In an eventful week of trading, The Numbers’ portfolio ventured through a strategic mix of long and short trades across 11 equities, culminating in a slight portfolio decline of -0.71%. Interestingly, despite this net loss, our performance outpaced the broader S&P 500, which dipped by -0.79%, indicating a relative triumph in navigating this turbulent market.
Our decision to go long on NVIDIA Corporation certainly paid dividends, yielding an impressive return of 6.33%. This gain reflects NVIDIA’s strong position in the AI and semiconductor space, underscoring its robust growth prospects as the world increasingly leans on technology and data-driven solutions.
In an astute move, The Numbers shorted Tesla, resulting in a 2.96% gain. Shorting the electric vehicle titan during a volatile period possibly mirrored market sentiments weighing on Tesla’s lofty valuations or anticipated challenges in scaling its EV production amidst global supply chain issues.
Meanwhile, our long positions in Raytheon Technologies and Honeywell International generated modest gains of 1.50% and 0.53%, respectively. These gains reflect investor confidence in the aerospace and defense sector’s potential for growth amid increasing global geopolitical tensions.
PayPal Holdings added a slight 0.23% to our performance, a testament to the enduring appeal of digital payment solutions, even as the fintech industry faces mounting competitive pressures.
On the downside, we encountered some losses, notably with long positions in big names. Our stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation saw a minor setback of -0.63%, perhaps reflecting consumer uncertainty amid fluctuating inflation rates.
Eli Lilly and Company, with a -1.85% return, could be indicative of investor re-evaluation of the pharmaceutical giant’s growth trajectory post-pandemic. Similarly, Amazon.com faced a decline of -0.99%, potentially due to a cooling of the e-commerce boom experienced during the height of the pandemic.
We also saw losses in Merck & Co. (-1.10%) and Meta Platforms (-3.11%). Merck’s loss might have aligned with broader industry trends or specific drug pipeline evaluations, while Meta Platforms continues to grapple with regulatory scrutiny and competition in the social media space.
The most significant drag came from our investment in International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), yielding a -5.34% return. This loss could signal investor skepticism over IBM’s ongoing transformation and challenges in keeping pace with more agile tech competitors.
As we pivot to next week, The Numbers remains committed to refining our strategies, learning from each market twist, and delivering gains for our stakeholders.