2018 Sharesight stock picking competition — March update

Last year we emailed Sharesight clients asking them to nominate one stock (from select markets) they believed would be the top performer for the 2018 calendar year (January to December). We then constructed a Sharesight portfolio containing the nearly 100 stocks chosen, allocating $10,000 to each in the portfolio.

We’re approaching the end of the first quarter in 2018 for our stock picking competition. So after three months, which stocks are in the lead, and which have performed the worst in the competition?

How is the overall portfolio performing?

In a word, subdued. As at March 12 when our snapshot was taken, the Sharesight stock picking competition portfolio was down 1.87%. My guess is that individual growth stocks that might be long shots for a breakout year (and to win a stock picking competition) may not be the best to build a portfolio around. Time will tell if this trend continues throughout 2018.

Top 5 performing stocks in 2018

Auscann Group Holdings Limited (ASX:AC8)

Up 106.88% on the back of regulatory changes by the Australian Government to allow medical cannabis exports. Additionally, their recently announced 1H2018 results were well received.

Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX:CYP)

The Australian based stem cell therapy company recently announced success in a stage 1 clinical trial, and have moved onto their second patient cohort in trials. They’re up 91.94% for the year.

Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq:NKTR)

Another biotech company has had a string of successes, announcing a billion dollar deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb to commercialise their anti-tumor drug. They’re up 80.27% for the year.

Nearmap Limited (ASX.NEA)

The international provider of high resolution aerial imagery is up 67.23% for the year, with the company reporting a 31% rise in revenues to $41.1 million in FY17, and the appointment of Sue Klose as interim Chief Marketing Officer.

Altium Limited (ASX:ALU)

This Australian based PCB design software company has hit multiple all-time highs throughout 2018, and is up 62.73% for the year.

5 worst performing stocks in 2018

Ookami Limited (ASX:OOK)

After buying a ‘strategic equity position’ in blockchain company Brontech in December 2017 (and pushing shares up 42% at the time), the stock has slid 65.71% in 2018.

AuMake International Limited (ASX.AU8)

The Australian based Daigou hub connects Australian shoppers to buyers in China. After listing on the ASX in 2017, its stock price tripled before sliding 62.67% in 2018.

TopBetta Holdings Limited (ASX.TBH)

The Newcastle-based Australian online bookmaker is down 52.5% in 2018, announcing a $1m capital raise in February to strengthen their ability to meet future cash flow obligations.

Retail Food Group (ASX.RFG)

After Retail Food Group’s horror performance in 2017, the fortunes of the company have not improved in 2018. They announced the closure of 200 stores in an attempt to stem increasingly negative news and are down a further 52.02% in 2018.

Flamingo AI (ASX:FGO)

After raising $5m in 2017 to fund their global push and recently announcing a paid trial of their platform with US Fortune 100 firm Liberty Mutual, the AI-powered customer service chatbot company has slumped 40% in 2018.

Follow the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition

We’ve made the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition portfolio public for anyone to view, removing the need to be logged-in to Sharesight to follow your stock’s performance against all other entries throughout the competition.

Even if you don’t have a stock pick, this is an excellent way to follow the Sharesight competition. Bookmark the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition public portfolio to check back at any time.

2018 Stock Picking Competition Notes:

We collated your responses (discarding invalid picks/typos/duplicates) and created a Sharesight portfolio with a holding of each share picked, with the following rules:

• The 2018 Sharesight Stock Picking Competition portfolio was created with a tax residency in Australia (with the performance of shares in markets outside Australia subject to currency effects)
• We “invested” $10,000 in each holding, but did not include brokerage for matters of convenience here. (Sharesight factors the impact of fees when calculating portfolio performance, as reducing portfolio fees can improve returns).
• All dividends are/will be included in the total performance calculation, and are reinvested.
• Performance figures are total return (versus annualised) as none of the portfolio positions has been held for longer than one year.
• The winner will be the person(s) who picked the top performing stock over the period January 1st through to December 31st 2018.

FURTHER READING

• Blog – 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition
• Blog – How your broker’s performance numbers mislead you
• Blog – 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet