is approximately 182% above the fair value buy target for the stock and approximately 37% above the fair value close target for the stock. The recent close is also 5% below analysts' twelve-month $63.00 median price target for the stock.

The recent close represents a 0.3% decrease in price since the last baseline equity review was conducted in January of 2011.

The stock currently has a trailing twelve-month PE Ratio of 37, and a PEG Ratio of 1.4 basis estimated forward earnings growth of 27%.

In the past 52 weeks, share prices have moved between a high of $65.55 and a low of $44.07, placing equilibrium at $55.61.

Basis the recent close, the stock is trading 10% below the 52 week high, 26% above the 52 week low, 7% above equilibrium, and has an average daily trading volume of 4.27m shares.

Under Armour, Inc. engages in the development, marketing, and distribution of branded performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth,
primarily in North America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The company's competitors include NIKE, Inc., adidas AG, and Crocs, Inc..

Financial information that may be contained herein, is based on the company's most recent annual SEC filing for year ending December 31, 2012. All prices are per share unless otherwise noted.

Wax Ink currently has no investment position in the company mentioned in this alert.

Wax Ink is a baseline equity research company comprised of individual investors, NOT licensed or registered with ANY government agency.

For use by Accredited Investors as defined under Title 17, CFR §230.500, Regulation D

Copyright © 2013 Wax Ink

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.