Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Range-Bound Tech Stock

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The year has had its share of tech initial public offerings, and usually, these tech stocks soar after their IPO. Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) surged past its IPO price of $120, although since then, it has been range-bound in the $240 to $250 area. Plenty of experts are touting other software stocks instead of Snowflake, so does that mean it’s fully valued? Analyst commentary on the company is mixed.

Analyst David Hynes Jr. of Canaccord Genuity is one of the analysts who have a hold or neutral equivalent rating on Snowflake stock. In a note today, he pointed out that the company has strong numbers. Its product has been on the market for just six years, but the company has a more than $530 billion revenue run rate. Hynes expects the revenue to grow 113% this year and more than 90% next year.

He added that the average Snowflake Inc customer is spending about 60% more with the company each year. Hynes expects the company to reach sustainable profitability in its free cash flow within six quarters. He describes Snowflake as “one of the most impressive stories we have come across in our 15 years covering the space.”

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Valuing Exxon ADAM

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Most stock valuation chatter on the internet focuses on companies with great growth opportunities like Zoom, Wayfair and Peloton or well known companies whose stocks have outperformed like Apple and Amazon. Here we take a look at the other side of the coin and present a valuation of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). Needless to say, the past few years have not been happy ones for Exxon. Plunging oil prices, caused by a combination of Covid, a growing worldwide recognition of the need to transition to sustainable energy, and a variety of other headwinds have caused Exxon’s stock price (charted below) to drop from a high of $83.38 to a recent low below $33.00.

Exxon Valuation
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Sweep Up the Popcorn

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Since you are reading this, I assume you are equipped with a set of working eyeballs. I have them too. And when I use them, all I see are closed businesses, For Lease signs, and – – in spite of the multi-trillion dollar politically-driven prop-up – – apocalypse on the horizon. The moment November 3 is behind us, all this “help” is going to disappear.

Early in September, I did a post about the grim state of movie theatres, in which I stated, “Every time I see a multiplex and its utterly empty parking lot, I marvel at the fact that cinema companies have rebounded so much. Zero revenue, to my mind, isn’t a great business model.“. In the short time since then, the first stock I showed, AMC, has lost more than half its value, and the company is contemplating bankruptcy.

slopechart AMC
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