Landmark Bancorp (LARK) Getting Somewhat Favorable Media Coverage, Report Finds

Headlines about Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) have been trending somewhat positive on Thursday, according to Accern. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Landmark Bancorp earned a coverage optimism score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the financial services provider an impact score of 47.7582449310025 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Landmark Bancorp from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th.

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Landmark Bancorp traded down $0.26, hitting $28.75, during trading hours on Thursday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 500 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,685. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 0.50. Landmark Bancorp has a 52 week low of $27.01 and a 52 week high of $31.08.

Landmark Bancorp (NASDAQ:LARK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $10.00 million during the quarter. Landmark Bancorp had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 5.06%.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 8th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%.

Landmark Bancorp Company Profile

Landmark Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Landmark National Bank that provides various financial and banking services. The company accepts various deposits comprising non-interest bearing demand deposits, money market and checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.

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Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P.'s Q2 Results Head in Reverse (But a Reacceleration Is Ju

As expected, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' (NYSE:BIP) growth engine stalled out in the second quarter because the company recently sold its electricity transmission business in Chile. However, that's just a temporary speed bump since the company has several transactions in the pipeline that will more than replace this lost income in the future.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Funds from operations (FFO)	$294 million	$295 million	(0.3%)
FFO per unit	$0.75	$0.80	(6.3%)

Data source: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Brookfield spent the quarter building a better portfolio of businesses. Image source: Getty Images.

What happened with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners this quarter?�

An asset sale slowed things down:

Brookfield's utilities segment generated $139 million of FFO, which was 17% less than�last year's second quarter. The main culprit was the sale of the company's electricity transmission business in Chile, which closed in the first quarter. In addition to that, a debt financing on the company's Brazilian natural gas transmission business as well as foreign currency fluctuations also affected results. Those impacts aside, the company's underlying business performed well as FFO on a "same-store" basis rose 6% year over year thanks to the strength of its regulated distribution business in the U.K. and expansion projects placed into service over the past year. The transportation segment produced $133 million in FFO, which was even with the year-ago period. While the company benefited from inflationary tariff increases and higher volumes on its toll roads, foreign exchange fluctuations and a nationwide trucker strike in Brazil offset those positives, with the 11-day strike knocking $8 million off FFO during the quarter. The energy segment was the lone bright spot this quarter as FFO jumped 26% to $54 million due mainly to a higher contribution from its North American gas transmission business. Brookfield's renamed data infrastructure segment generated $19 million in FFO, which is flat year over year due to the stability of its operations. What management had to say�

While FFO went in reverse during the second quarter, it should reaccelerate in the coming quarters because the company has now secured several transactions that will more than replace this lost income. CEO Sam Pollock commented on the company's strategic maneuvers, stating that:

We are pleased to be deploying $1.3 billion into three North American investments in the data infrastructure and energy sectors. Our competitive advantage in executing corporate carve out transactions enabled us to acquire two highly coveted franchises. Furthermore, our expertise and scale allowed us to successfully acquire a high-quality residential energy infrastructure company. With these investments, we are encouraged by the near- and long-term growth potential for our business.

In the data infrastructure deal, Brookfield is acquiring several data centers from AT&T (NYSE:T). Brookfield will invest $160 million into this transaction for a stake in 31 data centers in 11 countries, though the U.S supplies 85% of the revenue. The deal will give Brookfield's data infrastructure business an expandable platform while providing AT&T with some cash to pay down debt.

In addition to that, Brookfield has agreed to buy Enbridge's (NYSE:ENB) Western Canadian natural gas gathering and processing business. The company will invest about $540 million in the acquisition, giving it a stake in the largest operation of its kind in Canada, which has it strategically positioned for expansion. Meanwhile, Enbridge will use the cash to pay down debt and fund its large slate of expansion projects.

Finally, Brookfield and its partners have agreed to acquire Enercare (TSX:ECI), which is a leading provider of residential energy infrastructure. Brookfield will invest roughly $630 million into this transaction, for a stake in a business that generates "annuity-like" cash flows by renting water heaters and HVAC units to 1.6 million customers in the U.S. and Canada.

Looking forward�

In addition to these three acquisitions, Brookfield stated that it has another $400 million of investment opportunities in the final stages of due diligence as well as other attractive, but less advanced transactions further down the pipeline. Brookfield noted that if it can close the three deals mentioned as well as the $400 million of late-stage transactions that they'll combine to generate about $170 million in annual FFO in the first year. That will more than replace the roughly $130 million FFO impact from the Chilean asset sale and the debt issuance on its Brazilian gas pipeline business. Further, not only will these investments generate a higher return in the near-term, but they should produce "substantially higher 'same-store' growth over time," according to the company.

High Gain Market Capitalization Hits $0.00 (HIGH)

High Gain (CURRENCY:HIGH) traded flat against the US dollar during the 1-day period ending at 18:00 PM Eastern on July 22nd. During the last week, High Gain has traded flat against the US dollar. High Gain has a market capitalization of $0.00 and $0.00 worth of High Gain was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One High Gain coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.0002 or 0.00000003 BTC on exchanges.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed during the last 24 hours:

Get High Gain alerts: XRP (XRP) traded 1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.45 or 0.00006089 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded 2.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.28 or 0.00003841 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded 3.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.98 or 0.00013264 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded down 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00013492 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 1.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0352 or 0.00000475 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded down 3.2% against the dollar and now trades at $33.30 or 0.00449992 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded 2.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $12.06 or 0.00162892 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded down 4.5% against the dollar and now trades at $1.79 or 0.00024204 BTC. 0x (ZRX) traded down 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.15 or 0.00015519 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded down 2.3% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0720 or 0.00000973 BTC.

About High Gain

High Gain’s official website is www.highgain.ltd. High Gain’s official Twitter account is @HighgainHigh.

High Gain Coin Trading

High Gain can be bought or sold on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: CoinExchange. It is usually not possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as High Gain directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire High Gain should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Coinbase, Gemini or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy High Gain using one of the exchanges listed above.

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Best Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:EPAM,DBL,TMST,

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality." - Ralph Marston

Happy New Year to the SeekingAlpha community. May 2017 be full of good health and prosperity for all.

As we look for investment opportunities in 2017, the biotech sector stands out as one area of the market I think will provide good returns and significantly outperform the overall market in the New Year. I believe this for three key reasons.

Reversion To The Mean:

One of my late father's favorite sayings was "Life is like a pendulum. It swings too far to the left. It swings too far to the right. It is rarely in the middle where it belongs". I have found this to be sage advice over the years when comes to politics, relationships, sports and the markets.

Best Stocks To Own Right Now: EPAM Systems, Inc.(EPAM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Constant advances in technology require companies of all sizes to make efforts to keep up and take maximum advantage of new capabilities before competitors do. That puts companies like EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) in a great position, because the resulting demand for IT services is constant and growing. EPAM did a good job of fulfilling its potential for strong growth in 2017, and the IT services specialist has high hopes that 2018 will bring even more gains.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

  Get EPAM Systems alerts: 33 Top US Companies Short-Listed in 10 categories for USA-Europe Shared Services Awards, June 20th, New York (benzinga.com) Alexion SmartPanel Developed in Partnership With EPAM Wins Judges’ Prize in the 2018 Bio-IT World Best Practices … (globenewswire.com) Alexion SmartPanel Developed in Partnership With EPAM Wins Judges�� Prize in the 2018 Bio-IT World Best Practices Awards (finance.yahoo.com) Financial Review: NTT DATA Corp/ADR (NTDTY) and EPAM Systems (EPAM) (americanbankingnews.com) What is RPA? A revolution in business process automation (computerworld.com.au)

  A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised EPAM Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on EPAM Systems to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Friday, February 16th. ValuEngine raised EPAM Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $132.00 price objective (up from $123.00) on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.25.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its position in EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360,326 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,329 shares during the quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in EPAM Systems were worth $41,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Best Stocks To Own Right Now: DoubleLine Opportunistic Credit Fund(DBL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  News headlines about Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund common stock (NYSE:DBL) have been trending somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund common stock earned a news impact score of 0.04 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the investment management company an impact score of 47.2090833571026 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund common stock (NYSE:DBL) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, June 1st, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.167 per share by the investment management company on Friday, June 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 13th.

Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Timken Steel Corporation(TMST)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Timkensteel (NYSE: TMST) and APERAM/SH N Y REGISTRY SH (OTCMKTS:APEMY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on TimkenSteel (TMST)

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

What to Expect When World Wrestling Entertainment Reports Earnings

Investors in World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) have had plenty to cheer about. Shares of the sports-entertainment company are up a whopping 150% so far in 2018, and up an even more impressive 275% over the past 12 months.

Recent broadcast media deals have propelled the stock higher, so investors will be watching closely when WWE reports the financial results for the 2018 second quarter after the market closes on Thursday, July 26. Let's take a look at a few items of interest to investors going into the company's earnings report.

Image source: WWE.

Off the top rope

For the first quarter, WWE reported revenue that was on par with last year's figure, but excluding the impact of adopting a recent accounting change, its revenue of $187.7 million represented an increase of 5% year over year. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $35.2 million increased 40% compared to the prior-year quarter, and jumped 68% excluding the impact of accounting changes.�

Paid subscribers increased by 5% year over year to 1.56 million, slightly ahead of the 1.53 million the company had forecast. Based on the strength of its first-quarter results, WWE raised its full-year guidance for adjusted OIBDA to at least $150 million -- an all-time record -- up from the previous forecast of $145 million (excluding stock-based compensation).

The main event

WWE has made several key announcements since its previous earnings report, signing "landmark" deals with Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX)(NASDAQ: FOXA) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA). The company revealed that it had inked a new five-year contract to broadcast its flagship program, SmackDown Live, on Fox Sports beginning in October 2019.�The program regularly boasts the sixth-largest audience among cable originals, slightly behind the ratings of news and political talk shows.�While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, some reports place the value of the agreement north of $1 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter.�

The company also announced a renewal of its contract with USA Network, which will continue to be the broadcast home of Monday Night Raw, with the new deal beginning in October 2019. NBC is reportedly paying $265 million annually for the wrestling mainstay, up from $80 million per year previously.

The Raw and SmackDown deals increased the average annual value of WWE's distribution in the U.S. to 3.6 times the value of the previous deal, according to WWE.�

The raw numbers

The company said it "anticipates a meaningful increase in revenue based on the distribution of new content in certain international markets, as well as higher rights fees in existing content agreements and the continued growth of WWE Network." For the second quarter, WWE expects OIBDA in a range of $30 million to $34 million, which would be year-over-year growth between 23% and 40%. The company is expecting about 1.77 million paid subscribers, an 8% increase compared to the prior-year quarter.

For their part, analysts, on average, are forecasting quarerly revenue of $239.58 million and earnings per share of $0.16. That would represent increases of 11.6% and 166% year over year, respectively.�

A word about valuation

It's important to note that the massive run-up in the stock price over the past year has resulted in an equally impressive increase in its valuation. Its�P/E ratio now clocks in at a nosebleed 137, with a forward multiple of 86. While the excitement about these recent agreements is certainly understandable, there's a lot of growth already built into the current stock price, so there's potential for significant volatility.

Jacobs & Co. CA Has $3.80 Million Position in Cummins Inc. (CMI)

Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) by 8.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,587 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Cummins were worth $3,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Green Square Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cummins by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Green Square Capital LLC now owns 47,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,452,000 after purchasing an additional 9,542 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cummins by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 126,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,417,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the last quarter. Delek Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Cummins during the 4th quarter worth $586,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Cummins in the fourth quarter valued at about $353,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cummins in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,527,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Get Cummins alerts:

Shares of Cummins traded up $0.09, reaching $137.82, during mid-day trading on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The stock had a trading volume of 988,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,559,686. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.15. Cummins Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.90 and a 1-year high of $194.18.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 1st. The company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. Cummins had a return on equity of 23.47% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. sell-side analysts forecast that Cummins Inc. will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 22nd will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Cummins’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research cut Cummins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $164.00 price target on Cummins and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Cummins from $176.00 to $164.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 10th. Buckingham Research cut Cummins from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Cummins from $180.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.52.

Cummins Profile

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, and engine-related component products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, and Power Systems segments. The Engine segment manufactures and markets a range of diesel and natural gas powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy-and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets.

Featured Story: What does earnings per share mean?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CMI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI).

Why owning a home in retirement could be a mistake

We all have our own respective visions of what life in retirement will look like. For the bulk of Americans, however, that means owning a home.

In fact, 85% of current workers say they plan to own during their golden years, according to new data from Voya Financial, while 79% of current retirees are property owners. But while owning during retirement has its benefits, there's one major drawback to also be aware of.

Why own during retirement?

There are several good reasons to own a home during retirement. For one thing, ownership still offers a host of tax breaks, such as the mortgage interest and property tax deduction, which is currently capped but very much still in play.

Additionally, owning a home gives you a potential source of equity you can use to your advantage later in life. If cash flow becomes an issue, for example, you can get a reverse mortgage (though proceed with caution before you do) or home equity line of credit to buy yourself more options for paying the bills. And that's something renters can't do.

Homeownership in retirement can be a dangerous prospect

Despite the aforementioned benefits, there's one huge drawback to owning property in retirement, and it's committing yourself to a variable expense while living on a fixed income. Even if your mortgage itself is paid off by the time you enter retirement, you'll still have property taxes to contend with. And those have a tendency to rise over time, even during periods when home values don't follow suit.

There's also maintenance and repairs to think about, and that's where a lot of retirees who own homes get into trouble. The average homeowner spends 1% to 4% of his or her home's value on standard annual upkeep. Now being a retiree doesn't automatically mean you'll own an aging home. But if yours is on the older side, you should plan on hitting the top end of that range, which could really eat into your limited budget.

Furthermore, while that 1% to 4% range applies to regular maintenance, it doesn't include major repairs that could spring up on you without notice. I'm talking about things like your heating system going kaput or a pipe bursting in your basement -- expenses that could really hurt you financially when your income doesn't allow for too many surprises.

And there lies the danger of owning a home in retirement: You just don't know what to expect. And while renting certainly isn't without risk -- you could see your rent go up from year to year or find yourself suddenly on the hunt for a new home when your landlord unexpectedly decides to sell -- when you rent, you lock yourself into a fixed cost for the duration of your lease. Sign a series of long-term, affordable leases, and you eliminate much of the worry that comes with owning.

Related links:

�� Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert

�� This Stock Could Be Like Buying Amazon in 1997

�� 7 of 8 People Are Clueless About This Trillion-Dollar Market

Ultimately, the decision to own a home during retirement boils down to how much risk you're willing to take on.

If you love your home, adore your neighborhood, and don't want to deal with the hassle and uncertainly of renting, then by all means, stay in your home. Just make sure you have a decent chunk of savings -- both emergency and otherwise -- to protect yourself from the various unknowns involved.

Here's Why Shares of Snap Jumped 15% Last Month

What happened

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) climbed 14.9% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after Citron Research published a positive note about the company and initiated coverage at the very end of May.

Shares continued to climb through mid-June after S3 Partners, a company that analyzes short-seller trends, said that millions of shares that were being held for short sellers were being recalled.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Snap's shares first started ticking up at the very end of May after Citron set a price target for Snap at $17. Citron said in its investor note that negative news surrounding Snap's app, Snapchat, has caused short sellers to increase their position. But Citron added that "Snap shorts have overstayed their welcome."

Citron cited Snap's growth in ad impressions, the popularity of its Snapchat app among younger users, and its efforts to fix the app's redesign flop as reasons why the shares could turn around. Though Citron mentioned several reasons why it's bullish on Snap, my fellow Motley Fool Evan Niu highlighted a few inaccuracies in the report here.

Additionally, S3 Partners issued a report saying that over 5 million Snap shares were recalled (meaning that owners of the shares sold them and they were no longer available for lending to short sellers). The temporary shortage of available Snap shares for short sellers helped lead to Snap's price ticking up toward the beginning of the month.

Now what

Snap's shares began to lose some of their steam toward the end of the month after Cowen's John Blackledge lowered his previous price target from $10 to $9, and reiterated his sell rating. Additionally, Needham & Company cut its revenue estimate for Snap's second quarter by 15%, and by 5% for the full fiscal year.

Chaotic reactions to any news, both negative and positive, continue to plague Snap's stock. Even social media comments from celebrities have sent the company's stock reeling.�

Snap will report is second-quarter results at the beginning of August. Management said on last quarter's earnings call that the company's second-quarter revenue growth rate will "decelerate substantially from Q1 levels..." All of which means that Snap's shareholders may not be able to hold on to June's gains for very long.

Here's My Top Stock to Buy (Again) in July

Even after rising 7% since I called Apple�(NASDAQ:AAPL) my top stock to buy in 2018�earlier this year, I still think Apple shares offer investors a compelling risk-reward profile.

Call me biased. After all, you'd probably be right: I've owned Apple stock for years -- and I have no plans to sell. But I'm biased for a reason. For the most part, Apple's performance over the last 10 years in relation to its valuation has consistently left the stock looking attractive. This remains true today, with Apple trading at just 18 times earnings despite its accelerating revenue and recent earnings-per-share growth.

Apple Store. Image source: Apple.

Here are two reasons I'm betting Apple will continue to outperform the market.

The Street underestimates the value of Apple's platform

Every Apple product sold gives customers access to the company's ever-growing and highly integrated ecosystem of hardware, software, and services, or Apple's platform. There was a time when customers' primary interaction with Apple was through software and applications on Mac computers. But now, Apple customers are increasingly entrenched in Apple's ecosystem through not only a range of Apple products, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods, but also through an increasing number of services, like Apple Music, Apple Pay, and third-party services available in the iOS App Store.

A good example of one area where Apple is benefiting handsomely from the platform its customers have access to is in the growth of paid subscriptions from Apple services and third-party services available in the App Store. Subscriptions surpassed 270 million in Apple's most recent quarter -- up 30 million sequentially and 100 million compared to the year-ago period.�

Of course, Apple's strong growth in its overall services revenue is arguably the best representation of the momentum Apple is seeing from monetizing its platform. Apple's services revenue was up 31% year over year in the company's most recent quarter. As Apple's second-largest segment after iPhone, services revenue accounted for 15% of total revenue during the quarter.

During Apple's earnings call for its first quarter of fiscal 2018, management said its active installed base, or the number of its devices that are being actively used, swelled to 1.3 billion -- up 30% in just two years.�And in Apple's most recent conference call, management noted that its active installed base is "growing at a double-digit number on a year-over-year basis."

Apple CEO Tim Cook is clearly optimistic about the opportunity for the tech company to better monetize its growing user base. "[W]ith that kind of change in the installed base and with the services that we have now and others that we are working on," Cook explained, "I think this is just a huge opportunity for us and feel very good about the track that we're on."

New products will drive revenue growth

While Apple's HomePod doesn't appear to have been a blockbuster hit with customers, investors shouldn't underestimate how well Apple can launch new, premium-priced products at scale.

AirPods and an iPhone. Image source: Apple.

The Apple Watch and Apple's more recently launched AirPods have been driving significant growth in Apple's other products segment. In Apple's most recent quarter, other products revenue was up 38% year over year. Apple's wearables business, which includes sales of Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats products, was the primary driver of this growth, management explained in the company's second-quarter earnings call. Wearables revenue was up 50% year over year in the first quarter.

With such rapid growth from its other products segment, Apple certainly won't stand idly by and bask in its reinvigorated iPhone revenue growth. Indeed, Apple is expected to be working on several new Apple-branded headphones and a new version of the Apple Watch�to be launched between late this year and sometime next year.

Even if investors want to refrain from relying too much on a rosy outlook for Apple's services and other products segments, the company's recent performance alone easily justifies the tech company's valuation. Apple's year-over-year revenue growth rate has accelerated every quarter since it returned to growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 -- and second-quarter revenue and earnings per share increased 16% and 30%, respectively, compared to the year-ago quarter.

Of course, there's always a risk that these catalysts don't pan out to be meaningful growth drivers, or -- even worse -- iPhones lose their luster with customers, and Apple fails to make up for the maturing product in other areas. Still, Apple's conservative valuation and its long track record of continually pleasing customers suggest it's unlikely the company won't be able to keep growing revenue and earnings per share over the long haul.

J Sainsbury (SBRY) Reaches New 12-Month High at $332.60

J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 332.60 ($4.43) and last traded at GBX 329.40 ($4.39), with a volume of 6384248 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 329.10 ($4.38).

A number of research firms have weighed in on SBRY. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a research report on Thursday, July 5th. Deutsche Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Thursday, July 5th. Shore Capital downgraded J Sainsbury to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Tuesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 400 ($5.33) price objective (up previously from GBX 325 ($4.33)) on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Tuesday, July 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. J Sainsbury presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of GBX 302.79 ($4.03).

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J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 30th. The grocer reported GBX 20.40 ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of GBX 19.20 ($0.26) by GBX 1.20 ($0.02). J Sainsbury had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 1.13%.

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 7th will be paid a GBX 7.10 ($0.09) dividend. This represents a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 7th. This is a boost from J Sainsbury’s previous dividend of $3.10.

In related news, insider Michael Andrew Coupe sold 154,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 301 ($4.01), for a total value of 拢466,393.48 ($620,947.25).

J Sainsbury Company Profile

J Sainsbury plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food, general merchandise and clothing retailing, and financial services activities in the United Kingdom. It operates through four segments: Retail ? Food; Retail ? General Merchandise and Clothing; Financial Services; and Property Investment.

Horizon Therapeutics (HPTX) Receiving Somewhat Positive Media Coverage, Analysis Shows

Headlines about Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HPTX) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. The research group scores the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Horizon Therapeutics earned a coverage optimism score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the biopharmaceutical company an impact score of 45.8301226256293 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Shares of NASDAQ:HPTX remained flat at $$45.99 during mid-day trading on Monday. Horizon Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $20.23 and a 12-month high of $46.96.

About Horizon Therapeutics

Horizon Therapeutics, Inc, formerly Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc, is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat disorders in the areas of orphan diseases. The Company’s products include RAVICTI (glycerol phenylbutyrate) oral liquid, BUPHENYL and AMMONAPS (sodium phenylbutyrate) tablets and powder.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Hastings Group (HSTG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated their neutral rating on shares of Hastings Group (LON:HSTG) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage currently has a GBX 315 ($4.19) price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of GBX 335 ($4.46).

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Peel Hunt lowered their price objective on shares of Hastings Group from GBX 315 ($4.19) to GBX 300 ($3.99) and set an add rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 23rd. HSBC raised shares of Hastings Group to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 9th. Numis Securities assumed coverage on shares of Hastings Group in a research note on Thursday, April 26th. They issued an add rating and a GBX 295 ($3.93) price objective for the company. BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on shares of Hastings Group from GBX 350 ($4.66) to GBX 265 ($3.53) and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Investec lowered their price objective on shares of Hastings Group from GBX 350 ($4.66) to GBX 325 ($4.33) and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of GBX 310.10 ($4.13).

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LON:HSTG opened at GBX 235 ($3.13) on Tuesday. Hastings Group has a 1-year low of GBX 244 ($3.25) and a 1-year high of GBX 336.70 ($4.48).

Hastings Group Company Profile

Hastings Group Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides general insurance products in the United Kingdom. The company operates in two segments, Underwriting and Retail. It is involved in the underwriting and brokerage of car, van, bike, and home insurance under various brands, including Hastings Direct, Hastings PREMIER, Hastings ESSENTIAL, Hastings Direct SmartMiles, InsurePink, and People's Choice.

RIL promises a Golden Decade in 41st AGM! Analysts maintain buy rating

The chairman of oil & gas major, Mukesh Ambani, started the 41st Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries saying that this is the first AGM as RIL begins its Golden Decade. Most analysts�� feel the same way about the stock price as well, which rose a little over 7 percent in 2018.

As the Golden Decade rolls on, our consumer businesses will contribute nearly as much to the overall earnings of the company as our energy and petrochemical businesses, Mukesh Ambani said addressing the shareholders.

Reliance continues to be India's largest exporter accounting for 8.9 percent of India's total merchandise exports with a value of Rs 176,117 crore with access to markets in 113 countries.

The speech has something for everyone. The big takeaway is that most of the business of RIL are contributing to its growth story and plans to foray into e-commerce business in agriculture, education, and healthcare.

related news Here's everything you want to know about JioGigafiber RIL AGM: Mukesh Ambani says revenues to more than double by 2025

The big announcement of advanced fiber-based broadband connectivity service called JioGigaFibre sent shivers in the telecom as well as Cable TV space. Mukesh Ambani says the new fibre service will redefine 24/7 emergency help for all homes across India.

The stock has risen a little over 7 percent in 2018 but analysts�� feel that there is plenty of growth left for the long-term investors. Although it may remain in a range in the next 12 months or so.

"RIL's profits are up by 20.6 percent to Rs 36,075.crore in FY18. Reliance has reached an inflection point," Ambani said addressing shareholders at the 41st AGM. He added that Reliance Jio and Retail's share in overall EBITDA has gone up from 2 percent earlier to 13 percent now.

Jio has doubled its customer base to 215 million users within 22 months since the official launch of the network which is a record that no technology company has been able to achieve anywhere in the world.

��RIL provided a detailed presentation on Jio citing its vision for Jio over the next few years. Significant growth in subscriber base to 215mn and robust jump in data and voice usage are commendable,�� Sudeep Anand, Head-Institutional Equity Research at IDBI Capital told Moneycontrol.

��The company��s strategy to go aggressive on FTH (Fibre-to-home) business along with connecting enterprise business are likely to drive growth for the company. The company is targeting 100 mn Reliance Jio phone users, 5mn FTH subscribers and 50mn households with broadband and other services,�� he said.

Also, Reliance disclosed its plan for e-commerce business in 3 main platforms 1) agriculture, 2) education and 3) healthcare. Though it provides a positive outlook but difficult to pen any numbers as of now, but Anand is quite optimistic about the future of Jio and RIL as a whole. IDBI Capital maintains a buy rating with a target price of Rs1,150.

In the last one year, Jio has achieved unprecedented growth starting with an already existing large base. The data usage has grown from 125 crore GBs per month to more than 240 crore GBs per month.

Jio is the world's largest mobile data network last year and the gap from the others has only widened in the last 12 months. The voice usage on the network has grown from 250 crore minutes per day to more than 530 crore minutes per day.

RIL plans to foray into three new platforms vis. Agriculture, education, as well as healthcare. Mukesh Ambani further added that as India starts on its high growth journey to double the size of its economy by 2025, I assure you that the size of Reliance will more than double in the same period.

��Launch of Jio was just a trailer, the array of services which Reliance now wants to deliver/cross-sell to the last mile consumers are huge and varied across many sectors which hitherto are serviced by brick and motor establishments,�� says Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO, SAMCO Securities & StockNote who has a target of Rs 1050-900 on RIL for next 12 months.

��These will now be catered through Jio��s digital platform. The philosophy of forwarding integration in data is the next mission of Jio. This will truly bring in digital revolution if they are able to implement and execute the same,�� he said.

Reliance started with backward integration in Refinery by later venturing into hydro carbon sector, but in digital it is the reverse.

Hydrocarbon Business:

RIL has successfully commissioned and stabilized the world's largest Paraxylene complex. Reliance is the second largest PX producer in the world and Jamnagar has the distinction of being the largest manufacturing facility of PX in the world with 4.2 million MT of capacity.

Speaking at the AGM, Mukesh Ambani said that we commissioned the largest off-Gas cracker complex in the world. Using our Refinery off-gasses as feedstock, this cracker is the most cost competitive ethylene cracker, globally.

��This positions us uniquely, as one of the most efficient producers of Polymers in the world. I am proud to report that both these projects have been completed in a record time frame, at world-beating capital productivity and commissioned flawlessly,�� he said. "Both the Paraxylene and Cracker complexes are already running substantially higher than their design capacity."

��The core downstream projects are largely on track with Paraxylene and RoGC already running above the design capacity and petcoke gasification project now fully stabilized. We have Buy rating on Reliance Industries,�� Abhijeet Bora, analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas told Moneycontrol.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. First Published on Jul 5, 2018 04:40 pm

US Retail Sales Rose in the First Half of the Year, but Store Closings Rose Too

When U.S. gasoline prices rise by a double-digit percentage that usually causes U.S. consumers to reduce their discretionary retail spending. Gas prices rose about 12% in the first half of 2018, and retail sales also rose, by 4.5%, according to a report from Coresight Research.

Assuming that gas prices end the year up 12%, Americans will spend about $33 billion more on gas than they did in 2017. Coresight estimates that U.S. retail spending this year will reach $3.6 trillion (not including automobiles and gasoline), a 4.4% year-over-year increase. Changes to tax laws, higher wages, and continued economic growth are tabbed to drive the increase.

The not-so-good is that retail store closures are likely to total around 10,000 in 2018. At the end of June, Coresight had recorded 4,136 announced closures from major U.S. retailers. That’s fewer than the 5,341 at the same point last year. For the full year, the firm estimates store closures in a range of 8,000 to 10,000, more than the 7,066 closures recorded in 2017.

Coresight has recorded 1,985 store openings so far in 2018 compared to a total of 3,267 in the first half of 2017.

The bankruptcies of Toys “R” Us and Bon-Ton Stores resulted in the announced closure of 1,241 stores. Walgreens has announced that it will close 600 stores, Sears will close 274, and Best Buy will close 250.

Coresight also noted that tariffs are not expected to have much impact on apparel and footwear.

While retail sales are solid, the same is not true for U.S. shopping malls. Bill McBride of the Calculated Risk blog cites research from Reis on mall vacancy rates:

With 3.8 million square feet of negative net absorption brought on by the Toys “R” Us store closings, the U.S. Retail Vacancy Rate climbed 0.2% to 10.2% in the second quarter. Rent growth was positive at 0.2%.

The Regional Mall vacancy rate also increased 0.2% to 8.6% in the quarter, the average Mall rent increased 0.3%. The Mall vacancy rate has climbed 0.8% from a low of 7.8% at the end of 2016.

After withstanding the hundreds if not thousands of store closings over the last 18 months, the neighborhood and community shopping center industry suffered its worst quarter in nine years with negative net absorption of 3.8 million square feet. This pushed the overall vacancy rate to 10.2% from 10.0 percent where it had held steady for the four previous quarters.

The Coresight Research report is available at the company’s website.

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2018 Dow Laggards Could Offer Material Upside Into 2019

 

CryoPort (CYRX) Getting Somewhat Favorable Media Coverage, Study Finds

Press coverage about CryoPort (NASDAQ:CYRX) has been trending somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. CryoPort earned a coverage optimism score of 0.05 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media coverage about the consumer goods maker an impact score of 46.4366918065987 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CYRX. BidaskClub raised CryoPort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. ValuEngine raised CryoPort from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target (up previously from $10.00) on shares of CryoPort in a research report on Thursday, March 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.63.

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Shares of NASDAQ CYRX opened at $12.02 on Monday. CryoPort has a one year low of $3.08 and a one year high of $12.08. The firm has a market cap of $330.73 million, a PE ratio of -35.35 and a beta of 0.71.

CryoPort (NASDAQ:CYRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The consumer goods maker reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.03). CryoPort had a negative net margin of 66.29% and a negative return on equity of 48.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.3% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts forecast that CryoPort will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Jerrell Shelton sold 29,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total transaction of $287,596.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CryoPort Company Profile

Cryoport, Inc provides cryogenic logistics solutions to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers Cryoportal, a cloud-based logistics management platform that supports the management of shipments, which includes order entry, document preparation, customs documentation, courier management, real-time shipment tracking, issue resolution, and regulatory compliance requirements; and CryoPort Express Shippers, a dry vapor cryogenic shipper that use liquid nitrogen contained inside a vacuum insulated vessel, which serves as a refrigerant to provide stable storage temperatures.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018

tags:EGY,PES,CVX,ATLS,VLP,

Azincourt Uranium (OTC: AZURF, TSXV: AAZ.V) had a good day today, closing up 7.38% for the day, and showing a mostly positive trend for a week - which is something, given the volatile week the market endured. Some of Azincourt's movement may be correlated to things heating up in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin with the recent announcement that Skyharbour Resources (TSXV:SYH) has partnered with Azincourt Uranium to begin new exploration this summer. Skyharbour is a major player in the region known for rich uranium deposits, and the partnership agreement with Azincourt bolsters the infrastructure of both companies.

The agreement between the two companies allows Azincourt to option up to 70% of the East Preston property located in the Athabasca Basin. Home to Cameco's (TSX:CCO) McArthur River uranium mine, the Athabasca Basin is considered one of the richest sources of uranium in the world, with many uranium deposits hosting grades substantially higher than the world average grade. The area has been a hotbed for energy metal investors over the past few years, due to significant high grade uranium discoveries by large cap mining companies.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018: Vaalco Energy Inc(EGY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES) shares jumped 113.5 percent to $0.6737 after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed to register the company's ContraPest for sale and use in California. AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAVS) shares rose 35.34 percent to close at $3.32. Art's-Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: ARTW) shares gained 30.36 percent to $3.65. Xtant Medical Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: XTNT) shares jumped 25.6 percent to $7.4701 after the company disclosed that it has received the FDA clearance for InTice™-C Porous Titanium Cervical Interbody System. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) shares surged 20 percent to $2.495. TransGlobe Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TGA) surged 17.04 percent to $2.61. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) gained 15 percent to $8.32 after the company announced an exclusive partnership with Multi Touch Interactives to strengthen the development of next generation interactive educational activities. Arcimoto, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUV) gained 15 percent to $3.39. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) rose 13.7 percent to $49.64. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. FRONTEO, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEO) shares rose 11.8 percent to $20.956. TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) shares jumped 11.1 percent to $3.38. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) rose 10.6 percent to $7.41. NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) shares gained 9 percent to $2.32. Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA) rose 7.6 percent to $24.19. Northcoast Research upgraded Kelly Services from Neutral to Buy. LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) shares climbed 5.6 percent to $33.70. Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) will buy LaSalle Hotel Properties in a $4.8 billion deal, Bloomberg reported. Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX) gained 5.5 percent to $32.56. KeyBanc upgraded Alteryx from Sector Weight to Overweight. Energizer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARA) shares jumped 28.5 percent to $14.91 in reaction to a new licensing agreement with Europe-based Vifor Pharma. As part of the agreement, the biopharmaceutical company that alleviates pain licensed worldwide rights (except U.S., Japan, and South Korea) to Vifor Pharma to commercialize its KORSUVA therapy to Vifor $70 million. EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOP) rose 21.5 percent to $19.44. EVO Payments priced its IPO at $16 per share. Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) jumped 16.3 percent to $118.92 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY2018 earnings guidance. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) shares gained 13.4 percent to $132.225 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. OneSmart International Edun Gr Ltd – ADR (NYSE: ONE) shares rose 12.2 percent to $13.52 Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares gained 11.4 percent to $2.2164 after surging 12.43 percent on Tuesday. USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAT) rose 10.4 percent to $13.02 after announcing pricing of public offering. KemPharm, Inc. (NASDAQ: KMPH) gained 10.3 percent to $6.725. Janney Capital initiated coverage on KemPharm with a Buy rating. Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares rose 10 percent to $2.1894 after climbing 12.43 percent on Tuesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) rose 9.5 percent to $93.92. Lowe's reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Wednesday. xG Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: XGTI) jumped 9.1 percent to $0.829 after the company’s subsidiary IMT Vislink received a $1.4 million order from the U.S. Air Force. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) rose 8.6 percent to $2.34 after dropping 10.04 percent on Tuesday. American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE: AEL) rose 8.4 percent to $34.99. American Equity Investment Life confirmed preliminary talks related to a potential deal. Boxl
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES) shares surged 296.07 percent to close at $1.25 on Monday after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed to register the company's ContraPest for sale and use in California. AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAVS) shares gained 19.59 percent to close at $2.93. TransGlobe Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TGA) rose 18.39 percent to close at $2.64 on Monday. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) shares gained 15.91 percent to close at $2.55. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) shares jumped 14.9 percent to close at $2.39. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) climbed 13.96 percent to close at $4.49. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) shares rose 13.55 percent to close at $4.61 on Monday. Lilis Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LLEX) surged 13.09 percent to close at $5.01. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) gained 12.9 percent to close at $49.28. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) shares rose 12.83 percent to close at $3.43. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) jumped 12.52 percent to close at $57.86 on Reports that it has reached a deal with Fox for Its 'Smackdown Live' program. Eastman Kodak Company (NASDAQ: KODK) rose 12.38 percent to close at $5.90. NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) climbed 11.94 percent to close at $26.44. NuCana appointed Dr. Cyrille Leperlier to its Board as an independent non-executive Director. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) rose 11.83 percent to close at $3.97 on Monday. Huami Corporation (NYSE: HMI) shares jumped 11.27 percent to close at $10.17 following Q1 results. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 9.55 percent to close at $7.34. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) rose 8.56 percent to close at $7.86 after the company announced an exclusive partnership with Multi Touch Interactives to strengthen the de

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018: Pioneer Energy Services Corp.(PES)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Hall]

  Shares of a handful of small independent oil and gas producers, as well as a number of smaller oilfield service and equipment providers fell more than 10% on May 25.�Profire Energy, Inc.�(NASDAQ:PFIE), which manufactures burner management systems for oil and gas companies, fell 14.5%, while offshore energy industry transportation specialist�Bristow Group Inc�(NYSE:BRS) fell 12.6%. Onshore drilling contractor�Pioneer Energy Services Corp�(NYSE:PES) and offshore oil and gas producer�W&T Offshore, Inc.�both�fell 11.4%, while independent oil and gas producers�California Resources Corp (NYSE:CRC) and�Ultra Petroleum Corp�(NASDAQ:UPL) fell 10.5% and 10%, respectively.�

• [By Max Byerly]

  Baytex Energy (NYSE: BTE) and Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE:PES) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk and dividends.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE:PES) Director C John Thompson sold 6,666 shares of Pioneer Energy Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.25, for a total transaction of $28,330.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,726.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE:PES) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 93,636 shares during the period. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Pioneer Energy Services worth $533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  On Friday, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is scheduled to reveal its fourth-quarter results. The consensus estimates are $1.23 in EPS and $38.3 billion in revenue. Shares were trading at $131.19 as the week came to a close. The consensus price target is $135.23. The 52-week trading range is $102.55 to $133.88.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This integrated giant is a safer way for investors looking to stay or get long the energy sector, and it has a big Permian Basin exposure.�Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is a�U.S.-based integrated oil and gas company with worldwide operations in exploration and production, refining and marketing, transportation and petrochemicals.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) saw its short interest increase to 22.63 million shares from the previous reading of 20.99 million. The shares were last seen trading at $122.43, in a 52-week range of $102.55 to $133.88.

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  The tech sector really comes into the spotlight as the week continues with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) due after the market close Thursday, followed by a word from the energy sector Friday morning as Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) step forward. In a world where oil prices keep climbing, the energy stocks might draw more attention than usual.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Beddow Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,312 shares during the quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  HRT Financial LLC purchased a new position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000. Chevron accounts for about 1.3% of HRT Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018: Atlas Energy, L.P.(ATLS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Atlas Energy Group (OTCMKTS: ATLS) and Transglobe Energy (NASDAQ:TGA) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Watch For 2018: Valero Energy Partners LP(VLP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Valero Energy Partners (NYSE:VLP) was upgraded by equities researchers at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Valero Energy Partners (VLP)

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

Hot Oil Stocks To Watch For 2018

tags:ECA,HAL,RIG,WPZ,

Our Top Pick for 2017 for dividend investors is a leading UK-based offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry, notes Bill Mathews, editor of The Cheap Investor.

Nobel Corporation (NE) is a well-known company; it has a solid balance sheet, yet it is selling near its low. Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry.

The company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry.

Through its subsidiaries, Noble performs contract drilling services with a fleet of 30 offshore drilling units, consisting of 16 semisubmersibles and drillships and 14 jackups.

The company is focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide.

The stock was a high-flying Wall Street favorite in May 2013, when it was selling at $35. Since then the stock has fallen dramatically, largely in response to the plunge in crude oil prices.

Hot Oil Stocks To Watch For 2018: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Today, however, many drillers are setting a high bar for new wells. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) has been one of the leaders in disrupting the former way of thinking by establishing a high return hurdle rate for new wells of 30% after-tax at $40 oil. Others followed with similar return-focused approaches, including Encana (NYSE:ECA), which needs locations to achieve a 35% after-tax return at $50 oil to meet its premium hurdle rate.�

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

  Get Encana alerts: Encana Corp (ECA) Rising Higher 7.95% Over the Past Four Weeks (fisherbusinessnews.com) Encana Corporation (ECA) Most Active Stock Price trades 19.10% off from 200- SMA (nasdaqchronicle.com) Mid-Day Movers ��: Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA), CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX), MGIC Investment Corporation … (journalfinance.net) Featured Stock: Encana Corporation (ECA) (stockquote.review) Active Stock Evaluation �� Encana Corporation (NYSE: ECA) (financerater.com)

  ECA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Encana from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Encana from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $10.84 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Encana from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of Encana from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $13.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Goldman Sachs cut their price target on shares of Encana from $17.25 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.28.

• [By ]

  Already, shale companies such as Encana (ECA) , Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) , among others, are reporting higher cash flows and earnings on higher oil prices. As a result, they are paying down debt, increasing dividends and engaging in buybacks. This is a dramatic improvement in shareholder yield for the group.

Hot Oil Stocks To Watch For 2018: Halliburton Company(HAL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) reported first-quarter 2018 results before markets opened Monday. The oil and gas services company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 on revenues of $5.74 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.04 on revenues of $4.28 billion. First-quarter results also compare to consensus estimates for EPS of $0.41 per share and $5.75 billion in revenues.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Mckinley Capital Management LLC Delaware grew its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 68.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,626 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the quarter. Mckinley Capital Management LLC Delaware’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  IEZ is also a top-heavy fund. Just two stocks — Schlumberger NV (NYSE: SLB) and Halliburton Inc. (NYSE: HAL) — combine for almost 26 percent of the fund's weight. Underscoring the correlation to oil prices, IEZ has a three-year standard deviation of 30 percent, indicating this ETF is far more volatile than standard diversified energy funds.

• [By ]

  For top oilfield services picks, Seaport says to keep it simple: Halliburton Co. (HAL) and Hi-Crush Partners LP (HCLP) are the best bets, the firm contends. 

• [By ]

  Energy sector earnings season starts rolling later this week, and as always, the party will kick off with the so-called big three oilfield services providers: Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) , General Electric Co.'s (GE) Baker Hughes (BHGE) , and Halliburton Co. (HAL) . 

Hot Oil Stocks To Watch For 2018: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Ticker Tape]

  TD Ameritrade clients appeared to take some profits in multiple names during the period. Oil companies were popular sells with ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP  PLC (ADR) (NYSE: BP), National-Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), and Transocean LTD (NYSE: RIG) all net sold. Oil prices traded near three-year highs on higher global demand and possible OPEC-led production cuts. COP and BP both traded at multi-year highs, while NOV and RIG reached 52-week highs, enticing clients to take profits in all four names. Alcoa Corp. (NYSE: AA) traded at levels not seen since before the financial crisis following proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, and was net sold. For the third month in a row, Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was net sold after CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress regarding the misuse of user data and a beat on earnings.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,040 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

  Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on RIG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Transocean from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Transocean from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 30th. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Cowen set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Piper Jaffray set a $11.00 price objective on Transocean and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.79.

• [By Jason Hall]

  So what's an investor to do? Owning the companies best-positioned to profit is a great place to start. Consider two of Big Oil's finest in�Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR)�(NYSE:RDS-A)(NYSE:RDS-B)�and�Total SA (ADR)�(NYSE:TOT), offshore driller�Transocean LTD�(NYSE:RIG) and natural gas for transportation specialist�Clean Energy Fuels Corp�(NASDAQ:CLNE).

• [By Logan Wallace]

  American International Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 872,019 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,611 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Transocean were worth $8,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Hot Oil Stocks To Watch For 2018: Williams Partners L.P.(WPZ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Natural gas pipeline giant Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) announced today that it agreed to acquire the rest of its master limited partnership (MLP) Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) that it didn't already own in a $10.5 billion deal. Not to be outdone, Canadian energy infrastructure giant Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) made an offer to acquire its namesake MLP Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE:EEP), along with the rest of its publicly traded entities, including Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE:SEP). These transactions have big implications not only for investors in these entities but for those who own other pipeline companies, too.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Carver Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARV) shares jumped 92.1 percent to $7.01. iPic Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: IPIC) gained 21.6 percent to $9.73. Baozun Inc. (NASDAQ: BZUN) shares jumped 18.7 percent to $53.49 after reporting Q1 results. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) shares jumped 15.9 percent to $50.50. The company's "Smackdown Live" may not be renewed at NBCUniversal network and the company's "Monday Night Raw" program could be worth three times its current value elsewhere, according to a report for The Hollywood Reporter. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) gained 14.7 percent to $ 20.46 after the company issued further details on Phase 3 ADVANCE study of ROLONTIS. Motus GI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTS) climbed 13.4 percent to $5.5009. Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) rose 13.3 percent to $ 14.23 after the company announced presentation of Phase 2 data from prostate cancer trial of 177Lu-PSMA-617 at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. Diana Containerships Inc. (NASDAQ: DCIX) gained 12.9 percent to $1.7499 after the company announced the sale of Post-Panamax Container Vessel for $21 million. Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND) gained 12.7 percent to $12.43. Essendant confirmed receipt of unsolicited proposal from Staples of $11.50 per share in cash. Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ: BLNK) rose 11.8 percent to $8.04 after surging 31.68 percent on Wednesday. OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPHC) gained 11.5 percent to $5.15. Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FTK) shares climbed 10.7 percent to $3.74. Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) rose 7.9 percent to $25.95 after climbing 7.90 percent on Wednesday. Minerva Neurosciences Inc (NASDAQ: NERV) rose 6.5 percent to $6.93 after Journal of Clinical Psychiatry published positive results of cognitive performance from Phase 2B trial of roluperidone in schizophrenia patients. Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) rose 5.6 percent to $40
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The stock market stayed in a pretty narrow range on Thursday, climbing early in the session but then slowly drifting lower through the afternoon hours. In the absence of major news, investors largely looked forward to key events like trade negotiations among the world's largest economies. Other financial markets saw mixed moves as well, with 10-year Treasury yields climbing above 3.1% while oil prices stayed comfortably above $70 per barrel. Despite the quiet day, some companies had good news that pushed their shares sharply higher. World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), and Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.

TransEnterix (TRXC) Stock Price Down 1%

TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:TRXC) was down 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $3.05 and last traded at $3.07. Approximately 101,355 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 2,636,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.10.

TRXC has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded shares of TransEnterix from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 9th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of TransEnterix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th.

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TransEnterix (NYSEAMERICAN:TRXC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 million. TransEnterix had a negative net margin of 21,045.36% and a negative return on equity of 137.69%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TRXC. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in TransEnterix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in TransEnterix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in TransEnterix during the first quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in TransEnterix by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 57,944 shares during the period. Finally, Iguana Healthcare Management LLC bought a new position in TransEnterix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000.

About TransEnterix

TransEnterix, Inc, a medical device company, engages in the research, development, and sale of medical device robotics to enhance minimally invasive surgery. The company offers Senhance System, a multi-port robotic surgery system, which allows up to four arms to control robotic instruments and a camera in Europe.

Molefe to Cut ��Deep Claws�� of Graft at South Africa��s Transnet

South Africa’s port and freight operator needs to cleanse itself of “pervasive corruption” so it can improve efficiencies and win back public and investor confidence, its interim chairman said.

Together with the power utility, Transnet SOC Ltd. is at the center of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to improve the management of public institutions engulfed by corruption scandals during the nine-year tenure of Jacob Zuma, his predecessor. Faced with a loss of voter support, the ruling African National Congress forced Zuma to quit in February and replaced him with Ramaphosa.

The new leader named ex-Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as public enterprises minister, who this month appointed Popo Molefe as Transnet’s interim chairman and overhauled its board. Molefe has dedicated his first days on the job to assessing the extent of the graft there.

“We need to find out how deep this problem has gone, because it is a pervasive problem,” Molefe, 66, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg office Wednesday. “It is in the interest of looters, thieves, corrupt people to compromise as many people as possible.”

‘Deep’ Claws

Transnet has been caught up in allegations of corruption linked to the Gupta family, who are friends with Zuma and have done business with his son. The questionable deals allegedly enabled them and their allies to earn massive kickbacks on a locomotives deal. Everyone involved has denied wrongdoing. Ramaphosa in April referred claims of mismanagement and graft at state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and Transnet to the Special Investigating Unit.

“The claws run very deep, you can’t set specific targets to say ‘by this time we will be done’,” said Molefe. “As we uncover these things and the evidence is adequate, we will have to act and communicate, because our people want action.”

Transnet last year reduced its seven-year capital-investment plan by 17 percent to 229.2 billion rand in response to lower-than-anticipated freight demand.

“I am going there to help discharge the mandate of the company -- it has to invest in infrastructure to and use that to attract more investment,” Molefe said.

During Molefe’s time at the helm of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, the company made losses due to irregular spending. He then challenged some contracts the company entered into, alleging bid-rigging and corrupt activities.

— With assistance by Amogelang Mbatha, and Ntando Thukwana

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Dow Jones Today Moves to Lock In Gains as U.S.-Chinese Relations Continue to Thaw

The Dow Jones today moved higher in pre-market trading, as markets continued to react to news that the White House may be rolling back retaliatory trade measures against China in an effort to smooth trade negotiations. Yesterday, the Dow rose nearly 300 points after the Trump administration announced it would delay the imposition of tariffs on the nation's largest trading partner.

Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Index	Previous Close	Point Change	Percentage Change
Dow Jones	25,013.39	298.20	1.21%
S&P 500	2,733.01	20.04	0.74%
Nasdaq	7,394.04	39.70	0.54%

Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.

The First Step on Your Road to Millions Starts Here: All you need is a computer or smartphone and just 10 minutes of "work" to potentially put $1 million in your bank account faster than you ever dreamed. Read more…

Money Morning Insight of the Day

Markets have been under pressure once again by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Inflation levels are going through the roof… but the people in charge of managing it have been lying to Americans for years. Now it's time to get even.�Money Morning�Liquidity Specialist Lee Adler has the perfect way to make a lot of money when no one is looking.�Read it here.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday Despite all of the political noise, both China and the United States have agreed to take a step back and seriously pursue talks that may prevent further tariff impositions. The biggest development on the trade front is that the Trump administration is considering a plan to lift a sales ban on Chinese mobile giant ZTE. Shares of Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) are pushing higher after the company announced a $10 billion plan to buy back stock. Micron reported earnings on Monday, and the Boise-based firm easily topped Wall Street expectations. Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) was pushing a bit higher on Tuesday as the firm prepared to address data privacy issues in Europe. The social media giant's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is set to speak before European lawmakers this morning. Zuckerberg will testify this morning, just three days after the European Union enforced more stringent laws on consumer data protection. Three Stocks to Watch Today: GM, KSS, TSLA Shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) were pushing higher after the auto giant reported that China will be lifting restrictions on U.S. automotive parts and cars. But GM isn't the only beneficiary. Look for shares of Ford Motor Co.�(NYSE: F) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV�(Nasdaq: FCAU) to also get a boost out of the Chinese economy. Shares of Kohl's Corp.�(NYSE: KSS) popped 5% after the firm beat earnings expectations and easily topped same-store sales during the first quarter. The company also raised its 2019 earnings numbers, which helped fuel investor sentiment. Shares of Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) are in focus on Tuesday. Even though the firm has benefited from the Chinese announcement that the nation will slash auto tariffs, CEO Elon Musk is playing defense. That's because Musk admitted that the Model 3 is experiencing a braking issue in its production. Musk has promised to fix the ongoing issue. Look for additional earnings reports from Ctrip.com International Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP), Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: URBN) The TJX Cos.�(NYSE: TJX), Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), and Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP).

Follow�Money Morning��on��Facebook,�Twitter, and�LinkedIn.

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Suven Life Sciences rises 2% on product patents from New Zealand, Norway

Share price of Suven Life Sciences rose 2.5 percent intraday Tuesday as company secured product patents in New Zealand and Norway.

The company has been granted 1 product patent from New Zealand and 1 product patent from Norway corresponding to the new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases.

These patents are valid through 2034 and 2027.

The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective 5HT 6 compounds and are being developed as therapeutic agents for major depressive disorders and for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer��s disease, Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington��s disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia respectively.

Venkat Jasti, CEO of Suven said, "We are very pleased by the grant of these patents to Suven for our pipeline of molecules in CNS arena that are being developed for cognitive disorders with high unmet medical need with huge market potential globally."

At 11:14 hrs Suven Life Sciences was quoting at Rs 183.55, up Rs 3.10, or 1.72 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil

Perrigo (PRGO) Shares Bought by Twin Tree Management LP

Twin Tree Management LP grew its stake in shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) by 271.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,223 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,523 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRGO. Dupont Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. Dean Capital Investments Management LLC bought a new position in Perrigo in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. ARP Americas LP bought a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, V Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Perrigo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 14th. Wells Fargo reduced their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 14th. Oppenheimer set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Perrigo and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 11th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.06.

Shares of PRGO opened at $76.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.08. Perrigo has a 1-year low of $63.68 and a 1-year high of $95.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Perrigo had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 31st. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.42%.

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Smith acquired 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.21 per share, with a total value of $18,802,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,710.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Uwe Roehrhoff acquired 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.85 per share, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $401,065. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 307,500 shares of company stock worth $23,210,875 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc, a healthcare company, manufactures and supplies over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare products, infant formulas, branded OTC products, and generic pharmaceutical products worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Healthcare Americas, Consumer Healthcare International, and Prescription Pharmaceuticals segments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PRGO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO).