Sell LinkedIn (LNKD), Buy Chipoltle (CMG)

I sold LinkedIn today for the following reasons;
- To free up cash to purchase other stocks that have been battered in the downturn but have better momentum in the next 3 to 6 months.
- Lock in loss for tax purposes.
- Profit Confidential - For the first quarter of 2016, LinkedIn guided revenue of about $820 million, not the $867 million that Wall Street analysts expected which would be 29%. The stock doesn't deserve the -44% decline after earnings were announced, but LNKD will probably underperform similar companies in the next 3 month because investors are shell-shocked by the drop.
- LinkedIn CEO is Jeff Weiner who seems super smart and super hard-working, however that is not as good as if it were a company run by a founder who was super-smart and super hard working.
- I don't use LinkedIn as much as Twitter or Facebook, not sure why, maybe business only aspect makes it less interesting.
- Still planning on keeping LinkedIn as long term holding because it is a clearly recognized leader with high market share and profitability.
Price $110.01
Trade/Portfolio: 1.25%
Position/Portfolio: 2.54%

I bought Chipoltle because;
- Still trading off $750 highs because of E.Coli issues.
- Company is executing on comprehensive plan to minimize food contamination risks.
- I eat at Chipoltle often with family and friends, and neither is staying away because of health risks.
- The stores look like crap but they are still always full, so if they fix the design, same store sales have some upward potential.
- Inexpensive food chains should do relatively well during fearful times so Chipoltle is a good hedge against heavily tech weighted portfolio.
Price $507.92
Trade/Portfolio: 2.85%
Position/Portfolio: 5.23%

Buy Lending Club (LC)

I bought shares in Lending Club today for the following reasons.
- Q4 2015 Quarterly Results; Adjusted EPS $0.05 vs $0.04, Revenue $134.5m vs $130.6m, Raises 1QFY16 guidance to $147-149m vs $146.4, EBITDA $25-27m vs $24.6 million in 4QFY15 according to Business ETC.
- Share buy back of $150m.
- On February 1st, JP Morgan purchased $1B in loans from LC.
- Market Cap $2.2B vs ~200B JPMorgan
- My money on Lending Club paying 8% interest versus 1% on Fidelity, planning to shift more.
- Blogger Timothy Li notes Lending Club doesn't have loans on their books which means they don't get to keep the yield but also means they don't risk collapse.
Price $6.91
Trade/Portfolio: 1.21%
Position/Portfolio: 6.27%

Buy Chipoltle (CMG)

I bought Chipolte today for the following reasons;
- Stock down from $750 on 13oct15 to $404 on 12jan16 because of E. Coli outbreak.
- CDC announce yesterday that outbreak of E. coli "appears to be over".
- My kids and I like Chipoltle and eat there a few times a month.
- The store in South Burlington is ugly as hell but always full.
Price $474.73
Trade/Portfolio: 2.49%
Position/Portfolio: 2.49% (Opening position)

Buy Freelancer (FLN:AU)

I bought Freelancer today for the following reasons;
- Nasdaq down ~10% over last month dragging down lots of tech companies.
- Smaller, lesser known firms disproportionally whacked by downdraft.
- Freelancers to grow to 50% of US labor force by 2020.
- Freelancer.com appears to have better platform & business strategy than Upwork, although I have not tried the new Upwork platform yet.
- Freelancer's CEO Matt Barrie is an A-list entrepreneur with Computer Science background although he does appear a bit too pre-occupied with Sydney night life :)
Price $1.59 AUD
Trade/Portfolio: 1.13%
Position/Portfolio: 5.80%

Buy Lending Club (LC)

I bought more Lending Club (LC) today for the following reasons;
- San Bernadino shooter borrowed money from Prosper, regulators interested which makes for great press but doesn't have real impact on long term viability of sector. As Laplanche said, shooter could have borrowed money from any bank. So good buy opportunity.
- Laplanche quoted in Inc saying LC didn't go public for a year but for the long term.
- Lending Club's growth rate of 104% makes it faster growing, $1B+ startup according to Laplanche.
- Lending Academy cites Lending Club and Proper as two main player but Lending Club much  bigger.
- Lending Club became profitable last quartner.
- Lending Club market cap down to $3.14B compared to JPMorgan at $204B.
Price $8.49
Trade/Portfolio: 1.06%
Position/Portfolio: 5.32%

Buy Google (GOOG), Buy Solar City (SCTY)

I bought Google for the following reasons;
- Nasdaq down ~12% in last week due to anxiety over China sell-off and Oil at $27. However, US and European economies still strong and low oil prices are a positive for other parts of the economy.
- Apple exited Ads business this week, reducing competition for Google.
- Googles new Alphabet company structure should unleash value creation.
Price $689.53
Trade/Portfolio: 1.50%
Position/Portfolio: 4.73%

I bought Solar City for for the following reasons;
- Stock down from $57 to $30 in last 30 days due to exceptional events creating buy opportunity;
- Nevada reverses incentives for residential solar.
- Oil down to $27 a barrel because Iran sanctions lifted yesterday.
- Nasdaq down 12% for the week.
- Solar City and other solar companies announce they are leaving the state, some are saying a new deal may be in the works.
Price $30.35
Trade/Portfolio: 1.02%
Position/Portfolio: 6.67%

Buy Freelancer FLN:AU

I bought Freelancer (FLN:AU) today for the following reasons.
- I ran a contest for design work and verified the platform is well designed for usability and monetization.
- Moderately happy with the number and quality of responses which is a concern.
- Not happy with the fact that Freelancer makes it difficult to contact freelancers directly.
- Continued momentum towards location independent works means more people will need platforms like Freelancer to find work.
- Concerned that Upwork has a new platform which I will need to check out.
Price $1.745 AUD
Trade/Portfolio: 1.85%
Position/Portfolio: 4.63%