Quote to Ponder

The Rundown

GameStop to Release Earnings

WallStreetBets darling, GameStop, releases earnings Tuesday afternoon. While trading in $GME mostly feels like gambling, the Company has recently come out with some positive news (CTO/CFO hires) that has catalyzed a more than doubling of the stock. The stock is currently trading at $200 after peaking at $483 in January.

SS Takeaway: $GME had 0 Buy, 4 Hold and 3 Sell ratings as of Friday. We love the Wall Street analysts but the research report we'll be keeping an eye out for is Roaring Kitty's (Keith Gill, pictured above).

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Blackstone Goes Anti-Boomer

Blackstone ($BX) is embracing growth in favor of value as it marches towards its goal of managing $1 trillion in assets (currently $619 billion). This past week BX announced the close of the largest ever first-time growth equity fund at $4.5 billion. Even their main buyout fund is embracing growth in favor of LBO, e.g. Bumble, which has quintupled in value since investment.

SS Takeaway: *Warren Buffet has left the chat*

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Guess Who's Back?

Former US president, Donald Trump, is planning his social media return with his own platform to be launched in 2-3 months, after getting banned from basically every platform one can get banned from.

SS Takeaway: We are taking bets on what Trump will call this platform but think it will be "YUGE!"

A Great Read: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

The Psychology of Money is a masterpiece by Morgan Housel and a book Millennials and Gen Z could really benefit from reading. Housel argues that handling money is taught as a quantitative field (math / finance) but the way we make decisions about money is very unique. Decisions are made at the dinner table, while traveling, in a meeting room, with our unique view of the world shaped by our history, ego, pride and marketing. Housel shares 19 short stories exploring ways people think about money and teaches us some timeless lessons along the way.

Career Advice of the Week: Personalize the Cold Email

If you are in any kind of business, you should master the art of sending a good cold email. An email you can copy-paste from one recipient to another is a bad cold email. You need to build repertoire with a stranger in a few words and encourage them to respond. Here are a few tips:

1) Do your research on the recipient and personalize your email: think about who this person is and tell them why they are qualified to help you.

2) Validate Yourself: Introduce yourself and try to find something in common you can talk about. The more "important" you are, the more likely you are to get a response.

3) Keep it Short & Actionable: “Let me know if you want to meet up” is terrible, instead say: "I can talk Wednesday 3/24, between 2-4pm. If that doesn't work, let me know what does, and I'll make it happen."

4) Be Appreciative: Even just saying “Thank you so much! I am really grateful” doubles response rates.

Stock of the Day: $CHWY

Chewy ($CHWY) is an online pet goods retailer, whose stock is up 156% over the last twelve months but down 30% since since Feb '21. $CHWY has ridden the pandemic wave but now investors are pulling back in favor of re-opening stocks and a broader stock market correction as interest rates rise. $CHWY is currently rated a Moderate Buy based on 16 recommendations which include 11 Buys, 4 Holds and 1 Sell.

SS Takeaway: While valuation is still rich at ~4.0x price/sales, it is noteworthy that 69% of revenue is subscription-based. The pandemic has also caused a secular shift in our buying habits (everything online), which is a long-term tailwind for $CHWY. While we like the stock, we'll wait till it releases earnings (Mar 31) and treasury yields stabilize before we pull the trigger on $CHWY.

A Detour: Elon being Elon

Below is a story of SpaceX's founding. Once Elon Musk sold PayPal and pocketed $165 million, he cold called Jim Cantrell and said the following: 

Jim Cantrell was the first employee and co-founder of SpaceX.

Memes of the Day

@overheardonwallstreet Instagram

@MarkGutman9 Twitter

@drawdowndaniel Instagram