After entering nearly 100 consecutive monthly Stock Challenge competitions, one of our most faithful members of all-time is no longer the bridesmaid, but finally the bride. Long-time member ‘willmr‘ pulled off a come from behind victory worthy of the Pinnacle Prize Package and silver bullion!
willmr has been a member of Pinnacle for nine years and one week. While we have members in our community that have been with us more than ten years, few, if any, enter the monthly Stock Challenge as faithfully as willmr.
Let’s break down his epic come from behind victory.
Canam Group Acquisition Propels ‘willmr’ to Victory in April’s Stock Challenge
Yesterday, the second to last day of April’s Stock Challenge, a well-known company from Saint-Georges, Quebec announced it would be acquired in a go-private transaction. Canam Group (CAM : TSX) performed poorly for most of the month and was selected by willmr and no one else.
On April 27th, Canam Group announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement under which members of the Dutil family and American Industrial Partners will acquire, directly or indirectly, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation for a price of $12.30 per Share in cash.
It was reported,
“Shareholders (except for the Family Group with respect to their Rollover Shares) will receive $12.30 per Share in cash, representing a premium of 98.4% to the closing price of the Shares on the TSX on April 26, 2017, the last trading day prior to the date of this announcement.”
Click here to read the entire press release that was picked up by dozens of media platforms throughout North America.
Bravo willmr, bravo. News of the acquisition could not have come at a better time. Canam’s stock went vertical, as can be seen below.
Canam Group – 6 Month Chart
willmr’s winning combined average return in April was 36.91%. Chalk it up on the big board, you are finally a Champion of this Challenge!
With both Trump and Trudeau planning large scale infrastructure projects, Canam, which specializes in designing integrated solutions and fabricating customized products for the North American construction industry, has benefited. According to the company, it operates in three groups of products and services: building construction, structural steel construction and bridge construction.
Stiff Competition in April as Venture Trades Down
Calgary-based member ‘quantumx‘ finished in second with a 35.55% return after his top performing selection of ProMIS Neurosciences (PMN :TSXV) doubled from a close of $0.16 on March 30th to a high of $0.32 today. Its share price dipped in the final minutes to close at $0.295 – down 4.84% on the day. Had ProMIS closed at its high on April 28th, quantumx would be standing atop April’s Challengers. Another what if story…
The real People’s Champ award for April goes to a member by the name of ‘stargazer99‘, who finished the month with a 33.81% return.
Just after 8 AM PST stargazer99 was leading the entire field with a 37.09% return.
Screen Shot of Top 5 – 8:00 AM PST
The People’s Champ is a selective award associated with Pinnacle’s Stock Challenge, and is given to the participant who failed to win, but nonetheless made a name for himself. It comes with no prizes and unfortunately, no glory. Better luck next month stargazer99!
In third and fourth we had past Stock Challenge champs ‘releroux‘ and ‘stoneball‘. The consistency of past Stock Challenge Champs to put up returns is amazing. Past Stock Challenge Champ ‘coachbob‘, who led the pack as late as 12:00 PM PST with a 37.19% return finished in 6th with a 33.62% return. There were at least a half dozen lead changes on the final day of trading as this month was up for grabs right until the final close. Three of the final six finishers were past Stock Challenge champs.
Screen Shot of Top 5 – 12:00 PM PST
What Happened to April’s Stock Challenge Returns
The returns in April’s Stock Challenge were some of the lowest in years as the TSX Venture exchange traded down slightly on the month. On top of that, not a single stock broke out or doubled which happens almost every month. The returns in April for our more than 250 competing members were below average, but can be expected when reviewing the performance of the TSX Venture for the month.
While TSX Venture investing is meant to be exciting and is inherently volatile, April was a quiet, uneventful month. The exchange finished the month at 815, hit a high of 838, declined to a low 799 yesterday and finished the month off at 805. For this exchange to not move more than 2-3% in any direction on the month is rare.
After having an up and down last half of 2016, the Venture has flatlined thus far in 2017.
TSX Venture – 1 Year Chart
What’s impressive about the results of April’s Stock Challenge is that, even when the TSX Venture goes down, so many of our members can put up strong combined average returns above 20%.
April’s Stock Challenge Top 10
Our champion receives the winner’s only Pinnacle Package – which includes the finest of garments fit for a champion: The Stock Challenge Champ Hoodie and a Pinnacle Digest dri-fit golf shirt (for those afternoons on the links). After nearly a decade in the grind, we know you will wear them with pride willmr!
Member ‘willmr‘ will also receive a Northwest Territorial Mint 10 ounce Silver Bar.
Congratulations to our new champion and welcome to the Stock Stars Hall of Fame! We look forward to watching you compete in future contests!
Good luck to everyone in May’s Stock Challenge, which begins Monday.
April’s Stock Challenge Statistics:
Challengers: 253
Highest Return: 36.91%
Lowest Return: – 44.18%
Average Return: 2.19%
Previous Champs in the Top Twenty: 5
Previous Champs in the Top Fifty: 16
