Alimentation Couche-Tard (STAR)
ATD.B - TYSX
The highlight of the Canada Day long weekend for me? Stopping at Circle K for a 1.2-litre Polar Pop on our way up north. I can usually hold it in until we get there, but sometimes I have to pee in the bushes. Speaking of holding, it’s been a great strategy for shareholders of Alimentation Couche-Tard, Circle K’s parent. The shares leaped to a record high after the company – which operates more than 14,000 convenience stores in 24 countries under the Circle K, Couche-Tard and Ingo banners – posted quarterly earnings well above expectations, helped by strong merchandise and fuel margins. With the stock gaining about 140 per cent in the past five years, and analysts hiking their price targets this week, holding this baby never gets old.
Novagold Resources (DOG)
NG - TSX
How to lose a lot of money quickly: 1) Give your PIN number to the stranger who calls to inform you about a problem with your bank account; 2) keep playing online slots “until I break even”; 3) invest in gold mining stocks. With the price of gold bullion skidding in recent weeks, shares of Novagold Resources fell in 16 of the previous 17 trading sessions through Thursday. Investors weren’t keen on the company’s second-quarter results, either, which included a net loss of US$14.6-million, even as Novagold said it is in a “healthy financial position” to advance its Donlin Gold project in Alaska. With the stock down about 36 per cent this year, investors’ portfolios are looking anything but healthy.
Joby Aviation (STAR)
JOBY - NYSE
Don’t you hate it when a driver cuts you off, so you speed up and deliberately bump him from behind, and then you both go spinning into the ditch, where you take off your shirts and fight, causing a massive pileup as other motorists slow down to watch? If Joby Aviation’s proposed electric air taxi business gets off the ground, road-rage incidents like this may soon be a thing of the past. Shares of Joby soared after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration gave it the green light to begin flight testing its first production prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, produced in partnership with Toyota Motor Corp. We know where this is going. “Hey moron! Ever heard of signalling before you bank to the right?”
H&M Hennes & Mauritz (STAR)
HNNM - U.S. OTC
Spend a few minutes scrolling through the H&M website and you won’t find a single model who is smiling. Maybe it’s because they don’t own any of the company’s stock. Shares of the Swedish fashion retailer surged to their highest level since January, 2022, after H&M’s second-quarter profit beat estimates, thanks to cost-cutting measures and a summer collection that benefited from warmer weather in Europe. With sales in the first four weeks of June rising 10 per cent from a year earlier, signalling a strong start to H&M’s third quarter, you’d think the models would be thrilled. Stop being such Debbie Downers, people.
Lordstown Motors (DOG)
RIDE - Nasdaq
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire. When Lordstown Motors’ Endurance electric pickup burst into flames 10 minutes into its first road test in 2021, you knew this story wasn’t going to have a happy ending. Struggling with production shortfalls, higher-than-expected costs, vehicle recalls and the breakdown of its partnership with Taiwan’s Foxconn, Lordstown filed for bankruptcy protection this week and put itself up for sale. The news sent the shares – already down more than 99 per cent from their 2020 peak – to new lows, and served as a reminder that investing in startups is a good way to get burned.
John Heinzl