June 2025 Report

I totally forgot about posting my dreadful June performance as I was away on vacation. June generated a decline of -0.96%, which was attributed to a decline in Visa, Mastercard and Constellation Brands. Apple did appreciate by ~ 2%, but it was not enough to carry the portfolio into the positive territory. I continue to build the cash position (now ~ 11%) by aggressively selling options. In my younger years, I used to say to myself that cash was trash and was often maxed out on margin. Now I value how cash can bring stability to a portfolio, especially with cash yielding ~ 4%.

Nice to see that Blueprint Medicines closed according to plan. I didn't go big, just a relatively small position to get back into the M&A game. I used to be very aggressive with M&A plays until there was a fundamental change in FTC leadership. Now with the new administration, it looks like regulatory risk is diminished and back to normal. 

Earnings season is around the corner and looking forward to see how the market reacts…
 

2025 Performance = - 6.5% with the running monthly returns as follows:
 
January - 2.61%
February + 2.79%
March – 4.16%
April -1.67%
May +0.07%
June -0.96%

Sarepta Therapeutics - Just Wow

This Sarepta news is simply mind blowing. Just when you thought it was all clear with a “black box” warning for its gene therapy product Elevidys and a massive restructuring, everything hits the fan. A third patient death was just revealed, and now the FDA is instructing the company to halt shipment of Elividys and they are refusing the order. I do not see how the company gets out of this one.

I have been tempted many times to dabble into an option position in Sarepta with its high premiums, but news like this will simply destroy you if you are on the wrong side. It seems like black swan events are an everyday day occurence with this company.