Seize the day. Strike while the iron is hot. Get your butt in gear.
All these expressions—and plenty more—stress the need to take action right now rather than letting the grass grow under your feet.
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Chris Versace, whose recommendations provide the foundation for TheStreet's Pro Portfolio, has decided to take time by the forelock and make hay while the sun shines.
The veteran trader detailed his latest stock buying plan in a recent TheStreet Pro column.
This includes picking up shares of financial heavyweight American Express (AXP) , cloud computing platform company ServiceNow (NOW) , organic light emitting diode maker Universal Display (OLED) and United Rentals (URI) , the largest equipment rental company in the world.
"Following the weaker-than-expected December Producer Price Index (PPI) readings for both the headline and core figures, we are taking advantage of the recent market pullback and other factors to scoop up more shares of the AXP, NOW, OLED and URI," Versace said.
Fund manager buys more American Express
The producer price index rose 0.2% in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Jan. 14, less than the 0.4% increase in the previous month and below the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was flat compared with the forecast for a 0.3% rise. Excluding food, energy and trade services, the measure rose 0.1%.
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BLS is scheduled to release the consumer price index on Jan. 15 and it is forecast to show 0.3% monthly gains on both the headline and core readings and respective annual inflation rates of 2.9% and 3.3%.
"We recognize that we still have Wednesday's December Consumer Price Index report ahead of us, but the December PPI suggests the recent markup in inflation expectations may have been excessive," Versace said.
To be clear, he added, the December year-over-year figures of 3.3% for headline PPI and 3.5% for core PPI "still indicate inflation pressures are sticky and mean the Fed will not be in a hurry to loosen monetary policy, but it’s enough to quell those calling for further rate hikes,"
"It’s that relief we are seeing unfold in the market," he said.
Versace noted that the stronger labor market and real wage growth offer support for continued consumer spending among the company’s members, which should benefit American Express.
"We’re also encouraged by recent travel comments from Delta Air Lines (DAL) and others that play into American Express’s strengths," he said.
American Express is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 24. The company's shares are up nearly 65% from a year ago.
In October, the company earned $3.49 and revenue hitting a record $16.6 billion.
After the purchase, American Express represents about 1.5% of the portfolio.
Catalysts drive optimism in ServiceNow and Universal Display shares
Regarding ServiceNow, Versace said he has used retreats in the shares to build out TheStreet Pro Portfolio’s position size and "we see this move as doing more of that. "
"What we’re looking to capture with NOW shares is the rising shift in AI spending in the enterprise, which should drive favorable pricing, margins and earnings for ServiceNow," he said.
ServiceNow, slated to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 29, has seen its shares rise 40.4% in the last year.
Chairman and CEO Bill McDermott told Investors Business Daily that he expects the company to be the "control tower for AI business transformation."
With Universal Display, Versace said that the smartphone market gained in the December quarter and noted that Samsung (SSNLF) will begin mass production of the world’s first rollable organic light-emitting diode display for laptops in April.
Due to their high-quality color reproduction and thin profile, organic light-emitting diodes are typically used in displays for devices like smartphones and TVs.
Samsung will launch this product in June with its ThinkBook Plus G6 Rollable laptop, which it showed at CES last week.
Related: Analyst revisits Apple stock price target ahead of Q1 earnings update
"This application is another example of connected device manufacturers expanding the screen size to drive a richer consumer experience," Versace said.
"Much like we are starting to see in smartphones and tablets, we are likely to see other device companies follow, making this another growth avenue for organic light-emitting diodes and Universal Display," he added.
Shares of Universal Display, which will report earnings on Feb. 27, are down 18.5% from a year ago.
The buys lift ServiceNow and Universal Display's weights in the portfolio to 3% and 3.85%, respectively.
AI growth good news for United Rentals
And finally, there's United Rentals.
Versace said he had a few reasons for adding the company to the Portfolio’s position. The biggest was the rosy outlook for non-residential construction, "which continues to benefit from infrastructure spending as well as other building efforts."
A report from global real estate services company JLL found that global data center demand is expected to surge this year, he said, "no surprise given the elevated spending we’ve seen by Big Tech."
Because of that continued spending, JLL forecasts baseline growth of 15% on a compound annual basis (CAGR) through 2027, but the firm said it could reach a 20% CAGR.
"We see this offering stronger prospects than the housing market, which will still be impacted by interest rates and mortgage rates being higher for longer, sapping housing affordability," he continued.
Versace also pointed to the eventual rebuilding as California recovers from the current wildfires and the recent announcement that United will acquire competitor H&E Equipment Services (HEES) in a $4.8 billion transaction.
"The acquisition is expected to increase URI's rental fleet by almost 64,000 units as well as roughly $230 million of non-rental fleet," he said.
Following the buy, United Rentals represents roughly 3.5% of the portfolio.
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