I can't say for sure, but I think Kim Caughey Forrest of Fort Pitt Capital might be a closet Twisted Sister fan. Surely you remember the 80's glam-rock band, who had a big hit with "We're Not Gonna Take It." I mean, you'd have to be familiar with that song to suggest that, after 10 long years of suffering, Microsoft (MSFT) shareholders are finally not gonna take it anymore, right?
"Investors are extremely unhappy now," Caughey Forrest contends, and that could be the catalyst needed to drive what she feels is a much-needed change of leadership to "bring in a very strong architect at the top." Current CEO Steve Ballmer took over the reins in January 2000, the week after the stock hit an all time high of $59.97.
Her thoughts on fixing Microsoft include "getting the magic back in mobile" but NOT via a hardware acquisition. She also thinks clambering shareholders might drive some divestments, too, such as the sale of Xbox, which she says "just doesn't fit."
Boeing (BA) is another long-term pick of Caughey Forrest's; she says her firm typically targets a 3- to 5-year holding period. She 'freely admits that "Boeing has some problems," particularly because they under-estimated the chaos that would ensue from simultaneous tweaks to their product line and supply chain. Nonetheless, she is confident Boeing will fill the orders for its belated Dreamliner, whether it is in Washington state or South Carolina. Responding to Macke's concern on Boeing remaining competitive against a French rival that has government backing and amidst a domestic environment that could be considered hostile at best, she says the company's ''differentiated product line and continued need for short-haul flights will carry it for years to come."
And finally she likes Joy Global (JOYG) , a stock that, since March 2009, has gone from $20 to an all-time high of $103 and been slammed back down to earth ($85) in the past couple months on concerns of a global slowdown and general jitters about cyclicals.
"It's a productivity play," she says. We are still playing catch-up from 17 years of mining under-investment, and Joy Global's equipment allows mining companies to produce more with less people. "Fewer and fewer people are willing to go underground," Coughey Forrest says, perhaps implying that miners, too, aren't gonna take it anymore.
Is she right or is she the twisted one?
Let us know below or via email at BreakoutCrew@Yahoo.com.
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