U.S. and global stock markets closed a strong week.
The S&P 500 rose 1.52%, while the Dow Jones jumped 1.59% and the Nasdaq recovered 1.90%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index bounced back 2.34%, almost recovering the prior week’s losses.
Your Smart Money Masters portfolio had a solid week, which can be seen in the following numbers.
Prem Watsa’s bet on BlackBerry (BBRY) soared a whopping 21.66%. Wilbur Ross’ Navigator Holdings (NVGS) jumped 4.59%. Tom Gaynor’s Markel Corporation (MKL) gained 3.09%. Mohnish Pabrai’s bet on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCAU) gained 2.92%.
Your Smart Money Masters portfolio now boasts some impressive returns. Eight of your positions sport double-digit-percentage gains. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) are both up over 50%.
Restaurant Brands International (QSR) and BlackBerry (BBRY) are both up by 24%.
Four more positions — Baxter International (BAX), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), Liberty Broadband Corporation (LBRDK) and Markel Corporation (MKL) — are up by at least 10%.
Kraft Heinz (KHC), The Priceline Group (PCLN) and Liberty Broadband (LBRDK) are all trading below their 50-day moving averages and are currently HOLDs.
Portfolio Update
The big news this past week is BlackBerry’s remarkable 21.66% jump.
On Sept. 28, the company reported an adjusted profit of $0.05 on total revenue of $249 million, trouncing analysts’ estimates. BlackBerry has now beaten analysts’ earnings per share (EPS) estimates in the last five consecutive quarters.
The bigger news was the company’s record software and services revenue. BlackBerry achieved record software and services revenue of $196 million. This represented 26% year-over-year growth.
BlackBerry’s record revenue in its software and services segment is a testament to the company’s transformation into a software company.
Looking ahead, BlackBerry CEO John Chen believes the company is well positioned for further growth after it made “significant progress” on this transformation.
Finally, starting on Oct. 16, BlackBerry Ltd. will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the BBRY stock ticker. It instead will shift to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) where it will trade under the BB stock ticker.
Sincerely,
Nicholas A. Vardy
