I've written a lot of stupid things over the years.
It's true. I've been with The Motley Fool since 1995, and
I'm closing in on a whopping 10,000 articles. As a
limb-venturing analyst, I take big swings from time to time.
I sometimes whiff badly.
Tastes like crow
Here are some of my more regrettable calls over the
years:
Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) six years ago,
going over its scorching run since its IPO three years
earlier. I praised its "proven recession-resistant growth"
and somehow tagged doughnut-loving Homer Simpson as a
greater investor than Warren Buffett or Peter Lynch.
"Some folks go for tattoos, piercings, or eclectic
haircuts to stand out from the crowd," I wrote last year in
a bullish piece on
Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI). "I can do it in
just four words: I believe in Blockbuster."
"An improving economy may reward investors sooner
rather than later," I wrote in singling out timeshare
operator
ILX Resorts as one of my favorite stocks
under $10 in 2004. Healthy earnings and a 5.2% yield seemed
steady, even as hospitality heavies Hilton and
Marriott (NYSE: MAR) were muscling in on
the space of the nimbler ILX, Sunterra, and
Bluegreen (NYSE: BXG).
"Something special is happening at Six Flags," I wrote
in March 2006, weeks after the amusement-park operator's
stock hit double digits for the first time in more than
three years. Special? The regional chain filed for
bankruptcy reorganization this year. It's a hard industry
these days, but regional rival
Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) is humming along
profitably as
Blackstrone Group (NYSE: BX) continues to
snap up theme parks.
All four of these stocks are trading markedly lower
today.
Company
Rick's Call
Price Then
Price Now
Loss
Krispy Kreme
4/22/03
$33.25
$3.95
(88%)
Blockbuster
5/12/08
$2.80
$0.96
(66%)
ILX Resorts
2/17/04
$7.50
$0.07
(99%)
Six Flags
3/9/2006
$10.44
$0.136
(99%)
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
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