Weekly Investor – June 22, 2015
Interest Rates and Greece Dominate Headlines
U.S. equity markets ended the week higher. The biggest news of the week came from the Federal Reserve as it indicated that interest rate increases will be gradual and dependent upon economic data. Most Fed officials expect short-term rates to rise before year end, but increases are likely to be moderate as officials lowered interest rate forecasts for both 2016 and 2017 by 0.25%. Greece also dominated headlines this week as the potential for the country to default on €1.6 billion remains in the forefront of investors’ minds. In economic news, the consumer price index did not meet expectations, furthering the thought it may take the Fed time to raise rates. Looking ahead to this week, investors will pay close attention to any action by Greece and the several U.S. economic reports which are expected. Stay tuned…
The S&P 500® was up 0.8% for the week. The top-performing sectors in the S&P 500® Index included Health Care (2.0%) and Consumer Staples (1.9%), while bottom-performing sectors included Financials (-0.1%) and Energy (-0.5%). In the fixed-income market
We continue to seek those companies possessing identifiable catalysts, and focusing on those stocks with favorable odds.
Growth Opportunity
Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS) provides analog semiconductors worldwide. Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Woburn, MA, SWKS products support automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, energy management as well as smartphone and tablet applications.
We believe SWKS is currently positioned to benefit from the growth of the low-end smartphone market, specifically in emerging markets. Lower-end or cheaper smartphones require integrated chipset solutions, an area where SWKS specializes. Additionally, SWKS is expanding beyond their traditional smartphone market into connected home and automotive applications. For these reasons, we have added SWKS to our portfolio as we believe the company has the potential to grow sales and increase margins at a higher level than currently expected.
Top 10 Equity Holdings
| . | |
|---|---|
| Electronic Arts, Inc. | 5.8% |
| Google, Inc. | 4.9% |
| Skyworks Solutions | 4.8% |
| Teva Pharmaceutical | 4.1% |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | 4.1% |
| CBS Corporation | 3.7% |
| Danaher Corp. | 3.7% |
| Lincoln National | 3.5% |
| ON Semiconductor | 3.5% |
| F5 Networks, Inc. | 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.
