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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: engineer who wrote (93214)	7/18/2010 5:32:24 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196547

re: QCOM vs. FSLR, trade or LT Hold? Yes, FSLR's volatility (and liquidity), means it can be used as a shorter-term trading vehicle. So, for instance, I'm holding equal-$ lots bought at 105 and 125. If we hit 150, as we did in April, I might sell half my shares, and see if I can pick them back up at 125 or lower. 100 seems like a hard floor for FSLR; anywhere in that vicinity is a good entry point. If high volatility is unacceptable, then both QCOM and FSLR would be disqualified as LT Hold candidates. Everything I own is high volatility. For a LT Hold, it needs to be in an industry growing LT. The company has to have a pattern of rising EPS, a defensible moat, gross margins consistently better than competitors, good balance sheet, management I can trust, no huge deferred expenses (like unfunded pension liabilities or option overhang). It also needs to be currently (but, I expect, temporarily) out of favor, so valuations are low. Did you read my list of rules for investing in solar? Any comment? So, my thesis is: FSLR is a LT Hold, QCOM is a trading vehicle, based on their track record and prospects. FSLR's EPS will grow at a greater rate than QCOM's, over the next 5 or 10 years. It is at a reasonable PE, given it's industry dominance, excellent balance sheet, and growth prospects. FSLR's management has never done any of the list of foolish things QCOM's has done, to waste huge amounts of money. Admittedly, FSLR doesn't have as long a track record. I'd be happy to discuss this, with anyone on this board. Any opinion is welcome, as long as it is backed up the way Slacker does (and I try to do), with facts, links, and logic.