Motley Fool ?

Alibaba

Just wondering if anybody has used The Motley Fool tips and has made money from them

shangri la

They are constantly spamming nonsense. Snake oil salesmen imo.

coylemj

They don't seem to have any consistency so depending on which of their analysts you read, you could get the direct opposite advice that was given by one of his colleagues the day before, they sound like a crowd of chancers.

Classic example: Astrazeneca v. GlaxoSmithKilne. One of the analysts said recently that they are providing a great yield and should be part of any portfolio, the next day another MF guy said that AZN have a poor development pipeline, lots of existing drugs going off patent in the next few years and the share is on a downwards path i.e. sell. He said GSK was a better bet because of less impact of drugs going off patent and their expansion into emerging markets with their portfolio of health care (over the counter) products, something which AZN does not have.

Clearly the two of them should have had their heads knocked together and some kind of consensus reached instead of having two polar oposite views published under the same banner.

xertpo

coylemj wrote: »

They don't seem to have any consistency so depending on which of their analysts you read, you could get the direct opposite advice that was given by one of his colleagues the day before, they sound like a crowd of chancers.

Classic example: Astrazeneca v. GlaxoSmithKilne. One of the analysts said recently that they are providing a great yield and should be part of any portfolio, the next day another MF guy said that AZN have a poor development pipeline, lots of existing drugs going off patent in the next few years and the share is on a downwards path i.e. sell. He said GSK was a better bet because of less impact of drugs going off patent and their expansion into emerging markets with their portfolio of health care (over the counter) products, something which AZN does not have.

Clearly the two of them should have had their heads knocked together and some kind of consensus reached instead of having two polar oposite views published under the same banner.

On that note, I find www.seekingalpha.com very informative and balanced. When the analysts have a difference of opinion, they acknowledge it and generally link to their colleagues' articles.

coylemj

I'm posting an extract from a Motley Fool 'analysis' of Astrazeneca (AZN) and it's high dividend here, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is a joke but sadly it isn't....

I've looked for reasons why AZN is cheap and come across stuff which is overanalysing for me. I hardly know what the company does and talk of "pipelines" suggested to me initially that it's an oil company. Reading slightly further, though, I concluded that it is a pharmaceutical company. Anyway, what it does is of minor concern to value investors. The only real clue I could find as to an explanation for the cheap rating was due to suspicions that Myopia, their new wonder drug in development intended to cure ultra-short termism among investors, in trials with rats caused them to eat each other.

My non-ultra-short-term value view is that AZN looks too cheap and I don't buy the explanations. That doesn't mean it can't get cheaper still -- any value play can -- it just means that it looks too cheap on current figures, which I believe will be corrected over time.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Big-Cap-With-A-6-2-Yield-foolcouk-1993502695.html?x=0

Background: the 'pipeline' that the analyst refers to is the drugs development pipeline which in the case of AZN is considered weak plus they will be more affected (in relative terms) by their drugs going off patent in the next few years than their nearest UK counterpart Glaxo. Astrazeneca relies for the major part of their profits on inhouse developed drugs whereas Glaxo has those plus a large portfolio of over the counter products such as Aquafresh toothpaste and Lucozade which will continue to bring in profits even if they don't develop any new drugs.

Clearly the analyst is blinded by the low share price and chooses to overloook the underlying reasons why the market is suspicious of AZN's ability to deliver future growth which is the classic explanation for a high dividend yield.

Writing a piece about a FTSE 100 company and then admitting 'I hardly know what the company does' simply beggars belief.

martyoo

I'm posting an extract from a Motley Fool 'analysis' of Astrazeneca (AZN) and it's high dividend here, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is a joke but sadly it isn't....

Can you post a link to this? I have been reading the Motley Fool for a while now and I have never see analysis like that.

I really like the site. I think there is a lot of good content on it. I do however spam all their emails (of which there is a lot).

coylemj

martyoo wrote: »

Can you post a link to this?

Eh, take a look at the end of the quote (italics) from the piece, link to full article there.

martyoo

Eh, take a look at the end of the quote (italics) from the piece, link to full article there.

Sorry, was expecting a link to the fool.com site. That's prity poor. In fairness their articles are usually much better than that.

soddy1979

This is definitely a joke. There is no way this bit of text was written seriously.

The only real clue I could find as to an explanation for the cheap rating was due to suspicions that Myopia, their new wonder drug in development intended to cure ultra-short termism among investors, in trials with rats caused them to eat each other.

That being said, it should definitely be flagged as sarcastic if people who don't understand financial jargon are reading it. I see they removed the article from that link btw.

Alibaba

Alibaba wrote: »

Just wondering if anybody has used The Motley Fool tips and has made money from them

I quite like the site as well and it seems very informative, Just to harp back to my original question they seem to give a lot of tips and appear to know the game, but i wonder has anybody took their advice and made money from it .

OfflerCrocGod

They are really not high quality analysis to my mind, wouldn't pay them much attention.

coylemj

I read them when they publish factual tables showing the likes of yields and P/E, otherwise don't take much notice of their tips.

Alibaba

I feel they do give some good tips even do you'd nearly have a full time job reading all the emails they send out.

I have been using some of their recommendations on Team Traders and have actually made some good virtual profits.

Still haven't plucked up the courage to make the BIG jump with real cash do.