Thursday, December 25, 2014

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- ACE  (ACE) reported third quarter earnings and revenue ahead of analysts expectations after the closing bell on Tuesday.

The Swiss global insurance company reported third quarter earnings of $785 million, or $2.64 on an adjusted per diluted share basis, a 6% increase over the same period last year, and well ahead of analysts $2.36 per diluted share forecast.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's 25 Favorite Stocks

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

The company also posted revenue of $5.35 billion, ahead of analysts $4.3 billion estimates, with after-tax operating income of $891 million.

The company's shares have risen 3% since the beginning of the year but are down 0.66% to $105.51 in after-hours trading today. TheStreet Ratings team rates ACE LTD as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate ACE LTD (ACE) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: You can view the full analysis from the report here: ACE Ratings Report ACE data by YCharts

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Markel Corp (MKL)

Markel Corporation is a financial holding company serving a range of markets. The Company markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. The Company operates in three segments: the Excess and Surplus Lines, the Specialty Admitted, and the London markets. It also owns interests in industrial and service businesses, which operate outside of the specialty insurance marketplace. On January 1, 2012, the Company acquired Thompson Insurance Enterprises, LLC (THOMCO). On July 13, 2011, the Company acquired PartnerMD, LLC. On October 19, 2011, the Company acquired an 83% interest in WI Holdings Inc. (Weldship). In April 2012, its subsidiary, Markel Ventures, acquired a majority interest in Havco WP LLC. In July 2012, Markel Corporation announced that Ellicott Dredge Enterprises, LLC, through its subsidiary Rohr International Dredge Holdings, Inc., acquired IDRECO GmbH. In January 2013, OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd sold Essentia Insurance Company to the Company. In May 2013, it announced that it has completed its acquisition of Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd.

Excess and Surplus Lines Segment

Business in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment is written through two distribution channels, professional surplus lines general agents who have limited quoting and binding authority and wholesale brokers. The business produced by this segment is written on a surplus lines basis through either Essex Insurance Company or Evanston Insurance Company. During the year ended December 31, 2011, in the Excess and Surplus Lines segment, it wrote business through regional underwriting offices, which include Markel Northeast (Red Bank, NJ), Markel Southeast (Glen Allen, VA), Markel Midwest (Deerfield, IL), Markel Mid South (Plano, TX) and Markel West (Woodland Hills, CA and Scottsdale, AZ). Product offerings within the Excess and Surplus Lines segment fall within the product groupings, which include Property and Casualty, Professional Liability, and Other Product Lines. Property coverages consist of f! ire, allied lines (including windstorm, hail and water damage) and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind on both a primary and excess basis. Its property risks range from small, single-location accounts to multi-state, multi-location accounts. Casualty product offerings include a range of liability coverages targeting apartments and office buildings, retail stores, contractors and recreational and hospitality businesses. It also offers products liability coverages on either an occurrence or claims-made basis to manufacturers, distributors, importers and re-packagers of manufactured products.

Professional liability coverages include solutions for specialized professions, including architects and engineers, lawyers, agents and brokers, service technicians and computer consultants. It offers claims-made medical malpractice coverage for doctors, dentists and podiatrists; claims-made professional liability coverage to individual healthcare providers, such as therapists, pharmacists, physician assistants and nurse anesthetists, and coverages for medical facilities and other allied healthcare risks, such as clinics, laboratories, medical spas, home health agencies, small hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes. This product line also includes for-profit and not-for profit management liability coverage, which can be bundled or written mono-line and include employment practices liability, directors��and officers��liability and fiduciary liability coverages. In addition, it offers a data privacy and security product, which provides coverage for data breach and privacy liability, data breach loss to insureds and electronic media coverage.

Other product lines within the Excess and Surplus Lines segment include excess and umbrella products, which provide coverage over approved underlying insurance carriers on either an occurrence or claims-made basis; environmental products, which include environmental consultants! ��profe! ssional liability, contractors��pollution liability and site-specific environmental impairment liability coverages; transportation-related products, which provide auto physical damage coverage for automobiles, as well as all types of specialty commercial vehicles, dealers��open lot and garagekeeper legal liability coverages, vehicular liability and physical damage coverages for local and intermediate haul commercial trucks and liability coverage to operators of small to medium-sized owned and operated taxicab fleets, non-emergency ambulances and multi-line specialty products designed for the characteristics of the garage industry; inland marine products, which provide a range of specialty coverages for risks, such as motor truck cargo coverage for damage to third party cargo while in transit, warehouseman�� legal liability coverage for damage to third party goods in storage, contractors��equipment coverage for first party property damage and builder�� risk coverage; ocean marine products, which provide general liability, professional liability, property and cargo coverages for marine artisan contractors, boat dealers and marina owners, including hull physical damage, protection and indemnity and third party property coverages for ocean cargo; casualty facultative reinsurance written for individual casualty risks focusing on general liability, products liability, automobile liability and certain classes of professional liability and targeting classes, which include general liability risks; railroad-related products, which provide first and third party coverages for short-line and regional railroads, scenic and tourist railroads, commuter and light rail trains and railroad equipment, and public entity insurance and reinsurance programs, which provide coverage for government entities including counties, municipalities, schools and community colleges.

Specialty Admitted Segment

The business in the Specialty Admitted segment is written by retail insurance agents who have v! ery limit! ed underwriting authority. Products and programs are marketed directly to consumers or distributed through wholesale producers. Personal lines coverages included in this segment are marketed directly to the consumer using direct mail, Internet and telephone promotions, as well as relationships with various motorcycle and boat manufacturers, dealers and associations. The business produced by this segment is written on an admitted basis either through Markel Insurance Company (MIC), Markel American Insurance Company (MAIC) and FirstComp Insurance Company (FCIC).

The Markel Specialty unit focuses on providing total insurance programs for businesses engaged in specialized activities. The Markel Specialty unit is organized into product areas, which concentrate on particular markets and customer groups, including youth and recreation oriented organizations, social service organizations, amateur sports organizations and horse and farm operations. The Markel American Specialty Personal and Commercial Lines unit offers its insurance products focuses its underwriting on marine, recreational vehicle, property and other personal and commercial line coverages. The FirstComp unit provides workers��compensation insurance and related services, to small businesses. The FirstComp unit distributes its products through independent insurance agencies.

Product offerings within the Specialty Admitted segment fall within product groupings, which include Workers��Compensation, Property and Casualty, Personal Lines, Accident and Health, and Other Product Lines. Workers��compensation products provide wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment and target main-street, service and artisan contractor businesses, retail stores and restaurants. Property and casualty products included in this segment are offered on a monoline or package basis and target commercial markets and customer groups. Targeted groups include youth and recreation oriented organizations,! social s! ervice organizations, museums and historic homes, performing arts organizations, bed and breakfast inns, outfitters and guides, hunting and fishing lodges, dude ranches and rod and gun clubs. Personal lines products provide first and third party coverages for a range of personal watercrafts, including older boats, boats and yachts, as well as for recreational vehicles, including motorcycles, snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles (ATVs). In addition, property coverages are offered for mobile homes, dwellings and homeowners that do not qualify for standard homeowner�� coverage. Other products offered include special event protection, supplemental natural disaster coverage, renters��protection coverage, excess flood coverage and collector vehicle coverage. Accident and health products offer liability and accident insurance for amateur sports organizations, accident and medical insurance for academic institutions, monoline accident and medical coverage for various markets, short-term medical insurance, pet health insurance, stop-loss insurance for self-insured medical plans and medical excess reinsurance coverage.

Other product lines within the Specialty Admitted segment include coverages for equine-related risks, such as horse mortality, theft, infertility, transit and specified perils, as well as property and liability coverages for farms and boarding, breeding and training facilities; first and third party coverages for auto repair garages, gas stations and convenience stores and used car dealers; general agent programs, which use managing general agents to offer single source admitted and non-admitted programs for a specific class or line of business; first and third party coverages for small fishing ventures, charters, utility boats and boat rentals, and professional liability coverages, which it designs and administers on behalf of other insurance carriers and ultimately assume on a reinsurance basis.

London Insurance Market Segment

This segment is consisted o! f Markel ! International. Markel International writes specialty property, casualty, professional liability, equine, marine, energy and trade credit insurance on a direct and reinsurance basis. Business is written worldwide through either Markel International Insurance Company Limited (MIICL) or Markel Syndicate 3000 with approximately 15% of writings coming from the United States. Product offerings within the London Insurance Market segment fall within the product groupings, which include Marine and Energy, Professional and General Liability, Reinsurance, Property, and Other Product Lines.

Marine and energy products include a portfolio of coverages for cargo, energy, hull, liability, war, terrorism and specie risks. The cargo account is an international transit-based book covering a range of cargo. Energy coverage includes all aspects of oil and gas activities. The hull account covers physical damage to ocean-going tonnage, yachts and mortgagee�� interest. Liability coverage provides for a range of energy liabilities, as well as marine exposures, including charterers, terminal operators and ship repairers. The war account covers the hulls of ships and aircraft, and other related interests, against war and associated perils. Terrorism coverage provides for property damage and business interruption related to political violence, including war and civil war. The specie account includes coverage for fine art on exhibition and in private collections, securities, bullion, precious metals, cash in transit and jewelry.

Professional and general liability products include professional indemnity, directors��and officers��liability, intellectual property, some defense costs, incidental commercial crime, general and products liability coverages targeting consultants, construction professionals, financial service professionals, professional practices, social welfare organizations and medical products. Professional and general liability products are written on a global basis. Reinsurance products ! include p! roperty and casualty treaty reinsurance. Property treaty products are offered on an excess of loss and proportional basis for per risk and catastrophe exposures. A portion of the excess of loss catastrophe and per risk property treaty business comes from the United States with the remainder coming from international property treaties. Casualty treaty reinsurance is offered on an excess of loss basis and targets specialist writers of motor products in the United Kingdom and Europe. Excess of loss casualty treaty reinsurance also is offered for select writers of employers��and products liability coverages.

Property products target a range of insureds, providing coverage ranging from fire to catastrophe perils, such as earthquake and windstorm. Business is written either in the open market or on a delegated authority basis for direct and facultative risks. Open market business is written mainly on a global basis by its underwriters to London brokers, with each risk being considered on its own merits. The Company provides property coverage for small to medium-sized commercial risks on both a stand-alone and package basis through its branch offices. Other product lines within the London Insurance Market segment include crime coverage targeting financial institutions and providing protection for bankers��blanket bond, computer crime and commercial fidelity; contingency coverage, including event cancellation, non-appearance and prize indemnity; accident and health coverage for affinity groups and schemes, risks accounts and sports groups; coverage for equine-related risks, such as horse mortality, theft, infertility, transit and specified perils; specialty coverages include mortality risks for farms, zoos, animal theme parks and safari parks; short-term trade credit coverage for commercial risks, including insolvency and protracted default, as well as political risks coverage in conjunction with commercial risks for currency inconvertibility, government action, import/export license cancellati! on, publi! c buyer default and war, and products liability, excess and umbrella and environmental liability coverages.

The Company purchases reinsurance. It purchases catastrophe reinsurance coverage for its catastrophe-exposed policies. In addition, certain foreign reinsurers for its United States insurance operations must provide collateral equal to 100% of recoverable, with the exception of reinsurers who have been granted authorized status by an insurance company�� state of domicile. When appropriate, it pursues reinsurance commutations, which involve the termination of ceded reinsurance contracts. Reinsurance treaties are purchased on an annual basis.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Steve Symington]

    3. Markel (NYSE: MKL  )
    While I've made no secret of my fondness for Markel, I'm certainly not the only investor to compare the strategy of this much smaller financial holding company and its CIO, Tom Gayner, to that of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett. So what does Markel have offer that Berkshire doesn't?

  • [By Matt Koppenheffer]

    When investors are looking for a steady-eddy blue chip to consistently compound over the long run, many default to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) . The industry's worst-kept investing secret may not be the best buy in this space though. That award could go to Markel (NYSE: MKL  ) a company many have dubbed a "baby Berkshire." Though it comes with slightly more risk, there is also the potential for a lot more upside.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Loew’s, however isn’t just cheap on its own terms. It’s also cheap relative to other investor insurers, including Markel (MKL), Cincinnati Financial (CINF) and Berkshire Hathaway. Shanker and Stefano write:

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Hillenbrand Inc(HI)

Hillenbrand, Inc. designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells funeral service products to licensed funeral directors operating licensed funeral homes. The company?s products include burial caskets, cremation caskets, containers, vaults, urns, and selection room display fixturing for funeral homes, as well as other personalization and memorialization products and services, including Web-based applications, and the creation and hosting of Websites for licensed funeral homes. It markets its products under the Batesville and Options brand name through direct sales force in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The company also designs, produces, markets, sells, and services bulk solids material handling equipment and systems for various industrial markets, including plastics, food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, power generation, coal mining, pulp and paper, frac sand, industrial minerals, agribusiness, recycling, wood and forest pr oducts, and biomass energy generation. It offers feeders and pneumatic conveying equipment under the K-Tron brand name; and size reduction equipment, such as hammer mills, double-roll crushers, wood and bark hogs, chip sizers, screening equipment, pneumatic and mechanical conveying systems, storage/reclamation systems, and specialty crushers and other equipment under the Pennsylvania Crusher, Gundlach, and Jeffrey Rader brand names. In addition, the company manufactures dry material separation machines that sort dry, granular products based on the particle?s size serving various industries, including frac sand, potash, urea, phosphates, chemical, agricultural, plastics, and food processing. The company sells its material handling equipment and systems worldwide through a combination of a direct sales force, and a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Hillenbrand, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Batesville, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Tuesday

    Earnings Expected: Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE: HI), Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Economic Releases Expected: German retail sales, French consumer confidence, German unemployment rate, eurozone CPI, eurozone PPI, US trade balance, US redbook

    Wednesday

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Belden Inc (BDC)

Belden Inc. (Belden), incorporated on May 18, 1988, designs, manufactures and markets cable, connectivity, and networking products in markets including industrial, enterprise, and broadcast. The Company operates in three segments: the Americas segment, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) segment and the Asia Pacific segment. The Company�� offers cable, connectivity and networking products, including power generation and distribution, data centers, oil and gas, broadcast, transportation, healthcare and industrial automation. In December 2012, Carlisle Companies Inc acquired Thermax-Raydex business from the Company. In December 2012, the Company sold Consumer Electronics Assets in China to Shenzhen Woer Heat-Shrinkable Material Co Ltd. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company acquired Miranda Technologies Inc. (Miranda).

The categories of cable products are copper cables, including shielded and unshielded twisted pair cables, coaxial cables, and stranded cables, fiber optic cables, which transmit light signals through glass or plastic fibers and composite cables, which are combinations of multiconductor, coaxial, and fiber optic cables jacketed together or otherwise joined together to serve complex applications and provide ease of installation. Connectivity products include fiber and copper connectors for the enterprise, broadcast, broadband, and industrial markets. Networking products include Industrial Ethernet switches and related equipment and security features, fiber optic interfaces and media converters used to bridge fieldbus networks over long distances, networking infrastructure for the television broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV industry, and load-moment indicators for mobile cranes and other load-bearing equipment.

For industrial end markets, the Company supplies cable, connectivity, and networking products for applications ranging from advanced industrial networking and robotics to traditional instrumentation and control systems. The Compa! ny�� cable products are used in discrete manufacturing and process operations involving the connection of computers, programmable controllers, robots, operator interfaces, motor drives, sensors, printers and other devices. The Company sells its industrial products primarily through value-added resellers, industrial distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It designs, manufactures and markets Industrial Ethernet switches and related equipment, both rail-mounted and rack-mounted, for factory automation, power generation and distribution, process automation, and infrastructure projects, such as bridges, wind farms and airport runways. It also designs, manufactures and markets fiber optic interfaces and media converters. In addition, it designs, manufactures, and markets a range of industrial connectors for sensors and actuators, cord-sets, distribution boxes, and fieldbus communications. These products are used both as components of manufacturing equipment and in the installation and networking of such equipment. The Company also designs, manufactures and markets load-moment indicators. Its switches, communications equipment, connectors, and load-moment indicators are sold directly to industrial equipment OEMs and through a network of distributors and system integrators.

For enterprise end markets, the Company supplies structured cabling solutions, connectors, and networking products for the electronic and optical transmission of data, sound, and video over local- and wide- area networks. Products for this market include copper cables including 10-gigabit Ethernet technologies, fiber optic cables, connectors, wiring racks, panels, interconnecting hardware, intelligent patching devices, and cable management solutions for complete end-to-end network structured wiring systems. End-use customers include hospitals, financial institutions, governments, service providers, and data centers. Its systems are installed through a network of trained system integrators and are supplied t! hrough au! thorized distributors.

For broadcast end markets, the Company is a provider of hardware and software solutions for the television broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV industry. Its solutions also span the full breadth of television operations, including production, playout and delivery. The Company also manufactures a variety of multiconductor and coaxial cable and connector products, which distributes audio and video signals for use in broadcast television including digital television and high definition television, broadcast radio, pre- and post-production facilities, recording studios, and public facilities such as casinos, arenas, and stadiums. Its audio/video cables are also used in connection with microphones, musical instruments, audio mixing consoles, effects equipment, speakers, paging systems, and consumer audio products.

The Company manufactures networking infrastructure products for the television broadcast, cable, satellite and IPTV industry. Its primary market channels for this broadcast, music, and entertainment products are broadcast specialty distributors and audio systems installers. It also sells directly to music OEMs and the television networks including ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. The Company also provides specialized cables for security applications such as video surveillance systems, airport baggage screening, building access control, motion detection, public address systems, and advanced fire alarm systems. It manufactures flexible, copper-clad coaxial cable and associated connector products for the high-speed transmission of data, sound, and video (broadband) that are used for the drop section of cable television (CATV) systems and satellite direct broadcast systems.

For the broadband end market, Belden manufactures and develops connectivity solutions in several product categories: coax connector products that allow for connections from the provider network to the subscribers��devices, hardline connectors that allow service providers to dist! ribute th! eir services within a city, a town or a neighborhood and entry devices that serves to manage and remove network signal noise that could impair performance for the subscriber, and traps and filtering devices that allow service providers to control the signals that are transmitted to the subscriber.

During 2012, the Americas segment contributed approximately 64% of its consolidated revenues. This segment sells the full array of its products for the industrial, enterprise,and broadcast markets. The EMEA segment contributed approximately 19% of its consolidated revenues. This segment sells the full array of its products for the industrial, enterprise,and broadcast markets. The Asia Pacific segment contributed approximately 17% its consolidated revenues. This segment sells the full array of its products for the industrial, enterprise,and broadcast markets.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Belden (NYSE: BDC  ) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Belden met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

  • [By John Seward]

    Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC) will replace Fidelity National Inc. (NYSE: FNF) in the S&P MidCap 400 June 30, when Synergy Resources (AMEX: SYRG) will replace Belden in the S&P SmallCap 600. Fidelity is reclassifying its shares into two tracking stocks which are ineligible for S&P indexes.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Signal transmission specialist�Belden� (NYSE: BDC  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.05 per share, the same rate it has paid since 2004 when it first began making a payout.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Mackinac Financial Corporation(MFNC)

Mackinac Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for mBank that engages in commercial banking business. It offers interest bearing and non-interest bearing deposit products, including commercial and retail checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, regular interest-bearing statement savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; one-to-four family residential real estate loans; construction loans; and consumer loans. It operates 6 branch offices in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and 4 branch offices in Michigan?s Lower Peninsula; and also operates 10 automated teller machines. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Manistique, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Michigan-based bank holding company Mackinac Financial (MFNC) raised its quarterly dividend 25% to 5 cents per share, payable on Jan. 8 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 30.
    MFNC Dividend Yield: 2.1%

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.(SPPI)

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, primarily focuses on oncology and hematology. The company engages in acquiring, developing, and commercializing a broad and diverse pipeline of late-stage clinical and commercial products. It markets Zevalin, a prescribed form of cancer therapy, radioimmunotherapy; and Fusilev, a novel folate analog formulation and the pharmacologically active isomer of the racemic compound, calcium leucovorin. The company?s drugs in late stage development include Apaziquone, an anti-cancer agent; and Belinostat, a histone deacytelase inhibitor. Its drugs in development also include Ozarelix a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone antagonist, which is in Phase II clinical stage; SPI-1620, a peptide agonist of endothelin B receptors, which is in Phase I clinical stage; and RenaZorb, a lanthanum-based nanoparticle phosphate binding agent, which is in preclinical stage. The company was formerly known as NeoTherapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in December 2002. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Henderson, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) has risen 4.7% to $9.30 after being granted accelerated approval for its lymphoma drug.

    SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) has jumped 1.7% to $29.59 after the theme-park operator was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Longbow.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SPPI) shares tumbled 9.77 percent to $8.18 after the company announced an offering of $100 million of convertible notes.

  • [By Rich Smith]

    Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SPPI  ) has found itself a new Executive Vice President, a new Chief Financial Officer, and a new Principal Accounting�Officer. They're all the same person.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    Another under-$10 biotechnology player that's starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) which develops and commercializes oncology and hematology drug products. This stock has traded off a bit so far in 2014, with shares off by 7.3%.

    If you take a glance at the chart for Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, you'll see that this stock has been uptrending over the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.75 to its recent high of $8.50 a share. During that uptrend, shares of SPPI have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This move has now pushed shares of SPPI within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SPPI if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $8.25 to $8.50 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 volume of 1.07 million shares. If that breakout gets underway soon, then SPPI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9.27 to its 52-week high at $10.32 a share. Any high-volume move above $10.32 will then give SPPI a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from March of 2013 that started at $12.47 a share.

    Traders can look to buy SPPI off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its recent double bottom support levels at $7.82 to $7.81 a share or right below its 50-day moving average of $7.69 a share. One can also buy SPPI off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

    Read More: 5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

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