How to prepare for the emergency you hope never happens

It's something you hope will never happen: the phone call that changes everything.

When Chanel Reynolds found out her husband, Jose, had been hit by a car while out cycling, it was not only an emotional shock — she also wasn't fully equipped to handle all of life's details.

That meant "everything from not having the password to his phone to call some of his family members to not knowing where half of our documentation was," she told CNBC on Tuesday. "I wasn't prepared, at all."

Reynolds, whose husband died after a week in a coma, wasn't a "blissfully unaware" spouse, either.

"Like many households, we split responsibilities. The 50 percent of things I could find or had answers to were very, very helpful," she said on "Power Lunch."

Then, there was the other 50 percent — from things that had big financial implications to struggles finding the password for the storage of wedding and baby photos.

"The stuff I didn't know and things that could have taken maybe five seconds to write down, took maybe hours or dozens of hours or days or maybe some things were never found," said Reynolds.

That was 10 years ago. These days, Reynolds is hoping to help others who may find themselves in a similar situation. In 2013, she founded the online resource, "Get Your Shit Together," and she now has a new book out, "What Matters Most."

She said when she was walking the halls of the hospital, she realized so many were going through the same thing.

"These kind of accidents impact so many of us. And if it hasn't yet, it might or you work with someone or you know someone where life goes sideways, and you're not ready at all," she said.

That's why she suggests having an emergency plan in place. "Preparing is so important," said Reynolds.

Here is her advice:

Create a will, living will and power of attorneyResearch and purchase the appropriate life insurance policyHave financial information in order, like budgetsCreate a savings plan to cover emergenciesKeep track of online accounts and passwordsMake sure there is a list of emergency contacts

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

Western Gas Partners (WES) Debt Trading 1% Lower

An issue of Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) debt fell 1% as a percentage of its face value during trading on Friday. The high-yield debt issue has a 5.3% coupon and is set to mature on March 1, 2048. The debt is now trading at $91.39 and was trading at $91.52 one week ago. Price moves in a company’s debt in credit markets sometimes anticipate parallel moves in its stock price.

WES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. ValuEngine raised Western Gas Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 19th. Zacks Investment Research raised Western Gas Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Western Gas Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $56.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Co reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Western Gas Partners in a research note on Tuesday, February 19th. Finally, M Partners boosted their target price on Western Gas Partners from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.09.

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NYSE:WES traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.73. 3,387,700 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,565. Western Gas Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $38.62. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Western Gas Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.65). Western Gas Partners had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $557.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $521.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Gas Partners, LP will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 31st. This is an increase from Western Gas Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.97. Western Gas Partners’s payout ratio is currently 96.02%.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Western Gas Partners by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 16,295,738 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $711,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,515 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Gas Partners by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 9,954,452 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $420,377,000 after buying an additional 1,115,194 shares during the last quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Gas Partners by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter. OppenheimerFunds Inc. now owns 5,599,235 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $244,575,000 after buying an additional 1,944,940 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Western Gas Partners by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,509,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,302,000 after buying an additional 1,017,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RR Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Gas Partners by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. RR Advisors LLC now owns 2,018,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $88,230,000 after buying an additional 857,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

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About Western Gas Partners (NYSE:WES)

Western Gas Partners, LP acquires, develops, owns, and operates midstream energy assets in the Rocky Mountains, North-central Pennsylvania, and Texas. It is involved in gathering, processing, compressing, treating, and transporting natural gas, condensate, natural gas liquids, and crude oil. Western Gas Holdings, LLC serves as the general partner of Western Gas Partners, LP.

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Insider Selling: Snap Inc (SNAP) Director Sells 58,668 Shares of Stock

Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) Director Michael Lynton sold 58,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $645,348.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,987. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Shares of SNAP stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.16. 51,633,072 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,222,752. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a PE ratio of -11.51 and a beta of 1.14. Snap Inc has a twelve month low of $4.82 and a twelve month high of $17.24.

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Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.15. The business had revenue of $389.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.90 million. Snap had a negative return on equity of 46.90% and a negative net margin of 106.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Snap Inc will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts have weighed in on SNAP shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Snap from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 18th. Citigroup raised Snap from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 14th. Goldman Sachs Group lowered Snap from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Friday, January 4th. BTIG Research raised Snap from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Snap from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $5.78 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.85.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Snap by 306.5% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares during the period. Edge Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Snap by 1,173.7% in the 4th quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp bought a new stake in Snap in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.31% of the company’s stock.

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “Insider Selling: Snap Inc (SNAP) Director Sells 58,668 Shares of Stock” was first posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this story on another domain, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of United States & international copyright & trademark legislation. The original version of this story can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4224506/insider-selling-snap-inc-snap-director-sells-58668-shares-of-stock.html.

Snap Company Profile

Snap Inc operates as a camera company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a camera application that helps people to communicate through short videos and images. It also provides Camera, a tool to personalize and add context to Snaps; Friends Page that allows creating and watching stories, chatting with groups, making voice and video calls, and communicating through a range of contextual stickers and Bitmojis; and Discover that helps surfacing the stories and shows from publishers, creators, and the community, based on a user's subscriptions and interests.

Read More: What is intrinsic value?

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:MCI,IART,NMT,WTR,

Doug Hughes focuses on lesser-known, small cap regional banks; the editor of Bank Newsletter looks for banks that operate in attractive regional markets, often ones that would be attractive acquisition targets.

AvidBank Holdings (AVBH) has the fastest growth of any bank out there and yet is still one of the safest with almost no bad loans, and a great, great market area in Palo Alto, California.

Management knows what it is doing and they will likely sell within 3 years. Earnings power is $3.00 a share by 2018. This is a great bank that is operating in great markets.

I consider the shares to be very safe, make it a top holding in the current environment.

With rates going up and most large regionals banks up 30% or more recently a deal price would now have to be at least 2.5 times book or $32 a share.

In my view, this stock has almost zero downside risk in an otherwise high-risk market. Buy now and sleep well. I consider the stock to have an excellent risk-reward ratio. 

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Babson Capital Corporate Investors(MCI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Musiconomi (CURRENCY:MCI) traded down 6.7% against the dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 13:00 PM ET on June 26th. Musiconomi has a market capitalization of $616,098.00 and approximately $280.00 worth of Musiconomi was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Musiconomi token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0223 or 0.00000360 BTC on major exchanges including IDEX and Cryptopia. Over the last week, Musiconomi has traded 19.2% lower against the dollar.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Musiconomi (CURRENCY:MCI) traded 3.5% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 16:00 PM E.T. on June 24th. In the last week, Musiconomi has traded down 9.8% against the dollar. One Musiconomi token can now be bought for about $0.0241 or 0.00000390 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including Cryptopia and IDEX. Musiconomi has a total market capitalization of $667,175.00 and approximately $34.00 worth of Musiconomi was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Musiconomi (CURRENCY:MCI) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 17:00 PM Eastern on February 10th. Musiconomi has a total market capitalization of $37,823.00 and $0.00 worth of Musiconomi was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Musiconomi token can currently be bought for approximately $0.0014 or 0.00000037 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges. Over the last week, Musiconomi has traded flat against the U.S. dollar.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Musiconomi (CURRENCY:MCI) traded 3.6% higher against the dollar during the 1 day period ending at 17:00 PM ET on June 12th. One Musiconomi token can now be bought for about $0.0315 or 0.00000481 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including IDEX and Cryptopia. Musiconomi has a market capitalization of $872,903.00 and approximately $33.00 worth of Musiconomi was traded on exchanges in the last day. During the last week, Musiconomi has traded up 2.8% against the dollar.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Minnova Corp (CVE:MCI) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as C$0.30 and last traded at C$0.31, with a volume of 0 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.31.

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation(IART)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK) and Integra Lifesciences (NASDAQ:IART) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Coherent (NASDAQ: COHR) and Integra Lifesciences (NASDAQ:IART) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Integra Lifesciences (IART)

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) fell 23.4 percent to $5.25 in pre-market trading after a first-quarter earnings miss. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.48 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings. Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) fell 14 percent to $13.15 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered FY18 organic growth guidance. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) fell 13.2 percent to $3.10 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly results. Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) shares fell 10.7 percent to $14.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 8.50 percent on Wednesday. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT) fell 9 percent to $14.80 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) fell 8.3 percent to $19.90 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that IMblaze370 Phase 3 pivotal trial of atezolizumab and cobimetinib in patients with heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer did not meet primary endpoint. Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN) fell 8.2 percent to $10.80 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) shares fell 7.4 percent to $43.00 in pre-market trading. Synaptics reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) shares fell 7.4 percent to $76.23 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 earnings. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) shares fell 7 percent to $59.36 in pre-market trading. Integra LifeSciences priced its 5.25 million share public offering of common stock at $58.50 per share. Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) shares fell 6.9 percent to $12.75 in pre-m
• [By Shane Hupp]

  Integra Lifesciences (NASDAQ:IART) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase from $57.00 to $65.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the life sciences company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase’s price target points to a potential upside of 2.23% from the stock’s current price.

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Nuveen Massachusetts Premium Income Municipal Fund(NMT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News articles about Nuveen Massachusetts Pre Income Mun Fd (NYSE:NMT) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group ranks the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Nuveen Massachusetts Pre Income Mun Fd earned a daily sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the financial services provider an impact score of 47.5987310031013 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Best Safest Stocks To Own For 2019: Aqua America, Inc.(WTR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

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

  Get Aqua America alerts: Has Aqua America Inc (NYSE:WTR) Improved Earnings Growth In Recent Times? (finance.yahoo.com) Should You Have this stock in Your Portfolio? Aqua America, Inc. (WTR) (connectinginvestor.com) Popular Mover to Observe— Aqua America, Inc. (WTR) (stockmarketstop.com) Stock Under Active Eyes: Aqua America, Inc. (WTR) (bitcoinpriceupdate.review)

  Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTR. Wells Fargo & Co lowered shares of Aqua America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $37.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Boenning Scattergood reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Aqua America in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Aqua America in a report on Thursday, March 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. ValuEngine lowered shares of Aqua America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Aqua America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Aqua America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.29.

• [By ]

  Cramer was bearish on United States Steel (X) , Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) , Aqua America (WTR) and Mueller Water Products (MWA) .

  Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

• [By Max Byerly]

  The business also recently announced a mar 19 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 15th will be given a $0.219 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Aqua America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.23%.

  ILLEGAL ACTIVITY NOTICE: “Aqua America Inc (WTR) Shares Bought by Opus Capital Group LLC” was originally published by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this report on another website, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of United States & international copyright & trademark legislation. The correct version of this report can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4163392/aqua-america-inc-wtr-shares-bought-by-opus-capital-group-llc.html.

  About Aqua America

• [By Max Byerly]

  Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) updated its FY19 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.45-1.50 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $1.49.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

  Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Aqua America from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Wells Fargo downgraded shares of Aqua America from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. UBS began coverage on shares of Aqua America in a research report on Thursday, March 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Boenning Scattergood restated a neutral rating on shares of Aqua America in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $38.29.

The Shopify Stock Bubble Can Only Keep Getting Bigger for so Long

I’ve been pretty hard on web store provider Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP), but investors, and the Shopify stock price, have ignored me. Since tech bottomed at Christmas, Shopify shares have risen from less than $130 to their March 13 opening bid of $202. That gives the company a market cap of $22.4 billion, on 2018 revenue of $1.07 billion.

Source: Shopify via Flickr

As far back as 2017 I predicted this would all end in tears, citing a report from short-sellers Citron Research that called Shopify a scam at $60 per share. More recently I noted its lack of operating cash flow and use in drop-ship scams. 

All this is still true. But it doesn’t disturb the bulls. One recent story calls Shopify a “virtual go-to destination for aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

Celebrity, Pot and Shopify Stock

Chief operating officer Harvey Finkelstein was recently on the TV, touting Shopify’s use by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Drake, but also hyping the software’s use by Canadian pot sellers.

Shopify now touts itself as a Software as a Service (SaaS) ecommerce platform, bragging about the success of merchants like Jenner without noting how little the company makes when one of its customers succeeds.

That’s because Shopify is like a casino, in that those big buildings aren’t built with money from winners. Shopify’s results are fueled by 20,000 app developers and agencies that are selling their tools to Shopify sellers. Shopify gets a fat 20% off the top from those sales.

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Inside the Numbers

For the quarter ending in December Shopify lost $12 million, 1 cent per share, on revenues of $343.8 million. The company’s press release noted this was 54% ahead of the previous year, making the loss irrelevant to the investment case.

Shopify divides revenue into “subscription solutions,” which involve use of the Shopify software, and “merchant solutions,” sales made through the app store. It’s the app store revenue that’s been growing fastest, rising 63% year over year from $129 million in the last quarter of 2017 to $210 million in the last quarter of 2018.

I like to look at cash flow, which was a positive $269 million for the year. But operating cash flow was just $9.3 million. The big number was $1.04 billion. That’s how much cash went on the books from the public offering. Shopify is rising on the money from its own investors.

Shopify’s release also details how its income flows. It shows 54% of what comes in is gross profit, with sales and marketing expenses representing 26% of revenue. A lot of Shopify’s money goes into finding new customers.

The initial reaction when the Shopify numbers came out last month was negative. Analysts were expecting $55 million in earnings. The company said it was “investing heavily” in augmented reality and virtual reality applications, but total investment in research was $67 million. The stock now trades above where it was before earnings.

The Bottom Line on Shopify Stock

I avoid going short on anything because it’s easy for bulls to hold shares from short sellers and drive a target’s price up. My favorite aphorism is that of the 19th century speculator Daniel Drew, who said of short sellers “He who sells what isn’t his’n, must buy it back or go to pris’n.” Drew ended his life broke.

On the other hand, I also avoid speculation for the sake of speculation. If you buy Shopify now, you’re paying over 20 times sales for a company without profits, most of whose cash flow comes from sale of its own stock.

I may be missing a profit rocket, but I say thanks but no thanks.

Dana Blankenhorn http://www.danablankenhorn.com is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a new mystery thriller, The Reluctant Detective Finds Her Family, available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned no shares in companies mentione

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:ACHN,ATAI,PQ,CNR,FCEL,

The technical chart for small cap used car dealer stock Carvana Co (NYSE: CVNA) appears to be showing some sort of a converging wedge or pennant chart pattern with shares falling 7.53% yesterday, but also rising in premarket trading:

A wedge chart pattern signals a reverse of a trend that is currently formed within the wedge itself and is generally a longer-term pattern that will usually last three to six months. There are generally two types of wedges:

A falling wedge slopes downward and is considered bullish as the share price will likely break upwards into an uptrend. A buy signal occurs when the share price finally breaks through the upper resistance line in a breakout move that should come on heavy volume. In addition, the upper (or resistance) trendline should have a sharper slope than the support level. When the lower (or support) trendline is clearly flatter, this signals that selling pressure is waning as sellers have trouble pushing the price down when shares come under pressure. A rising wedge slopes upward and is considered bearish as the share price will likely break downward downward into a downtrend as it approaches the apex of the pattern.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) – Research analysts at B. Riley reduced their FY2018 EPS estimates for shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 2nd. B. Riley analyst M. Kumar now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will earn ($0.58) per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of ($0.55). B. Riley has a “Neutral” rating and a $3.50 price objective on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Achillion Pharmaceuticals’ FY2019 earnings at ($0.64) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($0.71) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($0.70) EPS and FY2022 earnings at ($0.84) EPS.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  News articles about Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Achillion Pharmaceuticals earned a media sentiment score of 0.16 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the biopharmaceutical company an impact score of 46.941587509483 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near term.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub lowered shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACHN) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  ATA Inc. (NASDAQ: ATAI) traded down about 14% Monday to set a new 52-week low of $0.82, based on revalued shares that closed at $0.72 on Friday but traded up about 250% on Monday at $2.53. Volume was more than 200 times the daily average of around 42,000. You’re on your own here to figure this one out.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News headlines about Petroquest Energy (NYSE:PQ) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Petroquest Energy earned a coverage optimism score of 0.05 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the energy company an impact score of 47.638327846877 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Equities research analysts at Desjardins boosted their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note issued on Monday, October 8th. Desjardins analyst B. Poirier now anticipates that the transportation company will earn $1.09 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.09. Desjardins also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s FY2021 earnings at $5.66 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Analysts at Seaport Global Securities issued their Q1 2019 EPS estimates for shares of Canadian National Railway in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 30th. Seaport Global Securities analyst M. Levin expects that the transportation company will earn $0.96 per share for the quarter. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s Q2 2019 earnings at $1.26 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $1.27 EPS and Q4 2019 earnings at $1.26 EPS.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Canadian National Railway were worth $11,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) and HRG Group (NYSE:HRG) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on FuelCell Energy (FCEL)

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

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted a dip of 4.7% in short interest during the short interest period. Some 9.92 million shares were short as of August 15. The stock closed at $1.15 on Friday, up about 0.9% for the day, in a 52-week range of $1.00 to $2.49. Shares traded down about 20.7% in the two-week period, and days to cover were unchanged at nine.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted a decrease of 4% in short interest during the period. Some 7.42 million shares were short as of June 15. The stock closed at $1.37 on Tuesday, down about 1.4% for the day, in a 52-week range of $1.18 to $2.49. Shares traded down more than 10% in the short interest period, and days to cover dropped from 17 to six.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted a decrease of 25.7% in short interest during the period. Some 5.86 million shares were short as of April 30. The stock closed at $1.93 on Wednesday, up about 1.6% for the day, in a 52-week range of $0.80 to $2.49. Shares traded down about 7.8% in the short interest period, and days to cover rose from six to eight.

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:FOSL,TS,MGV,

Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) has signed Avengers series director Joss Whedon to make a Batgirl movie that's part of its DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie franchise. In addition to television series including Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Firefly, Whedon is known for writing and directing Disney's (NYSE:DIS) first two Avengers films, so the director's move to the DCEU franchise presents a notable creative shakeup in the cinematic superhero competition.

News of a Batgirl film makes it clear that Warner is banking on characters from the Batman universe to be the foundation of its superhero movie franchise. In addition to upcoming Batman and Batgirl films, the company is also developing a movie around the Nightwing character; a project centered on Harley Quinn and other female antiheroes, dubbed Gotham City Sirens; and a sequel to Suicide Squad.

Image source: DC Comics.

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Fossil Inc.(FOSL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Even with volatility returning to the market, some investors have been fortunate to find the companies that have been able to enjoy success early in the year. In particular, Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL), Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN), and Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) have gained more than 100% so far in 2018, and some investors think they have further to climb.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

  A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FOSL. Zacks Investment Research cut Fossil Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 18th. ValuEngine raised Fossil Group from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Fossil Group from $16.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 3rd. TheStreet raised Fossil Group from a d rating to a c- rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Fossil Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.33.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  President Trump will announce today if he will pull the United States out of the Obama-era nuclear deal. Trump wants European members of the treaty to amend certain issues regarding Iran's uranium enrichment capacity. Energy stocks and oil prices had been rising on speculation that Trump would slap Iran again with economic sanctions, disrupting the region's oil production. Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is currently working to obtain enough capital to purchase certain assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NYSE: FOXA). The ability to raise capital would allow Comcast to replace Disney's $52 billion bid for the many of Fox's key businesses. Markets are reacting to a speech made this morning by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. During a speech in Zurich, Switzerland, Powell said that rising U.S. interest rates would not have a significant impact on emerging markets and foreign stock markets. This has long been a concern for other nations as the U.S. dollar rises and American bonds become more attractive to international investors. Four Stocks to Watch Today: DIS, C, SNAP The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) will lead another busy day of earnings reports today. Investors will be exploring the impact of recent price hikes at the company's theme parks, as well as the ongoing concerns about cable cutting and how this trend affects ESPN. Markets anticipate that the company will report earnings per share of $1.68 on top of $14.23 billion in revenue. Shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) are on the move. The uptick came after activist investor ValueAct announced a $1.2 billion stake in the investment bank. Citigroup shares were up 1.2% in pre-market hours. Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) gained 1% in pre-market hours. The owner of social media giant Snapchat said that its CFO Drew Vollero will step down next week. The executive will be replaced by a financial executive at Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). Snap continues to face incredible pressures after the f
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Monday began the week on a solid note for the stock market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting another triple-digit gain as the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high. Despite ongoing nervousness regarding trade, most investors remain convinced that the strong U.S. economy will be able to lead the way forward, pointing to Friday's employment report as the latest evidence of sustainable momentum. Good news regarding a host of companies both in the U.S. and abroad also helped buoy the market's mood. Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL), Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID), and Immunomedics (NASDAQ:IMMU) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The latest retail sales report gave market participants bad news on the U.S. economic front, with a 1.2% drop in December marking the worst showing in almost a decade. That came as a shock to investors, and some went so far as to question whether the report was accurate in the aftermath of the long government shutdown. Others fear that a consumer slowdown could foreshadow an economic recession, but at the individual-company level, reports from Tempur Sealy International (NYSE:TPX) and Fossil Group (NASDAQ:FOSL) show how different parts of the retail world are seeing different conditions.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Thursday was Fossil Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) which rose about 5% to $20.56. The stock's 52-week range is $5.50 to $20.65. Volume was 1.5 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.1 million.

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Tenaris S.A.(TS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Tenaris (NYSE:TS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $40.64 and last traded at $40.38, with a volume of 99958 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.90.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Tenaris (TS)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Tenaris (NYSE:TS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

  Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Jaffray set a $40.00 target price on Tenaris and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a buy rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Tenaris in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. Barclays restated a buy rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Tenaris in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Tenaris from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Tenaris from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Tenaris currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $39.08.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in Tenaris SA (NYSE:TS) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,494,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 490,533 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.25% of Tenaris worth $31,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  TheStreet lowered shares of Tenaris (NYSE:TS) from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

  TS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Tenaris from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, June 21st. ValuEngine cut shares of Tenaris from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, June 16th. Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Tenaris from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 8th. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of Tenaris from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Tenaris from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Tenaris presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.32.

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Vanguard Mega Cap Value ETF (MGV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Vanguard Mega Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:MGV) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,000.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:ISRG,TBI,BWLD,MED,JWN,

HDFC Securities's research report on Reliance Industries

1QFY19 saw RIL yet again proving its operational mettle despite weak global GRMs and macros, owing to better petchem margins and volumes. Petchem EBIT stood at Rs 22/kg up 23/53% QoQ/YoY. This massive expansion of margins was owing to better product mix and use of US ethane/refinery off-gases as a feedstock. Petchem production volumes were up 33.3% YoY to 9.2mmt, with the refinery off gas cracker (ROGC) ramping up. The performance of the refining segment was subdued. GRM was USD 10.5/bbl with weak light distillates spread. Q1 EBITDA was Rs 151.54bn, 30.8/12.9% YoY/QoQ. Higher interest cost, and taxes partially offset growth, and PAT stood at Rs 88.2bn (+7.6% YoY).

Outlook

Our SOTP-based target for RIL is Rs 1,270/sh based on Jun-20 earnings (6.5x EV/e for standalone refining, 8x EV/e for petchem, Rs 29/sh for domestic E&P, 1x EV/invested capital for Shale, 20x EV/e for Retail and 10x EV/e for Telecom. Maintain BUY.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  These are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s scoring:

  Get Intuitive Surgical alerts: Global Commercial Robotics Market 2018 by Key Players – INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC , YASKAWA ELECTRIC … (themobileherald.com) Bullish or Bearish Territory: Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) (nysestocks.review) Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) -Price to Earnings Ratio Evaluation (P/E) (nasdaqfortune.com) Stock in Featured List: Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) (stockquote.review) Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Gains on Strength in Robotics (finance.yahoo.com)

  A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ISRG. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 26th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. ValuEngine lowered Intuitive Surgical from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Piper Jaffray Companies reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Intuitive Surgical in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Vetr raised Intuitive Surgical from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $478.64 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Intuitive Surgical presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $457.59.

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  As earnings season begins to kick into gear, next week features stocks of all shapes and sizes. But two stocks I'll be watching are growth stocks Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). Both companies are benefiting from double-digit growth in revenue and earnings per share. When these companies report their second-quarter results next week, investors will be watching to see if they can keep executing well on the growth opportunities before them.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) rose 10.2% in August 2018, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The maker of the da Vinci robotic surgery platform and its associated tools didn't need any actual news to keep its impressive market momentum going.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In this segment from MarketFoolery, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool Asset Management's Bill Barker consider the case for healthcare innovator Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), which has been on a tear for the past few years. Its pricey robots are growing ever more common and popular with hospitals and doctors, and based on the reaction of the market, investors must expect its current sales growth pace to continue.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Trueblue (TBI)

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

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  TrueBlue Inc  (NYSE:TBI)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 07, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Trueblue (NYSE:TBI) have trended somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 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. Trueblue earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the business services provider an impact score of 45.3296498009881 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  That's not to say it was a quiet day for every stock on the market. With earnings season ramping up, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) served as an exercise in contrast as investors reacted to their respective quarterly reports.

• [By Peter Graham]

  A long term performance chart shows Dave & Busters Entertainment tripling in value before falling back while small cap upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurant owner RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: RICK) began taking off in 2016 and small cap Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is being acquired by Arby's Restaurant Group:

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  MediBloc [QRC20] (MED) is a proof-of-work (PoW) token that uses the HybridScryptHash256 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on January 3rd, 2014. MediBloc [QRC20]’s total supply is 4,097,545,844 tokens and its circulating supply is 2,966,384,100 tokens. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official website is medibloc.org/en. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official Twitter account is @MEDDevTeam. The official message board for MediBloc [QRC20] is medium.com/@MediBloc. The Reddit community for MediBloc [QRC20] is /r/MediBloc and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

• [By Max Byerly]

  McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) and Medifast (NYSE:MED) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares jumped 29.86 percent to close at $2.87 on Friday. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares gained 28.87 percent to close at $8.75 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Mexco Energy Corporation (NYSE: MXC) gained 27.02 percent to close at $5.4744. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) climbed 26 percent to close at $23.94. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 25.64 percent to close at $42.44 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.19 percent to close at $8.50 after reporting Q2 results. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares gained 22.45 percent to close at $31.58 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) gained 22.31 percent to close at $6.25 after reporting Q1 results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares jumped 22.27 percent to close at $121.46 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (NASDAQ: JRSH) gained 20.86 percent to close at $8.46. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 19.83 percent to close at $6.89 after reporting strong quarterly results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 18.01 percent to close at $55.95 on Friday after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 17.73 percent to close at $21.25 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT) rose 17.41 percent to close at $2.36. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares gained 16.78 percent to close at $12.25 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares rose 14.23 percent to close at $63.40 following Q1 result

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Nordstrom Inc.’s (NYSE: JWN) fiscal second-quarter report is scheduled for Thursday after the markets close. The consensus forecast is $0.84 in EPS on $3.96 billion in revenue. Shares ended the week trading at $52.58 apiece. The consensus price target is $52.88, and the 52-week range is $37.79 to $54.61.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Still, plenty of investors are likely wondering if Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) is a good buy before its fourth-quarter earnings report, due out on Oct. 1 after market close. The company is unique on the stock market as an online personalized styling service: It ships clothes to customers based on fit and style preferences rather than allowing customers to choose the items directly. Though it has competitors in that sector, including Nordstrom's (NYSE:JWN) Trunk Club, Stitch Fix is far and away the leader in the segment; sales are projected to be $1.23 billion this fiscal year.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) may reopen plans for a leveraged buyout after good holiday results. According to The Wall Street Journal:

  The failed effort by the Nordstrom family to take the namesake department store chain private will be remembered as a missed opportunity amid the selloff in retailers' stocks last fall.

EA Stock Will Flourish Surge with Its Apex Legends Game

It’s been a super volatile run, not just for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), but all of the video game stocks. Just a day after getting hammered on disappointing earnings, Electronic Arts stock began to climb aggressively on positive chatter surrounding its new game, Apex Legends. That chatter has only gotten better, with the game now eclipsing 50 million users in just 30 days.

Source: Electronic Arts

It’s helping EA outperform its peers like Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) and Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). The latter of those two, Activision, has just about everything going wrong for it. Conversely, TTWO has some solid momentum from its top game Red Dead Redemption 2, while EA has the most momentum at the moment. The question is, can that momentum continue?

How Far Can Apex Legends Go?

Recently video game stocks hit a “perfect storm” of negative catalysts. First, they came into the fourth quarter red-hot, with many trading at or new all-time highs. Around the same time, Chinese regulators began censoring which video games the public could play and given the size of that market, it put a damper on video game stocks. Further, Nintendo (OTCMKTS:NTDOY) was riding strong Switch momentum.

Finally, and perhaps most problematic, Epic Games (40% owned by Tencent (OTCMKTS:TCEHY)) was disrupting the world with its Fortnite game, which hit 200 million users across all of its platforms before the end of 2018.

That’s exactly the response that Electronic Arts is looking for with Apex Legends. Or even more. With the game’s 50 million users in 30 days, EA is outpacing the initial growth from Fortnite. If that growth can continue and if EA can eclipse the 100 million mark before the second half of 2019, investors will bid up Electronic Arts stock even more.

Compare Brokers

While games like Apex Legends and Fortnite don’t generate revenue on the initial sale of the game, they do generate revenue with low-priced in-game purchases. Many gamers loathe micro-transactions, but they are much more willing to shell out $2 here and $5 there if they didn’t have to pay for the game to begin with.

Getting 100+ million users on board and then living off micro-transactions isn’t the worst business plan in the world. In fact, it’s simply a digital version of the old razor/razor blade model. If Electronic Arts can gain traction with Apex Legends, EA stocks can gain traction too.

The Bottom Line on EA Stock

Not everyone is aboard the Apex Legends train. There are a lot “ifs” still out there and concerns over its longevity. Cowen analysts point out that gamer interest is waning, with streaming on Twitch (owned by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) now) falling from ~271.2K viewers to just 132.3K viewers. Conversely, Fortnite has increased from 114.6K to 149.9K.

That said, Baird analysts say that with Apex Legends’ 50 million active users and average revenue per user of $20, that it could join Fortnite as the only two free-to-play games to hit $1 billion in sales in their first 12 months.

That’s pretty solid and if the developers can keep interest levels high among gamers, it can garner even more momentum.

Trading EA Stock

Click to Enlarge

A look at the chart above shows just how volatile of a ride it has been for EA stock. After falling from ~$93 to sub-$80 after earnings, EA eclipsed $100 just three days later, a rally of more than 25%! The stock has worked its way lower in recent weeks, as Electronic Arts digests the big move higher.

Negative headlines about Apex Legends and other industry developments will likely weigh on EA. Conversely, positive headlines will aid the stock price. I don’t like trading headlines, such as with Fed announcements or the trade situation between China and the U.S.,but that’s the situation we have right now with EA.

Should Electronic Arts stock fall below $92.50, I really want to see $90 hold. Both the 50-day and 100-day moving averages are near this mark and maintaining above this area would be encouraging. North of $90 and $93 also keeps EA above key Fibonacci retracement levels from the post-earnings range as well.

Over short-term downtrend resistance (purple line) and the bulls can gather some momentum. Below $90 and some red flags will start to pop up on the charts.

Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell did not hold a position in any of the aforemen

LivePerson, Inc. (LPSN) Stake Lessened by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,514 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 174,225 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.17% of LivePerson worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. Texas Permanent School Fund increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 38,179 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 829,459 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,645,000 after purchasing an additional 59,457 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 915,187 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,971,000 after purchasing an additional 392,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,669,909 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 216,190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.28% of the company’s stock.

Get LivePerson alerts:

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of LivePerson in a research report on Friday, February 22nd. BidaskClub raised LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 29th. Finally, B. Riley set a $32.00 price objective on LivePerson and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. LivePerson has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $28.73.

Shares of NASDAQ:LPSN opened at $27.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.35 and a beta of 1.06. LivePerson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.81 and a 12-month high of $28.70.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 21st. The technology company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $65.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.91 million. LivePerson had a negative net margin of 10.02% and a negative return on equity of 5.67%. Analysts predict that LivePerson, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other LivePerson news, CEO Robert P. Locascio sold 45,837 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $827,816.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 266,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,965.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert P. Locascio sold 3,405 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.82, for a total value of $64,082.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 312,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,887,535.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,472 shares of company stock valued at $953,572. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “LivePerson, Inc. (LPSN) Stake Lessened by Castleark Management LLC” was posted by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this report on another site, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of international trademark & copyright law. The legal version of this report can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4205672/liveperson-inc-lpsn-stake-lessened-by-castleark-management-llc.html.

LivePerson Company Profile

LivePerson, Inc provides mobile and online business messaging solutions that power digital communication between brands and consumers. It operates in two segments, Business and Consumer. The Business segment facilitates real-time online interactions, such as chat, voice, and content delivery across multiple channels and screens for corporations of various sizes.

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

InterXion (INXN) Price Target Lowered to $69.00 at Credit Suisse Group

InterXion (NYSE:INXN) had its target price reduced by Credit Suisse Group from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report published on Thursday morning. They currently have an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Separately, ValuEngine lowered InterXion from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $73.82.

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Shares of NYSE:INXN traded down $1.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $62.90. The stock had a trading volume of 12,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 86.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 1.05. InterXion has a 1-year low of $50.05 and a 1-year high of $68.95.

InterXion (NYSE:INXN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The technology company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $146.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.94 million. InterXion had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 6.27%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that InterXion will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of InterXion by 99.5% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc grew its stake in shares of InterXion by 22.5% during the third quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc now owns 87,188 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,868,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of InterXion by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,668 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Alternative Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of InterXion during the third quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of InterXion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $756,000. Institutional investors own 89.35% of the company’s stock.

InterXion Company Profile

InterXion Holding N.V. provides carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data center services in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The company enables its customers to connect to a range of telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers, and other customers.

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Buybacks are under attack again as a senator pushes to restrict insider sales

Corporate insiders could be barred from selling stock within a certain time period after share buybacks are announced, if one Democratic senator has his way.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland pointed to evidence from a Securities and Exchange Commission study indicating that share repurchases are benefiting corporate insiders at the expense of long-term investors.

As a result, he said he is preparing legislation that would direct the SEC to study the rule on buybacks, with hopes ultimately that a time frame can be established delineating the period during which sales would be prohibited.

"It could be a long period of time like several years, or maybe analysis would show another period of time that might be appropriate," Van Hollen said during a media call.

The senator had asked the SEC to look into stock performance after buyback announcements to determine the impact on individual stocks. What the study found, as reported in a letter from Commissioner Robert L. Jackson Jr., was that "firms that let insiders sell on buyback announcements perform worse over the long run," Van Hollen said.

"In other words, the executives' gain is at the expense of the other stock holders who are not insiders," he added. "It raises the concern that buybacks are used as a way to maximize executive pay."

The senator's comments come as share repurchases, announcements of which totaled more than $1 trillion in 2018, have come under bipartisan fire.

Earlier this year, Sens. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who is running for president on the Democratic ticket, unveiled a plan that would force companies engaging in repurchases to pay a living wage and provide health-care benefits.

Shortly after, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he wanted to change tax laws that reward buybacks.

Jackson's letter indicates that momentum may be building within the SEC to revisit the buyback rules. In the missive, the commissioner said he found that studying buybacks from January 2017 through the end of 2018 showed that insiders sell more stocks right after buyback announcements, indicating the repurchases are geared toward their enrichment rather than the benefit of the company.

"Whether insider sales cause the stock to fall or simply reflect insiders' view that the buyback won't add value in the long run, the opportunity to cash out stock-based pay gives executives reason to pursue buybacks that do not produce long-term value," Jackson wrote.

The SEC declined comment on the matter. Jackson did not return a request for further comment.

Van Hollen indicated the next step is to reach out to the commission to get it to conduct a roundtable and hearing on the buybacks rule, and to use legislation to force it do so if necessary.

"I don't know exactly what the appropriate period is, whether it's a year, more than a year or less than a year" to restrict insider sales after buybacks, Van Hollen said.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:MED,BWLD,TBI,ISRG,

Investors in Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE:SAIC) had a bad week last week: Its stock plunged 8% in a single day after it reported earnings -- and ended the week even lower. SAIC shares are clawing back some losses this week -- but do they deserve to?

Let's find out.

SAIC beat earnings last week, but then its stock crashed. Why was that? Image source: Getty Images.

What SAIC said in the report

SAIC's first fiscal quarter of 2018 actually didn't look that bad on the surface, with:

Sales rising 7% year over year to $1.2 billion Operating profits up 5% at $66 million Net income per share up a similar 5% to $1.13 per share

That being said, there were considerable caveats contained in SAIC's news, if you read between the lines. Take earnings, for instance.

Yes, per-share profits increased, but only because SAIC reduced its share count through buybacks. Actual net income for the company from continuing operations remained flat at $49 million. Profits also didn't grow as fast as sales, a consequence of profitability per dollar of revenue (operating margin) slipping 10 basis points to 5.6%, which offset some of the sales growth. Free cash flow for the quarter also declined, down 2% year over year to $82 million.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  MediBloc [QRC] (CURRENCY:MED) traded 11.6% lower against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 20:00 PM Eastern on August 29th. One MediBloc [QRC] token can now be bought for about $0.0066 or 0.00000100 BTC on popular exchanges including Gate.io, Coinrail and Bibox. MediBloc [QRC] has a total market cap of $19.65 million and $279,707.00 worth of MediBloc [QRC] was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last week, MediBloc [QRC] has traded 27.8% lower against the US dollar.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Medifast Inc (NYSE:MED) by 12.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,781 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in Medifast were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 0.2% lower against the U.S. dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on June 7th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $37.92 million and $586,074.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, MediBloc has traded down 36% against the U.S. dollar. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0128 or 0.00000166 BTC on major exchanges including Coinrail, Bibox and Gate.io.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A long term performance chart shows Dave & Busters Entertainment tripling in value before falling back while small cap upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurant owner RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: RICK) began taking off in 2016 and small cap Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is being acquired by Arby's Restaurant Group:

• [By Steve Symington]

  That's not to say it was a quiet day for every stock on the market. With earnings season ramping up, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) served as an exercise in contrast as investors reacted to their respective quarterly reports.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  TrueBlue Inc  (NYSE:TBI)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 07, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Trueblue (NYSE:TBI) have trended somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 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. Trueblue earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the business services provider an impact score of 45.3296498009881 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 21.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,951 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In the healthcare world, one of those has to be the impressive quarterly report from Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). The company increased its revenue by 25%, and accelerated its sales of the da Vinci robotic surgical systems that made it famous. But it's not just the expensive hardware that is allowing it to prosper -- it's that every machine needs a steady supply of the disposable instruments and accessories used during its procedures. The Fools consider the recent numbers, the outlook, and the investment thesis for Intuitive Surgical stock. But in the, say, anti-healthcare space, cigarette slinger Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) took a big hit as demand slackened in major foreign markets. Sales of its e-cig devices are also not growing the way management had hoped.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). Sanford C. Bernstein issued an outperform rating on the stock.

  Argus started coverage on shares of Integer (NYSE:ITGR). The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Chris Hill]

  But there was more upbeat news elsewhere, with No. 3 airline United Continental (NYSE:UAL) beating on earnings and freight rail titan CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) delivering record first-quarter numbers. Also on the rapid growth train: Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), whose da Vinci systems are selling at an impressive rate. And speaking of sales of tech products, the guys close out the episode by explaining why it's a win-win that Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) are joining forces to sell smart TVs.

• [By Sean Williams]

  The VISE acronym stands for:

  Visa (NYSE:V) Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA)

  Each of these four companies brings clear-cut competitive advantages to the table that should allow it to handily outperform the broader market (and the FANG stocks).

Aareal Bank (ARL) – Analysts’ Recent Ratings Updates

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Aareal Bank (ETR: ARL):

3/1/2019 – Aareal Bank was given a new €29.00 ($33.72) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. 2/28/2019 – Aareal Bank had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at DZ Bank AG. 2/27/2019 – Aareal Bank was given a new €29.00 ($33.72) price target on by analysts at Independent Research GmbH. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. 2/27/2019 – Aareal Bank was given a new €32.90 ($38.26) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 2/19/2019 – Aareal Bank had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at DZ Bank AG. 2/7/2019 – Aareal Bank was given a new €32.90 ($38.26) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

ETR:ARL traded up €0.16 ($0.19) during trading hours on Monday, reaching €28.83 ($33.52). The company’s stock had a trading volume of 275,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,447. Aareal Bank AG has a 12 month low of €33.35 ($38.78) and a 12 month high of €41.89 ($48.71).

Aareal Bank AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides financing solutions and services to the property industry in Germany and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Structured Property Financing and Consulting/Services. The Structured Property Financing segment offers property financing and refinancing solutions for office buildings, hotels, retail, logistics, and residential properties, and shopping centers in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Read More: Analyzing a company's cash flow statement

3 Top Solar Stocks to Watch in March

The solar industry has its ups and downs, which makes it tough to pick stocks in that sector. With so much to consider -- including government policy, foreign competition, technological advances, and competing green-energy sources -- it can be tough to know how a company will perform next month, let alone a few years from now. 

We asked three of our Motley Fool contributors what solar stocks they'd keep an eye on this month, and they came back with Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), and SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG). Here's why they think you should keep these solar companies on your radar.

Solar energy holds a lot of promise, but industry stocks have been volatile. Image source: Getty Images.

Can Enphase finally become profitable?

Tyler Crowe (Enphase Energy): Ever since the company went public in 2012, this manufacturer of solar energy components has posted net income losses. Even though it has been able to achieve gross margins in excess of 30% at certain times, operating expenses gobbled up any chances of posting a positive net income result. In the most recent quarter, though, the company reported earnings per share of $0.01. 

The turnaround in profitability is largely attributed to the company's seventh-generation microinverter (which converts direct current from sunlight to alternating current in a solar module), as well as the company's recent deal to be an exclusive provider of microinverters to SunPower. Having an anchor customer could be crucial for the company because manufacturing components for the solar power industry has been fiercely competitive over the past few years. Management noted that 84% of all microinverter sales in the fourth quarter were for its most-recent product offering. 

In the coming quarters, investors will likely be watching whether Enphase can maintain profitability. On top of its recent deal with SunPower, the company also recently announced it is launching an energy storage product as part of a partnership it announced during its analyst day last year. While adding energy storage will help to make the company's offerings more competitive, it will also come with higher costs. If the company can maintain profitability while rolling out these new products, it could be a game changer. That said, it is uncharted territory for Enphase that could cause headaches. 

Here's one "solar stock" you may not have heard of

Rich Smith (Applied Materials): Is Applied Materials a solar stock? I'd argue that at least in part it is. It's best known as a manufacturer of equipment used to make semiconductor chips. But its Applied Global Services (AGS) division also provides solutions for producers of solar products. And AGS accounts for nearly 22% of company revenue, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Applied products and services for the solar industry include technology permitting solar manufacturers to produce solar cells more efficiently. Its metallization system is used to apply metals to bare wafers, while its inspection tools help keep tabs on photovoltaic wafer and cell product quality.

Earlier this month, Applied Materials reported strong fiscal Q1 2019 results. AGS sales in particular were up 9%, and operating profits were up 11% on a 70-basis-point improvement in profit margins.

Despite beating earnings, the stock sold off on worries about future quarters. With Applied Materials stock now selling for less than 10 times trailing earnings, pegged for continued 11% profits growth over the next five years, and paying a respectable 2% dividend, I'd say it is one "solar stock" worth watching after its February sell-off.

Solar stocks have been all over the place over the past year. SEDG data by YCharts.

Living on the edge

John Bromels (SolarEdge Technologies): Solar component manufacturer SolarEdge Technologies has taken investors on a wild ride lately. In November, after announcing solid third-quarter earnings, shares slid 12.5%. Another December slide put shares down about 6.5% for 2018. But in January, shares jumped nearly 25% as the company announced it was getting into the electric vehicle market through the purchase of a 57% stake in S.M.R.E., an electric vehicle powertrain company in Italy. But February saw another sell-off in the stock, with shares down about 5%. 

All this seesawing comes as the market tries to figure out what's going on with solar. Unlike many other solar companies, SolarEdge doesn't manufacture solar panels. Instead, it makes the components of photovoltaic systems. SolarEdge is the world's leading producer of solar inverters, a crucial system component.

But concerns about a slowdown in solar adoption by China, coupled with domestic concerns about tariff impacts on solar adoption, have investors spooked. In addition, as Tyler mentioned above, some panel manufacturers like SunPower have started to include microinverters on the panels they offer, removing the need for a system inverter. This is probably why investors were so pleased to see that SolarEdge is trying to branch out from its traditional role as a provider of solar system inverters. 

Thanks to the stock's volatility, I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying SolarEdge right now, but it's definitely a stock to keep on your watchlist as you wait for more clarity around the future of the industry.

$0.15 EPS Expected for Avid Technology, Inc. (AVID) This Quarter

Analysts predict that Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVID) will post earnings per share (EPS) of $0.15 for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have provided estimates for Avid Technology’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $0.11 to $0.19. Avid Technology also reported earnings of $0.15 per share during the same quarter last year. The business is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report after the market closes on Thursday, March 21st.

On average, analysts expect that Avid Technology will report full year earnings of $0.16 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.12 to $0.19. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $0.70 per share. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that that provide coverage for Avid Technology.

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Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised Avid Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $5.25 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 24th. BidaskClub cut Avid Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 18th. BWS Financial lowered shares of Avid Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $5.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, November 16th. Dougherty & Co upgraded shares of Avid Technology from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 30th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Avid Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.50.

NASDAQ:AVID traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.79. 67,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 116,131. Avid Technology has a one year low of $4.26 and a one year high of $6.99. The stock has a market cap of $196.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.73.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVID. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Avid Technology by 31.9% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,507,181 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,938,000 after buying an additional 364,438 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Avid Technology by 163.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 90,530 shares during the last quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Avid Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $311,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Avid Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Avid Technology by 300.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 46,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 34,964 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.55% of the company’s stock.

About Avid Technology

Avid Technology, Inc develops, markets, sells, and supports software, hardware, and integrated solutions for video and audio content creation, management, and distribution worldwide. The company's video products and solutions include the Media Composer product line that is used to edit film, television programming, news broadcasts, commercials, and other video content; Avid shared storage systems and Avid Interplay asset management solutions, which provide complete network, storage, and database solutions to enable users to simultaneously share and manage media assets throughout a project or organization.

Read More: Net Income

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