BOWLING

Welcome to this month’s “Bowls” update.

INTRODUCTION

I am now flagging this introduction as for “new readers” only, those who have read previous articles or are familiar with my view on “Bowls” can now skip this section.

I have been looking for and often investing in “Bowls” for over 3 years or so now.

They’re a concept I picked up from Richard Crow who, as I continue developing, still discuss Bowls with on a weekly basis – Richard runs his own Substack here - In actual fact just this weekend Richard has also posted a New Year (for 2025) Bowl Charts Substack here.

For me a Bowl is a basic charting pattern which often occurs when a stock has fallen and could be bottoming. It usually has 3 main characteristics I look for…

• The rate the stock was declining slowed, indicating “Sellers almost done?”

• The stock put in no lower lows, indicating “More Buyers than Sellers?”

• The stock starts gradually rising, indicating “Buyers paying up?”

Hard to explain, even with a diagram, but here’s one anyway…

Bowls are a charting pattern and like most charting patterns, are often in the Eye of the Beholder - As can be seen by comparing my list with Richard’s recent post above.

Bowls are often “recovery” plays so to accompany any good looking Bowl I also like to see at least one of the following, preferably both…

• Management changes, a new CEO in the last year or two, it takes them a while to get going!  Not so significant but also worth checking for a new COO and/or CFO too.

• Management buying, decent sized purchases within the past 12 months by, preferably, two or three Board members, certainly no selling except partials to cover option taxation.

Bowls (recovery play opportunities) seem to be best reflected in 3 year line charts.  This kind of makes sense, most companies don’t decline overnight and likewise, most of them take a year or two, sometimes longer, to recover, or show signs of recovery.

For these reasons, a Bowl can be spotted over a period of a few months or over a period of 18 months or even more.

Anyway, I usually use 3 year line charts when scrolling through “Companies In My Universe” to look for Bowls as I’ve found over time, it’s what works best for me.

COMPANIES IN MY UNIVERSE

I don’t look at all UK companies for Bowls, I limit my criteria to those with a Market Cap >£50m and <£1bn.  I also avoid those in the “Residential & Commercial REITs”, “Collective Instruments” or “Holding Companies” Industry groups.

Just my personal choice, and this leaves me with around 500 “Companies In My Universe”.

THIS MONTHS BOWLS

As we enter the new year, I have identified 25 bowls which may be worth a further look (they’re all listed below so you can export them should you wish).

For the new year, a slightly different approach where I have categorised the bowls and provided a view on their stage in the lifecycle.

Hopefully it’s an improvement on last years “Beauty Contest” approach, let me know in the comments.

In StockRank (from Stockopedia) Order…

Longer Term Bowls

JUP – 95p would confirm

DOCS – 80p would confirm

CHRY – Confirmed

MARS – 45p would confirm

RWS – 205p would confirm

MCG – 90p would confirm

LIO – 500p would confirm

WOSG – 600p would confirm

DFS – Confirmed

ATG – 640p would confirm

IPO – Confirmed

BOOM - Confirmed

CREO – 20p would confirm

ALL – 20p would confirm

Medium Term Bowls

SQZ – 150p would confirm

APH – 50p would confirm

HEAD – 150p would confirm

CLX – 85p would confirm

ENQ – Confirmed

DWL – 70p would confirm

VCP – Confirmed

MUL – 135p would confirm

CDGP – 40p would confirm

Shorter Term Bowls (where a more recent sell-off may be over)

STB – 400p would confirm

AVCT - Confirmed

SUMMARY

As always, all bowls on this list may be worth a further look as all have potential for a decent run up in an improved economy and Bull market. This is especially true of those with a StockRank (from Stockopedia) of 80 and above, JUP, SQZ, DOCS, CHRY, MARS, APH, and RWS.

Remember I may hold all, some, none, of the stocks mentioned in this article.

No investment advice intended, for information only, Do Your Own Research.

Until next time!

Jon

BOWLS STOCK LIST

(In StockRank (from Stockopedia) Order)

JUP

SQZ

DOCS

CHRY

MARS

APH

RWS

MCG

LIO

WOSG

DFS

HEAD

ATG

CLX

ENQ

STB

IPO

DWL

BOOM

VCP

MUL

CREO

CDGP

ALL

AVCT