TheStreet Pro Portfolio Podcast

On this episode of TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace sits down with Street Pro contributor Ed Ponsi, who is also the managing director of Barchetta Capital Management, and the president of FXEducator. The conversation starts with the beginning of Ed’s investing career and his eventual move into equity trading. The two differentiate between investing and trading, using GameStop (GME) as an example. Ed also uses GameStop shares to explain his trading game plan for the shares, using it as an example of why risk management is imperative. The two also discuss expectations and potential outcomes for tomorrow’s Fed meeting, and Ed shares the one thing that folks need to remember when examining charts. We close out the conversation with Ed sharing some of the famous rock musicians that he and his guitar have jammed with.

On this edition of TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace is joined by the person responsible for the technical look at the Portfolio and the market, Bob Lang. Their conversation starts with the April Retail Sales and Consumer Price Index reports but then morphs into a discussion of market breadth and why the S&P 500 could reach 5,500-5,600 in the coming weeks. Bob explains how he looks at market breadth as well as shares a few of the indicators, like the McClellan Oscillator, that he closely watches. The two tackle the Wall Street saying “Sell in May and Go Away”, discussing why that could be different this year. We also get Bob’s answers to some member questions plucked from the Forum.

On this episode, Ed Kovalik, Chairman and CEO, of Prairie Operating Co (PROP) returns to TheStreet Pro Podcast. The conversation with Chris Versace kicks off with an update on Prairie over the last few months, including its pending acquisition of Nickel Road Operating (NRO) which will put the company on the path to having 30 wells in operation by the end of 2024 and another 45 exiting 2025. Ed also shares more on Prairie’s medium to longer-term operating plan, including how the company intends to eventually reward shareholders, and why its lack of balance sheet leverage gives it an edge. Ed also discusses the long-term demand opportunity with fossil fuels because of growing power demands due to AI, data centers, EV and EV charging, and other factors.

On this edition of TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace is joined by Lindsey Bell, Chief Strategist at 248 Ventures. The two start off reminiscing about Lindsey interviewing Chris several years ago when she was at TheStreet, and after sharing her journey to 248 Ventures, the conversation pivots to one about the economy and why Lindsey thinks a Goldilocks economy is emerging. The jobs market and its implications are discussed as well as the housing and manufacturing markets with Lindsey explaining why she is interested in the materials sector. The two agree the upcoming earnings market is likely to be volatile, but as investors periods like that bring opportunity with them.

On this week’s TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace is joined by Cole Smead, CEO and portfolio manager at Smead Capital Management based in Phoenix, Arizona. Ahead of the March CPI report, the conversation starts with the two discussing their expectations for that report, what it means for Fed policy, and the Fed’s role as a cheerleader for the economy. Cole raises the issue of structural changes in the economy, including the shift in fixed business investment, and why he thinks it means the economy can make do with a higher natural interest rate. The conversation shifts to AI and the CHIPs Act, with Cole sharing why he is wary of diminishing marginal returns for the tech industry. The two discuss how UniCredit (UNCFF) came to be one of the largest holdings at Smead Capital Management and why the team likes Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) and Credit Acceptance Corp. (CACC). Other sectors discussed include Energy and Financials, with Cole sharing he sees 30% fewer banks in the coming years. The two also touch on Cole’s co-hosting duties for the “A Book With Legs” podcast. Note: There was a modest technical glitch at the 27-minute mark in the conversation.

On this edition of TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace is joined by Mr. Morning Recon himself, Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle. Out of the gate, the two talk about the current market setup, why Sarge is incrementally bullish on the economy, and the reason he watches Gross Disposable Income as much as GDP. We discuss what levels Sarge is keenly focused on with the Nasdaq Composite as it potentially breaks its lower channel support level. From there Chris and Sarge touch on a few Portfolio holdings and run through Sarge’s thinking on GE Aerospace (GE), Boeing (BA), and Palantir (PLTR), and how to use a GTC scale order.

On this edition of TheStreet Pro Podcast, Chris Versace is joined by Helene Meisler for a technical look at the market. The two discuss the channel Helene sees in the S&P 500 and she explains why she is carefully watching the upward climb in that channel as well as the market’s overbought nature. As she shares, uptrend lines are made to be broken, and while it may not be in the very near term, she explains why she is on high alert. The conversation morphs into one about the S&P 500’s performance compared to the Nasdaq, why investors should be mindful of what Helene calls “spike highs” in stocks, and what to watch to determine if a stock may power ahead of it. Helene also runs through the sentiment indicators she is watching and discusses why one could be flashing yellow lights in the not-too-distant future. All that plus an interesting and unexpected story about the bond market and Good Friday.

Joining portfolio manager Chris Versace on this edition of TheStreet Pro Podcast is Peter Jackson, CFO of Builders FirstSource (BLDR). The conversation starts with some thoughts on the domestic housing market, one that accounts for more than 80% of Builder’s mix of business and turns quickly to the single-family housing market. That economic engine drives roughly 70% of Builder’s business and the company sees it rising mid-single digits. The conversation quickly turns to the expanding and higher margin Value Add business and how that ties into the company’s digital strategy, one that aims to reduce pain points for homebuilders ranging from large public companies to smaller, regional players and growing dollar share for Builder. Folks looking for more information on Builders FirstSource may want to visit the company’s Investor Relations website and its latest investor presentation.

Carley Garner joins Chris Versace on the latest AAP Podcast and the conversation begins with a discussion of the equity markets. Both agree a pullback would be a positive for the market and investors, with Carley explaining why she watches the Nasdaq 100 futures and Relative Strength Indicator (RSI) levels. After a quick chat about Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL), Carley shares the Nasdaq 100 level she is watching closely and where we could see a healthy market correction put the S&P 500. The conversation shifts to key commodities including the trifecta that is ag commodities (corn, wheat, soybeans), cocoa, coffee, oil, and natural gas. In that discussion, Carley reminds us about the boom-and-bust cycle of commodities and shares an upbeat outlook for natural gas and oil but warns the euphoric prices for one of those commodities could be very different in the coming quarters. The podcast closes out with Carly sharing some of her favorite must-dos for folks visiting Las Vegas and shares a restaurant favored by locals that you probably won’t hear about if you're only on the Vegas strip. More from Carley Garner can be found here, and be sure to follow her on X at @CarleyGarner Other recent AAP Podcasts include Market Strength, Fed Predictions and the Savannah Bananas With Bob Lang Breaking Down the Pre-IPO and IPO Markets with EquityZen's Phil Haslett The Hubbub on AI With Zapata's Christopher Savoie

On this AAP Podcast episode, Chris Versace catches up with the man behind AAP’s charts, Bob Lang discussing reasons behind the market’s continued strength and why the Vix is “double bullish” for the market. The two discuss Barclays’ boosting its S&P 500 target to 5,300 and what it could take to get there. Along the way, Bob and Chris discuss Fed policy and why the Fed’s coming update for its Economic Projections could sour some investors. Bob goes on record for when he thinks the Fed will cut rates this year and shares how many rate cuts he sees in 2025. All that and much more including what stock we added to the Bullpen this week, why our Nvidia (NVDA) price target could be conservative, what Costco (COST) and the Savannah Bananas have in common, and how the stock market tends to perform on Leap.

While the AAP Portfolio traffics in publicly traded companies, there is a market for shares in pre-IPO companies. On this episode of the AAP Podcast, Chris Versace chats with Phil Haslett, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of EquityZen, an online marketplace for trading pre-IPO employee shares from privately held companies. Phil provides an overview of the pre-IPO market and the conversation morphs to Chris and Phil discussing the current state of the IPO. Phil shares why he is cautiously optimistic about the IPO market but also shares why he thinks we could see a pickup in the M&A market as well. Greater activity in one would be positive for the shares of AAP Portfolio holdings Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC), but a pickup in both would that much better. The conversation then shifts to talking about AI companies and how that could impact not only the IPO market but the stock market as well. And you’ll want to hear an interesting statistic Phil shares at the end of the conversation.

On this episode of the AAP Podcast, Chris Versace sits down with Christopher Savoie, the founder and CEO of Zapata AI. Zapata has been working with AI for industrial applications since 2017. Savoie shares how his start in molecular biology and working with machine learnings for sequencing gave rise to the formation of Zapata and its use of rich analytics with real-time data and large language models to address customer-specific problems. The conversation turns to generative AI with Savoie explaining how it can drive productivity with diverse examples ranging from engineering and construction to financial products like annuities, and race car driving strategies. Versace and Savoie then discuss why generative AI is the latest in a line of tools like the Internet that will alter how we work, driving productivity along the way. Savoie also shares why GPT 4 may not be the product some are hoping it will be and why multiple, smaller language models working together, not one model “to rule them all”, will help companies address their specific problems and needs. Recent AAP Podcasts The Fixed-Income Perspective with GenTrust's Jim Besaw Talking the Housing Market, Silver Tsunami and Stocks With Jack Truong

On this edition of the podcast, Chris Versace chats with Jim Besaw, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer at GenTrust, a firm that focuses on investment strategies for high-net-worth individuals, institutions, and family offices. Ahead of the Fed concluding its next policy meeting, we wanted to talk with Jim because of his role at GenTrust but also because of his background in fixed income. That history yields a very different take on the probability of Fed rate cuts than those captured in the CME FedWatch Tool. Jim also shares some of the risks he sees the Fed may look to avoid as they get ready to eventually dial back monetary policy. Chris and Jim discuss some of the signals Jim is watching when it comes to the economy and a potential recession as well as how GenTrust thinks about putting capital to work in the current market environment. That prompts a conversation about the Magnificent Seven, P/E multiples, and AI, with Jim sharing how his firm has used AI since 2015. We close out the conversation by asking Jim how equity investors should approach the fixed-income markets when investing and qualities investors should look for in investment candidates ahead of what looks to be a wave of debt refinancing in the next several quarters.

On this episode of the AAP Podcast, Chris Versace reconnects with Jack Truong, former CEO of James Hardie and Electrolux North America. While the conversation starts off talking about expectations for Fed rate cuts this year, it quickly turns to the US housing market. Jack explains why he is bullish on the housing market long-term, but he sees several headwinds that could restrain it over the coming quarters. As the Silver Tsunami trades down and Airbnb (ABNB) speculators throw in the towel, he sees Millennials entering the housing market. The key isn’t interest rate cuts, but in Jack’s view lower housing prices. Chris and Jack also talk about factors investors should consider when identifying homebuilding stocks and what drives repair and remodel spending. Jack also shares why he isn’t bullish on the shares of Home Depot (HD) or Lowe’s (LOW) near-term, and which geopolitical risk he thinks isn’t getting the attention it deserves.

As we approach the end of this short first trading week of 2024, we are back with a fresh AAP podcast episode with Chris Versace, who is joined by Bob Lang. The two discuss the fizzle that was the Santa Claus Rally and explain why it’s not a major factor in their investment decision-making process. The conversation shifts to the market action this week and the factors both fundamental and technical driving it. Bob shares the technical support levels for the S&P 500 that he’s watching, and notes we have a bevy of Fed heads coming that could throw some cold water on market rate cut expectations. Chris reviews this week’s data, explaining why it supports the Fed not rushing to cut rates, and how one item adds another reason to be concerned about earnings guidance when the 4Q 2023 earning season gets underway. As the two discuss, that season begins with bank earnings late next week, with results from Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM), and Wells Fargo (WFC). We end the conversation talking about the change to the Fed’s voting committee, and how that might influence monetary policy compared to last year.

In our last AAP podcast of 2023, Chris Versace is joined by his former Stocks Under $10 partner in crime and author of the Morning Recon at Real Money Pro, Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle. The conversation begins with why Sarge gets up at 3:30 AM ET every morning but quickly gets into the two discussing the market’s meteoric rise since late October. Neither thinks the Fed will cut interest rates 6 to 7 times next year but both agree that if it's more than three rate cuts it could be a much bigger issue for investors. Both also express concern over market expectations for the basket of S&P 500 companies to grow their earnings by more than 11% in 2024 compared to 2023. Sarge and Chris also agree the current market melt-up is likely to continue into early 2024, but both are wary about the start of the December quarter earnings season. With that in mind, Sarge points out that the January-February time frame can be a tricky time for the market and a challenging one for investors. That’s why we at AAP have used the market’s strength and now overbought condition to selectively book some of the big moves in our positions, building our shopping list and continuing to own our market hedging, inverse ETF positions.

Bob Lang joins us on this week’s edition of the AAP Podcast as he chats with Chris Versace about the current state of the stock market, sharing why he sees 2023 closing out on a high note with the upcoming Santa Claus Rally. Moving into 2024 the two talk about the upcoming re-jiggering of Fed voting members, what that could mean for Fed policy, and how upcoming data is viewed. Chris gives a few reasons as to why we’re likely to see further progress in the November inflation data, including next week’s CPI report, while Bob shares why he saw this week’s 3Q 2023 Productivity data as very important. The two discuss the market’s expectation for four rate cuts next year and why the market could be getting ahead of itself with that thinking. The two touch on next week’s Fed policy meeting and why they will be closely reviewing the Fed’s updated economic projections. The conversation then pivots to the holiday shopping season, touching on their boots-on-the-ground observations for Williams Sonoma (WSM), Gap (GPS), Costco (COST), and several other retailers.

Sitting down with AAP’s Chris Versace on this podcast episode is Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, CMT Association Board Member, and former NYSE Executive Floor Governor. Chris and Jay have had many conversations about market dynamics and following the market’s strong November move, we’re sharing their latest back-and-forth. While Chris is a longer-term investor that blends fundamentals and thematics, Jay’s time horizon spans two to three months and as he shares, his focus is on price action. Different approaches but that makes for good conversations about the market and stocks. During the conversation, Jay shares why the market rally has been a textbook example, why he sees the market strength continuing into 2024, and why he’s watching small-cap stocks as we start the new year. He also shares how he starts his top-down approach to looking at the market, and his prediction for which company is likely to see its shares ejected from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a big market driver, which is why Chris Versace sat down with RJ Assaly, Chief Product Officer at Toggle.AI, a Fintech platform that uses AI to analyze “billions of data points” to help institutional and individual investors with insights, not noise. Amid the AI hype and hopium that generated over the last several months, Assaly confirms we are only in the early innings of AI, where the technology primarily serves as a productivity driver. In the case of Toggle, that means helping investors cut through haystacks of data to find the needles they are looking for. The two discuss the significance of Generative AI and how that changed AI’s use case as well as how the interlinking of systems can drive even greater productivity. Versace and Assaly also touch on potential cyber-related issues as well as why it’s important to be aware of data permissions with each AI platform.

In this edition of the AAP Podcast, Chris Versace sits down with Yerbaé Beverage (YERBF) CEO Todd Gibson, who, having sold multiple beverage businesses to the likes of Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP), is no stranger to the global beverage business. Todd explains why Yerbaé is focused on healthy and natural ingredients for its products resulting in a very different offering compared to those from Monster Beverage (MNSTR) and Celsius Fitness Drinks (CELH). Todd also discusses Yerbae’s current distribution footprint and where it's going as well as why the company prunes its beverage portfolio every year to make room for new offerings. The two also talk about Yerbae’s definition of clean products, the company’s five pillars, and how it also develops its new flavors. Regarding our position in PepsiCo, Todd shares inflation pressure in the beverage industry continues to level off with notable improvement in prices for cans and other raw materials and freight costs. That suggests we could see some additional margin leverage at PepsiCo during the strongest quarter of the year for its beverage and snacking business.