Jacquelyn Martin/APFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen WASHINGTON -- Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve in its 100-year history, will take over the reins of the U.S. central bank Saturday and formally be sworn in next week, the Fed said Thursday. Yellen, 67, who begins her post as the Fed unwinds its unprecedented efforts to boost the U.S. economy, will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday. She will have full authority as the top central banker from Saturday until the swearing-in ceremony, according to the Fed. She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose second four-year term expires on Friday. Yellen will be sworn in by Fed governor Daniel Tarullo, a Fed official said on condition of anonymity. Yellen will be one of a handful of women heading central banks globally. Her main task will be to navigate the U.S. central bank's way out of its extraordinary stimulus, beginning with a further dialing down of its massive bond-buying program, and deciding when to raise rates. The Fed has already announced a $20 billion reduction in its monthly asset purchases and is expected to completely shut down the program by year-end. Yellen will remain in her current role as Fed vice chair over the weekend but will have authority to exercise all duties of the chair, the Fed said. President Barack Obama has nominated Stanley Fischer, former head of the Bank of Israel, to succeed Yellen in the number two position. The Senate must still confirm Fischer for the job, so it will be temporarily unfilled.
Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies For 2015: The Advisory Board Company(ABCO)
The Advisory Board Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of best practices research and analysis, business intelligence and software tools, and management and advisory services primarily in the United States. The company offers various programs and services, including best practices research services that focus on identifying best-demonstrated management practices, critiquing widely-followed but ineffective practices, and analyzing emerging trends in the health care and education industries; business intelligence and software tools, which allow members to pair their own operational data with the best practices insights; and management and advisory services programs for assisting member institutions to adopt and implement best practices to enhance performance. As of June 30, 2011, it provided 51 distinct membership programs to hospitals, health systems, colleges, universities, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, health care insurers, medical de vice and supply companies, and other educational institutions. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Advisory Board (Nasdaq: ABCO ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on May 9. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Advisory Board's revenues will grow 17.4% and EPS will grow 21.7%. - [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of The Advisory Board Company (NASDAQ: ABCO ) were up as much as 12% today, after the consulting firm beat top and bottom-line estimates in its quarterly report.
Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies For 2015: ConAgra Foods Inc.(CAG)
ConAgra Foods, Inc. operates as a food company primarily in North America. It operates in two segments, Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods. The Consumer Foods segment provides branded, private label, and customized food products, which are sold in various retail and foodservice channels. It offers products in various categories, such as meals, entrees, condiments, sides, snacks, and desserts in frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable temperature classes. This segment?s principal brands include Alexia, ACT II, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, DAVID, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt?s, Marie Callender?s, Orville Redenbacher?s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp?s, and Wesson. The Commercial Foods segment provides commercially branded foods and ingredients that are sold to foodservice, food manufacturing, and industrial customers. Its primary products consist of specialty potato products, milled grain ingredients, a ran ge of vegetable products, seasonings, blends, and flavors. This segment sells products under brands, such as ConAgra Mills, Lamb Weston, and Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
ConAgra’s (CAG) is supposed to make things people want to eat. Instead, the market is eating the food company’s lunch today following disappointing guidance.
REUTERSThe Wall Street Journal reports:
ConAgra Foods�Inc. cut its full-year earnings outlook, as the packaged-foods company said fiscal first-quarter earnings were softer than expected, especially in its consumer foods segment.
The company now expects full-year adjusted earnings to range from $2.34 to $2.38 a share, down from its prior view of about $2.40.
First-quarter earnings were 33 cents a share, or 37 cents excluding certain items. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently expected 45 cents a share.
Citigroup’s David Driscoll still has hope for ConAgra’s shares. He writes:
…while ConAgra is off to a disappointing start to F1Q14, we believe that overall US food volumes for the industry and ConAgra are at the cusp of a positive turnaround, in conjunction with the large US crop expected this fall. With ConAgra shares currently trading at 13.5x at the mid-point of management�� new F2014 EPS range, we believe that most of the disappointment surrounding today�� announcement is likely in the stock….We see good upside in ConAgra shares going forward, as Consumer Food trends are expected to
strengthen, and as Q1 weakness appears to be more macro driven versus a company-specific issue. This puts Kraft (KRFT) under the most scrutiny in our group.S&P Capital IQ’s Tom Graves concurs:
In light of disappointing EPS guidance from the company, we are lowering our 12-month target price to $38 from $42. Before special items, we are reducing our FY 14 (May) EPS estimate to $2.38 from $2.43, and FY 15′s by $0.08 to $2.62…In FY 14, we expect CAG’s Ralcorp acquisition to be the primary EPS growth driver. We see the stock at an attractive P/E discount to the food group.
Most fo
- [By Louis Navellier]
Welcome to the Stock of the Day. Before the opening bell Thursday, ConAgra Foods (CAG) shares rose after it reported surprisingly strong third-quarter earnings. Does this signal a turnaround for ConAgra, which has struggled in the increasingly competitive food industry?
- [By Holly LaFon]
��ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG), a packaged food manufacturer, fell as it reported volume declines in its branded foods businesses and higher-promotional spending.
Best Up And Coming Companies To Watch For 2015: TRI Pointe Homes Inc (TPH)
Tri Pointe Homes, Inc., formerly TRI Pointe Homes, LLC, incorporated on August 5, 2010, is engaged in the design, construction and sale of single-family homes in planned communities in metropolitan areas located throughout Southern and Northern California. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company�� operations consist of 13 communities, eight of which are actively selling, containing 695 lots under various stages of development in Southern and Northern California. In June 2013, TRI Pointe Homes Inc announced that the acquisition of 202 lots in two California locations- Irvine (Orange County) and Vacaville (Solano County).
The Company�� business focused primarily on fee building projects in Southern California, in which it built, marketed and sold homes for independent third-party property owners, marketed under the TRI Pointe Homes brand name. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has sold over 350 homes (including fee building projects).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James Fink]
One small-cap name in the housing sector is TRI Pointe Homes. That's a New York Stock Exchange stock, ticker symbol (TPH). It's controlled by Barry Sternlicht, who's a very wildly successful real estate entrepreneur.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE: TPH) has a market cap of $564.3 million and the stock is down about 5% over the past 12 months. Shares have traded in a 52-week range of $13.43 to $21.25 and closed Friday at $17.51. The consensus price target is $19.60, yielding an implied gain of 12%. Tri Pointe has beaten EPS estimates in each of the past four quarters, and the shares were trading nearly 2% higher early Monday morning. Tri Pointe is expected to post EPS of $0.25 on revenues of $100.04 million when it reports results in late March.
- [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of TRI Pointe Homes (NYSE: TPH ) jumped as much as 15.7% today after announcing the acquisition of Weyerhaeuser's (NYSE: WY ) residential real estate unit.
Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies For 2015: Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (REFG)
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, incorporated on December 1, 2005, is a provider of integrated supply and distribution technology. The Company�� Seed-to-Sale (S2S) integrated solution is a management and compliance technology for growers, caregivers and dispensaries in the market. The Company also works with public officials and government agencies to expand the acceptance of medicinal cannabis, and the adoption of a legal framework where maximum market expansion is possible. The Company solves the fragmentation problem by identifying tools that are important to dispensaries, and customizing those tools specifically catered to the industry. The Company's solutions include Spark, Ghost and S2S.
Spark
The Company�� SPARK Hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provides customers with enterprise-class hosted phone systems customized to fit customers��needs. SPARK's service is a fully-managed, cloud-based system. The Company offers the convenience of an online Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecommunications system while still delivering substantial savings to customers bottom line.
Ghost
By offering customers a customized, tailored mobile solution, the Company's Ghost Mobile Apps give a marketing tool with a texting and e-mail solution, keeping customers in constant contact with patients and clients. The Company creates an optimized experience in context to each device or screen size.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Fresh Start Private Management Inc (OTCMKTS: CEYY), 7 Star Entertainment Inc (OTCMKTS: SAEE) and Refill Energy, Inc (OTCMKTS: REFG) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a properly disclosed promotional or investor relations campaign, but unwary investors or traders could find themselves in trouble if they are not careful. So do these three small caps have what it takes to remain hot? Here is a quick reality check before you invest or trade:
- [By Peter Graham]
What�� the Catch With Alternative Energy Partners Inc? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Alternative Energy Partners in various investment newsletters and there is no recent news from the company. In fact, the most recent press release from Alternative Energy Partners dates from September to announce the launch of the beta version of http://www.pharmajanes.com ��its website for delivery of medical marijuana products. As of September, the PharmaJanes beta platform was only available online with the mobile application set to follow after the official launch of the online platform. Otherwise and according to the latest Form 10-Q filed on December 23rd, the company agreed to acquire the PharmaJanesTM marketing operation from iEquity Corp. back in May 2013 and will be changing its business model to focus purely in the medical marijuana marketing space. In addition, AEGY will be changing its name to PharmaJanes, Inc. Otherwise, someone by the name of Mario Barrera currently serves as Chairman, President and CEO and sole officer and the company has no paid employees ��relying instead on paid consultants to provide necessary services. A look at Alternative Energy Partners��financials reveals revenues of zero (most recent reported quarter), ��3k, $1k and $1k for the past four quarters along not income of $230k (most recent reported quarter) and net losses of $2,954k, $51k and $452k. At the end of October, Alternative Energy Partners had $2,031k in current liabilities and $237k in long term debt. So while investors or traders got a high on Monday (and last Friday as well), it does not look like a sustainable high.
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTCMKTS: REFG) Wants to Provide Bank and Payment Accessibility to Marijuana DispensariesSmall cap Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions��mission is to provide end-to-end management, across multiple management systems, for medicinal marijuan
Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies For 2015: Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS)
Sonus Networks, Inc. provides voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. The company offers session border control (SBC), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and access and VoIP media gateway solutions that allow the delivery of voice and multimedia sessions over IP networks. Its products include GSX9000 Open Services Switch that enables voice traffic to be transported over packet networks; GSX4000 Open Services Switch; NBS9000 Network Border Switch that permits service providers to transform their time division multiplexing networks to IP; PSX Policy & Routing Server, which translates business policies into actual call control, routing, and service selection decisions; NBS5200 Network Border Switch that provides SBC functionality; and ASX Call Feature Server that provides local area calling and regulatory features for residential and enterprise markets. The company also offers Network Analytics Suite of performance management products, including NetScore network perf ormance analysis tool, NetAssure voice quality monitoring tool, and NetEng network audit and visualization engine that are used for the collection, monitoring, reporting, and notification of performance metrics. In addition, it provides professional consulting and services to support its IP communication solutions; and program management, network deployment design, softswitch and subscriber database design, network verification and audit, custom application and adaptor development, OSS and API integration, migration and upgrade, and managed services. The company serves long-distance and local exchange carriers, Internet service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, financial institutions, retailers, state and local governments, and multinational corporations. It sells its products primarily through a direct sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Sonus Networks, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Westford, Mass achusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One networking player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sonus Networks (SONS), which provides networked solutions for communications service providers and enterprises in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up 104%.
If you take a look at the chart for Sonus Networks, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the past month, with shares moving between $3.25 on the downside and $3.72 on the upside. Shares of SONS have been finding support over the last month each time the stock has pulled back to its 50-day moving average. This stock is now starting to trend a bit higher and move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways consolidating chart pattern.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SONS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $3.56 to $3.59 a share and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.72 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.50 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SONS will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $5 to $5.50 a share.
Traders can look to buy SONS off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.33 to $3.25 a share, or right below more support at $3.10 a share. One could also buy SONS off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Sonus Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: SONS) was recently named to the 2013 InformationWeek 500 list of top technology innovators across the country. In July the company authorized a repurchase program to buy back up to $100 million of their stock. Lazard has a Buy rating on the stock and a $4.50 price target. The consensus target is at $4.30, and the stock closed yesterday at $3.41.
- [By Ben Fox Rubin]
Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS) agreed to buy Performance Technologies Inc.(PTIX), a supplier of network communications products, for $3.75 a share, a 26% premium of Thursday’s close, or $42 million. The companies said the deal was worth $30 million, net of Performance Technologies’ cash and excluding acquisition costs. Performance Technologies shares jumped 24% to $3.70 premarket, just under the offer price.
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