PRISM MarketView Highlights Its Spooktacular Zombie Index For Halloween
BOO!…It’s spooky season. If you procrastinate like we do, you probably haven’t figured out a costume for tomorrow’s trick or treat fest. While you are sipping that pumpkin spice latte debating your next trendy and probably basic costume to sport, let’s not forget how much money you’re about to waste. Or were you planning on wearing last year’s costume? No one cares about Top Gun anymore.
Before we spin this web, lets make sure all of you ghouls know what defines a Zombie stock. A zombie stock is a distressed security with excess debt that has enough revenue to operate and service its obligations but lacks the funds to pay off its liabilities. Zombie stocks have the greater potential to go to $0 due to their surplus debt and lack of cash. This makes the investment opportunity a high risk/high reward scenario.
While we’re only highlighting a few Zombie stocks, the whole list can be found by checking out our PRISM Zombie Stock Index.
Now, let’s make this a scary thrill and roll some portfolio dice.
Come On Barbie, Lets Go Party…
Look, if we’re going to do a trendy Halloween/Zombie feature, we need to start with the most obvious pick first. If you’re unfortunately blonde but frugal, save your money by not having to buy a wig! Let’s be honest, blondes really do have fun. So, channel some of that Barbie themed energy. However, we wish you luck on matching the hotness of Margot Robbie or Ryan Reynolds. Either way, just make sure you’re partying in a dream house and looking young enough to potentially be confused for Skipper. If you haven’t figured out why we picked Barbie as a costume option, go back to the rock you were living under. Barbie topped box offices this summer as the highest grossing film of 2023 worldwide.
We don’t care if you dress in pink this year, the best part for us is being able to highlight two zombie stocks with one costume idea. Mattel, Inc. (MAT) has been considered a zombie stock prior to the movie release and despite its success, is still considered spooked. Shares still fell on its recent earnings release which beat EPS and revenue estimates but disappointed on its guidance. The future outlook for toy demand is slowing which could hurt upcoming holiday sales. Not even Margot Robbie could get it up for them on the quarter. As for movie theater stocks, zombie and “meme stock” AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC) rose ~33% on the “Barbenheimer” weekend which was short lived as it announced a reverse 10:1 stock split in August. AMC has traded down ~70% YTD. They will announce third quarter earnings on November 8th.
Let the Bentley’s Hit the Floor…
Alright, who’s been paying attention to car racing? Not the Ricky Bobby kind but more so, Formula One. The F1 pushhas been real. Real enough to jack up, NASCAR, on some competitive Mountain Dew as they also are trying to try to expand their presence by hosting races in untraditional cities, such as Chicago. F1 car racing has become as trendy as Bagnet but is as uninteresting as Justin Fields. While it’s still hot, dress as a racecar driver tomorrow.
Speaking of being trendy, Carvana Co (CVNA) has seen some increased movement this year as its traded up ~500% YTD. However, Carvana had been so Zombie, that Rob could have been its spokesperson. That was until this July when the company announced a debt restructuring deal and the stock price surged. Today the CVNA trades around the midpoint of its 52-week range at ~$30.
I Knew You Were Trouble…
Since we are suggesting trendy Halloween costumes, be the “eye roll couple”. Something that everyone is either sick and tired of, or absolutely loves is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. We have to suggest this one now because we know next year we will not be able to do so plus all you need is a Kansas City jersey. A cheap win for both you and Travis! Regardless, of how many TDs Kelce can rack, he will always be able to rely on the fact that one day a sad song will be written about him.
No one would be shocked to find that the singer is a fan of the oat milk latte. As she mentions drinking the basic beverage while writing her song, Lover. The Swedish microcap Oatly Group AB (OTLY), has been down ~77% YTD. However, the plant-based dairy manufacturer recently announced its plan to expand into Food Service has been successful as Coffee Fellows, one of Germany’s largest coffee chains, plans to bring Oatly Barista to all locations across Europe.
We hope to have set you up for success so that no matter who you decide to dress as tomorrow, it won’t be boring. Spend money on being trendy this year without breaking the bank. That’s if you can balance it out on some successful Zombie stock plays and let our insight help disguise your scary investment knowledge into something that makes you look more like a savvy investor, with a spooktacular portfolio!
