One of the bestinvestments in the 21st century has been
professional sports teams. In 2000, there were 114 major sports
teams in the United States and none of them have declined in value
during the past 12 years.
Only two teams, the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche
and New York Islanders, failed to gain at least 10% during that
time. The biggest winner, Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins,
increased more than 15.4% a year on average. While these teams
might be among the best possible investments, few sports fans or
investors can afford to buy their own team.
According to Forbes, the Manchester United European football
(the sport Americans know as soccer) team is the most valuable
sports team in the world. In July, the latest available data showed
that the team was valued at $2.23 billion, according to Forbes,
which is the leading source of publicly available information on
the value of sports teams. After that valuation was published,
Manchester United (
MANU
)
completed anIPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Now,stock andbond
market investors value the team at more than $3 billion.
European soccer is one of the most widely-followed sports in the
world and there are an estimated 695 million fans of Manchester
United in more than 200 countries. The team's league, the English
Premier League, recently signed a three-year deal for television
rights that is worth $4.8 billion, about $1.6 billion a year. For
comparison, the National Football League (NFL) television rights
are worth about $3 billion a year. Major League Baseball earns
about $1.6 billion a year from television, and the National
Basketball Association rights are worth about $900 million a
year.
Since the IPO, Manchester United stock has traced out a
bottoming pattern and appears ready to deliver a quick gain to
investors. Its limited trading history of less than six months
makes technical indicators difficult to interpret. Other than price
pattern analysis, the 20-daymoving average (
MA
) could be a useful tool for traders.
Due to Tuesday's big move up, Manchester United is trading at
the initialprice target established by the bottoming pattern. With
a move above $17.11, the next price target is $20.09. The company
is scheduled to announce its latest quarterlyearnings in
mid-February, and that news event may bring the stock to the
attention of investors.
Manchester United could become a stock sought after purely for
the emotional satisfaction a sports fan gains from owning part of
its favorite team. In the United States, the NFL's Green Bay
Packers occasionally raisefunds by selling stock to investors.
Although that stock carries no rights and is not publicly traded,
it comes with a certificate that informs other fans of the owner's
status, and last year the team was able to sell about 300,000shares
at $250 each. Fans of Manchester United could create similar demand
for the stock, and that couldoffer support to the price.
This is a stock with an interesting pattern that could see
irrational bouts of buying as the team performs well on the field.
An appearance in post season playoffs or a league championship
could add to the stock's appeal. In Britain, betting on sports is
legal and the team is favored by bookmakers to win the championship
this season. That factor alone could push the stock to new
highs.
Action to Take -->
Buy Manchester United at $17.10 a share or higher. Set initial
stop-loss at $14.63, the 20-day moving average, and then continue
to use the 20-day MA as atrailing stop . This MAwill rise rapidly,
so be sure to raise the stop as the risk will decrease sharply as
the MA rises. Set initial price target at $20 for a potential 17%
gain in 4-6 weeks.
This article originally appeared on ProfitableTrading.com:
Traders Could Score Double-Digit Profits in 4-6
Weeks With This Stock