Updates November 2013

I've done some buying and selling since my last post.  In fact, I feel some duty to keep my hypothetical readers informed of some of the most recent changes.

I wanted to buy MIND C.T.I. Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDO) when it went down to $1.67 a share.  This is a stock I buy occasionally in the Fall and sell in the Spring if all goes well.  It's a nearly yearly trade.  In fact, if there's any one stock that justifies the title of this blog then it's MNDO.

Here's my first post about it in March of 2012.

Here's another one from a few days later.

Here's yet another from April 2012.

My last round of buying and selling MNDO was resolved in March 2013, but I failed to write about it until a more general update post in September.

Anyway, when I saw MNDO was down to $1.67 then I just had to buy it, but I had no liquid cash.  And there was nothing I was burning to sell in order to finance the buy.  Upon reflection, though I decided I could part with TICC Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TICC).  TICC has been good to me, but I'm not sure I trust its balance sheet in the long term.  The dividends it pays - while awesome - could perhaps be better spent making its balance sheet more balanced.

I had previously purchased a total of 320 shares of TICC for a total of $2,807.98, including fees.  On 7 October I sold 388.03 shares of TICC (thanks to dividend reinvestment) for a total of $3,726.67 after fees.

I bought 2225 shares in MNDO at $1.67 a share.  I plan to sell them early next year.  I hope to make at least a 33% profit from the transactions.

More recently I discovered that a stock of which I'd been very proud - Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) - needed to leave my portfolio.  I sold on the 13th of November.

I'd bought CRUS when it was at a recent low of $17.66 per share.  Since then it had shot up over $25 a share, and I considered selling it.  I decided, however, that I expected it to go still higher in the long term. CRUS makes components that have been used in various Apple products, and I expect Apple to remain a strong brand.  In fact, it was the success of the iPhone 5S that caused the price to jump over $25, I think.

News has surfaced that the new iPad Air does not contain one of the CRUS components that Apple offerings typically do.  As a direct result of this news the price of CRUS fell below $20, which sucks, but I was able to sell at $19.58 and walk away with a net profit of 10%.  I'm calling it a win.

CRUS does still contribute to Apple's success.  I understand the iPad Air still uses a CRUS codec, for instance, so it could be the stock is still a winner.  My instinct, though, is to sell.  Depending on how the relationship with Apple evolves I may wish I'd held on to it.

For now I have invested in Collectors Universe, Inc.(NASDAQ:CLCT).  I purchased 230 shares at $15.921 each, for a total of $3,671.82 including fees.

When priced below $16.25 a share the dividend yield on CLCT is over 8%, and unlike TICC the balance sheet is beautiful.  CLCT can definitely afford to pay its dividends.  I plan to hold on to it for a while, but it may end up simply being a place to store value while I wait for another investment opportunity to make itself known.