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iPadOS makes Apple's tablets feel like a priority again
When I reviewed theiPad Prolast year, I was torn. Here was one of the most impressive (not to mention expensive) tablets any company had ever made, and its software seemed caught between two goals: provide the classic, friendly iOS experience people were used to, and grow in a way that made it more meaningful to pro users shelling out for premium hardware.
WithiPadOS, Apple is striking a better balance between those two priorities. And now that the company is releasing the software as a public beta, anyone will be able to install iPadOS and check in on the company's progress. After using a beta build for a few days, I'm already impressed with the changes Apple has made. Some are more subtle than others but all told, this new software refines the iPad experience in some important ways. Let's take a closer look.
A quick note:Despite what its name might suggest, iPadOS is basically just a tablet-tuned version of iOS 13. Because of that, I'm not going to rehash all of the new features and fixes Apple baked into its mobile OS. For a deeper dive into all that, I suggest you check out our iOS 13 previewhere.
The first thing you'll notice once you load iPadOS onto an iPad are the app icons: They're smaller! And you can fit far more of them on a single screen now. Think: 30 (not including what's in the dock), up from 20 in earlier versions of iOS. It takes a little getting used to on hardware like the iPad mini, but it makes a big difference for larger tablets like theAirand Pro, which were stuck with a considerable amount of dead space between icons. That always meant more home screens or more folders, neither of which seemed ideal.
Apple came up with another way to reduce wasted space: pinning Today widgets to the side of the home screen. This is one of those subtle touches you could ignore entirely if you wanted to, but I've found that having my to-do lists and breaking news within easy reach has been great. It's worth noting that these pinned widgets only appear while the iPad is propped up in landscape mode. Even so, Apple's design team has succeeded in making iPadOS feel a bit more like a traditional desktop OS, and it's a refreshing change of pace.
If all you've ever used an iPad for is web browsing and watching movies, Apple's updated multitasking system might not mean much to you. But if you've ever tried to actually get some work done on an iPad, you've surely had to deal with its limited multitasking tools. Sure, switching between apps is easy enough, and running two apps side by side in Split View and Slide Over has worked like a charmsince iOS 11. With iPadOS, though, Apple has taken those multitasking features and made them much more flexible.
Let's start with Slide Over. As usual, if you have an app open, you can long-press another app in your dock and drag it to the side of the screen to view it in a smaller, floating window. New here is the ability to quickly switch between all of the apps you've already set up in that window. Swiping left and the right at the bottom of that panel takes you back and forth between all of them. (If you're curious, there doesn't seem to be an upper limit to the number of apps you can keep in Slide Over.)
If that sounds familiar, it's because Apple basically replicated the iPhone X's quick app switching, and it's remarkably helpful when you need different kinds of context while keeping your focus on the main app panel. This past week, I've mostly been using it to keep an eye on incoming text messages and controlling Spotify while writing this article. When you need to find a specific app running in Slide Over, a swipe up from the bottom of the window displays all of them at once for easy access to the right software.
Make no mistake: This is a big improvement over earlier versions of iOS, where you could keep just one app running in that narrow window. What's less great is that, as usual, you can only easily pull this off if the app you want to use in Slide Over already lives in the dock. In theory, it's easy enough to just load the dock up with all the software you use regularly, but this is less than ideal if you want to keep the dock from looking too cluttered. (In fairness, some of you won't find this nearly as annoying as I do.)
Meanwhile, Split View -- which lets you run two apps side by side -- works as well as it always did, but with a twist. iPadOS allows you to view content from the same app in two different windows. Let's say you're scoping some new restaurants for an evening out. Grabbing one of the Google search results and dragging it to the side of the screen opens that webpage in a separate Safari window. Or how about this one: You're using the Files app and want to view a document while you keep skimming through the rest of your folder. Easy, just grab the document, drag and drop; you can do both at the same time. You get where I'm going with this. Ultimately, I'd love to be able to pick up an iPad Pro and run multiple apps in multiple, self-contained windows as on a desktop, but this is as close we're going to get for now.
When you do pull off this split-screen trickery on purpose, it's genuinely helpful. My problem (for now, at least) is that when I'm holding the iPad and scrolling through a webpage, it's a little too easy to accidentally grab some element on-screen and yank it out into its own window. This is especially annoying when you're scrolling through pages with lots of image links (Reddit immediately comes to mind). It's irksome enough that Apple might want to rethink the timing required for this to work correctly.
Apple was keen to talk up iPadOS' "desktop-class" browsingat WWDC, and with good reason. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most important changes available here. In the past, browsing the internet with Safari on an iPad was kind of a crapshoot: Sometimes you'd get the full desktop version of a site, and the pared-down mobile view from another. Sure, you could force Safari to serve you the desktop version, but that extra step shouldn't ever have been necessary. Now it's not.
Every website I've tried on an iPad Pro and iPad mini running the new software correctly loaded as the full-fat desktop version. More importantly, web apps that Safari has previously struggled run perfectly in iPadOS, even on smaller deviceslike the mini. Here at Engadget, our parent company uses Google Apps, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, etcetera. I've used all of those things at least once while testing iPadOS, and I'm pleased to report that after I mastered the touch input required, Safari handled each of those apps beautifully. Oh, and for the first time, I've been able to actually use Engadget's web-based CMS properly in Safari on an iPad. I probably shouldn't be shocked, but, well, here I am.
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this is a big deal. Issues with web compatibility have made it hard for me (and for other people, I'm sure) to embrace iPads are full-fledged work machines. With those restrictions lifted in iPadOS, the idea of using an iPad as your sole computer isn't nearly as far-fetched as it used to be.
Speaking of traditional computers, Safari has one more feature that's already part of any desktop-caliber web browser: a download manager. At long last, you can download files directly inside Safari, and manage them from a single place. Of course, that only really matters because of another big, underlying change Apple made to its mobile software.
Assuming you're willing to shell out the cash, you can pick up an iPad with lots of storage space; two variants of the 2018 iPad Pro come with a whopping terabyte of storage. Until now, the problem was that you could never actually use that space to store and manage your personal files. Apple's Files app always let you poke around in folders created on the iPad itself, but that was about it.
Now, with iPadOS, you can create your own folders on your iPad andfill them up with your own stuff, whether you downloaded these files through Safari or pulled them over from a USB thumb drive. That latter option is especially convenient: Just plug one in (assuming it uses USB-C) or connect it via an adapter. It'll show up as an external drive in Files and you can start moving stuff around as needed.
Apple also says that you can connect USB hard drives to an iPad and manage your files that way too, but I haven't had any luck on that front; the Western Digital drive I connected drew power from the iPad and spun up as normal, but it never mounted in a way that the Files app could access. I guess I'll just have to try some more hard drives. Regardless, I've moved loads of documents and photos off a thumb drive.
But wait, there's more. The Files app now has a Mac-like column view that makes it easy to dig into all your nested folders. iPadOS also supports zipping and unzipping files directly on-device, so I haven't needed to worry about ferrying downloaded files off the iPad to decompress them. And while it doesn't seem to work just yet, you'll also be able to use the Files app to access SMB network drives, in case those are things you have to deal with regularly. I'll admit that lots of people who own iPads, maybe even most of them, will never get worked up over these file handling changes. Oh well. They're still useful, and they show how Apple is improving the iPad experience by blurring the line between tablets and traditional computers.
Since I've had limited time with the iPadOS beta so far, there are some features I haven't used as much as others. These are some of the standouts.
Pencil improvements:I'm more of a doodler and a note-taker than I used to be, but I still don't use the Apple Pencil that often. But for those of you who do, there are plenty of Pencil-friendly updates to be found in iPadOS. The palette of tools that pops up when you start using the Pencil has been redesigned, and you can flick it around the screen so it doesn't obscure whatever you were doing in the first place. Apple has also said that, thanks to some under-the-hood optimizations, the Pencil's latency has dropped to as low as 9ms. With that said, I haven't noticed a huge difference in Pencil performance so far.
For what it's worth, one of the smallest changes to the Pencil experience has been the most useful. If you swipe in from the side of the screen with the Pencil, the iPad will take a screenshot you can immediately start marking up. You can even use this feature to take full-length screenshots of web pages and documents.
Sidecar:One of the most interesting additions to iPadOS is the ability to connect iPad Pros to Macs for use as secondary displays or graphics tablets. My colleague Dana has the Catalina update running on an iMac and took the feature for a spin herself. You can read her impressionshere.
Mouse support:At long last, you can use a mouse (wired or Bluetooth) with your iPad. It takes a little setting up, though: You have to enable it as a pointing device in the Assistive Touch, which requires a trip into iPadOS' accessibility settings. Scroll wheels work fine right out of the gate, and if your mouse has additional buttons you can easily customize their actions. Keep in mind that iPadOS and iOS aren't really optimized for interacting with mice, so the feature isn't quite as helpful as you might hope. Since there aren't any sensitivity controls, the cursor just jets all over the screen even though I'm barely moving my hand.
It'll be a few more months before Apple releases a final version of iPadOS and based on what I've seen so far, it's going to be worth the wait. The company's business customers should be especially excited: Apple addressed many of the criticisms that prevented the iPad Pro from being the do-it-all computer it aspires to be. As for everyone else, they'll benefit from subtle performance improvements and some extra polish. There's something for everyone here, and since Apple is one of the last major players in the tablet space, that's good news indeed. |
June Diane Raphael Boards Covers Comedy From Focus Features & Working Title
EXCLUSIVE : Focus Features and Working Title Films have added Grace and Frankie star June Diane Raphael to the cast of Covers , the Nisha Ganatra-directed comedy that is set among the talent, fame and fast-paced world of Hollywoods music scene. Raphael joins previously announced cast Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Zoe Chao. Written by Flora Greeson, the plot follows an aspiring music producer who endures an exhausting job as the assistant to a legendary singer while trying to launch her own career. Filming is currently underway. Related stories One To Watch: Mexican Movie Star Luis Gerardo Méndez Wants To Tell Stories Of Home, Sets Focus Features Vehicle 'Half Brothers' Kelvin Harrison Jr., Zoe Chao Join Dakota Johnson & Tracee Ellis Ross In Music-Centric Comedy 'Covers' Female Directors Are Finally Landing Big-Budget Gigs, But The Fight For Industry Inclusivity Is Far From Over -- Deadline Disruptors Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of WT are producing the project with Alexandra Loewy as executive producer. Focus will distribute the film in the U.S. and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally. Raphael, most recently seen on the big screen opposite Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen in the Lionsgate comedy Long Shot , is set to return for the sixth season of Netflixs Grace and Frankie , which will stream in 2020. Shes repped by UTA, MGMT Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Fighting the Knee-Jerk Reaction: 3 Companies That Are Down But Not Out
This article wasfirst published by MyWallSt.
Warren Buffett once invested in an oil-service company called Cities Service. He'd studied the financials, done his homework, and was certain that he'd found an undervalued gem. He bought the shares at $38 — just before they plummeted 30%.
The shares eventually rebounded and Buffett decided to get out at $40 a share, making a $2 profit on his original investment. Unfortunately, he then had to watch as Cities Service shares rocketed to $200 without him. He was only 11 years old at the time but had learned what would probably be the most important lesson in his investing life.
Image Source: Unsplash
Years later, Buffett's business partner Charlie Munger said, "It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid instead of trying to be very intelligent."
As an investor, it's important to remember that sometimes the best thing you can do is absolutely nothing. The number one rule of investing has always been to buy low and sell high, yet a lot of investors end up doing the complete opposite.
When the market opens in the red, the natural reaction is to panic, sell off your stocks, and cut your losses. To be a successful investor, however, you have to fight that instinct. No matter how good you are at picking stocks, you'll never create long-term wealth if you sell in a downturn.
You must accept down days are inevitable. Everyone's a good investor when the market is going up day after day, but it's your response to the pullbacks that separates you from the herd. So how you avoid the knee-jerk reaction that gets many investors in trouble?
Buy what you know, and buy what you believe in.
There are three companies that stick out when thinking about fighting the knee-jerk reaction. Two are still in the red and one has made a miraculous comeback, but the reason we are able to hold on to all of them is a fundamental belief in the long-term vision of the company that outweighs short-term worries.
Under Armour(NYSE: UAA)was one of the first additions tothe MyWallSt appand a big winner initially. However, a series of management missteps over the next few years drove the stock price down about 75% from all-time highs at one point — a drop that would have tested the resolve of even the most hardened investors.
Under Armour has since recovered more than 115% and, while not out of the woods yet by any means, is certainly no dead duck either. Though still beset bybranding troubles among younger demographicsand disappointing domestic sales, international revenue grew reasonably well at 12% to hit $328 million in the last quarter. International revenue now represents 27% of the company's total revenue, with sales in the Asia-Pacific region up 25% specifically.
Notably, the company also managed to end the last quarter with its inventory reduced by 24%, reflecting a positive turnaround for a problem that had long beset the company. As CEO Kevin Plank said on the earnings call, "We're just running a better play, period."
Another company that went on a more recent white-knuckle drop wasEventbrite(NYSE: EB), the event management and ticketing company. Stock jumped by more than 60% on the company's first day of trading back in September 2018 but, since then, has declined steadily and is currently sitting more than 55% off all-time highs.
One big influence on this drop was the company's prolonged struggles with integrating Ticketfly into its native platform. After buying the company way back in 2017, Eventbrite chose to merge the platforms rather than operate Ticketfly independently.
However, this "requires an intensive process where our team focuses on migrating existing customers as well as building platform enhancements," CEO Julia Hartz said on the company's earnings conference call, leading the company to project revenue of between $80 million and $84 million for the current quarter — far short of the $91 million.
Still, we believe that Eventbrite has carved out a blue ocean opportunity for themselves by focusing on the events thatLiveNation's(NYSE: LYV)TicketMaster have deemed too small to bother with. Eventbrite issued 4.6 billion revenue-generating tickets in 2018 and, going forward, such short-term road bumps will seem insignificant.
There was a time not so long ago whenChipotle Mexican Grill(NYSE: CMG)looked like the worst investment around. From peak to trough, shares in the restaurant chain fell more than 65% over the course of two and a half years thanks to multiple outbreaks of e.coli norovirus at various outlets.
Enter new CEO, Brian Niccol. Since taking over the reins from founder Steve Ells early last year, the former Taco Bell CEO has completely turned the company's fortunes around. Niccol was instrumental in helping Taco Bell to roll out digital capabilities across 7,000 of its U.S. outlets and he has adopted the same approach with Chipotle, with digital sales growing 100.7% year-over-year in the last quarter and accounting for 15.7% of overall sales. He's also managing to get customers back in through the doors, with comparable restaurant sales increasing an impressive 9.9% in the last quarter.
Thanks to Niccol's redirection, Chipotle stock is now close to all-time highs again, with shares up more than 66% from the start of this year. Proof, if needed, that just because a company is down, it's certainly not out.
Image Source: MyWallSt
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Eventbrite, and Under Armour.
Read ourfull disclosure policy here.
The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill, Live Nation Entertainment, and Under Armour (A Shares). The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Pattern Energy Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGI): Time For A Financial Health Check
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Stocks with market capitalization between $2B and $10B, such as Pattern Energy Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGI) with a size of US$2.3b, do not attract as much attention from the investing community as do the small-caps and large-caps. However, history shows that overlooked mid-cap companies have performed better on a risk-adjusted manner than the smaller and larger segment of the market. Let’s take a look at PEGI’s debt concentration and assess their financial liquidity to get an idea of their ability to fund strategic acquisitions and grow through cyclical pressures. Don’t forget that this is a general and concentrated examination of Pattern Energy Group’s financial health, so you should conduct further analysisinto PEGI here.
See our latest analysis for Pattern Energy Group
PEGI has sustained its debt level by about US$2.5b over the last 12 months – this includes long-term debt. At this stable level of debt, the current cash and short-term investment levels stands at US$93m , ready to be used for running the business. On top of this, PEGI has produced US$259m in operating cash flow in the last twelve months, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 10%, indicating that PEGI’s operating cash is less than its debt.
Looking at PEGI’s US$501m in current liabilities, it appears that the company may not be able to easily meet these obligations given the level of current assets of US$222m, with a current ratio of 0.44x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities.
PEGI is a highly-leveraged company with debt exceeding equity by over 100%. This is not unusual for mid-caps as debt tends to be a cheaper and faster source of funding for some businesses. Though, since PEGI is presently unprofitable, sustainability of its current state of operations becomes a concern. Running high debt, while not yet making money, can be risky in unexpected downturns as liquidity may dry up, making it hard to operate.
Although PEGI’s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet debt obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. But, its low liquidity raises concerns over whether current asset management practices are properly implemented for the mid-cap. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how PEGI has been performing in the past. You should continue to research Pattern Energy Group to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PEGI’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor PEGI’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is PEGI worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether PEGI is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (BPR) A Good Stock To Buy?
Before putting in our own effort and resources into finding a good investment, we can quickly utilize hedge fund expertise to give us a quick glimpse of whether that stock could make for a good addition to our portfolios. The odds are not exactly stacked in investors' favor when it comes to beating the market, as evidenced by the fact that less than 49% of the stocks in the S&P 500 did so during the second quarter. The stats were even worse in recent years when most of the advances in the market were due to large gains by FAANG stocks. However, one bright side for individual investors was the strong performance of hedge funds' top consensus picks. This year hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 6.6 percentage points through May 30th. Thus, we can see that the tireless research and efforts of hedge funds to identify winning stocks can work to our advantage when we know how to use the data. While not all of their picks will be winners, our odds are much better following their best stock picks than trying to go it alone.
IsBrookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR)a buy here? Money managers are betting on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets moved up by 1 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that BPR isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.BPRwas in 15 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with BPR holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace there are numerous formulas investors employ to size up stocks. A couple of the most innovative formulas are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top fund managers can trounce the market by a healthy margin (see the details here).
[caption id="attachment_746893" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace[/caption]
Let's take a peek at the new hedge fund action surrounding Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 7% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards BPR over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
Among these funds,D E Shawheld the most valuable stake in Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR), which was worth $28.6 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Two Sigma Advisors which amassed $10.9 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Arrowstreet Capital, and Marshall Wace LLP were also bullish on Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Consequently, some big names were leading the bulls' herd.ExodusPoint Capital, managed by Michael Gelband, created the most outsized position in Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR). ExodusPoint Capital had $3.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Costen Haley'sHBK Investmentsalso initiated a $0.5 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new BPR positions are Jonathan Soros'sJS Capital, Matthew Tewksbury'sStevens Capital Management, and Murray Stahl'sHorizon Asset Management.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR). These stocks are Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY), Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH), Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), and Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to BPR's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position RYAAY,18,429319,9 LH,39,1198920,1 DRI,38,1016976,1 CFG,41,1207295,-2 Average,34,963128,2.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 34 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $963 million. That figure was $85 million in BPR's case. Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY) is the least popular one with only 18 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Brookfield Property REIT Inc. (NASDAQ:BPR) is even less popular than RYAAY. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards BPR. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately BPR wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); BPR investors were disappointed as the stock returned -4.5% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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• 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About: Insider Monkey Billionaire Stock Index |
Apple says it collects fee on less than 1% of Spotify users
By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify Technology SA pays Apple Inc a 15% fee on about 680,000 of its 100 million premium customers, Apple disclosed in a response to Spotify's complaint with European antitrust regulators.
Premium customers pay a monthly fee or are in a free trial of Spotify's premium service, which is ad free. Spotify has a total of 217 million customers including users of its free service.
Apple competes directly with Spotify with its Apple Music service. In March, Spotify filed a complaint with European Union regulators saying that Apple's control of the App Store, including fees it charges for taking payments through the store, had made it unfairly difficult for rivals to compete for music subscribers.
Apple charges a 30% fee for in-app purchases made through the App Store, a fee that drops to 15% on subscription purchases after one year.
In exchange, Apple handles all the mechanics of billing and payments in more than 100 countries. But in Apple's response to Spotify's complaint, Apple said that Spotify does not currently pay a 30% fee for any of its premium users and that only a small fraction are affected by its fees.
Apple said that Spotify used its App Store billing system between 2014 and 2016. Because the 680,000 premium Spotify customers who signed up during that period have all been paying for more than a year, Spotify pays Apple the lower 15% fee on them, Apple said in its response.
Apple also said that Spotify has paid it nothing for premium subscribers who signed up during the past three years because Spotify has not used Apple's in-app purchase system.
Spotify declined to comment on the figures. Apple filed its response on May 31, but the documents were not made public. German newspaper Der Spiegel earlier reported the figures from Apple's response.
Spotify's complaint to regulators also included allegations beyond Apple's fees, including steps that Spotify said Apple took after it quit using the App Store's payment mechanism. The company pointed to tightened App Store rules after 2016 that bar app makers from providing links or buttons to external web pages showing users how to pay for an upgrade to premium subscription outside the App Store.
"Promotions are essential to our business. This is how we convert our free customers to premium," Horacio Gutierrez, Spotify’s general counsel, told Reuters in March.
Spotify also in its complaint said that Apple does not allow Spotify on HomePod, Apple's smart speaker.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) |
Is Gartner Inc (IT) A Good Stock To Buy?
Out of thousands of stocks that are currently traded on the market, it is difficult to identify those that will really generate strong returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors spend millions of dollars on analysts with MBAs and PhDs, who are industry experts and well connected to other industry and media insiders on top of that. Individual investors can piggyback the hedge funds employing these talents and can benefit from their vast resources and knowledge in that way. We analyze quarterly 13F filings of nearly 750 hedge funds and, by looking at the smart money sentiment that surrounds a stock, we can determine whether it has the potential to beat the market over the long-term. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at what smart money thinks about Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT).
Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT)shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world's most elite money managers lately. Our calculations also showed that IT isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
If you'd ask most traders, hedge funds are seen as slow, outdated investment vehicles of the past. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open today, Our experts choose to focus on the bigwigs of this group, approximately 750 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors shepherd the lion's share of the hedge fund industry's total asset base, and by following their highest performing investments, Insider Monkey has come up with numerous investment strategies that have historically defeated the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points per annum since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year).
Let's view the recent hedge fund action encompassing Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -29% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 21 hedge funds with a bullish position in IT a year ago. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey,Select Equity Group, managed by Robert Joseph Caruso, holds the most valuable position in Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT). Select Equity Group has a $639 million position in the stock, comprising 4.3% of its 13F portfolio. On Select Equity Group's heels isBares Capital Management, led by Brian Bares, holding a $358.6 million position; 10.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining peers with similar optimism comprise Gabriel Plotkin'sMelvin Capital Management, Seth Rosen'sNitorum Capitaland Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group.
Judging by the fact that Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes last quarter. Intriguingly, Dmitry Balyasny'sBalyasny Asset Managementdumped the biggest investment of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising about $17.6 million in stock. Vikas Lunia's fund,Lunia Capital, also dropped its stock, about $16.6 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 6 funds last quarter.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT). We will take a look at Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W), WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG), Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG), and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble IT's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position W,30,2455188,2 WCG,47,1898984,8 CAG,33,811917,0 LYV,39,1020951,2 Average,37.25,1546760,3 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 37.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1547 million. That figure was $1206 million in IT's case. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W) is the least popular one with only 30 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT) is even less popular than W. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on IT, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 5.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Is Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (ELS) A Good Stock To Buy?
Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) lagged the larger S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 9 percentage points since the end of the third quarter of 2018 as investors worried over the possible ramifications of rising interest rates and escalation of the trade war with China. The hedge funds and institutional investors we track typically invest more in smaller-cap stocks than an average investor (i.e. only 298 S&P 500 constituents were among the 500 most popular stocks among hedge funds), and we have seen data that shows those funds paring back their overall exposure. Those funds cutting positions in small-caps is one reason why volatility has increased. In the following paragraphs, we take a closer look at what hedge funds and prominent investors think of Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) and see how the stock is affected by the recent hedge fund activity.
Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 15 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. At the end of this article we will also compare ELS to other stocks including Braskem SA (NYSE:BAK), Sun Communities Inc (NYSE:SUI), and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.
We're going to take a look at the latest hedge fund action encompassing Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS).
At Q1's end, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ELS over the last 15 quarters. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS), which was worth $345.4 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was AEW Capital Management which amassed $63.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, D E Shaw, Waratah Capital Advisors, and Millennium Management were also bullish on Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Due to the fact that Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) has faced a decline in interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's easy to see that there were a few hedgies who were dropping their full holdings heading into Q3. Intriguingly, Richard Driehaus'sDriehaus Capitalcut the biggest stake of the "upper crust" of funds followed by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $3.4 million in stock, and Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $2.6 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS). These stocks are Braskem SA (NYSE:BAK), Sun Communities Inc (NYSE:SUI), Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM), and National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to ELS's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position BAK,12,310632,3 SUI,18,412771,-4 AEM,24,266152,-1 NOV,18,732601,-4 Average,18,430539,-1.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $431 million. That figure was $572 million in ELS's case. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Braskem SA (NYSE:BAK) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on ELS as the stock returned 8.2% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Is NMI Holdings Inc (NMIH) A Good Stock To Buy?
Before we spend days researching a stock idea we like to take a look at how hedge funds and billionaire investors recently traded that stock. The S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY) lost 2.6% in the first two months of the second quarter. Ten out of 11 industry groups in the S&P 500 Index lost value in May. The average return of a randomly picked stock in the index was even worse (-3.6%). This means you (or a monkey throwing a dart) have less than an even chance of beating the market by randomly picking a stock. On the other hand, the top 20 most popular S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds not only generated positive returns but also outperformed the index by about 3 percentage points through May 30th. In this article, we will take a look at what hedge funds think about NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH).
NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH)investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months.NMIHwas in 15 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with NMIH positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that nmih isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
[caption id="attachment_746830" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Matthew Hulsizer of PEAK6 Capital[/caption]
We're going to go over the fresh hedge fund action regarding NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 15 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -6% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 16 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in NMIH a year ago. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) was held byOaktree Capital Management, which reported holding $147 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $51.7 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Driehaus Capital, One Tusk Investment Partners, and PEAK6 Capital Management.
Since NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) has faced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's safe to say that there lies a certain "tier" of funds that slashed their full holdings in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPdumped the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at about $2.4 million in stock. Minhua Zhang's fund,Weld Capital Management, also sold off its stock, about $1.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in the third quarter.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR), Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE:LBRT), Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN), and PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI). This group of stocks' market values match NMIH's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ARWR,16,172031,3 LBRT,14,77200,2 EGBN,11,45405,-1 PFSI,16,113181,6 Average,14.25,101954,2.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $102 million. That figure was $229 million in NMIH's case. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on NMIH as the stock returned 18.3% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Premier Inc (PINC)
Amid an overall bull market, many stocks that smart money investors were collectively bullish on surged during the first quarter. Among them, Facebook and Microsoft ranked among the top 3 picks and these stocks gained 40% and 25% respectively. Our research shows that most of the stocks that smart money likes historically generate strong risk-adjusted returns. That's why we weren't surprised when hedge funds’ top 20 large-cap stock picks generated a return of 18.7% during the first 5 months of 2019 and outperformed the broader market benchmark by 6.6 percentage points.This is why following the smart money sentiment is a useful tool at identifying the next stock to invest in.
Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. PINC has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with PINC positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that PINC isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
To the average investor there are several formulas investors put to use to analyze stocks. Some of the most innovative formulas are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best hedge fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see the details here).
Let's check out the latest hedge fund action surrounding Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -11% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards PINC over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically,Renaissance Technologieswas the largest shareholder of Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC), with a stake worth $90.4 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Renaissance Technologies was D E Shaw, which amassed a stake valued at $19.4 million. East Side Capital (RR Partners), Two Sigma Advisors, and GLG Partners were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Due to the fact that Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's easy to see that there is a sect of money managers who sold off their entire stakes by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Michael Castor'sSio Capitalsaid goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising about $5 million in stock, and Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron's Algert Coldiron Investors was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $3 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC). These stocks are WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS), PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT), Shake Shack Inc (NYSE:SHAK), and First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to PINC's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position WSFS,20,178393,8 PTCT,31,647470,6 SHAK,19,380847,0 FMBI,13,49554,1 Average,20.75,314066,3.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 20.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $314 million. That figure was $163 million in PINC's case. PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Midwest Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:FMBI) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. Premier Inc (NASDAQ:PINC) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on PINC as the stock returned 11.5% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Cal-Maine Foods Inc (CALM)
After several tireless days we have finished crunching the numbers from nearly 750 13F filings issued by the elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track at Insider Monkey, which disclosed those firms' equity portfolios as of March 31. The results of that effort will be put on display in this article, as we share valuable insight into the smart money sentiment towards Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM).
IsCal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM)a superb investment right now? Investors who are in the know are in a bearish mood. The number of bullish hedge fund bets were cut by 2 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that CALM isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.CALMwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with CALM holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
At the moment there are tons of indicators shareholders have at their disposal to assess their holdings. A couple of the most innovative indicators are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a significant margin (see the details here).
Let's take a gander at the new hedge fund action regarding Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 16 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in CALM a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds,Diamond Hill Capitalheld the most valuable stake in Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM), which was worth $62.1 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Renaissance Technologies which amassed $34.9 million worth of shares. Moreover, Royce & Associates, GLG Partners, and D E Shaw were also bullish on Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Due to the fact that Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) has faced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there is a sect of funds who sold off their full holdings last quarter. Interestingly, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Managementsaid goodbye to the biggest investment of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $6.3 million in stock. Paul Tudor Jones's fund,Tudor Investment Corp, also dropped its stock, about $1.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds last quarter.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) but similarly valued. These stocks are SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE:SEAS), Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc. (NASDAQ:EPAY), Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI), and Intelsat S.A. (NYSE:I). This group of stocks' market values match CALM's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SEAS,27,774791,-2 EPAY,15,100438,-2 PEGI,10,24823,-1 I,54,733520,12 Average,26.5,408393,1.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 26.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $408 million. That figure was $170 million in CALM's case. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE:I) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Pattern Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:PEGI) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately CALM wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); CALM investors were disappointed as the stock returned -7.4% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Caretrus REIT Inc (CTRE)
You probably know from experience that there is not as much information on small-cap companies as there is on large companies. Of course, this makes it really hard and difficult for individual investors to make proper and accurate analysis of certain small-cap companies. However, well-known and successful hedge fund managers like Jeff Ubben, George Soros and Seth Klarman hold the necessary resources and abilities to conduct an extensive stock analysis on small-cap stocks, which enable them to make millions of dollars by identifying potential winners within the small-cap galaxy of stocks. This represents the main reason why Insider Monkey takes notice of the hedge fund activity in these overlooked stocks.
Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. At the end of this article we will also compare CTRE to other stocks including The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG), Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKS), and Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a look at the new hedge fund action regarding Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 8 hedge funds with a bullish position in CTRE a year ago. With the smart money's sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Millennium Managementwas the largest shareholder of Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE), with a stake worth $37.6 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Millennium Management was Renaissance Technologies, which amassed a stake valued at $23.4 million. AEW Capital Management, Two Sigma Advisors, and D E Shaw were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Because Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it's safe to say that there were a few fund managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely in the third quarter. Interestingly, Richard Driehaus'sDriehaus Capitalsaid goodbye to the biggest stake of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $3.4 million in stock. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's fund,Marshall Wace LLP, also dumped its stock, about $0.6 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE) but similarly valued. These stocks are The Navigators Group, Inc (NASDAQ:NAVG), Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKS), Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO), and Pampa Energia S.A. (NYSE:PAM). All of these stocks' market caps match CTRE's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position NAVG,16,222914,-1 BRKS,9,68932,0 PDCO,28,198667,0 PAM,21,277150,6 Average,18.5,191916,1.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $192 million. That figure was $109 million in CTRE's case. Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKS) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Caretrus REIT Inc (NASDAQ:CTRE) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on CTRE as the stock returned 6.6% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On BEST Inc. (BEST)
We at Insider Monkey have gone over 738 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st. In this article, we look at what those funds think of BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) based on that data.
BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. BEST shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with BEST positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that BEST isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of metrics market participants use to value their stock investments. Some of the most under-the-radar metrics are hedge fund and insider trading activity. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see the details here).
We're going to review the key hedge fund action surrounding BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 78% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 8 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in BEST a year ago. With hedgies' positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey,Tiger Pacific Capital, managed by Run Ye, Junji Takegami and Hoyon Hwang, holds the largest position in BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST). Tiger Pacific Capital has a $23.7 million position in the stock, comprising 8% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Israel Englander ofMillennium Management, with a $7.3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other peers with similar optimism comprise David Kowitz and Sheldon Kasowitz'sIndus Capital, Hari Hariharan'sNWI Managementand Gifford Combs'sDalton Investments.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.LMR Partners, managed by Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold, established the most outsized position in BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST). LMR Partners had $2.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesalso made a $1.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BEST investors: Michael Gelband'sExodusPoint Capital, Richard Driehaus'sDriehaus Capital, and Minhua Zhang'sWeld Capital Management.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT), Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), and Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC). All of these stocks' market caps resemble BEST's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FCPT,13,92837,0 POWI,6,79088,2 IVR,15,94994,2 CMC,11,275034,-6 Average,11.25,135488,-0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $135 million. That figure was $63 million in BEST's case. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Power Integrations Inc (NASDAQ:POWI) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately BEST wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on BEST were disappointed as the stock returned -5.9% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Stepan Company (SCL)
"Since 2006, value stocks (IVE vs IVW) have underperformed 11 of the 13 calendar years and when they beat growth, it wasn't by much. Cumulatively, through this week, it has been a 122% differential (up 52% for value vs up 174% for growth). This appears to be the longest and most severe drought for value investors since data collection began. It will go our way eventually as there are too many people paying far too much for today's darlings, both public and private. Further, the ten-year yield of 2.5% (pre-tax) isn't attractive nor is real estate. We believe the value part of the global equity market is the only place to earn solid risk adjusted returns and we believe those returns will be higher than normal," said Vilas Fund in itsQ1 investor letter. We aren't sure whether value stocks outperform growth, but we follow hedge fund investor letters to understand where the markets and stocks might be going. This article will lay out and discuss the hedge fund and institutional investor sentiment towards Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL).
Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. SCL shareholders have witnessed an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with SCL positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that SCL isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to analyze the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 33% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in SCL over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) was held byRenaissance Technologies, which reported holding $29.8 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Arrowstreet Capital with a $7.7 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included GLG Partners, Two Sigma Advisors, and AQR Capital Management.
As aggregate interest increased, some big names were breaking ground themselves.Quantinno Capital, managed by Hoon Kim, assembled the largest position in Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL). Quantinno Capital had $0.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementalso made a $0.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SCL investors: Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associatesand Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt..
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL). These stocks are AnaptysBio, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANAB), Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE:SKT), SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM), and New Fortress Energy LLC (NASDAQ:NFE). This group of stocks' market valuations match SCL's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ANAB,20,708803,0 SKT,15,92722,1 SM,21,304913,1 NFE,4,42616,4 Average,15,287264,1.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $287 million. That figure was $51 million in SCL's case. SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand New Fortress Energy LLC (NASDAQ:NFE) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on SCL, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 5.2% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (APAM)
"Since 2006, value stocks (IVE vs IVW) have underperformed 11 of the 13 calendar years and when they beat growth, it wasn't by much. Cumulatively, through this week, it has been a 122% differential (up 52% for value vs up 174% for growth). This appears to be the longest and most severe drought for value investors since data collection began. It will go our way eventually as there are too many people paying far too much for today's darlings, both public and private. Further, the ten-year yield of 2.5% (pre-tax) isn't attractive nor is real estate. We believe the value part of the global equity market is the only place to earn solid risk adjusted returns and we believe those returns will be higher than normal," said Vilas Fund in itsQ1 investor letter. We aren't sure whether value stocks outperform growth, but we follow hedge fund investor letters to understand where the markets and stocks might be going. This article will lay out and discuss the hedge fund and institutional investor sentiment towards Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM).
Hedge fund interest inArtisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM)shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren't the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds' perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That's why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as NeoGenomics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEO), Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX), and 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) to gather more data points.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's go over the latest hedge fund action regarding Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in APAM over the last 15 quarters. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically,Renaissance Technologieswas the largest shareholder of Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM), with a stake worth $59 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Renaissance Technologies was Fisher Asset Management, which amassed a stake valued at $38.1 million. Royce & Associates, Marshall Wace LLP, and Sprott Asset Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Judging by the fact that Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM) has experienced declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there lies a certain "tier" of hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely heading into Q3. At the top of the heap, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawdumped the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $0.8 million in stock, and Michael Platt and William Reeves's BlueCrest Capital Mgmt. was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.3 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM). We will take a look at NeoGenomics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEO), Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX), 8x8, Inc. (NYSE:EGHT), and Fabrinet (NYSE:FN). All of these stocks' market caps match APAM's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position NEO,15,50733,-9 FIX,28,167089,4 EGHT,20,318522,3 FN,20,118669,2 Average,20.75,163753,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 20.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $164 million. That figure was $168 million in APAM's case. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand NeoGenomics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEO) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on APAM as the stock returned 8.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Xencor Inc (XNCR)
Amid an overall bull market, many stocks that smart money investors were collectively bullish on surged during the first quarter. Among them, Facebook and Microsoft ranked among the top 3 picks and these stocks gained 40% and 25% respectively. Our research shows that most of the stocks that smart money likes historically generate strong risk-adjusted returns. That's why we weren't surprised when hedge funds’ top 20 large-cap stock picks generated a return of 18.7% during the first 5 months of 2019 and outperformed the broader market benchmark by 6.6 percentage points.This is why following the smart money sentiment is a useful tool at identifying the next stock to invest in.
Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. XNCR investors should be aware of an increase in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with XNCR holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that XNCR isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
At the moment there are a multitude of signals investors can use to grade stocks. Some of the most useful signals are hedge fund and insider trading signals. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a very impressive margin (see the details here).
We're going to take a gander at the latest hedge fund action encompassing Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 23% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 24 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in XNCR a year ago. With hedgies' capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Jeremy Green'sRedmile Grouphas the number one position in Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR), worth close to $94.3 million, comprising 2.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Oleg Nodelman ofEcoR1 Capital, with a $64 million position; the fund has 5.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions encompass Julian Baker and Felix Baker'sBaker Bros. Advisors, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Managementand Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partners.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, specific money managers have jumped into Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR) headfirst.GLG Partners, managed by Noam Gottesman, initiated the most valuable position in Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR). GLG Partners had $2.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Groupalso initiated a $1.1 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new XNCR investors: Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLP, Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies, and Michael S. Weiss and Lindsay A. Rosenwald'sOpus Point Partners Management.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at FGL Holdings (NYSE:FG), Allakos Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLK), Deswell Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSW), and NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL). This group of stocks' market valuations are similar to XNCR's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FG,23,183387,-6 ALLK,9,148939,-1 DSW,19,138500,-8 NGL,4,12350,0 Average,13.75,120794,-3.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $121 million. That figure was $190 million in XNCR's case. FGL Holdings (NYSE:FG) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Xencor Inc (NASDAQ:XNCR) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on XNCR as the stock returned 11.6% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARWR)
A market surge in the first quarter, spurred by easing global macroeconomic concerns and Powell's pivot ended up having a positive impact on the markets and many hedge funds as a result. The stocks of smaller companies which were especially hard hit during the fourth quarter slightly outperformed the market during the first quarter. Unfortunately, Trump is unpredictable and volatility returned in the second quarter and smaller-cap stocks went back to selling off. We finished compiling the latest 13F filings to get an idea about what hedge funds are thinking about the overall market as well as individual stocks. In this article we will study the hedge fund sentiment to see how those concerns affected their ownership of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) during the quarter.
IsArrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR)an excellent investment right now? Prominent investors are in a bullish mood. The number of long hedge fund positions advanced by 3 recently. Our calculations also showed that ARWR isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a gander at the key hedge fund action surrounding Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 23% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ARWR over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Vivo Capitalwas the largest shareholder of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR), with a stake worth $42.7 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Vivo Capital was Farallon Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $35.2 million. Adage Capital Management, Aquilo Capital Management, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Now, key money managers have been driving this bullishness.Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, created the biggest position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR). Arrowstreet Capital had $4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologiesalso made a $3.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new ARWR investors: John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisors, Joel Greenblatt'sGotham Asset Management, and Jeffrey Talpins'sElement Capital Management.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR). These stocks are Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE:LBRT), Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN), PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI), and Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS). This group of stocks' market values resemble ARWR's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position LBRT,14,77200,2 EGBN,11,45405,-1 PFSI,16,113181,6 PFS,6,55197,-2 Average,11.75,72746,1.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $73 million. That figure was $172 million in ARWR's case. PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on ARWR as the stock returned 49.9% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On PennyMac Financial Services Inc (PFSI)
Based on the fact that hedge funds have collectively under-performed the market for several years, it would be easy to assume that their stock picks simply aren't very good. However, our research shows this not to be the case. In fact, when it comes to their very top picks collectively, they show a strong ability to pick winning stocks. This year hedge funds' top 20 stock picks easily bested the broader market, at 18.7% compared to 12.1%, despite there being a few duds in there like Berkshire Hathaway (even their collective wisdom isn't perfect). The results show that there is plenty of merit to imitating the collective wisdom of top investors.
IsPennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI)undervalued? Money managers are taking an optimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund bets improved by 6 lately. Our calculations also showed that PFSI isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to analyze the new hedge fund action regarding PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 60% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PFSI over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Omega Advisorswas the largest shareholder of PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI), with a stake worth $21.7 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Omega Advisors was Rima Senvest Management, which amassed a stake valued at $20.3 million. Long Pond Capital, PAR Capital Management, and Basswood Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds have jumped into PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI) headfirst.Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, initiated the most outsized position in PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI). Millennium Management had $6.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPalso initiated a $1.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new PFSI investors: Andrew Weiss'sWeiss Asset Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capital, and Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE:CPE), Ensco Rowan plc (NYSE:ESV), and UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ:TIGR). This group of stocks' market valuations match PFSI's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position PFS,6,55197,-2 CPE,23,191982,1 ESV,21,248254,-13 TIGR,9,13631,9 Average,14.75,127266,-1.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $127 million. That figure was $113 million in PFSI's case. Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE:CPE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. PennyMac Financial Services Inc (NYSE:PFSI) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately PFSI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on PFSI were disappointed as the stock returned -1.1% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Driver with record charged with 7 homicides in biker crash
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) The driver of a pickup truck in a fiery collision on a rural New Hampshire highway that killed seven motorcyclists was charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide, and records show he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving last month and in 2013. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was arrested Monday morning at his home in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the New Hampshire attorney general's office said. He will be arraigned Tuesday in Lancaster, New Hampshire, authorities said. He was handed over to New Hampshire authorities after a brief court appearance Monday in Springfield, Massachusetts. Zhukovskyy looked down at his feet as he was led into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. Connecticut prosecutors say he was arrested May 11 in an East Windsor Walmart parking lot after failing a sobriety test. Officers had responded to a complaint about a man who was revving his truck engine and jumping up and down outside the vehicle. Zhukovskyy's lawyer in that case, John O'Brien, said he denies being intoxicated and will fight the charge. Zhukovskyy refused to submit to a blood test, prosecutors said. Additionally, Zhukovskyy was arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2013 in Westfield, Massachusetts, state motor vehicle records show. He was placed on probation for one year and had his license suspended for 210 days, The Westfield News reported. Records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicate that the company Zhukovskyy was driving for, Westfield Transport, has been cited for various violations in the last two years, MassLive.com reported . There were two instances where drivers were in possession of narcotic drugs. Other violations including a driver without a commercial driver's license, one for speeding and another for defective brakes. The company did not respond to repeated requests for comment. A man who answered the phone at the home of Zhukovskyy's family and would identify himself only as his brother-in-law said Monday that the family is in shock and feeling the same pain as everyone else but couldn't say whether the driver was right or wrong. Story continues Since the accident, the brother-in-law said, Zhukovskyy had remained in his room, not eaten and talked to no one. Defense attorney Donald Frank called Friday's crash a "tragedy" but said it's important to let the criminal justice system play out. Zhukovskyy's pickup truck, towing a flatbed trailer, collided with a group of 10 motorcycles Friday on a two-lane highway in the northern New Hampshire community of Randolph, investigators said. The truck was traveling west when it struck the eastbound group of motorcycles. The victims were members or supporters of the Marine JarHeads, a New England motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses, and ranged in age from 42 to 62. Four were from New Hampshire, two from Massachusetts and one from Rhode Island. George Loring, a JarHeads member who lives in Hingham, Massachusetts, and was a few hundred yards from the crash, said Zhukovskyy has "got to live with it for the rest of his life." "Everyone's suffering so much," Loring said. "It's so sad for the brothers and sisters who died. You can be angry at him, you can be whatever. I don't know. I'm glad he's been arrested." Joseph Mazza, whose nephew Albert Mazza Jr. was killed in the crash, welcomed the arrest but called it a poor consolation for the loss of a loved one. "As long as he pays a price. He has caused lot of harm to a lot of families," Mazza said from his Haverhill home. "If he has a problem, he shouldn't be on the road. If he is a bad actor, he doesn't belong on the street. He caused enough of a tragedy. Enough is enough." Authorities have only said they are investigating the cause of the collision. JarHeads president Manny Ribeiro, who survived the crash, said the group had just finished dinner and was heading to a fundraiser at an American Legion post in nearby Gorham. A total of 21 riders and 15 motorcycles were in the group. Mazza, who was riding next to Ribeiro, was among those hit by the truck. "It was just an explosion ... with parts and Al and everything flying through the air," he said. "He turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me. The truck and trailer stayed attached and that is why it was so devastating ... because the trailer was attached and it was such a big trailer, it was like a whip. It just cleaned us out." After the crash, Ribeiro recalled seeing Zhukovskyy "screaming and running around" in the middle of the road before he was taken away by authorities. Motorcycles and bodies were everywhere, he said, and several people were yelling at Zhukovskyy, demanding to know what he had just done. "It was very surreal," he said, adding that he had put a tourniquet on the leg of one rider who remains hospitalized in Maine. "I saw Al. I knew he was gone right away," he continued. "At that point, we just tried to figure out who needed help and got to work. There was debris everywhere and the truck was on fire. I was just looking for survivors, familiar faces and trying to find out who I had lost and ... trying to help the living." Zhukovskyy was questioned at the scene of Friday's crash and allowed to return to Massachusetts, the National Transportation Safety Board has said. Authorities identified the dead as Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Mazza, 59, of Lee, New Hampshire; Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, New Hampshire; Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Jo-Ann and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Massachusetts. ___ This story has been updated to correct Zhukovskyy's hometown to West Springfield, instead of Springfield, and corrects the spelling of his first name to Volodymyr, instead of Volodoymyr, per the attorney general's office. ___ Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. |
Hedge Funds Are Selling BOK Financial Corporation (BOKF)
The elite funds run by legendary investors such as David Tepper and Dan Loeb make hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves and their investors by spending enormous resources doing research on small cap stocks that big investment banks don't follow. Because of their pay structures, they have strong incentives to do the research necessary to beat the market. That's why we pay close attention to what they think in small cap stocks. In this article, we take a closer look at BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) from the perspective of those elite funds.
BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. BOKF has seen a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with BOKF holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that bokf isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.
We're going to take a look at the recent hedge fund action surrounding BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -16% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 11 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in BOKF a year ago. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically,Ariel Investmentswas the largest shareholder of BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF), with a stake worth $73.6 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Ariel Investments was Diamond Hill Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $50.3 million. Royce & Associates, Millennium Management, and Renaissance Technologies were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Due to the fact that BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) has witnessed a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, it's easy to see that there were a few money managers that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Clint Carlson'sCarlson Capitaldropped the biggest investment of all the hedgies tracked by Insider Monkey, worth about $5.8 million in stock, and Mark Lee's Forest Hill Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $5.5 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds last quarter.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF). These stocks are Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR), Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN), Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR), and Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to BOKF's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CZR,57,3150352,-1 CIEN,30,510894,1 MPWR,20,172987,-5 EHC,24,464510,-6 Average,32.75,1074686,-2.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 32.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1075 million. That figure was $216 million in BOKF's case. Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) is the least popular one with only 20 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks BOK Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:BOKF) is even less popular than MPWR. Hedge funds dodged a bullet by taking a bearish stance towards BOKF. Our calculations showed that the top 20 most popular hedge fund stocks returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately BOKF wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was very bearish); BOKF investors were disappointed as the stock returned -7.2% during the same time frame and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in the second quarter.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Kik’s Claims About Kin Blockchain ‘Inaccurate,’ Coin Metrics Report Alleges
Kikhas made inaccurate claims about activity on itsblockchainto theUnited StatesSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC,) a Coin Metrics reportallegedon June 24.
The report focused on two assertions made by the company about its Kin blockchain and eponymouscryptocurrency.
In a November 2018 letter, Kik hadclaimedthat its blockchain had “exceededEtherandBitcoinin daily blockchain activity, demonstrating Kin’s wide acceptance andadoption.”
Coin Metrics claims daily operations, the measurement Kik used to gauge activity on its blockchain, included a high number of account creations — but many of these accounts were being left empty. Although Kin did have a large number of on-chainpayments, the report said it fell “well below other major blockchains” in terms of transfer value.
Kik had also questioned why the SEC was regarding thetokenas asecuritywhen “over 300,000 people earned and spent kin as a currency.” On this second claim, Coin Metrics said there have only been about 35,000 addresses holding more than 10,000 kin (worth roughly $0.23 at press time) at its peak. The report added:
“This is orders of magnitude less than other blockchains in our sample, which each have at least 1,000,000 addresses that hold at least $1.”
Coin Metrics concluded that multiple metrics showed that Kin was not more widely used than dominant chains such as BTC and ETH, writing:
“It is therefore critical to examine multiple factors, including the type and quality of usage, in order to get a full picture of the activity on kin or any blockchain.”
Last month, Kiklauncheda $5 million crypto campaign to fund a legal challenge against the SEC to gain regulatory clarity.
The company hadraisedalmost $100 million during a token distribution event in September 2017, but the regulator laterclaimedthat Kik may have violated securities laws.
• Grayscale’s Ethereum Security Now Listed on OTC Markets
• JPMorgan Will Pilot ‘JPM Coin’ Stablecoin by End of 2019: Report
• US House of Representatives to Hold Hearing on Facebook’s Libra in July
• Bitmain Shifting IPO Plans to the US on Growing Bitcoin Optimism |
N2Growth, a Top Executive Search Firm, Places Sach Barot as CFO at AudioEye
PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2019 /N2Growth, Inc., a global leader in human and organizational performance, recently placed Sach Barot as Chief Financial Officer at AudioEye. The search was led by Tony Morales, Managing Director at N2Growth.
AudioEye is a SaaS provider serving organizations committed to providing equal access to their digital content. Through patented technology, subject matter expertise and proprietary processes, AudioEye is transforming how the world experiences digital content. Leading with technology, AudioEye identifies and resolves issues of accessibility and enhances the user experience, making digital content more accessible and more usable for more people.
Mr. Barot is a proven executive, business leader and CFO, bringing 20 years of corporate finance experience to the AudioEye team, most recently having served as Chief Financial Officer, Global Operations for Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B).
"Sach is a strategic CFO, who also happens to be a gritty and savvy operating executive who is well known in finance and capital markets circles for his ability to make an impact," said Morales.
Mr. Barot has a depth of experience in the commercial data and information services sector and a track record of delivering strong results through hands-on financial, strategic and operational leadership. His expertise in analytics-driven P&L management, corporate strategy, business process re-engineering and culture transformations is a hallmark of his work. Mr. Barot began his career at D&B in 2002 as a Financial Analyst and held roles with progressive responsibility, culminating with the position of CFO, Global Operations, supporting approximately $1.7 Billion in annual revenues.
About N2Growth
N2Growth is a global leader in human and organizational performance with practice areas in executive search, leadership development and business transformation. N2Growth has more than 50 locations across the Americas, the European Community, MENA, and APAC. More information on N2Growth can be found atwww.n2growth.com.
Media Inquiries:Liz PietersN2Growth(585) 371-8186l.pieters@n2Growth.com
SOURCE:N2Growth
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/549467/N2Growth-a-Top-Executive-Search-Firm-Places-Sach-Barot-as-CFO-at-AudioEye |
Are you smarter about money than most Americans? Here's how you can find out.
This is the second story in a series about Americans' financial health, based on a survey provided by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to financial education and empowerment.
A better economy does not make a smarter consumer.
As Americans'finances recoveredfrom the Great Recession – spurred by the longest bull market, 50-year unemployment lows and an almost record-breaking expansion – they got dumber about money matters.
Just 34% could answer at least four out of five financial-literacy questions correctly last year, down from 42% in 2009, according to the2018 Financial Capability Study from FINRA Investor Education Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to financial education and empowerment. The figure was down from the 2012 and 2015 studies as well.
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The money topics with the biggest drops in comprehension were inflation, risk andinterest rates. But the share of right answers to all five questions fell since 2009.
Potential reasons for the declines? Many adults haven't lived through cycles of higher and lower interest rates, or swings in inflation, which affect their mortgages, credit cards and yields in savings.
The share of Americans who got the test's inflation question right dropped 10 percentage points to 55% from 2009. Similarly, 43% answered a question about risk accurately, down from 53% in 2009.
Money snapshot:The economy is booming. But are Americans' finances healthier because of it?
Family matters:Parents, here's another expense you'll have to charge to your card this summer: childcare.
When it came to interest rates, 72% answered correctly, down from 78% in 2009. But that question – and the one about mortgages – had the highest share of correct responses overall. In 2018, 73% of Americans got the mortgage question right, according to the study. That's compared with 76% in 2009.
The least understood concept was bond prices. Only 26% of respondents got that question right; 37% got it wrong, while 36% answered: “Don’t Know.”
Want to test your money knowledge?Take the test here
Younger and middle-age adults led the declines.
The share of 18- to 34-year-olds who answered at least four of the five questions correctly fell by nearly half in the past nine years, going from 30% in 2009 to 17% in 2018. The decline was 45% to 33% for 35- to 54-year-olds. Only those 55 and over showed a modest drop from 51% nearly a decade ago to 48% today.
Golden years:Millennials, you've got this all wrong. You need to stop 'saving' for retirement.
One reason may be exposure, says Gerri Walsh, president of the FINRA Foundation.
Younger people have lived much of their adult lives in a low interest-rate and low-inflation environment, unlike Baby Boomers who can remember the early 1980s, when the effectivefederal funds rate hit 19%. The rate – a benchmark to set interest rates on consumer loans and a tool to fight inflation – is now at 2.4% and was effectively zero from 2009 to 2015.
“These concepts are not relevant to everyday life to those 35 and under where most of the declines are happening,” Walsh says.
Unfortunately, most Americans are also unaware of what they don’t know, the study found. Seven in 10 gave themselves high marks when it came to financial knowledge, even though only a third answered at least four of the five questions right.
“That’s why we encourage everyone to take the quiz to see how they stack up,” Walsh says. “And then they can turn to other resources if they need to learn more about money.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Are you smarter about money than most Americans? Here's how you can find out. |
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren aren't the only candidates with plans for student loans
As Americans wrestle with over $1.5 trillion in student debt, the 2020 Democratic field has a variety of plans to confront the issue.
On Monday,Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiledthe mostdramatic proposal yetwith Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Ilhan Omar. They would have the government to pay off all loans held by46 million Americans, covering private debt as well federal loans.
“This is truly a revolutionary proposal,” Sanders said.
The bill follows a slightly less ambitiousplanfrom Sen. Elizabeth Warren that she estimates would eliminate 95% of the student debt held by Americans.
Sanders and Warren say they are "cancelling" these debts. The rest of the field often uses a less-sexy word when discussing their plans: refinancing.
Here's how Sen. Amy Klobuchar put it in arecent CNN Town Hall: "The first thing I would do is allow students and – no matter how old they are – former students to refinance their student loans at that rate that's a little above 3%."
Many of Klobuchar's colleagues in the Senate have also discussed refinancing in recent years. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrandintroduced a billin 2013 to refinance federal loans at a rate of 4%. Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris have also discussed refinancing.
John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, recentlyproposeda refinancing rate of 2.5% "or as low as I can get it, without taking any risk." As a Congressman, Beto O'Rourkesigned onto a billwith a 3.4% rate in 2013. He currentlyadvocatesrefinancing "at the lowest possible rates for everyone who has it right now, whether the issuer was the government or a private issuer."
The currentinterest rate for federal subsidized student loansfor undergraduates is 4.53%, but other government loans can be as high at 7%. Private student loans can vary wildly with some topping 10% annually.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg and his husband still carry about $130,000 in student debt and the mayor hasdiscussedthe issue as well. Buttigieg’s plan involves refinancing, and he cited the cost as the key reason he’s not in favor of cancelling debt.
Whatever the exact details, the different refinancing plans would cost only a fraction of the estimated $2.2 trillion price tag for the Sanders plan.
In 2014, Warren had a debt refinancing bill that attracted interest from three Republican senators (Susan Collins, Bob Corker, and Lisa Murkowski) but itwas not enoughas the remaining Republicans voted against debating the bill.
Julian Castro, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has adebt forgiveness planthat would allow a borrower to pay nothing until they are "earning at least 250% of the federal poverty line." Students would also receive "forgiveness of any remaining amount" on the loans after 20 years.
Public service is another topic that comes up frequently as a way to both pay down student debt and improve the country. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program was established in 2007 but, as the candidates often note, the programcurrently rejects 99%of applicants. The Trump administration, in its proposed 2020 budget, advocatedeliminating the program entirelywhile Democrats by and large want to expand it.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has not released a detailed plan on student loans but proposed reforming the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program as part ofhis education plan.
Ben Werschkul is a producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, D.C.
Read more:
4 reasons why forgiving U.S. student debt makes sense
Amid student debt surge, a debate over whether $1.5T is a crisis or 'peanuts'
Here’s why the public option keeps coming up with presidential candidates
2020 Democrats have a lot of ideas for Walmart
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
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Exclusive: Huawei's U.S. research arm builds separate identity
By Jane Lanhee Lee
(Reuters) - The U.S.-based research arm of China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd - Futurewei Technologies Inc - has moved to separate its operations from its corporate parent since the U.S government in May put Huawei on a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Futurewei has banned Huawei employees from its offices, moved Futurewei employees to a new IT system and forbidden them from using the Huawei name or logo in communications, a Futurewei employee told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Huawei will continue to own Futurewei, the employee said.
Milton Frazier, Futurewei’s general counsel, declined to comment on the separation or the strategy behind it, referring questions to Huawei spokesman Chase Skinner. Skinner did not answer questions about the effort.
The division of operations, which has not been previously reported, comes as many U.S. universities have halted research partnerships with Huawei in reaction to U.S. government allegations that the company poses a national security threat. Many universities are also rethinking their partnerships with other Chinese firms. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang-mit-tech-insight/risky-partner-top-u-s-universities-took-funds-from-chinese-firm-tied-to-xinjiang-security-idUSKCN1TE04M
Huawei is among the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers. The Commerce Department in May placed the firm on its “entity list” of organizations that pose security risks. The Justice Department earlier filed charges against the firm alleging theft of trade secrets and other crimes.
Futurewei is Huawei’s U.S.-based research and development arm. The firm employs hundreds of people at offices in Silicon Valley and the greater Seattle, Chicago and Dallas areas, according to its workers’ LinkedIn pages. Futurewei has filed more than 2,100 patents in such areas as telecommunications, 5G cellular networks, and video and camera technologies, according to data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Until now, Futurewei’s operations have been largely indistinguishable from Huawei, the Futurewei employee said. Futurewei had no separate brand or even a website, the employee said, and its staff often identified themselves as Huawei employees.
Both companies have conducted a wide range of research partnerships and grant programs with U.S. universities.
Last year, 26 members of Congress sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, warning that Huawei’s partnerships with at least 50 U.S. universities “may pose a significant threat to national security.”
The fear is that Huawei is using university partnerships to scoop up research in areas such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications and robotics, which could be used in hacking or spying operations or to give Chinese companies an edge over U.S. competitors.
Some universities are struggling with whether they can continue partnerships with Futurewei - which is not on the government’s entity list - even as they suspend funding and research arrangements with Huawei.
The University of California-Berkeley, for instance, is allowing researchers to keep working with Futurewei after suspending all funding and information exchanges with Huawei in May, according to guidance to faculty from Berkeley research chief Randy Katz.
Berkeley also suspended funding from Futurewei but continues to allow Futurewei employees to participate in research reviews under certain restrictions, Katz wrote to faculty. Berkeley staff and students now can work only with Futurewei employees who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents and who agree in writing not to share certain sensitive information with Huawei.
Companies on the entity list are banned from buying parts and components from American firms without U.S. government approval. Most universities have also consulted the list when making decisions on grants or partnerships, said Tobin Smith, of the Association of American Universities.
Katz said he issued his guidance on Futurewei out of an "abundance of caution" to ensure researchers don't break laws that prevent sharing sensitive U.S. technology with entity-listed companies. After consulting with the Commerce Department, Berkeley determined that Futurewei was not covered by the same restrictions as Huawei, Katz wrote to faculty.
“Nevertheless, the U.S. government may take other actions against Futurewei,” he wrote.
The Commerce Department could not legally place Futurewei on the entity list because it is a U.S. company, the agency said in a statement. Commerce spokesman Ari Schaffer did not answer questions on whether and how the agency regulates university research partnerships with entity-list companies or their U.S. subsidiaries.
There's nothing illegal about colleges taking grant money or conducting research with such companies, said Erick Robinson, head of the China practice at law firm Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig. What's prohibited, he said, is any transfer of "essential confidential technology" to Huawei by any person or organization.
'FUTUREWEI IS HUAWEI'
The U.S. Justice Department in January announced charges against Huawei and an executive in connection with an alleged scheme to mislead banks and the United States about its business activities in Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions. Prosecutors also charged the company with stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile US Inc. The company pleaded not guilty in both cases.
The crackdown on Huawei comes amid an escalating U.S.-China trade war, in which the transfer of U.S. technology and intellectual property to Chinese companies has been a point of contention.
In addition to Berkeley, the list of universities that have partnered with Huawei or Futurewei includes Stanford, Princeton and Columbia universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin.
Congressman Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican who signed the letter warning about Huawei’s university partnerships, said any move to separate the operations of Futurewei and Huawei would not resolve those concerns.
“Futurewei is Huawei," Banks told Reuters.
Banks introduced a bill in March called the “Protect Our Universities Act” that would allow government agencies to restrict or cancel federal funding for any sensitive research project carried out with companies that pose a threat of espionage.
The bill names Huawei and several other Chinese technology companies as threats, along with any company owned or controlled by the governments of China, Russia, North Korea or Iran.
Josh Hawley, a republican senator from Missouri, last week introduced a similar bill with the same name aimed at addressing the “threat of foreign government influence and threats to academic research integrity”.
DILEMMA ON CAMPUS
UC Berkeley has received nearly $8 million from the two firms in the past two years, said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogoluf. Katz, Berkeley's research chief, said the school would reconsider its moratorium on taking money from Futurewei if the University of California's Office of the President, gives its blessing.
The office, which oversees 10 public universities including Berkeley, said in a statement that it wants to balance security concerns with maintaining an "open academic environment" for international scholars.
At Stanford, Dean of Research Kathryn Moler said the university "paused" new funding agreements from Huawei and Futurewei in December but has continued working with the firms under existing arrangements. Moler did not answer questions about whether Stanford continues to accept money from the firms and declined to comment on whether it would lift its moratorium on new Futurewei funding if it separates its operations from Huawei.
Stanford computer science professor John Ousterhout said his lab was getting $500,000 annually from Futurewei and had been in talks to boost that to $2 million when he learned of the moratorium.
"I'm not here to defend Huawei. It's quite possible that Huawei has done some seriously bad things," Ousterhout said. But universities, he said, "should not be a law enforcement tool or foreign policy enforcement tool."
Andrew Chien, a University of Chicago professor who lost Huawei funding, said the computer science community needs to "grow up" and acknowledge the kind of security risks that have long been managed by colleagues in such disciplines as physics, whose work has military applications.
"Computing has become so central and so important - and so dangerous," he said. "We're beyond the point where you can deny that."
(Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Brian Thevenot) |
Louis Moore Bacon's Top 5 Holdings as of the 1st Quarter
- By Sydnee Gatewood
According to GuruFocus'top holdings data, hedge fund managerLouis Moore Bacon(Trades,Portfolio)'s top five positions as of the end of the first quarter were the iShares China Large-Cap (FXI) exchange-traded fund, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), First BanCorp (NYSE:FBP), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Index Fund ETF (EEM).
• FXI 15-Year Financial Data
• The intrinsic value of FXI
• Peter Lynch Chart of FXI
The guru's New York-based firm, Moore Capital Management, uses a global macro strategy to identify value opportunities in the market.
iShares China Large-Cap
Bacon's largest holding is 3.47 million units of the iShares China Large-Cap ETF, representing 4.75% of the equity portfolio. GuruFocus estimates he has gained 3.3% on the investment since the fourth quarter of 2018.
The ETF, which tracks the performance of an index composed of large-cap Chinese equities that trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has a $5.51 billion market cap; its units were trading around $42.56 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a price-book ratio of 1.15.
The 14-day relative strength index is 60.25, indicating it is approaching overbought levels.
Alibaba
The guru owns 780,000 shares of Alibaba, which represent 4.40% of the equity portfolio. According to GuruFocus, he has gained an estimated 16% on the investment since establishing it in the first quarter.
The Chinese e-commerce company has a market cap of $433.46 billion; its shares were trading around $167.39 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 34.05, a price-book ratio of 5.99 and a price-sales ratio of 7.86.
The Peter Lynch chart shows the stock is trading above its fair value, suggesting it is overpriced.
GuruFocus rated Alibaba's financial strength 7 out of 10. In addition to adequate interest coverage, the company has a high Altman Z-Score of 6.18, which indicates it is in good fiscal condition.
The company's profitability and growth scored an 8 out of 10 rating. Although the operating margin is in decline, it still outperforms a majority of competitors. Alibaba is also supported by strong returns, consistent earnings and revenue growth and a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 4, which implies business conditions are stable. It also has a business predictability rank of 2.5 out of five stars. According to GuruFocus, companies with this rank typically see their stocks gain an average of 7.3% per annum over a 10-year period.
Of the many gurus invested in Alibaba, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) has the largest stake with 0.59% of outstanding shares. Other top guru shareholders include Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) and Philippe Laffont (Trades, Portfolio).
First BanCorp
The investor holds 7.53 million shares of First BanCorp, which makes up 2.67% of his equity portfolio. GuruFocus estimates he has gained 43% on the investment since the fourth quarter of 2017.
The North Carolina-based bank has a $2.19 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $10.06 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-book ratio of 1.06 and a price-sales ratio of 3.75.
According to the Peter Lynch chart, the stock is undervalued.
Weighed down by a low cash-debt ratio of 0.63, First BanCorp's financial strength was rated 4 out of 10 by GuruFocus. In addition, the company's weighted average cost of capital outperforms its return on invested capital, suggesting it is destroying value as it grows.
The company's profitability and growth fared even worse, scoring a 1 out of 10 rating despite having margins and returns that outperform over half of industry peers. First BanCorp also has a one-star business predictability rank. GuruFocus says companies with this rank typically see their stocks gain an average of 1.1% per year.
With 3.47% of outstanding shares, Bacon is the company's largest guru shareholder. Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) Renaissance Technologies, Hotchkis & Wiley, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) also own the stock.
Facebook
Bacon's fourth-largest holding is 445,000 shares of Facebook, which has an equity portfolio weight of 2.30%. GuruFocus data indicates he has made an estimated gain of 34% on the investment since the third quarter of 2013.
The social media giant, which is headquartered in California, has a market cap of $545.61 billion; its shares were trading around $191.14 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-book ratio of 6.37 and a price-sales ratio of 9.45.
Based on the Peter Lynch chart, the stock appears to be overvalued.
Boosted by no long-term debt and comfortable interest coverage, GuruFocus rated Facebook's financial strength 9 out of 10. In addition, the robust Altman Z-Score of 16.53 suggests it is in good fiscal health.
The company's profitability and growth scored an 8 out of 10 rating, driven by an expanding operating margin, returns that outperform a majority of competitors and a moderate Piotroski F-Score of 6.
Coleman is Facebook's largest guru shareholder with 0.31% of outstanding shares. Other top guru investors include Sands, Segalas, Davis, Mandel, Simons' firm, Laffont, Pioneer, First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) and Halvorsen.
iShares MSCI Emerging Index
Bacon holds 1.46 million units of the iShares MSCI Emerging Index ETF, which accounts for 1.95% of the equity portfolio. GuruFocus estimates he has gained 3.2% on the investment since the third quarter of 2018.
The ETF, which tracks the performance of an index composed of large- and mid-cap equities in a number of emerging markets, has a $32.2 billion market cap; its units were trading around $42.79 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 12.70 and a price-book ratio of 1.63.
The 14-day relative strength index is 61.88, indicating it is approaching overbought levels.
Portfolio composition
As of the end of the first quarter, Bacon's other top holdings were GCP Applied Technologies Inc. (NYSE:GCP), Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), GDS Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:GDS), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA).
The guru's $3.23 billion equity portfolio, which is composed of 289 stocks, is largely invested in the consumer cyclical, technology, industrial and financial services sectors.
Disclosure: No positions.
Read more here:
• Steven Cohen's Top 5 Holdings as of the 1st Quarter
• Carnival Shares Sink on Cut Profit Forecast for the Year
• Adobe Shares Rally on 2nd-Quarter Earnings Beat
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for afree 7-day trial here.
This article first appeared onGuruFocus.
• FXI 15-Year Financial Data
• The intrinsic value of FXI
• Peter Lynch Chart of FXI |
Have Insiders Been Selling Pattern Energy Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGI) Shares This Year?
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inPattern Energy Group Inc.(NASDAQ:PEGI).
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
View our latest analysis for Pattern Energy Group
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior Vice President of Project Operations, Kevin Devlin, sold US$62k worth of shares at a price of US$21.13 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$23.57. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 11.9% of Kevin Devlin's holding. Kevin Devlin was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Pattern Energy Group insiders own 1.4% of the company, worth about US$32m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Pattern Energy Group shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at Pattern Energy Group in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. Of course,the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Pattern Energy Group, you should check out thisfreereport on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note:Pattern Energy Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Facebook Adds Senior Job Vacancy for Calibra Wallet on Careers Site
Facebookhas started advertising for a head of data science to work on its Calibrawallet, a recentjob postingshows.
According to the tech giant’s vacancy, it is looking for an “experienced analytics leader” who can use data to drive insights, shape the wallet’s future direction, and measure product success.
Understanding how users interact with the product and identifying opportunities is listed among the responsibilities. Leadership experience features among the minimum qualifications, along with at least eight years’ experience of quantitative analysis.
Describing the perfect candidate, Facebook said they would be “scrappy, results-focused and self-starting” — as well as passionate about delivering “financial services to the underserved around the globe.”
The vacancy also sheds some light on the company’s aspirations for Calibra, writing:
“The wallet will be the delivery vehicle for many financial services starting with personalpayments, but expanding to online and offline commerce and eventually lending and personal financial management.”
Facebookreleasedthe long-awaited white paper for itsLibracryptocurrency, along with the Calibra wallet, last week.
Despite its ambitions to reach theunbanked, a Calibra spokespersonadmittedon June 19 that the digital wallet will not be available in countries that have banned cryptocurrencies — affecting access to nations likeIndia, one of Facebook’s largest markets.
On June 21, itemergedthat a G7 taskforce is being established to determine howcentral bankscan regulate cryptocurrencies such as Libra.
Facebook’s project has also been experiencing pushback from players in the crypto world, withEthereumco-founderJoseph Lubindismissingit as a “centralized wolf in a decentralized sheep’s clothing.”
• Former Trump Economic Adviser Expresses Support For Facebook’s Libra
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From Camila Mendes to Lil Nas X, Here Are This Weekend’s Best Looks From Our Favorite Stars
Another weekend, another award show, giving us a bevy of looks to choose from for our weekend style round-up. Lizzo wowed again in a themed-outfit, and Lil Nas X didn’t deviate from his signature Western look we love so much (he gave us not one, but TWO yeehaw moments!). Bonus! Today is Solange’s birthday. Happy Birthday to our style idol! Even though it was Solange’s birthday, she gave us the gift of wearing our outfit of the week. Most Yeehaw: Lil Nas X We love a signature look, and our recent cover star Lil Nas X wears the Western look so well. Why fix it if it’s not broken?! His BET Awards red carpet look of the night was a blue suit (sans shirt) that included floral and animal print patchwork details. Later in the evening, he made an outfit change to a black and yellow number (with tassels!) and cheesed for the camera with Rihanna. We can’t even. Best Birthday Suit: Solange HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SOLANGE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER! We’re truly so blessed to have such an amazing artist alive at the same time as us. This weekend Solange performed at the Kenzo runway show. She wore a one-shoulder floral-on-black look with matching tasseled gloves. It was beyond mystical. The pearl accents in her hair looked like a crown, which makes a lot of sense when you think of it, since she’s royalty to us. https://twitter.com/danikwateng/status/1143109161363869696 Best Sandlot Look: Gigi Hadid Street Style : Paris Fashion Week - Menswear Spring/Summer 2020 : Day Three Getty Images Gigi’s been rocking looks in Paris lately. This weekend, she hit the Parisian streets in a matching pants and jacket ensemble. The black ink sketches on white canvas reminded us of a street artist who sketches the famous streets of the French capital. But what really sealed the deal was the backward baseball hat. She had a major “ The Sandlot but make it cool” vibe going on. Best Selfie of the Weekend: Camila Mendes POPSUGAR Play/Ground 2019 Day 1 Getty Images Speaking at women's festival Popsugar Play/ground, Camila wore the Kanye West-backed brand Maisie Wilen , which we’re keeping a close eye on as the next big thing. We love Camila for her sense of humor—she posted a wacky selfie warped by a mirror, proving that she looks cute even without a nose (Charles Melton commented with the drooly-face emoji x 3). P.S. you can cop her boobs boobs boobs phone case here . Story continues Best Twining look: Chloe x Halle Chloe x Halle shined bright like a diamond in their matching metallic looks. The light hit their shiny earrings, making their looks literally sparkle. The pair are celebrating the release of their new album , which is equally shiny and amazing. They commented on Insta, “brown skin, shiny things 💎,” which pretty much sums up their amazing looks. Best Tree Turned Bride: Lizzo Lizzo is the queen of themed looks. This weekend’s theme? A tree (yes, we’re serious). “No I’m not a branch at all look baby I’m the whole damn tree!* CUSTOM WOODGRAIN LEWK FOR THE @BETAWARDS BIIIIIITCH,” Lizzo wrote on Twitter. We say this all the time, but Lizzo truly is the only goddess that can pull off these fits. The confidence! Ugh! For her performance at the BET Awards , she switched gears, wearing an all-white bridal-inspired look by Howie B . Rihanna was a huge fan (and so were we). https://twitter.com/lizzo/status/1143024946928447488 https://twitter.com/nicole_perez1/status/1142959703749726211 Most Stylish Supporter: Rihanna 2019 BET Awards - Show Getty Images Speaking of Rihanna, do you think we could go through a style recap without mentioning the most fashionable person we know? As mentioned, Rihanna posed for pics with Lil Nas X and enthusiastically cheered on Lizzo. She was our favorite supportive friend while wearing a truly fierce leather look with stacked choker-necklaces, and a high ponytail . We wish RiRi could be our super-supportive BFF. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue |
Easy Come, Easy Go: How Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) Shareholders Got Unlucky And Saw 79% Of Their Cash Evaporate
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It's nice to see theGenworth Financial, Inc.(NYSE:GNW) share price up 20% in a week. But spare a thought for the long term holders, who have held the stock as it bled value over the last five years. In fact, the share price has tumbled down a mountain to land 79% lower after that period. So we don't gain too much confidence from the recent recovery. The important question is if the business itself justifies a higher share price in the long term.
See our latest analysis for Genworth Financial
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
During five years of share price growth, Genworth Financial moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.
The revenue fall of 1.5% per year for five years is neither good nor terrible. But it's quite possible the market had expected better; a closer look at the revenue trends might explain the pessimism.
The chart below shows how revenue and earnings have changed with time, (if you click on the chart you can see the actual values).
It is of course excellent to see how Genworth Financial has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. Thisfreeinteractive report on Genworth Financial'sbalance sheet strengthis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
Genworth Financial shareholders are down 19% for the year, but the market itself is up 6.6%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 27% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. Is Genworth Financial cheap compared to other companies? These3 valuation measuresmight help you decide.
Of course,you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere.So take a peek at thisfreelist of companies we expect will grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY)
Many investors, including Paul Tudor Jones or Stan Druckenmiller, have beensayingbefore the Q4 market crash that the stock market is overvalued due to a low interest rate environment that leads to companies swapping their equity for debt and focusing mostly on short-term performance such as beating the quarterly earnings estimates. In the first quarter, most investors recovered all of their Q4 losses as sentiment shifted and optimism dominated the US China trade negotiations. Nevertheless, many of the stocks that delivered strong returns in the first quarter still sport strong fundamentals and their gains were more related to the general market sentiment rather than their individual performance and hedge funds kept their bullish stance. In this article we will find out how hedge fund sentiment to Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) changed recently.
Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY)investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment of late.KRNYwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with KRNY positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that KRNY isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to take a glance at the key hedge fund action regarding Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 7% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 20 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in KRNY a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Renaissance Technologieswas the largest shareholder of Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY), with a stake worth $77.2 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Renaissance Technologies was Ancora Advisors, which amassed a stake valued at $15.2 million. Empyrean Capital Partners, MFP Investors, and Prospector Partners were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness.Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, created the largest position in Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY). Citadel Investment Group had $0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Harding'sWinton Capital Managementalso made a $0.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new KRNY position is Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY). These stocks are Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM), Summit Hotel Properties Inc (NYSE:INN), Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE), and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK). This group of stocks' market valuations match KRNY's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SWM,10,23959,2 INN,10,14312,-1 WIRE,16,42071,4 TCBK,9,35706,-1 Average,11.25,29012,1 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 11.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $29 million. That figure was $150 million in KRNY's case. Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on KRNY, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market as well.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Is MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA) A Good Stock To Buy?
Looking for stocks with high upside potential? Just follow the big players within the hedge fund industry. Why should you do so? Let’s take a brief look at what statistics have to say about hedge funds’ stock picking abilities to illustrate. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 12.1% in 2019 (through May 30th). Conversely, hedge funds’ 20 preferred S&P 500 stocks generated a return of 18.7% during the same period, with the majority of these stock picks outperforming the broader market benchmark. Coincidence? It might happen to be so, but it is unlikely. Our research covering the last 18 years indicates that hedge funds' stock picks generate superior risk-adjusted returns. That's why we believe it is wise to check hedge fund activity before you invest your time or your savings on a stock like MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA).
MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. MFA investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund interest recently. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with MFA positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that mfa isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a gander at the recent hedge fund action surrounding MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 13 hedge funds with a bullish position in MFA a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Grouphas the largest position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA), worth close to $54.3 million, amounting to less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Citadel Investment Group's heels is Jim Simons ofRenaissance Technologies, with a $38.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money that are bullish contain John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisors, Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementand D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw.
Since MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has faced falling interest from the smart money, we can see that there were a few fund managers that slashed their positions entirely in the third quarter. Intriguingly, Mike Vranos'sEllingtonsaid goodbye to the largest investment of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $4.2 million in stock, and David Costen Haley's HBK Investments was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.2 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in the third quarter.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Silgan Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SLGN), iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT), Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH), and Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:LGF-A). This group of stocks' market values match MFA's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SLGN,15,156867,1 IRBT,15,121719,1 BOH,12,126229,-1 LGF-A,18,315578,-3 Average,15,180098,-0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $180 million. That figure was $130 million in MFA's case. Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:LGF-A) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MFA wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on MFA were disappointed as the stock returned -0.8% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Average retirement-age Americans have this much in their 401(k), report says
Americans who are nearing retirement age have about $200,000 in their 401(k) accounts on average, a new survey found. According to Vanguard’s “How America Saves 2019” report, published this month, the average American worker aged 65 and older has about $192,877 in their 401(k) and a median balance of around $58,035. That's nearly $20,000 more in their retirement fund than they typically have from age 55 to 64. While their median balance is slightly below that age group as well — by about $3,700, it's still considerable since many start tapping into their 401(k) starting at 65. The areas that most influence account balances appear to be income, age and job tenure. “These three factors are intertwined,” the report said. “Not only do incomes, on average, tend to rise somewhat with age, making saving more affordable, but older participants generally save at higher rates.” Another demographic factor that affects 401(k) balance is gender, the report found. “Sixty percent of Vanguard participants are male, and men have average and median balances that are about 50 percent higher than those of women,” the study said. “Gender is often a proxy for other factors, such as income and job tenure.” Vanguard found that men have $106,796 in their 401(k) accounts on average, while women have $72,451 in their accounts on average. The median 401(k) balance for men is $27,030, while the median 401(k) balance for women is $17,620. “Women in our sample tend to have lower incomes and shorter job tenure than men,” the report continued. “However, as noted earlier in this report, women tend to save more than men at the same income level.” Compared by income, however, men and women have 401(k) balances that are within about 10 percent of each other, the report found. The Vanguard report also found that 401(k) accounts were affected by industry, with accounts for agriculture, mining and construction employees higher than other industry employees. The average balance for people in those industries is $164,029 and the median balance is $40,526, the report found. Story continues Meanwhile, wholesale and retail trade employees had the lowest balances, with an average balance of $64,692 and a median balance of $12,146, according to the report. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP As Americans are living longer, they’re more at risk of running out of their retirement savings. On average, about half of Americans are on track to experience a potential shortfall covering essential expenses in retirement, according to Fidelity Investments . In order to be better prepared for retirement and avoid running out of money, FOX Business reported earlier this month that workers should be prepared for health care expenses, delay claiming Social Security , plan for inflation by considering some growth-oriented assets and protect their savings, according to Keith Bernhardt, vice president of retirement income at Fidelity Investments. FOX Business’ Brittany De Lea contributed to this report. Related Articles Getting a Lump Sum from Social Security 10 Facts Funeral Directors May Not Tell You Filing for Social Security? Choose Your Start Date Carefully |
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Encore Wire Corporation (WIRE)
Hedge Funds and other institutional investors have just completed filing their 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing their equity portfolios as of the end of March. At Insider Monkey, we follow nearly 750 active hedge funds and notable investors and by analyzing their 13F filings, we can determine the stocks that they are collectively bullish on. One of their picks is Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE), so let’s take a closer look at the sentiment that surrounds it in the current quarter.
Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. WIRE investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment lately. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with WIRE holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that WIRE isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a gander at the recent hedge fund action surrounding Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 33% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 14 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in WIRE a year ago. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associateshas the number one position in Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE), worth close to $7.4 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates's heels isGLG Partners, managed by Noam Gottesman, which holds a $7.3 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other professional money managers that hold long positions include Jim Simons'sRenaissance Technologies, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPand Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Management.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names have jumped into Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) headfirst.Marshall Wace LLP, managed by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, established the biggest position in Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE). Marshall Wace LLP had $5.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalalso initiated a $2.4 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group, Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management, and Benjamin A. Smith'sLaurion Capital Management.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) but similarly valued. These stocks are TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK), Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (NYSE:TGP), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), and Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI). All of these stocks' market caps are closest to WIRE's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TCBK,9,35706,-1 TGP,8,39655,0 SPPI,13,66199,-4 GPI,13,148023,4 Average,10.75,72396,-0.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $72 million. That figure was $42 million in WIRE's case. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (NYSE:TGP) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Encore Wire Corporation (NASDAQ:WIRE) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately WIRE wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on WIRE were disappointed as the stock returned -4.5% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (ALRM)
Hedge funds are known to underperform the bull markets but that's not because they are terrible at stock picking. Hedge funds underperform because their net exposure in only 40-70% and they charge exorbitant fees. No one knows what the future holds and how market participants will react to the bountiful news that floods in each day. However, hedge funds' consensus picks on average deliver market beating returns. For example in the first 5 months of this year through May 30th the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index returned approximately 12.1% (including dividend payments). Conversely, hedge funds’ top 20 large-cap stock picks generated a return of 18.7% during the same 5-month period, with the majority of these stock picks outperforming the broader market benchmark. Interestingly, an average long/short hedge fund returned only a fraction of this value due to the hedges they implemented and the large fees they charged. If you pay attention to the actual hedge fund returns versus the returns of their long stock picks, you might believe that it is a waste of time to analyze hedge funds' purchases. We know better. That's why we scrutinize hedge fund sentiment before we invest in a stock like Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM).
IsAlarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM)the right investment to pursue these days? The best stock pickers are buying. The number of bullish hedge fund positions increased by 1 lately. Our calculations also showed that alrm isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's take a look at the key hedge fund action regarding Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 7% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 17 hedge funds with a bullish position in ALRM a year ago. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an "upper tier" of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Bares Capital Managementwas the largest shareholder of Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM), with a stake worth $94.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Bares Capital Management was Akre Capital Management, which amassed a stake valued at $39 million. Renaissance Technologies, Arrowstreet Capital, and Greenvale Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, initiated the largest position in Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM). Renaissance Technologies had $19.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalalso made a $17.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ALRM positions are Joel Greenblatt'sGotham Asset Management, Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partners, and John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisors.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM). These stocks are Domtar Corporation (NYSE:UFS), Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY), FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV), and Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI). This group of stocks' market values are similar to ALRM's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UFS,19,178842,-6 MRCY,15,58014,9 FSV,11,144724,-2 GFI,10,208835,1 Average,13.75,147604,0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 13.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $148 million. That figure was $219 million in ALRM's case. Domtar Corporation (NYSE:UFS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALRM) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ALRM wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ALRM were disappointed as the stock returned -16.1% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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What Is Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:PGC) Share Price Doing?
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Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC), operating in the financial services industry based in United States, received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NASDAQGS over the last few months, increasing to $29.39 at one point, and dropping to the lows of $25.28. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Peapack-Gladstone Financial's current trading price of $27.74 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
View our latest analysis for Peapack-Gladstone Financial
According to my valuation model, Peapack-Gladstone Financial seems to be fairly priced at around 16% below my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Peapack-Gladstone Financial today, you’d be paying a fair price for it. And if you believe that the stock is really worth $32.86, then there isn’t much room for the share price grow beyond what it’s currently trading. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.
Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. However, with a relatively muted profit growth of 9.4% expected over the next year, growth doesn’t seem like a key driver for a buy decision for Peapack-Gladstone Financial, at least in the short term.
Are you a shareholder?PGC’s future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuates below the true value?
Are you a potential investor?If you’ve been keeping tabs on PGC, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
Price is just the tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper into what truly matters – the fundamentals – before you make a decision on Peapack-Gladstone Financial. You can find everything you need to know about Peapack-Gladstone Financial inthe latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Peapack-Gladstone Financial, you can use our free platform to see my list of over50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (WTM)
Like everyone else, elite investors make mistakes. Some of their top consensus picks, such as Amazon, Facebook and Alibaba, have not done well in Q4 due to various reasons. Nevertheless, the data show elite investors' consensus picks have done well on average over the long-term. The top 20 stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index ETF by more than 6 percentage points so far this year. Because their consensus picks have done well, we pay attention to what elite funds think before doing extensive research on a stock. In this article, we take a closer look at White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM) from the perspective of those elite funds.
IsWhite Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM)the right pick for your portfolio? Hedge funds are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund positions went down by 2 recently. Our calculations also showed that wtm isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.WTMwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with WTM positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
[caption id="attachment_745225" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Noam Gottesman, GLG Partners[/caption]
We're going to analyze the latest hedge fund action surrounding White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 15 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in WTM a year ago. With hedge funds' capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
Among these funds,Wallace Capital Managementheld the most valuable stake in White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM), which was worth $75.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Elkhorn Partners which amassed $24.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Impax Asset Management, Renaissance Technologies, and GLG Partners were also bullish on White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Because White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM) has witnessed a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it's safe to say that there were a few money managers that elected to cut their positions entirely heading into Q3. Intriguingly, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPsaid goodbye to the largest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at about $0.9 million in stock. Hoon Kim's fund,Quantinno Capital, also cut its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds heading into Q3.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM). These stocks are Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG), AVX Corporation (NYSE:AVX), Conduent Incorporated (NYSE:CNDT), and Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN). This group of stocks' market values match WTM's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ROG,9,67070,2 AVX,11,107908,-5 CNDT,30,579659,-5 CWEN,27,155158,15 Average,19.25,227449,1.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $227 million. That figure was $161 million in WTM's case. Conduent Incorporated (NYSE:CNDT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE:WTM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on WTM as the stock returned 10.1% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Cosan Limited (CZZ)
After several tireless days we have finished crunching the numbers from nearly 750 13F filings issued by the elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track at Insider Monkey, which disclosed those firms' equity portfolios as of March 31. The results of that effort will be put on display in this article, as we share valuable insight into the smart money sentiment towards Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ).
IsCosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ)the right pick for your portfolio? Hedge funds are taking a pessimistic view. The number of long hedge fund positions decreased by 2 recently. Our calculations also showed that czz isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.CZZwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with CZZ positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.
We're going to check out the latest hedge fund action surrounding Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 11 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in CZZ a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
Among these funds,Renaissance Technologiesheld the most valuable stake in Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ), which was worth $78 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Arrowstreet Capital which amassed $28.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Moon Capital, and Two Sigma Advisors were also bullish on Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Judging by the fact that Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ) has witnessed falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of money managers who sold off their full holdings heading into Q3. It's worth mentioning that Matthew Halbower'sPentwater Capital Managementsold off the biggest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $3.1 million in stock. Parvinder Thiara's fund,Athanor Capital, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.4 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into Q3.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ) but similarly valued. These stocks are Glaukos Corporation (NYSE:GKOS), Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), Navient Corp (NASDAQ:NAVI), and Guangshen Railway Company Limited (NYSE:GSH). This group of stocks' market valuations resemble CZZ's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position GKOS,15,69093,4 YELP,33,568083,9 NAVI,31,470784,2 GSH,1,4185,0 Average,20,278036,3.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 20 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $278 million. That figure was $141 million in CZZ's case. Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Guangshen Railway Company Limited (NYSE:GSH) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. Cosan Limited (NYSE:CZZ) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on CZZ as the stock returned 11.2% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Tellurian Inc. (TELL)
Before we spend days researching a stock idea we like to take a look at how hedge funds and billionaire investors recently traded that stock. The S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY) lost 2.6% in the first two months of the second quarter. Ten out of 11 industry groups in the S&P 500 Index lost value in May. The average return of a randomly picked stock in the index was even worse (-3.6%). This means you (or a monkey throwing a dart) have less than an even chance of beating the market by randomly picking a stock. On the other hand, the top 20 most popular S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds not only generated positive returns but also outperformed the index by about 3 percentage points through May 30th. In this article, we will take a look at what hedge funds think about Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL).
IsTellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL)a safe investment now? Prominent investors are betting on the stock. The number of long hedge fund positions advanced by 1 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that tell isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.TELLwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with TELL positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's analyze the key hedge fund action encompassing Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 7% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 8 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in TELL a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL) was held byElectron Capital Partners, which reported holding $34.4 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Blackstart Capital with a $18.2 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Point72 Asset Management, Millennium Management, and Encompass Capital Advisors.
Consequently, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness.Granite Point Capital, managed by Warren Lammert, created the biggest call position in Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL). Granite Point Capital had $10.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Driehaus'sDriehaus Capitalalso made a $2.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TELL positions are Bruce Kovner'sCaxton Associates LPand Joel Greenblatt'sGotham Asset Management.
Let's go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL). We will take a look at National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ), AppFolio Inc (NASDAQ:APPF), KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR), and PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to TELL's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FIZZ,21,248749,0 APPF,15,230629,1 KBR,20,362648,-6 PDCE,14,212661,-2 Average,17.5,263672,-1.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 17.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $264 million. That figure was $125 million in TELL's case. National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand PDC Energy Inc (NASDAQ:PDCE) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Tellurian Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately TELL wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); TELL investors were disappointed as the stock returned -27.1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE)
We at Insider Monkey have gone over 738 13F filings that hedge funds and famous value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st. In this article we look at what those investors think of Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE).
Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. ATGE investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world's largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 20 hedge funds in our database with ATGE positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that atge isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
[caption id="attachment_30621" align="aligncenter" width="487"]
Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management[/caption]
Let's take a gander at the key hedge fund action encompassing Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -20% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards ATGE over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementhas the number one position in Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE), worth close to $61.1 million, accounting for 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second isAriel Investments, managed by John W. Rogers, which holds a $44.1 million position; the fund has 0.5% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism encompass Noah Levy and Eugene Dozortsev'sNewtyn Management, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitaland D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw.
Because Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) has faced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there was a specific group of funds that elected to cut their entire stakes last quarter. It's worth mentioning that Minhua Zhang'sWeld Capital Managementcut the biggest position of all the hedgies watched by Insider Monkey, worth about $0.8 million in stock. David Costen Haley's fund,HBK Investments, also dropped its stock, about $0.7 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 4 funds last quarter.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE). These stocks are Cactus, Inc. (NYSE:WHD), Quaker Chemical Corp (NYSE:KWR), Avista Corp (NYSE:AVA), and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE:VSH). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to ATGE's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position WHD,27,291995,9 KWR,11,145447,-2 AVA,18,176178,0 VSH,21,339355,2 Average,19.25,238244,2.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $238 million. That figure was $176 million in ATGE's case. Cactus, Inc. (NYSE:WHD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Quaker Chemical Corp (NYSE:KWR) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE:ATGE) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ATGE wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); ATGE investors were disappointed as the stock returned -1.6% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About CBIZ, Inc. (CBZ)
Before putting in our own effort and resources into finding a good investment, we can quickly utilize hedge fund expertise to give us a quick glimpse of whether that stock could make for a good addition to our portfolios. The odds are not exactly stacked in investors' favor when it comes to beating the market, as evidenced by the fact that less than 49% of the stocks in the S&P 500 did so during the second quarter. The stats were even worse in recent years when most of the advances in the market were due to large gains by FAANG stocks. However, one bright side for individual investors was the strong performance of hedge funds' top consensus picks. This year hedge funds' top 20 stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 6.6 percentage points through May 30th. Thus, we can see that the tireless research and efforts of hedge funds to identify winning stocks can work to our advantage when we know how to use the data. While not all of their picks will be winners, our odds are much better following their best stock picks than trying to go it alone.
CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ)investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately.CBZwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with CBZ holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that CBZ isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
We're going to go over the key hedge fund action encompassing CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 33% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in CBZ over the last 15 quarters. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) was held byCardinal Capital, which reported holding $65.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by P2 Capital Partners with a $54.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Renaissance Technologies, D E Shaw, and Arrowstreet Capital.
Now, some big names were breaking ground themselves.Arrowstreet Capital, managed by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, established the most valuable position in CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ). Arrowstreet Capital had $5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementalso made a $2.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new CBZ investors: Bruce Kovner'sCaxton Associates LP, Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partners, and Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Uxin Limited (NASDAQ:UXIN), Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR), Bluegreen Vacations Corporation (NYSE:BXG), and Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to CBZ's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UXIN,7,98223,1 ABR,9,59736,-6 BXG,6,36372,4 SMP,12,129052,1 Average,8.5,80846,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 8.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $81 million. That figure was $160 million in CBZ's case. Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Bluegreen Vacations Corporation (NYSE:BXG) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately CBZ wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on CBZ were disappointed as the stock returned 0.6% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Fulton Financial Corp (FULT)
Hedge funds are not perfect. They have their bad picks just like everyone else. Facebook, a stock hedge funds have loved dearly, lost nearly 40% of its value at one point in 2018. Although hedge funds are not perfect, their consensus picks do deliver solid returns, however. Our data show the top 20 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 6 percentage points so far in 2019. Because hedge funds have a lot of resources and their consensus picks do well, we pay attention to what they think. In this article, we analyze what the elite funds think of Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT).
Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT)investors should pay attention to an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. Our calculations also showed that FULT isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to take a peek at the key hedge fund action encompassing Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 33% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in FULT over the last 15 quarters. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds,Winton Capital Managementheld the most valuable stake in Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT), which was worth $5.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was AQR Capital Management which amassed $2.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Citadel Investment Group, Gardner Russo & Gardner, and Millennium Management were also bullish on Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, some big names have been driving this bullishness.Winton Capital Management, managed by David Harding, established the largest position in Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT). Winton Capital Management had $5.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalalso made a $1.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt., Paul Tudor Jones'sTudor Investment Corp, and Minhua Zhang'sWeld Capital Management.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT). These stocks are American States Water Co (NYSE:AWR), Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU), Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM), and Nextera Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NEP). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to FULT's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AWR,15,70324,3 BBU,5,14305,1 PDM,13,147126,-1 NEP,9,15427,-3 Average,10.5,61796,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $62 million. That figure was $20 million in FULT's case. American States Water Co (NYSE:AWR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Fulton Financial Corp (NASDAQ:FULT) is more popular among hedge funds. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on FULT, though not to the same extent, as the stock returned 4.6% during the same period and outperformed the market as well.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Viper Energy Partners LP (VNOM)
Is Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM) a good stock to buy right now? We at Insider Monkey like to examine what billionaires and hedge funds think of a company before doing days of research on it. Given their 2 and 20 payment structure, hedge funds have more incentives and resources than the average investor. The funds have access to expert networks and get tips from industry insiders. They also have numerous Ivy League graduates and MBAs. Like everyone else, hedge funds perform miserably at times, but their consensus picks have historically outperformed the market after risk adjustments.
Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM)has seen an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months.VNOMwas in 17 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with VNOM holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that VNOM isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's take a look at the recent hedge fund action encompassing Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 70% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 7 hedge funds with a bullish position in VNOM a year ago. With the smart money's capital changing hands, there exists an "upper tier" of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM) was held byMillennium Management, which reported holding $50.5 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Cardinal Capital with a $45.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Soros Fund Management, Alyeska Investment Group, and Vertex One Asset Management.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were breaking ground themselves.Alyeska Investment Group, managed by Anand Parekh, created the biggest position in Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM). Alyeska Investment Group had $22.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Thiessen'sVertex One Asset Managementalso initiated a $10.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new VNOM positions are Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser'sMagnetar Capital, Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Management, and Till Bechtolsheimer'sArosa Capital Management.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM). We will take a look at United Microelectronics Corp (NYSE:UMC), First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR), Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE), and Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to VNOM's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position UMC,15,86705,-2 FR,11,303801,-7 HAE,24,648117,4 TXRH,25,267058,6 Average,18.75,326420,0.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $326 million. That figure was $191 million in VNOM's case. Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately VNOM wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); VNOM investors were disappointed as the stock returned -11.8% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On Switch, Inc. (SWCH)
Out of thousands of stocks that are currently traded on the market, it is difficult to identify those that will really generate strong returns. Hedge funds and institutional investors spend millions of dollars on analysts with MBAs and PhDs, who are industry experts and well connected to other industry and media insiders on top of that. Individual investors can piggyback the hedge funds employing these talents and can benefit from their vast resources and knowledge in that way. We analyze quarterly 13F filings of nearly 750 hedge funds and, by looking at the smart money sentiment that surrounds a stock, we can determine whether it has the potential to beat the market over the long-term. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at what smart money thinks about Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH).
Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH)investors should be aware of an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. Our calculations also showed that SWCH isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a glance at the new hedge fund action encompassing Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 14% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 11 hedge funds with a bullish position in SWCH a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Sylebra Capital Managementwas the largest shareholder of Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH), with a stake worth $86.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Sylebra Capital Management was Tiger Global Management, which amassed a stake valued at $25.5 million. Millennium Management, Renaissance Technologies, and Rima Senvest Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Consequently, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves.Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, assembled the most outsized position in Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH). Driehaus Capital had $2.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawalso made a $1.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associates, Michael Platt and William Reeves'sBlueCrest Capital Mgmt., and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capital.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH). We will take a look at John Wiley & Sons Inc (NYSE:JW), Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS), International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC), and Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP). This group of stocks' market values match SWCH's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position JW,17,77690,0 KOS,18,118384,4 IBOC,14,151399,-5 MDP,11,294686,-1 Average,15,160540,-0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $161 million. That figure was $176 million in SWCH's case. Kosmos Energy Ltd (NYSE:KOS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Switch, Inc. (NYSE:SWCH) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on SWCH as the stock returned 31.1% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About MSA Safety Incorporated (MSA)
A market surge in the first quarter, spurred by easing global macroeconomic concerns and Powell's pivot ended up having a positive impact on the markets and many hedge funds as a result. The stocks of smaller companies which were especially hard hit during the fourth quarter slightly outperformed the market during the first quarter. Unfortunately, Trump is unpredictable and volatility returned in the second quarter and smaller-cap stocks went back to selling off. We finished compiling the latest 13F filings to get an idea about what hedge funds are thinking about the overall market as well as individual stocks. In this article we will study the hedge fund sentiment to see how those concerns affected their ownership of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) during the quarter.
Hedge fund interest inMSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA)shares was flat at the end of last quarter. This is usually a negative indicator. At the end of this article we will also compare MSA to other stocks including Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC), Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD), and Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) to get a better sense of its popularity.
Hedge funds' reputation as shrewd investors has been tarnished in the last decade as their hedged returns couldn't keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter.
[caption id="attachment_746893" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace[/caption]
Let's go over the fresh hedge fund action encompassing MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the previous quarter. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards MSA over the last 15 quarters. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) was held byAQR Capital Management, which reported holding $51.2 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Royce & Associates with a $12.4 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Millennium Management, GLG Partners, and Renaissance Technologies.
Because MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) has witnessed declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's safe to say that there is a sect of money managers that elected to cut their full holdings in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that Robert Joseph Caruso'sSelect Equity Groupcut the biggest position of the "upper crust" of funds followed by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $19.5 million in stock. Peter Muller's fund,PDT Partners, also cut its stock, about $3.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA). We will take a look at Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC), Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD), Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP), and Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL). This group of stocks' market values resemble MSA's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position EQC,21,217004,4 NOMD,42,518787,11 PAGP,16,223677,-2 STL,19,469202,1 Average,24.5,357168,3.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 24.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $357 million. That figure was $103 million in MSA's case. Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately MSA wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); MSA investors were disappointed as the stock returned 0% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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FX Sets Fall Premiere Dates: American Horror Story, Mayans M.C., Its Always Sunny, More
FX has set September premiere dates for its Sons of Anarchy spinoff Mayans M.C ., Mr Inbetween , the ninth installment of the American Horror Story franchise American Horror Story: 1984 , and the 14th season of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia . Ryan Murphy and Brad Falhucks American Horror Story: 1984 debuts Wednesday, September 18 at 10 PM. Murphy previously unveiled a teaser for the season, stylized in the vein of 1980s slasher movies. Murphy has been mum on returning cast members, but Emma Roberts is slated to be back. Related stories Fox Sets Fall Premiere Dates: Emmys Kick Off The Week, '9-1-1', 'The Masked Singer', 'Empire', More Emmy Voting Wraps; How Will New TV Academy Rules Affect Outcome? 'Pose' Helmer Janet Mock Discusses Stigma-Shattering Directorial Debut, & "The Power Of Giving People A Chance" Mayans M.C. , created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, kicks off the fall season for FX, premiering its second season on Tuesday, September 3 at 10 PM. The series stars JD Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, Edward James Olmos, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Antonio Jaramillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral and Danny Pino, with Emilio Rivera recurring. Australian drama series Mr Inbetwee n, from Scott Ryan and Nash Edgerton, moves to Thursdays for the fall season from its previous Tuesday post- Mayans M.C. slot, premiering its second season Thursday, September 12 at 10 PM. FXs first hit comedy, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, premieres its 14th season Wednesday, September 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FXX. Developed by Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, the series stars McElhenney, Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. don't freak out but @ahsfx comes back on september 18 pic.twitter.com/WU8dcykMIL FXNetworks (@FXNetworks) June 24, 2019 Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Celebrity makeup artist launches lipstick collection that also helps women rebuild their lives
With the abundance of high-end makeup lines, it can be hard to decide which is the best brand for you. Some may attract you because of trusted endorsements while others may catch your eye from an Instagram ad -- but not many stand out because of a charitable cause.
Celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury recently launched her brand-newHot Lips 2 Collectionwhich aims to empower women in addition to completing the perfect beauty look. The lipstick collection is comprised of 11 prominent shades inspired by iconic women and men includingJ.K. Rowling, Amal Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Kylie Minogue, Edward Enninful, Sofia Vergaraand her biggest beauty inspiration -- her mother, Patsy Tilbury -- among others.
"When I created this range, I wanted to create a new colour world for everyone – looking for gaps in the colour spectrum and mixing the most nuanced, super flattering, super wearable shades!" creator Tilbury said of the line. "These shades have superpowers, they look incredible on everyone! I always envision the colour and texture, and how they complement each other to make the shade even more unique and incredible," she continued.
Charlotte Tilbury 'Amazing Amal' Hot Lips 2, $37
The festive lip shades were made with the intent to fit every type of woman and if the shades weren't already appealing, the collection is launching in tandem with a £1 million ($1.3M) pledge by Charlotte toWomen for Women International.This impressive pledge is one of the largest corporate donations Women for Women International has ever received and will go toward funding women survivors of war rebuild their lives. The charity's year-long training program will expand into key new areas in Iraq and Nigeria and will teach women how to earn and save money, improve their family's health and make their voices heard at home and in their community.
Hot Lips 2 Collectiondebuted June 20 and is available at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Wonderlands and online at CharlotteTilbury.com and other popular online sites such as Sephora. |
USA 2, Spain 1: Controversial penalty sends U.S. to Women's World Cup quarterfinals
This time, there was no record-breaking dominance . No comfort . No multi-goal cruise . But journeys to World Cup finals are never smooth. They invariably require luck. And the U.S. women’s national team got some of it on Monday in Reims. The Americans beat Spain 2-1 on two goals from captain Megan Rapinoe . Both came from the penalty spot. And the second one , a 76th-minute winner, was all sorts of questionable. Rose Lavelle went down in the box under minimal contact. The referee pointed to the spot. And the USWNT’s path ultimately now points toward a quarterfinal showdown with France. But only after a lengthy VAR review and plenty of controversy. #WWCTelemundo ¡Polémico penal! después de ser revisado por el VAR es penal a favor de #USA Falta sobre @roselavelle pic.twitter.com/ZPEJgp6HXu — Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 24, 2019 The decision to uphold the call on the field was the correct one. There was no “clear and obvious” error. Because there was contact – by the Spanish defender to Lavelle’s right leg. But the contact was slight. It wasn’t enough to make Lavelle fall in the way she did. A bit of necessary embellishment baited the referee into whistling. Many other refs would have waved play on – just as this one did 20 minutes later when Spain appealed for a call at the edge of the box. The U.S., though, will not apologize. Nor should it. Winning a World Cup almost always means winning in multiple ways. Sometimes one of those ways is via a little good fortune. REPLAYS BY PABLO pic.twitter.com/77RmWWngHA — Pablo Maurer (@MLSist) June 24, 2019 U.S. takes an early lead The match sprung into life early. Any nerves were eased by an out-of-nowhere U.S. attack down the right. Abby Dahlkemper turned around Spanish left back Leila Ouahabi with a brilliant long ball. Tobin Heath ran onto it. Her first touch took her inside Ouahabi and into the box. Story continues A covering defender caught Heath’s foot instead of the ball and conceded a penalty. Like the second-half incident, Heath had to throw herself to the ground somewhat belatedly to ensure the ref recognized the contact. But that contact was nonetheless impedimental, and warranted a whistle. Rapinoe converted from the spot: Rapinoe puts 🇺🇸 on 🔝 Tobin Heath is awarded the penalty and the captain sends it home. #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/jOgofUTc4J — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2019 It was a second-consecutive uber-early goal for the Americans, and their fourth in four games inside 12 minutes. The natural expectation was that Monday would go the way of the other three, and result in a comfortable U.S. victory. But Spain – and the U.S. rearguard – had other ideas. Spain’s goal wasn’t one player’s fault Three minutes later, the quick start was undone by calamity. Spain swarmed as the Americans attempted to play out from the back. Becky Sauerbrunn coughed up possession. Jenni Hermoso punished the sluggishness: SPAIN ANSWER RIGHT BACK! 😳 Jenni Hermoso makes the U.S. pay for the turnover and it's 1-1 inside 10 minutes. What a start to this one! #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/G1zwO1ZLYw — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2019 It was the first goal the U.S. had conceded since early April, in 648 minutes of soccer. And it was the fault of not one player, but several. To begin, the spacing wasn’t quite right. Playing out from the back requires refined structure. Putting a center back in that position, with that body shape, is an unnecessary risk. Sauerbrunn should be picking up the ball with the entire pitch in her visual field. She therefore shouldn’t even be where she was if the U.S. has designs on building from defense. That said, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher – who was under no pressure – shouldn’t have played the ball. And Sauerbrunn, in the end, had several passing options. Julie Ertz was one. Right back Kelley O’Hara was another. She chose neither because she wasn’t alert. In the end, she is more culpable than anyone. But as with all criticism of the USWNT’s first-half shortcomings, Spain deserved credit. Jenni’s finish was majestic. And the underdogs, who had underwhelmed in the group stage, put up a heck of a fight. The U.S. was superior, but not untouchable Megan Rapinoe, cool as ever, converted two penalties to send the U.S. to the 2019 Women's World Cup quarterfinals. (Getty) Never did the U.S. look like the inferior side. It was dangerous throughout the first 45 minutes. Rose Lavelle was excellent, picking apart the Spanish midfield, speeding past opponents while carrying the ball at her feet. She played one killer through-ball, to Rapinoe, whose left-footed shot was saved at the near post. Heath and Rapinoe both found space out wide. The latter almost got on the end of one cross from the former. Another cross from Crystal Dunn fizzed across the six-yard box untouched. Ertz skied a shot from around the penalty spot. But the U.S. defense looked nervy. The costly gaffe wasn’t the only notable incident. Spain clearly sensed opportunity whenever the Americans were in possession deep in their own half. And in the U.S. final third ... well, the striker was almost invisible. Alex Morgan simply wasn’t very involved. She didn’t look healthy. Wasn’t able to combine with the wingers. And Rapinoe, despite the goals, was outplayed by Spanish right back Marta Corredera. The penalties bailed out an attack that wasn’t exactly clinical in front of goal. In four days, that will have to change. The World Cup final, two rounds early And now, on to France. Friday, June 28 – 9 p.m. local time, 3 p.m. ET. Paris. It’s the showdown everybody circled on calendars after the draw in December . The matchup that became even more enticing in January, when the hosts dealt the USWNT its only loss of the past 26 months . The French have been considered the top challengers to the throne for some time now – by the media, bookies, and even by U.S. players. The mind games began before the tournament even did. “I consider them the favorites, and I feel like all the pressure is on them," Rapinoe said days before World Cup kickoff. And Lindsey Horan, at USWNT media day two weeks earlier: “I think they do have a little bit of pressure on their back playing at home. … And they’ve gotten so much better these past few years. It’s kind of a mentality thing for them.” Now the talk will ramp back up. Then it will subside, and a soccer match worthy of the World Cup final will commence. Tournament organizers and broadcasters will wish it arrived nine days later. Paris will ignite nonetheless. The cheapest ticket on Stubhub , 96 hours out, is $778. “Hopefully a complete spectacle,” Rapinoe said postgame when asked to look ahead to Friday. “This is what everybody wanted. I think we want it. Seems like they’re up for it. “So I hope it’s a total s***show circus. It’s going to be totally awesome. ... These are the biggest games that you dream about as a kid.” – – – – – – – Henry Bushnell is a features writer for Yahoo Sports . Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell , and on Facebook . |
Technical Report on CLM Project Provides Increased Silver, Lead and Zinc Grade and Tonnage Estimates
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 24, 2019) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSXV: SSV) ("Southern") reported today that it has filed a technical report ("Report") prepared in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101. The Report may be found under the Company's profile atwww.sedar.comand on Southern's website,www.southernsilverexploration.com.
The Report, dated June 24th, 2019, entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate for Cerro Las Minitas Project, Durango State, Mexico " was prepared by Garth D. Kirkham, P.Geo., following the guidelines of NI 43-101 and NI 43-101F1.
The resource estimate provides updated grade and tonnage estimates for four mineral deposits on the property at the Blind, El Sol, Las Victorias and Skarn Front zones which have been the focus of much of Southern's exploration activities on the property since 2011. The Report supports the disclosure made by the Company in its news release dated May 9, 2019"Southern Silver Increases Mineral Resource at Cerro Las Minitas to:Indicated 134Mozs AgEq or 2.0Blbs ZnEq: 37.5Mozs Ag, 303Mlbs Pb, and 897Mlbs Zn; and Inferred 138Mozs AgEq or 2.0Blbs ZnEq: 45.7Mozs Ag, 253Mlbs Pb, and 796Mlbs Zn"
There are no material differences in the mineral resources contained in the Report from those disclosed in the May 9, 2019 news release.
Report Highlights
Compared to the 2018 Mineral Resource estimate, the 2019 update, at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, features:
• Indicated Mineral resources-134 million ounces silver equivalent or 2.0 billion pounds zinc equivalent. A 0.97Mt increaseto11.1Mt averaging 105g/t Ag, 0.1g/t Au, 0.16% Cu, 1.2% Pb and 3.7% Zn (375g/t AgEq; 8.2% ZnEq),containing: 37.5 million ounces of silver; 35 thousand ounces of gold; 40 million pounds of copper; 303 million pounds of lead; and 897 million pounds of zinc.
• Inferred Mineral resources - 138 million ounces silver equivalent or 2.0 billion pounds zinc equivalent. A significant increaseto12.8Mt averaging 111g/t Ag, 0.07g/t Au, 0.27% Cu, 0.9% Pb and 2.8% Zn (334g/t AgEq; 7.2% ZnEq)containing: 45.7 million ounces of silver; 31 thousand ounces of gold; 76 million pounds of copper, 253 million pounds of lead; and 796 million pounds of zinc.
This new Mineral Resource Estimate illustrates the continuity of the mineralization and continued expansion of the mineral deposit in the Cerro Las Minitas project and updates the previously reported January 2018 estimate. The new Resource Estimate incorporates additional data from a very successful drilling program of 10,157 metres in 2018/19, updated metal recoveries and pricing, application of a more rigorous specific gravity ("SG") measurement protocol and further refinement of the resource wire frames.
Table 1: Base-case Mineral Resource Estimate for CLM Project Utilizing a 175g/t AgEq cut-off value:
[{"": "", "Tonnes": "(Kt)", "Ag": "(g/t)", "Cu": "(%)", "Pb": "(Mlbs)", "Zn": "(Mlbs)", "Au": "(g/t)", "AgEq": "(g/t)", "ZnEq": "(%)", "Ag TrOz": "(000's)", "Au TrOz": "(000's)", "Cu Lbs": "(Mlbs)", "AgEq TrOz": "(000's)", "ZnEq Lbs": "(Mlbs)"}, {"": "150g/t AgEq Cut-off", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "Indicated", "Tonnes": "13,078", "Ag": "97", "Cu": "0.15", "Pb": "338", "Zn": "954", "Au": "0.10", "AgEq": "343", "ZnEq": "7.4", "Ag TrOz": "40,600", "Au TrOz": "41", "Cu Lbs": "43", "AgEq TrOz": "144,182", "ZnEq Lbs": "2,121"}, {"": "Inferred", "Tonnes": "15,673", "Ag": "101", "Cu": "0.25", "Pb": "287", "Zn": "873", "Au": "0.07", "AgEq": "304", "ZnEq": "6.6", "Ag TrOz": "50,742", "Au TrOz": "37", "Cu Lbs": "86", "AgEq TrOz": "152,960", "ZnEq Lbs": "2,272"}, {"": "", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "175g/t AgEq Cut-Off", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "Indicated", "Tonnes": "11,102", "Ag": "105", "Cu": "0.16", "Pb": "303", "Zn": "897", "Au": "0.10", "AgEq": "375", "ZnEq": "8.2", "Ag TrOz": "37,485", "Au TrOz": "35", "Cu Lbs": "40", "AgEq TrOz": "133,891", "ZnEq Lbs": "2,007"}, {"": "Inferred", "Tonnes": "12,844", "Ag": "111", "Cu": "0.27", "Pb": "253", "Zn": "796", "Au": "0.07", "AgEq": "334", "ZnEq": "7.2", "Ag TrOz": "45,749", "Au TrOz": "31", "Cu Lbs": "76", "AgEq TrOz": "138,119", "ZnEq Lbs": "2,043"}, {"": "", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "250g/t AgEq Cut-Off", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "Indicated", "Tonnes": "7,457", "Ag": "126", "Cu": "0.19", "Pb": "233", "Zn": "750", "Au": "0.11", "AgEq": "457", "ZnEq": "9.9", "Ag TrOz": "30,255", "Au TrOz": "27", "Cu Lbs": "31", "AgEq TrOz": "109,520", "ZnEq Lbs": "1,622"}, {"": "Inferred", "Tonnes": "6,692", "Ag": "146", "Cu": "0.31", "Pb": "175", "Zn": "574", "Au": "0.09", "AgEq": "449", "ZnEq": "9.6", "Ag TrOz": "31,481", "Au TrOz": "20", "Cu Lbs": "46", "AgEq TrOz": "96,521", "ZnEq Lbs": "1,419"}, {"": "", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "350g/t AgEq Cut-Off", "Tonnes": "", "Ag": "", "Cu": "", "Pb": "", "Zn": "", "Au": "", "AgEq": "", "ZnEq": "", "Ag TrOz": "", "Au TrOz": "", "Cu Lbs": "", "AgEq TrOz": "", "ZnEq Lbs": ""}, {"": "Indicated", "Tonnes": "4,656", "Ag": "147", "Cu": "0.22", "Pb": "167", "Zn": "590", "Au": "0.14", "AgEq": "556", "ZnEq": "11.9", "Ag TrOz": "22,005", "Au TrOz": "21", "Cu Lbs": "23", "AgEq TrOz": "83,194", "ZnEq Lbs": "1,221"}, {"": "Inferred", "Tonnes": "3,854", "Ag": "187", "Cu": "0.35", "Pb": "124", "Zn": "417", "Au": "0.10", "AgEq": "564", "ZnEq": "12.1", "Ag TrOz": "23,135", "Au TrOz": "12", "Cu Lbs": "30", "AgEq TrOz": "69,891", "ZnEq Lbs": "1,024"}]
Notes: The 175g/t AgEq cut-off value was calculated using average long-term prices of $16.6/oz. silver, $1,275/oz. gold, $2.75/lb. copper, $1.0/lb. lead and $1.25/lb. zinc. Metal recoveries for the Blind, El Sol and Las Victorias deposits of 91% silver, 92% lead, 82% zinc and 80% copper and for the Skarn Front deposit of 85% silver, 89% lead, 92% zinc and 84% copper were used to define the cut-off grades. The base case cut-off grade assumed $75/tonne operating, smelting and sustaining costs. All prices are stated in $USD.
Table 2: Mineral Resource Cut-off Sensitivities for CLM Project
[{"Indicated": "Zone", "": "ZnEq Lbs"}, {"Indicated": "", "": "(Mlbs)"}, {"Indicated": "", "": ""}, {"Indicated": "Blind Zone", "": "354"}, {"Indicated": "El Sol Zone", "": "162"}, {"Indicated": "Las Victorias", "": "191"}, {"Indicated": "Skarn Front", "": "1,299"}, {"Indicated": "Total", "": "2,006"}, {"Indicated": "", "": ""}, {"Indicated": "Inferred", "": ""}, {"Indicated": "Zone", "": "ZnEq Lbs"}, {"Indicated": "", "": "(Mlbs)"}, {"Indicated": "", "": ""}, {"Indicated": "Blind Zone", "": "173"}, {"Indicated": "El Sol Zone", "": "116"}, {"Indicated": "Las Victorias", "": "53"}, {"Indicated": "Skarn Front", "": "1,701"}, {"Indicated": "Total", "": "2,043"}]
Notes:
1) The current Resource Estimate was prepared by Garth Kirkham, P.Geo., of Kirkham Geosystems Ltd.
2)All mineral resources have been estimated in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") definitions, as required under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI43-101").
3) Mineral resources were constrained using mainly geological constraints and approximate 10g/t AgEq grade domains.
4) AgEq cut-off values were calculated using average long-term prices of $16.6/oz. silver, $1,275/oz. gold, $2.75/lb. copper, $1.0/lb. lead and $1.25/lb. zinc. Metal recoveries for the Blind, El Sol and Las Victorias deposits of 91% silver, 25% gold, 92% lead, 82% zinc and 80% copper and for the Skarn Front deposit of 85% silver, 18% gold, 89% lead, 92% zinc and 84% copper were used to define the cut-off grades. Base case cut-off grade assumed $75/tonne operating smelting and sustaining costs. All prices are stated in $USD.
5) Silver Equivalents were calculated from the interpolated block values using relative recoveries and prices between the component metals and silver to determine a final AgEq value. The same methodology was used to calculate the ZnEq value.
6) Mineral resources are not mineral reserves until they have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral resource estimates do not account for a resource's mineability, selectivity, mining loss, or dilution.
7) All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and therefore numbers may not appear to add precisely.
Model Parameters
Four separate mineral deposits were modelled in the resource update with the Blind, the El Sol and the Las Victorias deposits forming sets of sub-parallel, northwest-trending and steeply dipping mineralized zones which are traced for over 1300 metres strike and up to 600 metres depth. The fourth deposit known as the Skarn Front, forms beneath the Blind, El Sol and Las Victorias deposits and is localized on the outer edge of the skarn alteration zone surrounding the Central Monzonite Intrusion and has been drilled along an approximate 1100 metre strike length and to depths of up to 1000 metres.
KGL suggests that an underground mining scenario is appropriate for the project at this stage and has recommended a 175g/t AgEq cut-off value for the base-case resource estimate. Also listed are grade-tonnage sensitivities at 150g/t, 175g/t, 250g/t, and 350g/t AgEq cut-off values (see Table 2 above) which demonstrate both a significant increase in contained precious and base-metals at lower cut-off values and good tonnage and grade retention at incrementally higher cut-off values. A NI 43-101 Technical Report will be posted on SEDAR within 45 days.
Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves. There is no assurance that any part of the Inferred Resource will be converted to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources or ultimately converted to a Mineral Reserve.
2018-19 Exploration Review:
Drilling in the 2018-19 Exploration season, as reflected in the updated Mineral Resource estimate, successfully:
• filled grade gaps in the earlier block model and allowed the more effective projection of higher grade mineralization throughout the deposits;
• built continuity of several higher grade zones within the central part of the Skarn Front deposit establishing several high-grade lenses of mineralization within 400 metres of surface;
• established greater continuity between the Skarn Front deposit and footwall mineralization (lateral to and equivalent to the Skarn Front style mineralization) in the Las Victorias zone;
• extended and built continuity of higher-grade, shallow mineralization (<400 metres) in both the Las Victorias deposit and North Skarn zone;
• added 163Kt Indicated Resource and 216Kt Inferred Resource at grades >380g/t AgEq in the Las Victorias deposit;
• added 2.1Mt Indicated Resource and 2.7Mt Inferred Resource to the Skarn Front deposit at similar or higher average AgEq grade;
• provided better definition of three higher grade sub-zones within the El Sol deposit; and
• identified anomalous silver and pathfinder mineralization in the CLM West Epithermal 19,500 ha. claim group located approximately 10-15km to the southwest of the established mineral resources on the CLM property.
The Mineral Resources at Cerro Las Minitas have increased substantially since the initial resource estimate in 2016 with 133 drill holes for 59,000 metres, US$18.5M spent to date and with adiscovery cost of: $0.07/oz AgEq; $0.005/lb ZnEq.
The project continues to provide a strong high-grade resource growth projection.
2019 Exploration Program
Compilation and analysis of the 2018-19 results continues toward further drill targeting for the 2019-20 exploration program with Southern as the operator. New targeting has identified additional exploration potential on-strike to the southeast of the Las Victorias zone and on the eastern side of the Central Intrusion which has receive only limited drill testing to date.
Sample selection for variability test work, following the previously announced metallurgical results on the Skarn Front composite (see NR-10-18) is underway. The previous work resulted in the successful separation of a potential "saleable grade" copper concentrate and the generation of a cleaner zinc concentrate grading above 50% zinc without sacrificing zinc, lead or silver recoveries. The new test work will look to confirm these earlier results and further test a range of grades and metal ratios to help define the potential "payables" in different parts of the known deposits.
The overall objective of the 2019-20 exploration program is to continue to increase the existing resource base and to identify and drill test new epithermal vein systems within the larger claim package.
About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is a precious metal exploration and development company with a focus on the discovery of world-class mineral deposits in north-central Mexico and the southern USA. Our specific emphasis is the Cerro Las Minitas silver-lead-zinc project located in the heart of Mexico's Faja de Plata, which hosts multiple world-class mineral deposits such as Penasquito, San Martin, Naica, Los Gatos and Pitarrilla. We have assembled a team of highly experienced technical, operational and transactional professionals to support our exploration efforts in developing, along with our partner, Electrum Global Holdings LP, the Cerro Las Minitas project into a premier, high-grade, silver-lead-zinc mine.
The Company engages in the acquisition, exploration and development either directly or through joint-venture relationships in mineral properties in major jurisdictions. Our property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project located in southern New Mexico, USA. The Oro property consists of patented land, State leases and BLM located mineral claims which cover a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry center and distal sediment-hosted, oxide-gold target.
Robert Macdonald, MSc., P.Geo., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and he is responsible for the supervision of the exploration on the Cerro Las Minitas Project and for the preparation and review of the technical results in this disclosure. Garth Kirkham, P.Geo., and Principal of Kirkham Geosciences Limited is the Independent Qualified Person responsible for the preparation and disclosure of the Mineral Resource Estimate.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Lawrence Page"
Lawrence Page, Q.C.
President & Director, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.
For further information, please visit Southern Silver's website atsouthernsilverexploration.comor contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email atir@mnxltd.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45832 |
Need To Know: Genocea Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNCA) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares
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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares inGenocea Biosciences, Inc.(NASDAQ:GNCA).
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia Universitystudyfound that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
Check out our latest analysis for Genocea Biosciences
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board & Director George Siber bought US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$4.96 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$3.48). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 21675 shares for a total of US$106k. In the last twelve months Genocea Biosciences insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Genocea Biosciences is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at thisfreelist of growing companies with insider buying.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our information indicates that Genocea Biosciences insiders own about US$220k worth of shares. We might be missing something but that seems like very low insider ownership.
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Genocea Biosciences insiders bought more shares in the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at thisFREEreport showing analyst forecasts for Genocea Biosciences.
Of courseGenocea Biosciences may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see thisfreecollection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Gold at $1,400 per ounce is 'overbought': Strategist
Gold may be at a six-year high, but at least one market watcher believes it’s “overbought” and that investors need to take some money off the table.
“I think gold may give you a momentary trade for a month or two, but over the history of asset markets, gold has not been a very good performer relative to equities,” Keith Bliss, senior vice president and head of investment banking at Cuttone and Company, said on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.
Gold has been shining brightly for ETF investors who are moving back into the precious metal amid heightened geopolitical concerns and expectations for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
On Friday, investor inflows into the SPDR Gold Trust ETF(GLD)were the largest in nearly three years. “Gold is currently being bought by both ETF investors and speculative financial investors,” according to Commerzbank.
“A perceived slowing economic environment with increased risks can be a good time to gain some exposure to the rare metal,” Lindsey Bell, investor strategist at CFRA Research, told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.
Spot gold prices (GC=F) are holding above $1,400 an ounce, a level topped last week for the first time since 2013.
In a note to clients, BMO Capital Markets says, “Momentum on the upside continues to build as escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran boost demand.”
Citigroup expects the metal to reach $1,500-$1,600 per ounce in the next 12 months, and $1,500 by the end of 2019.
Even if geopolitical tensions ease, analysts point out that dovish central banks around the world will prop up the commodity.
“Any potential declines in gold triggered by de-escalating in tensions over the near term should be mitigated by the expressed easing bias out of major central banks,” says Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM.
While Bliss admits that gold is a good way to diversify your investing portfolio, he said investors are getting ahead of themselves with this latest rally.
“Historically, over the past 150 years, equities have returned anywhere from 12% to 15% on average. Gold is still only around 1%,” he said.
“I’ve got some friends who are doomsdayers, and they’ve got some physical gold,” Bliss said. “You don’t have to own the physical gold, GLD is fine, but I would stick with equities. I think [stocks are] going to grind higher through July.”
Alexis Christoforous is co-anchor of Yahoo Finance’s “The First Trade.” Follow her on Twitter@AlexisTVNews.
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How to Pick the Best Credit Union for You
Watch the video of ‘How to Pick the Best Credit Union for You’ on MoneyTalksNews.com.
You may have heard that many people like credit unions better than banks.
The nonprofit, member-owned financial institutions often have lower interest rates on loans and credit cards, higher rates on savings and fewer fees for checking accounts. To some, they also seem friendlier.
But with so many choices, how do you pick the credit union that’s right for you?Compare ratesand fees, of course, but you also should check out these criteria:
Anybody can join a credit union, but not necessarily any credit union. Eligibility may be based on:
• Employer: Many employers sponsor their own credit unions.
• Location: Many credit unions serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in an area.
• Family: Many credit unions allow members’ families to join. So, if someone in your family is a member of a credit union, you may be eligible, too.
• Group membership: Belonging to specific churches, schools, alumni associations, labor unions and homeowners associations may qualify you.
Make sure that your credit union offers home lending services, issues credit and debit cards, provides auto loans, features a good savings program, and offers financial counseling.
Also, know whether you’ll have easy access to ATMs or branches nationwide.
Ask if banking is restricted to business hours. Also, if you need it, see whether the credit union offers mobile apps to view your account balances, pay bills, deposit checks and send money online.
Maybe you’re looking for services such as investment, retirement and estate planning. Some credit unions offer personal finance help like their big-bank cousins, others don’t. So be sure to ask.
Online resources can help. CreditUnion.govoffers a toolthat identifies credit union branches by ZIP code or city, shows which of them have drive-through lanes or ATMs, and provides details including address, phone number and website.
TheNational Credit Union Administration(NCUA), with the backing of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring up to $250,000 for each member the deposits of all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.
If you are eligible to join, you can easily become a credit union member by completing a membership application, depositing and maintaining the minimum par value of a share, and paying a one-time membership fee if there is one.
Also, if you’re moving your business from a bank, ask if the credit union can make transferring easy witha switch kit. The time-saving packet of forms and information guides you through the process of switching and may include direct deposit forms, worksheets and checklists.
What’s your experience with credit unions? Share with us in comments below or on ourFacebook page.
This article was originally published onMoneyTalksNews.comas'How to Pick the Best Credit Union for You'.
• How to Switch Banks in 5 Steps
• 10 Tips to Get More Bang From Your Bank
• Ask Stacy: Which Are Best — Banks or Credit Unions? |
Two Israeli Brothers Arrested for Phishing Fraud, Bitfinex Hack
The Israeli Police cyber unit arrested two brothers, Eli and Assaf Gigi, for allegedly perpetrating a multi-year phishing scheme and participating in a 2016 hack of Bitfinex. Israeli news outletYnetreports the two allegedly stole over $100 million in cryptocurrency.
The infamous Bitfinex theft of 119,756 BTC shocked the crypto market with the largest loss of bitcoins by an exchange since the Mt. Gox breach in early 2014.
Earlier this month, some of the stolen bitcoinwere recordedmoving from wallets connected with the hack, after three years of lying dormant.
Related:Mozilla Closes Holes That Led to Coinbase Hacks
Israeli crime news portalPostareportedthat several several cyber units across the globe are cooperating in an effort to retrieve the missing funds. The majority of compromised accounts were from users in the U.S. and E.U. In February, Bitfinex announced that some of the stolen bitcoin – 27.66270285 – were returned after being retrieved by the U.S. government.
The Gigi brothers Eli, 31, and Assaf, 21, also allegedly constructed a phishing scheme that involved luring investors from crypto trading forums, such as Telegram or Reddit, onto websites that mimicked prominent crypto exchanges. They would collect the traders’ login and wallet information and use it to transfer the funds stored on legitimate exchanges to their own accounts.
Police allege they may have used other tactics as well, including dropping links to wallet management software that once downloaded would allow access to the victim’s funds.
During a raid of Eli’s house the Israeli police seized one of his crypto wallets, which contained less than the suspected total of stolen funds. They also found two luxury cars.
Related:TrendMicro Detects Crypto Mining Malware Affecting Android Devices
Eli is a former computer science expert in the IDF, which one reddit user said “would be Unit 8200, the largest military branch in the Israeli army. It specializes in hacking, spying and creating computer viruses (Stuxnet) – many of them are now employed by Google, Microsoft and Coinbase.”
Eli said in court, as reported byPosta, “I was wrong, I came from a bad place. I’m a good boy, and I’m sorry. I’m willing to cooperate.”
The investigation, which began in 2017, is ongoing.
Fish hook image via Shutterstock
• Russian Hackers May Have Carried Out Largest Ever Crypto Exchange Theft
• Bitfinex Is Starting to Buy Back and ‘Burn’ Its LEO Exchange Token |
Can We See Significant Insider Ownership On The New Talisman Gold Mines Limited (NZSE:NTL) Share Register?
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If you want to know who really controls New Talisman Gold Mines Limited (NZSE:NTL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.'
New Talisman Gold Mines is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of NZ$15m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about NTL.
Check out our latest analysis for New Talisman Gold Mines
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
Less than 5% of New Talisman Gold Mines is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.
New Talisman Gold Mines is not owned by hedge funds. As far I can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of New Talisman Gold Mines Limited. Insiders have a NZ$4.5m stake in this NZ$15m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checkingif those insiders have been buying recently.
The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 59% of New Talisman Gold Mines . This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
We can see that Private Companies own 8.4%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can findhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
Of coursethis may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at thisfreefreelist of interesting companies.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Why IBM Has Investment Potential
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Rocked by Stock Rout, ‘Hunger Games’ Studio Is Ready to Talk
(Bloomberg) -- The studio that brought you “The Hunger Games,’’ “Mad Men’’ and “John Wick’’ is now facing its own existential question.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. has lost more than half its market value over the last year as the once-idolized filmmaker struggles to find new megahits. On top of that, recent mergers have created entertainment behemoths that threaten to make smaller studios an afterthought in Hollywood’s new blockbuster environment.
All that has created a new sense of urgency around the 22-year-old Lions Gate as it weighs its future: open itself to being acquired, sell off pieces, or try to bulk up to compete with the giants.
“Some studios have scale and unfortunately some studios are now subscale,” said John Tinker, an analyst at Gabelli & Co. “The question is obviously, if you are a smaller studio and you do not own Marvel, what are you going to do?”
Investors are worried and frustrated that management may have missed the M&A boat, said Geetha Ranganathan, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “Time and options seem to be running out.”
Lions Gate shares fell as much as 5.3% Monday to a seven-year low of $11.38 in New York. The company declined to comment.
The studio was formed in 1997 in Vancouver by movie-loving mining financier Frank Giustra. It made its name distributing R-rated movies like “American Psycho” and, with the acquisition of Summit Entertainment in 2012, was propelled into the big leagues by the teen-vampire “Twilight” film saga. That same year it also launched the “The Hunger Games’’ franchise. (The studio announced last week there might be a prequel.)
But as a smaller company, Lions Gate has long been a target of merger speculation. Companies from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to Sony to CBS Corp. have been linked to potential deals. Two years ago, Lions Gate walked away from talks with game-maker Hasbro Inc. involving a $41 a share offer, worth almost $9 billion, people familiar with the situation said.
Today, the stock trades below $12, weighed down by two years of declining revenue in its motion picture division, and merger talks have picked up again. Lions Gate has held informal discussions in the past year with companies that may be interested in buying the whole business, people with knowledge of the situation said. But with the stock at seven-year lows, the studio isn’t interested in selling itself at the moment, people close to the situation said.
A handful of other strategies are under discussion. One is to buy a stake in Miramax, the film producer formerly owned by the Weinstein brothers, one of the people said. Its current owner, BeIn Media Group, has recently sought buyers for a minority stake. Such a move would give Lions Gate access to a library of Oscar-winning movies such as “Shakespeare in Love” and, more recently, revived franchises like “Halloween.”
A Miramax spokesman declined to comment.
Starz Sale
The company is also considering selling the studio’s pay-cable network Starz, which contributes more than half its profits. Lions Gate last month turned down a $5 billion informal bid from CBS for Starz, but a sale remains a possibility, according to people familiar with the situation. If that happens, industry sources say, a slimmed-down Lions Gate might become more attractive to potential bidders. Others suggest the studio would be a tough sell without Starz.
Meanwhile, the studio is looking to raise perhaps several hundred million dollars from investors to expand Starz internationally. That effort will be slowed down by upcoming negotiations with AT&T’s DirecTV over fees to carry the channel.
At recent stock prices, Lions Gate is valued at less than the sum of its parts, according to Tim Nollen, a Macquarie Capital analyst. Shares could be worth $21 in a breakup, with a $5 billion valuation for Starz, $1.5 billion for the motion picture unit and $1 billion for the TV segment.
Malone Stake
For investors such as cable magnate John Malone, who first bought shares in 2015 at around $30, it’s a rare miss. He controls about 8% of Class A shares. Hedge fund manager Mark Rachesky, Lions Gate’s chairman, is the biggest investor with a 19% Class A stake. He has owned shares since 2004 and backed the studio in fighting off a takeover by Carl Icahn in 2010.
A spokeswoman for Malone did not return requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Rachesky declined to comment.
Trends sweeping Hollywood will only make it more difficult for Lions Gate to remain independent. The merging of Disney and Fox’s film companies, and AT&T and Time Warner Inc., along with Comcast’s Universal Pictures, has created a trio of studios that own and produce well-known blockbuster movie franchises, such as the Marvel superhero universe and DC Comics. The result is a small group of big films increasingly dominating the box office.
Netflix Production
Moreover, buyers for Lions Gate’s typically mid-budget fare may be shrinking. Disney and WarnerMedia are investing billions in making their own shows to lure subscribers to new streaming services. Netflix Inc., too, is producing more and more of its original content in-house, a big change from the early days when Lions Gate’s “Orange Is the New Black’’ helped make the streaming channel required viewing. That trend could lessen demand for TV programs and films made by independent studios.
Lions Gate has had some successes lately. “John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum” helped lift it to fourth in the box office this year, ahead of competitors like Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures. And the studio is still finding buyers for its shows, recently selling to HBO, NBC and even streaming platforms run by WarnerMedia and Apple Inc.
Jim Gianopulos, chief executive officer of one of the smaller shops, Paramount Studios, said that appealing programming will ultimately win out regardless of production size. “Scale has its virtues, but the creative process is independent of it,” Gianopulos said in an interview.
But some analysts aren’t so confident.
“For the longest time, people thought the studios would come out as the winners because they own the content,” Ranganathan said. But in the wake of the mergers, “You need established franchises. If you don’t have scale, you can’t compete.”
(Updates with analyst’s comment in fifth paragraph.)
To contact the reporters on this story: Anousha Sakoui in Los Angeles at asakoui@bloomberg.net;Nabila Ahmed in New York at nahmed54@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net, ;Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Larry Reibstein
For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P. |
Is Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) A Smart Choice For Dividend Investors?
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Dividend paying stocks like Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Yet sometimes, investors buy a stock for its dividend and lose money because the share price falls by more than they earned in dividend payments.
With a five-year payment history and a 6.8% yield, many investors probably find Gaming and Leisure Properties intriguing. It sure looks interesting on these metrics - but there's always more to the story . When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.
Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Gaming and Leisure Properties!
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 114% of Gaming and Leisure Properties's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. A payout ratio above 100% is definitely an item of concern, unless there are some other circumstances that would justify it.
We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. The company paid out 81% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is adequate, but reduces the wriggle room in the event of a downturn. It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Gaming and Leisure Properties fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. If executives were to continue paying more in dividends than the company reported in profits, we'd view this as a warning sign. Extraordinarily few companies are capable of persistently paying a dividend that is greater than their profits.
As Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend was not well covered by earnings, we need to check its balance sheet for signs of financial distress. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA measures a company's total debt load relative to its earnings (lower = less debt), while net interest cover measures the company's ability to pay the interest on its debt (higher = greater ability to pay interest costs). With net debt of more than 5x EBITDA, Gaming and Leisure Properties could be described as a highly leveraged company. While some companies can handle this level of leverage, we'd be concerned about the dividend sustainability if there was any risk of an earnings downturn.
We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. With EBIT of 2.50 times its interest expense, Gaming and Leisure Properties's interest cover is starting to look a bit thin. Low interest cover and high debt can create problems right when the investor least needs them. We're generally reluctant to rely on the dividend of companies with these traits.
We update our data on Gaming and Leisure Properties every 24 hours, so you can always getour latest analysis of its financial health, here.
One of the major risks of relying on dividend income, is the potential for a company to struggle financially and cut its dividend. Not only is your income cut, but the value of your investment declines as well - nasty. Looking at the data, we can see that Gaming and Leisure Properties has been paying a dividend for the past five years. During the past five-year period, the first annual payment was US$2.08 in 2014, compared to US$2.72 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 5.5% per year over this time.
Gaming and Leisure Properties has been growing its dividend at a decent rate, and the payments have been stable despite the short payment history. This is a positive start.
The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see Gaming and Leisure Properties has been growing its earnings per share at 64% a year over the past 5 years. The company has been growing its EPS at a very rapid rate, while paying out virtually all of its income as dividends. Generally, a company that is growing rapidly while paying out a majority of its earnings, is seeing its debt burden increase. We'd be conscious of any extra risk added by this practice.
Dividend investors should always want to know if a) a company's dividends are affordable, b) if there is a track record of consistent payments, and c) if the dividend is capable of growing. We're not keen on the fact that Gaming and Leisure Properties paid out such a high percentage of its income, although its cashflow is in better shape. We were also glad to see it growing earnings, although its dividend history is not as long as we'd like. While we're not hugely bearish on it, overall we think there are potentially better dividend stocks than Gaming and Leisure Properties out there.
Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 11 Gaming and Leisure Properties analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with ourfreereport on analyst estimates for the company.
We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Calls Hot as Riot Blockchain Rides Bitcoin Wave
In the wake of Facebook'scryptocurrency reveal, the blockchain sector has made outsized moves lately, with Bitcoin crossing the $10,000 level over the weekend to trade near 15-month highs. This hasRiot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT)stock up 18.2% to trade at $3.24 today -- set for its best day since April 2 -- and it appears options traders are targeting extended upside by week's end.
More specifically, RIOT has seen 18,000 call options change hands today -- seven times what's typically seen at this point, and volume pacing in the elevated 99th annual percentile. The weekly 6/28 3- and 3.50-strike calls are most active, with new positions being opened. Thosebuying to open the callsexpect RIOT shares to extend their upward momentum north of the strikes before the options expire on Friday, June 28.
Today's bullish bias echoes a broader trend seen among RIOT options traders. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 4,002 calls were bought to open in the past two weeks, compared to just 324 puts. Plus, this ratio ranks in the elevated 78th percentile of its annual range, indicating calls have been purchased over puts at a faster-than-usual clip in the past two weeks.
Year-to-date, Riot Blockchain stock has more than doubled. The $6 level proved to be a formidable ceiling back in April, though, and this area coincided with the shares' 320-day moving average. Assuming RIOT can hold on to today's gains for the rest of the week, it would have locked up its third-straight weekly win -- something we haven't seen since the shares were barreling into those April highs.
An exodus of short sellers could keep the wind at the stock's back, should RIOT extend its rally. Short interest fell by 14.4% in the most recent reporting period, to 4.01 million shares. Still, this takes up more than 26% of the RIOT's total available float. |
Is Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) A Smart Pick For Income Investors?
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Today we'll take a closer look at Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) from a dividend investor's perspective. Owning a strong business and reinvesting the dividends is widely seen as an attractive way of growing your wealth. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful.
With a five-year payment history and a 6.8% yield, many investors probably find Gaming and Leisure Properties intriguing. We'd agree the yield does look enticing. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.
Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis
Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. In the last year, Gaming and Leisure Properties paid out 114% of its profit as dividends. A payout ratio above 100% is definitely an item of concern, unless there are some other circumstances that would justify it.
We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Gaming and Leisure Properties paid out 81% of its cash flow last year. This may be sustainable but it does not leave much of a buffer for unexpected circumstances. It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Gaming and Leisure Properties fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.
As Gaming and Leisure Properties's dividend was not well covered by earnings, we need to check its balance sheet for signs of financial distress. A rough way to check this is with these two simple ratios: a) net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and b) net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments on debt. Essentially we check that a) a company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. Gaming and Leisure Properties has net debt of 6.77 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) which implies meaningful risk if interest rates rise of earnings decline.
Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of less than 5x its interest expense is starting to become a concern for Gaming and Leisure Properties, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. Low interest cover and high debt can create problems right when the investor least needs them. We're generally reluctant to rely on the dividend of companies with these traits.
Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Gaming and Leisure Properties's latest financial position,by checking our visualisation of its financial health.
From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Gaming and Leisure Properties has been paying a dividend for the past five years. During the past five-year period, the first annual payment was US$2.08 in 2014, compared to US$2.72 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.5% a year over that time.
Gaming and Leisure Properties has been growing its dividend at a decent rate, and the payments have been stable despite the short payment history. This is a positive start.
The other half of the dividend investing equation is evaluating whether earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Over the long term, dividends need to grow at or above the rate of inflation, in order to maintain the recipient's purchasing power. It's good to see Gaming and Leisure Properties has been growing its earnings per share at 64% a year over the past 5 years. The company has been growing its EPS at a very rapid rate, while paying out virtually all of its income as dividends. Generally, a company that is growing rapidly while paying out a majority of its earnings, is seeing its debt burden increase. We'd be conscious of any extra risk added by this practice.
When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. We're a bit uncomfortable with its high payout ratio, although at least the dividend was covered by free cash flow. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the company has not been paying dividends as long as we'd like. Ultimately, Gaming and Leisure Properties comes up short on our dividend analysis. It's not that we think it is a bad company - just that there are likely more appealing dividend prospects out there on this analysis.
Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 11 analysts we track are forecasting for Gaming and Leisure Propertiesfor freewith publicanalyst estimates for the company.
We have also put together alist of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Malta to Register All Property Rental Contracts on Blockchain
InMalta, new rules will require that all property rental contracts be registered on ablockchainforsecurityconsiderations, local news outlet Malta Todayreportedon June 23.
Malta’s Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat said that the cabinet approved newregulations, which will be announced over the coming days, that require rent contracts be registered on a blockchain to protect them from tampering and ensure authorized access. Muscat said:
“We will now be showing people the added value of this technology through applying it to something which they will use in their daily lives. Such a contract cannot be tampered with and only those authorised will be able to access it. This shows how the digital transformation will affect their lives.”
Malta has established itself as a blockchain and digital currency-friendly country, and has become known as a“blockchain island.”In February, the Malta Financial Services Authorityissueda consultation on cybersecurity, suggesting that the agency’s cybersecurity system should comply with international standards, including guidelines by the European Banking Authority.
Integration of blockchain technology into real estate-related processes has been gaining traction in recent months. Earlier in June, the Dubai Land Department and telecoms firm Etisalatsigneda memorandum of understanding concerning real estate blockchain tech. Both parties aim to implement smartgovernmentstandards and introduce paperless management and digital contracts for property transactions.
Last month, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA)detailedseveral blockchain use cases relevant to the real estate industry in a report shared with Cointelegraph. The EEA believes that blockchain has the potential to shorten the process of recording and transferring properties while increasing transparency and making land registries trustless, among other issues.
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‘Paris Is Burning’: ‘Pose’ Writers and Creators Reflect on Landmark Documentary
For generations of queer people and people of color, “ Paris Is Burning ” offered a rare glimpse of a more colorful and love-filled future than they ever could have imagined. Jennie Livingston’s seminal 1990 documentary chronicled New York’s ballroom scene in the mid-to-late ’80s, introducing the world to vogueing, reading, shade, house culture, and a rich tapestry of the magnetic drag queens, trans women, and queer street kids who give the film its palpable magic. “Paris Is Burning” was a massive critical hit, winning both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1991 as well as the Teddy Award for Best Documentary from the Berlinale. Nearly 30 years after “Paris Is Burning” first struck a pose in the cultural milieu, a new restoration of the queer cinema classic has been re-released in select theaters this month. However, with great success comes great scrutiny; over the years, “Paris Is Burning” has walked more categories than any of its dancers. Related stories 'Pose': Bridging the '80s to the Present with Ball Costumes How Ryan Murphy's 'Showrunning As Advocacy' Led to Janet Mock's Historic Netflix Deal Over at Vanity Fair, K. Austin Collins praised the film’s positive achievements, while explaining its complicated legacy. “It was directed by a white filmmaker with relative financial and social privilege: a complete outsider to ball culture,” Collins writes, adding that the film’s festival accolades and rave reviews in mainstream publications were “all signs, to some, that the movie was intended from the outset to be consumed by white audiences.” This month, the second season of FX’s ballroom drama “Pose” tackles the mainstreaming of ballroom through the lens of Madonna’s “Vogue,” which was released the same year as “Paris Is Burning.” “Pose” co-executive producer, writer, and director Janet Mock said “Pose” would never reference “Paris Is Burning,” since the two projects exits in “parallel universes.” With the benefit of hindsight and the massive Ryan Murphy machine behind it, “Pose” has deliberately brought voices to the table from the ball community, the trans community, and the African-American and Latinx communities. Livingston directed an episode of “Pose” this season, one sign that “Paris Is Burning” has been embraced by the “Pose” creative team. Story continues Below, the creators, writers, producers, and directors of “Pose” share their thoughts on the legacy of “Paris Is Burning”: What does “Paris Is Burning” mean to you? Ryan Murphy (co-creator/executive producer/write/director): I always loved “Paris Is Burning,” and when I met with four of the survivors when I was writing the pilot with Steven [Canals] and [Brad] Falchuk, I just liked the world. That idea of like, I’m poor and struggling and yet I want to be somebody in the world is what I sort of locked into. Janet Mock (co-executive producer/writer/director): To me, “Paris Is Burning” is such a gift in the sense that it introduced me to a world and to people who were very much like me. I saw it when I was in high school at my friend’s house on VHS and it was powerful to be introduced to Octavia, to Venus, and to Corey. And for me, I think it’s a gift that [Jennie Livingston] was there at the time, because we know that many of those people are not here today. The remaining survivors are very much involved on our series. Yeah, there’s a complicatedness of whose gaze? Who controls the camera, who’s behind it? Steven Canals (co-creator/executive producer/writer): I think you can watch a documentary like “Paris Is Burning,” which is great, and I think it’s a very entry level 101, and I don’t say that in a pejorative way. It’s an entry point for folks when it comes to ballroom, but there’s so much more to the community. How much is “Pose” in conversation with “Paris Is Burning”? Mock: I feel like we’re in parallel universes to ‘Paris Is Burning,’ so we would never reference that on the show. Our mainstreaming moment would be Madonna choosing to do “Vogue,” getting choreographers and dancers from the scene, and then mainstreaming it. Canals: I personally would say quite a bit. Obviously, I have read Judith Butler and bell hooks and all the critiques around “Paris Is Burning,” so I think those were conversations that our writers’ room, we were engaged in during the first season of the show. The critiques being that the documentary highlights the community, but is also directed by a cis white woman, and so how would the documentary have been different had it been directed by someone who was black or brown or someone who was from the community, right? I think that we’re hyper aware of that on our show, and obviously if you look at our writers’ room, we’re a diverse group. So we have trans people, we have cis people, we have black and brown people, but we also have white people in our room, so we’re constantly engaged in those conversations with one another. I think you probably will see the show being more in conversation with the documentary this season, because we start the season with the community being introduced to the mainstream vis a vis Madonna’s “Vogue.” And we see the ripple effects of that for the community throughout the course of the second season. So I think there’s more texture there. How can cinema about the ballroom scene move beyond ‘Paris Is Burning’? Canals: We’ve never shied away from it. We engaged in it, we absolutely as a group were engaged in it and talked about it and were aware of it, and I think that we then were hyper aware about not wanting to replicate any past hurts with the community. It’s the reason why we have so many consultants, it’s the reason why they had a seat at the table, because we recognized that we as a community, and this is separate and apart for ‘Paris Is Burning,’ we just knew that it was important for us to come in and aid in telling the story, as opposed to coming in and co-opting a narrative, and that’s a very fine line. Twiggy Pucci Garçon (“Pose” choreographer; “Kiki” writer): I don’t think our intention when we made “Kiki” was to respond to anything — “Paris Is Burning” or not. Our intention from the beginning was to create a new project about the ballroom scene where an insider and outsider collaborated. It’s been sort of pushed into this lane where it is a response, but that wasn’t our original intention. I think now it definitely holds that space. When I think about “Kiki” and “Pose,” the things that are comparable are that, from the beginning, both film teams and production teams wanted authenticity. I want it to do that from the start. So to weave in folks who have been a part of ballroom in the creative process, from design all the way to execution. Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Commentary: What's The Outlook For Rail-Hauled Fracking Sand And The Rail Construction Aggregate Markets?
FreightWaves features Market Voices – a forum for market experts with unique knowledge of numerous transportation/logistics/supply chain sectors, as well as other critical expertise.
Everything we plow, harvest or mine started as rock and evolved in time. Given enough time, solid rock exposed at the earth's surface is broken down into rock and mineral fragments by weathering into what geologists call "surficial materials." Laymen call it dirt, soil, rock or metallic and non-metallic minerals.
In it naturally decomposed state, these "commodities" have a low in-place utility. Move it somewhere else and its market value increases.
Multiple kinds of stone deformation are important to civilization. One is high-quality deformation such as high-grade sand. Let's first review what is called fracking sand, or frac sand.
The second market is stone and gravel.
To move both sand and stone and gravel to market rail transportation is heavily relied upon. In 2018, more than 1.2 million carloads of aggregate and sand were moved by U. S. railroads.
Association of American Railroads graph shows recent growth in aggregates and sands since 2009
Frac sand rail market view
Industrial sand is a high purity silica historically sold for glassmaking, chemical production, paints, ceramics and refractories. Its most recent use is in the oil and gas recovery industry.
Frac sands are typically more than 99 percent quartz or silica – with each particle well-rounded with few impurities.
Frac sand is a type of proppant.
Hydraulic fracturing is a technique in which fluids and proppants are forced under pressure down a drilled hole to crack open source rock. This helps release trapped oil and gas. Proppant props open the cracks, allowing a freer release of oil and gas during pumping.
Fracking of oil and gas has been growing as a preferred method since about 2008 in North Dakota (the Bakken fields) and now in Texas (the Permian field) shale drilling.
The highest quality frac sands are found in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Given the long distances between these sand deposits and the shale fields, rail freight is unquestionably the cheapest transport mode. Rail distances range from about 400 miles to as much as over 1,800 miles.
Railroad frac sand equipment is usually a covered hopper railcar type. This protects the moisture content and prevents cargo loss from wind as the railcar moves along the rails.
Covered hopper railcars are typically going to "weigh out" in tonnage before they "cube out" (or fill up). Most covered hoppers are in the 2,400- to 3,200-cubic foot size. There are more than 121,000 covered hopper freight cars in service as of early 2019.
Figure 2 identifies the dimensional drawing of a covered 3,250 cubic foot covered hopper car. Dimensions are 42 feet length over couplers.
Sand might be priced at the mine at some locations at $40 to $50 per ton. Rail haul can then add between $30 and $70 a ton to the delivered price.
Some frac sand freight trains are long. During 2015 BNSF operated a 150-car unit train – with 16,500 tons of frac sand. It moved sand from Ottawa, Illiinois to Clovis, New Mexico.
Frac sand market shifts
Commodity markets are subject to a variety of economic forces. White Northern frac sands from Wisconsin are superior in quality at the "proppant" function than are lower quality but closer regional sourced sands. Recently, oil and gas field buyers have shifted (at least to some extent) to the lower quality and cheaper to transport near-by regional sand sources. That happens when the price of a barrel of oil drops. The oil drilling sector then often shifts to preserve its profit margin.
Experience shows that all commodity markets are, in the long run, subject to random up and down cycles.
With such shifts, railroad company revenues and railway freight car builders' business will be hurt.
A shift towards more local Texas frac sands theoretically computes to a possible 5 to 10 percent savings in transportation costs. That might not sound like much, but for a typical Texas well, it could represent a saving of between $400,000 to $500,000 per well.
Predicting the railroad sector market downside or upside outcome is more of an economic "forecasting art" than it is a science.
The capital risk is long-term. New freight cars can easily operate for 35 or more years. The risk question comes down to rail freight's sand movement long-term role if too many cars are bought to support the rail business.
A few 2019 frac sand conclusions
Expect the railway frac sand market to be both a selective opportunity and a "hedge" risk if you're in the rail operating or railway car building business sector.
Frac sand tonnage moved by railcar and carloads continue to grow into 2019.
Yet, "past performance and growth patterns are not a future pattern guarantee." The exuberance of crude oil rail tank car purchasing between 2008 and 2015 is your business case reminder. There could always be a cyclical bubble.
The biggest cyclical risks are a combination of lower per barrel oil market prices, a surplus of light crude, higher consumer efficiency use patterns, growth in substitute fuels, and a lower than expected producer financial yield per frac sand well.
A possible but not yet proven rail offset would be if the railroads increased their operational performance to gain as much as two to four additional car loadings per year. That might help them retain or even gain market share versus the regional trucking threat.
Buyers continue to increase the substitution of lower-quality sand mined near the wells to avoid the cost of long-haul rail moves. Because shipping "can account for up to 70 percent of the delivered cost of Wisconsin sand," this transition will hurt railway revenues.
On the plus side, older frac wells typically used about three railroad carloads of frac sand. Newer longer ‘horizontal reach' wells use as many as 30 or more carloads of this sand.
Stone and gravel rail transport market view
Crushed stone and gravel are called construction aggregate. From the BC era to today, construction aggregates are a foundation for roadways, bridges, and various domestic and commercial building structures. The materials are quarried, sorted, crushed and then moved to the construction sites. The closer to the quarry, the better for cost control.
Stone is used as a mixture in both concrete and asphalt paving. It's also used as a drainage and a track support foundation (called ballast) under and between railroad ties (sleepers).
Granite and trap rock are the second and third most commonly used types of rocks for producing crushed stone.
During 2017, U.S. Class I railroads moved 1.5 million carloads of sand, stone and gravel. That covers both high-quality frac sands and construction aggregates.
Two types of railcars are used for crushed stone and aggregates – open top hoppers and flat-bottomed gondolass.
Modern aggregate railway gondolas are typically 42-feet long and have a capacity of up to 115 tons. The most recent car design supports the movement of both phosphate and aggregate.
The newest cars are rated at 286,000 gross pounds when loaded (heavy axle North American standard).
Besides aggregate construction, railroads move phosphate. Most phosphate deposits are in Florida, Idaho, Montana and Utah. More than 80 percent of U.S. phosphate is used for agricultural fertilizer.
A few conclusions as of 2019 about the aggregate rail market
Basic construction use rock and fertilizer may not be a glamorous business, image-wise. But it is profitable, and it appears to be a steady growth railway market.
Between 1950 and 2000, U.S. statistics show that crushed stone, gravel and sand increased from an overall 62 percent of all non-fuel mineral mining to about 75 percent. As long as mankind builds infrastructure and buildings, there will be an aggregate market. It is less cyclical than the frac sand market.
——–
Metrics used herein came from a variety of sources. Credit is given to the following for some of their published research:
• David Christianson, Minnesota Department of Transportation
• Taylor Robinson, PLG Consulting
• Will Geiger, Railroad Financial Corporation
• Dan Keen, Association of American Railroads
Image Sourced From Pixabay
See more from Benzinga
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• Freight Market Moneyball
• Commentary: Airlines Change Flight Paths Over The Middle East
© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
Trump economist thinks Facebook’s Libra crypto is ‘a good thing’
Stephen Moore, a Trump administration economist and fellow at conservative public policy think-tank The Heritage Foundation, says he thinks that Facebook’s upcoming Libra cryptocurrency is "a good thing."
MooretoldYahoo Finance on Monday that Libra is “interesting,” because it represents “a new challenge for central bankers that they now have competition from private currencies.”The economist purports to have been studying cryptocurrencies and said central bankers should realize that the cryptocurrency world “is coming.”
Moore recentlymade headlinesafter he withdrew his name from consideration to sit on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, following widespread bipartisan condemnation of his nomination by President Trump.
The social media giant, along with 27 founding partners including PayPal and Uber,unveileda plan for "low-volatility" cryptocurrency Libra last week, intending to serve the unbanked and facilitate low-fee money transfers globally. Libra is expected to go live sometime next year, but it has already facedscrutinyfrom central banks and politicians around the world.
Just yesterday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), considered to be the central bank of central banks,warnedthat Facebook's Libra could harm the banking sector. |
You can try out iOS 13 nowif you dare
iPadOS Apple has opened up its beta testing program today (June 24) to anyone wishing to test out the latest software for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. The public beta operating systems for iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina, all of which were unveiled at Apples developer conference earlier this month, were put up on Apples testing website . Anyone with an Apple ID and a compatible device can download the software. Plant-based meats sound healthy, but theyre still processed foods Before you jump in to the world of unreleased software, theres a couple things to remember. Firstly, youll have to be patient. Apples site is jammed with tons of other people wanting to do the same thing. If you can, wait until youre not trying to download during prime US working hours. (At the time of publishing, the site was struggling to load for me.) Then theres the bigger issue: This software is not final. It will have bugs that Apple needs to work out before the official release. Some of these bugs could be serious, resulting in devices that crash, eat up a ton of battery life, or encounter other unforeseen consequences. Make sure to back up your devices before installing any beta software, and be prepared for potentially odd behavior. (Then again, that can also happen with supposedly stable releases of software, too.) Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Google and Facebook are circling Africa with huge undersea cables to get millions online The new White House press secretary took on North Korean security for US reporters |
Mueller's Russia report gets celebrity staged reading in New York
(Reuters) - Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election is getting a star-studded staged reading on Monday. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mark Hamill, Alyssa Milano and Annette Bening are among some 20 actors who will perform a reading of the report in New York City that will be live-streamed, organizers announced. "The Investigation: Search for the Truth in Ten Acts," by playwright Robert Schenkkan, is an adaptation of the 448-page report by Special Counsel Mueller's two year probe of contacts s between Russians and the campaign of Donald Trump, and Trump's efforts after his election as U.S. President to impede the investigation. A redacted version of Mueller's report was published in April. It concluded that Russia repeatedly interfered in the 2016 election and that Trump's election campaign had multiple contacts with Russian officials, but did not establish a criminal conspiracy with Moscow to win the White House. The one-night only staged reading is organized by Law Works, which says it works to educate the public on the integrity of U.S. judicial systems. It will be live-streamed on the group's website on Monday at 9 p.m. ET (Tuesday 0100 GMT). Celebrities, also including Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Sigourney Weaver and Zachary Quinto, will take the roles of some of the dozens of people, including current and former Trump administration officials, who were cited in the Mueller report. The Mueller report has been top of the New York Times paperback non fiction list for eight weeks, and is currently in 17th place on the Amazon.com books best-seller list. A graphic novel version is also in the works. Publishers IDW announced last week that New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler and journalist Steve Duin are working on an illustrated, 208-page satirical version of the Mueller report that "borrows style from classic private detective yarns, complete with a villain's rogues' gallery (and) nail-biting cliffhangers." "The Mueller Report: Graphic Novel" will be published in April 2020. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Marguerita Choy) |
3 Tech Stocks for Growth Investors to Buy
Growth investors are often focused on finding companies whose earnings and revenue are expected to outpace the market. This investment strategy comes with its share of risks. Yet, it also brings the exciting possibility of outsized returns.
For years, many of Wall Street’s most high-performing growth stocks have emerged from the technology sector. Despite some volatility, strong earnings and impressive sales remain the story for many companies in the technology sector.
Now it’s time to check out three tech stocks that came through our screen today that growth investors might want to consider at the moment…
1. The Trade Desk TTD
The Trade Desk is a programmatic advertising firm that looks set to grow as algorithmic, real-time bidding proliferates. TTD’s cloud-based platform helps create, manage, and optimize data-driven digital ad campaigns across multiple channels, apps, and websites on a range of devices such as connected TVs and mobile. The Ventura, California-headquarter company allows customers to pay a market-driven price and reach their target audience on the ideal devices. The firm’s offerings have been bolstered by its AI tech, and TTD recently launched its ad buying platform in China. Shares of TTD have skyrocketed over 100% in 2019 and 160% in the past 12 months. TTD stock opened at $242 per share Monday, down 6% off its 52-week highs.
Looking ahead, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for the company’s adjusted Q2 earnings to pop 13.3% on 38% revenue growth. TTD’s full-year revenue is projected to surge 36% to reach $649.96 million, with fiscal 2020’s revenue expected to climb 28.5% higher than our current-year estimate. Plus, the firm has earned a ton of longer-term upward earnings estimate revisions and has crushed quarterly estimates by an average of 50% over the trailing four quarters.
On top of that, The Trade Desk said last quarter that its newer connected TV and audio channels “grew multiples faster” than its more mature units, which is a good sign as smart TVs and digital audio continue to expand. TTD also boasted that its customer retention rate remained over 95% during Q1, “as it has for the previous 21 quarters.” The Trade Desk is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
2. Roku ROKU
Roku is a pure-play video streaming firm that looks set to grow as part of the broader expansion of industry giants such as Netflix NFLX, Amazon Prime AMZN, and soon enough Disney DIS and others. The Los Gatos, California-based firm’s streaming devices currently boast a larger market share than rivals like Apple TV AAPL, Amazon Fire TV, and Google’s GOOGL Chromecast, according to eMarketer. Roku also estimated that more than one-in-three smart TVs sold in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2019 were Roku TVs. Furthermore, the Roku Channel, which allows users to watch free streaming movies and TV shows, could become more popular and highly attractive to advertisers.
Roku stock opened at $102.99 on Monday, not too far off the firm’s 52-week intraday trading high of $108.32 per share. Overall, Roku stock has skyrocketed 230% in 2019. Roku’s Q2 2019 revenue is projected to jump 43.3% to $224.8 million, with full-year revenue expected to climb 39.7% from $742.5 million in 2018 to $1.04 billion.
At the bottom end of the income statement, Roku is projected to post an adjusted full-year loss of -$0.60 per share, which would represent a massive downturn from 2018. But investors should note that Roku posted a much lower-than-projected loss in Q1 and has topped estimates by an average of 86% over the trailing four periods. Peeking further ahead, Roku’s adjusted earnings are projected to climb by 19% over the next three to five years on an annualized basis. Roku is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that has seen its fiscal 2019 and 2020 earnings estimate revisions trend upward recently.
3. Square SQ
Shares of Square are up 30% this year despite a somewhat prolonged downturn. With that said, SQ stock has climbed over 13% in the past month and opened at $72.98 per share on Monday, down roughly 27% from its 52-week highs. Square, which is run by Twitter TWTR CEO Jack Dorsey, has transformed from a credit card processor for the mobile age into a more complete financial services firm.
Today, SQ’s portfolio includes business loans, peer-to-peer payment platforms, debit cards, and much more. It is also important to note that SQ has become more attractive to larger businesses and its P2P payment offering, the Cash App, stands out against rivals PayPal PYPL in a world where digital payments continue to grow.
Look ahead, Square’s adjusted full-year EPS figure is expected to soar 61.7% to reach $0.76 per share on 36% revenue expansion—that would see its reach $4.48 billion. Meanwhile, Square’s fiscal 2020 revenue is expected jump 28.5% above our 2019 estimate to reach $5.75 billion, with its 2020 earnings projected to jump 47% higher than our current-year estimate. And Square’s longer-term earnings revisions activity helps it earn a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at the moment.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNetflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Trade Desk Inc. (TTD) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAlphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportSquare, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTwitter, Inc. (TWTR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportApple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRoku, Inc. (ROKU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Should You Be Concerned About Plexus Corp.'s (NASDAQ:PLXS) Historical Volatility?
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If you're interested in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market.
Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.
Check out our latest analysis for Plexus
Looking at the last five years, Plexus has a beta of 0.88. The fact that this is well below 1 indicates that its share price movements haven't historically been very sensitive to overall market volatility. This suggests that including it in your portfolio will reduce volatility arising from broader market movements, assuming your portfolio's weighted average beta is higher than 0.88. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Plexus is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.
Plexus is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of US$1.7b, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. Small companies can have a low beta value when company specific factors outweigh the influence of overall market volatility. That might be happening here.
Since Plexus is not heavily influenced by market moves, its share price is probably far more dependend on company specific developments. It could pay to take a closer look at metrics such as revenue growth, earnings growth, and debt. In order to fully understand whether PLXS is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Plexus’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PLXS’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor PLXS’s outlook.
2. Past Track Record: Has PLXS been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look atthe free visual representations of PLXS's historicalsfor more clarity.
3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how PLXS measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with thisfree list of prospective options.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's (NASDAQ:GLDD) Balance Sheet A Threat To Its Future?
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While small-cap stocks, such as Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD) with its market cap of US$690m, are popular for their explosive growth, investors should also be aware of their balance sheet to judge whether the company can survive a downturn. Assessing first and foremost the financial health is essential, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. We'll look at some basic checks that can form a snapshot the company’s financial strength. Nevertheless, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I suggest youdig deeper yourself into GLDD here.
Over the past year, GLDD has maintained its debt levels at around US$399m including long-term debt. At this current level of debt, GLDD's cash and short-term investments stands at US$123m to keep the business going. Additionally, GLDD has produced cash from operations of US$241m in the last twelve months, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 61%, signalling that GLDD’s current level of operating cash is high enough to cover debt.
With current liabilities at US$198m, it seems that the business has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of US$251m, with a current ratio of 1.27x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Construction companies, this is a suitable ratio as there's enough of a cash buffer without holding too much capital in low return investments.
Since total debt levels exceed equity, GLDD is a highly leveraged company. This is a bit unusual for a small-cap stock, since they generally have a harder time borrowing than large more established companies. No matter how high the company’s debt, if it can easily cover the interest payments, it’s considered to be efficient with its use of excess leverage. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In GLDD's case, the ratio of 2.94x suggests that interest is not strongly covered, which means that debtors may be less inclined to loan the company more money, reducing its headroom for growth through debt.
GLDD’s high cash coverage means that, although its debt levels are high, the company is able to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate cash flow. Since there is also no concerns around GLDD's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for GLDD's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to get a better picture of the small-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GLDD’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor GLDD’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GLDD worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether GLDD is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's (NASDAQ:GLDD) Balance Sheet Strong Enough To Weather A Storm?
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Investors are always looking for growth in small-cap stocks like Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ:GLDD), with a market cap of US$690m. However, an important fact which most ignore is: how financially healthy is the business? Evaluating financial health as part of your investment thesis is vital, as mismanagement of capital can lead to bankruptcies, which occur at a higher rate for small-caps. The following basic checks can help you get a picture of the company's balance sheet strength. Nevertheless, these checks don't give you a full picture, so I’d encourage you todig deeper yourself into GLDD here.
GLDD's debt level has been constant at around US$399m over the previous year which accounts for long term debt. At this current level of debt, the current cash and short-term investment levels stands at US$123m to keep the business going. On top of this, GLDD has produced cash from operations of US$241m during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 61%, signalling that GLDD’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
Looking at GLDD’s US$198m in current liabilities, it seems that the business has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of US$251m, with a current ratio of 1.27x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Construction companies, this is a suitable ratio since there is a bit of a cash buffer without leaving too much capital in a low-return environment.
Since total debt levels exceed equity, GLDD is a highly leveraged company. This is somewhat unusual for small-caps companies, since lenders are often hesitant to provide attractive interest rates to less-established businesses. No matter how high the company’s debt, if it can easily cover the interest payments, it’s considered to be efficient with its use of excess leverage. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In GLDD's case, the ratio of 2.94x suggests that interest is not strongly covered, which means that lenders may refuse to lend the company more money, as it is seen as too risky in terms of default.
Although GLDD’s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. This may mean this is an optimal capital structure for the business, given that it is also meeting its short-term commitment. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for GLDD's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. You should continue to research Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to get a more holistic view of the small-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GLDD’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor GLDD’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GLDD worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether GLDD is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Why Shares of Tailored Brands Are Soaring on Monday
Shares ofTailored Brands(NYSE: TLRD)were trading more than 10% higher as of 2 p.m. on Monday after the men's apparel retailer released information about its quarterly dividend payment. Dividend announcements don't normally produce significant share price spikes, but in this case, the declaration put to rest rumors that Tailored Brands' payout might be in jeopardy.
Tailored Brands, owner of the Men's Wearhouse and JoS A. Bank chains, has been fighting what management called"significant headwinds"so far in 2019, and the company's shares have lost about half their value year to date. It's grappling with both short-term issues such as unfavorable foreign currency exchange shifts, and longer-term issues such as the trend toward business casual in the workplace, which has significantly reduced demand for suits, sports coats and the like.
Image source: Getty Images.
Given those headwinds, some on Wall Street had been speculating that Tailored Brands might reduce its dividend to preserve liquidity. Monday's announcement that the dividend would hold steady at $0.18 per share put those concerns to rest.
It's worth noting that the dividend in question will be payable Sept. 27, meaning the board made its declaration three months ahead of payout. The previous dividend was announced in April, payable two months later in June. The early announcement could be read as either the board responding to the speculation, or as a specific statement about the financial health of the company.
Tailored Brands shareholders took a huge sigh of relief when they got this dividend announcement, and the company's 11.5% yield is understandably enticing. But even if the September payout is safe,there are still serious questionsabout the long-term health of the company, and its prospects for growth.
Investors should be careful buying into this rally.
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Lou Whitemanhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
1 pilot dies, 1 survives after German fighter jets collide
BERLIN (AP) — A German air force pilot was killed Monday after his fighter jet collided with another during a training mission in northeastern Germany, the country's defense minister said. The pilot of the other Eurofighter Typhoon jet was able to eject safely and survived. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said three unarmed fighter jets left their base in Laage, near the Baltic sea port of Rostock, shortly before 2 p.m. (1200 GMT). "After about 20 minutes, there was an aerial collision between two Eurofighters, with fatal consequences," she said. The third pilot saw two parachutes descending to the ground, indicating pilot ejection mechanisms were triggered after the crash in Germany's Mecklenburg Western Pomerania state, the defense minister reported. "One pilot was recovered alive, but the second pilot was dead when he was found," said von der Leyen. "We share in the grief of the relatives." Eyewitness videos showed the burning planes falling from the sky and later, two plumes of smoke rising from the ground. Firefighters were deployed to extinguish fires from the wreckage. Police warned the public not to approach potentially dangerous debris at the site. The Eurofighter Typhoon was jointly developed by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. More than 550 of the jets have been delivered since 2003, at a cost of close to $100 million apiece. Monday's collision was the first fatal crash involving a German Eurofighter, the military said. View comments |
US STOCKS-Wall Street struggles for direction ahead of G20 summit
(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Healthcare hit by losses in Celgene, Bristol-Myers
* Energy stocks down as crude prices slump
* FedEx drops on Huawei delivery mix-up
* Dow up 0.06%, S&P 500 down 0.05%, Nasdaq off 0.15% (Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street struggled for direction on Monday as gains by technology companies were blunted by losses in the healthcare sector, while investors looked to U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit later this week.
The Dow held on to a small advance, while the Nasdaq was slightly lower. The bellwether S&P 500 was down nominally, although still hovering within a hair's breadth of its all-time closing high reached last Thursday.
Trade-sensitive industrials, led by Boeing Co, kept the blue-chip Dow in the black.
U.S.-China trade tensions, having grown from simmer to boil in recent months, have market participants eyeing the leaders of the world's two largest economies and their expected meeting at the upcoming Group of 20 summit due to convene in Japan on Friday.
"Last week we had a big move to the upside in anticipation of what the Fed would do," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. "Since then the market's biding its time until the G20 meeting."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16.37 points, or 0.06%, to 26,735.5, the S&P 500 lost 1.6 points, or 0.05%, to 2,948.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.87 points, or 0.15%, to 8,019.84.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 five were in the red, with energy stocks seeing the largest percentage drop as crude prices fell 0.8%.
In the latest trade-related skirmish, FedEx Corp apologized for mistakenly returning a Huawei phone to its sender, after misrouting packages from the Chinese tech firm last month. The move provoked the ire of Chinese authorities and raised the prospect of FedEx being added to China's "unreliable entities" list. The package delivery firm's shares fell 2.3%.
Caesars Entertainment Corp jumped 14.5% on news that rival Eldorado Resorts Inc had agreed to buy the casino operator for $8.5 billion. Eldorado dropped 13.3%.
United Technologies Corp advanced 1.0% after Cowen & Co upgraded it to "outperform" from "market perform."
Celgene Corp slipped 5.2% after Bristol-Myers Squibb Co announced that its planned $74 billion deal to buy the drugmaker was expected to close at the end of 2019 or beginning 2020, later than expected. Bristol-Myers fell 7.3%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.26-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 66 new lows. (Reporting by Stephen Culp, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) |
UBS: World economy ‘one step away from global recession'
The world economy is on the leading edge of a recession, UBS said on Monday, which could prompt all major central banks to ease monetary policy in response.
The U.S.-China trade war is amplifying fears of a global downturn —which according to UBS means President Donald Trumpmay get his wish for the Federal Reserveto cut interest rates.
Thus far, the world’s two largest economies have not been able to strike a deal to end their trade dispute, and an additional $300 billion worth of tariffs are currently on the table.
“U.S. tariff escalation is NOT our base case,” the bank said. “But if escalation is not averted in the next week or so ... we anticipate making major changes to our forecasts.
It added: “We estimate global growth would be 75 [basis points] lower over the subsequent six quarters and that the contours would resemble a mild ‘global recession’” that would rival Europe’s debt crisis and the oil collapse of the mid-1980s, according to UBS analysts.
“If we are right on the growth impact, all major central banks would ease,” the bank’s analysts wrote in their report, given the fragile state of the world’s economy.
The Fedis expected to cut interest rates as early as next month. UBS estimates the central bank would be poised to cut an additional 100bp— on top of an expected 50bp in July.
Under that scenario, the US economy would be flying “dangerously low to the ground,” but would avoid a recession, UBS said.
It would take slapping tariffs onMexico— something the U.S. narrowly averted earlier this month when Trump rescinded his plans to do so — for the Fed to cut rates to zero, and to restart asset purchases, the bank added.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan “would push further into the negative territory (-70bp and -25bp),” while China would also ease, according to UBS.
The global trade tensions will also impact stocks, with stocks finally finding a bottom in early 2020, according to UBS. Meanwhile, Treasury yields will fall further, while the U.S. dollar will stay supported.
Donovan Russo is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him@Donovanxrusso.
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CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A): Financial Strength Analysis
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Investors looking for stocks with high market liquidity and little debt on the balance sheet should consider CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A). With a market valuation of CA$28b, GIB.A is a safe haven in times of market uncertainty due to its strong balance sheet. These firms won’t be left high and dry if liquidity dries up, and they will be relatively unaffected by rises in interest rates. Assessing the most recent data for GIB.A, I will take you through the key ratios to measure financial health, in particular, its solvency and liquidity.
Check out our latest analysis for CGI
GIB.A has built up its total debt levels in the last twelve months, from CA$1.9b to CA$2.2b , which accounts for long term debt. With this rise in debt, GIB.A's cash and short-term investments stands at CA$544m to keep the business going. Additionally, GIB.A has produced cash from operations of CA$1.5b during the same period of time, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 69%, meaning that GIB.A’s operating cash is sufficient to cover its debt.
With current liabilities at CA$3.1b, it appears that the company has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of CA$3.7b, with a current ratio of 1.16x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for IT companies, this is a suitable ratio as there's enough of a cash buffer without holding too much capital in low return investments.
With debt at 31% of equity, GIB.A may be thought of as appropriately levered. This range is considered safe as GIB.A is not taking on too much debt obligation, which can be restrictive and risky for equity-holders. We can test if GIB.A’s debt levels are sustainable by measuring interest payments against earnings of a company. A company generating earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In GIB.A's case, the ratio of 29.93x suggests that interest is comfortably covered. High interest coverage serves as an indication of the safety of a company, which highlights why many large organisations like GIB.A are considered a risk-averse investment.
GIB.A’s debt level is appropriate for a company its size, and it is also able to generate sufficient cash flow coverage, meaning it has been able to put its debt in good use. Furthermore, the company exhibits an ability to meet its near-term obligations, which isn't a big surprise for a large-cap. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for GIB.A's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research CGI to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GIB.A’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor GIB.A’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GIB.A worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether GIB.A is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Is CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A) A Financially Strong Company?
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CGI Inc. (TSE:GIB.A), a large-cap worth CA$28b, comes to mind for investors seeking a strong and reliable stock investment. Most investors favour these big stocks due to their strong balance sheet and high market liquidity, meaning there are an abundance of stock in the public market available for trading. In times of low liquidity in the market, these firms won’t be left high and dry. They are also relatively unaffected by increases in interest rates. Using the most recent data for GIB.A, I will determine its financial status based on its solvency and liquidity, and assess whether the stock is a safe investment.
View our latest analysis for CGI
GIB.A's debt levels surged from CA$1.9b to CA$2.2b over the last 12 months , which includes long-term debt. With this growth in debt, GIB.A's cash and short-term investments stands at CA$544m , ready to be used for running the business. On top of this, GIB.A has produced cash from operations of CA$1.5b during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 69%, indicating that GIB.A’s current level of operating cash is high enough to cover debt.
With current liabilities at CA$3.1b, the company has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 1.16x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. For IT companies, this ratio is within a sensible range since there's a sufficient cash cushion without leaving too much capital idle or in low-earning investments.
GIB.A’s level of debt is appropriate relative to its total equity, at 31%. GIB.A is not taking on too much debt commitment, which can be restrictive and risky for equity-holders. We can check to see whether GIB.A is able to meet its debt obligations by looking at the net interest coverage ratio. As a rule of thumb, a company should have earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of at least three times the size of net interest. For GIB.A, the ratio of 29.93x suggests that interest is amply covered. It is considered a responsible and reassuring practice to maintain high interest coverage, which makes GIB.A and other large-cap investments thought to be safe.
GIB.A has demonstrated its ability to generate sufficient levels of cash flow, while its debt hovers at an appropriate level. Furthermore, the company exhibits an ability to meet its near-term obligations, which isn't a big surprise for a large-cap. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for GIB.A's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I recommend you continue to research CGI to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GIB.A’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor GIB.A’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GIB.A worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether GIB.A is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
What Type Of Shareholder Owns ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.'s (TSE:PMN)?
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A look at the shareholders of ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSE:PMN) can tell us which group is most powerful. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.'
With a market capitalization of CA$63m, ProMIS Neurosciences is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions don't own many shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about PMN.
View our latest analysis for ProMIS Neurosciences
Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.
There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. ProMIS Neurosciences's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.
ProMIS Neurosciences is not owned by hedge funds. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.. Insiders have a CA$6.9m stake in this CA$63m business. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 89% of ProMIS Neurosciences . With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
I like to dive deeperinto how a company has performed in the past. You can findhistoric revenue and earnings in thisdetailed graph.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can checkthis free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG)
We can judge whether Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) is a good investment right now by following the lead of some of the best investors in the world and piggybacking their ideas. There's no better way to get these firms' immense resources and analytical capabilities working for us than to follow their lead into their best ideas. While not all of these picks will be winners, our research shows that these picks historically outperformed the market when we factor in known risk factors.
IsHarley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)a buy here? The best stock pickers are becoming less hopeful. The number of bullish hedge fund bets shrunk by 3 lately. Our calculations also showed that hog isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.HOGwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 19 hedge funds in our database with HOG positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To most shareholders, hedge funds are perceived as unimportant, old investment vehicles of years past. While there are over 8000 funds in operation at present, We choose to focus on the crème de la crème of this club, about 750 funds. These money managers control bulk of the smart money's total capital, and by keeping an eye on their top picks, Insider Monkey has unsheathed a few investment strategies that have historically exceeded the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outperformed the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points a year since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year).
Let's review the key hedge fund action surrounding Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -16% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 12 hedge funds with a bullish position in HOG a year ago. With the smart money's positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) was held byImpala Asset Management, which reported holding $22.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Point72 Asset Management with a $10.7 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Citadel Investment Group, Renaissance Technologies, and Adage Capital Management.
Since Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) has experienced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it's safe to say that there is a sect of fund managers that decided to sell off their full holdings last quarter. It's worth mentioning that Joel Greenblatt'sGotham Asset Managementdropped the largest stake of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, totaling about $12.4 million in stock. Ken Griffin's fund,Citadel Investment Group, also dumped its stock, about $7.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds last quarter.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG). We will take a look at CyrusOne Inc (NASDAQ:CONE), RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ:RP), Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF), and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID). This group of stocks' market caps are closest to HOG's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CONE,17,193050,3 RP,26,435872,5 JEF,35,669334,-1 SID,8,69878,1 Average,21.5,342034,2 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 21.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $342 million. That figure was $55 million in HOG's case. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately HOG wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); HOG investors were disappointed as the stock returned -1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Polaris Industries Inc. (PII)
We at Insider Monkey have gone over 738 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st. In this article, we look at what those funds think of Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) based on that data.
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII)investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest lately.PIIwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with PII positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that pii isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
Why do we pay any attention at all to hedge fund sentiment? Our research has shown that hedge funds' large-cap stock picks indeed failed to beat the market between 1999 and 2016. However, we were able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that'll significantly underperform the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 30.9% through May 30, 2019. That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
We're going to check out the recent hedge fund action regarding Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 7% from one quarter earlier. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PII over the last 15 quarters. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Among these funds,Arrowstreet Capitalheld the most valuable stake in Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII), which was worth $19.3 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Interval Partners which amassed $18 million worth of shares. Moreover, Millennium Management, Alyeska Investment Group, and Citadel Investment Group were also bullish on Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
As aggregate interest increased, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness.Interval Partners, managed by Gregg Moskowitz, created the most outsized position in Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII). Interval Partners had $18 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Anand Parekh'sAlyeska Investment Groupalso made a $9 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Sara Nainzadeh'sCentenus Global Management, Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle'sSpringbok Capital, and Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) but similarly valued. These stocks are Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR), Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC), United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR), and Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE). This group of stocks' market values resemble PII's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FLR,22,311072,2 TDC,20,294027,-1 UTHR,21,1050522,-2 CHE,21,416451,-3 Average,21,518018,-1 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 21 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $518 million. That figure was $89 million in PII's case. Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Teradata Corporation (NYSE:TDC) is the least popular one with only 20 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) is even less popular than TDC. Hedge funds clearly dropped the ball on PII as the stock delivered strong returns, though hedge funds' consensus picks still generated respectable returns. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on PII as the stock returned 9.7% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About ADT Inc. (ADT)
"Since 2006, value stocks (IVE vs IVW) have underperformed 11 of the 13 calendar years and when they beat growth, it wasn't by much. Cumulatively, through this week, it has been a 122% differential (up 52% for value vs up 174% for growth). This appears to be the longest and most severe drought for value investors since data collection began. It will go our way eventually as there are too many people paying far too much for today's darlings, both public and private. Further, the ten-year yield of 2.5% (pre-tax) isn't attractive nor is real estate. We believe the value part of the global equity market is the only place to earn solid risk adjusted returns and we believe those returns will be higher than normal," said Vilas Fund in itsQ1 investor letter. We aren't sure whether value stocks outperform growth, but we follow hedge fund investor letters to understand where the markets and stocks might be going. This article will lay out and discuss the hedge fund and institutional investor sentiment towards ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT).
ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT)was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. ADT has seen an increase in support from the world's most elite money managers lately. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with ADT holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that adt isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's take a peek at the key hedge fund action surrounding ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 7% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 19 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in ADT a year ago. So, let's review which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Amish Mehta'sSQN Investorshas the largest position in ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT), worth close to $36.3 million, corresponding to 3.4% of its total 13F portfolio. On SQN Investors's heels isArrowstreet Capital, led by Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell, holding a $15.6 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other members of the smart money with similar optimism encompass Joe Milano'sGreenhouse Funds, Genevieve Kahr'sAilanthus Capital Managementand Alexander Roepers'sAtlantic Investment Management.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names have been driving this bullishness.Ailanthus Capital Management, managed by Genevieve Kahr, initiated the most outsized position in ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT). Ailanthus Capital Management had $9.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Joseph Mathias'sConcourse Capital Managementalso made a $1.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new ADT positions are Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management, Jeffrey Talpins'sElement Capital Management, and Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Management.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB), 51job, Inc. (NASDAQ:JOBS), and Empire State Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:ESRT). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to ADT's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position NUAN,28,459833,-7 PB,9,103636,0 JOBS,12,29384,-1 ESRT,14,161856,1 Average,15.75,188677,-1.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $189 million. That figure was $85 million in ADT's case. Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ADT wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ADT were disappointed as the stock returned -1.9% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Medidata Solutions Inc (MDSO)
The elite funds run by legendary investors such as David Tepper and Dan Loeb make hundreds of millions of dollars for themselves and their investors by spending enormous resources doing research on small cap stocks that big investment banks don't follow. Because of their pay structures, they have strong incentives to do the research necessary to beat the market. That's why we pay close attention to what they think in small cap stocks. In this article, we take a closer look at Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO) from the perspective of those elite funds.
IsMedidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO)ready to rally soon? Prominent investors are getting more optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund positions went up by 5 lately. Our calculations also showed that mdso isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's analyze the recent hedge fund action encompassing Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 45% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 10 hedge funds with a bullish position in MDSO a year ago. So, let's find out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically,Royce & Associateswas the largest shareholder of Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO), with a stake worth $80.1 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Royce & Associates was Polar Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $58.2 million. Echo Street Capital Management, Millennium Management, and Millennium Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Consequently, key money managers have been driving this bullishness.Diker Management, managed by Mark N. Diker, created the most outsized position in Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO). Diker Management had $6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Jaime Sterne'sSkye Global Managementalso made a $2.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MDSO investors: D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow'sBlue Mountain Capital, and Matthew Hulsizer'sPEAK6 Capital Management.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Science Applications International Corp (NYSE:SAIC), Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD), Life Storage, Inc. (NYSE:LSI), and MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE:MMS). This group of stocks' market caps match MDSO's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position SAIC,28,356290,4 COLD,27,907693,11 LSI,15,274431,2 MMS,20,288188,-2 Average,22.5,456651,3.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 22.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $457 million. That figure was $215 million in MDSO's case. Science Applications International Corp (NYSE:SAIC) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Life Storage, Inc. (NYSE:LSI) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Medidata Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDSO) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on MDSO as the stock returned 24.7% during the same time frame and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Brothers jailed for £1.2m human trafficking plot which saw labourers crammed into filthy houses
(L-R) Valentin Lupu,25, Grigore Lupu, 39, and Alexandru Lupu, 43. Three men from a Romanian organised crime group have been sentenced to 28 years imprisonment for modern slavery and Proceeds of Crime Act offences. (SWNS) Three modern day slave drivers who made more than £1 million smuggling labourers into Britain and keeping them in filthy doss houses have been jailed . The brothers, who were members of a Romanian crime gang, were jailed for 28 years after being convicted of a string of trafficking and financial offences. Blackfriars Crown Court heard during an eight week trial how Valentin, Alexandru and Grigore Lupu worked with the gang to traffick people into Britain from Romania for more than three years from July 2015 until October 2018 to work on building sites. The victims were deceived into travelling on the promise of being paid £500 every 30 days. Conditions inside Bower House. They had their identity cards confiscated and were forced to stay in the brothers overcrowded and poorly kept houses in London's East End. The gang would exploit them by forging construction qualification documents and putting them to work on building sites across London and the Home Counties. Police say violence, degrading living conditions and the constant manipulation of the "derisory" cash paid to the victims were "key levers" to ensure they remained subservient. The brothers generated more than £1.2 million by keeping the victims wages for themselves through the exploitation of dozens of victims over 38 months. Conditions inside Bower House. In September 2017, a Joint Investigation team involving the Met Polices Modern Slavery and Kidnap Unit, the CPS, Romanian Police and prosecutors, EuroPol and EuroJust was launched. Police in London and Romania executed 15 search warrants simultaneously on October 16th last year. A total of 33 potential victims of human trafficking - 24 men, four women, and five children - were recovered from four London addresses and taken into safety. The arrest phase marked the latter stages of a three-year international investigation, code-named Operation Cardinas. All three brothers were living at different address in Ilford, east London, when they were held. Valentin Lupu, 25, and Grigore Lupu, 39, were each jailed for 10 years after both being convicted of conspiracy to require another to perform forced or compulsory labour, conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel of another with a view to exploitation and conspiracy to convert criminal property. Alexandru Lupu, 43, was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of conspiracy to require another to perform forced or compulsory labour and conspiracy to convert criminal property. Conditions inside Bower House. Detective Inspector Rick Sewart, of the Met's Modern Slavery and Kidnap Unit, said: "Modern slavery is, and will continue to be, a priority for the Met. Story continues "We will continue to do everything within our power to identify and apprehend those intent on trafficking human beings, and exploiting them for their own gain. "The key partnerships between the Met, the Romanian authorities, Europol, Eurojust and all of our other partners have been crucial to furthering this investigation into organised people trafficking and exploitation. Read more from Yahoo News UK: John Prescott in hospital after suffering stroke Woman bailed after trying to open plane door mid-air Firefighters smash window to rescue baby trapped in hot car "We will continue this valuable work with our international and domestic partners to prevent continued exploitation and bring offenders to justice." The three brothers were issued with Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs), and will be subject to asset recovery procedures targeting property in Romania as well as vehicles and cash. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK View comments |
Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About First Horizon National Corporation (FHN)
Although the masses and most of the financial media blame hedge funds for their exorbitant fee structure and disappointing performance, these investors have proved to have great stock picking abilities over the years (that's why their assets under management continue to swell). We believe hedge fund sentiment should serve as a crucial tool of an individual investor’s stock selection process, as it may offer great insights of how the brightest minds of the finance industry feel about specific stocks. After all, these people have access to smartest analysts and expensive data/information sources that individual investors can't match. So should one consider investing in First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN)? The smart money sentiment can provide an answer to this question.
First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN)has experienced a decrease in hedge fund sentiment lately. Our calculations also showed that FHN isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a large number of tools investors have at their disposal to grade stocks. A pair of the most under-the-radar tools are hedge fund and insider trading indicators. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a solid amount. Insider Monkey's flagship best performing hedge funds strategy returned 25.8% year to date (through May 30th) and outperformed the market even though it draws its stock picks among small-cap stocks. This strategy also outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since its inception (see the details here). That's why we believe hedge fund sentiment is a useful indicator that investors should pay attention to.
Let's analyze the recent hedge fund action surrounding First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -16% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards FHN over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of key hedge fund managers who were adding to their holdings meaningfully (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,EJF Capitalwas the largest shareholder of First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN), with a stake worth $56.9 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing EJF Capital was Diamond Hill Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $14 million. Millennium Management, Huber Capital Management, and Citadel Investment Group were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Since First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, we can see that there is a sect of hedge funds who sold off their positions entirely in the third quarter. Interestingly, Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLPdropped the biggest stake of the "upper crust" of funds tracked by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $5.1 million in stock, and Matthew Lindenbaum's Basswood Capital was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $4.2 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds in the third quarter.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN). These stocks are Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM), Itau CorpBanca (NYSE:ITCB), Radian Group Inc (NYSE:RDN), and Cyberark Software Ltd (NASDAQ:CYBR). This group of stocks' market valuations are similar to FHN's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position WSM,29,371142,12 ITCB,1,4168,0 RDN,19,192857,-5 CYBR,28,435159,8 Average,19.25,250832,3.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 19.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $251 million. That figure was $126 million in FHN's case. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Itau CorpBanca (NYSE:ITCB) is the least popular one with only 1 bullish hedge fund positions. First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately FHN wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); FHN investors were disappointed as the stock returned 3.1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Did Hedge Funds Drop The Ball On LendingTree, Inc (TREE) ?
Concerns over rising interest rates and expected further rate increases have hit several stocks hard during the fourth quarter. Trends reversed 180 degrees during the first quarter amid Powell's pivot and optimistic expectations towards a trade deal with China. Hedge funds and institutional investors tracked by Insider Monkey usually invest a disproportionate amount of their portfolios in smaller cap stocks. We have been receiving indications that hedge funds were increasing their overall exposure in the first quarter and this is one of the factors behind the recent movements in major indices. In this article, we will take a closer look at hedge fund sentiment towards LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE).
IsLendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE)going to take off soon? The best stock pickers are taking a pessimistic view. The number of bullish hedge fund positions were trimmed by 4 recently. Our calculations also showed that TREE isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
If you'd ask most stock holders, hedge funds are perceived as worthless, outdated investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are more than 8000 funds in operation at the moment, Our experts choose to focus on the masters of this group, around 750 funds. It is estimated that this group of investors preside over the lion's share of the smart money's total capital, and by shadowing their highest performing equity investments, Insider Monkey has spotted various investment strategies that have historically surpassed Mr. Market. Insider Monkey's flagship hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by around 5 percentage points annually since its inception in May 2014 through June 18th. We were able to generate large returns even by identifying short candidates. Our portfolio of short stocks lost 28.2% since February 2017 (through June 18th) even though the market was up nearly 30% during the same period. We just shared a list of 5 short targets in ourlatest quarterly updateand they are already down an average of 8.2% in a month whereas our long picks outperformed the market by 2.5 percentage points in this volatile 5 week period (our long picks also beat the market by 15 percentage points so far this year).
We're going to take a gander at the latest hedge fund action surrounding LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -19% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 21 hedge funds with a bullish position in TREE a year ago. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
More specifically,Citadel Investment Groupwas the largest shareholder of LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE), with a stake worth $15.2 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Citadel Investment Group was D E Shaw, which amassed a stake valued at $13.6 million. Citadel Investment Group, Point72 Asset Management, and G2 Investment Partners Management were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Seeing as LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the smart money, it's safe to say that there is a sect of hedge funds who were dropping their full holdings in the third quarter. Intriguingly, John Overdeck and David Siegel'sTwo Sigma Advisorscut the biggest investment of the "upper crust" of funds watched by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $1.6 million in stock. Israel Englander's fund,Millennium Management, also cut its stock, about $1.3 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 4 funds in the third quarter.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE) but similarly valued. These stocks are Virtu Financial Inc (NASDAQ:VIRT), Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS), Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX), and Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO). This group of stocks' market valuations are similar to TREE's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position VIRT,17,93239,0 LFUS,13,248928,-2 KEX,19,514257,3 FLO,18,190309,-2 Average,16.75,261683,-0.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 16.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $262 million. That figure was $83 million in TREE's case. Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. LendingTree, Inc (NASDAQ:TREE) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Hedge funds were also right about betting on TREE as the stock returned 17.8% during the same period and outperformed the market by an even larger margin. Hedge funds were rewarded for their relative bullishness.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Weed leader Canopy Growth done with buying smaller producers: CEO
By Uday Sampath Kumar and Arundhati Sarkar
(Reuters) - The biggest of Canada's booming pot growers, Canopy Growth Corp, has further to go on a string of acquisitions that has seen it suck up at least 12 smaller firms in a year, but it is done buying other producers, Chief Executive Officer Bruce Linton said.
Powered by a deal with Corona-maker Constellation Brands Inc that has left it with $4.5 billion to invest, Canopy is in pole position to cash in on Canada's legalization of marijuana for recreational use as well as expectations that the United States may follow.
Constellation is betting in part on the promise that federal legislation might eventually follow moves by state governments in the United States to legalize, opening the door to legal production countrywide, and there have been tentative signs that others may follow.
Coca-Cola Co last year quashed a handful of reports that it was looking at developing cannabis-infused drinks and analysts have pointed to the area as a possible next investment for "sin stocks" like tobacco and alcohol makers.
Linton said that with Canopy taken, the other companies on offer in the sector looked too small to tempt major potential investors, pointing to the likelihood of more consolidation within the sector first.
He also said his own firm had bought as many producers as it needed and would focus instead on companies that may provide synergies with his central business of growing the plant.
"We will not be buying anyone who currently produces cannabis in Canada for sure," Linton said. "We're more interested in what exists in the pharmaceutical world than the cannabis world."
When asked whether Canopy would consider acquiring growers outside Canada, Linton said there were no companies outside of Canada he would consider buying.
Canopy acquired medicinal marijuana producers in South America and Africa last year, and in April secured the right to buy New York based Acreage Holdings Inc for $3.4 billion if the United States legalizes production and sale of cannabis.
For interactive graphic, click here: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Fu4lY2
JUST LIKE GIN AND TONIC
The pot industry has seen a string of deals in recent months buoyed by the possibility of cannabis-infused products becoming legal at a federal level in the United States.
Recreational use is now legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Growers have also been looking to get early advantage in new markets in Latin America and Europe.
Curaleaf Holdings Inc, an integrated cannabis operator in the United States, in May announced a deal to buy Cura Partners Inc's Select brand, which it said would make the world's biggest player by revenue. Canopy, worth C$17.76 billion ($13.47 billion) at current share prices, had revenue of C$226 million in its last fiscal year.
Linton was confident in the scale his company had developed so far and said other producers would have to merge to compete or pique the interest of other investors.
"We're operating with a balance sheet that has $4.5 billion on it ... if you're a small guy and you have $30 million or $50 million, you should smash five or six (companies) together to create a depth of capacity in financial resources necessary to go global," Linton told Reuters.
Linton, whose recent investments include bio-pharma company C3 and British skincare company This Works, said Canopy was working on cannabis-infused drinks that would serve as an alternate to alcohol for people averse to hangovers.
"Tweed and Tonic", which Linton said would come in ready to serve containers, would taste a little like lemon and appeal to older drinkers concerned about the impact of alcohol on their weight.
"Some of our more sophisticated products will be very appealing to people of 60 to 75 years of age who have great spending capacity but can't consume alcohol for a variety of reasons."
"It will be like sipping a single serving of gin and tonic except it won't have calories," he said.
(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Shounak Dasgupta) |
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Plains GP Holdings LP (PAGP)
With the first-quarter round of 13F filings behind us it is time to take a look at the stocks in which some of the best money managers in the world preferred to invest or sell heading into the first quarter. One of these stocks was Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP).
Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP)investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late.PAGPwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with PAGP positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that pagp isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.
In the financial world there are a multitude of tools investors employ to assess publicly traded companies. A duo of the less known tools are hedge fund and insider trading signals. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top money managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see the details here).
[caption id="attachment_324853" align="aligncenter" width="450"]
Joshua Friedman of Canyon Capital[/caption]
Let's analyze the recent hedge fund action surrounding Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in PAGP over the last 15 quarters. So, let's check out which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) was held byCanyon Capital Advisors, which reported holding $81.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Deep Basin Capital with a $66.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Point72 Asset Management, Renaissance Technologies, and D E Shaw.
Since Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, logic holds that there exists a select few funds that decided to sell off their full holdings heading into Q3. At the top of the heap, Daniel Arbess'sPerella Weinberg Partnersdropped the largest position of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at about $31.9 million in stock. Jonathan Barrett and Paul Segal's fund,Luminus Management, also cut its stock, about $3.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 2 funds heading into Q3.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) but similarly valued. These stocks are Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL), United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM), Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ:WMGI), and Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:AMED). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to PAGP's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position STL,19,469202,1 USM,14,183392,-3 WMGI,35,889529,2 AMED,26,295842,-6 Average,23.5,459491,-1.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 23.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $459 million. That figure was $224 million in PAGP's case. Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ:WMGI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately PAGP wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); PAGP investors were disappointed as the stock returned -1.1% during the same time period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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New York man is latest American tourist to die in the Dominican Republic
A New York man who died while on vacation in the Dominican Republic is the latest tourist to perish on the island,Fox Newsreports.
Former pizzeria owner Vittorio Caruso, 56, of Glen Cove, died on June 17 after falling ill at the Boca Chica Resort in Santo Domingo. His sister-in-law, Lisa Maria Caruso, told the news outlet that Vittorio, who was supposed to return home on June 27, had been in good health prior to the trip.
"We found out he was brought by ambulance to the hospital in respiratory distress after drinking something," she said. "We were told he wasn't responding to any meds he was given and died. I honestly don't know exactly what happened, as we have been told conflicting stories from different people there."
Lisa explained that authorities wanted to cremate Vittorio's body but the family insisted on bringing it back home.
"It is very hard to get a straight story from anyone there," she said.
Vittorio's relatives are expecting his autopsy results today, Lisa added.
He is one of several Americans who have mysteriously died at resorts throughout the country over the past several months.
Earlier this month, on June 13, New Jersey residentJoseph Allendied at the Terra Linda Resort in Sosua after complaining to his friends about being too hot in the pool the day before. A maid reportedly discovered Allen between his bedroom and bathroom, and a medical examiner later determined that he may have died of cardiac arrest.
Last month, a Pennsylvania psychotherapist and a Maryland couple died within just days of each other at a resort. On May 25,Miranda Schaup-Wernerwas celebrating her ninth anniversary with her husband at the Bahia Principe Bouganville in La Romana when she suddenly collapsed after having a drink. Five days later,Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Daywere found dead in their room at the nearby Bahia Principe La Romana. In both cases, officials said the victims died of respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, although relatives of all three have remained skeptical. The FBI is currently assisting Dominican police with the investigation into their deaths.
Since June 2018, there have been over 10 cases of suspicious deaths in the Dominican Republic, many of which have involved the consumption of questionable alcohol or the use of hotel amenities. The victims include Pennsylvania woman Yvette Monique Sport, Maryland residentDavid Harrison, CalifornianRobert Wallace, Ohio residentJerry Curran, California residentRobert Turlock, and New York residentLeyla Cox.
Last Friday, theNew York Postreported that New Yorker Donette Edge Cannon, 38, also died last year following her stay at the Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana. Prior to her passing, she had allegedly woken up in the middle of the night and begun vomiting and having diarrhea.
Amid the growing number of incidents, Dominican officials have attempted to quell fears over their country's safety. In an interview withFox News, Ministry of Public Health spokesman Carlos Suero dismissed any concerns as "fake news."
"People die all over the world," he said. "Unfortunately, very unfortunately for us, these tourists have died here. We had about 14 deaths last year here of U.S. tourists, and no one said a word. Now everyone is making a big deal of these."
Still, should authorities eventually determine that foul play is involved in any of the recent deaths, they would take appropriate action, saidFrancisco Garcia, the country's minister of tourism.
"If there's something that went wrong, we will take the disciplinary measures that are warranted," he said. "We will make whatever decision we must make if there's been negligence of any kind. We will act." |
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Associated Banc-Corp (ASB)
Hedge funds and large money managers usually invest with a focus on the long-term horizon and, therefore, short-lived dips or bumps on the charts, usually don't make them change their opinion towards a company. This time it may be different. During the fourth quarter of 2018 we observed increased volatility and small-cap stocks underperformed the market. Things completely reversed during the first quarter. Hedge fund investor letters indicated that they are cutting their overall exposure, closing out some position and doubling down on others. Let’s take a look at the hedge fund sentiment towards Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) to find out whether it was one of their high conviction long-term ideas.
IsAssociated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB)worth your attention right now? Hedge funds are reducing their bets on the stock. The number of long hedge fund positions fell by 2 lately. Our calculations also showed that asb isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.ASBwas in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 18 hedge funds in our database with ASB positions at the end of the previous quarter.
So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the market by 40 percentage points since May 2014 through May 30, 2019 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in our short portfolio.
Let's take a look at the key hedge fund action encompassing Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB).
At Q1's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -11% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 19 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in ASB a year ago. So, let's see which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.
The largest stake in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) was held byCitadel Investment Group, which reported holding $60 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Millennium Management with a $45.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Pzena Investment Management, AQR Capital Management, and Balyasny Asset Management.
Due to the fact that Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there was a specific group of money managers that elected to cut their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that George Soros'sSoros Fund Managementsaid goodbye to the largest investment of the "upper crust" of funds followed by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $2.2 million in stock, and Benjamin A. Smith's Laurion Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC), First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB), Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO), and Regal Beloit Corporation (NYSE:RBC). This group of stocks' market caps match ASB's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HWC,15,112402,0 FHB,23,384375,2 ALLO,8,120844,-2 RBC,17,130444,0 Average,15.75,187016,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $187 million. That figure was $216 million in ASB's case. First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) is not the most popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still above average. This is a slightly positive signal but we'd rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. Our calculations showed thattop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds returned 6.2% in Q2 through June 19th and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by nearly 3 percentage points. Unfortunately ASB wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ASB were disappointed as the stock returned -1.9% during the same period and underperformed the market. If you are interested in investing in large cap stocks with huge upside potential, you should check out thetop 20 most popular stocksamong hedge funds as 13 of these stocks already outperformed the market so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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NASA reveals new details of ‘Son of Concorde’ which could fly from London to New York in three hours
The cockpit has no windows (NASA) NASA has revealed more details about its hi-tech supersonic aircraft - known as ‘Son of Concorde’ - which could take flight in 2021. Known as the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST), the vehicle won’t have front windows - and pilots will instead look through cameras. The planned jet, X-59, could fly from London to New York in just three hours. Earlier this year, contractor Lockheed announced that it had begun manufacturing the first part for a demonstrator aircraft which will fly in 2021. The removal of the front windows will help the craft to travel at supersonic speeds without creating a sonic boom. It's hoped it will fly over land without sonic booms (NASA) NASA said in a statement, 'The 4K monitor, which is part of the aircraft’s eXternal Visibility System, or XVS, displays stitched images from two cameras outside the aircraft combined with terrain data from an advanced computing system. 'The two portals and traditional canopy are real windows however, and help the pilot see the horizon. 'The displays below the XVS will provide a variety of aircraft systems and trajectory data for the pilot to safely fly. Read more from Yahoo News UK: John Prescott in hospital after suffering stroke Woman bailed after ‘trying to open plane door’ mid-air Firefighters smash window to rescue baby trapped in hot car 'The XVS is one of several innovative solutions to help ensure the X-59’s design shape reduces a sonic boom to a gentle thump heard by people on the ground. Earlier this year, Lockheed built the first part for the jet. The company announced on Friday that it had begun manufacturing the first part for a demonstrator aircraft which will fly in 2021. The low-boom flight demonstrator for X-59 will be used to gather data on people’s response to the quiet ‘boom’ - described as ‘quieter than a car door closing’. NASA hopes that this will allow it to establish an ‘acceptable’ noise level - and overturn regulations banning supersonic travel over land. |
Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GHDX): Will The Growth Last?
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Since Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GHDX) released its earnings in March 2019, analyst consensus outlook appear cautiously optimistic, with earnings expected to grow by 35% in the upcoming year, though this is relatively lower than the past 5-year average earnings growth of 54%. With trailing-twelve-month net income at current levels of US$26m, we should see this rise to US$35m in 2020. Below is a brief commentary around Genomic Health's earnings outlook going forward, which may give you a sense of market sentiment for the company. Readers that are interested in understanding the company beyond these figures shouldresearch its fundamentals here.
View our latest analysis for Genomic Health
The 9 analysts covering GHDX view its longer term outlook with a positive sentiment. Broker analysts tend to forecast up to three years ahead due to a lack of clarity around the business trajectory beyond this. I've plotted out each year's earnings expectations and inserted a line of best fit to calculate an annual growth rate from the slope in order to understand the overall trajectory of GHDX's earnings growth over these next few years.
By 2022, GHDX's earnings should reach US$50m, from current levels of US$26m, resulting in an annual growth rate of 19%. This leads to an EPS of $1.98 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of $0.72. Margins are currently sitting at 6.5%, which is expected to expand to 9.7% by 2022.
Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For Genomic Health, I've put together three important aspects you should look at:
1. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Valuation: What is Genomic Health worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether Genomic Health is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Genomic Health? Exploreour interactive list of stocks with large growth potentialto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
This Just In: Hostess Brands Stock Upgraded
Every day, Wall Street analysts upgrade some stocks, downgrade others, and "initiate coverage" on a few more. But do these analysts even know what they're talking about? Today, we're taking one high-profile Wall Street pick and putting it under the microscope...
Nearly seven years ago, Twinkie makerHostess Brands(NASDAQ: TWNK)filedfor bankruptcy.
Four years later, Hostessreturned to the public markets-- and within a year, was worth more than Sears!
And one analyst believes it's just getting started.
Image source: Getty Images.
When last we heard from Hostess Brands (in May), things were not going great for the junk food specialist. Q1 2019 sales were up 7% year over year, but per-share profits were down a whopping 11%. In part because of this, Hostess stock's momentum has been halted, and the shares are actually trading down a bit over the last 12 months (while the rest of theS&P 500is trading up).
And yet, Hostess management reported last month that it was "seeing positive trends in both merchandising and consumer support headed into Q2." Executives remained confident in its ability "to achieve our annual outlook," predicting revenue growth "well above the sweet baked goods category," "adjusted" earnings per share of $0.57 to $0.62, and free cash flow in the neighborhood of $125 million.
In part because of this forecast, this morning analysts at Swiss investment bank UBS announced they are upgrading shares of Hostess to buy, with a $17 price target implying about "25% upside."
"[P]er Nielsen data," says UBS, "Hostess sales trends are accelerating ... as it launches new breakfast product lines & regains shelf space at its largest customer,"Walmart. Additionally, the company's recent acquisition of "a Chicago Bakery facility, which had been poorly operated under prior ownership, brings Hostess new production capability in breakfast categories."
With sales growing and production capacity to support those sales growing as well, UBS argues that Hostess is now "on pace to generate $350 [million]-400 [million] in FCF over three years," generating cash that the analyst believes the company will use to pay down its debt, resulting in a "$2/share" increase its enterprise value.
(Enterprise value, being a function of market capitalization, cash, and debt, rises when debt disappears.)
This is an optimistic forecast for Hostess to be sure. But do the numbers add up?
On the free cash flow front, at least, they do. Data fromS&P Global Market Intelligenceshow that the consensus of the 10 analysts currently following Hostess stock is that, from 2019 through 2021, total free cash flow at the company will in fact approximate $400 million. Free cash flow from 2020 through 2022is expected to add up to $435 million, so depending on the exact time period UBS is discussing here, the analyst's projections of Hostess' cash profit could even be a bit conservative.
I'm a little more worried about the sales growth expected to support this growth in free cash flow, however. For example, forecasts for 2019 show that most analysts only see Hostess growing its sales by about 5% over 2019 levels, to $894 million. Moreover, growth is expected to slow to just 3% in 2020, and 2% in 2021 and 2022.
Granted, Hostess has been doing a bit better than that lately. In the final three quarters of last year, for example, the company grew its sales 6%, 10%, and 10%, respectively. But Q1's 6.7% sales growth result does seem to support the consensus forecast that things may be starting to slow down for Hostess -- albeit only slightly, and albeit only for one quarter (so far).
Still, if sales growthdoesend up slowing as abruptly as most analysts predict, this would not be good news for Hostess...or its prospects of generating $400 million in cash over the next three years...or its ability to use that cash to pay down its nearly $1 billion in debt, either!
In fact, even if you assume all good things about Hostess -- free cash flow at the levels projected and growing at 10% annually, then at an enterprise value of $2.6 billion currently, and free cash flow of perhaps $133 million or so annually, I still see the stock as overvalued at an enterprise value-to-free-cash-flow ratio of nearly 20.
Long story short: I'm not on board with UBS' upgrade of Hostess stock today.
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Rich Smithhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
DA Davidson On Park City Group: 'The Time For Execution Is Now'
DA Davidson analysts recently hosted investor meetings withPark City Group, Inc.(NASDAQ:PCYG) CFO John Merrill and the conversations emphasized the case for being bullish on the stock.
The Analyst
DA Davidson'sTom Fortemaintains a Buy rating on Park City Group with an unchanged $11.50 price target.
The Thesis
Merrill served as Park City's CFO from 2006 to 2010 and returned as senior vice president of finance in 2018 before being named CFO in May, Forte wrote in a note. The executive highlighted during the conversations his return to the SaaS company motivated by its opportunities in food safety compliance, supply chain and the MarketPlace platform.
Merrill also explained the 23,000 suppliers that already use Park City's platform represents a total addressable market of $55 million in annual revenue. By comparison, the company end fiscal 2018 with $22 million in sales. As such, Forte said a "simple fine tuning" of the existing go-to-market should alone notably improve sales.
Other potential initiatives to generate growth includes cross-selling its portfolio of products to existing customers. The company has an opportunity to better help retailers maximize sales of seasonal items by connecting retailers with compliant vendors. Specifically, the MarketPlace's core purpose enables retailers to sell short-term and high inventory/high demand items.
Bottom line, Forte said conversations with the CFO "increased our conviction" in Park City's ability to grow its business.
Price Action
Shares of Park City Group traded around $5.51 Monday afternoon.
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Latest Ratings for PCYG
[{"Sep 2017": "Aug 2017", "": "", "Initiates Coverage On": "Initiates Coverage On", "Buy": "Buy"}, {"Sep 2017": "Jul 2015", "": "", "Initiates Coverage On": "Assumes", "Buy": "Buy"}]
View More Analyst Ratings for PCYGView the Latest Analyst Ratings
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving discussed teaming up, per report
Kyrie Irving, late of the Boston Celtics, and Kevin Durant, late of the Golden State Warriors, have reportedly met twice to discuss spending their on-the-court futures together. According to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, Irving and Durant’s first meeting about playing together in the future took place in the San Francisco area while Durant was sidelined from the playoffs with a strained calf. Their second meeting happened in New York after Durant’s ruptured Achilles had been surgically repaired. In the weeks since Durant ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there have been reports that the Warriors intend to offer Durant a five-year max contract, and might even pledge to do a sign-and-trade. But from this report, Durant may have been seriously thinking about moving on even before his Game 5 injury. Durant reportedly ‘really pissed off’ at Warriors Considering that there’s been speculation since last year that Durant had no plans to stay with the Warriors long term, it’s not known if the ruptured Achilles materially changed any of his thinking. But it definitely didn’t make things better. According to Bleacher Report, Durant is “really pissed off at the Warriors,” and it could be due to the process that led to Durant playing and then seriously injuring himself in Game 5. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have reportedly met twice to discuss signing with the same team. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) It’s hard to know what’s going to happen at this point, but there’s a detail in the report from Bleacher Report that stands out. Apparently Durant has purchased a home in the New York area and has moved all of his belongings to that house. While that could mean a lot of things (like he’s possibly considering the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets as potential free agent destinations), taking your stuff to your new house in an entirely different state feels like a “goodbye forever” kind of move. Irving has also reportedly purchased a house in the New York area, but the Knicks may not be why. According to Bleacher Report, Irving is trying to recruit Durant and others to the Nets, which he’s been connected to since he declined his option with the Celtics. More from Yahoo Sports: Sources: Kawhi to become free agent; Raptors favorite Paul denies trade request: ‘Happy’ to stay in Houston After profane tirade, Mets have to fire manager Callaway France beats Brazil, keeps possibility of dream QF alive |
Meghan McCain on ‘The View’ questions Trump rape accuser Carroll
On The View Monday, Meghan McCain said that journalist E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault allegation against President Donald Trump should be taken seriously — but nonetheless with a grain of salt. Carroll claims in a new book that the then-real estate mogul cornered her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and raped her in the 1990s. Trump responded that he had “no idea” who Carroll was despite a photograph showing Trump together with Carroll and his then-wife Ivana in the late-1980s. Meghan McCain made a controversial statement about journalist E. Jean Carroll, who claims in a new book that President Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. (Photo: Screenshot/The View) While speaking on the subject during the daytime television show’s “Hot Topics” segment, McCain said that because she is a “politician’s daughter,” she has gotten used to being lied to. “I always ask questions, and it’s not that I don’t believe women. … It is something that brings on so much cultural shame and it’s so horrific. It’s one of the most horrific things you could ever think of happening as a woman,” McCain said on the show. McCain wouldn’t say definitively if she believed Carroll or not but that an investigation should proceed. “I know this probably makes me unpopular in this space, but I believe that something happened, and I believe — but she has been accusing a lot of other very prominent famous men of sexual assault, and I believe of rape, and again, it’s like I was scared to even come out here and say that, but I would prefer to be honest with the audience and I would like to open up the investigation,” McCain said. “I would like to know more information.” McCain compared Carroll’s situation to similar accusations leveled by actress Asia Argento against Harvey Weinstein and by Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during the latter’s Senate confirmation hearings last fall. The View co-host Sunny Hostin countered McCain by saying that very few rape allegations turn out to be false. “Most women do not lie about rape because people don’t believe them, because they get raked over the coals,” Hostin said. “I mean, the prevalence of false reporting is between 2 percent and 10 percent.” Story continues Responded McCain: “I 100 percent came out here assuming I’m going to be raked over the coals, but I would rather be honest with this audience and with all of you than sit here and lie because it’s going to make my life easier in the media.” In an interview with CNN detailing her accusations against the president, Carroll said that Trump asked her to put on a lingerie item, but at first believed he was joking. When they entered the dressing room together, Carroll said Trump then “banged [me] against the wall.” A physical altercation ensued in which she said Trump pinned her and forced himself upon her. Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: Matthew Perry speaks out after photos of himself looking 'disheveled' raise concern 'Legend' Mick Jagger back at it as Rolling Stones tour resumes two months after his heart surgery Bella Thorne says she taught herself to read and count Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter. |
What You Must Know About Genomic Health, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GHDX) Financial Health
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Mid-caps stocks, like Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GHDX) with a market capitalization of US$2.0b, aren’t the focus of most investors who prefer to direct their investments towards either large-cap or small-cap stocks. Despite this, the two other categories have lagged behind the risk-adjusted returns of commonly ignored mid-cap stocks. Today we will look at GHDX’s financial liquidity and debt levels, which are strong indicators for whether the company can weather economic downturns or fund strategic acquisitions for future growth. Don’t forget that this is a general and concentrated examination of Genomic Health's financial health, so you should conduct further analysisinto GHDX here.
View our latest analysis for Genomic Health
GHDX has increased its debt level by about US$58m over the last 12 months . With this growth in debt, GHDX's cash and short-term investments stands at US$206m to keep the business going. Additionally, GHDX has produced US$67m in operating cash flow in the last twelve months, resulting in an operating cash to total debt ratio of 114%, indicating that GHDX’s current level of operating cash is high enough to cover debt.
With current liabilities at US$49m, it seems that the business has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of US$281m, with a current ratio of 5.67x. The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. However, a ratio above 3x may be considered excessive by some investors, yet this is not usually a major negative for a company.
Debt-to-equity ratio standards differ between industries, as some are more capital-intensive than others, meaning they need more capital to carry out core operations. As a rule of thumb, a financially healthy mid-cap should have a ratio less than 40%. The good news for investors is that Genomic Health has virtually no debt. This means it has been running its business utilising funding from primarily its equity capital, which is rather impressive. Investors' risk associated with debt is virtually non-existent with GHDX, and the company has plenty of headroom and ability to raise debt should it need to in the future.
GHDX’s high cash coverage and low debt levels indicate its ability to utilise its borrowings efficiently in order to generate ample cash flow. Furthermore, the company will be able to pay all of its upcoming liabilities from its current short-term assets. Keep in mind I haven't considered other factors such as how GHDX has been performing in the past. I recommend you continue to research Genomic Health to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for GHDX’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor GHDX’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is GHDX worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? Theintrinsic value infographic in our free research reporthelps visualize whether GHDX is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore ourfree list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor ateditorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. |
Amazon, Google and Facebook Warrant Antitrust Scrutiny for Many Reasons – Not Just Because They’re Large
This article was written by Amanda Lotz, a Fellow at Peabody Media Center and Professor of Media Studies at Queensland University of Technology, and originally appeared onThe Conversation, a not-for-profit news site dedicated to unlocking ideas and knowledge from academic experts.
There's a growing chorus of U.S. politicians, antitrust scholars and consumer watchdogs calling for stricter antitrust treatment ofAmazon(NASDAQ: AMZN),Google(NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL),Facebook(NASDAQ: FB)and other tech giants. Some even say they should be broken up.
Most recently, U.S. lawmakers launched a sweeping review to determine if these companies have become so big and powerful that they are stifling competition and harming consumers, while federal regulators are also gearing up to take action.
But, when it comes to whether Silicon Valley giants are abusing their market power, size is only part of the problem.
Traditionally a company's size has attracted the most antitrust scrutiny because being big often translates into market power that it uses to prevent competitors from developing. A company's ability to raise prices is the main test regulators have used to determine whether it possesses such market power.
A growing body of analysis, that takes into account some of the different features of these companies, shows that relying so heavily on price obscures other potential harms.
Today the biggest tech companies allow "free" consumer access to most if not all of their products. Consumers don't have to pay a dime to chat with friends on Facebook, search for the best route using Google Maps, exchange emails, comb the internet for facts and figures or engage in countless other activities.
So an antitrust policy that focuses on consumer price doesn't see a problem.
But the data about what consumers do, where they go, who they know and what they buy has great value to companies like Google and Facebook. And we're required to give up that data in exchange for "free" use of their products.
What's more, this data gives these companies an extraordinary market advantage. It allows them to identify untapped and under-served markets, spot potential competitors and prevent them from developing – the kind of edge that antitrust law is meant to thwart.
Large companies are also a primary antitrust concern because they can lead to monopolies that limit competition, discourage innovation and harm consumers.
But in some industries, such as utilities and communications, competition can at times be impractical, leading to so-called natural monopolies. In the past, a few companies were allowed to exist as natural monopolies because of the high fixed costs and inefficiencies of competition.
Antitrust regulators have allowed them to exist but only with additional scrutiny – such as price controls and oversight boards – to compensate for the lack of market monitoring.
Antitrust law is now facing the question of whether "network effects" might also justify regarding a company such as Facebook and its massive social media network as a natural monopoly. Network effects occur when something increases in value as more people use it.
Launching a new social media service doesn't require costly infrastructure, but it is made difficult by the hurdle of creating a network that people want to join. For example, Google+ failed to become a meaningful competitor for Facebook because people stuck with the social network where all their friends were.
Instagram may have been on its way to providing such competition, which is why many now regret that Facebook was allowed to buy it. A competing service might offer better features than Facebook but can't establish itself because it doesn't have the network of friends already in place.
Antitrust law does have ways of dealing with natural monopolies. It would be a significant adjustment to approach social networks in this way, but these are also industries with features unlike those that regulators have dealt with previously.
A common retort heard from these companies is that they shouldn't be subject to antitrust scrutiny because they are all in competition with one another. Indeed, we've been talking about "big tech" for so long now that it's easy to see it as one industry.
But, as I've learned in my research on the changing competitive landscape of television, these companies are actually quite different and shouldn't be seen as competing against one another in one big tech market. Nor do they present precisely the same anti-competitive behavior and concerns.
Facebook is a social media company supported by advertising. It also owns What's App and Instagram, two other popular communication services, and is able to collect data across all three services. Facebook has extraordinary data power and its pervasiveness as a social network leads to an expanding role as a communication utility with incomparable reach.
Google offers a host of services but earns 85% of its revenue from advertising — mostly from ads placed in its search engine. The lack of competition in search leads to concern about its power in delivering search results. The amount of digital advertising controlled by Google and Facebook is also an area of competitive concern.
Amazon also has multiple endeavors but earns most of its revenue – 88% – from its online retail business, which accounts for a little less than half of U.S. e-commerce. Antitrust concerns involve the advantage it achieves from using information it gains from the marketplace to create and sell products that compete with existing vendors at lower prices – or to exclude competing goods.
U.S. policymakers finally seem to be catching up with the rest of the world and are beginning to acknowledge the antitrust challenges presented by these companies.
Regulators in Europe and Australia, for example, were quicker to identify the social and economic costs of the data collected by these massive tech companies and their use of market power.
The likes of Amazon and Google have reshaped many facets of daily life. Let's see if they lead to a rethinking of U.S. antitrust policy as well.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Bill Gates reveals Microsofts biggest mistake ever
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has revealed what he thinks was the companys greatest mistake ever - and it wasnt the irritating Clippy character from Word. The tech mogul and billionaire philanthropist said his mismanagement led to the rise of Googles Android to become the worlds biggest computing platform. Speaking on stage at a Village Global event in the US, Mr Gates said 'in the software world , in particular for platforms, these are winner-take-all markets'. Microsoft founder Bill Gates participates in a discussion during a luncheon of the Economic Club of Washington (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) 'The greatest mistake ever is whatever mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is,' he said. 'That is, Android is the standard phone platform - non-Apple - phone platform. That was a natural thing for Microsoft to win. Read more: Bill Gates: Try this to figure out what you'll be great at in life Microsoft founder watches Narcos when hes alone Bill Gates called original Xbox pitch 'an insult to everything I've done' 'It really is winner-take-all. If you're there with half as many apps or 90% as many apps you're on your way to complete doom - there is room for exactly one non-Apple operating system and what's that worth? 400 billion? That would be transferred from company G to company M.' But despite 'having made one of the greatest mistakes of all time', Mr Gates said Microsoft was still 'very strong'. The home screen of a phone running the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. (AP Photo) 'We are a leading company,' he said. 'If we had gotten that one right, we would be the leading company, but oh well.' Many had assumed that Microsofts failure in the mobile market was the fault of Steve Ballmer, who took over as CEO when Mr Gates stepped down to become chief software architect in 2000. Mr Ballmer famously laughed off the iPhone as the most expensive phone in the world and it doesnt appeal to business customers because it doesnt have a keyboard. He did not see the touchscreen era coming, in one of Microsofts first major mobile errors. The 63-year-old with wife Melinda at the Indian Wells tennis tournament in California in March. (John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) ***************** The rise and fall of Microsoft 1975 - Bill Gates, 19, drops out of Harvard and founds Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Story continues 1981 - The firm releases operating software Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) and begins running on IBM personal computers. 1983 - Microsoft announces its new software Windows. 1995 - Microsoft introduces web browser Internet Explorer. 2000 - Steve Ballmer succeeds Gates as CEO. 2001 - Microsoft enters a new market with the release of its Xbox gaming console. 2007 - Microsoft unveils the widely panned Windows Vista. 2009 - Microsoft introduces Bing to counter Googles dominance in search and advertising. It remains a distant runner-up today. 2012 - Microsoft launches Surface tablets and a Windows 8 operating system with touch commands. They have not gained much share in the crowded tablet market. 2014 - Microsofts board picks Nadella, 46, an Indian-born executive who led the creation of the firms cloud computing services, as the third CEO in 39 years. ***************** Mr Gates said he had allowed Google's Android to win the 'non-Apple' share of the mobile phone market. (Reuters/Marko Djurica/Illustration) Microsofts mobile operating system - Windows Mobile - failed to catch on despite a reboot as Windows Phone. The company spent months arguing internally over whether it should scrap Windows Mobile, which was not touchscreen and leaned on stylus devices, before ditching it in December 2008 and rebooting its mobile efforts with Windows Phone, which launched in 2010. In October 2017, Microsoft announced it was ending production of Windows 10 Mobile because of a lack of interest. In January, the company said that support for the software would end in December this year. Mr Gates stepped down as chief software architect in July 2008, carrying on as chairman until Satya Nadella took over from Ballmer as CEO in 2014. Google's Android is installed on just more than 75 per cent of mobile devices, according to figures from Statcounter published in May, while Microsoft has just a 0.24 per cent share of the same market. Google acquired Android in 2005 for around $US50 million (£40 million), launching the first commercial Android-powered phone - the HTC Dream - in 2008. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt revealed in 2012 that the tech giants initial focus was beating Microsofts early Windows Mobile efforts. At the time we were very concerned that Microsofts mobile strategy would be successful, he said. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK |
Senegal President's brother resigns after allegations of energy fraud
DAKAR, June 24 (Reuters) - The brother of Senegal's President Macky Sall has resigned from his government post after allegations of fraud relating to natural gas contracts, he said on Monday.
An investigation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) this month alleged that a company run by Aliou Sall received a secret payment of $250,000 in 2014 from Frank Timis, a businessman whose company, Timis Corporation, that year secured licences to two major offshore gas blocks.
The affair has dominated the airwaves in Senegal, overshadowing the beginning of President Sall's second term. Protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Dakar in recent weeks and the country's top prosecutor has launched an investigation.
It also has international implications: London-based BP in 2017 agreed to pay Timis Corp $250 million for a stake in the licences, plus about $10 billion in royalty payments over the coming decades, the BBC said.
BP says the royalty payments are nowhere close to $10 billion and that it carried out ample due diligence before signing the deal. Timis has denied wrongdoing.
Aliou Sall, who is mayor of a Dakar suburb, said he was resigning from his position in a body linked to the national treasury, but denied that he received a payment from Timis. In a statement he said the allegations were part of a campaign to "dehumanise" him and make him "public enemy number one".
Senegal's offshore blocks hold some of the largest untapped reserves of natural gas in the world and are set to propel economic growth from early next decade.
But they have caused controversy ever since they were first awarded in January 2012 to a company called Petro-Tim that had no experience in the energy industry and only a few thousand dollars to its name, according to company records seen by Reuters.
An investigation in May 2012 by the state auditor found that the deal should be annulled because the petroleum code states that all companies given licences must have a proven track record. Petro-Tim was formally established only after it won the deal, the company records show, and was unknown in the industry.
Macky Sall approved the deal anyway. Later that year, Aliou Sall was given a job running Petro-Tim's Senegal arm, prompting outrage in Senegal. The blocks were sold to Timis Corp in 2014 before Kosmos Energy and BP bought in.
(Reporting By Edward McAllister and Diadie Ba, Editing by William Maclean) |
Kate Middleton's Brother Isn't Happy Being Compared to Her & Prince William
Click here to read the full article. As the rumors of a feud between Princes William and Harry rage on, it seems theres another member of the royal family is upset. Kate Middletons brother James shaded her and Prince William in a recent interview with The Tatler. James Middleton, Kates younger brother, has had some personal failures in his life but still finds it odd that hes compared to his more famous sister. I lead a separate life to them. If theres interest in me, great. If theres interest in me because of them, thats different, he told Tatler. Middleton who is an entrepreneur and owns his own greeting card company, Boomf said theres certainly pressure put on him, which he finds odd because of how he lives his life on his own terms. Suddenly, and very publicly, I was being judged about whether I was a success or failure. Related Video: Prince William and Kate Middleton Reportedly Heading to Asia Middletons words come at a time when the royal family already seems divided. Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle recently split from Prince William and Kate Middleton s joint charity, The Royal Foundation. Theres been talk that Markle is upset that William and Kate have more Instagram followers than her , while the two couples living in separate residences has also caused consternation . On top of that cheating rumors have cropped up involving William and Kates former close friend, Rose Hanbury . So adding Jamess comments about his sister cant be making things easier. Related stories Why Kate Middleton Didn't Get Along with This Prince Harry Ex-Girlfriend Prince George's Teacher Is Engaged to Prince William's Friend & We Have Questions Was This Wedding Mistake the Reason for Meghan & Harry's Feud with Kate & William? View this post on Instagram James Middleton, by his own admission, has had a charmed and privileged upbringing. And yet, life for the youngest of the Middleton clan hasnt all been plain sailing. In the August issue (on sale Thursday 27 June), he speaks openly about his sudden ascent to fame aged 23, when his sister married the future King of England. With two famous sisters, five dogs and lots of big ideas. Is James Middleton happy at last? Link in bio for an abridged version of the interview. Photographed by @_matthind, styled by David Nolan. A post shared by Tatler (@tatlermagazine) on Jun 24, 2019 at 1:08am PDT PrinceWilliamKateMiddleton Its definitely got to be tough being a sibling of any famous person let alone a royal family member. Middletons comments arent the worst thing thats been said, but it does show that hes content to live outside of the circus of Kates life. Would the judgement be better or worse if he was trying to ingratiate himself more as a royal himself? Either way its hope that everyone can come together and put their differences aside, if only because their world is so small. Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
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