My Portfolio: How a 19 Year Old Plays The Stock Market

I am putting forth a disclaimer: I have literally no qualifications or professional justification for the companies that I invest in. If you choose to invest in one or any of the companies that I outline below, good for you - if you don't, good for you. I currently have $4500 invested between two brokerages, Edward Jones, and Charles Schwab. This $4500 represents a large fraction (>90%) of my net worth.

Long on MSLP

MusclePharm (OTCMKTS: MSLP) is a sports nutrition manufacturer. MusclePharm is one of the few leading manufacturers of sports related supplements, others include Optimum Nutrition/BSN, Cellucor, and Quest Nutrition.

MusclePharm’s product width and depth are both quite large all housed under the brands 3 units (MusclePharm, FitMiss, and the Arnold Series). The company produces 19 different core (MusclePharm) products, 9 FitMiss products, and 7 Arnold products for an aggregate of 35 different units. Every unit is then deep with flavor and size variations.

MusclePharm is attempting to re-brand itself as a lifestyle brand, something that makes an investor like myself nervous. The recent product launch of Coco Protein, and product variations of Combat Powder that have flopped make it hard to believe in MusclePharm’s ability to continue growing in a larger market. Yet the launch of Combat Crunch Bars, and the rumblings of news that MusclePharm may soon have the capacity and distribution to sell these protein bars individually in convenience stores is reassuring.

The saving grace for MusclePharm is social media. MusclePharm has a cult like following, something that I see every time I walk into the gym as a college student. 233 thousand followers on Instagram solidifies MusclePharm’s connection with young adults.

Over the next 1-2 years I see MusclePharm improving their manufacturing processes, distribution relationships, and growing their business through cost cutting and time saving measures. Reducing product width and focusing on the units that consumers actually buy will help save time and money. in 2015 I expect endorsement deals with Tiger Woods, Johnny Manziel, and Colin Kaepernick to boost sales as all three athletes are anticipated to have more successful years. Finally, as MusclePharm continues to grow more analysts will cover the firm. As national recognition occurs I anticipate stock prices to rise.

CALD

CallidusCloud is, ” a leading provider of cloud software. CallidusCloud enables organizations to accelerate and maximize their lead to money process with sales and marketing effectiveness cloud software”.

Callidus offers extremely pertinent and useful software for firms and organization around the globe. CALD has been rising for months with earnings reports beating analyst expectations.

I anticipate fourth quarter revenues to be down for Callidus as international growth will have slowed. I will be selling my share of CALD in the coming weeks before the February 5th announcement.

OME

Omega Protein is another micro cap company focusing on manufacturing and distributing animal and human grade food products and supplements.

Omega’s main business revolves around animal nutrition, and it was only with the recent purchase of Biorigional in 2014 that Omega has begun a push into the human nutrition sector.

Omega primarily conducts business in North America, with over 55% of their distribution occurring in the U.S and Canada. Lower fuel costs, the constantly increasing demand for animal feed, and the growth of Omega’s human nutrition sector has this company poised for a charge after earnings are released.

ONCS

OncoSec Medical is the most recent addition to my portfolio. OncoSec is researching DNA based solutions to make immunotherapy treatments for cancer more effective while decreasing side effects.

Immunotherapies, such as Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, and Merck’s Keytruda has shown dramatic results in clinical trials for treating Melanoma and lung cancer. OncoSec’s technology and therapies are being tested in coordination with drugs such as these to increase effectiveness. Once trial data is publicly available OncoSec could see stock prices go soaring.

Large players, such as the companies mentioned above may be faced with the prospect of buying out OncoSec for their patents and practices. Any investor in when the company is trading at below $.50 would be happy with that outcome a few years down the line.

OncoSec is my stretch company, yet the upside and potential is there.

ANFCX

I am heavily invested in American Funds The New Economy Fund® Class C, because why not offset some of the great risk that comes with investing in all micro/small cap companies. This fund is primarily involved in healthcare and information technology, two fields that will play nicely together as time goes on.

This is my safety net. I won’t touch the money in this fund for a decade.

I will try and update every once in a while with changes to my portfolio and updates on my hits and misses.

About the author

I'm Zach Shefska, welcome to my personal website. I'm currently working on CarEdge. I like to travel, write, and make pottery.