iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF (TFLO) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.08 Per Share

iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:TFLO) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, August 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.0753 per share on Tuesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 1st. This is a positive change from iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF’s previous monthly dividend of $0.07.

Shares of iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF traded up $0.03, reaching $50.26, during midday trading on Thursday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 1,008 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,085. iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $50.12 and a twelve month high of $50.85.

Recommended Story: Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

Could This Be XPO Logistics' Next Big Move?

At one level, there's nothing simpler than the business XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO) is engaged in: just get things from one place to another as quickly and efficiently as possible. Yet there's a huge amount of competition in the logistics industry, and XPO has had to stay on its toes in order to find ways to remain among the biggest players in the space while continuing to challenge its larger rivals.

Coming into Wednesday's second-quarter financial report, XPO investors wanted to see continued signs that the company has tapped into favorable trends related to e-commerce and supply chain optimization. The shipper delivered record results for the quarter, and now many think that another strategic move could help vault XPO further into the upper echelon of logistics companies worldwide.

Image source: XPO Logistics.

Staying on schedule

XPO Logistics' second-quarter results showed the favorable conditions in the logistics industry and the company's successful approach toward its business. Revenue climbed 16% to $43.6 billion, which was even stronger than the 14% growth rate that most of those following the stock were expecting to see. Adjusted net income was higher by more than 75% to $131.8 million, and that produced adjusted earnings of $0.98 per share. That was better than the consensus forecast for $0.97 per share on the bottom line.

XPO's growth was generally balanced. For the transportation segment, revenue climbed 15%, some of which came from a relatively weak U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies in which the logistics specialist does business. In North America, strength in freight brokerage and in last-mile services led XPO higher, while dedicated truckload transportation in the U.K. and France helped lift international results. Operating income for the segment rose by nearly a quarter. Those sales gains also fell through to the bottom line, and XPO cited all of those areas as improving operating income.

The logistics segment saw sales grow at a slightly faster 19% pace. The company highlighted global demand for e-commerce logistics, and it pointed specifically at the fashion industry in Europe and at technology and consumer packaged goods in North America as driving the segment forward. Adjusted pre-tax operating earnings rose more than 20% from year-earlier levels, as XPO cashed in on investments to improve productivity. A record number of new contract start-ups pointed to the strong pipeline that XPO has developed and converted upon recently.

CEO Brad Jacobs celebrated the news. "Our strong second quarter performance," Jacobs said, "was highlighted by record results for revenue, net income, adjusted EBITDA, cash flow from operations, and free cash flow." He pointed specifically at XPO's ability to grow net income at a much faster pace than revenue as a key to its results.

Will XPO make a purchase?

XPO sees good times lasting for the foreseeable future. In Jacobs' words, "We have innovations under way in every corner of the company, [including] the ramp-up of our XPO Direct distribution network, the build-out of our digital freight marketplace, the expansion of our last mile footprint, and the deployment of dynamic analytics for workforce planning."

Yet what many investors are looking at is whether XPO will make a big acquisition. On the conference call, Jacobs said that having started off with 250 potential targets, XPO is "now concentrating mainly on about a dozen." But the CEO was clear that "we are only going to do a deal when we have a deal that will likely create immense shareholder value," emphasizing the patience and discipline needed to be smart about making the best strategic moves possible for the company and its shareholders.

Absent an imminent deal, XPO highlighted its expectation to meet its previous guidance. That means investors can expect $1.6 billion in adjusted pre-tax operating earnings for 2018 and free cash flow of about $1 billion cumulative for 2017 and 2018.

XPO investors weren't entirely satisfied with the results, and the stock was down about 1.5% at midday on Thursday following the Wednesday evening announcement. Some of that disappointment likely stemmed from the lack of definitive answers about a potential acquisition. Nevertheless, in the long run, XPO looks like it's on track to cement its place among the most important transportation and logistics companies in the business, and that should be good for shareholders over time.

Why Unisys Corp. Stock Closed 13.2% Higher Today

What happened

Shares of Unisys (NYSE:UIS) closed Wednesday's trading session 13.2% higher, following Tuesday night's release of impressive second-quarter results. Earlier in the day, Unisys' share prices jumped as much as 17.1% higher.

So what

In the second quarter, the IT consulting and outsourcing veteran saw revenue climbing 0.2% above the year-ago period's figure, stopping at $667 million. On the bottom line, adjusted earnings grew more than 5 times larger and landed at $0.39 per diluted share. The Street consensus had called for earnings near $0.18 per share on sales in the neighborhood of $662 million. Looking ahead, management's full-year guidance for adjusted revenues centered at $2.76 billion, a hair below the current analyst view.

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

The company delivered 2% higher service revenue to make up for declining technology sales. Operating margin improved in both of these reporting segments. Big contract wins during the quarter included a platform to help the federal government organize its biometric data collections, as well as modernizing upgrades to older Unisys systems at the state government level in Hawaii and Georgia.

This stock has now climbed 78.5% higher year to date, bouncing back from a deep winter trough to create a 15% 52-week price increase. The stock still looks inexpensive, trading at 8.8 times forward earnings and 0.3 times trading sales. It's no surprise to see investors embracing these firm signs of life in a company that had fairly recently been left for dead.

Prologis (PLD) Cut to “Hold” at ValuEngine

ValuEngine downgraded shares of Prologis (NYSE:PLD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PLD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Prologis from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 27th. Citigroup raised Prologis from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Prologis from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Prologis in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $73.00 price target on Prologis and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Prologis currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $70.13.

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NYSE PLD opened at $62.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.80. Prologis has a 1 year low of $58.28 and a 1 year high of $67.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Prologis (NYSE:PLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.71. The company had revenue of $621.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.43 million. Prologis had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 74.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that Prologis will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 13th. Prologis’s payout ratio is 68.33%.

In other Prologis news, Director Jeffrey L. Skelton sold 3,618 shares of Prologis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $236,653.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,580.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael S. Curless sold 14,568 shares of Prologis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.07, for a total transaction of $962,507.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,869 shares of company stock worth $3,187,687. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centersquare Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prologis during the 1st quarter valued at $370,841,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prologis by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 54,695,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,445,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,023 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prologis by 53.0% during the 1st quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,329,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $146,729,000 after acquiring an additional 807,035 shares in the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Prologis by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 3,485,623 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $219,559,000 after acquiring an additional 647,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prologis by 7,788.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 566,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,693,000 after acquiring an additional 559,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.19% of the company’s stock.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. As of March 31, 2018, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 683 million square feet (63 million square meters) in 19 countries.

Featured Article: Book Value Per Share in Stock Trading

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

Buy DCB Bank; target of Rs 223: Cholamandalam Securities

Cholamandalam Securities' research report on DCB Bank

DCB��s advances continued to grow at a healthy pace (30.6% YoY, 4.5% QoQ) to INR 212bn in 1QFY19. Commercial Vehicles & Corporate segments witnessed higher growth (56.7% and 48% YoY respectively), although their relative share in overall portfolio continued to remain unchanged at 6% and 17% respectively.SME and Agricultural credit grew at 42.5% and 38.3% YoY respectively. The bank targets to double its overall asset portfolio in the next 3 years.

Outlook

DCB trades at 1.5X FY20E P/ABV and 11.7X FY20E P/E.� Healthy loan book growth, branch expansion and well-maintained asset quality paints a positive picture for the bank. This apart, considering its efforts to contain the cost to income ratios, to maintain healthy return ratios despite expected pressure on NIMs, we give the stock a BUY rating with a target price of INR 223, assigning a FY20E P/ABV of 2X.

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Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Jul 20, 2018 05:12 pm

Where Did Major Pharma Short Sellers Go?

Pharmaceutical companies usually are involved in a lengthy process of getting their drug candidates to market through clinical trials. There is a fair amount of risk involved, should a study come back negative or a candidate not be approved. Conversely, if a drug gains FDA approval or passes a clinical trial, there can be big upside.

The White House has promised reforms in the health care sector, such as changing the bidding process for drugs and shortening the FDA approval process. It is yet to be seen how much headway they can actually make with these reforms.

Keep in mind that short sellers betting against big pharma are taking on an added risk. They have to pay out the ongoing high dividends on top of the cost of borrowing the shares.

The June 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in most of these selected pharmaceutical stocks decreased.

Short interest in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) decreased to 59.17 million shares from the previous 64.69 million. The stock was last seen trading at $37.21, within a 52-week range of $32.32 to $39.43.

The number of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) shares short decreased to 17.15 million from 21.87 million in the previous period. Its shares were trading at $61.90, in a 52-week range of $52.83 to $66.41.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.��s (NYSE: TEVA) short interest decreased to 44.39 million from the previous level of 47.70 million. Shares were trading at $23.75, in a 52-week range of $10.85 to $33.82.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) short interest increased to 14.69 million shares from the previous reading of 14.50 million. Shares were last seen at $55.75, in a 52-week range of $49.96 to $70.05.

The number of shares short in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) decreased to 33.27 million from the previous 38.44 million. The stock was trading at $94.96, and its 52-week range is $69.38 to $125.86.

Eli Lilly and Co.��s (NYSE: LLY) short interest decreased to 11.49 million shares from the previous 12.81 million. The stock was trading at $87.56. The 52-week range is $73.69 to $89.09.

ALSO READ: The 5 Most Shorted NYSE Stocks

Zacks Investment Research Upgrades Greenhill & Co., Inc. (GHL) to “Buy”

Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $32.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.38% from the company’s previous close.

According to Zacks, “GREENHILL & CO., Inc. is a leading independent investment bank that provides financial advice on significant mergers, acquisitions and restructurings; assists private funds in raising capital from investors; and manages merchant banking funds. It acts for clients located throughout the world from its offices in New York, London, Frankfurt, Toronto, Dallas and San Francisco. “

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GHL has been the subject of several other reports. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 17th. Sandler O’Neill reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.43.

Shares of Greenhill & Co., Inc. opened at $29.80 on Thursday, according to Marketbeat.com. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $13.80 and a one year high of $29.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $674.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -102.50 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE:GHL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.25. Greenhill & Co., Inc. had a negative net margin of 7.24% and a negative return on equity of 0.10%. The company had revenue of $87.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.61 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% on a year-over-year basis. analysts anticipate that Greenhill & Co., Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, President David Wyles sold 29,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.62, for a total value of $749,180.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $624,820.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Mercantile Trust Co. raised its position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. by 94.6% during the first quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 10,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,139 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $251,000. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Greenhill & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Greenhill & Co., Inc.

Greenhill & Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an independent investment bank for corporations, partnerships, institutions, and governments worldwide. The company provides financial advisory services primarily related to mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, financings, and capital raisings.

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Financial Survey: Switch (SWCH) versus Sabre (SABR)

Switch (NYSE: SWCH) and Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

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This table compares Switch and Sabre’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Switch	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sabre	6.93%	49.84%	6.21%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Switch and Sabre, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Switch	0	5	7	0	2.58
Sabre	1	2	7	0	2.60

Switch currently has a consensus price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 61.16%. Sabre has a consensus price target of $25.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.66%. Given Switch’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Switch is more favorable than Sabre.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

14.1% of Switch shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of Switch shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Sabre shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Switch pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Sabre pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Sabre pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Switch and Sabre’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Switch	$378.27 million	8.29	-$15.20 million	N/A	N/A
Sabre	$3.60 billion	1.98	$242.53 million	$1.30	19.96

Sabre has higher revenue and earnings than Switch.

Summary

Sabre beats Switch on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

Switch Company Profile

Switch, Inc., through its subsidiary, Switch, Ltd., provides colocation space and related services to technology and digital media companies, cloud and managed service providers, financial institutions, and telecommunications providers that conduct critical business on the Internet. The company develops and operates data centers in Nevada, Michigan, and Georgia. Switch, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sabre Company Profile

Sabre Corporation, through its subsidiary, Sabre Holdings Corporation, provides technology solutions to the travel and tourism industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Travel Network, and Airline and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Network segment operates as a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments. The Airline and Hospitality Solutions segment provides a portfolio of software technology products and solutions through software-as-a-service and hosted delivery models to airlines, hoteliers, and other travel suppliers. Its products include SabreSonic Customer Sales & Service, a reservation system that provides capabilities around managing sales and customer service across an airline's diverse touch points; Sabre AirVision Marketing & Planning, a set of airline commercial planning solutions; and Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations, a set of solutions for planning and management of airline, airport, and customer operations. This segment also provides software and solutions to hoteliers through SynXis, a central reservation system; SynXis Property Manager Solution for property management; and marketing, professional, and revenue management services. Sabre Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:BIIB,ALNY,ARQL,AMGN,

Clinical-stage biotechs can be veritable goldmines for patient investors. The caveat, however, is that it can immensely difficult to predict which companies are actually worth the wait.

For instance, the developmental biotech Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA) has been making steady progress in the clinic with its novel kappa receptor agonist, Korsuva (CR845), over the past few years. If approved, this drug should generate tremendous upside for investors, but there's also substantial risks involved for early shareholders at this stage of the game.

Image source: Getty Images.

As such, I think it's definitely worth contemplating where this promising clinical-stage biotech might be in five years from now -- that is, prior to buying shares. Let's dig in to find out.��

Cara's present

Korsuva is in early- to late-stage trials for various pruritus (itching) indications, as well as acute postoperative pain.�The big draw here for investors is that this experimental drug is designed to be far less addictive than traditional opioids, potentially making it a powerful new tool in the battle against the raging opioid epidemic.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Shares of Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) were up 15.2% as of 11:35 a.m. EDT on Friday after the biotech, along with partner Eisai, reported encouraging results from a phase 2 clinical study of BAN2401 in treating Alzheimer's disease. Patients taking BAN2401 achieved statistically significant�improvement compared to patients on placebo after 18 months in�slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease and in the reduction�of�amyloid�accumulations in�the brain.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Wednesday was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) which traded down about 6% at 297.99. The stock��s 52-week range is $244.28 to $370.67. Volume was about 5 million compared to the daily average volume of roughly 1 million.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 3.50 million shares from the previous 3.16 million. The stock recently traded at $262.15, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  I wrote three months ago that I viewed Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) stock as a pretty good pick -- but with a couple of qualifications. First, I didn't think that the biotech would generate returns in 2018 nearly as great as it did last year. Second, I thought that there were even better stocks to buy than Alnylam.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating. According to Zacks, “Although Alnylam has a broad and promising pipeline, we note that most candidates are in mid stages of development. These candidates still have a long way to go before hitting the market. The company relies highly on collaborators for funding. Any development/regulatory setback would be a negative for the company.  However, Alnylam reported positive data from the ATLAS study in the first quarter which led to regulatory filings for its late-stage pipeline candidate patisiran and the FDA set an action date of Aug 11, 2018. The company along with its partners Sanofi and The Medicines Company, restarted fitusiran's ATLAS phase III study and advanced inclisiran in the ORION-9, -10, and -11 phase III studies, respectively, with results expected for both programs in 2019. Alnylam expects to achieve the profile of three marketed products by the end of 2020.”

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)

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

• [By Brian Orelli]

  The delay in an FDA decision for Tegsedi puts it behind competitor Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), which expects to hear from the FDA by Aug. 11 for its hATTR drug patisiran. But Sarah Boyce, the president at Akcea Therapeutics, doesn't think a few months will really matter: "We don't really feel that's going to have any impact and the drugs will be close enough together from a launch perspective. So not really [going] to make any adjustments, and we're very well prepared to be ready to launch following approval."

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub lowered shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

• [By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]

  So, which biotech stocks should you consider buying in June? That's a question we posed to three of our healthcare-focused investors. Interestingly enough, mid-cap biotech stocks are the clear flavor of the month. If biotech is on your radar in June, our investors suggest you consider Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS), Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE), and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY).

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) shares surged 20.6 percent to $6.39. WBB Securities upgraded Melinta Therapeutics from Hold to Speculative Buy. Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) shares climbed 17.2 percent to $30.87 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) shares rose 15.2 percent to $28.804 after the company declared a special one-time cash dividend of $14.97 per ADS. Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) gained 15 percent to $53.35 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) surged 14.2 percent to $2.625. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 13 percent to $5.12 after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday. Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) gained 12.8 percent to $16.97 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: LOMA) shares rose 12 percent to $12.94. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) shares rose 12 percent to $5.07. Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX) climbed 11.4 percent to $43.50. Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB) gained 11.3 percent to $24.7000. Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME) rose 9.7 percent to $19.64. Park City Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYG) climbed 9 percent to $7.90. Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) gained 7.9 percent to $38.82 after Citron reversed previously bearish position on the stock. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) shares jumped 7.3 percent to $3.55. Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 3.5 percent to $107.27 after reporting better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter.

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) rose 15.3 percent to $53.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Evofem Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVFM) rose 10.4 percent to $4.58 in pre-market trading. Evofem Biosciences reported closing of public offering of common stock and warrants. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) rose 7.3 percent to $4.88 in pre-market trading after declining 1.94 percent on Thursday. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) shares rose 5.7 percent to $59.65 in pre-market trading after falling 8.43 percent on Thursday. Yirendai Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) rose 5 percent to $30.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 4.9 percent to $108.75 in pre-market trading after reporteingd better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: APRN) rose 4.2 percent to $3.21 in pre-market trading after gaining 3.70 percent on Thursday. Recro Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: REPH) rose 4 percent to $5.85 in pre-market trading after dropping 54.67 percent on Thursday. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 3.8 percent to $4.70 in pre-market trading after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BW) shares rose 2.9 percent to $2.85 in pre-market trading after climbing 7.78 percent on Thursday. Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ: BILI) shares rose 2.5 percent to $14.20 in pre-market trading after surging 11.33 percent on Thursday.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

  Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 20th. BidaskClub upgraded ArQule from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 24th. B. Riley set a $4.00 price objective on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $5.35.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Buy For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has been the hands-down winner over Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) in terms of stock performance over the last year. It's the same story for revenue generated. Celgene beat Amgen in earnings, but only because of a technicality: Amgen incurred a big one-time tax hit in 2017.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ:LIFE) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall slightly to 10.61 million shares from the previous level of 10.72 million. Shares were last seen at $184.59, in a 52-week trading range of $163.31 to $201.23.

Envion 1-Day Trading Volume Tops $24,196.00 (EVN)

Envion (CURRENCY:EVN) traded 1.2% higher against the dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 12:00 PM Eastern on July 5th. Envion has a total market capitalization of $15.36 million and approximately $24,196.00 worth of Envion was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Envion token can now be bought for $0.14 or 0.00002085 BTC on major exchanges including Token Store, YoBit, HitBTC and IDEX. Over the last seven days, Envion has traded 1.8% higher against the dollar.

Here’s how related cryptocurrencies have performed over the last day:

Get Envion alerts: XRP (XRP) traded down 1.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.49 or 0.00007339 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded down 2.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.21 or 0.00003134 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded 3.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.18 or 0.00017757 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 8.6% higher against the dollar and now trades at $42.07 or 0.00635734 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded up 0.7% against the dollar and now trades at $1.01 or 0.00015224 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded down 2.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0386 or 0.00000583 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded down 1.3% against the dollar and now trades at $13.92 or 0.00210269 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded down 4.1% against the dollar and now trades at $2.63 or 0.00039772 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 2.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $5.05 or 0.00076245 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded 0.4% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0866 or 0.00001308 BTC.

Envion Profile

Envion’s launch date was January 31st, 2018. Envion’s total supply is 127,425,494 tokens and its circulating supply is 111,298,337 tokens. Envion’s official Twitter account is @envion_org and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Envion is www.envion.org.

Envion Token Trading

Envion can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: IDEX, YoBit, Token Store and HitBTC. It is usually not possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Envion directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Envion should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as GDAX, Gemini or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy Envion using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Brokerages Anticipate Bemis Company, Inc. (BMS) Will Post Earnings of $0.63 Per Share

Equities research analysts forecast that Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) will post earnings of $0.63 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Four analysts have made estimates for Bemis’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $0.70 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.57. Bemis posted earnings per share of $0.48 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 31.3%. The company is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, July 26th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Bemis will report full-year earnings of $2.79 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.70 to $2.85. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the company will post earnings of $3.06 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.81 to $3.15. Zacks’ EPS averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Bemis.

Get Bemis alerts:

Bemis (NYSE:BMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. Bemis had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 2.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Bemis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bemis from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating on shares of Bemis in a research note on Thursday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded Bemis from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Bemis from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Shares of Bemis traded down $0.11, reaching $42.25, on Tuesday, according to Marketbeat Ratings. The stock had a trading volume of 431,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,709. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Bemis has a 12-month low of $40.60 and a 12-month high of $49.84.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMS. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Bemis by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 89,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Bemis by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 65,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bemis by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC now owns 139,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bemis by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bemis by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 187,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.06% of the company’s stock.

Bemis Company Profile

Bemis Company, Inc manufactures and sells packaging products in the United States, Brazil, other Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: U.S. Packaging, Latin America Packaging, and Rest of World Packaging. The company offers multilayer polymer, blown, and cast film structures; and injection molded plastic, thermoformed plastic, and folding carton packaging products.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bemis (BMS)

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

Trump's Trade Strategy: Pros And Cons

The market has reacted very negatively to President Donald Trump’s aggressive approach to trade relations with China. Trump and his supporters argue, however, that the long-term benefits of a favorable trade policy could far outweigh the short-term market impacts of a trade war with China.

Height Capital Markets analyst Clayton Allen took a closer look at Trump’s approach to the trade war and what the pros and cons could be for U.S. Investors.

Pros To Trump Strategy

Since Friday, Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of imported Chinese goods. China has retaliated with its own tariffs of $50 billion worth of U.S. goods, and Trump is now threatening an additional 10 percent tariff on another $200 billion of Chinese goods.

If it seems as if the trade war is escalating quickly, Allen says it’s an important and necessary part of Trump’s strategy and it could be one of the pros of his approach for investors.

“While Trump has significant leverage in the short term by virtue of being able to target more imports than the Chinese, this advantage is fleeting,” Allen wrote in a note.

Trump is likely motivated to end the trade war quickly to avoid media backlash and potentially overshadowing Republican talking points of tax reform and a booming economy ahead of the midterm elections in November. A short war is also good news for investors, as financial markets tend to react extremely negatively to unpredictability.

Cons To Trump Strategy

Allen said the biggest con to Trump’s strategy is that China may see that it can simply wait Trump out. In fact, Allen said he doesn’t believe Trump intends to actually follow through with his most recent $200 billion tariff threat.

“We can assume that the new $200 billion, much like Trump's previous threat to apply tariffs on an additional $100 billion in imports, is primarily a threat rather than a fully realized policy,” Allen said.

He said Trump’s increasingly aggressive approach to the trade war is an example of the prospect theory of behavioral economics in which a gambler becomes increasingly risk tolerant as his chances of success decrease. In that sense, the longer the trade war draws out, the more investors can expect bold threats from Trump that could rattle the market.

Compromise Inevitable?

At the end of the day, Allen expects Trump and China to compromise on a new trade policy that will ultimately result in a significant reduction in the U.S.-China trade deficit but nowhere near the $200 billion reduction Trump originally demanded. Just how big that deficit reduction will be and exactly what it takes to get there will be the true test of whether or not Trump’s trade war was a worthwhile endeavor.

Related Links:

More Trade Threats Spook Investors

Analysts Weigh In On US-China Trade Developments

Photo by Emily Elconin.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:SMSI,TIS,UMH,XIN,ATAX,BDL,

Bitcoin prices are the worst nightmare for blockchain critics. After breaking the previously unimaginable $10,000 level, bitcoin plummeted from profit-taking. But soon after, trading normalized, sending bitcoin well above $11,000. However, this robust success represents a quandary: interest for lower-priced “penny cryptocurrencies” has never been higher, yet relatively few know where to turn.

Love it or hate it, the blockchain is here to stay. The broader acceptance of bitcoin prices at five-digits only confirms this bold statement. Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies are still frontier markets. The platforms that serve them are usually unintuitive. Coinbase, the most popular platform, only provides access to buy and sell bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. Even with the addition of Bitcoin Cash next year, these are very expensive digital tokens.

With bitcoin prices to the moon, investors are seeking more approachable ways to profit from the blockchain. Penny cryptocurrencies offer a highly speculative, but potentially rewarding means to ride the euphoria. Since established wallet and exchange services like Coinbase aren’t going to touch penny cryptocurrencies, the broader exchange Bittrex has a tremendous advantage.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: Smith Micro Software Inc.(SMSI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

  Get Smith Micro Software alerts: Short Interest in Smith Micro Software (SMSI) Increases By 51.9% (americanbankingnews.com) Smith Micro Software’s (SMSI) CEO Bill Smith on Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (seekingalpha.com) Smith Micro Software (SMSI) Reports Q1 Loss of $0.10 (streetinsider.com) Smith Micro Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results (finance.yahoo.com) Smith Micro announces above market USD 7.0m private placement offering (financial-news.co.uk)

  Separately, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Smith Micro Software from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: Orchids Paper Products Company(TIS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

    

  Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSD) shares declined 32.19 percent to close at $9.86 on Thursday. Clearside Biomedical disclosed that its Phase 2 trial of CLS-TA met primary and secondary endpoints met in 6-month trial. scPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCPH) shares dipped 30.1 percent to close at $9.94 on Thursday after the FDA identified deficiencies in the company’s New Drug Application for FUROSCIX. However, the FDA letter did not specify deficiencies identified and notification does not reflect final decision on information under review. Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) fell 24.08 percent to close at $1.86. Euroseas announced completion of the spin-off of its drybulk fleet into EuroDry Ltd. Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ: GLNG) fell 25.09 percent to close at $25.98 following Q1 results. Oragenics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGEN) shares dropped 25 percent to close at $1.50 on Thursday. Guess', Inc. (NYSE: GES) dropped 19.44 percent to close at $19.60 following Q1 results. Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMD) dropped 15.94 percent to close at $109.09 on Thursday following FQ3 results. Fusion Connect, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSNN) shares fell 15.55 percent to close at $3.91. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) dropped 14.44 percent to close at $8.00 after reporting Q1 results. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) shares declined 14.28 percent to close at $82.59 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and lowered its FY2018 earnings guidance. Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) dropped 13.94 percent to close at $18.09 after reporting Q1 results. Co-Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) declined 13.17 percent to close at $2.90 after declining 5.65 percent on Wednesday. Concordia International Corp. (NASDAQ: CXRX) fell 12.89 percent to close at $0.2440 after the company announced that it would be delisted from the Nasdaq. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) slipped 12.46 percent
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares jumped 104.82 percent to close at $14.87 on Tuesday. EVINE Live Inc. (NASDAQ: EVLV) rose 31.25 percent to close at $1.06. The pay-TV home shopping company was named as a potential acquisition target by TechCrunch. According to the publication, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is exploring ways of marketing its products and services to consumers beyond the internet. SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS) shares climbed 27.16 percent to close at $4.26 on Tuesday. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) gained 27.09 percent to close at $3.80. Atossa Genetics disclosed that it has Received positive interim review from the Independent Safety Committee in Phase 1 Topical endoxifen dose escalation study in men. Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) surged 17.13 percent to close at $37.95 as the company posted upbeat results for its first quarter. Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) shares gained 15.91 percent to close at $18.21 following upbeat quarterly earnings. Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) shares jumped 15.73 percent to close at $7.58 on Tuesday after declining 1.50 percent on Monday. Sanmina Corp (NASDAQ: SANM) shares gained 14.62 percent to close at $31.75 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Monday. Orchids Paper Products Company (NYSE: TIS) jumped 12.86 percent to close at $7.37. Orchids Paper Products is expected to report its Q1 financial results on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE: HLX) rose 12.8 percent to close at $7.05 following strong quarterly results. Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDMO) rose 12.72 percent to close at $3.81. Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) gained 12.61 percent to close at $5.00. Obalon Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OBLN) rose 12.39 percent to close at $3.72. NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT) shares climbed 11.88 percent to close at $7
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS) shares rose 35.8 percent to $4.55. EVINE Live Inc. (NASDAQ: EVLV) gained 28.8 percent to $1.04. The pay-TV home shopping company was named as a potential acquisition target by TechCrunch. According to the publication, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is exploring ways of marketing its products and services to consumers beyond the internet. Sanmina Corp (NASDAQ: SANM) shares surged 19.1 percent to $33.00 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Monday. Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) gained 14.9 percent to $37.22 as the company posted upbeat results for its first quarter. Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) shares climbed 14 percent to $17.90 following upbeat quarterly earnings. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE: HLX) climbed 14 percent to $7.12 following strong quarterly results. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) gained 13.6 percent to $8.25. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) rose 11.8 percent to $3.34. Atossa Genetics disclosed that it has Received positive interim review from the Independent Safety Committee in Phase 1 Topical endoxifen dose escalation study in men. Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) gained 11.6 percent to $40.99 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and issued a strong Q2 forecast. Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) climbed 11.2 percent to $4.9363. Mitel Networks Corporation (NASDAQ: MITL) rose 10.5 percent to $11.23 after the company agreed to be acquired by affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners for $2.0 billion. Systemax Inc. (NYSE: SYX) rose 10.2 percent to $30.86. Sidoti & Co. upgraded Systemax from Neutral to Buy. Orchids Paper Products Company (NYSE: TIS) surged 9.2 percent to $7.13. Orchids Paper Products is expected to report its Q1 financial results on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU) rose

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: UMH Properties Inc.(UMH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Wednesday afternoon, the real estate shares surged 0.56 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH), up 3 percent, and UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH) up 3 percent.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd(XIN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 30th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 11th will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: America First Tax Exempt Investors L.P.(ATAX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of America First Tax Exempt Investors, L.P. (NASDAQ:ATAX) hit a new 52-week high and low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $6.47 and last traded at $6.43, with a volume of 54800 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.43.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy For 2019: Flanigan's Enterprises Inc.(BDL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) shares jumped 26.5 percent to $6.9042. Blink Charging reported Q1 net income of $2.2 million, versus a year-ago net loss of $3.1 million. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO) shares climbed 17.4 percent to $3.11. Eleven Biotherapeutics posted a Q1 loss of $0.11 per share. Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BDL) shares jumped 17 percent to $27.97 following Q2 results. Flanigan's Enterprises posted Q2 earnings of $0.75 per share on sales of $29.456 million. Borqs Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRQS) rose 15.8 percent to $8.05 after reporting Q1 results. Abaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAX) jumped 15.3 percent to $82.75. Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) announced plans to acquire Abaxis for $83 per share in cash. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 15.1 percent to $6.33. Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GEMP) rose 13.8 percent to $6.27. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) gained 12.8 percent to $5.98. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Enphase Energy with a Buy rating. PetIQ Inc (NASDAQ: PETQ) shares surged 12.1 percent to $21.68 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. NF Energy Saving Corporation (NASDAQ: NFEC) climbed 11.6 percent to $2.399. Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: AHPI) surged 11.4 percent to $3.0643. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BOOT) gained 11.1 percent to $24.40 after the company reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong first-quarter earnings guidance. Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) rose 10.9 percent to $3.16. Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) gained 10.1 percent to $11.71 after reporting Q1 results. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) climbed 7.9 percent to $2.61 following Q2 results. The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: STKS) gained 7.6 percent to $2.41 after reporting Q1 results. Biolinerx Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: BLRX) rose 7.3 percent to $0.8798 after the company was granted a patent approval. The clinical-st

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019

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

COB and CEO of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Mark Zuckerberg sold 290,000 shares of FB on 04/06/2018 at an average price of $159.07 a share. The total sale was $46.1 million.

Facebook Inc is the world's largest online social network. Its products are Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Its products enable people to connect and share through mobile devices and personal computers. Facebook Inc has a market cap of $458.79 billion; its shares were traded at around $157.93 with a P/E ratio of 29.27 and P/S ratio of 11.49. Facebook Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 63.50% over the past five years.

CEO Recent Trades:

COB and CEO, 10% Owner Mark Zuckerberg sold 290,000 shares of FB stock on 04/06/2018 at the average price of $159.07. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.72% since.COB and CEO, 10% Owner Mark Zuckerberg sold 290,000 shares of FB stock on 04/04/2018 at the average price of $154.14. The price of the stock has increased by 2.46% since.COB and CEO, 10% Owner Mark Zuckerberg sold 145,000 shares of FB stock on 04/02/2018 at the average price of $155.94. The price of the stock has increased by 1.28% since.COB and CEO, 10% Owner Mark Zuckerberg sold 145,000 shares of FB stock on 03/29/2018 at the average price of $158.48. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.35% since.COB and CEO, 10% Owner Mark Zuckerberg sold 140,200 shares of FB stock on 03/28/2018 at the average price of $153.55. The price of the stock has increased by 2.85% since.

Directors and Officers Recent Trades:

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Shares of�Nordstrom Inc.�(NYSE:JWN) were heading lower today after the department store chain turned in a disappointing first-quarter earnings report with comparable sales coming in lower than expected. As a result, the stock was down 9.2% as of 11:17 a.m. EDT.�

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  The news wasn’t all good early Thursday. Results from J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP) appeared to disappoint investors, who sent shares down more than 11 percent in pre-market futures trading. The company said in a press release that its overall top-line sales came in below management’s expectations, blaming cold April weather. We’re not done with retail yet. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reports after the close today.

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team say today's weakness is the opportunity they have been patiently waiting for. Their target? Nordstrom (JWN) . Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In this segment of the Motley Fool Money podcast, host Chris Hill and Fool analysts Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger, and Ron Gross review the latest earnings reports from the department stores that anchor those fading monuments to commerce and discover at least some good news: Macy's�(NYSE:M) comps rose nicely, but Nordstrom�(NYSE:JWN)�and J.C. Penney�(NYSE:JCP) managed only fractional gains. They also reflect on the long decline of department store sales -- it's longer than you think -- the planned BJ's Wholesale IPO, the future of J.C. Penney, and more.

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  DE was the second company to disappoint the Street since yesterday’s closing bell. Retailer Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) beat Wall Street analysts’ earnings per share estimates and raised guidance, but missed on same-store sales. That key metric barely rose (up 0.2 percent), and shares of JWN tumbled more than 6 percent in pre-market futures trading. The same-store weakness for JWN came after a bunch of other retailers reported growth in that area.

• [By Taylor Cox]

  Notable Earnings

  Walmart, Inc (NYSE: WMT) Q1 premarket J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) Q1 premarket Nordstrom, Inc (NYSE: JWN) Q1 after hours Applied Materials, Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) Q2 after hours

  IPOs

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r
• [By Max Byerly]

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 6.8% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 15:00 PM Eastern on May 27th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $73.40 million and $743,880.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One MediBloc token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0247 or 0.00000339 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Bibox, Gate.io and Coinrail. During the last seven days, MediBloc has traded 8.3% higher against the dollar.

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

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) which rose over 6% to $423.76. The stock��s 52-week range is $217.19 to $426.98. Volume was 1.7 million compared to its average volume of nearly 1 million.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  TransEnterix (NYSEMKT:TRXC) recently surprised investors on the upside when it reported its first-quarter results. The company's�Senhance�surgical system is off to a fast start right out of the gate, and it has attracted a lot of positive attention from the medical community. This just goes to show how much demand is out there for an�alternative to Intuitive Surgical's (NASDAQ: ISRG)�dominant da Vinci platform.�

• [By ]

  As of the time of this article, home cleaning robot maker iRobot's (IRBT) shares are down over 6% on the news. And though it makes surgical robots rather than anything meant for homes, Intuitive Surgical  (ISRG) is down close to 2%. As usual, Wall Street immediately trembles on any sign that Amazon plans to further expand its reach.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Trueblue (NYSE: TBI) is one of 23 public companies in the “Help supply services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Trueblue to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Trueblue worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2019: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

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

• [By Steve Symington]

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

BRP Inc (DOO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of BRP Inc (TSE:DOO) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$56.56.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DOO shares. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of BRP from an “outperform overweight” rating to a “sector perform overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$52.00 to C$54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of BRP from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of BRP from C$54.00 to C$56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 22nd. CIBC increased their target price on shares of BRP from C$54.00 to C$56.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a C$49.00 target price on shares of BRP in a research report on Wednesday, March 14th.

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DOO stock traded down C$0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching C$56.29. The company had a trading volume of 178,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 186,982. BRP has a 1 year low of C$31.37 and a 1 year high of C$57.35.

BRP (TSE:DOO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 21st. The company reported C$0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.90 by C$0.06. The company had revenue of C$1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.23 billion.

In other news, insider Anne-Marie Laberge sold 7,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$50.58, for a total transaction of C$370,498.50.

BRP Company Profile

BRP Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets powersports vehicles and propulsion systems worldwide. The company offers all-terrain, side-by-side, and spyder vehicles; seasonal products consisting of snowmobiles and personal watercraft; and propulsion systems comprising engines for outboard and jet boats, karts, motorcycles, and recreational aircrafts.

Swiss National Bank Has $6.78 Million Stake in Valley National Bank (VLY)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Valley National Bank (NYSE:VLY) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 544,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.16% of Valley National Bank worth $6,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bank in the first quarter worth $164,000. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Valley National Bank by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,429 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $169,000. SNS Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bank during the first quarter valued at $171,000. Finally, Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $184,000. 54.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Valley National Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 8th. ValuEngine raised shares of Valley National Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. Hovde Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bank from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 30th. Finally, Sandler O’Neill raised shares of Valley National Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.86.

Valley National Bank opened at $12.84 on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Valley National Bank has a 12-month low of $10.61 and a 12-month high of $13.38.

Valley National Bank (NYSE:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $239.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.74 million. Valley National Bank had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 15.41%. Valley National Bank’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. research analysts forecast that Valley National Bank will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Valley National Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

In other news, Director Jennifer W. Steans sold 175,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.76, for a total value of $2,236,828.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Valley National Bank

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for the Valley National Bank that provides commercial, retail, trust, and investment services. The company operates through Commercial Lending, Consumer Lending, and Investment Management segments. Its deposit products include non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, and money market deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.

Johnson Rice Begins Coverage on Cactus (WHD)

Johnson Rice started coverage on shares of Cactus (NYSE:WHD) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm issued an accumulate rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WHD. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cactus from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 15th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Cactus from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Cactus in a report on Friday, April 6th. They issued an outperform rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cactus in a report on Tuesday, March 6th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Cactus in a report on Monday, March 5th. They issued an overweight rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Cactus presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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Shares of Cactus opened at $33.53 on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Cactus has a 1 year low of $19.18 and a 1 year high of $37.50. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Cactus (NYSE:WHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $115.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.14 million. equities research analysts predict that Cactus will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WHD. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Cactus during the 1st quarter valued at $51,410,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Cactus during the 1st quarter valued at $34,585,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Cactus during the 1st quarter valued at $33,253,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Cactus during the 1st quarter valued at $27,469,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Cactus during the 1st quarter valued at $18,405,000. Institutional investors own 35.73% of the company’s stock.

Cactus Company Profile

Cactus, Inc designs, manufactures, sells, and rents a range of wellheads and pressure control equipment. The company's principal products include Cactus SafeDrill wellhead systems, frac stacks, zipper manifolds, and production trees. It also provides field services, such as 24-hour service crews to assist with the installation, maintenance, and safe handling of the wellhead and pressure control equipment, as well as repair services for equipment that it sells or rents.

Orbital ATK Unveils Its New OmegA Rocket Ship

Goodbye, Next-Generation Launcher�(NGL). Hello, OmegA.

For the past three years, space company Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA) has been working with the U.S. Air Force to develop a new heavy launch rocket. As USAF envisions it, Orbital's new rocket would work alongside existing Delta IV Heavies (operated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance) and soon, the Falcon Heavy rockets that SpaceX began launching in February, giving the Air Force the option of choosing among three competing launch systems for the best combination of price and reliability.

This sounds like good news for the Air Force, but what does it mean for the companies that build the Air Force's rocket ships?

Image source: Orbital ATK.

Introducing OmegA

Initially named the "Next-Generation Launcher" as a placeholder, Orbital ATK's new rocket will use solid-fuel engines for its first and second stages, supported with strap-on solid-fueled boosters when necessary (all built in-house by Orbital). The rocket's third stage -- initially planned to feature a liquid-fueled Blue Origin BE-3U�engine -- will now utilize a RL10C engine from Aerojet Rocketdyne instead.

Orbital plans to begin ground-testing the rocket next year, by which time Orbital ATK will probably have been subsumed into new owner Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC). In anticipation of testing beginning, Orbital gave NGL an official name last month: OmegA.

Rounding up support

Announcing the new name for its new rocket and describing its engine configuration, Orbital ATK also emphasized OmegA's role as a jobs engine, estimating that the 500 employees currently working on the project could double in size "to about 1,000 people over the next 18 months." Development jobs are already scattered across key congressional districts in Arizona, Utah, Mississippi, and Louisiana, with operations jobs in both Florida (Kennedy Space Center) and California (Vandenberg Air Force Base). The company adds that "hundreds" more jobs will come into existence "across the country" as the company builds out its supply chain to produce OmegA.

That's assuming, of course, that OmegA ultimately gets built.

Why OmegA may not get built

But here's the thing: By the time Orbital ATK gets its OmegA rocket program up and running, there may be no need for yet another heavy rocket -- and an unproven one at that -- to join the field.

United Launch Alliance, maker of the Atlas V (medium) and Delta IV (heavy), has been sending up these rockets for more than a decade without suffering even one single failure -- 128 successful launches�in a row.

SpaceX also has a 100% record of success in heavy launch. Granted, its record is only 1-for-1, having sent Falcon Heavy skyward just the one time in February. But still, that's an unblemished record of success in heavy launch so far. Meanwhile, the company's track record success on all launches, both medium and heavy, now stands at 27 straight launches without incident (according to the number crunchers at the fan website SpaceXNow).

What's more, SpaceX is planning to begin conducting "short hopper flights" utilizing at least part of its ballyhooed BFR rocket ship as early as next year. If that one comes to market before OmegA arrives, all bets are off. Not only Orbital, but ULA, too, could find themselves priced out of the heavy launch market.

The final nail

In its annual update on the state of the global "Spacecraft and Launch" markets, StratSpace Intelligence reported in March that the number of large satellite missions on launch manifests appears to have flatlined. Going forward, StratSpace predicts "small missions and spacecraft will gradually begin to displace" larger satellite launches such as OmegA is designed to support. Indeed, in an analysis that may prove dangerously prophetic to Orbital's project, StratSpace noted that globally, heavy lift rockets "are in excess," while the medium and large categories of launch vehicles are currently "over capacity by about 100%." It predicted that "several major vehicles in this class [must] cease flying" to bring the market back into balance.

That's the very opposite of an argument for developing yet another heavy launch rocket. What's more, Orbital CEO Dave Thompson himself seemed to confirm this trend in an earnings conference call last year, lamenting an "order slump in the [large] commercial satellite market," and said he expects this "to continue for some time."�

The upshot for investors

Despite all this, Orbital ATK keeps plowing ahead with developing OmegA, despite the fact that it says its new rocket won't begin flying in its "intermediate" configuration before 2021, won't win certification for Air Force "evolved expendable launch vehicle" (EELV) missions before 2022, and won't begin flying a heavy launch version of the rocket before 2024.

By then, it may be too late.

3 Ways You Can Win The U.S.-China Trade War

Have President Trump's protectionist policies gone overboard? �

Once heralded as the most pro-business U.S. president since Ronald Reagan, Trump's zeal to shelter American businesses from global competition has caused many free-market economists to question his wisdom. �

The stock market has benefitted wildly from the White House's corporate tax reform.� Bulls remain in charge, but things are rapidly changing.

Trump's protectionist actions, combined with his erratic nature, have cast doubt on the markets.

The stock market hates uncertainty and doubts beyond all else.

Trump's negotiating style has dumped uncertainty into the markets at an unprecedented degree. �

Nowhere is this economic uncertainty more vivid than the rapidly deteriorating U.S.-China trade relations. �

Make no mistake, Trump's idea of fighting China's unfair trade practices is noble.� However, his heavy-handed uncertainty in execution is resulting in greater economic harm than good.� In fact, it may completely erase his tax reform-fueled market gains overtime. �

The proposal of hitting the world's second-largest economy with 25% tariffs on $50 billion of imports will not only hurt the Chinese economy, it will have severe effects domestically. �

China will not quietly sit still and accept the new tariffs; it will retaliate with a slate of its economic weapons. The National Retail Federation and the Consumer Technology Association have projected that the United States stands to lose a minimum of 455,000 jobs, which could climb to over a million jobs in a worst-case scenario. �

Also, the tariffs will merely be passed along to American consumers who will suffer from higher prices.� Higher prices and job losses is not a rosy scenario for the U.S. economy.

As stock market investors, our job is to best position our portfolios for maximum profit regardless of what occurs in the economy.

While no one really knows what is going to happen with the brewing U.S.-China trade war, it is certain that stocks are struggling to hold onto the bullish momentum.

It is indeed a no-win situation right now.� Should Trump's policies go into full effect, the economic damage will be authentic. �

If nothing takes place, the constant changes and subsequent confusion provide a daily ice water bath for the bulls. �

As investors, we are always forced to make decisions in the face of uncertainty.

Despite the unknown future, right now an educated guess can be made that some, if not all, of Trump's protectionist measures will be implemented eventually.� In other words, a trade war is likely.

Regardless, investors can expect both upside and downside volatility during these uncertain times!

What can investors do today to best exploit the pending economic reaction?

Here are three ways to win the pending China-U.S. trade war.

1. Buy The Companies Subject To Tariffs
I know this sounds completely counterintuitive, yet it makes perfect sense.�� �

Interestingly, analysts at UBS have postulated that domestic companies producing goods subject to tariffs do little business in China will likely outperform during a trade war.

According to Barron's, UBS ran a screen searching for large firms with more than 2/3 of their assets held in the United States and less than 10% of revenue arising from China that also manufacture products subject to tariffs.

The primary companies identified fitting the bill are Hubbell (NYSE: HUBB), Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP), and L3 (NYSE: LLL).

2. Short Semiconductors
Domestic companies with high exposure to the Chinese market are in danger due to the proposed tariffs. High technology is on the top of the sector list with Chinese exposure. Digging deeper into the high tech sector, semiconductor companies have the highest Chinese exposure.

Semiconductor maker Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS) generates an astounding 83% of its revenue from China, making it No. 1 on our short list!

Other semiconductor companies in danger include Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) with a 64% revenue exposure, and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) with 24% of its revenue from China.

3. Short Boeing, Buy Airbus
Aircraft giant Boeing (NYSE: BA) is in the Chinese crosshairs to punish.� Should China follow through with its threats against Boeing, it will be forced to buy more aircraft from Airbus (OTC: EADSF). �

China is Boeing's largest single market making up around a fifth of the aircraft maker's deliveries in 2017.� Right now Airbus and Boeing share an even split of the Chinese market. �

Risks To Consider: The latest news is that a truce has been reached in the U.S.-China trade war.� As you might expect, the news sent the futures market soaring higher with relief.� Anything can happen from here.� Be ready for the unexpected.

Action To Take: Consider implementing one or more of the above strategies to profit from the pending U.S.-China trade war.� Expect sharp price moves in both directions as the scenario plays out!

Editor's Note: The Single Best Group of Stocks to Buy NOW

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