Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

low

Why am i cautious going into July… (2 Jul 19)

el15

Dear all, With reference to my market write-up published on 29 May 2019 (click HERE), where I mentioned that the sell-off in the markets revealed interesting trading opportunities, markets coincidentally bottomed on 3 Jun 2019 and staged a strong recovery. I have already sold into strength and reduced my percentage invested in stocks from 150% in early June to 12% now. Personally, I am cautious in the market going into July. Why is this so?   Basis below 1) Markets jumped yesterday following the U.S. / China trade truce announced over the weekend, despite the lack of details on what […]

Halliburton trades at 9-year low price, amid 10-year low valuations (17 Jun 19)

el15

Dear all This week, Halliburton (“HAL”) caught my attention as it closed at US$21.38 on 14 Jun 2019, lowest since 1 Jun 2010 and 7 Aug 2009, amid 10-year low valuations. Given the basis below, my personal view is that HAL may be presenting a favourable risk reward setup for a long trade.   Potential basis to long a)  At US$21.38, this is the lowest close since 1 Jun 2010. At 12.5x current PE and 1.9x P/BV (see Figure 1 below), these valuations seem attractive as compared to its 10Y average PE and P/BV 29.3x and 3.2x respectively; Figure 1: […]

Hang Seng & STI have fallen close to 2,900 & 250 points in one month! (28 May 19)

el15

Dear readers, Asian markets have fallen quite a bit in the past one month. For example, Hang Seng has fallen close to 2,900 points since touching a high of 30,280 on 15 Apr to trade 27,391 which is the low last seen in January. STI has fallen almost 250 points from an intraday high of 3,415 on 29 Apr to close 3,165 today. Looking at the indices may be deceiving as many shares have fallen a lot. For example, based on Table 1 below, most stocks have fallen at least 10%, with Sembmarine tumbling almost 17% in less than a […]

SIA nears 10-year low price amid 10-year low valuations! (26 May 19)

el15

Dear all This week, our National Carrier SIA caught my attention with its 10% fall in the past three months to close $9.17. At $9.17, it has fallen to close to the lows last seen in Oct 2018 and May 2009. In fact, when I informed my clients on SIA on 23-24 May, it was trading around $9.10-9.11 which is the lowest last seen in the past 10 years! Given the basis below, my personal view is that SIA may be presenting a favourable risk reward setup for a long trade. Do take a look at the basis and more […]

ISOTeam – on the verge of a bullish break from a potential double bottom formation! (21 May 2019)

el15

Previously, I have done a write-up (click HERE) on ISOTeam (“ISO”) after interviewing Anthony, CEO and Richard, GM on an exclusive basis in Dec 2018. I have bought in at that time and have taken profit in Jan 2019. Since Apr, I have been accumulating ISO, as its chart seems to portend a potential upside breakout after a lengthy potential double bottom formation. ISO closed at $0.230 on 21 May 2019. Let’s take a look at its investment merits and more importantly, its investment risks below.   Investment merits a) Potential bullish break from a double bottom formation Since 2017, […]

Sinopec falls 33% since last year; nears 19-year oversold level (14 May 19)

el15

Dear all This week, Sinopec (00386.HK) caught my attention with its 33% fall since 21 May 2018. With its sharp fall, it has become extremely oversold with RSI at 15.1. Given the basis below, my personal view is that Sinopec may be presenting a favourable risk reward setup for a long trade. Do take a look at the basis and more importantly, the risks inherent in such trades.   My personal basis a) Attractive valuations At HKD5.63, Sinopec is trading at approximately 10.3x current PE and 0.8x P/BV. These valuations are attractive as compared to its 10-year average PE and […]

Qualcomm – extremely overbought after a 74% rally within 3 months! (23 Apr 19)

el15

Dear readers, This week, Qualcomm caught my attention as it has appreciated approximately 74% from US$49.10 to trade at US$85.62 in less than 3 months. This is due in part to the favourable announcement that Qualcomm and Apple have reached a multi-year settlement agreement (click HERE for more information)   Why is it interesting? Personally, I think Qualcomm may be a potential short target with a favourable risk to reward proposition with a take profit of a few bids, base mainly on a technical perspective.   Basis to short a) With reference to Chart 1 below, Qualcomm is on a […]

Best World – down 47% in 2 months! Buying opportunity or falling knife? (12 Apr 19)

el15

With reference to my 19 Sep 2018 write-up (click HERE), Best World has appreciated approximately 147% from $1.35 on 19 Sep 2018 to touch an intra-day high of $3.33 on 13 Feb 2019. At that time, Best World has dropped out of my watchlist after its incredible rally. However, with its recent 47% tumble from its all-time intra-day high $3.33 on 13 Feb 2019 to trade $1.76 on 12 Apr 2019, it seems interesting again. Is this a buying opportunity or falling knife?   Why is it interesting? a) Valuations are more attractive now Based on Bloomberg (see Table 1), Best World […]

S&P500 logged its largest one day fall since Jan. Buy more, or head to the exit? (27 Mar 2019)

el15

Dear readers, Last Fri, S&P500 logged its largest one day fall since 3 Jan 2019, due in part to the weak European PMI and the yield curve inversion between U.S. 3-month bill and 10-year note yields. At the time of writing this, Dow closed 0.55% higher on Tues as U.S. 10 year bond yields stabilise. Is last Fri’s fall the precursor to something more serious? Or it is a false alarm?   First things first, what are the reasons for the sharp rally since late Dec? S&P500 has rallied approximately 20.1%, or 471 points from the intra-day low of 2,347 […]