Weekly Investor – April 09, 2012
Awaiting Good News
Market Summary:
The major U.S. equity markets all dipped slightly lower last week. Equities were lower on Tuesday as the minutes of the latest FOMC meeting revealed that another major round of quantitative easing remains unlikely. While Tuesday’s losses were recouped throughout the remainder of the week, many key issues continue to lurk in the background and hit sensitive nerves with investors. March employment numbers were disappointing and Eurozone financial strains intensified as Italian and Spanish sovereign spreads widened. On a positive note, consumer spending and housing both remain constructive for theU.S.economy, while the surge in gasoline prices has dropped off the key problems list for the moment. Once again, investors are left waiting for good news.
The S&P 500® closed down 1.1% for the week. The top-performing sectors in the S&P 500® Index included Information Technology (0.0%) and Consumer Staples (-0.1%), while bottom-performing sectors included Financials (-1.7%) and Energy (-1.8%). In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield declined, closing out the week at 2.0%.
We continue to seek those companies possessing identifiable catalysts, and focusing on those stocks with favorable odds.
Positioned for Growth
Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS) develops, sells and supports application delivery products such as GoToMyPc, GoToMeeting, GoToAssist, GoToWebinar and other systems within its online services division. One such way these products work is by transmitting screen pixels, keystrokes and mouse movements by encrypted channel. CTXS’s main application is compatible with any platform, thus allowing for widespread use. Product training is also offered as a service so customers can optimize use of its various solutions.
With its existing remote access business, the company continues to gain momentum. Having completed the acquisition of XenSource, Inc., CTXS is positioned to experience growth in the server and desktop virtualization markets. CTXS is the only company to offer an end-to-end application delivery infrastructure for the delivery of applications to any user. With positive feedback from our Main Street contacts, we believe CTXS will see significant growth from the fast and broad adoption of virtualization. We believe shares of CTXS can out perform the market and its peers.
Top 10 Equity Holdings
| . | |
|---|---|
| MasterCard Inc. | 5.1% |
| Qualcomm Inc. | 4.3% |
| Biogen Idec Inc. | 4.2% |
| Monster Beverage | 4.2% |
| Danaher Corp. | 3.9% |
| Google Inc. | 3.7% |
| Jabil Circuit Inc. | 3.7% |
| Gilead Sciences Inc. | 3.7% |
| EMC Corp. | 3.5% |
| CBS Corp. | 3.4% |
U.S. Equity Indices
| Index | 04/05/12 | Week % Chg | YTD % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 13,060.1 | -1.1% | 6.9% |
| NASDAQ | 3,080.5 | -0.4% | 18.2% |
| S&P 500 | 1,398.1 | -0.7% | 11.2% |
| Russell 1000 G | 662.6 | -0.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Credit Rates
| Index | 03/30/12 | 03/30/12 | 12/31/10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Month T-Bill | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 5 Year T-Note | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
| 10 Year T-Note | 2.0% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
| 30 Year T-Bond | 3.2% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Prime Rate | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
This newsletter presents selected recommendations from portfolio managers of Argent Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Opinions reflect the portfolio manager’s judgment on the date above and are subject to change. A list of stocks recommended by Argent is available upon request. You should not assume that these recommendations are or will be profitable. In the course of it’s business, Argent’s client accounts may be buying and selling these stocks.
