Quick Update & Adding a Stock Pick

So I didn't write a weekly recap last week. Sorry, busy with a trip to Indianapolis, playing Madden on the Wii and drinking. And I'm not going look back either. I'm not going to take the time to crunch the numbers. It isn't worth it. Why?

Well, because I am running away and hiding from the S&P this week. Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has broken out of it's trading range and made a significant move higher. Since the start of the week the stock is up over 16%. The move is based on an upgrade by JP Morgan analyst calling for the stock to hit $120 and giving it an "overweight" value. The stock closed today at $117.

I have also had Barrick Gold (ABX) on a nice little run. The stock has gained over 14% percent since we returned from the Labor Day Holiday. Gold has been the talk lately with so much talk of the Fed cutting rates. If rates are indeed cut, gold does move separately from the dollar. Not a bad place to be.

JP Morgan also issued an upgrade to "neutral" from "underweight" for both Transocean (RIG) and GlobalSantaFe (the company RIG is acquiring). Let's see what that does for the stock over the next couple of days.

At this time, I am going to add another stock to my portfolio. I am going to add DaVita (DVA) based on Jim Jubak recommendation here. Diabetes is something that is immune to stock price ups and downs and DaVita provides the services necessary (such as dialysis).

I think this is a great idea and I am not afraid to ride on someone else's research and know-how. I think Jim Jubak is someone you should read every Tuesday and Friday. He covers a lot of ground in his writing. Is not afraid to admit when he is wrong. And explains the most difficult ideas in easy to understand terms.