I think pet-related companies are a good long-term play, but PETS recently popped and I had to take my gains as I felt like there was an overreaction to one very strong quarter. I'll probably follow it again at some point in the future.

VZ has been an interesting stock to watch over the last 8 - 10 years. There is a stretch in there where it almost doubled from the high 20's to the mid 50's. Now it's back down into the 40's, which is almost unchanged in price (excluding dividends) from 10 years ago (June 1 2007). Long-term, I think VZ is still a positive play given their strong spectrum holdings and number 1 status in wireless. But I think the price accurately reflects that their growth will slow down and wireless margins are under pressure from challengers like T-Mobile.

I'm actively looking for good short candidates. The market has obviously popped since November on speculation that changes (whatever they may be) will occur, but unless changes do occur, the speculation will wear off. When that happens, companies whose performance hasn't changed since November will simply correct right back to where they were. One industry I'm looking at closely is high-end steakhouses like RUTH, DFRG, FOGO and (somewhat less so) DRI.

Stocks I like now: MDP, LB

Stocks I'm watching: WAB, ABBV