Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:HTGM,EVOK,CINF,MSFT,

Being a member of the esteemed Dow Jones industrial average index is supposed to come with prestige. After all, there are only 30 companies at a time that can actually be a Dow stock. These companies are supposed to represent a major portion of the industrial business climate or to dominate a major component of the economy in America.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has been the longest lasting member of the Dow’s original components, but now the prior rumors and ponderings about GE being ejected from the Dow have finally come true. GE is being replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) effective prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, June 26.

It is no secret that GE has been troubled for quite some time. After too many acquisitions and divestitures to easily count, and selling for low prices while paying high prices, General Electric has lost its way. To many investors, it may now look and feel more like “General Eclectic.”

Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2019: HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.(HTGM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Quanterix (NASDAQ: QTRX) and HTG Molecular Diagnostics (NASDAQ:HTGM) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on HTG Molecular Diagnostics (HTGM)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on HTG Molecular Diagnostics (HTGM)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  HTG Molecular Diagnostics (NASDAQ:HTGM) was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a buy rating to a hold rating.

  ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN) was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a hold rating to a sell rating.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  HTG Molecular Diagnostics (NASDAQ: HTGM) is one of 24 public companies in the “Analytical instruments” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare HTG Molecular Diagnostics to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability and dividends.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  HTG Molecular Diagnostics (NASDAQ: HTGM) is one of 24 publicly-traded companies in the “Analytical instruments” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare HTG Molecular Diagnostics to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2019: Evoke Pharma, Inc.(EVOK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have impacted Accern’s rankings:

  Get Evoke Pharma alerts: Evoke Pharma (EVOK) Given a $9.00 Price Target by HC Wainwright Analysts (americanbankingnews.com) Evoke Pharma (EVOK) Announces FDA Acceptance of Gimoti NDA (zacks.com) FDA to Review Gimoti for Diabetic Gastroparesis in Adult Women (empr.com) Evoke Pharma's Gimoti NDA Accepted for FDA Review (finance.yahoo.com)

  Shares of NASDAQ EVOK traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.44. 56,399 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,661. The stock has a market cap of $42.58 million, a PE ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.46. Evoke Pharma has a 52-week low of $1.85 and a 52-week high of $4.09.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Evoke Pharma (EVOK)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Evoke Pharma (EVOK)

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

Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2019: Cincinnati Financial Corporation(CINF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $4,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Tibra Equities Europe Ltd purchased a new position in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,909 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) by 13.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 498,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 78,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Cincinnati Financial were worth $36,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2019: Microsoft Corporation(MSFT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Frankel, CFP]

  For example, let's say that you want to invest $10,000 in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which is trading for about $115 as of this writing. Instead of investing all $10,000 now, you could invest $2,500 at the end of each quarter over the course of the next year.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,155,517 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 14,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.7% of Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $105,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By ]

  Bill Gates' thoughts on bitcoin have shifted over time, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft (MSFT) , a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio, from toying with the idea of incorporating it into their payment system. Microsoft users now have the option to add bitcoins from their wallet into their Microsoft account, but also make sure you know that when you redeem bitcoin for your account, it's only available to use in the Windows Store and Xbox Store.

• [By ]

  According to data from ISS Analytics, the data intelligence arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, Facebook's current board of nine directors includes just two women and one person of color. The boards of the other FAANG companies, along with Microsoft Inc. (MSFT) , have a similar breakdown.

Plug Power (PLUG) Shares Gap Up to $1.75

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.71, but opened at $1.75. Plug Power shares last traded at $1.77, with a volume of 3032379 shares.

PLUG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1.50 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 5th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.94.

Get Plug Power alerts:

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.09 million, a PE ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 1.90.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 154.8% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 32,671 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 19,851 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 39,763 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 8,556 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 53,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 343.2% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 73,495 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 56,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.65% of the company’s stock.

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About Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG)

Plug Power Inc, an alternative energy technology provider, engages in the design, development, commercialization, and manufacture of hydrogen and fuel cell systems for the material handling and stationary power markets primarily in North America and Europe. It focuses on proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell and fuel processing technologies, fuel cell/battery hybrid technologies, and related hydrogen storage and dispensing infrastructure.

Featured Story: Understanding each part of a balance sheet

Datacoin One Day Volume Reaches $5.00 (DTC)

Datacoin (CURRENCY:DTC) traded 0.3% lower against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 22:00 PM E.T. on February 21st. Over the last seven days, Datacoin has traded down 5.7% against the US dollar. One Datacoin coin can now be purchased for $0.0005 or 0.00000013 BTC on exchanges. Datacoin has a market capitalization of $18,338.00 and approximately $5.00 worth of Datacoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Here is how similar cryptocurrencies have performed over the last day:

Get Datacoin alerts: Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) traded 2.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.76 or 0.00019178 BTC. Stratis (STRAT) traded down 5.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.92 or 0.00023083 BTC. NavCoin (NAV) traded 2.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.16 or 0.00004031 BTC. CloakCoin (CLOAK) traded 9.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.66 or 0.00016582 BTC. DeepOnion (ONION) traded down 3.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.20 or 0.00004958 BTC. Stealth (XST) traded down 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0798 or 0.00002007 BTC. Kore (KORE) traded 3.8% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.42 or 0.00010691 BTC. Bitcoin Plus (XBC) traded 1.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $5.03 or 0.00126559 BTC. Elite (1337) traded down 4.2% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0000 or 0.00000000 BTC. BlitzPredict (XBP) traded 2.6% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0008 or 0.00000021 BTC.

Datacoin Profile

Datacoin is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X13 hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was October 19th, 2014. Datacoin’s total supply is 35,516,363 coins. Datacoin’s official Twitter account is @DatacoinX and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Datacoin is datacoin.info. The Reddit community for Datacoin is /r/Datacoin and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

Buying and Selling Datacoin

Datacoin can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: FreiExchange. It is usually not currently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Datacoin directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to trade Datacoin should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Gemini, Changelly or GDAX. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Datacoin using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Hidden Items Understate Growth In This Chemical Company

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1076536912&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1076536912/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;720&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; KIEV, UKRAINE - 2019/01/01: The Chemours Company Chemicals company logo seen displayed on a smart phone. (Photo by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

For February 20, this forensic accounting needles in a haystack come from a chemicals company with significant hidden non-operating expenses.

Analyst Hunter Anderson found two unusual items in The Chemours Company&a;rsquo;s (CC) 2018 10-K.

On&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CC_Change_In_Reserves.png&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;page 32&l;/a&g;&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;of the&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;financial footnotes, CC disclosed a $35 million increase to its&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/change-in-total-reserves/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;LIFO reserves&l;/a&g;.

On&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CC_ENOPTIO.png&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;page 60&l;/a&g;, CC disclosed $91 million in non-recurring legal and transaction costs.

Combined, these items decreased pre-tax reported earnings by $126 million (11% of reported pre-tax earnings). Without these adjustments, CC grew GAAP net income at an impressive 33% in 2018. However, when we remove these non-operating items, we see that CC grew net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) by 47%. Without analyzing the footnotes, investors would significantly understate CC&a;rsquo;s true profits.

&l;strong&g;The Power of the Robo-Analyst&l;/strong&g;

My firm&s;s analysts analyzed 89 10-K filings yesterday, from which the&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/technology/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Robo-Analyst&l;/a&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/hidden-items-understate-growth-in-todays-filing-season-find/#_ftn1&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;technology collected 9,139 data points. The analyst team used this data to make 1,599 forensic accounting&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;adjustments&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;with a dollar value of $1.3 trillion. The adjustments were applied as follows:

&l;/p&g;&l;ul&g;&l;li&g;649 income statement adjustments with a total value of $78 billion&l;/li&g; &l;li&g;675 balance sheet adjustments with a total value of $624 billion&l;/li&g; &l;li&g;275 valuation adjustments with a total value of $551 billion&l;/li&g; &l;/ul&g;&l;em&g;Disclosure: David Trainer, Hunter Anderson, and Sam McBride receive no compensation to write about any specific stock, sector, style, or theme.&l;/em&g;

&l;a href=&q;https://www.newconstructs.com/hidden-items-understate-growth-in-todays-filing-season-find/#_ftnref1&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;/a&g;&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Harvard Business School features the powerful impact of our research automation technology in the case&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;https://hbr.org/product/new-constructs-disrupting-fundamental-analysis-with-robo-analysts/118068-PDF-ENG&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;New Constructs: Disrupting Fundamental Analysis with Robo-Analysts&l;/a&g;.

Honda Will Shut UK Plant, Blaming Market Necessity, Not Brexit

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-0b000b0a259944939a6a1ba288fdccd8&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/0b000b0a259944939a6a1ba288fdccd8/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;635&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Honda&s;s Swindon plant makes the CR-V (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Honda Motor of Japan said Tuesday it will close its manufacturing plant in Swindon, England, as part of a global restructuring plan to meet the challenge of electrified vehicles.

News of the closure, reports of which emerged yesterday, sparked controversy in Britain as Brexit day approaches on March 29. &a;nbsp;The lack of detail available for companies as the deadline approaches is causing anxiety, notably amongst manufacturers with long supply chains over European Union borders like Honda.

But a statement from Honda didn&a;rsquo;t mention Brexit.

The factory builds the Civic five-door hatchback for global markets including Europe and the U.S. and the CR-V SUV.

&a;ldquo;This restructure comes as Honda accelerates its commitment to electrified cars, in response to the unprecedented changes in the global automotive industry. The significant challenges of electrification will see Honda revise its global manufacturing operations, and focus activity in regions where it expects to have high production volumes,&a;rdquo; Honda said.

This reference to high volumes is probably the killer for Honda Swindon.

The factory in Swindon only makes about 150,000 cars and SUVs a year. Its market share in Europe is tiny and sales are currently stalling, to say the least.

In Western Europe last year Honda sales fell nearly 5% to 118,668 for a market share of 0.8%, according to the European Car Manufacturers Association.

Honda said it will close the Swindon plant in 2021, at the end of the current model&a;rsquo;s production lifecycle. The plant employs approximately 3,500 people.

Katsushi Inoue, Honda Europe CEO, said the move was all about readying the company for new technology.

&a;ldquo;In light of the unprecedented changes that are affecting our industry, it is vital that we accelerate our electrification strategy and restructure our global operations accordingly. As a result, we have had to take this difficult decision to consult our workforce on how we might prepare our manufacturing network for the future. This has not been taken lightly and we deeply regret how unsettling today&a;rsquo;s announcement will be for our people,&a;rdquo; Inoue said.&l;/p&g;

Tech Mahindra gains 3% ahead of board meeting to consider share buyback proposal

Tech Mahindra shares gained nearly 3 percent in the morning on February 18 ahead of its board meeting to consider share buyback proposal later this week.

The stock was quoting at Rs 807.20, up Rs 6.50, or 0.81 percent on the BSE, at 0940 hours IST.

"The meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on February 21 to consider a proposal to buyback the fully paid-up equity shares of the company," the software services provider said.

Hence, the trading window for transacting in the securities of the company would remain closed from February 16 to February 23.

related news GSK Consumer Healthcare falls 2% after Credit Suisse downgrades, cuts price target D-Street Buzz: IT stocks in red dragged by KPIT Tech; Dr Reddy's Labs jumps 2%, Yes Bank falls

While maintaining overweight call on the stock with a price target at Rs 830, global brokerage house Morgan Stanley said the buyback could be its first-ever and positive for sentiment.

Buyback over and above regular dividend payout would help boost return ratios, it added.

As the company has networth of Rs 19,300 crore in FY18 and cash of around Rs 6,500 crore on its books, Motilal Oswal said there could be two option with the company while considering buyback proposal.

One is the company can buy back shares worth Rs 1,930 crore—10 percent of networth—(3.8 percent of equity) without shareholder approval.

The second option could be to buy back shares worth Rs 4,800 crore—25 percent of networth—(9.5 percent of equity) with shareholder approval.

"The latter scenario is unlikely, considering it consumes around 3/4th of cash, and Tech Mahindra's acquisitive strategy," Motilal Oswal said.

Disclaimer: The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. First Published on Feb 18, 2019 10:24 am

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:YRCW,SB,HCKT,AIM,FFNW,JST,

The biopharma and drug supply chain sectors outperformed the market last week, even as Trump administration officials pressed the president's blueprint to lower drug prices, with tough rhetoric for drugmakers and public shaming of pharmaceutical firms for supposedly blocking competition.

"Drug companies have insisted we can have new cures or affordable prices, but not both," said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a speech Monday. "I've been a drug company executive — I know the tired talking points: the idea that if one penny disappears from pharma profit margins, American innovation will grind to a halt. I'm not interested in hearing those talking points anymore, and neither is the president."

The HHS secretary outlined proposals that include merging Medicare Part B drugs — for which the government pays full list prices — into Part D, which is administered by private drug plans and pharmacy benefit managers that negotiate discounts. He also suggested that those same PBMs could come under new fiduciary rules, which would require them to negotiate the best prices and pass on discounts to consumers.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on YRC Worldwide (YRCW)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) and USA Truck (NASDAQ:USAK) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Shares of trucker YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) leapt more than 11% in early trading Wednesday and are still up a respectable 9.7% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT. You can thank Deutsche Bank for that.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares jumped 155.56 percent to close at $5.75 on Thursday. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) shares gained 56.12 percent to close at $24.98. Inspire Medical went public Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company issued 6.75 million shares priced at $16 each. Presbia PLC (NASDAQ: LENS) shares rose 53.02 percent to close at $3.55. Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) shares rose 46.29 percent to close at $32.11. The nano-cap low-float stock skyrocketed over 1,300 percent on Wednesday on no company specific news which would support the surge. The move higher is consistent with what was seen in other low-float stocks over the past few months. Technical Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: TCCO) climbed 27.78 percent to close at $5.75. STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) shares gained 26.27 percent to close at $21.15 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares jumped 22.16 percent to close at $4.30 on Thursday after gaining 9.32 percent on Wednesday. China Advanced Construction Materials Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADC) rose 20.45 percent to close at $2.65 on Thursday. YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) surged 18.36 percent to close at $9.99 following upbeat quarterly earnings. MYR Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MYRG) jumped 17.68 percent to close at $35.74 after the company posted strong Q1 earnings. Xspand Products Lab Inc (NASDAQ: XSPL) jumped 17.4 percent to close at $5.87. Xspand Products priced its IPO at $5 per share. Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRS) shares rose 17.32 percent to close at $14.90. Coherus BioSciences reported resubmission of BLA for CHS-1701. Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTEC) shares gained 17.17 percent to close at $31.05 following upbeat quarterly earnings. The Meet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEET) gained 16.02 percent to close at $2.68 following Q1 earnings. Ca

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Safe Bulkers Inc(SB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Safe Bulkers (SB)

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Companies Reporting After The Bell SpartanNash Company (NASDAQ: SPTN) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $2.38 billion. HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $13.57 billion. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $2.94 billion. HEICO Corporation (NYSE: HEI) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $424.96 million. Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE: SB) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $41.10 million
• [By Rich Smith]

  Ocean-going bulk shipper Safe Bulkers (NYSE:SB) reported its fiscal Q1 2018 earnings results on Tuesday -- an "earnings beat" that nudged the company's shares up 2%. But it took until Thursday for the real good news to arrive. Today, all of the sudden, the stock jumped out of its berth and closed 12.2% higher.

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Safe Bulkers alerts: Safe Bulkers, Inc. Agrees with Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. to Install Alfa Laval PureSOx Scrubbers (finance.yahoo.com) Analysts Anticipate Safe Bulkers, Inc. (SB) to Post $0.06 EPS (americanbankingnews.com) Safe Bulkers Inc.: Safe Bulkers, Inc. Announces Election of Class I Directors at 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (twst.com) Critical Analysis: Dorian LPG (LPG) & Safe Bulkers (SB) (americanbankingnews.com)

  A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SB shares. TheStreet cut Safe Bulkers from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Thursday. Maxim Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Safe Bulkers in a research report on Monday, July 23rd. Zacks Investment Research cut Safe Bulkers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 12th. ValuEngine upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 1st. Finally, Seaport Global Securities upgraded Safe Bulkers from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3.50 to $5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.79.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: The Hackett Group Inc.(HCKT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Hackett Group (HCKT)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Aerosonic Corporation(AIM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Shares of Aimia Inc (TSE:AIM) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is C$3.54.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Aimia (TSE:AIM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$2.67.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: First Financial Northwest Inc.(FFNW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Financial Northwest (FFNW)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Financial Northwest (FFNW)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Financial Northwest (FFNW)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) will be announcing its earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.26 per share for the quarter.

Top Penny Stocks To Watch For 2019: Jinpan International Limited(JST)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Warburg Research set a €47.00 ($55.95) price target on JOST Werke (ETR:JST) in a report published on Friday. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Hauck & Aufhaeuser set a €58.00 ($67.44) target price on JOST Werke (ETR:JST) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of JOST Werke (ETR: JST) recently:

  5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/25/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €47.00 ($54.65) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 5/24/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €45.00 ($52.33) price target on by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock. 5/8/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €46.00 ($53.49) price target on by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. 4/4/2018 – JOST Werke was given a new €47.00 ($54.65) price target on by analysts at Warburg Research. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

  Shares of JOST Werke traded down €0.15 ($0.17), hitting €38.10 ($44.30), during mid-day trading on Friday, according to MarketBeat. 8,510 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,469. JOST Werke AG has a 52 week low of €27.20 ($31.63) and a 52 week high of €47.50 ($55.23).

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Deutsche Bank set a €46.00 ($53.49) price target on JOST Werke (ETR:JST) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: XPO Logistics, Nvidia, Canopy & more

Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday:

XPO Logistics – XPO stock tanked a whopping 17 percent after the transportation company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. Its earnings came in eight cents shy of estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 72 cents per share, and the company's revenue also fell short of expectations. XPO also warned that its 2019 outlook would be negatively impacted by a drop in business from an unidentified major customer, believed by some analysts to be Amazon.

Canopy Growth — Cannabis producer Canopy Growth rallied 2.2 percent Friday after it reported third-quarter revenue rose 282 percent over the last year in one of Wall Street's first looks into the legal recreational marijuana market in Canada. Canopy sold 10,102 kilograms of pot and equivalents during the fiscal third quarter.

PepsiCo – Shares of Pepsi rose 3 percent after the beverage and snack giant reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.49 per share, matching Street forecasts, while revenue beat estimates. However, PepsiCo also forecast an unexpected drop in full-year profit, due to a stronger dollar and increased investments.

Newell Brands – Shares of Newell Brands dropped more than 15 percent after the consumer products maker reported weaker-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter. Newell's baby product sales were hurt by the bankruptcy of Babies 'R' Us. Newell also gave a weaker than expected forecast.

Deere – The heavy equipment maker fell more than 2 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings. Deere earned $1.54 per share for its first quarter, below the consensus estimate of $1.76. Deere's revenue did beat Street forecasts, but the bottom line was hurt by higher costs for raw materials and logistics.

Chemours — The Chemours Company's stock fell 2.01 percent following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings which showed lower-than-expected revenues. The chemicals company reported revenues of $1.46 billion, $5 billion lower than analyst estimates. Chermours also reported earnings of $1.05 per share, passing estimates by a narrow margin.

CBS — Shares of CBS are up 1.87 percent after the broadcasting company revealed it now has 8 million direct-to-consumer subscriptions, which is a growth ahead of schedule. The company then raised its 2022 direct to consumer guidance from 16 million to 25 million. CBS also reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings in which it missed top and bottom line estimates. The company missed revenues by $110 million and earnings per share were 2 cents below analyst estimates.

Nvidia – Nvidia stock is up more than 3 percent after the graphics chipmaker reported earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts. Nvidia's revenue came in slightly above estimates and it also forecast better than expected sales for 2019.

Applied Materials – Shares of Applied Materials slid more than 3 percent after the semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker issued weaker-than-expected profit and revenue guidance for the current quarter. Applied Materials did report better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter.

—CNBC's Nadine El-Bawab and Thomas Franck contributed to this report.

Deere downgraded as trade talk deadline nears

The success of Deere is now on hold until the U.S. and China resolve their trade dispute and relieve the swelling soybean inventory, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The brokerage downgraded the tractor supplier to a neutral rating from a buy rating Wednesday, two days before the company's first-quarter profit and sales report. Analyst Ross Gilardi wrote in a note to clients that the decision to cut Deere's rating was based on the lack of apparent progress between Washington and Beijing and weaker demand for construction equipment.

Those two factors combined make it unlikely Deere will raise its fiscal 2019 outlook and maintain its current premium to rival machinery maker Caterpillar, Gilardi told clients. The analyst also lowered his 12-month price target on Deere stock to $170 and trimmed his fiscal year 2019 earnings per share estimate to $11.25.

"Judging by Deere's dramatic outperformance, investors seem complacent that China will lift their retaliatory soybean tariffs on the U.S.," Gilardi wrote. "If the tariffs aren't lifted, and China continues to shun U.S. soybean imports, U.S. farmers will face rising uncertainty into spring planting as U.S. soybean inventories are already soaring. In our view, this is a real risk to farm equipment demand in the second half of 2019."

As one of the world's largest manufacturers of farming machinery, Deere could take a hit if U.S.-China trade negotiations don't improve. Soybean shipments offloaded in China in the first two weeks of 2019 were down about 37 percent from the first two weeks of 2018, according to tanker-tracking firm ClipperData. Soybeans account for 40 percent of area harvested for the U.S. farmer, according to Bank of America.

China, the world's latest soybean consumer, has pivoted to Brazil and other exporters for its supplies since slapping tariffs on U.S.-based soybeans.

Beijing imposed levies of between 5 and 10 percent on $60 billion worth of U.S. products effective Sept. 24 in response to the Trump administration's tariffs of 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods. If the two economic powerhouses fail to reach an agreement by March 2, those U.S. levies will increase to 25 percent.

"It's remarkable to us that Caterpillar is viewed by many as the poster child of the U.S.-China trade war, while Deere is viewed by many to be far less vulnerable," Gilardi added. "In reality, Deere is as embroiled to the U.S.-China trade war as any company we follow due to China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans."

Soybean stocks to use have jumped to 22.2 percent, "materially above" above long-term averages, the analyst wrote. The historic oversupply hasn't had too much of a negative impact thus far on equipment demand as U.S. farmers have been able to monetize a significant portion of last year's crop at a decent price and have been compensated by the federal government.

However, if the trade dispute isn't resolved by the onset of the planting season, agrarians could shift growing to corn en masse, creating another commodity glut.

The "soybean tariffs need to disappear," the analyst wrote.

Disclaimer

Best Health Care Stocks For 2019

tags:CII,MVIS,BKE,

5 Top ACA Exchange States' Early 2018 Plan Menus

Social Security Might Be Too Much of a Mystery to Affect Savings: Economists

Senate Republicans Unveil Health Care Plan

(Bloomberg) — Senate Republican leaders issued a long-awaited Affordable Care Act change proposal aimed at winning over both the moderate and conservative wings of their party, but their draft bill was immediately opposed by a group of four GOP senators.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said he and three other conservative Republicans — Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah — oppose the version released Thursday and intend to negotiate as a team to improve it. Their opposition could threaten passage of the bill. For the measure to clear the Senate, Republicans can only afford to lose two GOP votes amid unanimous Democratic opposition.

Best Health Care Stocks For 2019: Blackrock Capital and Income Strategies Fund Inc(CII)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  News headlines about BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fd (NYSE:CII) have trended positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fd earned a news sentiment score of 0.31 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the real estate investment trust an impact score of 47.3179811195894 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Best Health Care Stocks For 2019: Microvision Inc.(MVIS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Microvision (MVIS)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  IMPINJ (NASDAQ: PI) and MicroVision (NASDAQ:MVIS) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Microvision (MVIS)

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

Best Health Care Stocks For 2019: Buckle, Inc. (BKE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  6 Meridian bought a new stake in shares of Buckle Inc (NYSE:BKE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  We're about to reveal a little wealth secret that could unlock the trade of a lifetime. Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin takes you inside what could easily be a 10-bagger for investors in the weeks ahead. Read more right here.

  The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday Meanwhile, the United States will continue to meet with China to discuss ways to accelerate a deal between the two nations on trade. U.S. Commerce head Wilbur Ross will be visiting the nation next month to lead the next round of talks. Last weekend, the two nations agreed in principle to avoid a trade war. Here's the thing… the U.S. government doesn't want you to know the full story of what is happening. Here's a look at the backroom details…. U.S. crude oil prices slumped below $70 per barrel Friday thanks to reports out of Russia on its plans to hike production. Russia says it may increase production as part of a plan to ease portions of its deal with OPEC to cap excessive global output. Oil traders have long suspected that Russia would be one of the first countries to turn away from the ongoing deal with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the global oil cartel as soon as prices and inventory levels stabilized. This could be a blow to predictions among OPEC nations, as well as some traders who were hoping that oil could push back toward $100 per barrel. Three Stocks to Watch Today: FL, NFLX, AMZN Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) leads a light day of earnings reports. Shares of the shoe retailer popped 13% after the firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.45. Wall Street had anticipated EPS of just $1.24. The retailer benefited from stronger same-store sales and higher revenue, which also beat Wall Street expectations. On Thursday, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) surpassed The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) in market capitalization to become the most valuable media property on the planet. It's worth noting, however, that Netflix's market capitalization of $163 billion
• [By Taylor Cox]

  Notable Earnings

  Foot Locker, Inc (NYSE: FL) Q1 premarket The Buckle, Inc (NYSE: BKE) Q1 premarket

  FDA/Biotech

  BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ: BMRN) PDUFA date for Pegvaliase

  IPOs

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  And with just a few smart plays in today's classic stock picker's market, you can pull in triple-digit gains with just a small investment.

  Three Stocks to Watch Today: FL, SSNLF, MSFT Shares of Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) popped 1% after the company reported earnings before the bell. The shoe retailer announced earnings per share of $0.75, a figure that topped Wall Street expectations by $0.05. The firm also topped revenue expectations. The primary drag from the report, however, was news that comparable-store sales fell slightly short of analysts' expectations. Today is a key day for Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC: SSNLF). The company's Galaxy Note 9 will go on sale. The water-resistant phone provides wireless charging and an infinity display. The company is trying to move past design problems from its Galaxy 8, and the fallout from the Galaxy Note 7 that was discontinued due to incidents where they caught fire. Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) is now under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. agency is investigating claims that the company offered bribes and kickbacks to government officials in Hungary. Other firms reporting earnings include Hibbett Sports Inc. (Nasdaq: HIBB), Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG), and Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE).

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Three Reasons To Stop Checking Your Stocks Every Day

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image ap size-large wp-image-7ae8605109384760b1e5ec719f904a2e&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/7ae8605109384760b1e5ec719f904a2e/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;622&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; A man looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan&s;s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Like looking at social media, checking on your stocks each trading day is addictive. However, again, like checking social media, it&s;s not necessarily good for you. There are a few reasons why your time may be spent on other things rather than&a;nbsp;monitoring&a;nbsp;daily stock movements.

&l;strong&g;It May Encourage You To Trade&l;/strong&g;

First, looking at your stocks more may simple encourage more trading. For example, research has found &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2018/03/28/your-last-stock-sale-may-be-really-predictable/#6c03a166fa39&q;&g;people tend to trade the stocks that have done the best or worst&l;/a&g;&a;nbsp;in their portfolio when they look at them. This may not be a sensible strategy and is a clear reaction to blindly looking at performance. By looking at your portfolio, you&a;nbsp;will be tempted to trade on a whim. That can increase your costs and, potentially, your taxes too, since often &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2016/10/18/taxes-can-offer-a-free-lunch-for-investors/&q;&g;holding stocks for less than a year can increase the tax hit from capital gains&l;/a&g;.

Also, in a bear market environment looking at your portfolio every day offers only&a;nbsp;pain without much real benefit&a;nbsp;That continue reminder of daily losses can make a bear market harder to stomach. That&s;s a problem because you may end up switching strategy at the wrong point.

Of course, daily losses are tough to bear, but history suggests that sometimes these times of pain can offer more opportunity for investors, and at the very least staying the course in weaker markets is often a robust plan for investors. Now, it matters what your investment strategy is, but for most who aspire to implement more of a &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2018/07/26/six-expert-investment-portfolios-you-can-implement-today/&q;&g;buy-and-hold portfolio&l;/a&g;, knowing the daily changes in stock prices has essentially zero value for that strategy. Plus, on the other hand, if prices are rising every day, that could lead you astray too, causing you to take on more risk in your portfolio than you can really handle should the market shift direction.

&l;strong&g;It Won&s;t Give You An Edge&l;/strong&g;

In finance, though the markets are not perfect, it&s;s unlikely you can gain and edge by doing something countless millions of other investors are doing, namely looking at daily price movements. There is some evidence that &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2019/01/27/a-deeper-look-at-how-momentum-strategies-work/&q;&g;medium-term moves in price can be predictive of future stock performance&l;/a&g;. However, ironically, if you just look at daily price changes you may only see the distracting noise and miss these medium-term signals in longer term data, that could have some signalling value.

As a result maybe there are things that are useful to check to help your portfolio fairly regularly. For example, if you have a taxable account, you could look for &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2018/11/08/why-you-should-tax-loss-harvest-now/&q;&g;tax-loss harvesting&l;/a&g; opportunities. Perhaps once a month you could examine &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2019/01/22/the-cheapest-countries-to-invest-in-for-2019-and-how-to-access-them/&q;&g;valuation ratios&l;/a&g; for major markets, or maybe there&s;s &l;a href=&q;http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmoore/2019/01/09/the-new-factors-that-drive-investment-performance/&q;&g;insight&l;/a&g; you can glean from reading the financial reports of the companies you are interested in. However, checking stock prices routinely is unlikely to help with any of these approaches and can just be a distraction.

&l;strong&g;There Are Better Uses Of Your Time&l;/strong&g;

While&a;nbsp;checking stock prices frequently is common, having a written investment plan is not. Yet a written investment plan can be a key step to reaching your financial goals. With a simple one-page document you can document your investment goals to keep you on track, and to refer to if market conditions or your situation changes. If, for a month, you avoid checking stock prices, you could very easily pull together a useful investment plan with the time you&a;nbsp;could save. Unlike, randomly glancing at stock prices, an investment plan is more likely to help you on the way to meeting you investment goals.

With improving technology it is now even easier to access up to the minute stock prices, but actually there better uses of your time, and too much exposure to random news may cause you to&a;nbsp;deviate from an otherwise more effective investing strategies.&l;/p&g;

Expedia Earnings: EXPE Stock Jumps on Q4 Beat

The Expedia earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2018 has EXPE stock up on Friday.

Source: Daniel X. O’Neil via Flickr

Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) starts off its earnings report for the fourth quarter of the year with earnings per share of $1.18. This is better than the company’s earnings per share of 90 cents reported during the same time last year. It is also a blessing to EXPE stock by coming in above Wall Street’s earnings per share estimate of $1.08 for the quarter.

Expedia earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018 also include net income of $25 million. This is a decrease from the company’s net income of $53 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Operating income reported by Expedia for the fourth quarter of the year comes in at $96 million. The travel company’s operating income from the same period of the year prior was $114 million.

Revenue reported in the Expedia earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $2.56 billion. This is an increase over the company’s revenue of $2.32 billion reported in the fourth quarter of the previous year. It is also good news for EXPE stock by beating out analysts’ revenue estimate of $2.54 billion for the period.

Expedia notes that it saw an 11% increase in the fourth quarter of 2018 for its stayed lodging room nights when compared to the same time last year. HomeAway stayed property nights for the quarter were also up 20% from the fourth quarter of the prior year.

EXPE stock was up 2% as of noon Friday.

As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Buy Spotify (SPOT) Stock After Q4 Earnings On Streaming, Podcast Growth?

Spotify (SPOT ) reported solid fourth-quarter earnings and revenue results and posted its first-ever positive operating income, net income, and free cash flow. Despite the positivity, shares of the streaming music powerhouse slid following its earnings release Wednesday.

Spotify now looks poised to expand its reach in a streaming age with two new acquisitions. So let’s see if SPOT stock might be worth buying on the dip with it set to expand in an increasingly decentralized entertainment age driven by the likes of Netflix (NFLX ) and Amazon (AMZN ) .

Q4 Overview  

Spotify said it posted a profit of €442 million, on €1.495 billion in revenue. The comparisons against our Zacks Consensus Estimates don’t matter as much because the conversion rates end up making things a bit confusing. What is important is that Spotify swung from a quarterly loss of €596 million in the year-ago period and saw its revenues surge 30% year over year and 11% sequentially.

Maybe more importantly, Spotify closed the quarter with 207 million monthly active users to top the high-end of its own 199 to 206 million MAU guidance. This also marked a 16 million MAU climb from Q3 and a 29% jump from the prior-year period. On top of that, Spotify’s vital premium subscriber count surged 36% year over year and 11% sequentially to reach 96 million.

Spotify is the world’s most popular paid music streaming service. The company currently reaches users in almost 80 countries, roughly a decade after it launched. SPOT’s 96 million paying subscribers nearly double Apple (AAPL ) Music’s roughly 50 million. But the iPhone giant’s streaming music offering didn’t launch until 2015.

As we mentioned at the top, shares of Spotify fell after the company reported its fourth quarter financial results. SPOT stock did pop roughly 1% through morning trading Friday to rest at $132.75 a share. This marked a 33% downturn from its 52-week high of $198.99 a share and could present a solid buying opportunity for those high on the streaming firm.

 

Outlook

Spotify said it will focus on growth over profitability and announced that it purchased two privately held podcast companies, Gimlet Media and Anchor. Spotify, which has dabbled in video content, has ramped up its investment and said it has plans to spend upwards of $500 million on podcast acquisitions in 2019 alone.

Spotify said that podcasts create impressive audience engagement and noted that people who listen to podcasts spend twice as much time using the platform. “Today audio is only one tenth of the size of the video market, so there is a massive opportunity here for audio to evolve into more personalized, more immersive experience, much like how the video industry has evolved,” Chief Executive Daniel Ek said on the company’s earnings call.

“We believe that over time more than 20% of all listening on Spotify will be non-music content and we strongly believe that this opportunity in audio starts with podcasts.”

Looking ahead, Spotify offered some cautious guidance. Right off the bat, it expects a loss of €200 to €360 million in 2019. On top of that, the company expects full-year sales growth between 21% and 29%. The high-end would fall in line with 2018’s full-year growth, which already marked a major slowdown from 2017’s 39% surge and 52% top-line expansion in 2016.

Spotify forecasts that it will reach between 117 and 127 million premium subscribers by the end of 2019, which compares with analysts’ average forecast of 121 million. Meanwhile, the company’s gross profit margin is expected to fall from 26.7% in the fourth quarter to between 22% and 25% in 2019. “We said we can and did become profitable and now we’re going back to investing,” Spotify’s CEO said.

Bottom Line

Spotify has been called the Netflix of music, and clearly the company has plans to expand its audio content reach far beyond that. But unlike Netflix, Amazon, and soon enough Disney (DIS ) , Apple, and AT&T (T ) , Spotify does not offer anything particularly unique. It offers, for the most part, the exact same music library as Apple Music and other premium streaming platforms. And most podcast producers put their podcasts in as many places as possible, including YouTube (GOOGL ) .

The simple fact is that Spotify will have a nearly impossible time becoming its own record company, while Netflix and Amazon Prime originals have become major forces in Hollywood. Plus, it seems that Spotify’s revenue growth is already slowing, which makes it less attractive. With that said, SPOT stock sits well below its 52-week high and is worth keeping an eye on.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019

In addition to the stocks discussed above, wouldn't you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?

From more than 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank, these 10 were picked by a process that consistently beats the market. Even during 2018 while the market dropped -5.2%, our Top 10s were up well into double-digits. And during bullish 2012 – 2017, they soared far above the market's +126.3%, reaching +181.9%.

This year, the portfolio features a player that thrives on volatility, an AI comer, and a dynamic tech company that helps doctors deliver better patient outcomes at lower costs.

See Stocks Today >>

The 2 PayPal Statistics Investors Really Should Be Watching

PayPal's (NASDAQ:PYPL) fourth-quarter report failed to impress Wall Street, for some obvious headline-figure reasons. Profits fell 6%, and expenses grew faster than revenue. But as senior analyst Jim Mueller explains to MarketFoolery host Chris Hill in this segment of the podcast, oscillations in the profit figure are less important to him than the number of active accounts and transactions per active account. And by those measures -- and others, including Venmo growth -- PayPal is firing on all cylinders.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on Jan. 31, 2019.

Chris Hill: Let's move on to PayPal. Shares down a bit this morning. Fourth quarter profits fell 6%. PayPal's expenses grew more this quarter than the revenue grew. I say, though, as a shareholder, I think there's still a lot to like.

Jim Mueller: Oh, yeah! With this company, I'm not going to get too worried about varying amounts of revenue growth, as long as it's positive and healthy. With PayPal, I focus much more on to other numbers: the number of active accounts and how that is growing, and the number of transactions per active account. Both of those grew quite nicely. They had a record number of additions, 13.8 million net new adds to the active accounts. All but 2.9 million of those were organic. That roughly 11 million was the biggest amount of organic growth that they had ever seen. That's really good news. And not only more and more people are using it, they're using it more often. They're at 36.9 transactions per active account per month on a trailing basis. That's good. As long as they can keep on driving that, as long as they can keep on playing their, "We're going to be the mobile payments system of the world. We don't care who you are, where your money's coming from, what bank you're doing it with, what credit card or debit card you're doing with, we want to be in that transaction," these guys are going to do fine.

Hill: The Venmo activity continues to rise.

Mueller: Oh, 80% year over year on this one. And they're finally being able to monetize it. They've got the Venmo debit card, they've got Pay with Venmo, where you use Venmo at a merchant and they get a bit of that transaction.

Hill: They've also got $10 billion in cash on the balance sheet.

Mueller: [laughs] Yeah. I'm not worried!

Myriad Genetics (MYGN) Releases Q3 Earnings Guidance

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.42-0.44 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.42. The company issued revenue guidance of $216.218 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $217.17 million.Myriad Genetics also updated its FY 2019 guidance to $1.70-1.75 EPS.

A number of research firms recently commented on MYGN. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Myriad Genetics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 29th. BidaskClub upgraded Myriad Genetics from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.43.

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NASDAQ MYGN traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $27.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,247,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,204. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Myriad Genetics has a 52 week low of $26.80 and a 52 week high of $50.44.

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Myriad Genetics had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $216.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Myriad Genetics will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Myriad Genetics Company Profile

Myriad Genetics, Inc, a molecular diagnostic company, focuses on developing and marketing novel predictive medicine, personalized medicine, and prognostic medicine tests worldwide. The company offers molecular diagnostic tests, including myRisk Hereditary Cancer, a DNA sequencing test for hereditary cancers; BRACAnalysis, a DNA sequencing test to assess the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer; BRACAnalysis CDx, a DNA sequencing test for use as a companion diagnostic with the platinum based chemotherapy agents and poly ADP ribose inhibitor Lynparza; riskScore, a clinically validated personalized medicine tool; GeneSight, a DNA genotyping test to optimize psychotropic drug selection for neuroscience patients; and Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, a DNA sequencing test that is designed to be utilized to predict response to DNA damaging agents.

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PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.57.

PPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank increased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 1st. Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 29th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, January 18th.

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Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reliance Trust Co. of Delaware grew its stake in PPG Industries by 13.1% during the third quarter. Reliance Trust Co. of Delaware now owns 11,328 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in PPG Industries by 24.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,493 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,873,000 after acquiring an additional 7,046 shares in the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 3.6% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 162,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,680,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Capital LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at $724,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

PPG traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 816,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,516,378. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. PPG Industries has a one year low of $94.37 and a one year high of $119.07. The company has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.84% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

PPG Industries Company Profile

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States and internationally. It operates through Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings segments. The Performance Coatings segment provides coatings products for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing; light industrial and specialty coatings for signs; coatings, sealants, and transparencies for commercial, military, regional jet and general aviation aircraft, and transparent armor; protective and marine coatings and finishes; architectural coatings; and purchased sundries to painting contractors and consumers, as well as chemical management services.

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Why Celestica Shares Plunged Today

What happened

Shares of Celestica (NYSE:CLS) have plunged today, down by 16% as of 10:45 a.m. EST, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings results. The electronics manufacturing specialist missed earnings estimates and forecast first-quarter earnings below expectations as well.

So what

Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 10% to $1.73 billion, which translated into adjusted earnings per share of $0.29. Analysts were expecting sales of $1.73 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $0.31. Free cash flow was negative $35.9 million, and Celestica incurred $6.4 million in restructuring charges during the quarter. The company also completed its acquisition of Impakt Holdings, which was financed with debt.

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"Celestica delivered on its Q4 consolidated non-IFRS operating margin target of 3.5%, driven by strong performance in our CCS segment and our aerospace and defense business," CEO Rob Mionis said in a statement. "We were particularly pleased that we achieved this key margin metric despite the impact of slower cyclical demand from our capital equipment customers, which had an adverse impact on ATS segment margin for the quarter. Although we remain positive about our positioning and the long-term growth prospects of the capital equipment business, we will focus our efficiency initiatives during the first quarter of 2019 on improving margins and better aligning this business to the current revenue environment."

Now what

Celestica had started to review its CCS revenue portfolio last year, looking to end underperforming customer programs that don't align with the company's long-term strategic objectives. Celestica says that CCS segment revenue will decline by around $500 million over the next 12 to 18 months as a result of the review, which is now "substantially complete."

For the first quarter, Celestica is guiding revenue to a range of $1.45 billion to $1.55 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.12 to $0.18. Analysts are currently modeling for the company to generate $1.55 billion in sales with an adjusted profit of $0.27 per share.

Swedbank Sells 1,130,232 Shares of CVS Health Corp (CVS)

Swedbank reduced its stake in CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) by 54.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 943,346 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,130,232 shares during the quarter. Swedbank owned approximately 0.09% of CVS Health worth $74,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth $103,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in CVS Health by 641.3% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 48,375 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,009,000 after buying an additional 41,849 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,592 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,960,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 139,697 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,691,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth $333,000. 82.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Bank of America increased their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CVS Health to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 18th. ValuEngine upgraded CVS Health from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on CVS Health from $88.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.31.

In related news, EVP Kevin Hourican sold 8,564 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $642,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,135 shares in the company, valued at $910,125. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Bisaccia sold 21,534 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,722,720.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,409 shares of company stock valued at $3,392,097. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $74.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. CVS Health Corp has a twelve month low of $60.14 and a twelve month high of $83.88.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $46.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.34 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 1.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corp will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated pharmacy health care services. It operates through Pharmacy Services and Retail/LTC segments. The Pharmacy Services segment offers pharmacy benefit management solutions, such as plan design and administration, formulary management, Medicare Part D services, mail order, specialty pharmacy and infusion services, retail pharmacy network management services, prescription management systems, clinical services, disease management programs, and medical pharmacy management services.

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