Just so you know

Instead of forking 3 grand to upgrade your home movie theatre, why don't you long the stock that all smart people on Bay street recommend to their client? I mean, it's your choice, but if I were you...

One more reason to long GIB.TO

I always advise CGI members to stay on proven ground and to stay away from exotic temptations, whether it is exciting new technologies, unbelievable job offer and even trendy and hip clothes.

Here's one more thing to add to your internal check list: personal investments.

Some people are just plain weird, they work their ass off to rake a few dollars and if they resist the socially-acceptable urge to blow their disposable income on electronic gadgets, they throw themselves into the arms of the closest Investors Group representative. The conversation usually goes like this:

Dumb customer: I want to make money, I don't know jack about investments nor do I have any interests in learning, therefore I want to trust you since you have a nice suit or your office is way better than mine.

Smart representative: I'm happy to welcome you as a new gullible client as it will increase my personal bonus even I make you loose money, in which case I'll blame the markets and/or Bernanke. How many of your friends and relatives are as clueless as you? Are they on Facebook as well?

Dumb customer: Well, I want to make money. I listened to one guy on the radio saying ETFs are a good strategy. What's an ETF? Hold your answer, I won't be able to understand the lingo anyway, here's a fat check.

Smart representative: What a happy coincidence, our company has just released a truckload of synthetic ETFs, from the same smart people who designed fabulous CDOs in 2007. May I interest you with our latest leveraged ETF? It is actively managed, meaning the guy in charge spends an awful lot of time playing golf to hear rumors. I could forward you the link but since you're low-watt bulb in IT I'm afraid the PDFs thick with obscure wording and acronyms might make you feel awfully inferior and humiliated. Let me take your check.

Dumb customer: Thanks, I already feel better.

Smart representative: So am I.

If you have at least half the mental capability of a lobotomized donkey, you should open a trading account and buy decent stocks for the long run, like GIB. It won't make you a millionaire, it will never pay a sinful dividend, but it will keep you safe from the non-sense out there.

CGI trades slightly below $20, down from its peak at $24.30, you should act now if I were you. P/E around 11, how many deals like this can you find today?

Plus, owning more GIB will make you a better member, so happiness is a by-product.

CGI upgraded to "smouldering hot"

I mean, what did I tell you earlier this week about douche bags who pretends your stock is not "exciting" anymore? Some other people who do not qualify as moronic analysts think CGI is the hottest thing in this quadrant, with a target price of $20.00. Gasp, this would be the greatest event ever, I would tap dance on the desk of institutional investors, I told you so, I told you so.

Oops. Huge mistake. They're talking about another company whose ticket is CGI. Calderon something. Damn those guys, I hate them.

Uptrend Spotted in Shares of CGI Group

Chip says it all, and he's a wise man. Look at the picture above and decide what needs to be done. If your cultural background indicates that the sacrifice of a young lamb might excite the gods of profitable growth, just do it - but don't expense the lamb, I won't pay for it.

No news. Really.

The CGI news feed has been quiet for a while, so my assistant Natalie suggested we do a pointless press release to emphasize how good we are in hope that'll maintain our stock price above $13 during the holidays. So we issued this yesterday where we basically say that we raked $1.1B in contracts during October-December. It doesn't say it this is actually lower or higher than Q1 last year, you'll have to dig that up.

I now get a mailbox full of rants from CGI members who didn't get a profit-sharing bonus this year because their business unit financial results sucked. My standard reply is, wake up and smell the coffee, give me some lucrative 10-year managed services contracts with loaded customers and maybe, just maybe, you'll be considered worthy. This is CGI folks, we're not the Salvation Army. Now get back to work and try to bring some profitable growth.

Can our stock go even higher?

I overheard a conversation at the sandwich shop where I usually go on week-ends, two guys were discussing the CGI share price. One said really excited and thought that GIB could reach $20 by mid-2010. In the midst of all the bad news going on the market CGI was, quote: a rock solid foundation. I almost hugged him, but I didn't. Swine flu concerns.

His friend was a bit more pessimistic. His argument was that the CGI stock price got inflated following the acquisition of EDS by HP, then Perot by Dell and then ACS by the copier company. If CGI goes through 2010 without any major acquisition - or being acquired - the share could dip below $10. Analysts want excitement, they want to see real growth.

So I left the sandwich shop with mixed feelings about how well is CGI is perceived by outsiders. If only they could see what I see.