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Lemley Yarling Management Co
309 W Johnson St
Apt 544
Madison, WI 53703
Bud: 312-925-5248

Comments on activity in client accounts

The Ides of March 2024

Mr. Market seems to vacationing in Florida with the Spring break kids. Major earnings announcements are ended till next quarter; the big boys and girls are still playing their computer games; but there is no trend discernable and the markets are resting just below their all-time highs. Higher highs are now dependent on rotation into better value but a move from the Super Six is not occurring. Institutional folks can't seem to move on from the safety in numbers that the Fancy stocks have been providing.

We used this week to refocus taking a too large loss in Viking Therapeutics when we realized we had turned a trade into an investment.

We sold Hewlett Packard Enterprise's when its breakout failed and We re-entered The Gap after taking a nice profit but then realizing the we have a hard time being out of it.

We repurchased VF Corp at a lower the sold price and tiptoed back into Macys when it was announced that Macy's had opened its books to the folks who want to take it private.

We repurchased Under Armour when UA let its CEO go as Kevin Plank reassumed the CEO roll. To Plank's possible embarrassment, when that action was announced the stock dropped 12% to $7, Not a great vote of confidence but at that level its worth purchase for another trade. UA's earnings have been better than for the last several quarters but still dismal.

We added the regional bank ETF that we have been trading for the last year and continue to own Verizon, Walgreens's, Foot Locker and Nordstrom.

And with a vey comfortable cash positions (USFR yielding 5%) we hope you enjoy the Spring weather with condolences to the folks in Colorado with a foot to four feet of snow.

*****

1 March 2024 (St David’s Day, a traditional Welch Holiday)

As with the weather in most places, March has begun as a lamb in the markets. Given that Mr. Market has been roaring like a lion for the past four months, at least a consolidation is warranted if not a substantial correction.

Eli Lilly is giving Nvidia a run for market leadership as the big boys and girls move into the shares on its predicted soon to be $1 Trillion market cap ($1000 per share up from $300 in the last 12 months and $775 today).

With the reality of weight loss drug mania, yesterday we purchased Viking Therapeutics in small amounts for accounts. The share price has doubled this week ($40 to $80). It is up from a $1 billion market cap to $9 billion this month. This action occurred because VKTX announced excellent Phase 2 results from its weight loss drug

The phase 2 data that drove Viking's stock higher came from a trial with less than 200 patients. It isn't going to reach commercial stages without a much larger study that takes years to complete. Eli Lilly's tirzepatide has been on the market since 2022 and will be entrenched by the time VK2735 has a chance to compete.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/viking-therapeutics-stock-has-wild-week-after-weight-loss-drug-results-impress-wall-street-192133741.html

We rarely chase a stock but because weight loss drugs sales are expected to be a $100 billion market in the future and that Lilly is expected to be a $ 1 trillion stock, we are surmising that big boy and girl and even meme money will be flowing into VKTX as a cheaper way to participate. We don't know how long we will stay at the party; but for now, with few stock positions and 80% plus cash we are along for the very speculative ride.

At week end, in addition to Viking Therapeutic we owned The Gap, and repurchased Macy's after it popped 10% to $21.50 on decent earnings and the announced closing of 150 more Department stores. Management is now concentrating on the prospective opening of more Bloomies, Blue Mercury stores and less square footage Macy's stores.

After jumping to $21.50 on Tuesday, Macy's shares dropped Wednesday and Thursday to under $18 (we bought at $17.8) as there was a committed seller/sellers with the selling seeming to end on Friday.

We have been eliminating our AMC Networks shares in accounts as the immediate outlook for the content providers WBD and PARA is dismal. AMCX is cheap cheap cheap but the potential acquirers have too much debt and the CEO Kristin Dolan is the wife of James Dolan who controls Madison Square Garden. Given that they don't need the money We're guessing they wouldn't sell out for less than $40 a share, the price around which it traded for many years. It's a thin trader so it does pop occasionally and we are using those pops to gradual eliminate positions for scratch losses.

Our USFR position still has an annual yield above 5%-risk free.

*****

Bitcoin surpassed $70,000 on Wednesday. The last time it was that high was December 2021 when all the fancy stocks were at all time highs before the correction of 2022. Just saying it may be a rhyme- or not.

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NYC's homicide rate is 4.8 per 100k; Alabama's homicide rate is 15.9 per 100k — more than three times (300%- as the media folks usually report) that of NYC. According to federal government statistics, the states with the three highest homicide death rates are Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, which are all dominated by Republicans.

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Trump and Repubs gave top US firms staggering tax cuts, with some paying $0 or less – report

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/29/trump-tax-cuts-us-companies

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Back in 1974, at least Chief Justice Rehnquist had the good sense to recuse himself in the US v Nixon case because of his close ties to the Nixon administration. Here, Clarence Thomas' wife was deeply involved in January 6th and he won't even consider a recusal.

https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/the-most-corrupt-supreme-court-in-the-world-and-the-trump-coup/

If the Supremes rule for Trump, Biden will be free to do whatever.

"[SCOTUS] will prematurely hear a completely frivolous claim that if sustained, would allow any POTUS to commit crimes with almost unbridled immunity. This will delay his federal 1/6 trial indefinitely. A political and traitorous decision from a totally discredited SCOTUS."

The most corrupt Supreme Court in the world and the Trump coup

The most corrupt Supreme Court in the world and the Trump coup

At least four members of the most corrupt Supreme Court in American history have decided to help Trump delay his...

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