Seven Alpha Algorithm Strategies Bet on a Payment-Processing Giant

We continue to see a lot of large-cap blue-chip recommendations being generated by the Alpha Algorithm.

That’s because U.S. markets in 2017 have been driven mostly by household names. In fact, the S&P 500’s 4.4% rise this year has been driven by 50 stocks, which account for more than 80% of that gain.

The top 10 stocks account for roughly one-half of the S&P 500’s rise. The names on this list of top 10 will be familiar to you.

Leading the list are Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and cigarette maker Philip Morris International (PM). The next five include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Visa (V), Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL) and Procter & Gamble (PG).

Your Alpha Algorithm portfolio currently includes seven out of the top 10. It also previously held number eight, Philip Morris International (PM).

This week, the Alpha Algorithm adds a ninth to this illustrious list.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Visa Inc. (V) is a payments technology company which provides its services under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. (Disclosure: I am a long-time holder of Visa, Inc. (V) in my personal investment portfolio.)

Visa Inc. (V) versus the S&P 500 year to date.

Seven Top Investment Strategies Betting on Visa Inc. (V)

1. High Quality Stocks

This is a U.S. stock that exhibits positive fundamentals, including high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth and low financial leverage.

2. Large-Cap Growth

The stock is among the top 50 large-capitalization U.S. growth stocks generated through a rigorous 10-factor fundamental screening process.

3. Morningstar’s Moat

The stock is part of a strategy that tracks an equal-weighted index of 20 companies that Morningstar determines to have the highest fair value among firms with a substantial competitive advantage, or “moat.”

4. Value Tilt (TILT)

Selected using a multi-factor modeling approach, the stock is a value stock designed to enhance portfolio risk/return characteristics.

5. Hedge Fund Alpha

Based on publicly available disclosures, successful hedge fund managers are investing in the stock.

6. Billionaire Bet

The stock is one of 30 U.S. companies tracked in an equal-weighted index selected from the portfolios of 10 asset managers with a personal net worth of at least $1 billion.

7. Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Index

The stock is part of the Goldman Sachs Hedge Industry Index, which tracks an equal-weighted index of the 50 most-frequently held U.S. companies selected from the portfolios of hedge funds.

Recommendation

Buy Visa Inc. (V) at market today.

Place your initial stop at $85.00.

Options

If you want to play the options, I recommend the V June $90.00 call options (V170616C00090000), which last traded at $2.86 and expire on June 16.

Portfolio Update

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy