Investing In Your Friday Nights

We all know what you're doing when you're not out and about on Friday night. Well, actually, I have no idea, but given how the stock market has been boosted by young people's vices, it isn't difficult to theorize. I was recently contacted by the awesome writers at Policy Genius, who recently published a great piece on how to earn extra income by investing in your personal vices. I highly recommend that you visit their site for some great investing tips. 

However, if you're looking for a way to profit from your good (and not-so-good) habits in your free time, check out some suggestions below for all of your investing needs. Enjoy!

Social Media & Entertainment

Let's be honest, we all know that the second you're bored, you whip out your phone and start perusing social media or streaming TV shows, movies and videos. Why not drop some cash into the services that you use constantly? 

Facebook Inc. (FB)

After it's initial flop after it's IPO years ago, Facebook has recovered into quite an impressive stock. It's the king of social media stocks and it isn't showing any sign of slowing down. Aside from generating ad revenues, Facebook is great for engaging in commerce and making smart consumer decisions. Now that's something we can all 'Like'.

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

At one point in time, people thought Netflix was dead in the water - no one wanted to invest in a mail-run video store. But thanks to the latest in streaming technology and a simple membership fee, anyone in the world can access movies, TV shows AND original series found only on Netflix. Remember Blockbuster stores? Few do and ever will. But Netflix will be around for a quite a while to come, and is definitely worth adding to your portfolio.

Booze

Ah, booze. Every college student's delight and many working adults' escape from reality. There are quite a few liquor and beer companies that are publicly traded, but many people seem to gravitate towards local breweries, wineries and distilleries -- at least in the states where I've lived. For everything else, there's...

Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ)

During my time as a Wall Street analyst, Constellation Brands was one of my favorite stocks to recommend to investors because of its tried and tested long-term stability. The company sells wine across various categories, including table wine, sparkling wine, and dessert wine. It offers beer primarily under the Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico brands; wine under the Black Box, Clos du Bois, Estancia, Franciscan Estate, Inniskillin, Kim Crawford, Mark West, Meiomi, Mount Veeder, Nobilo, Robert Mondavi, Ruffino, Saved, Simi, The Dreaming Tree, The Prisoner, Charles Smith, and Wild Horse brands; and sprits under the SVEDKA vodka, Black Velvet Canadian whisky, Casa Noble tequila, High West craft whisky brands. Are you a fan of any of these wines, beers and spirits? Well then -- crack open a nice bottle of 'I told you so.'

Smokes 

Aside from cigarettes, marijuana has become legal for recreational use in several US states (and odds are, even more states will make it legal in the coming years). However, I understand that folks are skeptical about directly investing in marijuana, and that's perfectly fine. If you haven't read my recent article on how to indirectly play the weed rush, check it out here. If not, here are the best ways to invest in the industry that, at least here in Colorado, is quite the cash cow:

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (SMG)

It seems logical, because it is! Just like you boost the health of your flowers every summer, cannabis farms use massive amounts of fertilizers to ensure their crop yields produce more buds. A larger plant can mean the difference of thousands of dollars for some growers. As many of you may know, Scotts manufactures, markets, and sells lawn and garden products, and in 2013 the company's CEO announced that they would be actively marketing to cannabis growers in states where the drug was made legal. In fact, the company is currently in the process of developing a line of pesticides and fertilizers specifically for cannabis plants. Some analysts now expect SMG to post earnings growth of 13% and sales growth of 5% in 2017 alone. 

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

This is a lesser-known pharmaceutical company that has one of the few FDA approved cannabis-based drugs in production. This drug is called "Marinol" and is designed to relieve nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients, and also used to treat appetite issues in patients with AIDS. Wall Street analysts are expecting the company to post earnings growth of 12% in 2017. 

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH)

Like Abbvie, GW is a bio-pharmaceutical company that works to discover, develop and commercialize cannabis prescription medicines. Most notably, the company has created a drug called "Epidiolex" which has been successful in its trails so far in treating patients who suffer from seizures, specifically those with Dravet syndrome, which is a rare form of epilepsy that affects infants and young children. The company has a history of majorly surprising on earnings results, with expectations that are nearly 42% higher than analyst expectations. 

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM)

This last one is slightly controversial, but worth including in the mix. Of course, you know that Philip Morris is one of the largest tobacco and nicotine-producing companies in the world and the shift by many smokers into vape and electronic cigarettes has pushed their growth back in recent years. However, think of how easy it would be for them to sell pre-rolled joints, or to replace the nicotine liquid in their electronic cigarettes with THC liquid instead? Interestingly enough, Philip Morris is a notable investor in the Israeli company, Syqe, which patented a cannabis inhaler. Regardless of how Philip Morris handled cigarette controversy in the past, they have a real opportunity to turn around and embrace the cannabis movement. For this quarter alone, the company expects to post earnings over 40% higher than the same time frame a year ago.

Disclosure: I personally own shares of SMG.

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