Revisiting Our Early 2023 Predictions

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With the market closed today for the Juneteenth holiday, I thought it would be a good time for a “mid-year checkup” on some predictions from our friends at LikeFolio.

If you haven’t met them yet, we’re talking about an investing “dream team” that has got a proprietary data-mining deal with Twitter that tells them what’s hot with consumers — long before Wall Street knows what’s happening.

And they can transform that “intelligence” into moneymaking investment plays.

And the system works.

Back in November, LikeFolio principals Andy Swan, Landon Swan, and Megan Brantley shared three stocks they said could triple in 2023.

Here are the stocks (original video is available here if you’d like more context behind each pick):

LikeFolio Expert	Stock Pick	Timestamp
Andy Swan	Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN)	1:41
Megan Brantley	Pinterest Inc. (PINS)	4:51
Landon Swan	Hims and Hers Health Inc. (HIMS)	8:26

Not quite halfway through the year, here’s how these three are doing (all returns are as of this writing).

Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN)

YTD Performance: +54.58%

Coinbase has benefited from two surprising triggers — the fall of the FTX exchange and the recent bank failures.

People who were previously using FTX to buy and sell crypto had to look for a new-and-trustworthy platform. Coinbase was an obvious candidate. And as a public company, the benefits of this shift were front-and-center — and rewarded shareholders in a rich way.

We saw a similar surge because of the bank failures. Consumers looked for other spots to park their cash, with withdrawal mentions skyrocketing:


The LikeFolio team saw a bullish set up heading into Coinbase’s most recent earnings, and we set up a trade opportunity for the members of Earnings Season Pass.

Many folks pocketed a triple-digit return.

More recently, the SEC crackdown on Coinbase has caused some volatility in the company’s share price.

But in less than six full months, COIN has delivered a gain that’s five times the stock market’s long-term average full-year return of roughly 11%.

And with his long-term outlook, Andy is still a Coinbase bull.

Pinterest Inc. (PINS)

YTD Performance: +5.64%

The “longshot” opportunity here could be Pinterest, the San Francisco-based social media company that has carved out a nifty business based on image-sharing.

But it’s really an AI company in disguise.

Pinterest has mastered the art of blending content and ads — seamlessly — so that folks can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

The company keeps adding muscle. It bought the recommendation engine tech startup Kosei, which could recognize “400 million relationships between 30 million products,” in 2015. More recently, it acquired The Yes, an AI-powered shopping platform.

Using algorithms and machine learning, Pinterest is artfully matching marketers and users. And consumers are loving it. It’s a bit of a nuanced strategy — and one that investors haven’t fully grasped… yet.

But when they do, Pinterest shares could rocket.

HIMS & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS)

YTD Performance: +42.25%

A bigger focus on infectious diseases and mental well-being was a key result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For instance, we’ve learned that being holed up at home had a long-lasting fallout — especially for students and young adults.

As these issues have been brought to the forefront, people have become increasingly comfortable discussing them publicly. Social media is now an open forum for talking about depression and anxiety. The same goes for STDs, hair loss, acne, aging, and other personal care topics.

In turn, consumers are seeking help from healthcare professionals and products to treat their symptoms. Happier, healthier lives are emerging:


Two more of healthcare’s biggest buzzwords are “normalization” and “personalization.”

Normalization refers to erasing the stigmas around mental and sexual health issues that prevent people from getting help.

Personalization is about empowering individuals to manage their own healthcare needs and finding the right products and services for them.

The San Francisco-based Hims & Hers is benefitting from both.

Its direct-to-consumer (DTC) app and websites are drawing eyeballs like never before.

Customers like the convenient access to healthcare providers and how “For Him” and “For Her” products make them feel better.

The Scorecard

Currently, Andy’s pick of Coinbase is in the lead for returns on the year, with Landon’s pick of HIMS not far behind.

Megan’s pick of Pinterest has some catching up to do, but she’s still bullish on the long-term potential of PINS.