Friday, August 3, 2018

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: DWDP, TSLA, NKE, SBUX, YUM & more

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

DowDupont �� The chemicals maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.37 per share, 7 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beating forecasts. The company also said it has now realized nearly $900 million in cost savings since the merger of Dow and DuPont last year.

Cigna �� The health insurer earned an adjusted $3.89 for the second quarter, above the consensus estimate of $3.33, while revenue beat forecasts as well. Cigna was helped by higher membership numbers and increased premiums.

Tesla �� Tesla lost $3.06 per share for its latest quarter, more than the loss of $2.92 per share that analysts had projected. The automaker's revenue beat estimates, and the automaker said it expects profitability on a GAAP basis during the second half of the year.

Nike �� The athletic footwear maker was rated "overweight" in new coverage at Morgan Stanley, which said Nike is in position to take more market share in a high growth global activewear market, and that it is successfully transitioning from a traditional business into a retail technology company.

Starbucks �� Starbucks struck a partnership deal with China e-commerce giant Alibaba to deliver its coffee in Chinese cities.

Sonos �� Sonos priced its initial public offering at $15 per share, below the target range of $17 to $19 a share. The wireless speaker maker raised $38.3 million in the offering, and the shares will begin trading today on the Nasdaq.

Teva Pharmaceutical �� Teva posted beats on both the top and bottom lines for its latest quarter, and raised its full-year forecast. However, sales of its flagship multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone fell nearly 50 percent in North America due to generic competition.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals �� The drugmaker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $5.45 per share for its latest quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 a share. Revenue also beat forecasts, as sales of Regeneron's flagship eye treatment Eylea rose eight percent in the U.S. and 13 percent globally.

Yum Brands �� The parent of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut earned an adjusted 82 cents per share for the second quarter, eight cents above estimates. Revenue also topped forecasts, but a same-store sales increase of one percent was shy of the 1.98 percent consensus estimate as fewer customers ate at Pizza Hut locations.

Wynn Resorts �� Wynn reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.53 per share, short of the consensus $1.96 a share estimate. The hotel and casino operator's revenue also missed forecasts, although it did see stronger results from its Wynn Palace property in Macau.

CBS �� CBS has retained two law firms to investigate allegations of improper behavior against Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves.

T-Mobile �� T-Mobile beat estimates by 5 cents a share, with quarterly profit of 92 cents per share. The wireless carrier's revenue fell short of forecast. T-Mobile also added 686,000 new wireless subscribers during the quarter, more than Wall Street was anticipating.

TripAdvisor �� TripAdvisor came in 2 cents a share above estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of 41 cents per share. The travel website operator's revenue came up short of Street forecasts. Traffic on TripAdvisor-branded websites and apps was up 10 percent from a year earlier.

Square �� Square reported adjusted quarterly profit of 13 cents per share for the second quarter, 2 cents a share above estimates. The mobile payments company's revenue also beat estimates, however Square issued weaker-than-expected current-quarter guidance.

JPMorgan Chase �� JPMorgan said it is among the financial firms being probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission for their handling of American Depositary Receipts between 2011 and 2015. The bank said it is cooperating with the investigation.

U.S. Steel �� U.S. Steel beat estimates by 33 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.46 per share. Revenue topped forecasts, as well. The company boosted prices and lifted production following the imposition of tariffs on imported steel in March.

Yum China �� Yum China came in three cents above estimates with quarterly earnings of 33 cents per share, although the China-based restaurant operator's revenue was slightly shy of forecasts. Comparable store sales fell a greater than expected one percent, with analysts having anticipated a 0.6 percent decline.

Barclays �� Barclays saw profits nearly triple for the second quarter, coming in above analysts' estimates, and the British bank will pay a greater-than-expected dividend.

Walmart �� Walmart was sued by Silicon Valley-based Zest Labs for $2 billion. Zest claims Walmart stole its technology designed to extend the shelf life of produce. Walmart said it respects the intellectual property rights of others and would respond to the complaint in court.

Fitbit �� Fitbit reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, on stronger than expected sales of its newer smartwatches.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Investing","description":"Investing","keywords":["investing","money","finance"],"specialSlot":"","sw

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg size-large wp-image-39271363&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/39271363/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Guests walk into an AMC Entertainment Inc. movie theater in West Chester, Ohio, U.S., on Saturday, July 30, 2016. AMC Entertainment is scheduled to release earnings figures on August 1. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;AMC wants to tap into Facebook&a;rsquo;s largest user group to sell more movie tickets. The deal will allow users to purchase their tickets directly through the social media site. Due to the recent popularity of movies with black storylines or a black main lead, could this AMC-Facebook partnership help keep the movie chain afloat?&l;/span&g;

&l;b&g;The Breakdown You Need to Know&l;/b&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;AMC shares have taken a beating, down &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;20% in a year, &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;due to a lackluster summer in 2017 and they are in need of a new strategy. &l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.culturebanx.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;CultureBanx&l;/span&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; notes that with considerable disruption in the movie theater industry thanks to companies like MoviePass and the overall decline in attendance, creating a social media partnership could be the key to a turn around for the company. Especially because black people are the most prolific group of social media users and tend to lead the patterns and trends shaping the landscape. Pew research found 70% of black adults use Facebook far outpacing any other ethnic groups.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;The social media platform already has agreements with e-ticketing services Fandango and Atom Tickets. However, for Facebook this is the first time the company is directly partnering with a movie theater chain. AMC stated all payments through Facebook will be processed by AMC, Fandango or Atom Tickets. In the AMC- Facebook deal, users who purchase tickets via the platform will have their online ticketing fees waived.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;So for AMC the proof is already in the pudding with this new deal, if we look at Atom&a;rsquo;s e-ticket sales for Black Panther they reported a company record. The movie chain wants to see similar success with its online sales. More than 150 AMC locations, nearly 23% of the chain&a;rsquo;s U.S. locations, set new admissions revenue records for a single title on opening weekend for Black Panther, according to deadline. &a;ldquo;We know people already use Facebook to find movies to see in theaters, and purchase tickets to them,&a;rdquo; said Swapna Joshi, Facebook&a;rsquo;s product manager for movie ticketing in a statement. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;During the latest quarter, ticket revenues at AMC were up seven percent to $875 million, a number it wants to increase during the second half of the year. AMC which is owned by China&s;s Dalian Wanda Group shares have risen 10.1% this year, while Facebook shares have gained 17.9%. Currently AMC operates 660 theater across the U.S. and &a;nbsp;is also the world&s;s largest movie exhibitor.&l;/span&g;

&l;b&g;Movie Ticket Mindfulness&l;/b&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Large format movie chain Imax is also having a record setting year due in part to Black Panther. The company made more than, $40M from the film. It will be interesting to see if AMC competitors Imax and Cinemark attempt to cut a similar deal with Facebook in efforts to boosts their e-ticket sales.&l;/span&g;&l;/p&g;

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:HTBI,CYTR,KS,PSMT,FC, &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg wp-image-34305176 size-large&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/34305176/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;560&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Photo: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg.

Want to snap up some FTSE 100 stocks but are short on cash? Then check out the blue chip winners I&a;rsquo;ve identified below.

&l;strong&g;Taylor Wimpey&l;/strong&g;

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is slated to release half-year results on Tuesday, July 31. I&a;rsquo;m expecting another solid update and so I&a;rsquo;m tempted to snap up some more of the stock that I already own.

Last time out in April the business advised that &a;ldquo;&l;em&g;the underlying housing market has remained stable in the first four months of 2018, with continued good accessibility to mortgages at competitive rates&l;/em&g;.&a;rdquo; Conditions in London are becoming more difficult as the challenging political and economic landscape weighs, although in respect of the broader housing market conditions remain strong thanks to those supportive lending conditions and the country&a;rsquo;s woefully-inadequate housing stock.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc.(HTBI)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Northrim BanCorp (NASDAQ: NRIM) and Hometrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Headlines about Hometrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI) have trended somewhat positive on Saturday, according to Accern. The research firm identifies negative and positive media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Hometrust Bancshares earned a media sentiment score of 0.20 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the financial services provider an impact score of 46.8198551712188 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Hometrust Bancshares (NASDAQ: HTBI) and TFS Financial (NASDAQ:TFSL) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: CytRx Corporation(CYTR)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Oncobiologics (NASDAQ: ONS) and CytRx (NASDAQ:CYTR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on CytRx (CYTR)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation(KS)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Kapstone (KS)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Kapstone (NYSE:KS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.60.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    These are some of the media headlines that may have impacted Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

    Get Kapstone alerts: Investor Interest Amplifies Stock EV For KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (NYSE:KS) (parkcitycaller.com) What is Clear choice Buy, Sell or Hold? KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (KS) (nysestocks.review) Is this stock is suitable for your portfolio? KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (KS) (stockquote.review) Investor Buzz: Earnings in Review for KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (NYSE:KS) (fisherbusinessnews.com) Kapstone (KS) vs. P H Glatfelter (GLT) Head-To-Head Survey (americanbankingnews.com)

    Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank cut Kapstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 8th. ValuEngine raised Kapstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Zacks Investment Research raised Kapstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Kapstone in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Kapstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Kapstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.17.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: PriceSmart, Inc.(PSMT)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

    International warehouse club PriceSmart�(NASDAQ:PSMT) has seen its fortunes improve recently as economic growth rates steadied in many of its core Latin American, Caribbean, and Central American markets. The retailer is also benefiting from a sharp rebound in the value of the local Colombian currency.

  • [By Chris Lange]

    When PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) released its fiscal third-quarter financial results late on Thursday, the company said that it had $0.61 in earnings per share (EPS) and $782.2 million in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $0.63 in EPS and $777.1 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.62 and $730.3 million in revenue.

  • [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

    The week ahead is shortened by the July 4 holiday, but still includes a few big-name earnings reports that could move individual stocks. Below, we'll preview what investors will be focusing on with these announcements from�Herman Miller�(NASDAQ:MLHR), Acuity Brands�(NYSE:AYI), and PriceSmart�(NASDAQ:PSMT).

  • [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

    Investors have some big questions heading into PriceSmart's (NASDAQ:PSMT) upcoming quarterly report. The good news: The warehouse retailing chain is showing signs of a growth rebound that's likely to continue as Latin American and Caribbean economies recover.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now: Franklin Covey Company(FC)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Motley Fool Staff]

    Franklin Covey (NYSE:FC) Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallJun. 27, 2018 5:00 p.m. ET

    Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

    Operator

  • [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

    For the details of Osmium Partners, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Osmium+Partners%2C+LLC

    These are the top 5 holdings of Osmium Partners, LLCRosetta Stone Inc (RST) - 1,912,104 shares, 16.55% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 3.7%Tucows Inc (TCX) - 333,179 shares, 12.28% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 0.62%Franklin Covey Co (FC) - 618,000 shares, 10.94% of the total portfolio. Franklin Covey Co (FC) - 580,490 shares, 10.28% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 9.77%Leaf Group Ltd (LF

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Ford Recalls Over Half a Million Vehicles

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) shares dipped slightly on news that the automaker was issuing a recall in North America. The company is recalling roughly 550,000 sedans and sport utility vehicles in North America, saying a problem with the gear shifter could cause the vehicles to roll away.

The recall includes some 2013 to 2016 Ford Fusion cars and 2013 to 2014 Ford Escape SUVs. About 504,000 of the affected vehicles were sold in the United States.

According to the company, a bushing that connects the shifter cable to the transmission may detach in the affected vehicles. Ford warned that when the driver shifts the lever into the Park position, the vehicles may unexpectedly be in another gear. If the parking brake isn��t engaged, the vehicles could roll.

Ford noted that drivers are still able to remove the ignition key if the affected vehicles are stuck in another gear. There��s also no warning message or audible chime to indicate that the vehicle is not in Park.

Shares of Ford were last seen down less than 1% on the day to $10.80, with a consensus analyst price target of $12.28 and a 52-week trading range of $10.14 to $13.48.

ALSO READ: 4 Tech Companies That Small and Medium Business Rely On the Most

Friday, July 20, 2018

Southern Copper (SCCO) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, July 25th. Analysts expect Southern Copper to post earnings of $0.64 per share for the quarter.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 12.80%. On average, analysts expect Southern Copper to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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NYSE:SCCO opened at $45.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Southern Copper has a fifty-two week low of $37.13 and a fifty-two week high of $58.09.

In other news, EVP Quintanilla Daniel Muniz sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.20, for a total transaction of $81,920.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SCCO. B. Riley downgraded Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $57.34 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Southern Copper from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 13th. ValuEngine raised Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Southern Copper in a report on Saturday, June 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.06.

About Southern Copper

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc and lead.

Read More: Short Selling Stocks, A Beginner��s Guide

Earnings History for Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO)

Friday, July 13, 2018

Jefferies Financial Group Weighs in on Federated Investors Inc’s Q2 2018 Earnings (FII)

Federated Investors Inc (NYSE:FII) – Stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group reduced their Q2 2018 EPS estimates for shares of Federated Investors in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst S. Thind now forecasts that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.61 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.70. Jefferies Financial Group has a “Hold” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Federated Investors’ Q3 2018 earnings at $0.56 EPS, Q4 2018 earnings at $0.60 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $2.61 EPS.

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FII has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Federated Investors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Federated Investors from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 28th. TheStreet cut shares of Federated Investors from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Federated Investors to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Finally, ValuEngine cut shares of Federated Investors from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.19.

Federated Investors opened at $23.58 on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. Federated Investors has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $36.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.43.

Federated Investors (NYSE:FII) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The asset manager reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.05). Federated Investors had a net margin of 27.63% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $263.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Federated Investors’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FII. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Federated Investors during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Federated Investors during the 4th quarter worth $590,000. AMP Capital Investors Ltd boosted its stake in Federated Investors by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. AMP Capital Investors Ltd now owns 56,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Federated Investors during the 4th quarter worth $782,000. Finally, Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in Federated Investors by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,007 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the last quarter. 84.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Federated Investors Company Profile

Federated Investors, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors.

Earnings History and Estimates for Federated Investors (NYSE:FII)

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Alcoa (AA)

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

7/5/2018 – Alcoa was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. 6/25/2018 – Alcoa was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “Alcoa is a global industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products. “ 6/21/2018 – Alcoa is now covered by analysts at B. Riley. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. 6/19/2018 – Alcoa was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating. They now have a $53.00 price target on the stock. According to Zacks, “Alcoa is a global industry leader in bauxite, alumina and aluminum products. “ 6/16/2018 – Alcoa was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. 5/30/2018 – Alcoa was given a new $70.00 price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/16/2018 – Alcoa was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating.

Alcoa stock opened at $48.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.07. Alcoa Corp has a twelve month low of $33.68 and a twelve month high of $62.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Alcoa had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. equities research analysts predict that Alcoa Corp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter worth $112,000. Berson & Corrado Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the second quarter worth $202,000. American International Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa in the first quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alcoa by 1,398.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 4,376 shares in the last quarter.

Alcoa Corporation produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products. The company offers aluminum sheets for the production of cans for beverage and food. It also engages in the aluminum smelting, casting, and rolling businesses; and generation and sale of renewable energy, as well as provision of ancillary services.

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Sei Investments Co. Purchases 8,847 Shares of RR Donnelley & Sons Co (RRD)

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NYSE:RRD) by 51.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,847 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in RR Donnelley & Sons were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RRD. Towle & Co. grew its stake in shares of RR Donnelley & Sons by 34.3% in the first quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 4,357,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,164 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of RR Donnelley & Sons by 150.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,818,000 after acquiring an additional 331,196 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RR Donnelley & Sons in the first quarter worth $2,557,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of RR Donnelley & Sons by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,485,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,820,000 after acquiring an additional 115,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of RR Donnelley & Sons by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 628,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,843,000 after acquiring an additional 114,340 shares during the last quarter. 82.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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A number of research firms have recently commented on RRD. ValuEngine cut RR Donnelley & Sons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Buckingham Research began coverage on RR Donnelley & Sons in a research note on Monday, June 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock.

RR Donnelley & Sons opened at $5.79 on Friday, according to Marketbeat. RR Donnelley & Sons Co has a 12 month low of $5.49 and a 12 month high of $12.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.91 million, a PE ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -10.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.42.

RR Donnelley & Sons (NYSE:RRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.24). RR Donnelley & Sons had a negative return on equity of 37.45% and a net margin of 0.09%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts anticipate that RR Donnelley & Sons Co will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

In other RR Donnelley & Sons news, Director Timothy R. Mclevish purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.53 per share, with a total value of $130,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,582.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

About RR Donnelley & Sons

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, an integrated communications company, enables organizations to create, manage, deliver, and optimize their multichannel marketing and business communications. The company operates through Variable Print, Strategic Services, and International segments. It offers commercial and digital print, direct mail, statement printing, logistics, sourcing, and digital and creative services, as well as produces and sells labels, forms, educational testing materials, inserts, and books.

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for RR Donnelley & Sons (NYSE:RRD)

Monday, July 9, 2018

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) Shares Sold by Rossmore Private Capital

Rossmore Private Capital lowered its stake in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) by 42.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,628 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,117 shares during the quarter. Rossmore Private Capital’s holdings in Cisco Systems were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Union Bankshares Corp now owns 167,758 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 30,113 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 308,456 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,628 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 51,254 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,260 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in Cisco Systems by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 14,652 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new stake in Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $1,219,000. Institutional investors own 73.80% of the company’s stock.

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CSCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Vetr lowered shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $46.32 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 18th. Credit Suisse Group set a $41.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $58.00 price target on shares of Cisco Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 16th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.56.

In other Cisco Systems news, EVP David Goeckeler sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.27, for a total transaction of $1,514,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 490,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,222,117.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of Cisco Systems opened at $42.56 on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10. Cisco Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.36 and a fifty-two week high of $46.37.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 16th. The network equipment provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.42 billion. Cisco Systems had a negative net margin of 2.61% and a positive return on equity of 19.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. analysts expect that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 5th. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.40%.

Cisco Systems Company Profile

Cisco Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP) based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. The company offers switching products, including fixed-configuration and modular switches, and storage products that provide connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, wireless access points, and servers; and next-generation network routing products that interconnect public and private wireline and mobile networks for mobile, data, voice, and video applications.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CSCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Friday, July 6, 2018

Average US Rent Cost Rises 3% to All-Time High of $1,405

For the first time, the average U.S. rental unit costs more than $1,400, setting a new record for rent at $1,405. As with all averages, rents can cost a lot more in some U.S. cities and a lot less in others.

In the country’s largest cities (population of at least 600,000), the average rent rose the most in Las Vegas (7%) and the least in Baltimore (0.6%). New York City’s Manhattan saw the second-lowest growth of 1.5%, and Phoenix was ranked second for most growth with an increase of 6.4%.

The data were reported Friday by RENTCaf茅, a national apartment search website. The report is based exclusively on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units and includes cities with populations over 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments in 50+ unit buildings.

The largest year-over-year increases among cities of all sizes were 38.8% in Midland and 36.6% in Odessa, both in Texas, and the hubs of the oil- and gas-rich Permian Basin, where the number of oil rigs put to work in the past year skyrocketed as oil prices rose.

In addition to Midland and Odessa, rents rose fastest in Lancaster, Californina (10.2%); Reno, Nevada (9.9%); and Peoria, Arizona (9.6%). Rent fell the most in Lubbock, Texas (down 1.1%); McAllen, Texas (down 1.2%); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (down 1.3%); Norman, Oklahoma (down 1.8%); and Brownsville, Texas (down 1.9%).

Half of the 10 U.S. cities where average rent was highest in June are located in or near the Silicon Valley of northern California. Here’s the list:

Manhattan, New York: $4,116 San Francisco, California: $3,561 Boston, Massachusetts: $3,374 San Mateo, California: $3,269 Cambridge, Massachusetts: $3,111 Sunnyvale, California: $2,945 Santa Clara, California: $2,902 Jersey City, New Jersey: $2,880 Brooklyn, New York: $2,801 San Jose, California: $2,744

Half of the cities where rent was lowest in June are located in Texas and Oklahoma. Here’s the list:

Wichita, Kansas: $639 Brownsville, Texas: $675 Tulsa, Oklahoma: $676 Killeen, Texas: $699 Toledo, Ohio: $703 Amarillo, Texas: $730 Independence, Missouri: $733 Dayton, Ohio: $737 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $741 Fort Wayne, Indiana: $750

Visit the RENTCaf茅 website for more details and an interactive list of rental prices by unit sizes in 250 U.S. cities.

ALSO READ: 2018 Dow Laggards Could Offer Material Upside Into 2019

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.10.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Wednesday, March 21st. BidaskClub raised shares of Jack in the Box from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. ValuEngine cut shares of Jack in the Box from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 4th. SunTrust Banks upped their target price on shares of Jack in the Box to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $118.00) on shares of Jack in the Box in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th.

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Shares of JACK opened at $84.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -2.09. Jack in the Box has a 12-month low of $79.23 and a 12-month high of $108.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 16th. The restaurant operator reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.06). Jack in the Box had a net margin of 10.50% and a negative return on equity of 27.25%. The company had revenue of $209.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts anticipate that Jack in the Box will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 25th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Jack in the Box’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

In other news, Director David Goebel sold 1,521 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.71, for a total transaction of $124,280.91. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,989.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Jack in the Box by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,172,965 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,300,000 after acquiring an additional 108,723 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Jack in the Box by 4.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,039,330 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,686,000 after acquiring an additional 44,890 shares in the last quarter. Blue Harbour Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Jack in the Box in the first quarter valued at approximately $56,915,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Jack in the Box by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,333 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,553,000 after acquiring an additional 28,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Jack in the Box by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,819,000 after acquiring an additional 9,817 shares in the last quarter. 96.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jack in the Box Company Profile

Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service restaurants. As of April 15, 2018, it operated and franchised 2,245 Jack in the Box restaurants primarily in the western and southern United States and Guam. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Analyst Recommendations for Jack in the Box (NASDAQ:JACK)

Monday, June 25, 2018

Somewhat Positive Media Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Impact Bridgford Foods (BRID) Stock Price

Headlines about Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID) have been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group scores the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Bridgford Foods earned a daily sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the company an impact score of 46.8333900378921 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Bridgford Foods stock remained flat at $$13.33 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 842 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,686. Bridgford Foods has a 12 month low of $11.05 and a 12 month high of $21.55. The stock has a market cap of $120.99 million, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.01.

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Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 1st. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter. Bridgford Foods had a return on equity of 21.02% and a net margin of 4.68%. The company had revenue of $37.90 million during the quarter.

Bridgford Foods Company Profile

Bridgford Foods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes frozen, refrigerated, and snack food products in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Frozen Food Products and Snack Food Products. It primarily offers biscuits, bread dough items, roll dough items, and dry sausage and beef jerky products.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Obalon Therapeutics Inc (OBLN) Expected to Announce Earnings of -$0.50 Per Share

Wall Street analysts expect Obalon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OBLN) to announce earnings of ($0.50) per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have issued estimates for Obalon Therapeutics’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at ($0.44) and the lowest estimate coming in at ($0.56). Obalon Therapeutics reported earnings per share of ($0.46) during the same quarter last year, which suggests a negative year over year growth rate of 8.7%. The company is scheduled to report its next earnings report on Wednesday, August 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Obalon Therapeutics will report full year earnings of ($2.19) per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($2.29) to ($2.09). For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the firm will report earnings of ($2.03) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($2.06) to ($1.99). Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that follow Obalon Therapeutics.

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Obalon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OBLN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 million. Obalon Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 399.94% and a negative return on equity of 102.17%.

OBLN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Obalon Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. BTIG Research cut their target price on Obalon Therapeutics to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating on shares of Obalon Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Obalon Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded Obalon Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.40.

Shares of NASDAQ OBLN traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,004,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,734. Obalon Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $2.09 and a 12-month high of $11.16. The company has a market capitalization of $45.34 million, a PE ratio of -1.17 and a beta of -2.67. The company has a quick ratio of 4.09, a current ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OBLN. Tamarack Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Obalon Therapeutics by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Tamarack Advisers LP now owns 604,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,993,000 after buying an additional 56,500 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Obalon Therapeutics by 170.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 13,309 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Obalon Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,571,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.93% of the company’s stock.

Obalon Therapeutics Company Profile

Obalon Therapeutics, Inc, a vertically integrated medical device company, focuses on developing and commercializing medical devices to treat obese and overweight people by facilitating weight loss. It offers the Obalon balloon system designed to provide weight loss in obese patients. Obalon Therapeutics, Inc was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc (SNDX) Expected to Post Earnings of -$0.94 Per Share

Wall Street brokerages expect Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SNDX) to report ($0.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Zero analysts have issued estimates for Syndax Pharmaceuticals’ earnings. The highest EPS estimate is ($0.83) and the lowest is ($1.07). Syndax Pharmaceuticals posted earnings of ($0.70) per share during the same quarter last year, which suggests a negative year over year growth rate of 34.3%. The firm is expected to report its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 9th.

On average, analysts expect that Syndax Pharmaceuticals will report full-year earnings of ($3.64) per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($4.27) to ($3.20). For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the company will post earnings of ($3.58) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($5.03) to ($2.44). Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Syndax Pharmaceuticals.

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Syndax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.79) EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.96) by $0.17. Syndax Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 3,081.07% and a negative return on equity of 67.69%. The firm had revenue of $0.38 million during the quarter.

SNDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BidaskClub raised shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 24th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a report on Friday, April 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 15th. ValuEngine raised shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.86.

Shares of Syndax Pharmaceuticals traded down $0.03, reaching $8.36, during mid-day trading on Tuesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 232,871 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,708. Syndax Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $7.35 and a 52 week high of $15.20. The company has a market capitalization of $212.47 million, a P/E ratio of -2.88 and a beta of 1.14.

In other Syndax Pharmaceuticals news, insider Peter Ordentlich sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $112,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Syndax Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $4,269,000. Sofinnova Ventures Inc bought a new stake in Syndax Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $173,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Syndax Pharmaceuticals by 266.9% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,686 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new stake in Syndax Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $3,166,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Syndax Pharmaceuticals by 77.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 397,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 173,821 shares during the last quarter. 69.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Syndax Pharmaceuticals

Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for various cancer indications. The company's lead product candidate is Entinostat, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of hormone receptor positive or HR+, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative or HER2-, and breast cancer; and Phase 1b/2 clinical trial.

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Earnings History and Estimates for Syndax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNDX)

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Social Security Is Running Dry, And There's Only One Politically Viable Option To Save It

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-237216019&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/237216019/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

Some things you just don&a;rsquo;t question. Social Security is one of them. You pay into it your whole career, and you expect to get paid when you retire.

No politician dares say you won&a;rsquo;t.

Now, if the politicians were honest, they would tell us not to bet on Social Security&a;hellip; or Medicare, for that matter. Both programs are unsustainable without major changes no one wants to make.

The money is simply not there. As it stands, &l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dff/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;the retirement income and medical benefits millions think they already paid for aren&a;rsquo;t going to happen&l;/a&g;.

It&a;rsquo;s a sticky problem that won&a;rsquo;t solve itself.

&l;/p&g;&l;h3&g;&l;strong&g;Social Security and Medicare Are Running Out of Reserves&l;/strong&g;&l;/h3&g;

Over its 83-year history, Social Security has collected roughly $20.9 trillion in taxes and interest, according to&a;nbsp;&l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dfj/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;this year&a;rsquo;s trustee report&l;/a&g;.

It has also paid $18 trillion in benefits, leaving $2.9 trillion in trust fund &a;ldquo;reserves.&a;rdquo; Which are not really reserves, but let&a;rsquo;s use their terms for a minute.

But there&a;rsquo;s something unusual that will happen in 2018. For the first time since 1982,&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;Social Security&a;rsquo;s total cost will&l;/strong&g;&a;nbsp;&l;strong&g;exceed its income this year&l;/strong&g;. And this time, the trustees project it will keep doing so, as far as the eye can see.

To keep paying benefits at current levels, Social Security must therefore dip into those reserves. But eventually they will run out too&a;mdash;with estimated depletion by 2034.

Medicare is in a similar pickle. The hospitalization program (Medicare Part A) will deplete its reserves in 2026. That&a;rsquo;s three years earlier than the trustees projected just last year.

&l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dfm/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;This is a drag on the economy and will only grow as more Baby Boomers reach retirement age.&l;/a&g;

Last year, Social Security and Medicare were 42% of federal program expenditures. As they grow, either taxes must rise, or other spending has to go down, or the debt will get even further out of control.

&l;h3&g;&l;strong&g;The Least Bad Alternative&l;/strong&g;&l;/h3&g;

This is really just a cash flow problem.

After the trust funds run dry, we&a;rsquo;ll need to match Social Security and Medicare&a;rsquo;s expenses with their income. We can accomplish that by reducing expenses, raising revenue (i.e., increase taxes), or a combination of both.

Let&a;rsquo;s also note, trust fund depletion won&a;rsquo;t mean no money is available. The programs will still be collecting tax revenue. It just won&a;rsquo;t be enough to cover current costs.

Raising revenue means higher taxes. That could happen, but it probably won&a;rsquo;t be enough.

We can reduce expenses by either cutting benefits or making fewer people eligible&a;mdash;both politically difficult. People believe they &a;ldquo;earned&a;rdquo; it, but in fact, they didn&a;rsquo;t.

Yes, money came out of all your paychecks labeled for Social Security, but it&a;rsquo;s not like insurance. You have no contract with the government. Receiving Social Security is not a constitutional &a;ldquo;right.&a;rdquo; It doesn&a;rsquo;t matter that you think you paid for it.

A mostly forgotten 1960 Supreme Court ruling,&a;nbsp;&l;u&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dfq/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Flemming vs. Nestor&l;/a&g;&l;/u&g;, said &l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dft/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;the fact that you paid into Social Security creates no obligation for Congress to give you anything bac&l;/a&g;k. They can cut benefits to zero if they want to. Your only recourse is to vote them out.

Now, Congress probably won&a;rsquo;t do that, because they know we&a;nbsp;&l;em&g;would&l;/em&g;&a;nbsp;vote them out. But they&a;rsquo;ll have to find some solution. If raising taxes and cutting benefits are both off the table, what&a;rsquo;s left?

The least bad alternative is to raise the retirement age.

Congress previously did so back in the 1980s, in tiny steps that topped out at 67 for those (like me) born in 1960 or later.

In one sense, this is only fair. Life expectancies were much lower when they made 65 the full retirement age. People collected benefits for only a few years before they died. Many never collected at all. Now people routinely live into their 80s and 90s.

Look, not even Franklin Roosevelt would have agreed to a program guaranteeing all citizens a 20+-year non-working retirement with government-paid healthcare. That was never the idea, but it&a;rsquo;s what we have right now.

&l;strong&g;The Social Security outlook would vastly improve if we raised the full retirement age to 72 or even 75, starting soon.&l;/strong&g;&a;nbsp;It really is the easiest, least painful answer.

Today&a;rsquo;s 75-year-olds are in the same or better health than 65-year-olds were in the 1930s. So that&a;rsquo;s what I think Congress should do.

Which leaves the question: What will&a;nbsp;&l;em&g;you&l;/em&g;&a;nbsp;do?

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

&l;h3&g;&l;strong&g;Getting Somewhere&l;/strong&g;&l;/h3&g;

Well, you can deny it, but it&a;rsquo;s happening anyway.

More and more Baby Boomers reach 65 to find they can&a;rsquo;t afford to stop working. Others can afford to retire, but they just enjoy their work.

As I wrote last year in &q;&l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dfx/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;How to Work in Retirement and Love It&l;/a&g;,&q; this isn&a;rsquo;t necessarily bad. The key is to have enjoyable work that suits your physical condition.

And, as I wrote last week in &q;&l;a href=&q;http://www.mauldineconomics.com/go/v39dg3/FOR&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;To Save the Economy, Don&a;rsquo;t Retire&l;/a&g;,&q; applying retirees&a;rsquo; skills and experience that currently go untapped could boost the economy, creating more and better jobs for younger people.

This idea isn&a;rsquo;t perfect. But the present finger-pointing and worrying are getting us nowhere. Raising the retirement age is a bullet we may have to bite.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Top Dividend Stocks For 2018

tags:RBC,PH,MCHP,CEL,

Colliers International Gr (NASDAQ: CIGI) and Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Risk & Volatility

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Colliers International Gr has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Getty Realty has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.0% of Colliers International Gr shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Getty Realty shares are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of Colliers International Gr shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.6% of Getty Realty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Top Dividend Stocks For 2018: Regal Beloit Corporation(RBC)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

     

    Companies Reporting After The Bell Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is projected to post quarterly loss at $1.31 per share on revenue of $1.97 billion. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.59 per share on revenue of $909.36 million. Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $294.79 million. General Cable Corporation (NYSE: BGC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $980.61 million. Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $598.45 million. Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1 per share on revenue of $746.42 million. Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $319.71 million. National General Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NGHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $1.08 billion. The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NAVG) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $320.92 million. Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Trex Company, Inc. (NYSE: TREX) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $172.22 million. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AMC) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $1.35 billion. Envision Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: EVHC) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $2.02 billion. Regal Beloit Corporation (NYSE: RBC) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $1.23 per share on revenue of $869.64 million. Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $39
  • [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.63 billion. Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $926.18 million. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion. US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $936.98 million. Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $23.80 billion. JD.com, Inc. (NYSE: JD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $15.65 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.6 per share o

Top Dividend Stocks For 2018: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Ardevora Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in shares of Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH) by 0.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 154,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Parker Hannifin were worth $26,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Barings LLC decreased its holdings in Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH) by 36.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,937 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Parker Hannifin were worth $4,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Parker Hannifin (PH)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Eaton Vance Management lifted its holdings in shares of Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH) by 141.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 514,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 301,597 shares during the quarter. Eaton Vance Management’s holdings in Parker Hannifin were worth $88,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System reduced its position in Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,667 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Parker Hannifin worth $29,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top Dividend Stocks For 2018: Microchip Technology Incorporated(MCHP)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.63 billion. Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $926.18 million. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion. US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $936.98 million. Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $23.80 billion. JD.com, Inc. (NYSE: JD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $15.65 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.6 per share o
  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Press coverage about Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) has trended somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Microchip Technology earned a news sentiment score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave press coverage about the semiconductor company an impact score of 46.825929182511 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

  • [By Shanthi Rexaline]

    Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore previewed earnings reports from MPINJ Inc (NASDAQ: PI), Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). Morgan Stanley has the following ratings on the companies:

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    This company is a huge Internet of Things benefactor. Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide.

  • [By ]

    Crutcher added that TI's own chip manufacturing teams have been pushing equipment suppliers to make their machinery smarter. "We want it to tell us sooner if there's an issue with the [chip] wafer that's going through that machine," he said as an example. Fellow analog chip and microcontroller (MCU) suppliers such as Analog Devices (ADI) and Microchip (MCHP) also have strong industrial exposure.

  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 888,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,168,000. Microchip Technology comprises 3.2% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Top Dividend Stocks For 2018: Cellcom Israel Ltd.(CEL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Thursday afternoon, the telecommunication services shares surged 0.58 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), up 5 percent, and Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) up 2.5 percent.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Thursday afternoon, the health care shares rose 1.79 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Partner Communications Company Ltd. (NASDAQ: PTNR), up 8 percent, and Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) up 7 percent.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

    Losers Natural Health Trends Corp (NASDAQ: NHTC) fell 7.8 percent to $19.80 in pre-market trading after rising 1.46 percent on Friday. Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) shares fell 6.6 percent to $11.41 in pre-market trading after climbing 4.18 percent on Friday. Quorum Health Corporation (NYSE: QHC) shares fell 6.2 percent to $5.15 in pre-market trading after tumbling 11.45 percent on Friday. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) fell 6.1 percent to $7.31 in pre-market trading after declining 3.35 percent on Friday. Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) fell 5.6 percent to $28.30 in pre-market trading. Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVFM) fell 5.3 percent to $6.06 in pre-market trading after gaining 2.73 percent on Friday. Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) shares fell 5.2 percent to $28.60 in pre-market trading. Xerox terminated its transaction agreement with Fujifilm and entered into a new agreement with Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason. JP Morgan downgraded Xerox from Overweight to Neutral. Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) fell 5.2 percent to $7.02 in pre-market trading. Cellcom is expected to release Q1 results on May 30, 2018. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) fell 4.5 percent to $74 in pre-market trading. Nabriva Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: NBRV) shares fell 4 percent to $4.66 in pre-market trading

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Why Nicolas Maduro Of Venezuela May Wish He Lost The Presidential Election

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-936b71b5d7bf4ecabfec89ea13f1c124&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/936b71b5d7bf4ecabfec89ea13f1c124/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;623&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Venezuela&s;s re-elected president Nicolas Maduro walks with his Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. Maduro won with 62% of the vote. The U.S. responded with sanctions that are likely to starve PdVSA of cashflow. Bad for Maduro. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

It&s;s coming to a close, fans of the Bolivar Republic. This sad story in Caracas is unsustainable and this weekend&s;s election showed either people like 10,000% inflation or the Socialists United (PSUV) need to squash opposition to remain in power. It&s;s probably the latter.

The Venezuela oil economy that made PSUV powerful and made Venezuela one of the richest countries south of Texas is on its last legs. It&s;s not because of Washington, as PSUV&s;s novel writers like to say. It is because of the government leadership.

With sanctions in place due to Maduro basically banning all serious contenders from running for the presidency, a slight to the community of democratic nations in the hemisphere, it is more certain than ever that Venezuelan oil major PdVSA will get sucked deeper into this political black hole. A Maduro win is potentially a crushing defeat for PdVSA. Ironically, a Maduro win may also ultimately be bad for Maduro himself.

He needs a miracle to make it through his next term. Even a full-on dictatorship won&s;t save the Venezuelan president.

&q;If we assume that the incompetent economic team cannot insulate PdVSA cashflow with U.S. still the most important paying customer, then this should further aggravate cashflow stress...and it is not about having sufficient funds to pay bond investors,&q; says Siobhan Morden, managing director for Nomura Securities in New York. &q;It is rather that there are sufficient funds left to pay off corrupt officials and the military, to sustain support for Maduro,&q; she says.

There is already dissent &l;a href=&q;https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-19/venezuela-s-maduro-ramps-up-arrests-to-purge-dissenting-military&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;in the military among the rank and file.&l;/a&g;

The U.S. has banned numerous transactions with Venezuela. It is also making it harder to move money through the financial system. Maduro&s;s foray into cryptocurrency, launching its petro coin, is not going to save it.

&l;!--donotpaginate--&g;

So the thinking goes that cashflow stress at PdVSA, the PSUV ATM machine, undermines Maduro. Nomura predicts trade sector sanctions against Venezuela, with an incremental approach that preserves reputational costs and future leverage for an economy that is already entering the terminal phase of collapse in oil production capacity.

&q;It will become increasingly difficult for a global integrated oil company to function within the constraints of international isolation,&q; Morden says.&a;nbsp; &q;Especially for a government that cannot effectively insulate commercial and financial flows from the legal threats of U.S. sanctions and bondholder litigation.&q;

Maduro sees himself as carrying on Hugo Chavez&s;s legacy. He is fighting the good fight against Yankee imperialists and their like-minded capitalists in the Venezuelan business class. These are PSUV&s;s natural enemies.

It was Chavez who first expanded the powers of the presidency by changing the constitution to allow him to run for another term. He also removed one chamber of Congress, similar to what Maduro did years later when he cut the National Assembly off at the knees and created his Chamber of Yesmen, known as the Constituent Assembly. In 2004, Chavez effectively took control of the Supreme Court by expanding its size and appointing 12 justices. The court is 100% PSUV. In 2009, Chavez led a successful referendum ending presidential term limits. Maduro can run for ever.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-96266519eef04d09a2dac31404f293d3&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/96266519eef04d09a2dac31404f293d3/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Supporters listen to opposition presidential candidate Javier Bertucci in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, May 20, 2018. Electoral officials declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday&s;s presidential election, while his leading challenger questioned the legitimacy of a vote marred by irregularities and called for a new ballot to prevent a brewing social crisis from exploding. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

But he will not.

&l;p class=&q;tweet_line&q;&g;Oil accounts for about&a;nbsp;95% of Venezuela&a;rsquo;s export earnings and 25% of its gross domestic product.&l;/p&g;

PdVSA controls all the country&a;rsquo;s oil exploration, production, and exportation. PdVSA is going broke. They are not investing in oil production. One would think that if low oil prices was Venezuela&s;s problem, as Maduro tells his base, then a 100% increase in price from $30 a barrel just three years ago, to $70 today would signal a return to the good ole days. As reality would have it, Venezuela has only gotten worse even as oil prices haven risen.&l;/p&g;&l;!--donotpaginate--&g;

And so as PdVSA runs out of money in its ATM to pay off people in the military and within the political apparatus to play along, one wonders what happens when the money dries up?

It is drying up.

The weekend elections further increase the trend of Venezuela&s;s isolation from Latin America, let alone the U.S. Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala all took diplomatic measures on recalling their ambassadors. They think the election was a sham.

Washington retaliated post election with more financial sector sanctions making it impossible for Venezuela to raise funds in its most reliable market: the U.S.&a;nbsp; Tighter sanctions will further compromise PdVSA and that ultimately forces some sort of regime change in Caracas.&l;/p&g;

Friday, May 25, 2018

Deutsche Bank chairman defends CEO replacement

FRANKFURT--Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) Chairman Paul Achleitner defended the supervisory board's decision last month to replace Chief Executive John Cryan, calling the change "unavoidable," in a speech to investors Thursday at the lender's annual meeting.

Mr. Achleitner has come under fire from shareholders for what some view as a botched management changeover reflecting deeper turmoil and strategic uncertainty at the bank.

Management-board conflicts were getting out of hand and stalling important decisions under Mr. Cryan, Mr. Achleitner said Thursday, citing "increasing differences of opinion" in the executive ranks.

Career Deutsche Bank employee Christian Sewing, who replaced Mr. Cryan as CEO after serving as the bank's top retail-banking and senior audit executive, was the supervisory board's "first choice" to fill the top job, Mr. Achleitner said.

Mr. Achleitner said leaks of internal information and speculation accelerated the CEO change in March and April. The supervisory board had hoped to announce a new CEO at Thursday's annual meeting, not April 8 as it ended up doing, Mr. Achleitner said.

He credited Mr. Cryan with improving Deutsche Bank's internal controls and its relationships with regulators. Mr. Cryan also helped the bank boost its capital position and make key decisions such as exiting 10 countries to focus on more important markets, Mr. Achleitner said.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at Jenny.strasburg@wsj.com

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

MH370 Search in Jeopardy Again as New PM Mahathir Cuts Costs

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is in peril once again as new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reins in government spending.

The contract to find the jet, missing since 2014, is under review, Mahathir said after his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The government in January agreed to pay U.S. exploration company Ocean Infinity as much as $70 million if it solves what has become modern aviation’s biggest mystery.

"We want to know what is the necessity for this, and if we find that it is not necessary, we will not renew," Mahathir, who returned to power in a shock election triumph this month, told reporters in Putrajaya. “We may terminate it if it’s not useful."

Click here to read about Malaysia’s inflated debt

Ocean Infinity’s search vessel, Seabed Constructor, has already scoured 86,000 square kilometers of seabed in the southern Indian Ocean without success, according to the latest weekly report on the operation. That area includes the patch that investigators identified as the aircraft’s most likely resting place before the search was abandoned in 2017.

“We are approaching the end of the current search, and the weather also soon becomes a limiting factor, but we’re currently maximizing our efforts whilst we can,” a representative for Ocean Infinity said in an email.

To read more about the search for MH370, click here

The Boeing Co. 777 aircraft disappeared on March 8, 2014, on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board. Investigators tracked MH370’s route using satellite data and believe the plane headed south over the Indian Ocean for about six hours before plummeting into the water.

(Updates with Ocean Infinity’s comments in fifth paragraph.) LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:35 Share Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Send as an Email Print

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Dean Investment Associates LLC Trims Stake in Dover Co. (DOV)

Dean Investment Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,201 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Dover were worth $3,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dover during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dover by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dover during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,823,000. Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dover by 63.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 10,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 3,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Dover by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 436,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,041,000 after buying an additional 20,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.65% of the company’s stock.

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Shares of NYSE DOV opened at $80.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.32. Dover Co. has a 12 month low of $62.10 and a 12 month high of $88.11.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Dover had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. research analysts forecast that Dover Co. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 30th. Dover’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.65%.

DOV has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Dover in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on Dover from $120.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 30th. ValuEngine lowered Dover from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 9th. Seaport Global Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Dover in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase lowered Dover from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Dover presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.92.

In other Dover news, insider Stephen Gary Kennon sold 15,702 shares of Dover stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.01, for a total value of $1,601,761.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Patrick Burns purchased 510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.51 per share, for a total transaction of $49,730.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,883 shares in the company, valued at $183,611.33. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,897 shares of company stock worth $2,031,745. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Dover Company Profile

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, specialty systems, consumable supplies, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Energy, Engineered Systems, Fluids, and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. The Energy segment provides solutions and services for the production and processing of fuels for drilling and production, bearings and compression, and automation end markets.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Dover (NYSE:DOV)