Monday, June 20, 2016

The Gifts Of Stocks!

Please note:
Since I wrote this SparkGift has been acquired by Stockpile. Stockpile doesn't have the flexibility of buying stocks like SparkGift. I had to sell my stocks to get my money, and I was actually making a profit. With Stockpile you are also limited to the stocks that you can buy. I'm not a member.

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When it comes to Christmas, birthdays, special occasions, weddings, etc., my gifts are cash, gift cards or lottery scratch-offs. I never had a knack for buying the right gift. Now, for the most part, I will continue to give these as gifts, but there may be a better gift buying that can be considered an investment.

I found a perfect site to give the gifts of stocks and mutual funds to loved ones or even yourself. What makes it great is that you can buy stocks or funds for as little as $20. The fee is a mere $2.95+3%. The great thing is that you use a credit card and your gift gets sent in an email with instructions on how to claim their gift.

The great thing is that unlike sites where you have to buy a whole share, your investment buys fractions of shares. An example is if you invest $50 and a stock costs $100, you get .5% of a share. If you're like me, this is a great way to build a portfolio on the cheap!

SparkGift is a site that is practically addicting to me when it comes to buying stock for loved ones and myself. Imagine how much easier it is to invest for your children. The beauty is that you can buy shares of the stocks and funds that they suggest, that are sure winners but a bit expensive, or you can buy whatever you want from stocks and funds.

Monday, June 6, 2016

The One I Got Right

Perhaps you missed my last entry, but just so you know, Exelixis is flying high. I've been following this stock for the past three years, and I've seen extreme lows but some extreme highs like the past couple of months. I've lost a significant amount, but now it has more than made back my loss.

What caught my eye and drew me to this company? Look at the description...
Exelixis, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer. It focuses on the development and commercialization of cabozantinib, an inhibitor of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases, in various tumor indications. Cabozantinib is indicated for the treatment of progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, and is sold under the brand name COMETRIQ. It is evaluating Cabozantinib in a development program, which consists of over 45 clinical trials, across multiple indications, including pivotal studies in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its other products are Cobimetinib and XL888. Cobimetinib is a potent, selective inhibitor of MEK, a kinase that is a component of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway. XL888 is a small molecule oral inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90), a molecular chaperone protein that affects the activity and stability of a range of regulatory proteins.

Cancer treatments are the future with the aging baby boomers and other generations where cancer will still exist. I'll admit pharmaceuticals are risky since some other company may come up with a generic version. They are a roller coaster ride, so not for the weak hearted.

At one time, all the analysists said don't buy this stock or sell the stock if you have it. Look what they are saying now, here, here and here. Financial advisors might laugh at my layman's assessment. I'm just in shock and awe how this stock is currently flying high!