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'Euphoria' Breakout Star Sydney Sweeney Reveals Sexy BTS Footage
Actress Sydney Sweeney wants everyone to know she is not taking her new role on "Euphoria" lightly, and shared video to prove just how strenuous rehearsals have been. The stunning 21-year-old star posted video on Wednesday guaranteed to make fans weak in the knees. Playing a cheerleader in the racy new HBO drama alongside Zendaya , Sweeney is seen practicing with a dance instructor in a studio and explaining it was "one of the practices for the dance in episode 2 pep rally." After the strenuous workout, the star admits, "I learned I needed to work on coordination and rhythm." Her coordination and rhythm look pretty good -- among other things -- but Sweeney recently explained that the cheer numbers were extremely difficult to learn. The bombshell also posted a video from the set in her cheerleading outfit writing "the cheer girls u wish u had @euphoria episode 2 out tonight," and that "irl I was the girl on the all boy soccer team in school." Sweeney may not be a household name, but she's already appeared in some pretty big shows. She previously played Eden in "The Handmaid’s Tale." Spoiler Alert: Her character was later killed for falling in love with someone else ... but at least we now have her on "Euphoria." Sweeney was also in "Big Time Adolescence", a film starring Pete Davidson and Machine Gun Kelly . Sweeney's Hot Pics Sweeney's not afraid to show off her amazing figure and also likes to update fans on her BFF, her good boy, Tank. She can regularly be seen lounging around in a bikini ... which has also resulted in the number of IG followers growing at an alarming rate. The star is not shy about showing off some of her best assets -- throwback to ep. 1 of "Euphoria" -- and appears to have a great balance in her life between fun and flirty behavior. And yes, we do wish she was the cheerleader at our school. |
What Happened in the Stock Market Today
Indexes opened higher Wednesday on growing optimism over a trade deal with China, but steadily drifted down during the session. TheDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI)and theS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC)closed with small losses, but gainers outnumbered losers on the New York Stock Exchange. Energy and technology were the strongest sectors.
[{"Index": "Dow", "Percentage Change": "(0.04%)", "Point Change": "(11.40)"}, {"Index": "S&P 500", "Percentage Change": "(0.12%)", "Point Change": "(3.60)"}]
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Two companies reported declining profits last night but managed to beat expectations. Shares of bothFedEx(NYSE: FDX)andMicron Technology(NASDAQ: MU)rose today.
Image source: Getty Images.
FedEx reported fiscal fourth-quarter profits that beat expectations despite challenges faced by its FedEx Express segment, and shares rose 2.5%. Revenue grew 3% to $17.8 billion, about what analysts had expected, and adjusted earnings per share fell 15% to $5.01, beating Wall Street's estimate of $4.85.
FedEx Ground had strong volume growth driven by e-commerce, but margins were hurt by increased transportation costs and the launch of six-day-per-week operations, so operating income was flat year over year. FedEx Freight grew revenue and operating profit 5%, while operating profit from FedEx Express fell 12% on a 1% decline in revenue.
Looking forward, FedEx expects a mid-single-digit decline in adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2020 compared with the $15.52 it earned this year, caused in part by weakness in global trade and industrial production. Analysts had been expecting a 4.5% increase.
Theend of the company'sAmazonrelationshipwill affect FedEx's business in the short term, but the company is also expanding efforts tocapitalize on the e-commerce boomamong nationwide retailers.
Shares of Micron Technology soared 13.3% after the company reported steep declines in revenue and profit in the fiscal third quarter that were stillbetter than observers expected. Revenue fell 39% to $4.79 billion and non-GAAP(adjusted) earnings per share plummeted 67% to $1.05. Analysts had predicted earnings of only $0.78 per share on revenue of $4.69 billion.
The average price of DRAM fell 20% in the quarter, while bit volumes were roughly flat, resulting in a sequential revenue decline of 19%. NAND prices were down 18% since last quarter and shipment quantities dropped by mid-single digits sequentially. Officials on theconference callsaid that shipments of both categories were affected bytrade restrictions on Huawei, and total revenue would have been about $200 million higher without them.
Micron said that it's determined that some of its orders from Huawei don't fall under the ban, and it has resumed some shipments to the Chinese company. It also said that it's seeing early signs of demand recovery for DRAM, but given market uncertainties, the company is cutting capital expenditures from $10.5 billion to $9 billion.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors.Jim Crumlyowns shares of AMZN and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AMZN and FedEx. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Amy Roloff Reacts to Audrey's Intense Instagram About "Fighting" and "Crying" With Jeremy
From Good Housekeeping Audrey Roloff recently shared a brave Instagram post about her marriage to Jeremy. In it, she talks about the "fighting, crying, and struggling" that they've endured and the tough time they've had in recent weeks. In response, Amy opened up to Audrey in the comments section. Scroll through Audrey or Jeremy Roloff 's Instagram page, and you'll see tons of gorgeous photos of the couple looking super happy with their 1-year-old daughter, Ember Jean . But as Audrey just reminded her fans in her latest post , social media doesn't always tell the whole story. Photo credit: Instagram The former Little People, Big World star shared a "vulnerable" message with her fans recently about how she and Jeremy have been going through a tough time in their marriage over the last few weeks. Specifically, Audrey said she and her husband are feeling "overworked" and "exhausted." As fans know, the pair run their Behind the Scenes podcast together and recently released a book entitled A Love Letter Life . "We keep running, keep pushing, keep producing, and keep squeezing all the margin out of our lives. It’s robbing our joy, stealing our peace, and hindering our ability to love," Audrey wrote in the caption. View this post on Instagram WARNING‼️vulnerable post: To be honest, the last few weeks have been hard on our marriage. We have been working through some things and let’s just say there has been a lot of “heated fellowship,” morning hugs missed, and date nights postponed. We are overworked and exhausted from the pace we’ve been running for too long. We know we need to slow down, but as Dallas Willard puts it, “we intend what is right, but we avoid the life that would make it a reality.” Instead, we keep running, keep pushing, keep producing and keep squeezing all the margin out of our lives. It’s robbing our joy, stealing our peace, and hindering our ability to love. If you’ve ever looked at or read a post from us and thought “They must just have it all together.” Volume up for this one....WE DON’T🙅🏼♀️ We fight, struggle, cry, and face challenges just like anyone. I’m saying this here because if you look at my Instagram feed from the past 3 weeks you don’t see the long tearful conversations, the hurtful remarks, the compiling complaints, the critical spirits, the prideful inner dialogue, or our unloving and disrespectful attitudes. You don’t see the full picture. A few nights ago we went for an evening drive to talk through some struggles and we stumbled upon a trestle....😆 It was like God knew we needed something that would force us both to smile😅 Although you can’t tell by the photo, this wasn’t a happy night. I cried shortly after we snapped this photo. I’m saying this because I don’t want you to be deceived by the highlight reel that is “the gram.” We all have a messy behind the scenes reality. ALL OF US. Even the people you follow on social media who seem to be the most “real.” Even they have struggles they don’t share, and hurts the don’t publicize. We all do. And that’s ok! But that also means we need to remind ourselves when we’re scrolling this space that it’s not real life. So friend, if you’re comparing your life, marriage, kids, house, job, body, etc. to what you see on Instagram, remember it’s NOT the full picture. And I just want to remind ya, you are enough. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. And you are loved. A post shared by Audrey Mirabella Roloff (@audreyroloff) on Jun 25, 2019 at 12:54pm PDT She then explained that even though it looks like she and Jeremy have it together all the time, they actually don't. Story continues "We fight, struggle, cry, and face challenges just like anyone. I’m saying this here because if you look at my Instagram feed from the past 3 weeks you don’t see the long tearful conversations, the hurtful remarks, the compiling complaints, the critical spirits, the prideful inner dialogue, or our unloving and disrespectful attitudes. You don’t see the full picture." Audrey continued to say that she actually cried right after snapping the photo that is featured in the Instagram post. She also reminded her followers that it's important to realize that not everything they see on social media is real. "So friend, if you’re comparing your life, marriage, kids, house, job, body, etc. to what you see on Instagram, remember it’s NOT the full picture," she concluded. "And I just want to remind ya, you are enough. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. And you are loved." The Instagram post prompted an outpour of support, from many fans. "You are SUCH an Inspiration. You walk us through the good, the bad and the ugly & always teach us a lesson through your journey called life. So thank you," one fan wrote. Jeremy's mother, Amy Roloff , saw the post as well, and offered up some kinds words of her own. Photo credit: Instagram "Life is real. We usually show the Best on IG and you're right," Amy wrote. "There is a lot more that's also real behind the scenes others forget about and don't see." So true. Amy and Audrey are both very wise. ('You Might Also Like',) 40+ Gorgeous Kitchen Design Ideas You'll Want to Steal 7 Genius Ways to Kill Fruit Flies 37 Genius Double-Duty Organizing Ideas View comments |
Looking for a cruise pack list? These travel agents know what you need to bring
There are a lot of cruise essentials that you actually don't need to bring. (Photo: Getty) Youve done all of the research possible, created lists of excursions to go on with your family and have just days until youll board the ship for your cruise vacation. But, what exactly should you pack for a cruise? After all, the ships are filled to the brim with amenities (like doctors on board) included to make your life on vacation as stress-free as possible, Judy Perl, the president of Judy Perl Worldwide Travel, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Fun fact for first-time cruise goers: You dont need to bring a towel on your cruise the ships include those! And, if youre going on a specialty cruise to the Arctic or to a Caribbean island, Perl says its more likely than not the ship will have parkas or wetsuits for you to use when needed. Since the ships have the most obvious items that youll need on board, its important to think of some of the smaller items that also have big importance. For example, Debbie Isom, a branch manager for the travel agency network Travel Leaders, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she always recommends her clients contact their cell phone carriers prior to traveling, so they can figure out which international travel plan fits best for their needs (she says a lot of travelers opt for text-only service to save money). Having luggage that comes with four spinner wheels makes the trip from home to the cruise ship (since vacationers usually have to fly to the ports) easier. If youre worried about space, try to pack using packing cubes , which customers say can help save money and time. Theyre easier for the back and for the body in general, Isom explains. Brands like Samsonite have the best bang for their buck, Perl says. Samsonite Winfield 2 Hardside Luggage Samsonite Winfield 2 Hardside Luggage with Spinner Wheels. (Photo: Amazon) Shop it: Samsonite Winfield 2 Hardside Luggage with spinner wheels, 3-piece set, $257, Amazon.com Its smart to pack a swimsuit and change of clothes in a carry-on bag , too, Isom says, just in case bigger luggage gets lost. Also for the plane ride, Perl recommends multi-use blanket scarves that can be worn on chilly planes, or used as blankets at night aboard the ship. Story continues Essentials like sunscreens (Perl recommends at least an SPF 30) should be packed in bulk. And hats that block out harmful rays are great additions, too, Perl says. Eliza May Rose Women's Combo Straw Sunhat Eliza May Rose Women's Combo Straw Sunhat. (Photo: Walmart) Shop it: Eliza May Rose Women's Combo Straw Sunhat, $12, Walmart.com To keep important items like currency and identification cards (Isom tells her clients to bring a passport over a birth certificate, in case travel plans change), a money belt and passport holder is crucial. Since youre likely going to a more tropical environment than your home state, packing some bug repellant is necessary, too, says Perl. If youre worried about spilling a spray on the flight over, there are some fun alternatives like repellent bracelets that work well (and look fun enough to wear all vacation long). Smarit 18 Pack Mosquito Repellent Bracelet Band Smarit 18 Pack Mosquito Repellent Bracelet Band. (Photo: Walmart) Shop it: Smarit 18 Pack Mosquito Repellent Bracelet Band, $12, Walmart.com Last but not least on our travel agents checklist? Bring an appetite for learning and adventure, says Perl. Anchors away! The editors at Yahoo Lifestyle are committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. At times, we may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Read More from Yahoo Lifestyle: Believe the hype: These 'miracle' packing cubes have more than 3,000 near-perfect reviews on Amazon for a reason 7 travel accessories you need for packing the perfect carry-on bag The best anti-theft crossbody travel bags with RFID protection Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoos newsletter. |
Federal Cybersecurity Failures Include a 48-Year-Old System Few People Knew How to Use
Federal agencies fail to follow basic computer security standards including relying on a 48-year-old system for critical work, leaving the government vulnerable to hackers, according to Congressional report published on Tuesday.
“In 2017 alone, federal agencies reported 35,277 cyber incidents,” Sen. Robert Portman (R-Ohio) said in a statement about the report. “After a decade of negligence, our federal agencies have failed at implementing basic cybersecurity practices, leaving classified, personal, and sensitive information unsafe and vulnerable to theft.
The report,Federal Cybersecurity: America’s Data at Risk,is the result of a 10-month review by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Homeland Security Committee that examined a decade’s worth of inspector general reports. The findings detail how eight federal agencies are doing a poor job creating a defense against cyber threats at a time of increased worries about foreign governments hacking adversaries.
“Government agencies still seem to be struggling with the basics,” says Jake Olcott, vice president of government affairs at cybersecurity company BitSight toldFortune. “This has been a problem for decades. What’s interesting about this report is that it rightfully provides the scope of the problem.”
All of the eight agencies mentioned in the report used outdated systems. The Department of Transportation used a 48-year-old system to provide information on hazardous materials incidents. Maintaining the system became difficult, since very few workers knew how to use the older applications, according to the report. That system was decommissioned on May 31, 2019.
In another case, the Department of Homeland Security has been running Windows XP and Windows 2003 on various systems, despite the fact thatMicrosoftstopped supporting the software a few years ago.
The Social Security Administration was called a “persistent cybsersecurity threat” since it holds the information of 60 million Americans who receive benefits. One of its systems uses COBOL, a programming language developed in the 1950s, that many younger IT employees are unfamiliar with. Another system, called CHUMS, is so old that home lenders can only submit customer applications for loans through the mail so that the government can track the information.
These systems are “sitting ducks,” says Olcott. “Using systems that are so old and not supported anymore, basically creates an environment that makes it very easy for bad actors to gain access to private data.”
Many off the agencies also failed to keep an accurate inventory of the hardware and software on the networks. This has been a “recurrent problem” over the past decade for the Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Social Security Administration, according to the report.
It’s not rocket science, but even NASA has had trouble with it. Last week, a report from NASA’s inspector general disclosed that a $25unauthorized Raspberry Pi computerwas used as an entry point for hackers to get into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s network and access sensitive information.
“Not knowing the systems we are using, the devices, represents a big risk to an organization, particularly a government agency,” says Olcott. “Employees could bring in their own personal devices and connect to their network. And if the agency can’t monitor the addition of new devices, that’s an area where individual personnel could be introducing new risks.”
Typically, organizations quickly deploy security patches from software vendors to plug critical holes in their systems that could otherwise be exploited by hackers. But the federal government isn’t treating the job of updating security with the necessary, according to the report.
All eight agencies failed to patch vulnerabilities in a timely manner, but some were worse offenders than others.
“Both DHS and DOT failed to properly apply security patches for the last ten consecutive years,” the report says. The U.S. Department of Agriculture failed for the last nine years.
“It’s a basic thing that when patches come out, it’s a best practice to deploy,” says Olcott.
While the report showcases some embarrassing failures, it also offers some recommendations, including prioritizing hiring of people with a cybersecurity expertise, new budgeting procedures to ensure threats are being addressed, and consolidating processes so that agencies can be more nimble when it comes to responding to and mitigating threats.
Olcott says it ultimately comes down to accountability. More companies are now regularly receiving reports from their cybersecurity teams about their preparedness. Executives are also held accountable in the event of a major data breach.
“The reality is, unlike in the commercial sector today, where CEOs and board members are being fired because of data breaches, there is not the same level of accountability and responsibility in the federal government,” he says. “Start holding people accountable for improving security performance…Those are the things you need congressional and executive leadership.” |
U.S. EPA breathes new life into controversial Alaska mining project
By Ernest Scheyder
June 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it would reconsider a 2014 decision that had stopped development of Alaska's Pebble Mine, the world's biggest undeveloped copper and gold project.
The move restarts a review that had been put on hold since early 2018, and comes as the Trump administration works to reduce regulation over extractive industries and boost domestic development of minerals, especially those used in electric vehicles.
EPA General Counsel Matthew Leopold signed a memo on Tuesday directing staff to reconsider a decision five years ago under President Barack Obama that restricted the mine's disposal plans under the auspices of the Clean Water Act.
Shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd, the project operator, jumped 28% to close at 78 cents Canadian in Toronto.
"Today's step is a move toward good government decision making, which we owe under the law to both the public and project proponents," Leopold said in a statement.
The review was paused in January 2018 for further environmental studies, the EPA said at the time.
The Pebble Mine would, if brought online, produce 70 million tons of gold, molybdenum and copper ore a year and create a pit 1,970 feet (600 meters) deep. A new road, pipeline and power plant would be built, according to the mine plan.
The site is near Lake Iliamna in southwestern Alaska between the headwaters of two rivers that drain into Bristol Bay.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers had last February released a draft environmental impact statement on the project, which did not recommend any action pending a final environmental impact statement next year. A decision on a construction permit is expected in mid-2020. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Richard Chang) |
Chainalysis Appoints Former FinCen Officer as Technical Counsel
Blockchainanalysis firm Chainalysis has hired a former official from theUnited StatesFinancial Crimes Enforcement Networkand the Department of Justice as Chief Technical Counsel, according to a press releasepublishedon June 26
Chainalysis has appointed Michael Mosier as its new Chief Technical Counsel. Mosier will now be responsible for legal expertise of Chainalysis products such as data privacy and globalanti-money laundering, sanctions, policy, andgovernmentissues.
At Chainalysis, Mosier will work closely withJesse Spiro, Global Head of Policy, who joined the firm from financial information services firm Refinitiv and Kristofer Doucette, Vice President of Government Affairs, who previously served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in financial intelligence. Commenting on the appointment, Mosier said:
"I am thrilled to join the incredible team at Chainalysis as the Chief Technical Counsel. Having worked across emerging technology, financial integrity, and data privacy matters, the opportunity to bring technical-legal solutions to market to help advance Chainalysis's mission to build trust in blockchains and help our customers meet their regulatory obligations is the perfect intersection at a seminal moment for all of those areas."
Earlier this month, the leading cryptocurrency exchangeBinancehireda former strategic executive at Dell and the National Basketball Association Gin Chao as its global strategy officer. Chao will reportedly advance the organization’s global strategy, heading initiatives in corporate development, venture investment and its legal departments.
Blockchainsecurityandcryptocurrencycustody firm BitGoappointeda veteran Wall Street trader Nick Carmi as its head of financial services. According to a statement from BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, the hire was spurred by an intent to forge a stronger connection between technologically innovative digital assets and the traditional financial sphere.
• IBM’s Blockchain Division Largely Unscathed After Layoffs of 1,700: Report
• Malaysia Launches Work Visa Program for Blockchain Tech Professionals
• Blockchain Protocol Polkadot Sells 500,000 of Its Tokens, Price Still Unspecified
• India: Another Crypto Exchange Closes Due to Regulatory Pressure |
These gift sets are perfect for NFL fans expecting bundles of joy
The only thing better than cute baby clothes is cute baby clothes that show off mom and dad's NFL team.
If you or a football fan in your life are soon expecting a bundle of joy, these five-piece gift sets are the perfect deal to kick off baby's NFL fandom.
The adorable setsavailable from Walmarteach include a bib, bottle, two binkies and a set of shoes all adorned with your favorite team's logo.
With just over two months to go until the NFL season, it's time to get your favorite baby ready for kickoff.
Take a look at some of our favorite picks below, orhead over to Walmartto find your team: |
Camila Cabello Splits With Boyfriend After Dropping Steamy Video With Shawn Mendes
Camila Cabello has reportedly called it quits with her boyfriend of more than a year. The 22-year-old singer was first linked to British dating expert, Matthew Hussey, last winter ... but she's a single lady now, according to Us Weekly. The songstress and her former beau were rarely seen out in public together, despite finally attending their first public event at Vanity Fair's Oscars party in February. Cabello's breakup comes on the heels of her steamy new music video, "Señorita," with Shawn Mendes . When the video dropped, fans were quick to notice the magnetic chemistry between the stars, leaving many to wonder if they were more than friends. The "Señorita" video was released five days ago and has over 95 million views. Cabello and Mendes' relationship is fire in it. They can be seen rolling on the bed half-naked, sharing steamy kisses and taking their chemistry to the dance floor. This isn't the first time we've seen the two stars get close. We got exclusive photos of Cabello and Mendes at dinner last year and they looked like more than friends. The two were photographed cozied up in a booth together and they're body language said it all. Earlier this week, Cabello revealed her new album is very dear to her heart. Taking to Instagram, she said when she listens back to the songs she's created she "bursts into tears." "It feels really surreal and powerful that I can listen book to my life over the past year- I always get so insecure during the process and feel so much self doubt, but listening back I just feel like... at the very least, I hear my f***ing soul in these songs," she wrote. "I can see the memories in them. It’s extremely painful, beautiful, cathartic, and just a s*** show of emotions." "Señorita" Music Video! |
This photo of a brother hugging his sister at her pre-K graduation will make you cry
A Connecticut mother'sInstagrampost, which captured a heartwarming moment between her young son and even younger daughter, has gone viral.
Last Saturday, Aundrea Smith shared a photo of her 8-year-old son Derek hugging his 5-year-old sister Charlee, who had just graduated from pre-kindergarten. As the two siblings embrace, they both shed a few tears in what was clearly an overwhelming, emotional moment for them.
"Today my daughter graduated from Pre-K," Smith's post reads. "After the ceremony my son walked up to her and gave her a hug. 'I’m just so proud of you' he said. Then of course my daughter started crying. As we wiped away our tears, my husband asked her, 'Pumpkin, why are you crying?' She responded, 'I’m just so happy.' We are so blessed."
In an interview withToday, Smith said Charlee looks up to her older brother.
"She admires him so much," the proud mother explained. "At home, she follows him around, wants to do everything he does."
As of Wednesday, Smith's post has been liked almost 20,000 times. It has also been flooded with comments, many of which have praised the two children for showing their raw emotions and, more importantly, love for each other.
"This picture sums up everything you hope as a parent!" one person wrote. "In this picture I can tell what kind of parents you are and what type of wonderful children you are raising! When you doubt if you are doing the 'right thing' as many of us parents do .... look at this picture and smile knowing you are doing amazing !!!"
"I love this," another wrote. "You little ones have given so much happiness to loads of people." |
Apple considered fitting a camera in the Apple Watch's wristband
If theApple Watchever does get a camera, it might end up in the wristband.
Apple has indeed mulled ways to add a camera into the wearable, according to a U.S. patentfilingthat was granted today. The company has come up with a novel solution: It involves placing the camera module inside the product's flexible wristband, giving you the freedom to aim the lens.
The patent filing contains examples of the concept, which integrates the optical sensor on the end of the wristband. As you wear the Apple Watch, you would use your other hand to hold up the camera module and take photos by pinching an adjacent button. Any images you captured would appear on the watch's main display, which would act as the viewfinder.Read more...
More aboutApple Watch,Tech, andBig Tech Companies |
5 Major Decisions New Retirees Need to Make
Are you retiring soon or have you recently left the workforce? If so, before you begin your life of leisure, you have some big financial decisions to make. These can affect your finances for many years to come, so it's important to think carefully and make fully informed choices.
Here are five big ones -- along with some tips on how to make the right choice for your situation.
Image source: Getty Images.
Housing is one of the primary costs for many seniors. Moving to a smaller home could allow you to significantly reduce your housing expenses, making your money last longer. This is especially true if you still have a mortgage on your current home and you could live mortgage free. But downsizing isn't necessarily the right choice for everyone. If you have kids who will continue to live with you in retirement or a big family that comes to stay often, you may find a smaller home won't work. Likewise, if you're tied into your local community, giving up those connections could be a bad idea at a time when you're already losing the structure and social opportunities provided by working.
Relocating may also be worth considering, depending on where you live and the size of your retirement nest egg. Some places havemore favorable tax rules for retireesandlower costs of livingthan other locales. Some locations allow you to live a walkable lifestyle, meaning you could save money by selling your vehicle and you could remain independent longer should you lose the ability to drive as you age.
Think carefully about how your housing costs and your current location will affect your retirement savings when you decide where to live. If it's very expensive to keep living in your home and you haven't saved enough to ensure financial security in retirement, moving sooner rather than later could be essential.
Medicare provides far less coverage than many seniors think, and estimates suggest retirees will needsubstantial savingsto cover healthcare costs during retirement.
One way to control your costs is to choose the right kind of supplemental insurance to go along with Medicare. Traditional Medicare not only hasmany coverage gaps; you also have to pay 20% co-insurance costs for Medicare Part B services. To get help covering expenses, it often makes sense to buy aMedigap planthat provides additional coverage. Alternatively, some seniors find it best to sign up for aMedicare Advantage Plan, which is an alternative to traditional Medicare. Private insurers offer Medicare plans, all of which must meet certain minimum requirements, and many plans provide broader coverage with lower co-insurance expenses.
You can only sign up for Medigap or choose a Medicare Advantage Plan during open enrollment, which runs for a limited time during the year. Carefully research different insurance options to find coverage that fits your needs during open enrollment. Consider premium costs as well as medical services you and your family will use when deciding which policy is right for you.
Don't assume you should claim Social Security just because you've retired. If you have enough money to delay claiming for a while, you'll earndelayed retirement creditsuntil age 70. This could boost your monthly Social Security income for the rest of your life, and could even boost survivors benefits for your spouse if you pass away first.
Stanford expertsran an assessment of many different approaches to funding retirement and, based on this research, recommend waiting to claim Social Security until 70. If you have the cash to put off claiming, and you're relatively healthy, this could be a good approach. However, you'll need to see if it makes sense for you.
To do this, multiply your current projected benefit, which you can find my making amy Social Security account, by the number of years you'll delay claiming to determine how much income you'd give up by waiting. Divide this amount by the extra income you'd receive each month if you wait until 70 compared with claiming today. This will show you how many months it would take you to make up for the delayed claim. If you don't think you'll live long enough, you should claim now and get the lower benefit. Otherwise, waiting can make a lot of sense, if you can afford it.
Retirees typically can't live on Social Security benefits alone. You'll have to begin withdrawing from your retirement savings, but don't take money out too quickly or you'll risk not have enough left to last the rest of your life.
One common rule of thumb is that you can withdraw 4% of your retirement savings during the first year of retirement and then increase that amount by inflation each year. However, experts now believe the traditional 4% rule is outdated and flawed, meaning it could leave you at risk of running out of money.
Center for Retirement Research recommends instead youdetermine how much to withdrawby using tables the Internal Revenue Service has created to calculate required minimum distributions (RMDs) from tax-advantaged savings accounts. You can look at the RMD tables and see how much is safe to withdraw each year based on your age.
Finally, another big decision relates to how you'll prepare for affording nursing-home care. Anyone 65 and over has close to a 70% chance of ending up in a nursing home or requiring home care for at least some time. This can be a big problem because nursing homes and home care are so expensive. Costs are not covered by Medicare for routine nursing care, so you could end up devastating your savings by paying out of pocket.
Long-term care insurance can help cover costs, but some policies have gaps or limitations that make them ineffective. If you can find an affordable policy that provides comprehensive coverage, buying it may be worthwhile early in retirement so you're protected in case something happens. If you opt out, work with an estate planning attorney to make an asset protection plan and ensure Medicaid will cover care when necessary, or set aside dedicated savings in case you or a spouse need to go into a care facility.
The sooner you make decisions about retirement income, housing, and healthcare, the better off you'll be. Housing and medical care are two huge costs you must plan for, while running down retirement savings too quickly would be a devastating mistake that could leave you broke later in retirement. Sit down today and make a plan to protect your future.
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Imagine Owning PAS Group (ASX:PGR) And Trying To Stomach The 88% Share Price Drop
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Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Spare a thought for those who heldThe PAS Group Limited(ASX:PGR) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 88%. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 62% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 50% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.
While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.
View our latest analysis for PAS Group
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Over five years PAS Group's earnings per share dropped significantly, falling to a loss, with the share price also lower. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
Thisfreeinteractive report on PAS Group'searnings, revenue and cash flowis a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
The share price return figures discussed above don't include the value of dividends paid previously, but the total shareholder return (TSR) does. In some ways, TSR is a better measure of how well an investment has performed. Over the last 5 years, PAS Group generated a TSR of -84%, which is, of course, better than the share price return. Even though the company isn't paying dividends at the moment, it has done in the past.
Investors in PAS Group had a tough year, with a total loss of 62%, against a market gain of about 12%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 31% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. You could get a better understanding of PAS Group's growth by checking outthis more detailed historical graphof earnings, revenue and cash flow.
For those who like to findwinning investmentsthisfreelist of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU 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. |
Gas prices could rise after fire-stricken refinery closes
The largest oil refinery on the East Coast said Wednesday that it will close after a devastating fire last week that set off explosions and damaged equipment, and analysts said consumers could see gas prices rise as summer travel hits full swing. Philadelphia Energy Solutions sent a notice to state labor officials that it will shut the plant down Monday and lay off about 1,020 workers there in the next two weeks after that. The fire significantly damaged equipment and systems at a complex that was already struggling financially, the company said. Gasoline futures prices spiked Tuesday night after the first news of the refinery's possible closure, and prices remained high Wednesday, according to the markets research company FactSet. Motorists in the Mid-Atlantic region will likely see modest price increases as more summer travelers hit the road, AAA spokeswoman Jana Tidwell said in a statement. The refinery has been an important source fueling transportation in the region, far from Gulf Coast refineries, and "at least temporarily, it's going to require some logistical shifting that could come at a cost," said Kevin Book, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners. But while the amount of gasoline that will be lost from the refinery is sizable, it can easily be made up by imports from Europe or elsewhere, said Jonathan Aronson, a research analyst at Cornerstone Macro. "We're not expecting any major shocks to retail gasoline (prices)," Aronson said. Consumers are more likely to feel gasoline prices increase due to the price of crude oil, which has been rallying in recent days, he said. Philadelphia Energy Solutions is pursuing opportunities to restart the complex but cannot give any guarantees and, as a result, "all layoffs are expected to be permanent," the company said. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey said in a statement that his office was in touch with company officials and that he hopes that an alternative will emerge in coming weeks to prevent the refinery from closing permanently. Story continues The company has shown a declining cash balance in the six months through March while its long-term debt grew, according to reports the company files in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The 150-year-old oil refining complex processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily, according to PES. The refinery turns the crude into gasoline, jet fuel, propane, home heating oil and other products. It started as a bulk petroleum storage facility in 1866 and began refinery operations in 1870. The company emerged from federal bankruptcy court last year after restructuring its debt, leaving its majority ownership in the hands of investment banking firms Credit Suisse Asset Management and Bardin Hill. Friday's fire at the complex broke out early in the morning, and video showed an enormous orange blast bursting into the sky. It set off three explosions felt miles away as the fire plowed through a tangle of pipes carrying fuel across the complex, the company has said. It happened at the Girard Point refinery, one of two at the PES complex in south Philadelphia. The fire erupted in a tank containing a mixture of butane and propane, a fire official said. Investigators haven't been able to go to some areas at the complex because they haven't yet been assessed by a structural engineer, the city fire commissioner's office said Wednesday. United Steelworkers, which represents the refinery workers, is investigating whether the company had insurance coverage for a destroyed alkylation unit, Ryan O'Callaghan, the president of Local 10-1, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. It would push the company to rebuild the unit, he said. "It appears they're cashing the check and heading for the doors," he said. ___ Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bussewitz reported from New York. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Philadelphia Energy Solutions said it would shut the plant down in a notice to labor officials, not in a statement. |
Democrats want to be able to steal elections when necessary: Tom Fitton
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told FOX Business that he thinks illegal immigrants are illegally voting in U.S. elections.
“We`ve got tens of millions of aliens both legally and unlawfully present and the idea that they don`t register to vote and then the vote is just ludicrous. So there`s a large number of aliens who are illegally voting, it`s pretty clear. Frankly, the left wants to be able to steal elections when necessary,” he said on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” Tuesday.“I think from the point of view of most Americans every stolen vote is a civil rights violation. And I don`t know about you, but one stolen vote is too many in my book,” he added.
In 2017, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the state of California to remove 1.5 million inactive voter names from the voter roll. The removal of the names is required by the National Voters Registration Act. The federal law requires that voters be removed after two general, federal election of inactivity.
In its lawsuit, Judicial Watch alleged:
• Los Angeles County has more voter registrations on its voter rolls than it has citizens who are old enough to register. Specifically, according to data provided to and published by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Los Angeles County has a registration rate of 112 percent of its adult citizen population.
• The entire State of California has a registration rate of about 101 percent of its age-eligible citizenry.
• Eleven of California’s 58 counties have registration rates exceeding 100 percent of the age-eligible citizenry.
“There are almost 1.6 million names on the rolls that California and L.A. County specifically has begun the process of removing. And it wouldn`t have happened without our Federal lawsuit and a settlement. You know, when you have a million plus names on the rolls, people who aren`t voting or are inactive, dead, people who have moved away, that`s a massive pool of potential voter fraud opportunities for those who want to be able to steal elections,” Fitton said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
“There are 3-1/2 million extra names nationally on the rolls. Now, thanks to this lawsuit, 1.5 million of them are going to be the removed and cleaner elections in California and nationally as a result,” he added.
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The $8 beauty product Lucy Hale swears by
Lucy Hale may be best known for playing Aria Montgomery on Freeforms TV series Pretty Little Liars, but shes nothing but honest when it comes to sharing her beauty and fitness routines. Yahoo Lifestyle caught up with the star as she trains for Propel Co: Labs Fitness Festival (July 20-21) in Santa Monica, Calif., where she shared her beauty and fitness favorites. When it comes to maintaining her flawless complexion, Hale says she doesnt get caught up in the price tag when choosing skincare products . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lucy Hale (@lucyhale) on Aug 10, 2018 at 11:29am PDT I use all sorts of products high end, low end, Hale tells Yahoo Lifestyle. One of her go-to skincare items is Lucas Papaw Ointment , which is available at Amazon for only $8. The ointment is a celebrity cult favorite from Australia, and contains fermented papaya in a petroleum jelly base. It is virtually good for anything, she says. You can put it anywhere chapped lips, dry skin and its a one-for-all salve. Hale adds: Its good and its cheap. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lucy Hale (@lucyhale) on Sep 20, 2017 at 9:51am PDT Along with a good deal, Hale also loves a good workout . The actress shares that shes a fan of group fitness classes and workouts with her trainer, Luke Milton of Training Mate . That doesnt mean its not a struggle to get herself to the gym some days something many can relate to. There are times when I have to make myself work out on my own and its I just dont always get there, she admits. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lucy Hale (@lucyhale) on Jan 8, 2019 at 6:39pm PST But when she does, the 30-year-old actress makes it count and likes to push myself to the limit with high-intensity workouts. I want to feel like Im going to pass out by the end of my workout, she shares. And theres one fitness move in particular that she says is the ultimate full-body exercise: burpees . Story continues Youre doing push-ups, youre doing a squat, youre jumping, she says, and then you dont need to workout as long if youre shooting your heart rate up. Hale is set to star as the lead character in the CWs new series, Katy Keene , which is a Riverdale spinoff debuting this winter or next spring. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Whitney Port swears by this $7 sunscreen stick when applying SPF on a 'fussy toddler' The surprising drugstore beauty product Paris Hilton swears by How Vanessa Hudgens zaps her way to clearer skin Follow us on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. |
Coinbase Hit With Outage As Bitcoin Price Drops $1.8K in 15 Minutes
Crypto exchange Coinbase experienced a brief outage Wednesday afternoon, with both its website and API rendered temporarily inaccessible, as the price of bitcoin dropped more than $1,700 in the span of 15 minutes.
According to Coinbase’s status page, the exchange reportedmajor outagesacross its website, mobile apps and API, though its internal systems appeared to be functional during that period. When reached, a spokesperson told CoinDesk: “We’re back up.” At 5:17 ET, the exchange’s status page noted: “A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results.”
According to its website, trading app Robinhood alsoreported issueswith its crypto trading service.
Related:Bitcoin Drops Below $12K After Biggest Daily Price Move Since January 2018
The platform was rendered inaccessible on mobile and desktop browsers around 20:45 UTC. Bitcoin’s price, which saw a high of nearly $13,900 on Wednesday, fell over the past hour, dropping as low as $11,900. BTC’s price was at about $13,685 just prior to the fall, hitting $11,908.11 before bouncing back upwards — a difference of roughly $1,785. Despite recovering back above $12,000, the price iscurrently hoveringat roughly $11,920 as of the time of publication.
According to dataBitMex, nearly $250 million in volume traded hands in a 5-minute period surrounding the initial price drop, with nearly $690 million in volume trading across 15 minutes after the drop began across its XBT/USD perpetual swap contract market.
Bitcoin’s price has been on a tear across the last week, coming close to 18-month highs above$13,000earlier in the day. The price was hovering around$9,000one week ago.
Coinbase image via CoinDesk screenshot
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Babar hails his greatest innings after stunning century
Babar Azam has scored 333 runs at the Cricket World Cup but his 101-run score against New Zealand was his best knock yet. They’ll be other centuries scored but it’ll take some knock to beat Babar Azam flawless match-winning score at Edgbaston. In a match Pakistan had no option but to win to keep alive their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup hopes, Babar continued his eye-catching form with an unbeaten 101 against New Zealand. It was his tenth career ODI century, and Pakistan’s first World Cup 100 scored by a non-opening batsman since 1997. And it was as cultured an innings as you could wish for, a series of aesthetically pleasing strokes puncturing the New Zealand field. Brilliant, brutal and, for Pakistan, incredibly timely. No wonder he called it his best yet, as he fended off the threat of Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson’s pace and Mitchell Santner's spin in sure-footed style. “This is my best innings,” he said. “The wicket was very difficult and turned a lot in the second half. The plan was to go through to the end and give my 100 per cent. When we started, the plan was to see out Ferguson but when Santner came on, the plan became not to give wickets to him and cover up later when the fast bowlers come on. “We are confident we are taking match by match, and hopefully we will qualify. We are very focussed on this.” Sachin Tendulkar famously scored 523 runs for India at the 1996 World Cup aged just 22. It’s a record 24-year-old Babar, currently on 333 at this tournament, may well be eyeing, with two more group matches to come against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. He is fifth on the list of all-time under-25 run scorers, level with Brian Lara’s contribution in 1992, and within touching distance of Ricky Ponting’s 354 in 1999 and AB de Villiers 372 in 2007. READ: Babar has the potential to match Kohli, claims Flower Haris Sohail provided the back-up as Pakistan ended New Zealand’s unbeaten run with a six-wicket victory but Babar will rightly steal the headlines. He was stuck on 99 when he slashed the ball through deep cover, sending the Pakistan crowd to new heights of crazy and embracing Haris, with whom he shared an ultimately decisive 126-run fourth wicket stand. And captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who’d earlier fired up his team with some sharp keeping, snaffling three of the Black Caps top five behind the stumps, paid tribute to his young batsman. “Credit to Babar and Haris, the way they played on this pitch, it’s some of the finest batting I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It was a great team effort, we bowled well but we knew 240 was not an easy target on this pitch.” Much has been made of the neat symmetry behind Pakistan’s 2019 campaign and their successful run to the final in 1992, when Imran Khan led the ‘Cornered Tigers’ to a famous win in Australia. Story continues Lost, won, washout, lost, lost, lost, won, they played New Zealand in their seventh game 27 years ago too and won that. And history duly repeated itself in Birmingham. Their fans, who turned Edgbaston’s stands as green as the verdant outfield, are certainly starting to believe, with Pakistan now heading into their final matches brimming with confidence. “We're not thinking about 1992, our focus is the next match,” said Sarfaraz. “We are very confident and hopefully we'll do well. “The crowd is always behind the Pakistan team and we didn’t do well for them in some of our previous matches.” © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2019 View comments |
The Latest: Red Cross thanks Wayfair for donation
BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on a protest by Wayfair employees over the company's furniture sale to a contractor that runs detention centers for migrant children in Texas. (all times local):
____
5:15 p.m.
The Red Cross says it has accepted a $100,000 donation from online home furnishings retailer Wayfair.
Wayfair offered the donation after its employees protested the company's decision to sell $200,000 worth of furniture to a government contractor that runs a detention center for migrant children in Texas.
Several hundred people joined a protest staged by Wayfair employees in Boston on Wednesday.
The company refused to retract its sale but told employees it would donate $100,000 to the Red Cross.
In statement, the Red Cross said it was "grateful for Wayfair's generous donation" and would put the funds toward community-based organizations that are helping with migrant crisis at the border in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
More than 500 employees at Wayfair's Boston headquarters signed a protest letter to executives when they found out about the contract. Management wrote in a letter to employees that it's standard practice to fulfill orders for any customer acting within the law.
____
4:45 p.m.
Several hundred people joined a protest staged by Wayfair employees to protest the online retailer's decision to sell $200,000 worth of furniture to a government contractor that runs a detention center for migrant children in Texas.
The protest triggered a broader backlash against the company, with some customers calling for a boycott. At a plaza near the company's Boston headquarters, employees and people from outside the company protested Wednesday.
Among the employees was Tom Brown, a 33-year-old engineer at Wayfair. Brown said he was uncomfortable with the idea that Wayfair was profiting from the detention of children at the border.
More than 500 employees at the company's Boston headquarters signed a protest letter to executives when they found out about the contract. Wayfair refused to back out of the contract but told employees Wednesday morning that it would donate $100,000 to the Red Cross.
Wayfair said it would have no further comment.
____
11 a.m.
Employees at online home furnishings retailer Wayfair have planned a walkout to protest the company's decision to sell $200,000 worth of furniture to a government contractor that runs a detention center for migrant children in Texas.
More than 500 employees at the company's Boston headquarters signed a protest letter to executives when they found out about the contract. Wednesday's walkout was organized when Wayfair refused to back out of the contract.
Elizabeth Good, one of the walkout's organizers, told The Boston Globe knowing that Wayfair is profiting from what's going on at the southern border is "pretty scary."
Management wrote in a letter to employees that it's standard practice to fulfill orders for any customer acting within the law.
Wayfair did not respond to several requests for comment by The Associated Press. |
Herman Miller (MLHR) Beats Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
Herman Miller (MLHR) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.88 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.78 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.66 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 12.82%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this furniture maker would post earnings of $0.61 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.64, delivering a surprise of 4.92%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Herman Miller, which belongs to the Zacks Business - Office Products industry, posted revenues of $671 million for the quarter ended May 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $618 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Herman Miller shares have added about 22.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 16.4%.
What's Next for Herman Miller?
While Herman Miller has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Herman Miller was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.78 on $657.90 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.25 on $2.67 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Business - Office Products is currently in the top 24% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
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 reportHerman Miller, Inc. (MLHR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Do Institutions Own Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:PLS) Shares?
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Every investor in Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:PLS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
Pilbara Minerals is a smaller company with a market capitalization of AU$1.0b, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about PLS.
Check out our latest analysis for Pilbara Minerals
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors own 9.4% of Pilbara Minerals. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Pilbara Minerals's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Pilbara Minerals. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Pilbara Minerals Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$1.0b, and insiders have AU$45m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You canclick here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 61% stake in PLS, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. 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.
It seems that Private Companies own 9.8%, of the PLS stock. 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.
We can see that public companies hold 15%, of the PLS shares on issue. We can't be certain, but this is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
I always like to check for ahistory of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart ofhistoric 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. |
Babar has the potential to match Kohli, claims Flower
Emulating Virat Kohli is a mere dream for most young batsmen - but Grant Flower believes Babar Azam is well on the path to doing just that after his stylish century downed New Zealand. Facing an attack that had only conceded 250 once in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 to date, Babar showed few signs of nerves as his match-winning knock of 101 saw the Men in Green to a potentially vital victory. A star performer during the recent bilateral series against England, the 24-year-old has continued his rich vein of form into the World Cup, with his pivotal innings at Edgbaston serving as his first century in the competition. And with Babar already ranked as the No.1 T20 batsman in the world, batting coach Flower is confident his charge has what it takes to now kick on and join the pantheon of Pakistan greats - most notably because of the way he battled sickness to shine in Birmingham. READ : Babar has the potential to match Kohli, claims Flower "He's had flu over the last couple of days. Tuesday was the first time I've not seen him hit any balls the day before a match," Flower revealed. "Confidence-wise, this is definitely his best one (century). "I've seen him get quite a few hundreds on pretty flat wickets, but this was a tough wicket - it was turning, Ferguson was bowling fast and there was a lot of pressure because of the context of the tournament. "He is very special. I believe he is going to be one of the best that Pakistan have ever produced. He's really hungry, is fit and still very young. "I think he'll have a really good career if he keeps his feet on the ground, which I think he will. "He's got Virat's hunger. I think he could be at some point in the future. "He's definitely got that hunger, so if you practice as hard as he does, and you have his skills, I can't see why he can't get to the top." Trailing current incumbents England by three points heading into the Edgbaston clash, victory over the Black Caps leaves Pakistan well in the hunt for a semi-final berth. Story continues With the gap now just a solitary point and Afghanistan up next, Flower is relishing the opportunity to take Eoin Morgan's fancied side and put the cat well and truly among the pigeons. He added: "It's quite exciting, I think. For the first part of the tournament, it didn't seem like it was going to be, but now there's pressure on some of the top teams. It's good. "After today, it definitely puts us in a good position. It's just our net run-rate, and obviously, those first few games didn't help us." © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2019 |
'Orange is the New Black' trailer previews its final season on Netflix
The ladies of Litchfield Penitentiary are getting one last run: Netflix has released a trailer for the seventh and final season ofOrange is the New Black. The show's final episodes wrap up the storylines of the inmates we've grown to love, but with one big twist. The show's lead character of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is finally free. Rather than eliminating the show's main source of conflict, Piper's freedom introduces its own set of problems. Fans watch the main character, now an ex-felon, struggle to adjust in the upper middle-class New York world she left behind.
The final season of the Netflix hit series also sees a return of favorite inmates like Taystee (Danielle Brooks) and Nickee (Natasha Lyonne, most recently seen in Netflix'sRussian Doll). Dasha Polanco returns as Daya, whose story took a dark turn in the last season after she partnered with Daddy (Domingo Duarte). We're also reunited with Gloria (Selenis Leyva) and her kitchen staff.
The women's prison drama has been a critical success for Netflix since the first season debuted in 2013. The Emmy award-winning show's diverse cast of mostly women broke new ground, and quickly rose to become one of the most popular original shows on the streaming platform. While Netflix usually refrains from releasing viewership figures, Nielsenrevealedthat a whopping 5.3 million viewers caught the first episode after season six ofOrange is the New Blackdebuted in 2018. You can watch the trailer for the final season -- which debuts on July 26th -- below. |
AMC Monthly Movie Ticket Subscription Program Crosses 860K Members On One-Year Anniversary
A year ago today, AMC Theatres launched its AMC Stubs A-List program where for $19.95 a month in 34 states, moviegoers can get three movie tickets a week, plus other benefits. Also, close to a year ago today, MoviePass largely imploded after the opening of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible-Fallout, curbing back on a majority of its benefits under its $9.95/unlimited movies a month plan. Unlike MoviePass which mushroomed to 3 million subscribers in less than a year’s time, thus burning down the house to keep warm, AMC has been careful to grow their monthly ticket subs gradually to 860, 129 members in North America. Part of that has to do with the differentiating monthly price in certain states, i.e. in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington state and The District of Columbia, A-List is $21.95 per month, plus tax whereas in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, A-List is $23.95 per month, plus tax. Members also enjoy a number of benefits, i.e. free premium upgrades (i.e. Imax, Premium Large Format tickets, 3D), RSVPing tickets ahead with no ticket fees, concession upgrades and refills. Related stories American Cinematheque Taps Adam Aron/AMC Theatres For Sid Grauman Award AMC Stubs A-List Hits 800,000 Members, Becoming No. 1 Subscription Movie Ticketer How AMC Theatres Is Prepping For The 'Avengers: Endgame' Onslaught This Weekend Said Adam Aron, CEO and President of AMC Theatres: “This one-year anniversary gives us an opportunity to reflect on the enormous success of the AMC Stubs A-List program. Prior to launching A-List last summer, we set an initial goal of 500,000 members after one year and a second goal of 1 million by June 26, 2020. Based on our research and best estimations at the time, those goals seemed aggressive but attainable heading into the launch of the program. Given the overwhelmingly positive moviegoer reception we received the moment A-List was announced, it quickly became clear the program would exceed those expectations. Indeed, we crossed 500,000 members within four-and-a-half months, and now sit at more than 860,000 members today.” Aron added, “Equally exciting, A-List has increased moviegoing. Our A-List members have visited our AMC theatres more than 20 million times in the program’s first year to watch movies as they are meant to be seen, in theatres on the big screen.” Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . View comments |
Wisconsin passes budget after Tesla proviso woos key senator
MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin Republicans passed a state budget Wednesday after winning a key legislator's support with a provision to allow Tesla to open dealerships in the state a goal long pursued by the lawmaker, who sells rebuilt Tesla vehicles and parts. Sen. Chris Kapenga, a self-described "gearhead," acknowledged that he asked leadership to include the Tesla dealership language in the budget. But he said his business interests had nothing to do with his vote, calling what he does a hobby that brings him no profit. "I purchased a handful of Teslas to get parts I need and I'm selling parts I don't need," he said. "It is just what I love to do in my spare time." The maneuver was pivotal for majority Republicans, who radically reshaped Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' proposed spending plan in recent months before passing it 17-16 in the Senate. Assembly Republicans passed the $81 billion spending plan Tuesday night. Once the budget reaches Evers' desk, he has six days to sign it, veto it or line-item veto some portions. Republicans control the Senate 19-14 but two GOP senators, Steve Nass and Dave Craig, said earlier that they wouldn't vote for the budget because it spends too much. If Kapenga had stuck with the hardline conservative faction within the chamber's Republican caucus, that would have sunk the deal. Current Wisconsin law prohibits automakers from directly operating or controlling a dealership. Kapenga introduced bills in the last two legislative sessions that would have granted Tesla permission but the measures died. Republicans on Tuesday inserted the Tesla dealership language in the budget in an attempt to keep Kapenga on board. Minutes before the Senate was set to convene Wednesday morning, Kapenga called a news conference to announce he would vote for the budget. Choking up at times, he told reporters that political opponents were trying to impugn his character by spreading stories that he pushed for the Tesla exemption to help his business. He insisted that he simply loves Tesla vehicles and loves rebuilding them in his downtime. Story continues Kapenga's latest economic interest statements on file with the state Ethics Commission mention his interest in the business, Integrity Motorsports LLC , but don't mention it as a source of income. The company website says it began rebuilding and selling Tesla salvage vehicles in 2017. Kapenga said the dealership provisions alone didn't convince him to vote for the spending plan. He cited other spending reductions that Republicans made to the plan this spring. Senate debate on the budget began immediately after Kapenga finished his news conference. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald began the proceedings by praising Republicans for scaling back spending in Evers' initial budget proposal by about $2 billion. "We've taken his out-of-control spending plan and turned it into a responsible budget for Wisconsin," Fitzgerald said. "(Evers) has every reason to sign this bill and get this money to the schools and taxpayers of Wisconsin." Evers and Republicans haven't been able to compromise on any major issues since Evers took office in January. It's unclear how Evers will handle the budget. He has said only that he wants to see the final document before deciding what to do. The current budget runs through Sunday, but state government would not shut down if there is a stalemate. Instead, current spending levels would continue until the next two-year budget is enacted, however long that takes. Republicans and Evers disagreed sharply on school funding and taxes, among other things. The GOP plan raises K-12 funding about $500 million, about a third of what Evers wanted. And though both sides wanted to cut income taxes, the Republican plan in the budget is smaller than what Evers wanted and not paid for by all-but ending a manufacturing tax credit program. Republicans also rejected Evers' call to expand Medicaid. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1 |
Women's World Cup: USWNT's Tobin Heath not a fan of Euro-heavy quarters
PARIS — For the first time in history, the United States is the lone non-European team left standing in the quarterfinals of a Women’s World Cup. The Netherlands’ triumph on Tuesday over 2011 champ Japan — the runner-up to the U.S. four years ago — combined with China’s loss to Italy earlier in the day, set a new standard for European dominance at the event, and the Americans themselves could soon be headed home with No. 1 challenger (and tourney host) France looming here Friday in hotly-anticipated match that could go either way. The results so far have been billed as Europe’s coming out party in the women’s game. And in truth, maybe it’s overdue. The continent has dominated men’s soccer globally for decades, winning four consecutive World Cup titles and five of the last six. This is not a development that Tobin Heath, the crafty American midfielder who patterned her game after Brazilian great Ronaldinho, is particularly excited about. “As a football fan, to me, I would want a little bit more diversity at this point,” Heath said Wednesday of the one-sided quarterfinal field. “I find European football sometimes a little boring.” Tobin Heath isn't thrilled that her U.S. squad is the only non-European team left standing in the Women's World Cup quarterfinals. (Zhizhao Wu/Getty) At Canada 2015, five of the last eight squads standing were non-European. Along with finalists U.S. and Japan, Australia, China and the host nation were still in the title hunt at this same stage. New World sides also made up the majority of the quarterfinalists in 2007, while there was an even split between them in 1999, 2003 and 2011. And it’s hard to see the pendulum swinging back to status quo. While European club sides and national governing bodies have been slow to recognize the vast commercial potential of women’s soccer, that is starting to change. UEFA Champions League regulars such as Atletico Madrid and Olympique Lyonnais have lured all-planet talents to their women’s startups in recent years; just last week, Real Madrid, the wealthiest club in the world according to Forbes, announced plans to join them. Story continues With infrastructure in the form of coaching, stadiums and training facilities already in place — not to mention a built-in fan base that has tuned into this World Cup on television in record numbers, many are predicting European domination for decades to come. Italy made the quarters for the first time since the inaugural tourney nearly 30 years ago, while Spain gave the Americans all they could handle in the round of 16. But Heath isn’t ready to concede the future of her sport just yet. “In these tournaments you can’t really predict,” she said. “You’ve seen the games, they’ve been so close.” Maybe she’s right. Slick-passing Japan outplayed the Dutch only to lose on a late penalty. The Aussies might still be here had Samantha Kerr, considered by many the best player in the world, not squandered a golden early chance against Norway. Canada’s missed penalty kick was the difference in a 1-0 defeat to Sweden. If not for an off night against Norway, Sam Kerr and Australia might have advanced to the last eight. (Hannah Peters/Getty) With the likes of Argentina, Bolivia and South Korea, among others, jockeying for the right to host the 2023 event, European teams will have to deal with grueling travel and unfamiliar on- and off-field conditions four years from now. But that’s down the line. This World Cup still marks a landmark achievement for European teams, even if, in Heath’s view at least, the competition is actually poorer for it. “There are some teams that are so exciting to watch that you won’t be able to see this kind of different style, which is unfortunate at this stage,” she said. “I really appreciate certain teams that are no longer in the tournament.” More from Yahoo Sports: Rapinoe: ‘I’m not going to the f---ing White House’ Machado feels the love in his return to Baltimore Iggy says Warriors called fractured leg a ‘bruise’ Women’s World Cup is succeeding, no thanks to FIFA |
Evangelical group to spend $50M on get-out-the-vote efforts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veteran conservative activist Ralph Reed said Wednesday that the faith-based group he leads plans to spend at least $50 million on get-out-the-vote efforts in 2020. It's part of a large-scale marshaling of evangelical resources that's poised to benefit President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. After Trump spoke to an annual conference hosted by Reed's group, the Faith & Freedom Coalition, the longtime GOP strategist previewed a voter outreach plan for 2020 that he said would include significant investment in Latino voters of faith. Of the $50 million the group has set aside to spend on communicating with voters, Reed said $4 million would go toward contacting socially conservative and religious Latino voters in swing states that include Florida, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. "We will do our job. We will turn out our vote," Reed told reporters. The Faith & Freedom Coalition's work on turning out voters, particularly Latinos, who support socially conservative issues such as abortion restrictions, will help bolster the Republican Party's efforts to deliver Trump a second term. Vice President Mike Pence visited Florida on Tuesday for a "Latinos for Trump" event in Miami ahead of the Democrats' first presidential primary debate, a sign that the GOP's courtship of that voting bloc is already intensifying. The eight-figure spending plan by Reed's group is also expected to include 500 paid staff members and 5,000 volunteers, according to the Faith & Freedom Coalition. In addition to evangelical Protestant voters, the group's voter contacts will include Roman Catholic voters. The Faith & Freedom Coalition, founded by Reed in 2009, is a nonprofit organized under a section of the tax code that permits advocacy on specific issues and limits activity expressly to promote candidates. |
BlackBerry Earnings: What You Need to Know
InBlackBerry's(NYSE: BB)first quarter of fiscal 2020, it served up more growth in its software and services segment. In addition, the security-focused company showed what it can do with its recent acquisition of endpoint security specialist Cylance. This was the first full quarter with Cylance as a part of BlackBerry.
Here's a look at the results.
Image source: Getty Images.
[{"Metric": "Non-GAAP (adjusted) revenue", "Q1 2020": "$267 million", "Q1 2019": "$217 million", "Change": "23%"}, {"Metric": "Non-GAAP EPS", "Q1 2020": "$0.01", "Q1 2019": "$0.03", "Change": "(67%)"}, {"Metric": "Non-GAAP gross margin", "Q1 2020": "74.5%", "Q1 2019": "76.5%", "Change": "(200 basis points)"}]
GAAP= generally accepted accounting principles. Data source: BlackBerry'sfiscal first-quarter results.
• Non-GAAP revenue increased 23% year over year to $267 million.
• GAAP revenue increased 16% year over year to $247 million.
• BlackBerry Cylance contributed $51 million and $32 million in non-GAAP and GAAP revenue, respectively.
• Excluding revenue from Cylance, non-GAAP software and services revenue increased 8% year over year.
• Including Cylance, non-GAAP software and services revenue increased 35% year over year.
• BlackBerry's non-GAAP gross margin narrowed from 76.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 to 74.5%.
• Cash, cash equivalents, and long-term investments at the end of the quarter were $935 million.
CEO John Chen said the company's fiscal first-quarter results represented a "good start" to fiscal 2020.
He added: "We are ahead of our schedule in our Cylance integration, while investing in the right opportunities to drive long-term growth and profitability for BlackBerry. Customers are looking forward to our robust product cycle this year, with over 30 new secure communication products and services to be released."
In a separate press release on Monday, BlackBerry notably said its QNX automotive software solutions are now in more than 150 million cars, up from 120 million in June of last year.
The quarter was solid enough for BlackBerry to reaffirm itsfiscal 2020 outlook.
Total fiscal 2020 non-GAAP revenue is expected to grow 23% to 27% year over year, "driven by a double-digit percentage increase in billings," management forecast in BlackBerry's fiscal first-quarter earnings release. Broken down by non-GAAP revenue segments, this includes 12% to 16% growth in the Internet of Things, 25% to 30% growth in BlackBerry Cylance, a 5% decline in licensing, and $10 million to $20 million in service access fees.
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Daniel Sparkshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends BlackBerry. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
28% of Americans Are Making This Frightening Financial Mistake
None of us can predict when a financial emergency will arise, but we can all bet on one thing: At some point, an unplanned bill will creep up at a very inconvenient time. If you don't have money in the bank to cover it, you'll risk racking up debt that you might really struggle to pay off.
Unfortunately, 28% of Americans have no emergency savings,according to a survey by Bankrate, which means they're putting their finances at risk in a very big way. If you're one of them, it's imperative to build some cash reserves -- before the next unanticipated bill hits.
You can't establish anemergency fundovernight, especially if you're starting with nosavings. For true protection, you'll want at least three months of essential living expenses in the bank -- things like housing, transportation, food, utilities, and healthcare. For better protection, you should aim for six months of essentials.
Image source: Getty Images.
How will you pull that off? One of your best bets is toset up a budgetso you can see where your money actually goes month after month. From there, you can identify regular expenses to reduce. That could mean canceling your gym membership, downgrading to a lower-priced phone or cable plan, and cooking at home rather than dining out or ordering in. The latter, in fact, can translate into huge savings if you tend to buy a lot of prepared food.
You can also look at lowering essential expenses. For example, if you're spending $500 a month to own a car between vehicle payments, maintenance, and insurance but can get by using public transportation, it might pay to unload that automobile. Similarly, if moving to a smaller apartment for a year shaves $500 a month off your rent, that's a move worth making to buy the financial protection you need.
Either way, comb through your budget and figure out where you're able and willing to cut back. Then take the money you save and put it directly into the bank.
Another option: Get anextra job. That second gig doesn't have to be something that feels like work. You can take a hobby you enjoy, like writing, web design, crafting, or cooking, and turn it into an income stream. Or you can try doing your full-time job on the side.
For example, if you're a software engineer, you can take on small side projects for different clients and hammer them out on weekends. If you're going to moonlight in that manner, though, it pays to clear it with your main employer first. Some companies prohibit employees from doing similar work on the side, so don't put your main source of income at risk to make some extra cash.
Building emergency savings isn't easy, but if you don't make it your priority, you stand to suffer when unexpected expenses come your way. Rather than let that happen, slowly but surely build that pile of cash so it's there when you need it.
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The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Slack Technologies: It's Not Too Late to Buy the Stock at a Discount
FollowingLyft,Pinterest, andUber, another "unicorn" (a start-up with a private valuation above $1 billion) has been set free into the public markets.Slack Technologies(NYSE: WORK) completed its direct public offering last Thursday, andunlikeLyft and Uber -- which are now"busted" IPOs-- shares of the seemingly ubiquitous workplace collaboration software provider have performed well. Monday's $35.76 closing price is at a 38% premium to the stock's $26 per share reference price. Many may be thinking that this pop has eliminated any opportunity for fundamental investors to pick up Slack at a reasonable price. Well, think again, for as one value investor quipped recently, "The three most dangerous words in investing are 'I missed it.'"
Even at their current price, there is evidence to suggest that Slack Technologies shares remain undervalued. I have highlighted the work of Theta Equity Partners before, and the research firm has already distinguished itself in regard tounicorn share offerings. Theta has pioneered a powerful approach tocustomer lifetime valueanalysis that takes a deep, data-driven look at customer behavior, and it ran Slack's numbers through its model.
I won't keep you in suspense -- here's what Theta concluded in regard to Slack's valuation prior to its share offering (emphasis in the original):
Under thebaseline assumptionsoutlined above (12%WACC [weighted average cost of capital], 7 years of revenue expansion for each cohort, and achieving long-term margins in 7 years),our fair value estimate of Slack's equity is $22.4B...
For reference, Slack's market capitalization at Monday's closing price, per Bloomberg, was $18 billion, roughly 20% below Slack's baseline fair value estimate and a 40% discount to the most favorable scenario (which doesn't seem wildly far-fetched).
Conversely, Theta's analysis shows that Slack's fair value holds up well under adverse changes in assumptions (emphasis in the original):
In thedownside scenario, assuming that it takes Slack 10 years to achieve the long-term margins, ourfair value estimate is $20.6B. If TAM [total addressable market] ended up being one half or one third of our estimate, Slack's fair valuation would be $20.1B or $18.4B, respectively. Finally, if we assume that Slack achieves only the bottom of the operating margin range in the long run, Slack'sfair valuation would be $18.6B.
Note that the lowest of these "downside" fair value estimates remains higher that Slack's present market value. The robustness of Slack's fair value to adverse assumptions creates a favorable risk-reward asymmetry around Theta's base case (my emphasis):
We would need to see amuch sharper weaknessin TAM and/or margins to fall well below Slack's valuation recently.This is certainly possible, but it is also possible or even likelyto see the valuation upside if the base case scenario were to be realized, as WACC would presumably fall in line with the peer set as the business matures.
In other words, Slack's upside scenarios are both more likely and more favorable than the downside scenarios are harmful (in mathematical terms, theexpected fair valueof Slack's stock ishigherthan the base-case estimate).
Is it possible that Slack shares are still priced at a discount to their intrinsic value? With Lyft and Uber's high-profile flops raising skepticism of high-flying Silicon Valley companies, I think it is.
Although it happens somewhat rarely, great businesses -- andSlack has the makings of a great business-- occasionally go public at valuations that significantlyunderstate their potential to produce growing, rock-solid cash flows.
The most prominent example I can recall isMasterCard's (NYSE: MA) initial public offering, in May 2006, which saw the payment card processor's stock price at $39, $1belowits pricing range of $40 to $43 per share, reportedly due to the poor performance ofVonage, which had gone public just one day earlier. MasterCard shares closed at $46 on the first day of trading.
Twelve months later, MasterCard's stock had tripled from that first-day closing price; five years on, it had risen sixfold (Vonage, on the other hand, has never traded above its $17 IPO price). I'm not suggesting that Slack will achieve the same returns, only that the market can underestimate the intrinsic value and compounding potential of a terrific business, even when that business is under the spotlight of an initial public offering.
If this sounds interesting -- and it should, if you're a long-term investor in individual stocks -- I suggest you begin by reading Theta'sanalysis of Slack's economicsand itssubsequent valuation. Superior businesses that go public at a discount to their intrinsic value are rare enough that stockpickers should give this opportunity their full consideration. Failing that, this looks like a case in which investors' "I missed it" lamentation could prove costly in terms of forgone returns.
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Alex Dumortier, CFAhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Mastercard. The Motley Fool recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Nike earnings — What to know in markets Thursday
Nike will take centerstage Thursday.
The shoe giant will release quarterly financial results after the market close on Thursday. Trade tensions continue to mount, and investors are eagerly awaiting President Trump and President Xi’s meeting at the G20 summit this weekend in Japan. If talks between the two feuding nations do not unfold well, the Trump administration will likely slap another round of tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods, which is expected to heavily impact apparel and footwear makers.
“At the same time, the market is gravitating to growth stocks, industry ‘winners,’ and companies likely better able to navigate potential tariffs,” UBS said in a note on June 17. “Nike's 4Q19 report probably gives the market increased conviction Nike meets these three criteria, which supports the stock even if the FY20 guidance update is slightly disappointing.”
Nevertheless, Wall Street expects a relatively strong report from Nike. “While Nike’s brand has clearly been on better footing, checks suggest industry trends decelerated in core global markets in F4Q,” Credit Suisse wrote in a note on Friday. “We think if Nike does beat on [revenue], it would be in the US outlets (where it planned to accelerate inventory to offset recent stock outs).”
Nike is expected to report adjusted earnings of 66 cents per share on $10.16 billion of revenue. In addition, the options market is implying a 5% move in either direction when Nike reports.
Other companies scheduled to report Thursday include ConAgra (CAG) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) ahead of the opening bell.
—
Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter:@heidi_chung.
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The 2 Biggest Casualties From the Celgene-Bristol-Myers Merger (So Far)
Celgene(NASDAQ: CELG)andBristol-Myers Squibb(NYSE: BMY)werescheduledto say their official "I dos" in the coming months, but this blended family isn't starting off inBrady Bunchfashion.
Two drugs, at least, will need to be disowned to get this deal done. Sorry, Marcia and Cindy, you'll have to find somewhere else to live.
Image source: Getty Images.
Last week, Celgene cut ties withBeiGene(NASDAQ: BGNE), giving up itsrightsto tislelizumab, BeiGene's anti-PD-1 antibody since Bristol-Myers sells a competing PD-1 antibody, Opdivo. Reportedly, the contract said Celgene can't hold two PD-1 class drugs, so Bristol-Myers likely knew it wasn't going to be able to keep rights to tislelizumab when it made the acquisition offer.
Opdivo is much further along than tislelizumab, so on the surface it makes more sense to hold on to the revenue-generating Opdivo. But longer term that might not end up being the best move since tislelizumab may be more efficacious than Opdivo.
Tislelizumab was designed to have lower binding to the Fc-gama receptor, which macrophages, a type of immune cells, use as a signal to kill antibody-bound cells. While that's normally a good thing -- think of antibodies bound to foreign bacteria -- in the case of PD-1 antibodies, the antibody is blocking a signal on T-cells, which allows the T-cell to attack tumor cells. If macrophages think the T-cells are foreign and attack them, the T-cells can't target the tumor.
Breaking the contract with BeiGene wasn't cheap, with Celgene having to pony up $150 million in alimony. Interestingly, BeiGene and Celgene will continue to share visitation rights to their other children: the commercial operations for Celgene's drugs in China, which are sold by BeiGene.
In the world of corporate marriages, the Federal Trade Commission is always standing nearby ready to stand up and object if the agency decides there's enough overlap between the two companies to stifle competition. In its review of the Bristol-Myers Squibb-Celgene deal, the FTC appears to have decided that the combined company would have too much power in the anti-inflammatory markets.
Celgene currently sells Otezla, which is approved to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, while Brisol-Myers sells Orencia , which is approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and a type of arthritis that children can get. Bristol-Myers is also developing BMS-986165 for psoriasis.
In an announcement made Monday, Bristol-Myers said the stepchild (Otezla) is the one getting kicked out of the nest. The company will look for a buyer for the drug that Celgene has guided to bring in about $1.9 billion this year, which would be an 18% year-over-year increase if it hits that goal.
Disavowing tislelizumab appears to be a done deal, but Bristol-Myers will need to find a buyer for Otezla, which will push back the expected closure of the acquisition from previous guidance of "in the third quarter" to the "end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020." While it isn't a major delay, the announcement caused a decline in both companies' stock on Monday.
Celgene is down because the deal is incrementally further off and slightly less likely to be completed.
Bristol-Myers dropped because investors are worried about how much it'll be able to get for Otezla. Potential buyers of Otezla know Bristol-Myers needs to off-load the drug to meet its larger goal of acquiring Celgene, so Bristol-Myers isn't exactly in the best bargaining position. Of course, if multiple buyers are interested, the urgency may not be a major hindrance and Bristol-Myers could get top dollar for off-loading the stepchild.
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Brian Orellihas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Celgene. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
Is Now The Time To Put 1300SMILES (ASX:ONT) On Your Watchlist?
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It's only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in 'sexy' stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Peter Lynch said inOne Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'
In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like1300SMILES(ASX:ONT), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.
Check out our latest analysis for 1300SMILES
Even modest earnings per share growth (EPS) can create meaningful value, when it is sustained reliably from year to year. So it's no surprise that some investors are more inclined to invest in profitable businesses. Over twelve months, 1300SMILES increased its EPS from AU$0.31 to AU$0.33. That amounts to a small improvement of 5.1%.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. 1300SMILES maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 6.1% to AU$40m. That's progress.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want tocheck this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for 1300SMILES.
Personally, I like to see high insider ownership of a company, since it suggests that it will be managed in the interests of shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that 1300SMILES insiders own a significant number of shares certainly appeals to me. Indeed, with a collective holding of 66%, company insiders are in control and have plenty of capital behind the venture. This makes me think they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - something I like to see. With that sort of holding, insiders have about AU$99m riding on the stock, at current prices. That's nothing to sneeze at!
As I already mentioned, 1300SMILES is a growing business, which is what I like to see. Just as polish makes silverware pop, the high level of insider ownership enhances my enthusiasm for this growth. That combination appeals to me, for one. So yes, I do think the stock is worth keeping an eye on. If you think 1300SMILES might suit your style as an investor, you could go straight to its annual report, or you could first checkour discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation for the company.
Although 1300SMILES certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
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. |
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) closed the most recent trading day at $69.84, moving +0.59% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.12%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of hardware and software products for validating chip designs had gained 8.62% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.43% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from CDNS as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, CDNS is projected to report earnings of $0.53 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 17.78%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $579.07 million, up 11.71% from the year-ago period.
CDNS's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.10 per share and revenue of $2.32 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.3% and +8.53%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for CDNS should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. CDNS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, CDNS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 33.13. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 29.1, which means CDNS is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that CDNS currently has a PEG ratio of 3.01. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.11 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 106, putting it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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 reportCadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
Kohl's (KSS) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Kohl's (KSS) closed the most recent trading day at $46.46, moving +0.98% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.12%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.04%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.32%. Heading into today, shares of the department store operator had lost 9.98% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.56% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from KSS as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect KSS to post earnings of $1.57 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 10.8%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.48 billion, down 1.9% from the year-ago period. Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.33 per share and revenue of $19.93 billion. These totals would mark changes of -4.82% and -1.47%, respectively, from last year. Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for KSS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability. Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. KSS is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now. Looking at its valuation, KSS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.64. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 8.64, which means KSS is trading at a no noticeable deviation to the group. Also, we should mention that KSS has a PEG ratio of 0.86. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Retail - Regional Department Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 0.91 based on yesterday's closing prices. The Retail - Regional Department Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 225, putting it in the bottom 13% of all 250+ industries. Story continues The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com. 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 report Kohl's Corporation (KSS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. View comments |
Medtronic (MDT) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Medtronic (MDT) closed the most recent trading day at $97.21, moving -1.71% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.12%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Coming into today, shares of the medical device company had gained 8.31% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 3.52%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.31%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MDT as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.18, up 0.85% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $7.41 billion, up 0.41% from the year-ago period.
MDT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.46 per share and revenue of $31.44 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4.6% and +2.9%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for MDT. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% higher within the past month. MDT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note MDT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.12. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 26.25, which means MDT is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that MDT has a PEG ratio of 2.54 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. MDT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.42 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Products industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 93, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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 reportMedtronic PLC (MDT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
Visa (V) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Visa (V) closed at $171.06, marking a -0.13% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.12% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the global payments processor had gained 4.62% over the past month. This has outpaced the Business Services sector's gain of 3.89% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from V as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect V to post earnings of $1.33 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 10.83%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.70 billion, up 8.78% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.37 per share and revenue of $22.75 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.49% and +10.4%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for V. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.16% lower. V is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note V's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 31.92. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.5.
Meanwhile, V's PEG ratio is currently 1.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.94 as of yesterday's close.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 24, putting it in the top 10% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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 reportVisa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
Apple Hires a Top Chip Architect to Ramp Up Development for Macs
Applehired one of ARM Holdings’s top chip engineers as the iPhone maker looks toexpand its own chip developmentto more powerful devices, including the Mac, and new categories like a headset.
The company hired Mike Filippo in May for a chip architect position, according to his LinkedIn profile. At ARM, Filippo was a lead engineer behind chip designs that power the vast majority of the world’s smartphones and tablets and was leading a new push into parts for computers. ARM, owned by SoftBank Group, designs microprocessors and licenses technology that is fundamental to the chip development efforts of Apple, Samsung Electronics,Qualcomm, and Huawei Technologies.
Prior to his work at ARM, Filippo was also a key designer at chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices andIntelCorp. ARM confirmed Filippo’s departure. Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“Mike was a long-time valuable member of the ARM community,” a spokesman for the U.K.-based company said. “We appreciate all of his efforts and wish him well in his next endeavor.”
For Apple, the hire could help fill the void left by the departure of Gerard Williams III earlier this year. Williams was Apple’s head architect of chips used in the iPhone and iPad. Apple’s A series chips power its mobile devices using ARM technology. Its Mac computers have usedprocessors from Intelfor nearly two decades.
The company initiated a plan several years ago to replace Intel chips in its Mac computers with processors based on the ARM architecture as early as 2020. Filippo’s experience in more advanced chips like those in servers would assist in that effort. The company is also planning to expand its in-house chip making work to new device categories like a headset that meshes augmented and virtual reality, Bloomberg News has reported.
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Wayfair workers protest furniture sale to detention center
BOSTON (AP) — Employees at online home furnishings retailer Wayfair walked out Wednesday to protest the company's decision to sell $200,000 worth of furniture to a government contractor that runs a detention center for migrant children in Texas.
The protest triggered a broader backlash against the company, with some customers calling for a boycott. Several hundred people joined the protest at a plaza near the company's Boston headquarters, a mix of employees and people from outside the company.
More than 500 employees at the company's Boston headquarters signeda protest letterto executives when they found out about the contract. Wayfair refused to back out of the contract but told employees Wednesday morning that it would donate $100,000 to the Red Cross.
"Last week, we found out about the sale and that we are profiting from this. And we are not comfortable with that," said Tom Brown, 33, a Wayfair engineer at the protest. "For me personally, there is more to life than profit."
Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders both said they stood by the Wayfair employees who are protesting, as did Congressional Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Wayfair's stock initially slipped more than 5% Tuesday as word of the walkout spread. On Wednesday, the stock rose about 1%.
The protest comes amid a new uproar over revelations of terrible conditions at a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas,first reported by The Associated Press, including inadequate food, lack of medical care, no soap, and older children trying to care for toddlers. Emotions were also running high one day after photos published by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada and distributed worldwide by the AP showed the bodies of a migrant father and his young daughter who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to enter the United States without legal permission.
The unprecedented surge of migrant families has left U.S. immigration detention centers severely overcrowded and taxed the government's ability to provide medical care and other attention. Six children have died since September after being detained by border agents. As the controversy grew, the acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection resigned Tuesday, though he did not give a reason for leaving.
In a letter to the employees, Wayfair leaders said that it's standard practice to fulfill orders for any customer acting within the law.
"We believe it is our business to sell to any customer who is acting within the laws of the countries within which we operate," said the letter.
Wayfair said it would have no further comment on the protest.
Wayfair sold the beds to Baptist Children's Family Services, a non-profit with federal contracts to manage some of the camps along the border.
"We believe youth should sleep in beds with mattresses," the organization said in a brief statement.
Madeline Howard, a product manager at Wayfair, said company leaders had held a town hall earlier this week to listen to employee concerns but would not budge on their stance.
She said the company's donation to the Red Cross did not satisfy the demands of the employees, who had asked that the profit from the sale — about $86,000 — be donated RAICES, a non-profit that is the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas.
In a statement, the Red Cross said it was "grateful for Wayfair's generous donation." The organization said it would put the funds toward "the increased aid we have provided for the past six months to community-based organizations helping with the border crisis in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico."
Brown, the Wayfair engineer, said there is no one answer on what the company policy should be, with some employees calling for the company to stop providing for the detention centers altogether, and others arguing it would be enough for Wayfair to forego profits from such sales.
Mimi Chakravorti, executive director of strategy at the brand consulting firm Landor, said Wayfair must decide whether the damage to their brand from the controversy will ultimately prove more costly than foregoing a $200,000 contract.
"Unfortunately, they are not going to able to get out of this without being burned on one side or the other," said Chakravorti. "Is it about moral standards? Or is it about the bottom line dollars, and being able to sell to anyone in a legal way?"
Other companies have also been drawn into the controversy over the Trump administration's immigration policies.
Last year, American Airlines and United Airlines said they asked the government not to put migrant children who have been separated from their parents on their flights. Employees have protested work by Amazon and Microsoft to assist police agencies and federal immigration agents with facial recognition and other tools. Microsoft executives defended the company's immigration contract despite a protest letter that circulated through the company over the summer.
The children's magazine Highlights jumped in Tuesday, with CEO Kent Johnson posting astatementon Twitter condemning the separation of families at the border and calling for "more humane treatment of immigrant children" at detention centers.
The country's politically polarized atmosphere has become a minefield for many businesses as workers increasingly take on their employers for issues they care about.
At Google, employees walked out of their offices last year to protest the tech company's mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against executives. And workers at Amazon.com Inc. publicly published a letter addressed to CEO Jeff Bezos earlier this year to push the online shopping giant to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Anne Gilson, a human resources expert at the employee benefits agency OneDigital, said companies have been traditionally more accustomed to handling employee discontent about internal workplace problems, not politics.
"This is new territory for many organizations," Gilson said, adding that companies need to strive to ensure employees feel they are heard before a controversy spills out into public view.
"Why do people feel they have to take drastic action?" Gilson said. "How was the conversation initially managed? Is the culture, 'Yeah, thanks Johnny,' and eye-rolling and sighs?"
___
Olson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant in Houston contributed to this report. |
TRON Foundation Announces $20 Million Buyback Plan
TheTronFoundation has announced a $20 million buyback plan in a blog postpublishedon June 25.
The buyback is purportedly part of an initiative to bolster community activity and market stability.
The company is going to conduct the largest tron (TRX) token buyback plan so far with the widest coverage in the secondary market, the post reads. The buyback is set to last for a year in the form of several batches totalling $20 million.
On January 1, 2020, the Tron Foundation will reveal its TRX holding, however the company further says that it does not have any specific plans for the unlocked amount of TRX.
TRON is a foundation that was established to provide the development and maintenance of the TRON distributed network. TRX coin was initially based on theEthereumnetwork and developed via the ERC-20 protocol, but was later transformed to become an independentcryptocurrencybased on the Tron protocol.
Earlier in June, Tronannounceda soon-to-be-released upgrade of itsblockchain-based platform, Odyssey, to version 3.6. Odyssey version 3.6 will reportedly contain new features such as improved security and stability.
In May, Tronrevealedplans to develop aBitTorrent-based version of decentralized file system InterPlanetary File System. The development is reportedly a variant of the open source IPFS software and will “allow users to receive and host storage on their computers with other individuals and businesses.”
Currently, TRX is the 12th-largest digital currency onCoinMarketCap, with a market capitalization of around $1.2 billion. Thealtcoinis trading at around $0.035 at press time, having lost 6.59% over the past 24 hours.
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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) closed the most recent trading day at $8.89, moving +0.91% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.12%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.32%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the company had lost 7.46% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 3.52% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time.
TEVA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, TEVA is projected to report earnings of $0.58 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 25.64%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.27 billion, down 9.15% from the year-ago period.
TEVA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.38 per share and revenue of $17.18 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -18.49% and -8.87%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for TEVA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.62% higher. TEVA currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, TEVA currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 3.7. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 7.01, which means TEVA is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that TEVA has a PEG ratio of 1.01 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Generic Drugs industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.01 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Generic Drugs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 147, which puts it in the bottom 43% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow TEVA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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 reportTeva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. |
Rent-A-Center (RCII) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Rent-A-Center (RCII) closed at $25.26 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.24% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.12% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.04%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.32%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the company that leases furniture and appliances with an option to buy had gained 6.3% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 1.86% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time. Wall Street will be looking for positivity from RCII as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, RCII is projected to report earnings of $0.56 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 19.15%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $641.66 million, down 2.15% from the year-ago period. For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.12 per share and revenue of $2.61 billion, which would represent changes of +100% and -1.94%, respectively, from the prior year. Any recent changes to analyst estimates for RCII should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system. Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. RCII currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Investors should also note RCII's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.93. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.99, which means RCII is trading at a discount to the group. Story continues The Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 56, which puts it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions. 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 report Rent-A-Center, Inc. (RCII) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research |
Canada Goose (GOOS) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Canada Goose (GOOS) closed at $36.35 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.86% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.12% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.04%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.32%.
Heading into today, shares of the high-end coat maker had lost 26.48% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.56% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.31% in that time.
GOOS will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect GOOS to post earnings of -$0.17 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 41.67%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $37.79 million, up 9.08% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.26 per share and revenue of $754.23 million. These totals would mark changes of +21.15% and +19.62%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for GOOS. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.94% lower within the past month. GOOS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, GOOS is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 28.65. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.75, so we one might conclude that GOOS is trading at a premium comparatively.
We can also see that GOOS currently has a PEG ratio of 1.01. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. GOOS's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.14 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 79, putting it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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 reportCanada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Madonna makes powerful gun control statement in disturbing music video: ‘We need to wake up’
Madonna weeps for gun violence victims in her powerful new "God Control" video. (Photo: Interscope) Madonna has never been one to shy away from controversy in her music videos, but her new clip for “God Control,” lensed by her frequent collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, may be her most shocking — and important — yet. The unsettling and unflinching eight-minute opus actually opens with the gory aftermath of a mass shooting at a Pulse-like discotheque. Åkerlund then retraces Madonna’s steps throughout the evening as she watches a school shooting on the news, is held up at gunpoint on her way to the nightclub, and then boogies her cares away (in fun disco-dance sequences that recall 1992’s “Deeper and Deeper” and 2005’s “Hung Up”) before tragedy strikes. The juxtaposition of scenes of carefree clubbing (set to Mirwais-produced retro-disco beats) with scenes of brutality and bloodshed is extremely chilling. WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS VERY GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF GUN VIOLENCE. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Jun 26, 2019 at 1:04pm PDT “Everybody knows the damn truth/ Our nation lied/We've lost respect/When we wake up/What can we do?/Get the kids ready/Take them to school/Everybody knows/They don't have a chance/To get a decent job/To have a normal life/When they talk reforms/It makes me laugh,” sings Madonna, a mother of six. Later she implores, “Blood of innocents spread everywhere/They say that we need love/But we need more than this.” The video ends with a close-up of tears spilling down Madonna’s face, along with a call to action for viewers to support multiple organizations fighting for gun-safety legislation, including Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund , March For Our Lives Foundation , Gays Against Guns , Sandy Hook Promise Foundation , Human Rights Campaign Foundation , National LGBTQ Task Force , National Center for Transgender Equality , National Coalition Against Domestic Violence , One Pulse for America , States United to Prevent Gun Violence , and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute . In a statement released in conjunction with the video, Madonna explained, "I want to draw attention through my platform as an artist to a problem in America that is out of control and is taking the lives of innocent people. This crisis can end if our legislators act to change the laws that fail to protect us all." “As a mother, you feel protective and responsible for all of the children in the world,” Madonna recently told People . “It’s really scary to me that the once-safe spaces where we gather, worship and learn are targets. Nobody’s safe. So of course, as a mother, I acutely feel the worry.” Story continues This is not the only pro-gun control statement on Madonna’s new album, Madame X , which just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Another Madame X track, “I Rise,” features audio from a speech by Parkland shooting survivor and activist Emma González. Madonna does disco for "God Control." (Photo: Interscope) Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan addresses gun control in schools: ‘Something's gotta be done' Madonna worries about her kids because of gun violence: 'Same fear every mother in this era has' Garth Brooks opens CMAs with moment of silence for Thousand Oaks shooting victims Follow Lyndsey on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Amazon , Spotify. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter. View comments |
Is Allergan a Good Deal for AbbVie?
The deal that weds the hottest-selling drug Humira with the perennially popular beauty treatment Botox will cost $63 billion in stock and cash. Specifically, AbbVie ABBV will be paying Allergan AGN 0.866 part of its own share (worth $67.94) and $120.30 in cash for each share of Allergan.
The purchase consideration of $188.24 per share therefore works out to a 45% premium to its last trading price on Monday. Allergan’s CEO, Brent Saunders, will join AbbVie’s board while AbbVie’s CEO Richard Gonzalez will continue as the CEO of the combined company.
Rationale for the Deal
Pharmaceutical companies make money by investing in R&D to develop drugs that they can then patent and sell at high prices. The problem is that patents aren’t granted for an indefinite term. So companies continue to earn handsome profits through the life of the patent while developing other drugs than can be patented to generate revenue that takes its place.
And so it continues. Because once the patent runs out, generics flood the market and then of course the increased competition ensures that prices and sales drop off sharply.
In this scenario, life naturally becomes really difficult when continued investments don’t yield the desired results. When new drugs don’t make it to final approval or do so only after significant increase in investment, the resources to continue development also start drying up. According to consultancy firm Deloitte, projected ROI on R&D for the top 12 pharmaceutical companies have fallen to 1.9% in 2018, from 3.7% in 2017 and 8.2% in 2010.
It’s currently expected that the industry will not be able to recover from the onslaught of significantly higher development costs related to big and relatively inefficient structures of the top companies, inordinately long time to develop a product and inadequate use of technological tools (like robotics, AI, etc) to date. While technology investments have stepped up of late, it typically takes a few years to feel the effect of these investments.
So basically, companies have to do all they can to get leaner and meaner in their operating structures. That’s where the AbbVie-Allergan merger makes so much sense. The companies expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive and to facilitate combined savings of $2 billion a year.
Also, since R&D investments yield a very low rate of return, deploying those resources instead to acquire a company that will generate revenue right from the start, seems like a very good deal. Particularly so because Allergan’s main product is yet to see significant competition (the deal makes sense for Allergan because it adds to its R&D and marketing resources).
Humira generated nearly $20 billion in sales last year, or around 60% of AbbVie’s revenue. Therefore, the company needed to find something that could take its place when the patent runs out in mid-2023. Already, it is seeing steep double-digit declines in Europe where generics are available. Therefore, the ability to add a relatively patent-proof (kind of) product like Botox to its product line sounds great.
Investor Concerns
It’s far from a done deal because the companies will need necessary approvals, although the lack of overlapping products likely means that there won’t be anticompetitive concerns.
The delay could come from a different quarter. Ireland-based Allergan has been trying to sell itself since 2016 but its $152 billion merger agreement with Pfizer fell through because that acquisition was designed to lower taxes and the government didn’t take a charitable view of the situation.
On Monday, Bristol-Myers hinted at a roadblock in its deal with Celgene. The company will now have to sell its multibillion-dollar anti-inflammatory drug Otezla before the deal can go through. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be slowing things down here.
There’s also the consideration that the company may have overpaid for Botox, which is the main reason that shares slumped on the news. Especially because there’s also a slight concern that Evolus’ lower-priced Jeuveau, which the FDA approved in February could increase competition. Marketing and reach will be factors at play.
Allergan shares carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while AbbVie shares are ranked #2 (Buy). Merck MRK and Novartis NVS (both ranked #2) are other buys in the space. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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 reportAbbVie Inc. (ABBV) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNovartis AG (NVS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAllergan plc (AGN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMerck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality: RaceAhead
Bryan Stevenson, the Harvard-trained lawyer who has spent his career working as a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform and the wrongly convicted, is the subject of a new documentary airing tonight on HBO. You will not want to miss it.
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equalityis an unprecedented look at one of the most influential, yet unknown figures in modern legal history. “I am persuaded and still am that the criminal justice system reveals the problems of our history of bias against the poor and people of color unlike few systems do,” he says in the film.
Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., a legal enterprise which now includesThe National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the first memorial dedicated to the thousands of people who were killed by racial terror violence during segregation and anyone who is “burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.” (He also brought the house down at theFortuneCEO Initiative last year.)
His work has been extraordinary. He’s argued five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, one which resulted in a ban on mandatory sentences of life without parole for children under 18. To date, the EJI has won release or relief for more than 135 wrongly convicted death-row inmates — and they’re still working. He’s a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient. And his bestselling book, “Just Mercy.” is being made into a feature film, starring Michael B. Jordan. “I was just visiting the cast in L.A. yesterday,” Stevenson tellsraceAhead.“I told Michael he could keep hisCreedandBlack Pantherbody to play me,” he laughs.
It’s a rare bit of levity for a person who up until now has stayed mostly out of the public eye, in part to protect his vulnerable clients. But the visibility the documentary and film will bring is part of a larger strategy, he says. “It will allow people to see and understand things about our justice system that they don’t frequently get to see,” he says.
InTrue Justice, we learn that Stevenson is himself a product of segregated schools, and he shares quiet but wrenching stories of the Jim Crow cruelty his own family experienced. His professional life was made possible in large part by his ability to move past the eighth grade in his segregated Delaware town, thanks to Brown v. Board of Education – a decision made by the very legal system which continues to maintain white supremacy.
“Bryan’s heart for this work became evident early on,” says his brother Howard in the film. Howard Stevenson had the grim duty of breaking the news to his parents that their other son was not destined to become a wealthy attorney. “But they came around because when they met the folks he was working with and could see how their life changed. That looks like church. They were more familiar with that.”
I asked Stevenson how he was thinking about the rise of hate speech and violence in the U.S., and the crisis at the U.S. border. “When we give in to the politics of fear and anger, we allow things to happen that should never happen,” he says. “Fear and anger are the essential ingredients of injustice, of exclusion of bigotry and oppression,” he says. “We have to see that as a real threat to a democracy that prides itself on just treatment and equal rights.”
He also says that big business has a role to play in the quest for societal equality, particularly as it wrestles with diversity and inclusion. He offers three pieces of advice. “I do think we have to pay attention to the narratives that support the policy decisions that we make,” he says. “If you operate on a model – that women are like this, or people of color are like this — then that model is sustained by a narrative that is false or bigoted, and your efforts around diversity and inclusion are going to be compromised.”
Another part of the work is believing things that you haven’t seen. “This country has been shaped by patriarchy and dominated by white men,” he says. “We haven’t seen the kind of diversity and inclusion and representation of women and people of color in power positions that would have been better to see.” From this point of view, “believing” is an act of imagination and a choice. “I think that’s an explicit commitment we need to make.”
And finally, he says, everyone has to be prepared to squirm a bit. “We can’t change these larger systems without being willing to do things that are uncomfortable and inconvenient,” he says. It’s daunting work and it has to go deep.
Stevenson is plenty uncomfortable. He’s still actively representing people in jails and prisons. He’s worried about overcrowding in prisons and is launching a new effort on mental health. “People with severe mental disabilities can get no accommodations in the justice sector. I think that’s unusual and cruel,” he says.
But he’s pleased with the memorial and museum, which welcomed 400,000 visitors in its first year, and is expanding to include meeting space, and a new site with details of 1,600 more victims of lynching. It was a risky endeavor which is paying off. “All of this work of memory and art, it’s all important,” he says. “We’ve done such a poor job educating people on the legacy of all these problems that we’ve inherited from enslavement and lynching and segregation.”
Our willingness to be uncomfortable with him will not be for nothing, he says.
“I just think we’re all burdened by this history and I just think that something better is waiting for us. Something that feels more like freedom, something that feels more like equality,” he says. “Something that feels more like justice than anything any of us are experiencing in this country.”
1. On PointThe ADL hopes to help people Google away from hate The Anti-Defamation League is launching an online marketing campaign that aims to steer people away from propaganda and toward informative websites and curated YouTube videos when they search for violent, extremist or white supremacist information. The “Redirect Method” was piloted back in 2016, and was then focused onredirecting people searching for violent Jihadism or far-right contentand pointing them to videos that explained how hate groups targeted vulnerable people. Some 320,000 users were redirected during the trial. This round will focus entirely on white supremacy. “This is just a pilot project, and I have no illusions that it’s going to alone solve the problem,” says ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “Whatever we can do to try to neutralize this threat before it takes hold I think is worth a try.”USA TodayBoston-based employees of Wayfair walk out in protest The planned walk-out was designed to protest the company’s refusal to stop selling furniture to the detention facilities holding asylum-seekers at the U.S border. Last week, employees learned that a $200,000 order of bedroom furniture had been placed by BCFS, a government contractor that manages the concentration camps. “Knowing what’s going on at the southern border and knowing that Wayfair has the potential to profit from it is pretty scary,” Elizabeth Good, a manager on the engineering team toldThe Boston Globe.“I want to work at a company where the standards we hold ourselves to are the same standards that we hold our customers and our partners to.” Nearly 550 employeessigned a letterasking management to change course. Other bulk customers are expressing support online at#WayfairWalkout.Boston GlobeOttawa gets serious about ridding its federal institutions of racism Canada’s federal government is establishing a new secretariat designed to mitigate systemic racism and discrimination in their programs and services. “Every day in Canada people still face systemic racism and discrimination…it’s often subtle, sometimes invisible, but always unacceptable,” Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez told theToronto City News,citing Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-black racism. The new office is part of a broader anti-racism effort that will be focusing on things like legal services, job-skills training, and anti-hate speech measures.Toronto City NewsRIP Norman Stone? Official obituaries are typically dry affairs, appropriately laudatory and respectful of those who expect to be comforted by good memories. Historian Norman Stone, who died recently at the age of 78, was afforded no such send-off. “At a time when malice and rudeness were highly prized by some rightwing Cambridge dons, Stone outdid them all in the abuse he hurled at anyone he disapproved of, including feminists (“rancid”), Oxford dons (“a dreadful collection of deadbeats, dead wood and has-beens”), students (“smelly and inattentive”), David Cameron and John Major (“transitional nobodies”), Edward Heath (“a flabby-faced coward”) and many more.” It’s all funny stuff…until you realize the damage he left in his wake, with his retrograde ideas of history and his boorish behavior, ever rewarded with more work. “On the occasions when he did appear in Oxford to do some teaching, Stone became notorious for groping his female students…” Sigh. He also wrote speeches for Margaret Thatcher and spent his later years denying the Armenian genocide. I dedicate this summary to all the extraordinary historians who were unable to find a job because of all the space this privileged man evidently took up.The Guardian
2. On BackgroundThe racial realities of “a good death” The ideas around “dying well” varies from person to person, and typically reflect their religious views, social norms, and ideas about what makes for a good life. But African Americans are more likely to be burdened by disease, and die sooner, and more uncomfortably, than white Americans. The reasons are complex, but bias is a clear factor. African Americans are less likely to receivepain medication management,higher-quality careorsurvive surgical procedures, writes Jason Ashe and Danielle L. Beatty Moody, inThe Conversation.And we’re also exposed to the untimely deaths of loved ones at an earlier age. “As African American scholars, we argue the ‘art of dying well’ may be a distant and romantic notion for the African American community,” they write.The ConversationAn enslaved man taught the colonists how to immunize themselves against smallpox Today in history you should have learnt: An enslaved man named Onesimus shared his knowledge of the inoculation techniques he’d experienced in West Africa, which helped public officials stem the tide of a terrible smallpox epidemic thatinfected nearly halfof Boston’s 11,000 residents in 1721. Onesimus was enslaved by a man you’ve probably heard of: Cotton Mather, the Puritan minister best known for his role in setting the stage for the Salem witch trials. Mather had been interested in the inoculation science that was emerging around the world, but the idea was still controversial. Onesimus shared the details with Mather – who took the unusual step of transcribing Onesimus’s instructions word for word, complete with his African accent. “People take juice of smallpox and cuttee skin, and put in a drop.” You’ll find the story around the 15:30 mark of this fascinating podcast.Hub HistoryRevision Path, an award-winning podcast on design, releases its 300th episode The podcast is hosted by Maurice Cherry, a brilliant thinker in his own right. In this episode, he talks to Hannah Beachler, the first black person to be nominated for and win the Academy Award for Best Production Design, forBlack Panther. (Her stories about building the Warrior Falls set, which took seven months and used 150,000 gallons of water, are incredible.) Cherry’s interview style is breezy and fun, like sitting in on a dishy conversation between geniuses. Beachler’s work includesFruitvale Station, Creed, Moonlight,and Beyoncé’sLemonade, as well as the On The Run II tour with Beyoncé and Jay Z. She digs deep into how she uses design and visual thinking to eliminate stereotypes in film, which is especially vital on a biopic likeFruitvale Station.“When we’re not telling our own story, it gets told through a lens that people don’t even know they have,” she says.Revision PathTamara El-Waylly helps produce raceAhead and assisted in the preparation of today’s summaries.
3. Quote…we are each other’s / harvest: / we are each other’s / business: / we are each other’s—Gwendolyn Brooks |
Microsoft OneDrive Personal Vault Feature to Boost Adoption
MicrosoftMSFT recently empowered OneDrive cloud storage offering with new security feature called Personal Vault. OneDrive’s Personal Vault folder is dedicated to storing important and sensitive files by providing an extra encryption measure to aid users securing their vital data.Notably, Microsoft rolled out OneDrive to enable users seamlessly access their data from anywhere by logging into their OneDrive accounts. In a bid to avail Personal Vault service, users will require another login ID and password over OneDrive user credentials. The latest security feature is enabled by Microsoft Authenticator app on compatible devices.Further, the two-step verification security measure provides Microsoft’s OneDrive a competitive edge in the market with enhanced security capabilities. Reportedly, comparable cloud-based user-friendly storage offerings including Alphabet’s GOOGL Google Drive, Apple’s iCloud, Dropbox, among others, presently lack additional security login feature.Features, Availability & PricingMicrosoft notes that the by utilizing Personal Vault, users will be logged out automatically after short duration of inactivity. Users can select the auto-lock interval according to device. This enables users to travel safely with their important documents (financial information, bills, and licenses, to name a few) on their OneDrive folder.Moreover, OneDrive will sync the users’ Personal Vault files with a BitLocker-encrypted area on the system’s local hard drive for Windows 10 PCs.Personal Vault service will be available on web, Windows 10 devices, and Microsoft’s apps. The service is scheduled to be initially offered across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with roll out to other countries slated later this year.Microsoft also increased storage capacity for monthly subscription plan of $1.99 to 100 GB from 50 GB, which brings it at par with similar Google Drive plan. Considering a free OneDrive plan, number of files which can be stored on Personal Vault will be restricted.Notably, Office 365 subscription already offers 1 TB of storage in OneDrive. The company announced that users can now avail extra 200 GB of storage for $1.99 per month, ranging up to additional $1 TB storage for $1.99 per month.What Investors Should Know?OneDrive enables users with flexible and easily adoptable storage capabilities. The latest additional security feature is anticipated to bolster adoption rate of OneDrive on the back of ongoing workspace trend of Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) and increasing mobile/on-the-go workers. Moreover, cyber attacks on subscription or cloud based accounts have become a persistent problem of late, which is where Personal Vault feature holds promise.Additionally, the change in plans with measures to offer additional storage and security measures is expected to drive adoption. This will consequently generate incremental revenues for Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment which contributed 33.5% to total revenues in the last reported quarter.
Microsoft Corporation Revenue (Quarterly)
Microsoft Corporation revenue-quarterly | Microsoft Corporation Quote
Notably, in the third-quarter of fiscal 2019 Microsoft’s Office Consumer products and cloud services revenues increased 8% (up 10% at cc) year over year. Office 365 Consumer subscribers came in at 34.2 million during the reported quarter. Office Commercial revenues increased 12% year over year, driven by Office 365 Commercial growth of 30%.Zacks Rank & Key PicksMicrosoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the broader sector are Rosetta Stone Inc. RST and j2 Global, Inc. JCOM, each sporting Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Long-term earnings growth rate for Rosetta Stone and j2 Global is pegged at 12.5% and 8%, respectively.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 reportj2 Global, Inc. (JCOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAlphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMicrosoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRosetta Stone (RST) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Icahn steps up fight with Occidental over deal, wants board seats
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Arundhati Sarkar
(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn on Wednesday ratcheted up his fight with Occidental Petroleum over its pending purchase of rival Anadarko Petroleum by calling for a special shareholder meeting where he hopes to win board seats.
In a regulatory filing, Icahn said he planned to oust and replace four Occidental directors and change the company's charter through a stockholder consent solicitation to prevent it from ever engineering a similar takeover again.
Responding to the filing, Occidental said it will review the latest materials filed by Icahn, and looks forward to addressing them in ongoing conversations with shareholders.
Icahn, one of industry's most powerful activist investors, cast himself as one of the deal's most fervent critics by charging that Occidental's $38 billion bid for Anadarko was too expensive and could endanger Occidental's future if oil prices sink.
The deal has been approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Icahn's move on Wednesday put fresh pressure on Occidental's management and Chief Executive Vicki Hollub at a critical time and has sparked speculation that Occidental may try to settle with him.
"It is important to add new directors to Occidental's Board of Directors to oversee future extraordinary transactions like the Anadarko transaction and to ensure that they are not consummated without stockholder approval when appropriate," Icahn said in a statement to shareholders on Wednesday.
Icahn owned a $1.6 billion stake in Occidental as of May 30.
While the move was notable, it hardly came as a surprise as Icahn had been hinting for weeks that he might push for a special meeting where other shareholders would be able to express their frustration with management.
In May he sued Occidental in Delaware court, and earlier this week he went out of his way to criticize the Occidental-Anadarko deal while discussing the merger of major casino operators Caesars Entertainment Corp and Eldorado Resorts Inc.
"The recent Occidental Petroleum fiasco is a great example of how CEOs and boards will go to great lengths, including 'betting the company' to serve their own agendas," Icahn said in a statement about the Caesars-Eldorado merger. "If their bet is successful, they and possibly their shareholders win, but if it is unsuccessful, only the shareholders lose."
While Icahn has said publicly that the Occidental-Anadarko deal likely would not be derailed, his filing illustrates how he wants to make sure that nothing similar happens again.
He said Occidental lacks effective corporate governance and that its directors made mistakes in how and at what cost they pursued the acquisition of Anadarko, according to the filing.
Icahn is calling on the board to set a record date to determine which shareholders could petition to hold a special meeting.
The oil and gas producer's bid for Anadarko topped one by Chevron Corp and includes a $10 billion financing deal with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The merger of the two U.S. shale producers would increase Occidental's debt to around $40 billion. Icahn, in his lawsuit filed in Delaware Court of Chancery in May, sought access to the oil producer's financial records and details of negotiations.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston and Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang and Leslie Adler) |
Why Pipeline Engineering Holding Limited (HKG:1865) Looks Like A Quality Company
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One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Pipeline Engineering Holding Limited (HKG:1865).
Pipeline Engineering Holding has a ROE of 13%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each HK$1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made HK$0.13 in profit.
See our latest analysis for Pipeline Engineering Holding
Theformula for return on equityis:
Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders' Equity
Or for Pipeline Engineering Holding:
13% = S$2.1m ÷ S$16m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2018.)
Most readers would understand what net profit is, but it’s worth explaining the concept of shareholders’ equity. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.
Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, as a general rule,a high ROE is a good thing. Clearly, then, one can use ROE to compare different companies.
Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. The limitation of this approach is that some companies are quite different from others, even within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Pipeline Engineering Holding has a higher ROE than the average (11%) in the Construction industry.
That's what I like to see. I usually take a closer look when a company has a better ROE than industry peers. For exampleyou might checkif insiders are buying shares.
Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.
While Pipeline Engineering Holding does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.11, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Its very respectable ROE, combined with only modest debt, suggests the business is in good shape. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.
Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.
But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. Check the past profit growth by Pipeline Engineering Holding by looking at thisvisualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss thisfreelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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. |
FMC Corp. (FMC) to Invest $50M in Global R&D Headquarters
FMC CorporationFMC plans to invest more than $50 million in capital improvement projects over the next three years at its Global Research and Development headquarters in Newark, DE. This includes the reconfiguration of a state-of-the-art greenhouse and research facility.In 2017, FMC purchased the Stine Research Center campus, which was part of its buyout of a portion of DuPont's crop protection business. Notably, this was the biggest deal in the company’s history. The company retained more than 500 jobs in Delaware, formed 19 new positions and transferred 45 employees from a nearby state.FMC is making fresh investments in Delaware, which has been a center of world-class agriscience and biotechnology research. Moreover, the company plans to reconfigure an existing structure at the facility that will boost its global R&D. It plans to hire 13 employees over the next three years for supporting the project. This will bring its total number of full-time R&D employees at the Delaware campus to roughly 375. Notably, the facility has a total workforce of around 600, including support staff and contractors.Per management, the company will invest nearly $2 billion in R&D through 2023 as a cornerstone of its long-term growth strategy. Also, the Council for Development Finance (CDF) approved a grant for around $1.64 million from the Delaware Strategic Fund to support the expansion. This includes a performance grant of $142,500 and capital expenditure grant of $1.5 million.The grant is likely to supplement FMC’s investment over a three-year horizon. Both the grants are contingent upon the company adhering to employment benchmarks.Shares of FMC have lost 6.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 33.5% decline.
Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksFMC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Materion Corp. MTRN, Flexible Solutions International Inc FSI and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. AU. These stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Materion has an expected earnings growth rate of 27.3% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 21.8% in the past year.Flexible Solutions has a projected earnings growth rate of 342.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 144.4% in a year’s time.AngloGold has an estimated earnings growth rate of 90.6% for the current year. Its shares have rallied 116.8% in the past year.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 reportFMC Corporation (FMC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFlexible Solutions International Inc. (FSI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMaterion Corporation (MTRN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Elizabeth Warren proposes decriminalizing border crossings
As Congress attempts to pass a $4.5 billion emergency border funding package, Massachusetts senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has become the latest candidate to suggest decriminalizing illegal border crossings into the United States.
Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro was the first to call for the decriminalization of migrants who enter the United States at the border without proper documentation. Warren said that she agrees with Castro, adding in a statement that we "should not be criminalizing mamas and babies trying to flee violence at home or trying to build a better future. We must pass comprehensive immigration reform that is in line with our values, creates a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants including our DREAMers, and protects our borders.”
The issues at the southern border have reached a boiling point in recent weeks as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recognized the thousands of migrants presenting themselves for asylum daily, many of them families, as a humanitarian crisis. As of May in fiscal year 2019, 593,507 migrants have been apprehended at the United States southern border between ports of entry. Fully 332,981 of those apprehensions are family units and as of June 10, DHS has referred over 52,000 unaccompanied children to Health and Human services this fiscal year.
Texas Congressman Brian Babin is co-chair of the Border Security Caucus and he joined "Trish Regan Primetime" on Wednesday.
"It's utter nonsense," said Babin. "Democrats helped pass these immigration laws in years past and it is illegal to come into our country without permission."
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This debate has heated up because of reports regarding the conditions of the detention centers along the southern border. These centers have been housing migrants while they wait to be processed. Many of them are overcrowded and some are over triple their intended capacity. This has led the Trump administration to ask for additional funding from Congress, although it is up to the Democratic-controlled Congress to decide what the emergency funding will be spent on.
"If she was interested in the mamas and babes that she says then she should be providing the supplemental funding that the president is asking for," Babin said. "If the Congress will not pass laws to close these loopholes and try to disincentivize these people from coming then we will need interior enforcement."
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Crypto News: JPMorgan to Start Trials, IBM Launches New Enterprise Blockchain Platform
The pace of disruption is accelerating in the crypto universe.
Some of the largest and most powerful businesses in the world are beginning to adopt blockchain technology. And those that don't are likely to be left behind.
The Motley Fool would like to help you stay abreast of these game-changing developments. To that end, here's some news that caught our attention in recent days.
Image source: Getty Images.
JPMorgan Chase(NYSE: JPM)is seeing notable interest from its customers for its new JPM Coin cryptocurrency, according toBloomberg. The largest U.S. bank by assets says its clients are eager to see whether the digital token can help to shorten the time it takes to finalize bond trades.
JPM Coin is a stablecoin -- a digital token whose value is backed by real assets such as fiat currencies. The coin's price is pegged to the U.S. dollar, and it can be redeemed for cash from JPMorgan Chase. JPM Coin currently operates on the Quorum Blockchain, a private version ofEthereum.
Management at JPMorgan Chase says that JPM Coin could allow for the "instant" delivery of bonds via its blockchain platform. Currently, bond transactions typically take several days to settle.
The bank holding company intends to begin testing JPM Coin toward the end of 2019, if regulators approve the trials.
Umar Farooq, head of digital treasury services and blockchain at JPMorgan Chase, sees the project as part of a far larger trend toward the tokenization of financial assets. "We believe that a lot of securities over time, in five to 20 years, will increasingly become digital or get tokenized," Farooq said.
International Business Machines(NYSE: IBM)wants to help businesses of all sizes build and operate blockchain networks. The tech titan recentlyintroduceda new version of its IBM Blockchain Platform that's designed to make it easier for companies to experiment with its tools and services.
The IBM Blockchain Platform can now be deployed to public clouds such asAmazonWeb Services andMicrosoft's Azure, as well as on-premise private clouds. The upgraded platform also offers enhanced capabilities designed to makesmart contractdevelopment and network management easier.
Perhaps most importantly, this new version of the IBM Blockchain Platform gives users the flexibility to pay for only the blockchain components they need, when they need them. IBM says its new pricing model will allow users to "start small and pay as you grow." It's a tiered pricing structure that's been proven effective by other software-as-a-service providers such asShopifyandsalesforce.com, particularly in regard to appealing to small- and medium-sized businesses.
And by catering to businesses both large and small, IBM is increasing the size of its addressable market, while also helping to boost blockchain usage among a greater number of companies. "Through our partnerships, solutions, and services, we continue to lay the groundwork for widespread adoption of enterprise blockchain," said Jerry Cuomo, IBM's vice president of blockchain technologies.
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• Crypto, Blockchain & Bitcoin Articles
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Joe Tenebrusohas no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Shopify, and Shopify. The Motley Fool is short shares of IBM. The Motley Foolhas no position in any of the cryptocurrencies mentioned.The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. |
The Truth Behind the BMW 7-Series' Ridiculously Massive Grille
Photo credit: BMW From Car and Driver To the 8271 Americans who bought a BMW 7-series last year: You're being blamed for this, but it's not really your fault. BMW says that the massive grille on the 2020 7er is a response to customer demand from the car's two largest markets. Yes, you people made America No. 2, but approximately 20,000 buyers made China No. 1. So when BMW says it was responding to those customer groups, the Chinese were about 150 percent louder than the Americans-and restraint is apparently not high on the list of Chinese automotive priorities. Which is how the grille on the new 7-series came to be 40 percent larger than the same feature on its predecessor. At nearly a foot high, it's so tall that it crests the leading edge of the hood and extends rearward horizontally, in the manner of the 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass's maw. Unlike the Cutlass, though, the 7-series has active shutters to improve aerodynamics when full flow isn't needed. The rest of this story is mostly made up. The slats between the grille's shutters are approximately 7 percent sharper than before, which improves laminar flow by preventing transonic shock waves across the 7's panametric fam. Under certain barometric pressures, the new slats yield up to a 0.9 percent gain in absolute vorticity, further improving the big Bimmer's already stunning dihedral downwash stability. A larger grille naturally ingests more air-though the 40 percent increase in surface area unfortunately doesn't translate to a 40 percent increase in power for the 750i. Temperature variability in the prefamulated amulite and the orientation of the hydrocoptic marzel vanes mean the larger-grille model makes only 18 percent more horsepower than the outgoing one. It's a shame the designers couldn't restrain themselves to a similar expansion. From the June 2019 issue ('You Might Also Like',) Unclogging Streets Could Help City Dwellers Save 125 Hours a Year The 10 Cheapest New Cars of 2018 Get Out Early, Get In Late: What to Know About Auto Lease Transfers |
How To Invest As The Trade War Progresses
The China-US trade war began almost one year ago, with both sides initiating levies on $34 billion worth of goods beginning July 6th, 2018. Today the US has tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese products with the remaining $325 billion worth of goods (cover the rest of China’s total exports to the US) being threatened, taunting China.
Chinese regulators have retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion worth of US goods, nearly all of the US’s exported goods to China. For perspective in 2018 the US exported $120 billion in goods to China while importing $540 billion in Chinese products.
G-20 summit could make or break a potential deal between Trump and Xi. The markets are betting on break. Investors and traders have completely priced in a rate cut for the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. If progress and concessions are made at the G-20 summit this conviction will likely do a 180.
The trade war has been weighing heavy on both economies and now it is a question of which side will make compromises first as both economies will undoubtedly experience growing turmoil if this trade war ensues.
Why Xi Might Cave on Trade Deal
China is a net export country meaning that they rely on export growth to maintain its recent prolific GDP expansion and the US consumes over 20% of those exports. If 20% of China’s total exports are being threatened, the entire economy comes under fire. This trade war has been uncovering the cracks in China’s economy as it begins to slow.
Chinese interbank lending rate fell to its lowest level in a decade due to concerns over banks’ liquidity with the recent government takeover of a bank in financial distress last month. This move to an easy money policy further exemplifies the fragile economic condition that China is beginning to face.
Xi knows that China’s economy is coming closer and closer to the end of its proliferating growth period that they have experience for the last decade or so. This trade war might be the feather that tips China’s GDP scale to negative growth.
Xi and his Beijing officials are just hoping that their economy can withstand further trade escalation long enough for the US stock market to tank and Trump to be forced to cooperate.
Some Chinese companies have been attempting to avoid US tariffs by shipping products through countries Vietnam and Taiwan which have both seen a significant increase in both Chinese imports and US exports.
Stocks to Buy If Beijing Compromises
Boeing BA
Boeing is the single largest US exporter and China is a crucial buyer of their commercial airplanes. Boeing has been facing other headwinds with significant issues concerning their 737 MAX. If China were to reduce its tariffs this should reignited order volume from Chinese airlines pushing the stock price with it.
Archer Daniels Midland ADM
ADM relies heavily on exported agricultural products with 55% of its revenue coming from international sales. The trade war with China has significantly hurt this business’s bottom-line as razor-thin margins cause negative revenue impacts to be amplified in earnings. ADM has fallen over 12% in the last year but could see a considerable upside if their business with China is able to resume as usual.
Tesla TSLA
Tesla has a significant level of Chinese exposure as they are the number one international buyer of Tesla vehicles. The firm is in the process of building Gigafactory in Shanghai to keep up with the anticipated Chinese demand for Tesla products. Analysts are projecting that the demand for Tesla’s may be cut in half this year if the trade war continues. If Xi is willing to make compromises, TSLA could see a surge as the much-needed demand is revitalized.
Why Trump Might Cave
The US is a net import country meaning that they operate at a trade deficit. A huge portion of US companies rely on Chinese imported components to create finished products in the US. These tariffs will force these firms to either eat the tariff cost or produce these components elsewhere at a deepened expense. Either way, a considerable amount of consumer products will become more costly to make, and businesses will more than likely push this expense to the consumer. This will slow consumer demand and probably take a hit on the US’s total GDP.
The import expenses are only one side of the equation. Chinese demand for US goods has been reduced significantly because of Beijing’s levies, hurting American exporters.
Trump is confident that the US economy can sustain prolonged tariffs with China. He says the government will be collecting billions in tariffs and the US will just be doing less business with China.
If the trade war does escalate the effects will be larger than president Trump is anticipating. Prices for goods across the board will raise as US corporations scramble to either produce components in-house or find another outsourcing partner. Further escalation of tariffs will have a materially negative effect on the US economy.
Trump is coming up on the 2020 election and he can’t afford to have the equity market tumble before this. Most of his credibility is hinged on the market’s success since he has taken office. As I mentioned above, Beijing is hoping that Trump backs down to save the markets from turning bearish before he is up for reelection.
Stocks to Buy if Washington Compromises
Apple AAPL
It is widely known that the majority of an Apple products are made overseas, primarily China, in order to cut costs. Apple is now evaluating options to move production from China to Southeast Asia for somewhere between 15 and 30% of its production capacity. This trade war has hit Apple’s top and bottom-line and will continue to increase costs and hamper demand as the trade war ensues. If Washington backs down and Apple resumes operations as they were before the trade conflict, AAPL should see a solid lift.
Nike NKE
Nike produces almost all of its products overseas with the largest portion of this outsourcing coming from China. The US tariffs on these Chinese made shoes will cause the cost to increase and in turn inflate the price for consumers. This will slow demand for the shoes if the US-China trade conflict heightens. Consider buying NKE if progress is made in trade discussions, look primarily for Trump to give concessions to Chinese made products.
Take Away
The US-China trade war has gone beyond what most economists and investors had anticipated but the markets still aren’t pricing in the full impact. If Washington adds the remaining tariff schedule the economy and markets will feel its effect.
I am hoping that both president Trump and Xi come to their senses before this occurs and work together in order to make a trade agreement that both sides can stomach. This result isn’t guaranteed and further escalation will likely cause one side to fold to the others demands. If this does occur look to buy some of the stock I mentioned above.
Keep in mind that further escalation of the trade war will likely cause these stocks further pain. Wait till the time is right before putting a position on.
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 Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTesla, Inc. (TSLA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportApple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNIKE, Inc. (NKE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportArcher Daniels Midland Company (ADM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Did Altria Waste $13 Billion on Juul E-Cigs?
Tobacco giantPhilip Morris International(NYSE: PM)spent millions of dollars on a marketing application millions of pages long to get its heated tobacco IQOS device approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Smaller electronic cigarette manufacturers without similarly deep pockets or a well-financed partner will not be able to navigate that regulatory morass, regardless of whether the deadline issix months out or 10 monthsas is now being contemplated.
Image source: Getty Images.
Yet Juul Labs, which does have a well-heeled backer inAltria(NYSE: MO), may not be able to make it across the finish line, either; former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, before he resigned, said he doubted the e-cig leader would receive approval because of teen usage of its device.
If the former regulator's opinion still carries any weight, Altria may as well have put a match to its $13 billion investment in Juul.
The electronic cigarette industry as a whole has been thrown into turmoil after a judge ruled the FDA illegally allowed manufacturers to introduce their products onto the market without a safety review. He ordered the agency to enforce its mandate and regulate the devices, and gave it two weeks to come up with a plan.
The FDA recommended having companies submit their premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the FDA within 10 months, but antismoking activists want manufacturers to begin complying within six months. Although both the six-month window and the 10-month window would allow devices currently on the market to remain so for a year while the FDA considers the application, it's important to bear in mind that it took the agency over two years to make a decision about IQOS when there was no deadline staring it in the face.
The judge also didn't care if e-cig manufacturers couldn't comply with the deadline, saying it was their fault they listened to the FDA's claims that they could wait until 2022 to file their applications. Even apart from that, the manufacturers likely don't have the expertise to file a million-page document or the financial resources to shepherd an application through the regulatory labyrinth. And if the FDA fails to act within a year's time, their businesses will cease to exist.
Juul Labs, though, ought to have the wherewithal to see it through, and it can rely upon Altria for assistance and guidance, as the cigarette giant has decades of experience dealing with the regulatory apparatus. What Juul might not be able to overcome, however, is the animus the FDA has toward it because of its device's purported popularity with teens.
The FDA claims there is an"epidemic" of teen useof electronic cigarettes, with high schoolers and middle schoolers flocking to the devices. If we view this through an alternate lens, however, we see that teen smoking rates have also tumbled to their lowest levels ever recorded. Just as was the case with adults, e-cigs are likely having the intended effect of luring teens away from traditional cigarettes.
No doubt there are also many teens casually using Juul because of the supposed social status that comes with it, but as the packaging on Juul and every other e-cig product notes, it's intended for smokers only, and if you don't smoke you shouldn't use one. It would seem that rather than pushing for more education around e-cig use, the FDA could risk an uptick in teen smoking to as it tries to prevent the possibility that some might use the devices casually.
The blame for the rise in teen use is being placed squarely at the feet of Juul Labs, and by extension Altria, as executives from both companies weresummoned to Gottlieb's officebefore he resigned to explain how the latter's investment wasn't undermining their stated commitment to preventing teen access. Following the meeting, Gottlieb expressed disappointment in their answers, and his subsequent comment that "Juul is in a hard spot to ever get their product approved" indicates that his jaded outlook may pervade the entire agency.
The e-cig maker is already being investigated for its marketing practices, with opponents contending that fruit flavors, social media interaction, and a thumb drive-like design all entice teens to the product, though those attributes are very appealing to adults, too. Congress has also begun looking at the company, and San Francisco just banned the sale of Juuls and e-cigs in the city, even though it handed out over 5.8 million needles to hardcore drug users last year.
While Altria's investment in Juul was initially hailed as a masterstroke that would give it a piece of what could be the market'stwo leading devices-- Philip Morris' IQOS will be marketed under Altria's Marlboro brand -- it is looking increasingly possible that the money will soon go up in smoke.
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Rich Dupreyhas 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. |
Germans get chance to kill virtual Nazis after rule change
BERLIN (AP) — Germans itching to shoot virtual Nazis will soon get a chance to do so, after a change in the rules concerning the use of forbidden symbols in video games. U.S. games publisher Bethesda Softworks said Wednesday that the international version of its upcoming first-person shooter "Wolfenstein: Youngblood" will be available in Germany, complete with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, for over-18s. Public displays of Nazi symbols are illegal in Germany, except for artistic or educational purposes. Video gamers have long complained that previous installments in the popular "Wolfenstein" series sold in Germany omitted obvious references to the Nazis, despite them clearly being depicted as evil. The German industry organization that assigns age-ratings to games announced last year it would align its practice with that of other artworks such as movies. |
Calculating The Fair Value Of IntelliCentrics Global Holdings Ltd. (HKG:6819)
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How far off is IntelliCentrics Global Holdings Ltd. (HKG:6819) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the foreast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
See our latest analysis for IntelliCentrics Global Holdings
We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:
[{"": "Levered FCF ($, Millions)", "2019": "$9.47", "2020": "$12.56", "2021": "$18.54", "2022": "$25.39", "2023": "$31.09", "2024": "$36.16", "2025": "$40.51", "2026": "$44.17", "2027": "$47.22", "2028": "$49.79"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x1", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Analyst x1", "2023": "Est @ 22.46%", "2024": "Est @ 16.32%", "2025": "Est @ 12.02%", "2026": "Est @ 9.02%", "2027": "Est @ 6.91%", "2028": "Est @ 5.44%"}, {"": "Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.73%", "2019": "$8.71", "2020": "$10.62", "2021": "$14.42", "2022": "$18.17", "2023": "$20.46", "2024": "$21.89", "2025": "$22.55", "2026": "$22.61", "2027": "$22.23", "2028": "$21.56"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $183.21m
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.7%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$50m × (1 + 2%) ÷ (8.7% – 2%) = US$755m
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= $US$755m ÷ ( 1 + 8.7%)10= $326.89m
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is $510.10m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of $1.12. However, 6819’s primary listing is in United States, and 1 share of 6819 in USD represents 7.81 ( USD/ HKD) share of SEHK:6819,so the intrinsic value per share in HKD is HK$8.72.Compared to the current share price of HK$7.16, the company appears about fair value at a 18% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.
We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at IntelliCentrics Global Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.129. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For IntelliCentrics Global Holdings, There are three further factors you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does 6819 have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does 6819's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of 6819? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the HKG every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks justsearch 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. |
Trump: China needs to reach a trade deal more than he does
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he's under little pressure to reach a trade deal with China when he meets late this week with President Xi Jinping and is prepared to impose further tariffs on Chinese imports.
"The Chinese economy's going down the tubes," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network. "They want to make a deal more than I do."
The president has threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports — on top of the $250 billion in goods he's already taxed — a move that would extend his import taxes to virtually everything China ships to the United States. He says the new tariffs might start at 10%. Earlier, the administration had said additional tariffs might reach 25%.
The two countries are sparring over the Trump administration's allegations that Beijing steals technology and coerces foreign companies into handing over trade secrets. Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet at the Group of 20 leaders' meeting Friday and Saturday in Osaka, Japan.
Speaking to reporters at a lunch in New York, former Chinese diplomat Zhao Weiping disputed U.S. complaints about Chinese technology policy, suggesting the trade war was meant to hobble a rising competitor. "We think the fundamental purpose is to check the development of China," said Zhao, vice president of the Chinese People's Institute for Foreign Affairs.
He later added, "Nobody will win the trade war. It's just a question of which side will lose more."
Also Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross struck a somewhat more conciliatory note.
"We're not looking for a victory," Ross said in a separate interview with Fox Business Network. "What we're looking for is a sensible deal that addresses the legitimate issues that we have. This is not a thing where one (country) is going to be pinned to the floor and knocked out."
A meaningful agreement, Ross said, would involve persuading Beijing to curb abusive tech policies, buy more American products, narrow the U.S. trade deficit with China (a record $381 billion last year) and, "hardest of all," devising ways to make sure Beijing lives up to its commitments.
Zhao said the Americans are being unrealistic about just how much China can do to reduce the trade imbalance. "The U.S. has asked us to purchase more than we can buy," he said.
Later, Zhao said, "The U.S. side should not be too ambitious. You have to be realistic."
In his interview, Trump also suggested that he may have identified a new trade adversary: Vietnam. Asked about reports that Chinese products were being diverted to Vietnam to avoid his tariffs on goods from China, Trump asserted that "Vietnam takes advantage of us even worse than China."
Asked whether he was planning to impose tariffs on Vietnamese products, the president said his administration was "in discussions" with Vietnam.
___
Darlene Superville and Deb Riechmann in Washington and Brad Foss in New York contributed to this story. |
Family Feud Continues Over Estate Left By The Founder Of Rush Enterprises
W.M "Rusty" Rush III and his stepmother, Barbara Rush, continue to fight in a Texas court over the late W. Marvin Rush II's estate.
The death of 79-year-old W. Marvin Rush II (known as Marvin) – the founder ofRush Enterprises Inc(NASDAQ:RUSHA), one of the largest commercial truck dealership chains in North America – sparked a feud over the company and its assets. Rush Enterprises currently has a market cap of $1.32 billion.
When Marvin Rush died in May 2018, his death triggered a fight over his estate between his son Rusty and third wife, Barbara. Both Rusty and Barbara filed dueling wills over Marvin's estate.
Rusty Rush, 61, is the current chairman, current chief executive and president of Rush Enterprises. He began working for his father at the company in 1974.
The latest court filings on June 17 said that Marvin Rush wanted to keep control over his substantial financial assets when he decided in 1991 to wed for a third time.
"In 1991, Marvin married one of his secretaries, Barbara Mills. He insisted that Barbara sign a Marital Agreement whereby Barbara gave up any rights she might otherwise have, then or in the future, to claim any interest in any of Marvin's separate property – or what might otherwise be community property – including all of his ‘right title and interests in [Rush Enterprises],'" alleged an amended lawsuit filed in Bexar County district court by Rusty Rush.
According to the amended lawsuit, Rusty Rush alleges his father signed a durable power of attorney in May 2013 that gave Barbara "the right to unilaterally control" her husband's assets. Marvin Rush never disclosed that to either of his sons, Rusty or Robin, according to the amended lawsuit.
"Had Marvin mentioned this fact, Rusty and Robin might have had some clear warning that their father, who had always been very insistent on keeping his wife out of his business and in retaining total control over his property, was not acting rationally, or with full mental capacity, as such a relinquishment of control by Marvin would never have occurred had Marvin been ‘in his right mind,'" states the amended lawsuit.
In 2017, Barbara Rush also created the Rush Living Trust and transferred most of Marvin's assets to it, said the lawsuit. Those assets- valued currently around $44 million- included cash, real estate, automobiles and his Rush Enterprises stock. Barbara Rush and her daughters are the beneficiaries of the trust.
Through her San Antonio attorney, Barbara Rush, 58, denied Rusty Rush's claims in his amended lawsuit.
Rusty Rush has said his father stated his wishes in a 2006 will. Barbara Rush disputed that claim, saying that Marvin revoked that will when he made a new one in May 2013 and then another in November 2013.
Rusty Rush also contends that neither Barbara Rush nor her lawyers informed him that she had created the Rush Living Trust and that Marvin's stock had been transferred to the trust "out of Marvin's name and control."
Rusty Rush is seeking to recover his father Marvin Rush's stock and interest in 3MR Partners, which Marvin formed in 1998. Rusty Rush also seeks unspecified punitive damages against Barbara Rush. No trial date has been announced.
Rush Enterprises is based in the small town of New Braunfels, Texas, which is about 32 miles north of San Antonio. The company's headquarters sits along the busy Interstate 35 corridor. Rush is a commercial truck dealership that was first built around Peterbilt trucks.
Marvin Rush started the business that ultimately became Rush Enterprises in the Houston area with some other individuals in 1965. Today, Rush is one of the largest commercial dealer/service centers in the United States.
Along with Peterbilt, the company operates a network of dealerships selling commercial vehicles manufactured by International, Hino, Ford, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso, IC Bus and Blue Bird. The company also offers equipment installation and repair. It serves regional and national truck fleets, corporations, local governments, and owner operators.
Rush Enterprises went public in 1990. As of June 26, the company's stock was trading at $35.85 a share. Rush Enterprises has a one-year low of $31.53 and a one-year high of $46.22.
Rush Enterprises last issued its quarterly earnings data on April 24. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. The next quarterly earnings report is scheduled for July 23.
Image Sourced by Pixabay
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
Did Regina Miracle International (Holdings) Limited's (HKG:2199) Recent Earnings Growth Beat The Trend?
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After reading Regina Miracle International (Holdings) Limited's (HKG:2199) most recent earnings announcement (31 March 2019), I found it useful to look back at how the company has performed in the past and compare this against the latest numbers. As a long-term investor I tend to focus on earnings trend, rather than a single number at one point in time. Also, comparing it against an industry benchmark to understand whether it outperformed, or is simply riding an industry wave, is a crucial aspect. Below is a brief commentary on my key takeaways.
Check out our latest analysis for Regina Miracle International (Holdings)
2199's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of HK$282m has jumped 18% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of -7.7%, indicating the rate at which 2199 is growing has accelerated. How has it been able to do this? Let's see if it is only owing to industry tailwinds, or if Regina Miracle International (Holdings) has seen some company-specific growth.
In terms of returns from investment, Regina Miracle International (Holdings) has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 9.7% instead. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 5.4% is below the HK Luxury industry of 5.7%, indicating Regina Miracle International (Holdings)'s are utilized less efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Regina Miracle International (Holdings)’s debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 20% to 7.1%.
Regina Miracle International (Holdings)'s track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. While Regina Miracle International (Holdings) has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there's no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. You should continue to research Regina Miracle International (Holdings) to get a better picture of the stock by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 2199’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 2199’s outlook.
2. Financial Health: Are 2199’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out ourfinancial health checks here.
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.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. 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. |
2019 Democratic Debate Includes More Women Than Ever Before
TheDemocratic presidential candidatestaking the stage to kick off the primary debates include more women than ever before, six contenders challenging assumptions that voters and pundits may have about what presidential leadership looks like.
Their vision for the country and their leadership style are getting a new spotlight in what amounts to a televised audition for a job that has been held only by men.
Gender dynamics could feature prominently on Wednesday and Thursday night, in the questions the women face and, perhaps more importantly, in the way they approach and question their male opponents and each other.
In the historic lineups, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii were on Wednesday night’s schedule, Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and the author Marianne Williamson on Thursday.
Research from the nonpartisan Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which studies women in politics, has shown female candidates can have a steep hill to climb in debates.
While male politicians are rewarded for assertiveness, a quality that debates demand, women pay a higher price for “going negative” or exposing areas of contrast with their opponents, according to the findings.
Karine Jean-Pierre, a top official with the progressive advocacy group MoveOn, says, “Women need to both show strength and be likable. They also need to sell their credentials more than men. All of that puts them at a disadvantage.”
“That being said, we know women voters will be key to this election.”
Also, multiple Democratic strategists say, if a male candidate opts to change the way he approaches a female candidate because of her gender, that could also appear sexist.
On each night, seven male candidates will join three women.
“These are men that are going to be really cognizant of how they’re treating the women on stage,” said Amanda Litman, who served on Hillary Clinton’s digital team in 2016 and is a co-founder of “Run for Something.”
Aides and allies of multiple female candidates in the debates, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss campaign strategy, said that they have considered how they would handle sexist issues, either in the form of interactions with other candidates or in questions from moderators.
One recent example of how women might choose to handle an overtly sexist comment came from Carly Fiorina, who ran in the 2016 Republican primary. Asked about then-candidate Donald Trump’s comments about her appearance — which he later denied— she responded, “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”
The half dozen women campaigning for the Democratic nomination are the most ever, a historic fact no matter how later votes turn out.
“My hope is the more we see multiple women up on that stage and a more diverse set of candidates, that we start expanding our view of what is acceptable from a candidate, how they’re supposed to look, how they’re supposed to sound,” said Christina Reynolds, who worked as Clinton’s deputy communications director in 2016.
Fifty years ago, Shirley Chisholm became the first woman to pursue the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, yet she had to petition to participate in a televised debate. And as recently as the 2016 cycle, debates included just two women on stage: Clinton, who eventually won the Democratic nomination, and Republican Fiorina, a former technology executive.
Several male candidates have not previously debated a woman. Two that have, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, will stand side-by-side on Thursday night.
Biden shared a debate stage with Clinton for the first Democratic presidential debate of the 2008 cycle, and later with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after Barack Obama selected him as running mate. In 1986, Sanders— who was running for governor as an independent — debated Democratic incumbent Gov. Madeleine Kunin. In 2016, he and Clinton faced off in multiple debates during the Democratic primary.
In the 2008 campaign, one of the most pointed moments came before the New Hampshire primary. A moderator asked Clinton why voters found her less likable than some of her rivals, to which she replied, “Well that hurts my feelings.” Then-Sen. Barack Obama replied, “You’re likable enough, Hillary,” a comment widely interpreted as dismissive.
Questions about likability plagued Clinton during both her campaigns, and have similarly been posed to the women running this year, though not the men. Gillibrand was asked about her likeability as part of the first question she received at her first press conference after announcing that she would seek the presidency.
Before his 2008 vice presidential debate against Palin, the first woman to run on a GOP presidential ticket, Biden faced questions about his strategy. He retorted that reporters were in a “time warp” if they thought he would prepare any differently than against a man.
“It seems like the only people in the room that think that debating a woman is going to be fundamentally different are people who don’t hang around with smart women,” Biden said.
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona contends that in 2016 voters saw a woman outperform a male opponent during Clinton’s debates against Trump.
“But that wasn’t enough. She didn’t win the election,” Cardona said. “And so what will it take? What does it look like today for a woman in a debate to look like somebody that voters can feel confident to give the title of commander in chief? I don’t think we know that yet.”
The women running in 2020 have embraced the idea that they might make history. Warren frequently says she’s running for president because “that’s what girls do.” Klobuchar says, “May the best woman win.”
—Democratic debate watch parties—and drinking games—are a thing
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Here's Why You Should Add NewJersey Resources (NJR) Stock
The Zacks Consensus Estimate forNewJersey Resources Corporation’s NJR fiscal 2019 earnings was unchanged at $2 per share in the past 90 days. However, estimates for fiscal 2020 have been revised up 1.8% to $2.20 during the said period.
Let’s focus on the factors that make the stock an appropriate investment option at the moment.
Zacks Rank &VGM Score
NewJersey Resources currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The stock has an impressive VGM Score of B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum with the score being a weighted combination of all three factors. Back tested results show that stocks with a favorable VGM Score of A or B coupled with a bullish Zacks Rank are the best investment options.
Earnings Surprise History & Long-Term Growth
The company’s average four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 5.52%.
The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 7%.
Price Movement & Dividend Yield
In the past 12 months, NewJersey Resources’ shares have gained 13.8% compared with the industry’s rise of 7.9%.
Currently, the company has a dividend yield of 2.31% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.93%.
Debt-to-Capital & Current Ratio
The debt-to-capital ratio is a good indicator of the financial position of a company. The indicator shows how much debt is used to conduct the business. Currently, the company’s debt-to-capital ratio is pegged at 42.92%, which is lower than the industry’s 49.04% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 43.11%.
NewJersey Resources’ current ratio is pegged at 1.04 as of Mar 31, 2019. The current ratio of more than 1 ensures the company's ability to pay short-term obligations or those due within a year.
Capital Investment Plan
The company plans to invest approximately $2 billion over fiscal 2019 to 2021. It is making investments in natural gas and midstream infrastructures to provide safe and reliable service. Moreover,NewJersey Resources has made significant capital expenditures toward the Clean Energy Ventures segment.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are ONEOK, Inc OKE, ONE Gas, Inc OGS and Northwest Natural Gas Company NWN, each holding a Zacks Rank of 2.
ONEOK pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 3.17% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 11.30%.
ONE Gas pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 8.29% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 5.90%.
Earnings Estimates for 2019 for Northwest Natural Gas moved up 0.8% to $2.37 per share in the past 60 days. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 4.50%
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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 reportNewJersey Resources Corporation (NJR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportONEOK, Inc. (OKE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorthwest Natural Gas Company (NWN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportONE Gas, Inc. (OGS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Goodbye Party And Civility For Its Own Sake
Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. After comedian Michelle Wolf made several jokes at Sanders's expense during her remarks, several members of the press defended Sanders. (Photo: The Washington Post via Getty Images) “Everybody has their issue with Sarah Sanders,” a White House correspondent told the Columbia Journalism Review at former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ goodbye party, “but if you can’t have a drink with somebody, then all of civilization has broken down.” The CJR party report — like those of the New York Times and the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple — featured other disturbingly cavalier quotes. Another unnamed reporter described the shindig to CJR as being like “the end of a battle, or a decent game of rugby, where at the end of the day you shake hands.” Politico White House correspondent Anita Kumar, who co-hosted the event, told the Post she was pleased by the turnout. “And it taught me two things: One, we did the right thing, the thing that we always knew was right that I kind of second-guessed for a minute with all the criticism, which is, we’re meeting with the people that we cover,” Kumar said. (The event was widely questioned after HuffPost’s Maxwell Strachan first reported on plans for it last week.) Wemple also defended the event as a staple of beat reporting, yet when he attempted to ask Sanders several questions, she responded that it was not “the appropriate venue.” The White House press corps, like many other political insiders, is accustomed to doing its job by certain rules — polite opposition, bitter professional battles leavened by personal friendliness. The collapse of the norms that govern their day-to-day work and socializing may strike them as the most noticeable change in the status quo. But preserving those norms, it’s clear by now, will do nothing to halt the national slide toward open, state-sponsored violence toward people of color and other marginalized groups. Defending Sanders from comedian Michelle Wolf, as many correspondents did after the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, did not prevent her boss from demonizing the press or from enacting policies like child separation. And yet the clamor for more mutual back-scratching continues, with the same righteous, disproven justifications. This is the politics of civility, boiled down to its oblivious core: It’s not that civility will save us, per se. It’s that civility itself is what must be saved. Story continues And so it’s that “if you can’t have a drink with somebody” comment that’s particularly galling amid the current grotesque news cycle. What does it even mean to uphold a civilization in which bipartisan socializing continues, but our government pursues policies designed to inflict massive suffering and even death on vulnerable people? Civilization has already collapsed. The parties may just be the last vestigial twitches. I thought of the comment when I read more reporting on the grotesque , intentionally inhumane conditions in the border detention camps, where children are denied showers, edible food and medical care. Children are dying in those camps. I thought of it when I saw a horrifying story, and photo, of an El Salvadorean father and his 23-month-old daughter who had drowned while crossing the Rio Grande because the family had not been permitted to present themselves for asylum at the border. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was the implication, I suppose, that there’s anything left to preserve by sharing a few laughs over a vodka tonic. It’s past time to acknowledge that this isn’t the case, that things have already devolved past a cocktail party’s power to heal ― and that so many refuse to acknowledge it is viscerally maddening. In the 1989 holiday comedy “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the much-anticipated family gathering that Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) planned has just come crashing down around his ears. Standing amid smashed porcelain, scorched carpet, and a shell-shocked extended family, his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) gently suggests that their guests go home before things get any worse. “Worse?” yelps Clark, half-crazed. “How could things get any worse? Take a look around here, Ellen! We’re at the threshold of hell!” As it happens, things could still get worse — once on the threshold, there’s always the option of stepping over it and directly into the flames — but Clark’s incredulous reaction is still essentially correct. Why downplay it? Every pretense of holiday merrymaking and family warmth has been stripped away; they’re no longer at a party, but in the midst of an ongoing catastrophe, a war against the forces of chaos. No gesture toward proper hosting etiquette can salvage the situation. Better to call things what they are. In a 1941 Harper’s essay that now makes periodic rounds on social media, Dorothy Thompson enacts a little “parlor game” that gives the piece its title: “Who Goes Nazi?” Having been working as a journalist in Germany, Austria, and France amid the rise of Nazism, she explains, she’s grown familiar with the types of people who will, and those who would never. She sketches out profiles of various guests — a genteel but impoverished editor, an adoring wife, a blue-blooded horse enthusiast, a former child prodigy — and diagnoses them. Class is no predictor, nor is nationality. “Believe me, nice people don’t go Nazi,” she wrote. “Their race, color, creed, or social condition is not the criterion. It is something in them.” But what’s most chilling, and vital, about the essay is that it observes a single party. All of these cozy elites of various stripes, and yet no assurance that their conviviality will prevent some from signing up with a white supremacist, fascist movement. We often discuss the rise of political extremism as the pure result of division, social rupture. If we’d only speak to each other more, continue having Thanksgiving together, attend each other’s parties, we could keep each other on track. History tells us otherwise. The rise of Nazism tells us otherwise. Civility is a symptom of political well-being, at best. At worst, it’s the result of a disconnected, comfortable elite successfully suppressing the “divisive” concerns of people ill-served by their policies. It’s Joe Biden making common cause with virulent racists like Sen. James Eastland to advance policies harmful to black people , then congratulating himself on how evolved they all were back then for getting along. Civility alone is not worth saving. Even if we do, civilization can still break down, in all the ways that matter. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost . |
Significant Earthquake Strikes Near Panama Canal
The ground shook for a little while in Central America overnight as a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the border of Costa Rica and Panama, about 28 miles west of the city of San José de David, Panama. People reported feeling the tremor in Panama City, some 300 miles away. There have been no known deaths, injuries or areas of significant damage as of early this afternoon (June 26).
SONAR Critical Events: Earthquake in Central America on June 26, 2019.
Northern and western Panama are sparsely populated, for the most part, and frequently hit by earthquakes. Last month, a 6.1-magnitude quake with an epicenter also near San José de David damaged some property and injured at least two people. In 2003, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the region damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and killed two people. The most significant recent earthquake came in 1991, when a 7.4-magnitude tremor killed 23 people and injured 500 others as well as causing hundreds of deaths in neighboring Costa Rica.
This earthquake's epicenter was only 200 miles from the Panama Canal, a crucial gateway for east Asian goods heading to the East Coast of the U.S. There's always a chance that any aftershocks in the coming hours and days could do damage to the canal or its related infrastructure, delaying containerized cargo in the region.
One of the ports that could be impacted is Colon, located in Panama at the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal. The United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) placed the Colon port complex at the top of 2018's list of the region's port activity, handling 4.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 11 percent higher than 2017. Colon includes Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT), the largest transshipment port in Latin America and one of the most modern in the world. It also includes the Evergreen port (Colon Container Terminal) and Hutchison-Whampoa's port of Cristobal, all located in the same area, which represents a huge dock frontage. The administration of the three ports is independent and private.
The Pacific side of the Panama Canal is home to another of the busiest commercial ports in Central America. The Port of Balboa is in a perfect geographic location to serve as an important distribution center for goods destined for the Far East, North America, the Caribbean, Central America and the west coast of South America. Nearly 100 acres (40 hectares) at the port are dedicated to container storage, with five docks on site that are available for use by container ships.
SONAR ticker: WCI.SHALAX for 2014-2019.
Finally, there's Peurta Limon in Costa Rica. Several years ago, Limon and Moin joined to form a single infrastructure that made this new port one of the largest in Central America on the Caribbean coast, surpassing even Veracruz. Traffic of oil and its derivatives is the great strength of Limon-Moin, which is also a great exporting point for bananas in the region.Last night's earthquake, which hit around 12:30 a.m. local time in Panama, was shallow. It originated just 16.2 miles underground (26.2 kilometers), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report. The USGS considers an earthquake shallow if it is less than 43 miles deep. Shallow earthquakes usually do more damage than deeper ones, depending on their magnitudes and proximities to fault lines.
SONAR ticker: WCI.SAHNYC for 2015-2019.
Anyone waiting for ocean cargo from Asia should pay attention to possible reports of aftershocks or new tremors in the Panama Canal region. Shipping rates could theoretically skyrocket if the Panama Canal experienced any kind of significant disruption. FreightWaves Market ExpertHenry Byerssaid this is what happened in early 2015 right before the resolution of port strikes in Los Angeles. The Drewry World Container Index from Shanghai to Los Angeles (WCI.SHALAX) showed a peak in 40-foot container rates in February as ships that had been sitting off the coast finally got unloaded. A lot of freight was re-routed to the East Coast, and the spread between the East Coast and West Coast rates (WCI.SAHNYC) at that time was the largest in history.
Image Sourced From Pixabay
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. |
UnitedHealth (UNH) Closes DaVita Unit Buy, Expands OptumCare
UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s UNH Optum unit has completed the buyout of DaVita Medical Group, a unit of DaVita Inc. DVA, for $4.3 billion in cash.This acquisition has been made by OptumCare — a sub-segment of Optum — the company’s health services segment. OptumCare provides primary and urgent care delivery services business. It will expand UnitedHealth’s ambulatory care services operations.
With this deal, UnitedHealth will now be able to pair DaVita Medical Group’s 300 medical clinics, 35 urgent-care centers, and six outpatient surgery centers — which reach around 1.7 million patients a year — with Optum’s massive insurance division.
This acquisition is expected to aid the growth of OptumHealth, which is targeting double-digit percentage revenue growth on average and sustainable operating margins of 8% to 10% in the upcoming years. The unit continues to make productivity gains in its existing products and services while investing in new platforms and markets.
Numerous small mergers and acquisitions have strengthened UnitedHealth's existing business; provided a new platform for future growth; and brought tools, technologies or skills that could not be otherwise obtained or developed more efficiently. These business combinations are also necessary to control UnitedHealth’s soaring medical costs and protect its margins.
Effective use of capital is one of the drivers of UnitedHealth’s ability to achieve distinctive long-term financial performance, as reflected by revenue CAGR of 12% from 2006-2018.
Year to date, the stock has lost 0.6% compared with the industry’s rise of 2.12%.
The inorganic growth strategy of the company has placed it at the highest echelon in the industry (in terms of medical members served and revenue), against companies like Cigna Corp. CI, Anthem Inc. ANTM, Humana and others.
Meanwhile, an increasing trend of consolidation is being witnessed across the industry, which is itself undergoing rapid transformation owing to heightened regulation, soaring medical costs, increased consumerism, and shift to value-based care. Some of the recently completed buyouts are that of Aetna Inc. by CVS Health Corp., and Express Scripts by Cigna Corp. These deals have enabled the surviving entities to develop an ecosystem of healthcare services and derive efficiencies at each node.
UnitedHealth carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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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 reportCigna Corporation (CI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAnthem, Inc. (ANTM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportUnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDaVita Inc. (DVA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Here's What We Think About CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited's (HKG:317) CEO Pay
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The CEO of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited (HKG:317) is Liping Chen. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group)
Our data indicates that CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited is worth HK$17b, and total annual CEO compensation is CN¥833k. (This figure is for the year to December 2018). That's just a smallish increase of 6.3% on last year. Notably, the salary of CN¥800k is the vast majority of the CEO compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of CN¥6.9b to CN¥22b. The median total CEO compensation was CN¥3.4m.
This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. While this is a good thing, you'll need to understand the business better before you can form an opinion.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group), below.
On average over the last three years, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited has shrunk earnings per share by 135% each year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is down -15% over last year.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And the fact that revenue is down year on year arguably paints an ugly picture. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. You might want to checkthis free visual report onanalyst forecastsfor future earnings.
With a three year total loss of 37%, CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.
CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for companies of its size.
Liping Chen is paid less than CEOs of similar size companies, but the company isn't growing and total shareholder returns have been disappointing. While one could argue it is appropriate for the CEO to be paid less than other CEOs of similar sized companies, given company performance, we would not call the pay overly generous. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want tocheck if insiders are buying or selling CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) shares (free trial).
If you want to buy a stock that is better than CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group), thisfreelist of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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's New Surveillance Patent to Boost Drone Market Reach
AmazonAMZN is firing on all cylinders to expand presence in the booming drone market on the back of its robust technologies.Reportedly, the e-commerce giant has recently been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Notably, the company applied for it applied for in 2015.We note that the patent will allow Amazon to use its delivery drones for surveillance purpose, which in turn will enhance its offerings in the drone market.The patent describes that the drone will perform surveillance function based on geo-fencing technology which restricts function outside the virtual boundary created by the technology around the property under observation.The drones are well-equipped to record video of the property under surveillance which will aid Amazon in providing information to the property owners.Drone Surveillance Market Holds PromiseAmazon’s continued efforts toward offering surveillance as a service via drones will materialize with the patent.Moreover, the patent will help the company in foraying into the global drone surveillance market. Notably, the growing demand for security services which will constantly monitor property and keep updating owners with real time data is fueling demand in this market.A report from Transparency Market Research, this potential market is expected to reach $650 million by 2026 at a CAGR of 20% between 2018 and 2026.We believe Amazon’s robust AI and Machine Learnings (ML) technologies position it well to rapidly penetrate into the drone surveillance market.
Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue (TTM)
Amazon.com, Inc. revenue-ttm | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote
Growing Drone Initiatives
Amazon is leaving no stone unturned to explore the multiple ways of utilizing its delivery drones to enhance offerings to customers.Apart from the latest patent, the company recently revealed that its electric drones which are equipped to fly up to 15 miles and capable of delivering packages weighing 5 pounds within half-hour will soon start delivering goods.Additionally, Amazon has received one-year approval from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for testing these drones and its development activities.
We note that with the expanding usage of these drones, positions Amazon well to reap benefits from global drone services market which as per a report from MarketsandMarkets, is expected to hit $4.4 billion in 2019 and to reach $63.6 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 55.9% between 2019 and 2026.Further, the above-mentioned strengthening drone initiatives are likely to bolster its presence in the global drone market which as per a report from Adroit Market Research, is anticipated to reach $144.38 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 40.7% between 2019 and 2025.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector worth considering are Autohome Inc. ATHM, Match Group, Inc. MTCH and Marchex, Inc. MCHX. All the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Long-term earnings growth rate for Autohome, Match Group and Marchex is pegged at 20.91%, 15.15% and 15%, respectively.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 reportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAutohome Inc. (ATHM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMarchex, Inc. (MCHX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMatch Group, Inc. (MTCH) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Deckers (DECK) Up 19% in 3 Months: What's Driving the Stock?
Deckers Outdoor CorporationDECK clearly appears to be a preferred pick, given its efforts to remain on growth trajectory. Notably, the company is benefiting from its focus on expanding brand assortments, introducing innovative line of products, targeting consumers digitally through marketing and sturdy e-commerce along with optimizing omni-channel distribution.Notably, shares of this Goleta, CA-based company have surged 19% in the past three months outperforming the industry’s growth of 1%.
Let’s take a closer look at the aspects driving this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.Factors Narrating Deckers’ Growth StoryDeckers is focusing on product and marketing strategies that are more skewed toward customers and in this respect it is implementing customer relationship management software and concentrating on loyalty program. Moreover, the company is focusing on expanding its product categories according to the customer purchasing trends. In order to capture incremental sales and margins, it is selling directly to wholesale customers.The company is constantly developing its e-commerce portal to capture incremental sales. Deckers has made substantial investments to strengthen its online presence and improve shopping experience for its customers. Its focus on expanding programs — Retail Inventory Online; Infinite UGG; Buy Online, Return In Store; and Click and Collect — is an added positive.Deckers is making efforts to bolster its portfolio. The company is making marketing investments to build brand awareness of HOKA ONE ONE and UGG Men’s and UGG Women’s non-core category.Impressive performance across HOKA ONE ONE and Koolaburra brands aided fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 results. Improved margins, additional cost savings, early shipment of spring wholesale order, and higher sales related to domestic e-commerce in the UGG brand facilitated the bottom line. Earlier than expected wholesale shipments in the UGG brand led to better-than-anticipated net sales, which also benefited from delivery of spring summer product into the marketplace before time and higher domestic e-commerce sales for the same brand.Encouraging Sales ViewDeckers now anticipates fiscal 2020 net sales to be in the band of $2.095-$2.120 billion, which reflects year-over-year increase of 4-5%. Management guided revenues from UGG brand to be up low-single digit and sales from Teva brand to be roughly flat. Sanuk brand sales are also expected to be roughly flat.
Meanwhile, sales at HOKA ONE ONE brand are projected to be up in mid-20% range, fueled by both the U.S. and international expansion. Koolaburra is expected to post mid-40% to upper-50% growth, benefiting from continued domestic wholesale expansion in the family value chain.We expect all aforementioned factors to continue bolstering the company’s performance, and help it remain in investors’ good books.Other Key PicksThe Children's Place, Inc. PLCE has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ has a long-term earnings growth rate of 13.5% and a Zacks Rank #2.L Brands, Inc. LB delivered average positive earnings surprise of 7.6% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 11% and a Zacks Rank #2.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 reportL Brands, Inc. (LB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportZumiez Inc. (ZUMZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportChildren's Place, Inc. (The) (PLCE) : Free Stock Analysis ReportDeckers Outdoor Corporation (DECK) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Tristan Thompson Buys New LA Home Post Cheating Scandal With Kylie's BFF Jordyn Woods
Tristan Thompson just purchased a new home in Los Angeles following the very public cheating scandal that took place at his previous property and it seems he was angling to distance himself from the scene of the "crime." Khloé Kardashian's baby daddy plunked down $6.5 Million dollars for a home in Encino, CA a suburb of Los Angeles. According to the listing, the house is nearly 10,000 sq. ft. and features a 1,580 sq. ft. pool house. You will remember, True Thompson's NBA star father famously kissed his girlfriend's sister's best friend, Jordyn Woods at a house party he threw. As we reported, Jordyn claimed the two kissed outside of the home when the party ended. To be fair, Tristan's new house is in close proximity to his daughter's home with Khloé ... so he will still be near his baby girl. The house looks amazing ... and we're guessing Tristan is already thinking up intersting ways to take advantage of his purple-lit pool over summer. Inside The NBA Baller's New Mansion The recently built house is located in a gated community, with tons of lavish features, like the estate's entry hallway, which features checkered marble tile. For those movie nights with "friends," the home also comes with a custom media room. In true Kardashian style, Tristan will get to take advantage of 2 walk-in closets on opposite sides of the master suite. However, he won't be sharing the other one with Khloé. For summer house parties, a 1,580-square-foot pool house was listed as a real treat. It includes a sports family room and kitchenette, plus two guest bedrooms and a full bath. The opulent master bedroom sits at the top of a marble staircase and includes a marble fireplace, custom built-ins and even a wine cooler. The master also includes, "spa-like marble tiled bathroom, steam shower and a soaking tub in one. " In trademark California style, The "backyard is exquisite with Thasos marble patio and deck, large pool and oversized spa, outdoor kitchen with marble counter, back splash and bar counter. Behind the spa there's a fire pit with built-in seating." Story continues Lastly, a great feature of the home includes this custom built drive-way with grass accents. It's unclear if Tristan will have a house warming party to christen the new pad ... but we're guessing Jordyn Woods will not be invited. Or, maybe she will... |
Some Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System (HKG:840) Shareholders Are Down 48%
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For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer termXinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System Company Limited(HKG:840) shareholders, since the share price is down 48% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 34%. Unhappily, the share price slid 3.9% in the last week.
View our latest analysis for Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System
Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System isn't a profitable company, so it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
Over the last three years, Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System's revenue dropped 8.9% per year. That is not a good result. The annual decline of 20% per year in that period has clearly disappointed holders. That makes sense given the lack of either profits or revenue growth. Of course, sentiment could become too negative, and the company may actually be making progress to profitability.
You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow).
You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in thisfreeinteractive graphic.
While the broader market lost about 2.7% in the twelve months, Xinjiang Tianye Water Saving Irrigation System shareholders did even worse, losing 17%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 10% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Shareholders might want to examinethis detailed historical graphof past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
If you are like me, then you willnotwant to miss thisfreelist of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK 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. |
Pacira Gets EMA Acceptance for Pain Management Drug Exparel
Pacira BioSciences, Inc.PCRX announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted its Marketing Authorization Application (MAA), seeking an approval for its lead drug Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) as a medicine for postsurgical analgesia. This validation confirms that the MAA submission is ready for the formal review process by the regulatory agency.
Pacira expects a decision from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in the second half of 2020. The MAA for Exparel is backed by the clinical evidence in several surgical indications including patients undergoing Cesarean section (C-section) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
Shares of Pacira were up 1.02% post this news on Tuesday. However, the stock has inched up 1.3% so far this year, underperforming the industry’s rally of 7.9%.
We would like to remind investors that Exparel is a liposome injection of bupivacaine, which is indicated for a single-dose administration into the surgical site to produce postsurgical analgesia in the United States. Last April, the FDA also approved the expansion of Exparel label to include administration via nerve block for prolonged regional analgesia. With this nod, Exparel became the first long-acting, single-dose nerve block available for patients undergoing upper extremity surgeries, such as total shoulder arthroplasty or rotator cuff repair.
Earlier this January, Pacira announced that the phase IV study on Exparel evaluating patients undergoing C-section achieved its primary endpoint with a statistically significant reduction in total postsurgical opioid consumption through 72 hours. The drug also attained a statistical importance for pain reduction.
Meanwhile, the company is conducting a phase IV study of Exparel on spinal fusion surgery. It is also launching a series of phase IV studies on soft tissue procedures.
Pacira is also developing Exparel for its usage in pain management pertaining to various other surgeries and is also extending its label to address complications in pediatric patient population. There are currently no approved alternatives to opioids for tackling severe post-surgical pain in pediatric patients. Last December, the EMA issued a positive opinion on the company’s pediatric investigation plan (PIP) for Exparel to be applied as a medicine for postsurgical analgesia.
Exparel sales came in at $90.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, rising 22.4% year over year. The company’s efforts to widen its label for sales boost are encouraging.
Notably, Pacira has a partnership pact with Johnson & Johnson JNJ wherein the latter continues to support the uptake of Exparel with the help of its world class educational programs and orthopedic procedural solutions for Pacira.
In April 2019, Pacira acquired the privately held MyoScience, Inc. following which, the former added the latter’s iovera system, which is highly complementary to Exparel as a non-opioid therapy.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Pacira currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. ACOR and Repligen Corp. RGEN, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Acorda’s loss per share estimates have been narrowed 6.5% for 2019 and 6.9% for 2020 over the past 60 days.
Repligen’s earnings estimates have been revised 9.4% upward for 2019 and 9.8% upward for 2020 over the past 60 days. The stock has soared 52.6% year to date.
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 reportJohnson & Johnson (JNJ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRepligen Corporation (RGEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAcorda Therapeutics, Inc. (ACOR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportPacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PCRX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Leidos Holdings to Provide IAAI Solutions and Services to HHS
Leidos Holdings, Inc.LDOS recently announced that it has been awarded a task orders by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide intelligent automation and artificial intelligence (IAAI) solutions as well as services. The contract value is estimated at $49 million over a five-year base period.
Courtesy of lower error rate, incredible precision, accuracy and speed, this AI technology is gaining popularity.
Reasons for Choosing Leidos Holdings
The company provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets in the United States as well as globally. With expertise, the company is applying powerful analytic tools for superior performance and protection. Using its experience and technical capabilities, Leidos Holdings will deploy innovative IAAI solutions through machine learning, deep learning, machine vision, blockchain, microservices and robotic process automation.
Moreover, Leidos Innovations Center can provide technologies that deliver IAAI proofs of concept. This will provide innovative Lab-as-a-Service environments for collaborative research, development and rapid prototyping.
Other Contract Wins
The company is winning contracts for cost-effective defense solutions from the Pentagon as well as other U.S. allies. More contract wins are key growth drivers for Leidos Holdings. In fact, these contracts tend to bolster the backlog. Evidently, at the end of first-quarter 2019, the company’s total backlog amounted to $21.5 billion compared with $20.8 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. An increase in backlog indicates the quality of products supplied by the company and inclination of the customers toward the same.
Zacks Rank & Price Performance
Leidos Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of the company have rallied 35.1% in the past 12 months compared with the industry’s rise of 10%.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks in the same sector are Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc WAIR, Northrop Grumman Corp NOC and Textron Inc TXT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2.
Wesco Aircraft’s long-term growth estimates are currently pegged at 12%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 earnings has moved up 3.7% to 84 cents in the past 60 days.
Northrop Grumman came up with average positive earnings surprise of 18.50% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term growth is currently projected at 12.80%.
Textron delivered average positive earnings surprise of 7.62% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term growth estimates are currently pegged at 12.60%.
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 reportLeidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. (WAIR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportNorthrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTextron Inc. (TXT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research |
Blue State Dems Push to Expand SALT Tax Break
At a hearing focused on the state and local tax deduction Tuesday, the “familiar politics of taxation—in which Democrats push to raise taxes on high-income people and Republicans resist—turned topsy-turvy,”writesRichard Rubin of The Wall Street Journal.
During debate in a House Ways and Means subcommittee, Democrats argued that the cap on the SALT deduction imposed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was hurting middle-class families and communities in high-cost parts of the country. Before the law was passed, households could deduct the full cost of their state and local taxes on their federal tax forms, but the TCJA put a $10,000 cap on those deductions, increasing taxes for some residents of high-tax areas. Representatives from those districts are now pushing to restore some or all of the lost tax break.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) argued that high-cost areas aren’t necessarily wealthy. A house in an East Coast suburb might cost more than $700,000 and come with a substantial property tax bill, Beyer said, but that doesn’t mean its owners are rich. “There are no yachts in Falls Church,” said Mayor David Tarter, speaking of the wealthy Virginia suburb he helps run.
Republicans pushed back, using a basic Democratic complaint about the TCJA against them – namely, that raising or eliminating the SALT cap would disproportionately help the rich. A recent report from the Joint Committee on Taxationfoundthat repealing the cap would reduce federal tax revenues by $600 billion over 10 years, with 52% of the benefit flowing to households that earn $1 million or more.
The bottom line:The unusual role reversal, in which Democrats advocated for a tax cut that would primarily benefit the wealthy and Republicans resisted, left the matter largely unsettled. Democrats themselves are divided on the issue, with some preferring to avoid the issue altogether given its regressive effects. But even if Democrats can come together on a plan, legislation is highly unlikely to succeed, given that Republican leaders in the Senate have signaled that any bill raising the SALT cap would be dead on arrival in the upper chamber.
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Zion Williamson jersey sales shatter NBA rookie record
It didn’t take long for New Orleans Pelicans rookieZion Williamsonto break his first NBA record.
The highly touted prospect out of Duke University sold morejerseys and T-shirtsthan any other rookie in history in the first five days after the NBA Draft, according to Fanatics, an NBA partner that operates the league’s online store and flagship brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan.
Williamson jerseys hit stores on last Friday afternoon, hours after the Pelicans drafted him with the first overall pick and as soon as the NBA approved his uniform number, a Fanatics representative told FOX Business. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound rookie’s Nike jersey sells for $109.99 online.
Williamson has sold more jerseys and T-shirts than all first-round picks from the 2018 NBA Draft class combined, according to Fanatics. The retailer does not disclose specific sales figures.
Rowan Alexander "RJ" Barrett Jr., Williamson’s former teammate at Duke and the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, became the second-highest selling rookie in history, the company added. Both Williamson and Barrett more than doubled the previous rookie sales record set by Lonzo Ball, who went No. 1 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017.
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Williamson enters the NBA as its most-hyped prospect since LeBron James after a dominant season at Duke, where he earned national player of the year honors. His popularity has led some industry experts to predict that he will receive a $100 million sneaker contract as a rookie, a figure which would outpace the $87 million deal James received from Nike when he entered the league.
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Yankees star Stanton back on injured list with knee strain
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton went back on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a strained right knee, barely a week after returning from a series of setbacks that kept him out of action for almost three months. New York manager Aaron Boone said it's likely Stanton will be sidelined for longer than 10 days. "It'll be more than that," Boone said. "That's when the reevaluation kind of happens." The oft-injured outfielder was hurt this time on a headfirst slide against Toronto on Tuesday night. The 2017 NL MVP was not in the lineup the following day. Stanton has played only nine games this season, having missed significant time with a torn biceps and strains in his shoulder and calf. He is hitting .290 with one home run and seven RBIs. "Frustrated for him knowing how much he's worked to get back and kind of the couple of setbacks that he's had along the way in getting back," Boone said. "Felt like he was starting to get in the groove a little bit with us. You got to deal with it and hopefully get him right here to get back." Two hours before the game, Boone said there was "no new injury at all." He said he found out about the strained posterior cruciate ligament after his pregame availability. Outfielder Mike Tauchman was called up from Triple-A to replace Stanton on the 25-man roster and traveled with the Yankees to London for their two-game series against the Boston Red Sox that begins Saturday. Tauchman hit .212 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 37 games for New York this season. With the clubhouse filled with travel bags, stuffed with each player's belongings for trip to England, Stanton was left eerily empty on the floor in front of his locker. Stanton is in the fifth season for a $325 million, 13-year contract he signed with Miami after the 2014 season. The Marlins traded him to the Yankees after he won the MVP award. Teammate Aaron Judge just hopes that Stanton is healthy for the home stretch with the AL East leaders. Story continues "The knee, that's a tough one," Judge said. "They're freak injuries that happen." ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports |
What Should You Know About MTR Corporation Limited's (HKG:66) Growth?
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Based on MTR Corporation Limited's (HKG:66) earnings update in December 2018, analyst forecasts seem bearish, as a 19% fall in profits is expected in the upcoming year relative to the past 5-year average growth rate of 1.7%. With trailing-twelve-month net income at current levels of HK$16b, the consensus growth rate suggests that earnings will decline to HK$13b by 2020. Below is a brief commentary on the longer term outlook the market has for MTR. For those keen to understand more about other aspects of the company, you canresearch its fundamentals here.
Check out our latest analysis for MTR
The longer term view from the 9 analysts covering 66 is one of negative 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 66's earnings growth over these next few years.
From the current net income level of HK$16b and the final forecast of HK$15b by 2022, the annual rate of growth for 66’s earnings is -1.2%. This leads to an EPS of HK$2.48 in the final year of projections relative to the current EPS of HK$2.64. The primary reason for earnings contraction is due to cost outpacing top line growth of 3.9% over the next few years. With this high cost growth, margins is expected to contract from 30% to 25% by the end of 2022.
Future outlook is only one aspect when you're building an investment case for a stock. For MTR, I've compiled three key aspects you should further research:
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 MTR 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 MTR is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Other High-Growth Alternatives: Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of MTR? 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. |
Down to the Wire on Emergency Border Funds
The Senate passed a $4.6 billion emergency border-funding bill Wednesday, setting up a clash with House Democrats, who passed their own version of the legislation on Tuesday.
What’s next:House and Senate leaders must now decide how to proceed with limited time remaining before lawmakers are due to depart for a 10-day-long July 4th recess.
“Lawmakers had hoped to get a bill to Trump’s desk before they leave,” The Hill’s Jordain Carney reported, “but without an 11th hour agreement, prospects for resolving differences between the Senate and House bills are likely stalled until after the break.”
The Senate on Wednesday rejected the House-passed spending bill, which includes greater restrictions on the Trump administration, by a 37-55 margin before overwhelmingly approving its own version in a 84-8 vote. The White House has also threatened to veto the House measure.
Senate Republicans reportedly were urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to take up their spending bill rather than enter into potentially protracted negotiations to try to reconcile the two versions. As CNNexplains, they are “essentially daring the House to take or leave the Senate bill, which has bipartisan backing and the expected support of President Donald Trump.” But Pelosi rejected that idea and reportedly urged President Trump in a phone conversation to support a negotiation.
“They pass their bill. We respect that. We passed our bill, we hope they would respect that,” she told reporters, according toThe Washington Post. “And there’s some improvements that we think can be reconciled.”
The bottom line:Unless House Democrats make an abrupt turn, it’s not clear how the two sides can move forward, despite a bipartisan desire to provide funding to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border — and a sense of urgency that was only heightened by the movingphotoof a drowned migrant father and daughter, Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and 23-month-old Valeria, that circulated widely on Wednesday. “[L]awmakers of both parties insisted they could not leave Washington without acting,” the Post reported. Time is running short. Stay tuned.
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Bitcoin Falls by $1,400 After Crash of Major Crypto Exchange Coinbase
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price fell by $1,400 within minutes after a crash ofUnited States-basedcryptocurrencytradingplatformCoinbase.
Coinbase first reported that it was investigating an issue in which its API and website were not functioning properly at 1:47 p.m. PDT on itsstatus website.
According to the daily chart of bitcoin price on Coin360, bitcoin’s price and market cap began to plummet around 1:25 p.m. PST, just minutes before Coinbase’s first announcement.
Bitcoin 24-hour price chart. Source:Coin360
By 2:13 p.m. Coinbase reported that it had identified the problem and was implementing the fix. By 2:38 p.m. the problem was reported to be resolved. A Cointelegraph correspondent with a Coinbase account checked to confirm the site was operational.
Today’s crash follows a degraded performance report on June 25 and another crash incident on June 24, both of which were resolved within an hour of reporting.
The crash comes on the heels of today’s rally in which bitcoin surpassed both the$12,000and$13,000price marks in a matter of hours.
At press time, bitcoin seems to be recovering slightly from the dip, up 0.71% in the past hour and still up 9.48% on the day, according to data fromCoinMarketCap. Bitcoin is currently trading at $12,690.
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Facebook CEO: Company Was Too Slow to Respond to Pelosi Deepfake
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Facebook made an "execution mistake" when it didn’t act fast enough to identify a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month.
Zuckerberg, speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, said Facebook should have caught the video sooner, which was edited so that Pelosi looked like she was slurring her words. It took Facebook more than a day to label the video as "fake," at which point its distribution was limited by Facebook’s algorithms.
"It took a while for our systems to flag that and for fact-checkers to rate it as false," he said. "During that time, it got more distribution than our policies should have allowed."
Even though Facebook flagged the item as false and inhibited its distribution, the company didn’t remove it altogether. Pelosi criticized Facebook, suggesting that its decision was a sign the company may have “wittingly” helped the Russians spread misinformation during the 2016 US presidential election. Facebook is “lying to the public,” she said in a recent radio interview.
The doctored video has been described by some observers as a "cheapfake" or "deepfake," a new kind of misleading content that threatens to push online misinformation and digital election meddling to new depths.
More than 25 Democrats recently sent Zuckerberg a letter saying they were "concerned that you and your company are not taking these occurrences seriously and are grossly unprepared for the 2020 elections."
Zuckerberg said Facebook is considering a new policy on deepfake videos, and suggested the content might be held to a different standard than other types of fake news.
"There’s a question, though, about whether these deepfakes are actually just a completely different category of thing from normal kinds of false statements overall," he said. "There’s a very good case that they are."
To contact the reporter on this story: Kurt Wagner in San Francisco at kwagner71@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Anne VanderMey
For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P. |
SEC Charges New Defendant in $43 Million Tribal Bonds Scheme
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 26, 2019) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Los Angeles man for his role in a fraudulent scheme to gain undisclosed control over two registered investment advisers so that he, his partner, and their associates could steal $43 million of client funds they purported to invest in Native American tribal bonds.
The SEC alleges that Jason Sugarman, formerly associated with a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, directed the scheme along with Jason Galanis, whom the SEC has previously charged with securities fraud. According to the SEC’s complaint, Sugarman secured financing to acquire control of investment advisers so that he and his associates could use client funds to purchase Native American tribal bonds. The SEC further alleges that Sugarman and his associates gained control over the disposition of the bond sale proceeds, and that although the proceeds were supposed to be invested in annuities to benefit the tribal corporation and repay the bondholders, Sugarman and his associates instead misappropriated the proceeds for their own benefit.
The Commission has previouslycharged Galanis and seven other individualsfor their roles in the tribal bonds scheme. Galanis, who pleaded guilty to parallel criminal charges arising from his role in the tribal bonds scheme, is currently incarcerated.
“These charges reflect that orchestrating a scheme from behind the scenes does not insulate someone from liability,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Senior Associate Director of the SEC’s New York office. “As alleged in the complaint, Sugarman played a crucial role in obtaining control of advisory client funds so they could siphon off those funds for their own personal benefit.”
The SEC’s complaint charges Sugarman with violating or aiding and abetting violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and related rules. The complaint seeks monetary and equitable relief against Sugarman.
The SEC’s investigation is being conducted by Tejal D. Shah, Nancy A. Brown, Christopher Ferrante, and Adam S. Grace. The litigation will be led by Ms. Brown and Ms. Shah. The case is being supervised by Mr. Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority. |
How Financially Strong Is Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited (HKG:868)?
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Small-cap and large-cap companies receive a lot of attention from investors, but mid-cap stocks like Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited (HKG:868), with a market cap of HK$33b, are often out of the spotlight. Surprisingly though, when accounted for risk, mid-caps have delivered better returns compared to the two other categories of stocks. Today we will look at 868’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 Xinyi Glass Holdings’s financial health, so you should conduct further analysisinto 868 here.
View our latest analysis for Xinyi Glass Holdings
Over the past year, 868 has ramped up its debt from HK$8.5b to HK$10.0b , which accounts for long term debt. With this growth in debt, 868's cash and short-term investments stands at HK$4.7b to keep the business going. Moreover, 868 has generated cash from operations of HK$4.6b during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 47%, meaning that 868’s current level of operating cash is high enough to cover debt.
With current liabilities at HK$6.6b, it appears that the company has been able to meet these obligations given the level of current assets of HK$9.2b, with a current ratio of 1.39x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Generally, for Auto Components companies, this is a reasonable ratio as there's enough of a cash buffer without holding too much capital in low return investments.
With a debt-to-equity ratio of 53%, 868 can be considered as an above-average leveraged company. This is not uncommon for a mid-cap company given that debt tends to be lower-cost and at times, more accessible. 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 after interest and tax at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In 868's case, the ratio of 27.4x suggests that interest is comfortably covered, which means that lenders may be inclined to lend more money to the company, as it is seen as safe in terms of payback.
868’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 868's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for 868's financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I suggest you continue to research Xinyi Glass Holdings to get a better picture of the mid-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 868’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 868’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is 868 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 868 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. |
Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish On Acacia Research Corporation (ACTG)
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 Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) from the perspective of those elite funds.
IsAcacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG)the right investment to pursue these days? Prominent investors are getting more bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund bets moved up by 1 lately. Our calculations also showed that ACTG isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.ACTGwas in 14 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with ACTG holdings 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.
We're going to take a look at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in ACTG 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.
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey,Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the number one position in Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG). Renaissance Technologies has a $11.3 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held byAriel Investments, led by John W. Rogers, holding a $8 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism consist of Parsa Kiai'sSteamboat Capital Partners, Frederick DiSanto'sAncora Advisorsand D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw.
As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves.Ancora Advisors, managed by Frederick DiSanto, initiated the most outsized position in Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG). Ancora Advisors had $1.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capitalalso made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new ACTG position is Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLP.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Community Bankers Trust Corp. (NASDAQ:ESXB), Escalade, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESCA), Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL), and Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR). All of these stocks' market caps resemble ACTG's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ESXB,4,17035,0 ESCA,4,11822,1 HIL,13,39071,0 HEAR,12,21169,-1 Average,8.25,22274,0 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 8.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $22 million. That figure was $26 million in ACTG's case. Hill International Inc (NYSE:HIL) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Community Bankers Trust Corp. (NASDAQ:ESXB) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) 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 ACTG wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ACTG were disappointed as the stock returned -5.2% 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 Nautilus, Inc. (NLS)
There are several ways to beat the market, and investing in small cap stocks has historically been one of them. We like to improve the odds of beating the market further by examining what famous hedge fund operators such as Jeff Ubben, George Soros and Carl Icahn think. Those hedge fund operators make billions of dollars each year by hiring the best and the brightest to do research on stocks, including small cap stocks that big brokerage houses simply don't cover. Because of Carl Icahn and other elite funds' exemplary historical records, we pay attention to their small cap picks. In this article, we use hedge fund filing data to analyze Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS).
IsNautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS)a marvelous stock to buy now? Investors who are in the know are getting less bullish. The number of bullish hedge fund positions were cut by 3 lately. Our calculations also showed that nls isn't among the30 most popular stocks among hedge funds.NLSwas in 13 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with NLS holdings 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.
We're going to go over the key hedge fund action regarding Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS).
At Q1's end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -19% from the fourth quarter of 2018. On the other hand, there were a total of 13 hedge funds with a bullish position in NLS 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.
More specifically,Royce & Associateswas the largest shareholder of Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS), with a stake worth $6.8 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Royce & Associates was AQR Capital Management, which amassed a stake valued at $4.5 million. D E Shaw, Millennium Management, and Arrowstreet Capital were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Because Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS) has faced a decline in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedgies that slashed their full holdings in the third quarter. It's worth mentioning that David Park'sHeadlands Capitalsaid goodbye to the largest position of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at an estimated $12.6 million in stock, and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's Marshall Wace LLP was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $0.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 3 funds in the third quarter.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS). We will take a look at Hexindai Inc. (NASDAQ:HX), Gaia, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAIA), DNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:DNBF), and Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to NLS's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HX,4,3277,0 GAIA,7,11548,-1 DNBF,4,10838,2 HBIO,10,12178,1 Average,6.25,9460,0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $9 million. That figure was $25 million in NLS's case. Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Hexindai Inc. (NASDAQ:HX) is the least popular one with only 4 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS) 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 NLS wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on NLS were disappointed as the stock returned -58.5% 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 Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP)
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 Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) during the quarter.
IsFresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP)worth your attention right now? Prominent investors are getting less optimistic. The number of bullish hedge fund bets retreated by 1 lately. Our calculations also showed that FDP 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 look at the key hedge fund action encompassing Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of -7% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 10 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in FDP 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.
The largest stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) was held byRenaissance Technologies, which reported holding $28.8 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Royce & Associates with a $5.3 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Citadel Investment Group, Blue Mountain Capital, and AQR Capital Management.
Due to the fact that Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) has witnessed a decline in interest from the smart money, it's easy to see that there lies a certain "tier" of hedge funds who were dropping their full holdings in the third quarter. Interestingly, Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementdropped the largest investment of the 700 funds watched by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $3.5 million in call options, and Matthew Hulsizer's PEAK6 Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.4 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds in the third quarter.
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP). We will take a look at Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY), MGP Ingredients Inc (NASDAQ:MGPI), Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR), and Cambrex Corporation (NYSE:CBM). This group of stocks' market caps resemble FDP's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position GTY,9,89875,1 MGPI,13,24351,5 GPOR,23,141764,1 CBM,13,33277,0 Average,14.5,72317,1.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 14.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $72 million. That figure was $43 million in FDP's case. Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:FDP) 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 FDP wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); FDP investors were disappointed as the stock returned 2.5% 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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Is HighPoint Resources Corporation (HPR) A Good Stock To Buy?
Hedge fund managers like David Einhorn, Bill Ackman, or Carl Icahn became billionaires through reaping large profits for their investors, which is why piggybacking their stock picks may provide us with significant returns as well. Many hedge funds, like Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, are pretty secretive, but we can still get some insights by analyzing their quarterly 13F filings. One of the most fertile grounds for large abnormal returns is hedge funds’ most popular small-cap picks, which are not so widely followed and often trade at a discount to their intrinsic value. In this article we will check out hedge fund activity in another small-cap stock: HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR).
HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 14 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of the first quarter of 2019. At the end of this article we will also compare HPR to other stocks including Hometrust Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HTBI), Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:GILT), and Vishay Precision Group Inc (NYSE:VPG) to get a better sense of its popularity.
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 glance at the new hedge fund action surrounding HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR).
At Q1's end, a total of 14 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 HPR 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.
According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database,Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the number one position in HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR). Renaissance Technologies has a $17.9 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot isDivisar Capital, managed by Steven Baughman, which holds a $16.3 million position; the fund has 5.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions encompass Joe Huber'sHuber Capital Management, Brett Hendrickson'sNokomis Capitaland Chuck Royce'sRoyce & Associates.
Due to the fact that HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR) has faced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it's easy to see that there is a sect of money managers that elected to cut their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Cliff Asness'sAQR Capital Managementsold off the biggest investment of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $0.4 million in stock, and Dmitry Balyasny's Balyasny Asset Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $0.3 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Hometrust Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HTBI), Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:GILT), Vishay Precision Group Inc (NYSE:VPG), and Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF). This group of stocks' market caps are similar to HPR's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HTBI,12,66553,3 GILT,2,25518,0 VPG,11,128808,-2 WSBF,11,76446,2 Average,9,74331,0.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $74 million. That figure was $60 million in HPR's case. Hometrust Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:HTBI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ:GILT) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks HighPoint Resources Corporation (NYSE:HPR) 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 HPR wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on HPR were disappointed as the stock returned -23.1% 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 in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (RTIX)
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 RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX) from the perspective of those elite funds.
IsRTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX)ready to rally soon? Money managers are becoming more confident. The number of bullish hedge fund positions advanced by 2 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that RTIX 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 gander at the fresh hedge fund action encompassing RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 17% from the previous quarter. By comparison, 13 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in RTIX a year ago. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Rock Springs Capital Managementwas the largest shareholder of RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX), with a stake worth $11.7 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Rock Springs Capital Management was Renaissance Technologies, which amassed a stake valued at $8.6 million. D E Shaw, Rutabaga Capital Management, and Royce & Associates were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Now, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves.Omega Advisors, managed by Leon Cooperman, initiated the biggest position in RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX). Omega Advisors had $1.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Michael Gelband'sExodusPoint Capitalalso made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a brand new RTIX position is Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capital.
Let's now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX). We will take a look at Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX), Yintech Investment Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:YIN), Trinity Merger Corp. (NASDAQ:TMCX), and Secoo Holding Limited (NASDAQ:SECO). All of these stocks' market caps are similar to RTIX's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AKRX,16,64437,1 YIN,2,494,0 TMCX,15,65966,1 SECO,8,18349,6 Average,10.25,37312,2 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $37 million. That figure was $41 million in RTIX's case. Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRX) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Yintech Investment Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:YIN) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. RTI Surgical Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RTIX) 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 RTIX wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on RTIX were disappointed as the stock returned -28.1% 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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Is Stratasys, Ltd. (SSYS) A Good Stock To Buy?
"The end to the U.S. Government shutdown, reports of progress on China-U.S. trade talks, and the Federal Reserve’s confirmation that it did not plan further interest rate hikes in 2019 allayed investor fears and drove U.S. markets substantially higher in the first quarter of the year. Global markets followed suit pretty much across the board delivering what some market participants described as a “V-shaped” recovery," This is how Evermore Global Value summarized the first quarter in itsinvestor letter. We pay attention to what hedge funds are doing in a particular stock before considering a potential investment because it works for us. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards one of the stocks hedge funds invest in.
Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 14 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. At the end of this article we will also compare SSYS to other stocks including OneSmart International Education Group Limited (NYSE:ONE), Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited (NYSE:BEDU), and Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM) 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.
Let's view the new hedge fund action regarding Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 10 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in SSYS 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.
The largest stake in Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) was held byFisher Asset Management, which reported holding $50.7 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Renaissance Technologies with a $28.6 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included D E Shaw, GAMCO Investors, and Royce & Associates.
Judging by the fact that Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) has witnessed declining sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there lies a certain "tier" of money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes heading into Q3. It's worth mentioning that Israel Englander'sMillennium Managementsaid goodbye to the largest investment of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at close to $8.9 million in stock, and Benjamin A. Smith's Laurion Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $1.6 million worth. These bearish behaviors 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 - not necessarily in the same industry as Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) but similarly valued. We will take a look at OneSmart International Education Group Limited (NYSE:ONE), Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited (NYSE:BEDU), Oxford Industries, Inc. (NYSE:OXM), and Select Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:WTTR). This group of stocks' market values are closest to SSYS's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position ONE,6,42937,-1 BEDU,9,85774,1 OXM,11,67701,2 WTTR,15,65346,3 Average,10.25,65440,1.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 10.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $65 million. That figure was $137 million in SSYS's case. Select Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:WTTR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand OneSmart International Education Group Limited (NYSE:ONE) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) 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 SSYS wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on SSYS were disappointed as the stock returned -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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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (SLCA)
"The end to the U.S. Government shutdown, reports of progress on China-U.S. trade talks, and the Federal Reserve’s confirmation that it did not plan further interest rate hikes in 2019 allayed investor fears and drove U.S. markets substantially higher in the first quarter of the year. Global markets followed suit pretty much across the board delivering what some market participants described as a “V-shaped” recovery," This is how Evermore Global Value summarized the first quarter in itsinvestor letter. We pay attention to what hedge funds are doing in a particular stock before considering a potential investment because it works for us. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards one of the stocks hedge funds invest in.
Hedge fund interest inU.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA)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 Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC), Masonite International Corp (NYSE:DOOR), and Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) to gather more data points.
At the moment there are a multitude of gauges shareholders have at their disposal to grade publicly traded companies. A pair of the less known gauges are hedge fund and insider trading signals. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outpace the market by a healthy margin (see the details here).
[caption id="attachment_745225" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Noam Gottesman, GLG Partners[/caption]
We're going to take a look at the new hedge fund action surrounding U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the fourth quarter of 2018. The graph below displays the number of hedge funds with bullish position in SLCA over the last 15 quarters. With hedgies' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
More specifically,Ariel Investmentswas the largest shareholder of U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA), with a stake worth $170.7 million reported as of the end of March. Trailing Ariel Investments was Rima Senvest Management, which amassed a stake valued at $60.4 million. Citadel Investment Group, Point72 Asset Management, and Royce & Associates were also very fond of the stock, giving the stock large weights in their portfolios.
Judging by the fact that U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA) has witnessed a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, it's easy to see that there exists a select few hedge funds that decided to sell off their positions entirely by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow'sBlue Mountain Capitaldumped the biggest position of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising an estimated $8.5 million in stock, and D. E. Shaw's D E Shaw was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $2.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA) but similarly valued. These stocks are Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC), Masonite International Corp (NYSE:DOOR), Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), and Theravance Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:TBPH). This group of stocks' market caps match SLCA's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AROC,16,39106,-4 DOOR,21,245812,2 PBI,24,104429,4 TBPH,9,532693,1 Average,17.5,230510,0.75 [/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 $231 million. That figure was $301 million in SLCA's case. Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Theravance Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ:TBPH) is the least popular one with only 9 bullish hedge fund positions. U.S. Silica Holdings Inc (NYSE:SLCA) 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 SLCA wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); SLCA investors were disappointed as the stock returned -33.3% 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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Is Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (HA) A Good Stock To Buy?
It is already common knowledge that individual investors do not usually have the necessary resources and abilities to properly research an investment opportunity. As a result, most investors pick their illusory “winners” by making a superficial analysis and research that leads to poor performance on aggregate. Since stock returns aren't usually symmetrically distributed and index returns are more affected by a few outlier stocks (i.e. the FAANG stocks dominating and driving S&P 500 Index's returns in recent years), more than 50% of the constituents of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index underperform the benchmark. Hence, if you randomly pick a stock, there is more than 50% chance that you'd fail to beat the market. At the same time, the 20 most favored S&P 500 stocks by the hedge funds monitored by Insider Monkey generated an outperformance of 6 percentage points during the first 5 months of 2019. Of course, hedge funds do make wrong bets on some occasions and these get disproportionately publicized on financial media, but piggybacking their moves can beat the broader market on average. That's why we are going to go over recent hedge fund activity in Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA).
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA)shares haven't seen a lot of action during the first quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 14 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. 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 Hudson Ltd. (NYSE:HUD), Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI), and Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) to gather more data points.
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.
[caption id="attachment_758450" align="aligncenter" width="450"]
Martin Whitman of Third Avenue Management[/caption]
Let's take a peek at the new hedge fund action regarding Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA).
At Q1's end, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 16 hedge funds with a bullish position in HA a year ago. With hedge funds' sentiment swirling, there exists an "upper tier" of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were adding to their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).
The largest stake in Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA) was held byRoyce & Associates, which reported holding $37.1 million worth of stock at the end of March. It was followed by Third Avenue Management with a $37.1 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Millennium Management, Arrowstreet Capital, and Two Sigma Advisors.
Seeing as Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA) has experienced a decline in interest from hedge fund managers, we can see that there lies a certain "tier" of fund managers that slashed their positions entirely in the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Gilchrist Berg'sWater Street Capitalcut the biggest investment of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $3.3 million in stock. Brandon Haley's fund,Holocene Advisors, also cut its stock, about $1.6 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 check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA) but similarly valued. These stocks are Hudson Ltd. (NYSE:HUD), Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI), Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL), and Criteo SA (NASDAQ:CRTO). This group of stocks' market valuations are closest to HA's market valuation.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HUD,15,31634,3 HOLI,14,81137,-1 AUTL,6,432143,0 CRTO,9,148982,-3 Average,11,173474,-0.25 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $173 million. That figure was $103 million in HA's case. Hudson Ltd. (NYSE:HUD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA) 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 HA wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on HA 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 so far in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN)
While the market driven by short-term sentiment influenced by the accomodative interest rate environment in the US, increasing oil prices and optimism towards the resolution of the trade war with China, many smart money investors kept their cautious approach regarding the current bull run in the first quarter and hedging or reducing many of their long positions. However, as we know, big investors usually buy stocks with strong fundamentals, which is why we believe we can profit from imitating them. In this article, we are going to take a look at the smart money sentiment surrounding Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN).
IsAchillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN)a buy, sell, or hold? The smart money is reducing their bets on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets retreated by 4 lately. Our calculations also showed that ACHN 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 glance at the latest hedge fund action surrounding Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -22% from the fourth quarter of 2018. By comparison, 16 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in ACHN 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,MAK Capital Oneheld the most valuable stake in Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN), which was worth $20.5 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was Millennium Management which amassed $15.2 million worth of shares. Moreover, Citadel Investment Group, Rock Springs Capital Management, and Armistice Capital were also bullish on Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
Judging by the fact that Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it's easy to see that there is a sect of hedge funds that slashed their positions entirely last quarter. It's worth mentioning that Ari Zweiman's683 Capital Partnersdumped the largest position of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, worth close to $1.6 million in call options, and Israel Englander's Millennium Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $0.8 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 4 funds last quarter.
Let's also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Haynes International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAYN), Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL), Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:PKOH), and On Deck Capital Inc (NYSE:ONDK). All of these stocks' market caps resemble ACHN's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position HAYN,8,49232,1 LDL,10,17129,1 PKOH,7,34747,1 ONDK,19,96233,-1 Average,11,49335,0.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 11 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $49 million. That figure was $79 million in ACHN's case. On Deck Capital Inc (NYSE:ONDK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:PKOH) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) 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 ACHN wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on ACHN were disappointed as the stock returned 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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You just can't get enough, when it comes to exercise: Cambridge study
The research found the greatest benefits were among those who were already active, and boosted exercise levels in later life - PA You can't do too much exercise in later life, research by Cambridge University suggests. The study of 15,000 Britons aged 40 to 79 found that active men and women who increased their fitness levels halved the risk of early death. The research found that if people followed Government guidance to carry out 150 minutes of exercise a week, they could cut mortality risks by almost one quarter, compared with couch potatoes. This can be achieved by around 20 minutes exercise daily, or 30 minutes five times a week. But the best results of all were seen among those who already active for an average of around 42 minutes a day - who managed around 20 minutes more. Such participants cut the risk of early death by 42 per cent, the study found . Activity included office work and walking, as well as leisure time activity such as cycling or sport. The study, published in The BMJ, found individuals could experience "substantial" benefits - regardless of how much exercise they had done previously. The researchers studied 14,599 men and women, aged 40 to 79 years old, who were assessed between 1993 and 1997 and followed until 2016. Higher physical activity levels and increases in physical activity over time were both linked with a longer life, the study found. People who were inactive at the start of the study, and gradually met guidelines of 150 minutes per week (20 minutes a day) of moderate-intensity physical activity over the next five years, were at a 24 per cent lower risk of death, compared with those who remained inactive. Those who went from 300 minutes to 450 minutes exercise a week saw the greatest boost - with a 42 per cent fall in mortality rates. This could be achieved by taking 64 minutes exercise every day, instead of 42 minutes. "These results are encouraging, not least for middle-aged and older adults with existing cardiovascular disease and cancer, who can still gain substantial longevity benefits by becoming more active, lending further support to the broad public health benefits of physical activity," researchers said. Story continues "In addition to shifting the population towards meeting the minimum physical activity recommendations, public health efforts should also focus on the maintenance of physical activity levels, specifically preventing declines over mid to late life." During the study period, there were 3,148 deaths, including 950 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 1,091 deaths from cancer. Huw Edwards, from not-for-profit health body Ukactive, said: This research provides further evidence against the outdated idea that people should do less as they age or when they are managing a long-term illness. The time has come for a total rethink of how we approach our later years, with daily physical activity a crucial ingredient for maintaining our health, happiness, independence and social connections. Only by reimagining ageing, can our society reduce the growing burden on our NHS and social care systems. Louise Ansari, from Centre for Ageing Better, said: These are significant results. People are living longer, and if we are more active in our 40s and 50s, we will have healthier later lives. But many of us dont do the amount of physical activity thats needed. Its not just about aerobic exercise like running or cycling. All adults should also do activities that boost their strength and balance twice a week. A good mix of different exercises can help everyone to stay healthy, active and independent. |
Here is What Hedge Funds Think About Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (HOLI)
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.
IsHollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI)the right pick for your portfolio? Prominent investors are taking a bearish view. The number of long hedge fund positions decreased by 1 in recent months. Our calculations also showed that HOLI 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_746893" align="aligncenter" width="473"]
Paul Marshall of Marshall Wace[/caption]
We're going to take a gander at the recent hedge fund action regarding Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -7% from one quarter earlier. Below, you can check out the change in hedge fund sentiment towards HOLI 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.
Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey,Impax Asset Management, managed by Ian Simm, holds the biggest position in Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI). Impax Asset Management has a $54.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.7% of its 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager isRenaissance Technologies, led by Jim Simons, holding a $7.8 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism encompass Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell'sArrowstreet Capital, D. E. Shaw'sD E Shawand Paul Marshall and Ian Wace'sMarshall Wace LLP.
Because Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there was a specific group of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. Interestingly, Noam Gottesman'sGLG Partnersdropped the largest stake of the 700 funds followed by Insider Monkey, worth about $1.5 million in stock, and David Costen Haley's HBK Investments was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0.5 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds by the end of the third quarter.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI) but similarly valued. These stocks are Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL), Criteo SA (NASDAQ:CRTO), Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE:TYG), and City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO). This group of stocks' market values are closest to HOLI's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position AUTL,6,432143,0 CRTO,9,148982,-3 TYG,2,1574,-1 CHCO,8,19696,-2 Average,6.25,150599,-1.5 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 6.25 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $151 million. That figure was $81 million in HOLI's case. Criteo SA (NASDAQ:CRTO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE:TYG) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HOLI) 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 HOLI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks and hedge funds that were betting on HOLI were disappointed as the stock returned -11.8% 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 in Q2.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published atInsider Monkey.
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Is SRC Energy Inc. (SRCI) A Good Stock To Buy?
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 SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI) during the quarter.
Hedge fund interest inSRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI)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 SRCI to other stocks including Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP), First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF), and Gentherm Inc (NASDAQ:THRM) 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' 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 go over the new hedge fund action regarding SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI).
At the end of the first quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 0% from one quarter earlier. By comparison, 9 hedge funds held shares or bullish call options in SRCI 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.
According to Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, MacKenzie B. Davis and Kenneth L. Settles Jr'sSailingStone Capital Partnershas the largest position in SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI), worth close to $130.3 million, accounting for 8.6% of its total 13F portfolio. On SailingStone Capital Partners's heels isMillennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, which holds a $37.2 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other members of the smart money with similar optimism contain Debra Fine'sFine Capital Partners, Matt Smith'sDeep Basin Capitaland D. E. Shaw'sD E Shaw.
Judging by the fact that SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI) has experienced bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, we can see that there was a specific group of funds who were dropping their entire stakes in the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Jonathan Barrett and Paul Segal'sLuminus Managementsaid goodbye to the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, worth about $18.4 million in stock. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell's fund,Arrowstreet Capital, also sold off its stock, about $1.4 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
Let's now review hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP), First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF), Gentherm Inc (NASDAQ:THRM), and Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB). This group of stocks' market values are similar to SRCI's market value.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position TUP,23,170838,1 FCF,15,40578,2 THRM,19,75339,2 BHLB,13,50982,2 Average,17.5,84434,1.75 [/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 $84 million. That figure was $318 million in SRCI's case. Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) is the least popular one with only 13 bullish hedge fund positions. SRC Energy Inc. (NYSE:SRCI) 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 SRCI wasn't nearly as popular as these 20 stocks (hedge fund sentiment was quite bearish); SRCI investors were disappointed as the stock returned -10.5% 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 AudioCodes Ltd. (AUDC)
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 AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC).
AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC)was in 14 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of March. AUDC investors should pay attention to an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with AUDC holdings at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that AUDC 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 look at the new hedge fund action regarding AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC).
Heading into the second quarter of 2019, a total of 14 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a change of 27% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 5 hedge funds with a bullish position in AUDC 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.
Among these funds,Arrowstreet Capitalheld the most valuable stake in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC), which was worth $6.1 million at the end of the first quarter. On the second spot was G2 Investment Partners Management which amassed $5.8 million worth of shares. Moreover, Navellier & Associates, D E Shaw, and Renaissance Technologies were also bullish on AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness.G2 Investment Partners Management, managed by Josh Goldberg, assembled the most outsized position in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC). G2 Investment Partners Management had $5.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Mark Broach'sManatuck Hill Partnersalso made a $0.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Jeffrey Talpins'sElement Capital Management, Ronald Hua'sQtron Investments, and Ken Griffin'sCitadel Investment Group.
Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks - not necessarily in the same industry as AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) but similarly valued. These stocks are Century Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNBKA), Ultra Clean Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UCTT), ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN), and TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:TCRR). All of these stocks' market caps match AUDC's market cap.
[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position CNBKA,2,11330,-1 UCTT,9,45721,-1 IMGN,16,69185,0 TCRR,5,39383,5 Average,8,41405,0.75 [/table]
View table hereif you experience formatting issues.
As you can see these stocks had an average of 8 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $41 million. That figure was $22 million in AUDC's case. ImmunoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Century Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNBKA) is the least popular one with only 2 bullish hedge fund positions. AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) 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 AUDC as the stock returned 13.7% 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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Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited (HKG:868): Time For A Financial Health Check
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Small and large cap stocks are widely popular for a variety of reasons, however, mid-cap companies such as Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited (HKG:868), with a market cap of HK$33b, often get neglected by retail investors. 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. 868’s financial liquidity and debt position will be analysed in this article, to get an idea of whether the company can fund opportunities for strategic growth and maintain strength through economic downturns. Don’t forget that this is a general and concentrated examination of Xinyi Glass Holdings’s financial health, so you should conduct further analysisinto 868 here.
See our latest analysis for Xinyi Glass Holdings
Over the past year, 868 has ramped up its debt from HK$8.5b to HK$10.0b – this includes long-term debt. With this growth in debt, 868 currently has HK$4.7b remaining in cash and short-term investments to keep the business going. On top of this, 868 has produced cash from operations of HK$4.6b during the same period of time, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 47%, indicating that 868’s debt is appropriately covered by operating cash.
Looking at 868’s HK$6.6b in current liabilities, the company has maintained a safe level of current assets to meet its obligations, with the current ratio last standing at 1.39x. The current ratio is the number you get when you divide current assets by current liabilities. Usually, for Auto Components 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.
With debt reaching 53% of equity, 868 may be thought of as relatively highly levered. This is not uncommon for a mid-cap company given that debt tends to be lower-cost and at times, more accessible. 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 after interest and tax at least three times its net interest payments is considered financially sound. In 868's case, the ratio of 27.4x suggests that interest is comfortably covered, which means that lenders may be less hesitant to lend out more funding as 868’s high interest coverage is seen as responsible and safe practice.
Although 868’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. Since there is also no concerns around 868's liquidity needs, this may be its optimal capital structure for the time being. This is only a rough assessment of financial health, and I'm sure 868 has company-specific issues impacting its capital structure decisions. I recommend you continue to research Xinyi Glass Holdings to get a more holistic view of the mid-cap by looking at:
1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 868’s future growth? Take a look at ourfree research report of analyst consensusfor 868’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is 868 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 868 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. |
Charts of the Day: The High Cost of Hospital Care
Hospital-based care is the largest component of U.S. health-care costs, accounting for about a third of total spending, or a projected $1.3 trillion in 2019. That makes hospitals a key target for cost-cutting. Taming the overall growth of health care costs requires action to lower the prices Americans pay for hospital care, a new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), a left-leaning think tank, says. The CAP report examines hospital profitability. Here are some key stats: Hospital profitability is at its highest rate in decades, with total margin across the industry at 7.8% as of 2016. CAP also analyzed data on more than 3,000 acute care hospitals, including for-profit, nonprofit and public institutions. It found that total profit margin for that group was 7%, with some wide variation across ownership type and individual hospitals. For-profit hospitals had an average total margin of 11%, while total margins were lower at nonprofit hospitals (7%) and public hospitals (5%). But more than one-quarter of hospitals lost money in in 2016, including 40% of public hospitals. Hospital margins are higher than those in some other parts of the health care sector, though they remain well below margins for drug companies. Total profits among the hospitals in CAPs analysis was $63.6 billion in 2016 a figure that suggests that stronger rate regulation could save Americans tens of billions of dollars on hospital expenditures, even if rates were tailored to keep afloat loss-making hospitals that are crucial to patient access, CAP health economist Emily Gee writes. Hospital payment rates across all payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, are about 34% higher than what Medicare pays. Commercial insurers are estimated to pay about double what Medicare does for hospital care, the report says. The hospital industry says that Medicare payments dont cover the full cost of delivering patient care only reimbursing 87 cents on the dollar in 2017 and that hospitals would be financially insolvent if they were only paid Medicare rates. For more details, and to see Gees recommendations to rein in the price of hospital care, read the full report . Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter . |
Forget the Galaxy Note 10: Samsung is making a more affordable 5G phone
Click here to read the full article. The Galaxy Note 10 is launching soon, complete with a brand new design and a few novel features, but this Samsung flagship will be at least as expensive as the Galaxy S10 series that launched earlier this year. And if you’re gunning for a 5G version of the Note 10, then you’ll have to pay even more. But Samsung is also doing something it hasn’t done before; it’s working on a brand new flagship device that won’t be as expensive as the S10 or Note 10. Moreover, this rumored Galaxy A90 phone will deliver 5G connectivity as well as 45W charging speeds — something that hasn’t been available on any Samsung flagship to date. Related Stories: This huge leak might be our first look at the Galaxy Note 10+ in real-life photos Industry insider teases smartphones with even better all-screen designs coming this year These stunning Galaxy Note 10 Pro renders will make you forget all about Samsung's awful Galaxy Fold Leaks from the usual suspects say the Galaxy A90 will run on the same Qualcomm processor that powers some of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 versions, including the 5G models. That’s the Snapdragon 855, of course — a chip found inside many of this year’s Android flagships. Both A90 models will also feature 6.7-inch displays with in-display fingerprint sensors, according to @OnLeaks , as well as triple lens cameras. However, the camera specs won’t be identical. Also interesting is that the 5G phone won’t have whatever Tilt optical image stabilization, whereas the 4G version will get it. Unlike the other Samsung flagships, the A90 isn’t supposed to feature a front-facing camera. Instead, the triple-lens camera will have a pop-up rotary design which will let you use it for both selfies and regular photos. The other leaker that has referenced the Galaxy A90 in the past is Ice Universe, and he also mentioned the same Snapdragon 855 SoC for the phone: Story continues Previous leaks also claimed that the Galaxy A90 will get 45W fast charging, which is even faster than what the Galaxy S10 can do. We’ve seen conflicting rumors about the Note 10’s battery charging speed, with Ice saying that the Pro version of the phone might still support 45W, while the regular model will only support 25W. That said, we have no idea how much the Galaxy A90 phones will cost or when they’ll be available. The Galaxy Note 10, meanwhile, is expected to hit stores in the second half of August. BGR Top Deals: Get an ASUS 2-in-1 touchscreen Chromebook for $279 on Amazon, today only This top-rated fast wireless charger is somehow only $6.99 right now on Amazon Trending Right Now: No, it’s not just you: Half of the internet is down, including Google, Amazon, and Reddit Apple was right again: Here’s why a Galaxy Note 10 without a microSD slot isn’t a big deal Fresh Pixel 4 leak gives us another look at Google’s unreleased flagship See the original version of this article on BGR.com |
Is There An Opportunity With China Oriental Group Company Limited's (HKG:581) 49% Undervaluation?
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Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of China Oriental Group Company Limited (HKG:581) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of theSimply Wall St analysis model.
Check out our latest analysis for China Oriental Group
We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:
[{"": "Levered FCF (CN\u00a5, Millions)", "2019": "CN\u00a51.96k", "2020": "CN\u00a52.66k", "2021": "CN\u00a53.86k", "2022": "CN\u00a53.16k", "2023": "CN\u00a52.78k", "2024": "CN\u00a52.56k", "2025": "CN\u00a52.43k", "2026": "CN\u00a52.36k", "2027": "CN\u00a52.33k", "2028": "CN\u00a52.32k"}, {"": "Growth Rate Estimate Source", "2019": "Analyst x1", "2020": "Analyst x1", "2021": "Analyst x1", "2022": "Est @ -18.13%", "2023": "Est @ -12.09%", "2024": "Est @ -7.86%", "2025": "Est @ -4.9%", "2026": "Est @ -2.83%", "2027": "Est @ -1.38%", "2028": "Est @ -0.37%"}, {"": "Present Value (CN\u00a5, Millions) Discounted @ 9.48%", "2019": "CN\u00a51.79k", "2020": "CN\u00a52.22k", "2021": "CN\u00a52.94k", "2022": "CN\u00a52.20k", "2023": "CN\u00a51.77k", "2024": "CN\u00a51.49k", "2025": "CN\u00a51.29k", "2026": "CN\u00a51.15k", "2027": "CN\u00a51.03k", "2028": "CN\u00a5939.01"}]
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= CN¥16.80b
"Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 9.5%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2029× (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = CN¥2.3b × (1 + 2%) ÷ (9.5% – 2%) = CN¥32b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN¥CN¥32b ÷ ( 1 + 9.5%)10= CN¥12.81b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN¥29.61b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the company’s reported currency of CN¥7.95. However, 581’s primary listing is in Hong Kong, and 1 share of 581 in CNY represents 1.135 ( CNY/ HKD) share of OTCPK:CUGC.F,so the intrinsic value per share in HKD is HK$9.03.Compared to the current share price of HK$4.64, the company appears quite undervalued at a 49% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.
Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at China Oriental Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 9.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.124. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn’t be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For China Oriental Group, I've compiled three essential aspects you should further examine:
1. Financial Health: Does 581 have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at ourfree balance sheet analysis with six simple checkson key factors like leverage and risk.
2. Future Earnings: How does 581's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with ourfree analyst growth expectation chart.
3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of 581? Exploreour interactive list of high quality stocksto get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every HK stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock justsearch 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. |
‘I Am Mother’ Director Tackles Margot Robbie-Produced Thriller ‘Augmented’
Warner Bros. has hired “ I Am Mother ” director Grant Sputore to helm the science-fiction thriller “ Augmented ” which Margot Robbie is producing, Variety has learned exclusively. Michael Lloyd Green is rewriting an original script by Mark Townend. Denise Di Novi and Tom Ackerley are also producing. Production companies are Robbie’s LuckyChap and Di Novi’s eponymous Di Novi Pictures. Executive producers are Margaret French Isaac for Di Novi and Josey McNamara for LuckyChap. Related stories Cannes Film Review: 'Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood' 5 Burning Questions for Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' in Cannes Tribeca Film Review: 'Dreamland' The studio acquired the rights to Townsend’s spec script in 2017 and announced Robbie’s attachment to produce that same year. No actors are attached to “Augmented” at this point. Sputore and Green teamed on the sci-fi thriller “ I Am Mother ,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Luke Hawker, Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne and Hilary Swank star in the story of a robot raising a little girl after a mass extinction. The film, recently released by Netflix, received strong reviews with a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Amy Nicholson said in her review for Variety, “‘I Am Mother’ director Grant Sputore ’s parentage is obvious: James Cameron crossbred with Ridley Scott.” Green recently sold a pitch for an original sci-fi thriller, “Remission,” to Black Bear Pictures. Sputore is the co-founder of Australian production company the Penguin Empire. Robbie produced and starred in “I, Tonya,” for which she received a best actress Oscar nomination. She stars as Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which opens July 26. She also stars in and produces the upcoming “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).” Both Sputore and Green are repped by WME and Echo Lake Entertainment. Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . |
Asian Stocks Rise; White House Confirms Trade Talks on Saturday Morning in Japan
Investing.com - Asian markets gained in morning trade on Thursday as traders awaited trade talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this weekend.
China’s Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.8% and 0.9% respectively by 10:30 PM ET (02:30 GMT).
Overnight, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters that the two Presidents will meet on Saturday at 11:30 AM ET to discuss trade-related issues.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump warned that substantial amount of U.S. tariffs could be placed on China if no progress is made in trade talks this weekend.
His comments were in contrast with a Wednesday report from Bloomberg that cited people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the U.S. is willing to suspend the next round of tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods as a goodwill gesture.
Trump will meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison later today, followed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday, before his meeting with Xi, which is likely to be the most closely watched event this weekend.
On the data front, the National Bureau of Statistics reported this morning that profits earned by China’s industrial firms rose 1.1% in May from a year earlier, compared with a 3.7% fall in April.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%. Protests against closer ties with China made headlines again today as about 10,000 people demonstrated on Wednesday in an attempt to grab global attention ahead of the G-20 meeting this weekend.
It was reported that about 2 million of Hong Kong citizens of the territory of 7.4 million people were on the streets earlier this month to protest against a highly controversial law that would allow extraditions from the city to Mainland China.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier that he expected Trump and Xi to discuss Hong Kong at the G-20.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.9%. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.8%.
Down under, Australia’s ASX 200 was little changed at 6,642.00.
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