An 11 Alpha Algorithm Strategy Play and Locking in Three More Double-Digit-Percentage Gains

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

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

1. Momentum Factor

The stock is one of the top 120 large- and mid-cap U.S. stocks exhibiting relatively higher price momentum, as measured by a specific factor which has historically driven a significant part of companies’ risk and return.

2. Large-Cap Momentum

The stock is part of a major hedge fund’s systematic strategy that invests in large- and mid-cap U.S. companies with positive momentum and that rank in the top third of total return over the prior 12 months, excluding the last month.

3. Pure Growth

The company is part of a strategy that selects companies from the S&P 500 Index based on three growth factors: current internal growth rate, historical earnings per share (EPS) growth and historical sales/share growth.

4. 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.

5. 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 sustainable competitive advantage or “moat.”

6. Value Tilt

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

7. Hedge Fund Alpha

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

8. 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.

9. Low Interest-Rate Sensitivity

This is a large-cap U.S. stock selected for its low volatility and positive price performance in a rising-interest-rate environment.

10. Hedge Fund Gurus

The stock is one of the top U.S.-listed equity positions reported on Form 13F by select hedge funds with concentrated top holdings.

11. Fundamental Strength

This is a top U.S. stock based on fundamentals measured by book value, cash flow, sales and dividends.

Recommendation

Buy Visa Inc. (V) at market today and place your initial stop at $106.

Options

If you want to play the options, I recommend the V March $110 calls (V180316C00110000), which last traded at $5.60 and expire on March 16.

Portfolio Update

Raise your stop in The Boeing Company (BA) to $286.25 to lock in a 20% gain.

Raise your stop in Home Depot (HD) to $181.90 to lock in a 15% gain.

Raise your stop in Amazon.com (AMZN) to $1152.10 to lock in a 15% gain.

P.S. This is the final recommendation of the year for Alpha Algorithm. I will be taking a break next week and wish you all happy holidays.

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy