2011’s Stock Gainers and Groaners from InvestorPlace’s Will Ashworth

by Will Ashworth | December 30, 2011 7:30 am

As 2011 winds down, we at InvestorPlace thought it would be a good idea to reflect on our good and bad calls this past year. It’s important that investment writers and anyone else in the media making recommendations, predictions or prognostications about investments keep themselves accountable, as investors sometimes act upon our collective words of wisdom.

Because I’ve only been contributing to InvestorPlace since the beginning of August, I think it makes more sense to discuss my best and worst calls from that month, providing a longer duration of time and a more accurately reflection of the quality — or lack thereof — of my calls.

Let me start with my most interesting call, Petrohawk Energy[1], which no longer trades on the New York Stock Exchange after an Aug. 25 acquisition by BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP[2]) for $15 billion. What makes it so interesting is that I was merely recommending existing shareholders immediately dump their stock, as a white knight wasn’t coming to the rescue. Class-action lawyers were simply revving up the billing machine at the expense of shareholders.

I made 17 sell recommendations in August and, on average, they’re down 3% through late December, while the S&P 500 is slightly up. Here are a few of my winners and losers:

Accountability at InvestorPlace.com

From InvestorPlace Editor Jeff Reeves[14], whose own review of 2011’s hits and misses can be found here[15]:

“In the new year, I hope to continue some regular disclosures from all our InvestorPlace columnists as a way to show that we are giving recommendations in good faith and that we are not afraid to own up to our mistakes.

If you have any comments to share with our writers or have ideas on how we can best achieve some form of transparency, please send your thoughts to me at editor@investorplace.com[16].

We are a site run by investors, for investors, and we are in this together. It’s very important to me that all readers can trust our commentary — so please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.”

As of this writing, Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Endnotes:

  1. Petrohawk Energy: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/petrohawk-stock-bhp-billiton-buyout-hk/
  2. BHP: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=BHP
  3. biggest mover: http://investorplace.com/2011/08/starbucks-green-mountain-k-cups-stocks-to-sell/
  4. GMCR: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=GMCR
  5. reasoned: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/starbucks-green-mountain-k-cups-stocks-to-sell/
  6. worst call: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/rackspace-hosting%E2%80%99s-uncertain-future-in-cloud-computing/
  7. RAX: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RAXX
  8. opinion: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/rackspace-hosting%E2%80%99s-uncertain-future-in-cloud-computing/
  9. RHT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RHT
  10. second sell recommendation: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/casino-gaming-stock-melco-crown-nasdaq-mpel/
  11. MPEL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MPEL
  12. second-worst sell recommendation: https://investorplace.com/2011/08/american-tower-telecom-stocks-to-sell/
  13. AMT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AMT
  14. Jeff Reeves: https://investorplace.com/author/jeff-reeves/
  15. can be found here: https://investorplace.com/2011/12/investorplace-editor-best-worst-stock-picks-of-2011/
  16. editor@investorplace.com: mailto:editor@investorplace.com

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