Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year?

Can stock picking success be repeated in the new year?

That is the question I face after finishing as the runner-up in choosing the best-performing stock in 2024 for the MoneyShow’s annual Top Picks special report. I was honored to be invited to participate for the first time last year and am pleased to report that my recommendation almost doubled in slightly less than 12 months.

As the editor and a columnist of www.StockInvestor.com, I chose Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE ARCA: GBTC) as my top pick in 2024. I reasoned that the ascent of bitcoin would gain fuel from likely approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow the launch of exchange-traded funds that would trade of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin on the spot market.

A second reason was a growing chance of a weakened economy in 2024 that I expected to lift cryptocurrency values as an alternative to traditional assets. A third factor was that when Bitcoin launched in 2009, its supply was designed to be limited to no more than 21 million coins.

Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year? GBTC Strategy

The strategy worked as GBTC soared around 95% during the slightly less than 12 months tracked by the MoneyShow, starting in early January 2024 with the report’s publication through Thursday, December 20, 2024. The report included 78 recommendations from 44 contributors who track the market closely, wrote Mike Larson, editor-in-chief at the MoneyShow.

Just for fun, I checked to see what GBTC produced from start to finish in 2024. For the full calendar year, GBTC soared 134%.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

The top-performing stock selected in the 2024 MoneyShow report was Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NasdaqCM: VKTX), a medical technology stock recommended by Medical Technology Stock Letter editor John McCamant. Viking Therapeutics reported favorable results in clinical trials for its anti-obesity drug and produced a gain of 113% during the same time frame as my pick’s 95% climb. Congratulations to the winner for choosing Viking Therapeutics and seeing it more than double in less than a full year.

Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year? Bitcoin Bulls

Two seasoned market observers convinced me near the end of 2023 that bitcoin would be big in 2024. One was Cathie Wood, the head of Ark Invest, who I interviewed at the COSM Tech 2023 event in Bellevue, Washington. She recommended a different way to invest in bitcoin than I chose. Wood’s choice outperformed the market handily, but not GBTC.

Paul Dykewicz interviews Cathie Wood at COSM Tech Conference.

Another bitcoin bull was Mark Skousen, the head of the Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter, who has a cryptocurrency portfolio in his TNT Trader advisory service. His most successful recommendation in that portfolio is bitcoin itself, which is up 177.76% since he recommended it in TNT Trader on November 14, 2023.

Ben Franklin scion Mark Skousen, who heads TNT Trader, Fast Money Alert and Forecasts & Strategies, talks to Paul Dykewicz.

Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year? Metal Fans?

My Publisher Roger Michalski is a huge heavy metal fan. His favorite band is Metallica. But I personally like a different kind of metal heading into 2025 as a long-term pick.

Those who want my full write-up can access the MoneyShow 2025 report by clicking here to sign up. My publisher arranged with the MoneyShow to gain access to the report for my readers.

Increasing geopolitical risk is one of the reasons why I chose a company focused on the critical metal of titanium as my top pick in 2025. The company is seeking to become a U.S.-based supplier of titanium, which currently is mostly imported into the United States.

A technology futurist who also is eying selected metals is George Gilder, who heads Gilder’s Technology Report and the Gilder’s Moonshots advisory service. Among the presenters at the COSM 2024 Tech conference that Gilder co-organized in Bellevue, Washington, last Oct. 31-Nov. 1, were metals executives, along with those involved in artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles (EVs) and other breakthrough technologies.

Paul Dykewicz meets with George Gilder, who heads Gilder’s Technology Report.

Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year? IPX

IperionX Limited (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX), of Charlotte, North Carolina, announced its Nov. 26 acquisition of an intellectual property portfolio to secure exclusive commercial rights to “breakthrough” titanium technologies. The high-potential emerging growth company is worth considering for purchase even though it likely is unfamiliar to most investors.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Do not allow its low-profile to give the impression it cannot turn into a good investment with its titanium technical advances. The company’s management is looking to use proprietary technology to become a viable U.S. competitor in providing quality titanium. Investors seeking information about its plans may well be impressed with IPX’s prospects after reading about its progress so far.

The United States does not maintain a supply of titanium in the National Defense Stockpile and is 91% reliant on imports from Japan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, China, Russia, where significant ilmenite deposits exist. In the United States, titanium is mined in smaller amounts in Nevada and Utah, with Virginia a third state currently producing titanium minerals, according to the Virginia Department of Energy.

Can Stock Picking Success Be Repeated in the New Year? Titanium

Jim Woods, who heads the Successful Investing newsletter and the Bullseye Stock Trader advisory service, frequently recommends precious metals. Gold dipped slightly in both 2021 and 2022 before roaring back to gain 13.08% in 2023 and 27.23% in 2024.

Jim Woods heads the Successful Investing newsletter and leads Bullseye Stock Trader.

However, titanium is one of the strongest, most durable and anti-corrosive metals worldwide. These key properties enhance the appeal of titanium as an essential material in various industries that include automotive, aerospace, defense and medical devices.

Investing in American stocks is one of the best moves available in 2025, wrote Bryan Perry to subscribers of his Cash Machine investment newsletter’s February 2024 edition. Much of the global economy is either in recession or on the verge of one, he added.

Bryan Perry heads Cash Machine and Quick Income Trader.

“The forever war persists in Ukraine, the Middle East is fraught with conflict, China continues to threaten the sovereignty of Taiwan and South America’s largest country Brazil is seeing its currency crash due to communist/socialist leadership,” Perry counseled. “It is not a pretty economic picture outside the United States, but the strong dollar goes a long way if you are traveling overseas.”

If stock picking success in 2024 can be repeated in 2025, Wall Street veteran Bryan Perry forecasts America is the place to invest. To learn about Perry’s American-based top pick for the 2025 MoneyShow report, click here. I am following the lead of Perry, the runner-up in the MoneyShow’s 2023 Top Picks report for the best-performing stock, by choosing an American company that plans to become a key provider of a critical metal, titanium.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Crain Communications, Seeking Alpha, Guru Focus and other publications and websites. Paul can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, and is the editor and a columnist at StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com. He also serves as editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. In that role, he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free weekly e-letters and other reports. Previously, Paul served as business editor and a columnist at Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper and as a reporter at the Baltimore Business Journal. Plus, Paul is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The uplifting book is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many other sports figures. To buy signed and specially dedicated copies, call 202-677-4457.