Buzz on the Bullboards: Getting AHEAD of the News

After several years of unprecedented low volatility and with most markets trending upward, global markets have been behaving in a precisely opposite manner in recent weeks. Volatility is back. Markets around the world have been see-sawing erratically.

Not only does this imply the need for greater caution for investors, it means being even more fastidious with your due diligence. With an upward trajectory for stocks no longer taken for granted, greater time and effort is required for stock-picking.

This is one reason why Stockhouse is Canada’s #1 financial portal for small-cap investors. Investors come here for information. But they come here (in even greater numbers) to compare notes on the Stockhouse Bullboards.

What are investors talking about at Stockhouse? For many months, the answer to that question was usually “cannabis”. But with markets in flux and cannabis stocks presently moving sideways, Stockhouse investors have been taking a renewed interest in other companies/sectors as well.

Over the Easter week (March 28 – April 3), this is what was driving investor interest at Stockhouse. In the cannabis sector, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB, OTCQB: ACBFF, Forum) is once again dominating discussions. The ACB Bullboard was the #1 hub over the past week at Stockhouse.

Behind Aurora, a long-time Stockhouse favorite tops the Healthcare Bullboards and has the second-greatest number of reads: ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI, OTCQB: PFSCF, Forum). PLI has been in the news recently on both positive results from clinical trials as well as a new addition to its management team. Its share price was up strongly today after falling off sharply in recent weeks.


(click to enlarge)

Also drawing large numbers of reads this week on its Bullboard was another leading cannabis company, Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH, OTCQB: APHQF, Forum). However, after these three companies, Bullboard reads were broadly spread across different companies and sectors.

One listing that has seen a jump in its reads recently is outside the basic industry groups that we usually track on the Bullboards. Media company Corus Entertainment Inc., CL.B. (TSX: CJR.B, OTCQB: CJREF, Forum) has been attracting greater interest in recent days.

What’s the “buzz” on Corus? Take a look at its one-month chart.


(click to enlarge)

On March 26th, Corus was trading at around $7, just half of its 52-week high of $14.10. By April 4th, the company had plunged to a 52-week low: $5.56. On April 5th, a day later, Corus was back trading at $7.13. What happened?

Immediately after closing at a new 52-week low, the Company reported positive news on global sales of its original content, bouncing back 19.03% in one day. But this might not be the most interesting detail for Stockhouse readers.

Reads on the Corus Bullboard were already substantially higher days before this news came out.

“Loose lips sink ships.” But sometimes, they also let sensitive information slip out concerning public companies. For the offenders, that can often lead to insider trading charges. However, for investors who simply hear something whispered (or shouted) on the Stockhouse Bullboards, no penalties apply.

Most of the time, investors come to Stockhouse to discuss news that is already out in the public domain. But investors have also been known to spread the occasional rumor.

Whether investors choose to act on such rumors is entirely a matter of personal discretion. For those investors who want to get ahead of the news, it’s your only option. Stockhouse Publishing: come for the news, stay for the rumors.

As a reminder, to assist investors with their "surfing" on the Stockhouse Bullboards, we provide a list of our trending leaders for seven different investing categories, on our Trending News page. Visit this page for a weekly summary of the Top-6 companies in each category.