With Molotov Cocktails Now Being Served, “Blood in the Streets” Is a Reality in Greece

Nicholas shared the following excerpt with readers of his Alpha Investor Letter investment advisory service on January 1, 2011…

“Here’s why… National Bank of Greece S.A. will be a big winner for patient investors…

First, downgrades or not, the European Union cannot afford to let major European banks go under. The National Bank of Greece’s position is much like that of Citibank (C) in the United States at the height of the financial crisis. And savvy investors like hedge fund manager David Tepper now have made close to five times their money in Citibank over the past two years by having the foresight to buy it near the bottom.

Second, negative headlines notwithstanding, we already may have seen the bottom in the share price of the National Bank of Greece. The European banking sub-index has regained the ground it lost during the Irish bailout at the end of last year. Bank stocks now are trading at their early November levels in spite of the concerns about the debt of countries such as Portugal and Belgium. National Bank of Greece stock has just traded over its 50-day moving average for only the second time since its collapse at the end of 2009.

Third, Greek banks are slowly, but surely, being upgraded by investment banks. Just yesterday, Greece’s third-largest lender, Alpha Bank, was raised to “neutral” from “underperform” by investment bank Credit Suisse. In another positive sign, option call volume on National Bank of Greece — bets that NBG’s share price will increase in the near future — now is running at close to three times the daily average. Speculators are piling in.”

If you like the way Nicholas Vardy sized up this play and want to learn more about his Alpha Investor Letter publication, click here…