Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:IPCC,CBAN,STRS,China,NDAQ,

U.S. equities finished mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average clawing back over the 21,000 level into positive territory in the final minutes of trading, keeping up the recent dynamic of last minute, end-of-day surges on Fridays to ensure sentiment is protected over the weekend. The bulls largely ignored small-cap stocks, however.

In the end, the Dow gained a fraction, the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% and the Russell 2000 finished lower by 0.1%. Treasury bonds were little changed, the dollar mostly moved lower, gold lost 0.5% and oil gained 1.4%.

Financial stocks outperformed, rising 0.4%. Defensive REITs and consumer staples were the laggards, down 0.4% each. Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) gained 3.8% on a fourth-quarter earnings beat, despite soft 0.3% comp-store sales growth (analysts were looking for 1.1% growth).

On the downside, GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) fell 4.6% after Reuters reported the company wasn’t engaged with acquisition talks with Hudson’s Bay, as it hadn’t yet secured necessary financing on lingering worries over mall-based retailers. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) fell 4.4% on a quarterly earnings miss on soft revenues and margins.

Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019: Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation(IPCC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B (NYSE: BRK.B) and Infinity Property and Casualty (NASDAQ:IPCC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine lowered shares of Infinity Property and Casualty (NASDAQ:IPCC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019: Colony Bankcorp Inc.(CBAN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Media headlines about Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) have been trending somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern scores the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Colony Bankcorp earned a media sentiment score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the financial services provider an impact score of 46.5935973221915 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media stories about Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) have trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern. The research group identifies positive and negative media coverage by monitoring more than 20 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. Colony Bankcorp earned a daily sentiment score of 0.02 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the financial services provider an impact score of 48.3992787299045 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019: Stratus Properties Inc.(STRS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern Sentiment’s analysis:

  Get Stratus Properties alerts: Analyzing Stratus Properties (STRS) & City Developments (CDEVY) (americanbankingnews.com) Stratus Properties (STRS) versus City Developments (CDEVY) Financial Survey (americanbankingnews.com) Reviewing Stratus Properties (STRS) and St. Joe (JOE) (americanbankingnews.com) Stratus Properties (STRS) versus City Developments (CDEVY) Head-To-Head Analysis (americanbankingnews.com) Contrasting Stratus Properties (STRS) & St. Joe (JOE) (americanbankingnews.com)

  NASDAQ STRS traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 528 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,123. Stratus Properties has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $32.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019: E-House(China)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  The world’s largest operating utility-scale solar projects are concentrated in China and India, according to IEEFA. Based on company and press reports, as well as its own estimates, those include:

  RankingProject NameSize MWCountryProponent 1Tengger Desert Solar Park1,547ChinaChina National Grid Zhongwei Power Supply Co2Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park1,000IndiaAndhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Pvt Ltd3Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base1,000ChinaMultiple4Yanchi Ningxia Solar Park1,000ChinaHuawei Technologies Co5Longyangxia Dam Solar Park850ChinaState Power Investment Corporation (China)6Adani Kamuthi Solar Plant648IndiaAdani Green7Solar Star579U.S.BHE Renewables8Topaz Solar Farm550U.S.First Solar9Desert Sunlight Solar Farm550U.S.NextEra Energy, GE Energy Financial & Sumitomo10Nova Olinda Solar Farm292BrazilEnel Green Power

  China added 53 gigawatts of the 98 gigawatts of new solar capacity built last year, a 31 percent increase from the total 2017, IEEFA said, citing Bloomberg New Energy Finance data. Meanwhile, the per unit cost of electricity over the life of a generating asset fell 15 percent year-on-year to $86 a megawatt hour.

Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2019: The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc.(NDAQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  There's at least one traditional financial giant that not only doesn't fear blockchain technology, but is actively embracing it -- Nasdaq (NDAQ) , the second-largest stock exchange in the world by market cap.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATXI) rose 29.4 percent to $5.50 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that its first pivotal Phase 3 trial of IV tramadol achieved the primary and key secondary endpoints. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) rose 16.8 percent to $51.00 in pre-market trading. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. LiveXLive Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVX) rose 9.3 percent to $5.40 in pre-market trading after falling 28.92 percent on Friday. Celyad SA (NASDAQ: CYAD) shares rose 9 percent to $29.30 in pre-market trading after climbing 3.26 percent on Friday. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) rose 6.7 percent to $26.40 in pre-market trading after gaining 1.64 percent on Friday. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) rose 5.4 percent to $3.90 in pre-market trading after gaining 3.06 percent on Friday. Acacia Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIA) rose 5.2 percent to $34.70 in pre-market trading after gaining 1.38 percent on Friday. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE: WAB) rose 5.1 percent to $100 in pre-market trading. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) agreed to merge its transportation unit with Wabtec. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) shares rose 4.7 percent to $11.50 in pre-market trading. Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) shares rose 4.3 percent to $93.98 in the pre-market trading session. LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) shares rose 4.2 percent to $33.25 in pre-market trading. Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) will buy LaSalle Hotel Properties in a $4.8 billion deal, Bloomberg reported. Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNRO) shares rose 4 percent to $58.35 in pre-market trading as the company posted upbeat quarterly earnings and disclosed that it has acquired Free Service Tire. HUYA Inc. (NYSE: HUYA) rose 3.7 percent to $19.75 in pre-market trading after falling 4.80 percent on Friday.

  Find out what's going

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shares of Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.54.

• [By Asit Sharma]

  In its last sequential quarter, Nasdaq Inc.�(NASDAQ:NDAQ)�relied on non-trading segments for growth as its market-services segment turned in a near flat performance. In the first quarter of 2018, however, healthy trading volumes resumed, and Nasdaq achieved expansion in each of its four operating segments. Before sifting through important highlights for the quarter, let's briefly review the top-level performance:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ILLEGAL ACTIVITY NOTICE: “$644.24 Million in Sales Expected for Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) This Quarter” was first posted by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this story on another site, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. & international trademark and copyright laws. The legal version of this story can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3374974/644-24-million-in-sales-expected-for-nasdaq-inc-ndaq-this-quarter.html.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.4 per share on revenue of $5.63 billion. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $37.16 billion. Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $605.26 million. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $22.75 billion. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.52 per share on revenue of $7.6 billion. The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.58 per share on revenue of $22.24 billion. Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $4.91 per share on revenue of $22.52 billion. Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $3.04 billion. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.61 per share on revenue of $6.61 billion. Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.81 per share on revenue of $1.66 billion. Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $2.15 billion. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.82 billion. Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.71 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SI

Seele Achieves Market Cap of $0.00 (SEELE)

Seele (CURRENCY:SEELE) traded 3% higher against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on July 21st. Over the last seven days, Seele has traded down 15.7% against the U.S. dollar. One Seele token can now be purchased for about $0.17 or 0.00002281 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including DDEX, CoinBene, Hotbit and IDEX. Seele has a market cap of $0.00 and $2.06 million worth of Seele was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Here is how related cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:

Get Seele alerts: XRP (XRP) traded up 3.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.46 or 0.00006142 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded 7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.29 or 0.00003948 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded up 4.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.02 or 0.00013715 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded down 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00013458 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 3.4% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0361 or 0.00000486 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded up 4% against the dollar and now trades at $34.88 or 0.00469896 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded 4.2% higher against the dollar and now trades at $12.45 or 0.00167686 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded up 8.4% against the dollar and now trades at $1.83 or 0.00024653 BTC. 0x (ZRX) traded up 8.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.17 or 0.00015735 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded up 4.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0747 or 0.00001006 BTC.

About Seele

Seele’s total supply is 1,000,000,000 tokens. Seele’s official Twitter account is @SeeleTech and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Seele is seele.pro. The official message board for Seele is medium.com/seeletech.

Buying and Selling Seele

Seele can be purchased on these cryptocurrency exchanges: IDEX, Hotbit, DDEX and CoinBene. It is usually not possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Seele directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Seele should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Gemini, GDAX or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Seele using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

Should You Pay Off Debt or Build Your Emergency Fund?

When it comes to managing their finances, Americans clearly have some work to do. Not only has U.S. credit card debt reached an all-time high, but most adults are also ill-equipped to handle a financial emergency. In fact, 40% of Americans claim they don't have the cash on hand to cover a mere $400 expense that pops up out of the blue. Rather, they'd need to borrow the money or sell something to tackle that sort of bill.

If you're sorely lacking in the savings department, but saddled with debt at the same time, you may be wondering whether it pays to work on your emergency fund first, or tackle your ridiculous balance instead. The truth is that both moves are essential for getting a handle on your finances. But if you want to know which should take priority, it's none other than boosting your cash reserves.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

You need emergency savings

Why put building savings over paying off debt? It's simple: If you don't have that safety net, the next time an unplanned bill lands in your lap, you'll be put in a position where you're forced to -- you guessed it -- rack up even more debt. In fact, a big reason people wind up in debt in the first place is that they don't have enough money in the bank to buy themselves some wiggle room in the face of life's surprises. So rather than continue running that risk, your best bet is to focus your efforts on building some cash reserves and then work on tackling whatever balance you're carrying.

The good news, however, is that you can apply the same strategies for both goals. First, create a budget if you don't have one already, see where your money is going, and start slashing expenses immediately. It doesn't matter if you choose to downsize your living space, get rid of a car, or forgo leisure activities and restaurant meals until your savings balance is looking better. The point is to spend more judiciously, and spend less.

Next, look at getting a side hustle to boost your earnings. Currently, 44 million Americans hold down a second gig on top of their regular jobs, and if you manage to eke out an extra $300 a month from yours, you'll be $3,600 richer by the end of the year.

Finally, take inventory at home and start selling the things you don't need. Even if you don't earn a ton of money from those efforts, you're better off taking in $500 than getting nothing for items that are sitting around collecting dust.

How much is enough?

So how do you know when you've saved enough and can move on to start tackling your debt? As a general rule, your emergency fund should contain enough money to cover three months' worth of living expenses. For better protection, however, you'll want closer to six months' worth. Once you reach that three-month threshold, you might decide to hit pause on your emergency savings and focus on chipping away at your debt instead, and that's perfectly fine. Or, you might decide to split your efforts so that you're contributing to your savings while also paying down debt. Just make sure you have that three months' worth of living expenses in the bank before you divert your efforts elsewhere.

Though getting out of debt is a responsible financial goal, building an emergency fund should trump all other efforts you're inclined to make. So focus on establishing a healthy level of savings, and with any luck, it'll be the first step on the road to a much healthier financial outlook for you.

Tech analyst: We want people to see the real Elon Musk

The world needs to see the real Elon Musk.

"The public perception of Elon Musk more recently is he is thin-skinned and short-tempered," said tech analyst Gene Munster in an interview with Christine Romans on CNN on Friday. Munster penned an open letter to Musk asking him to take a break from Twitter.

"That's not who Elon Musk is." Munster told Romans. "It's important that the world sees what we think is the real Elon Musk."

Munster, a managing partner with the venture capital firm Loup Ventures, described Musk as a motivational leader with an important mission of speeding up the world's adoption of renewable energy. He said that investors were concerned that Musk's Twitter outbursts would distract from his message, and added that he wrote the letter on their behalf.

"We heard from Tesla investors that something needed to be said," Munster explained.

Munster pointed to several recent incidents as examples of a growing problem.

The billionaire CEO attacked analysts during an earnings call in May. He has sparred with short sellers and journalists on Twitter. And most recently, Musk lobbed an unfounded and disparaging accusation against a Vernon Unsworth, a caver who participated in the Thai rescue mission. The latest outburst crossed a line, Munster said.

"Hopefully we'll see some changes over the months to come," he told Romans.

The controversy surrounding the Tesla CEO comes at a precarious time for the company, which has struggled to bring the Model 3, its mainstream vehicle, to market. Bottlenecks have severely delayed the delivery timeline Musk promised for the Model 3, and Tesla may need to raise more money from investors soon to avoid a cash crunch.

Needham & Co. analyst Rajvindra Gill said this week that cancellations for Model 3 orders have picked up in recent weeks. Tesla (TSLA) disputes that.

Some experts say that Musk's antics could ultimately hurt the business.

The Tesla leader is "not showing the kind of discipline of someone going to manufacture hundreds of thousands of cars," said Brian Tierney, CEO of Brian Communications.

"When you're looking to expand the appeal of your product beyond innovators themselves, beyond early adopters ... you've got to be careful," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with Kelly Blue Book. "You've got to start acting like a CEO."

Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) Hits New 12-Month High at $30.15

Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:FRGI) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $30.15 and last traded at $30.05, with a volume of 2235 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FRGI. ValuEngine raised Fiesta Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 26th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Fiesta Restaurant Group from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised Fiesta Restaurant Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. BidaskClub raised Fiesta Restaurant Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised Fiesta Restaurant Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Get Fiesta Restaurant Group alerts:

The stock has a market capitalization of $818.93 million, a P/E ratio of 50.08 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Fiesta Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:FRGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 7th. The restaurant operator reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $169.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.86 million. Fiesta Restaurant Group had a positive return on equity of 5.87% and a negative net margin of 2.56%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fiesta Restaurant Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 207,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 4,922 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Fiesta Restaurant Group by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 58,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 7,228 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Fiesta Restaurant Group by 92.7% during the 1st quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,063 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 3,879 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its stake in Fiesta Restaurant Group by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 1,325,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $24,512,000 after buying an additional 375,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 22NW LP grew its stake in Fiesta Restaurant Group by 191.4% during the 1st quarter. 22NW LP now owns 179,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,329,000 after buying an additional 118,208 shares during the last quarter. 99.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fiesta Restaurant Group

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises fast-casual restaurants. It operates its fast-casual restaurants under the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana brands. The company's Pollo Tropical restaurants offer citrus marinated, fire-grilled chicken, and other freshly prepared tropical inspired menu items; and Taco Cabana restaurants provide Mexican inspired food made fresh by hand.

Clarus Wealth Advisors Invests $161,000 in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (PPC)

Clarus Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPC. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 214,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 27,409 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 307,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,553,000 after acquiring an additional 54,785 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 611.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 55,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 47,967 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 351,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,926,000 after acquiring an additional 45,559 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 27,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares during the period. 23.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Pilgrim's Pride alerts:

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride traded up $0.66, hitting $20.26, during midday trading on Thursday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The company had a trading volume of 62,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 0.23. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $19.25 and a 1 year high of $38.39.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 10th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 44.25% and a net margin of 6.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PPC. BidaskClub upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 12th. Zacks Investment Research cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 6th. ValuEngine cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 2nd. TheStreet cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, May 10th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Mexico. The company offers fresh chicken products, including pre-marinated or non-marinated refrigerated (nonfrozen) whole or cut-up chicken; and prepackaged case-ready chicken, such as whole chickens and chicken parts.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PPC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC).

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:LPTH,ATU,CYOU,EXTN,QRVO,EFII,

Investors have demonstrated their displeasure with AT&T (T ) over the last several years. But while the communication and internet giant’s Time Warner (TWX ) merger remains in question, AT&T stock does currently offer investors solid value.

Time Warner’s chief executive, Jeffrey Bewkes, defended his company’s $85.4 billion merger with AT&T in federal court last month. At the time, he argued that the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the merger would harm consumers as tech giants, including Netflix (NFLX ) and Amazon (AMZN ) , become more and more powerful. With that said, it is still unclear if the proposed merger will be completed.

Meanwhile, AT&T has geared up to launch the first standards-based mobile 5G services to consumers in multiple U.S. markets by the end of 2018. The wireless powerhouse is also expected to see its bottom line surge this year. Furthermore, the company’s stock price has sunk to the point where investors should take notice.

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: LightPath Technologies, Inc.(LPTH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares rose 14.1 percent to $3.65 in the pre-market trading session after reporting 2017 year-end results. LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPTH) rose 13.3 percent to $2.43 in pre-market trading after reporting a third-quarter earnings beat. MYnd Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYND) rose 10.5 percent to $3.49 in pre-market trading. MYnd Analytics reported a Q2 net loss of $2.7 million on revenue of $459,900. SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) shares rose 8.4 percent to $5.68 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: DAVE) shares rose 7.7 percent to $8.40 in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Monday. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) rose 7.5 percent to $6.45 in pre-market trading after the company presented XEN901 Phase 1 clinical update and XEN1101 TMS pharmacodynamic Phase 1 data. Mimecast Ltd (NASDAQ: MIME) rose 6.5 percent to $43.50 in pre-market trading following a first-quarter sales beat. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) rose 6 percent to $12.50 in pre-market trading after surging 77.44 percent on Monday. Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) shares rose 6 percent to $26.05 in pre-market trading after climbing 3.58 percent on Monday. PPDAI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDF) rose 4.7 percent to $7.20 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET) rose 4.1 percent to $13.88 in pre-market trading after gaining 2.54 percent on Monday. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) shares rose 4.5 percent to $21.73 in pre-market trading. Mizuho upgraded Valeant from Neutral to Buy. Bovie Medical Corporation (NYSE: BVX) rose 4.1 percent to $3.80 in pre-market trading after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) rose 3.4 percent to $4.00 in pre-market trading after jumping 23.25 percent o
• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Headlines about LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) have been trending somewhat positive on Monday, Accern Sentiment reports. The research group identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. LightPath Technologies earned a daily sentiment score of 0.14 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned press coverage about the technology company an impact score of 46.9867601112654 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Actuant Corporation(ATU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Champlain Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Actuant (NYSE:ATU) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,975,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 71,860 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Actuant were worth $45,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Actuant (ATU)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Actuant (ATU)

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

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  After 111 years as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has been replaced on the index by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.�(NYSE: WBA). According to David Blitzer, managing director and chair of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, the change is part of an effort to increase value and prominence of consumer goods, finance, healthcare, and technology firms on the U.S. economy. GE is the last original member to be removed from the index. Shares of Boeing Co.�(NYSE BA), DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE: DOW), and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) are getting pounded on concerns that a full-blown trade war may accelerate and hurt major exporters to China. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he may seek tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods. Trump has asked U.S. trade representatives to identify potential products on which the United States could implement a 10% tariff. Recent trade volatility has erased all gains in the Dow Jones in 2018. Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has raised its bid for�Twenty-First�Century Fox Inc.�(NYSE: FOXA) assets to $71.3 billion in cash and stock. The new offer tops the $35 all-cash offer proposed last week by cable and telecom giant Comcast Corp.�(Nasdaq: CMCSA). Three Stocks to Watch Today: MU, ORCL, SBUX Micron Technology Inc.�(Nasdaq: MU) will lead a light day of earnings reports Wednesday. The Chinese semiconductor giant is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $3.14 on top of $7.75 billion in revenue. While markets will be interested in this report, the greater focus will likely center on the impact of U.S. tariffs on the company's forward guidance. Oracle Corp.�(NYSE: ORCL) stock was off 3.7% despite news that the cloud computing giant topped Wall Street earnings expectations yesterday. The firm reported adjusted EPS of $0.99 on top of $11.25 billion in revenue. Those numbers beat average expectations of $0.94 on $11.18 billion. The stock slumped after

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Changyou.com Limited(CYOU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Continuing its turnaround may seem to be an applause-worthy event. This is the third quarter in a row that year-over-year revenue growth tops 20%. However, weak guidance and continuing softness in its flagship display advertising business are sending the stock that was hitting two-year highs just six months ago to fresh 10-year lows.�Spun-off subsidiaries Sogou (NYSE:SOGO) and Changyou.com (NASDAQ:CYOU) are also moving lower on Wednesday.�

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shenzhen Xunlei Networking Technologies (NASDAQ: XNET) and Changyou (NASDAQ:CYOU) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Changyou.com Limited (NASDAQ: CYOU) fell 27.5 percent to $21.35 in pre-market trading. Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) fell 19.7 percent to $13.36 in pre-market trading after a mixed fourth quarter report. Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM) shares fell 10.5 percent to $7.15 in pre-market trading following mixed Q1 results. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO) fell 8.1 percent to $2.16 in pre-market trading. LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ: LOGM) fell 8 percent to $110.05 in pre-market trading. LogMeIn reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak second quarter and FY18 earning guidance. United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) fell 6.2 percent to $35.36 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE: DB) fell 5 percent to $13.63 in pre-market trading. Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) shares fell 4.3 percent to $48.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q4 results. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) shares fell 4 percent to $64.00 in pre-market trading. Colgate-Palmolive posted upbeat Q1 earnings, while sales missed estimates

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Exterran Corporation(EXTN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Exterran (EXTN)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Exterran (EXTN)

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

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Qorvo, Inc.(QRVO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  Still, some individual stocks climbed much higher than the broader market. Read on to learn why Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO), Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) soared today.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  American International Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Qorvo (NASDAQ:QRVO) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,585 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Qorvo were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage gain ahead of the close was Qorvo, Inc. (NASDAQ: QRVO) which traded up over 5% at $81.71. The stock��s 52-week range is $63.59 to $86.84. Volume was about 2 million compared to the daily average volume of 1.4 million.

Hot Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Electronics for Imaging Inc.(EFII)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Electronics For Imaging (EFII)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (NASDAQ:EFII) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,439 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Electronics For Imaging were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY lessened its holdings in shares of Electronics For Imaging, Inc. (NASDAQ:EFII) by 53.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,882 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 17,018 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY’s holdings in Electronics For Imaging were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

$108.10 Million in Sales Expected for Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd (AOSL) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts forecast that Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Ltd (NASDAQ:AOSL) will report $108.10 million in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have made estimates for Alpha and Omega Semiconductor’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $108.20 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $108.00 million. Alpha and Omega Semiconductor posted sales of $98.01 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 10.3%. The business is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 8th.

On average, analysts expect that Alpha and Omega Semiconductor will report full year sales of $418.33 million for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $415.40 million to $419.90 million. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will post sales of $444.87 million per share, with estimates ranging from $430.00 million to $452.90 million. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for Alpha and Omega Semiconductor.

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Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (NASDAQ:AOSL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $102.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.78 million. Alpha and Omega Semiconductor had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 4.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AOSL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th. BidaskClub upgraded Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, May 14th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered Alpha and Omega Semiconductor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.75.

NASDAQ AOSL traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 56,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.05 million, a P/E ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alpha and Omega Semiconductor has a one year low of $12.92 and a one year high of $18.72.

In other news, VP Daniel Kuang Ming Chang sold 9,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.92, for a total transaction of $150,937.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 14,897 shares of company stock worth $236,411 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 21.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AOSL. A.R.T. Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter valued at about $167,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor by 264.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,319 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 7,488 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor during the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Alpha and Omega Semiconductor by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 34,580 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

About Alpha and Omega Semiconductor

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited and its subsidiaries design, develop, and supply various power semiconductors. It offers various power discrete products, including low, medium, and high voltage power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs); and SRFETs, XSFET, electrostatic discharges, protected MOSFETs, and insulated gate bipolar transistors, which are used for routing current and switching voltages in power control circuits.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOSL)

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

SemGroup Corp (SEMG) Stake Boosted by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in SemGroup Corp (NYSE:SEMG) by 32.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,779 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in SemGroup were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SEMG. Aperio Group LLC increased its stake in shares of SemGroup by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 15,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of SemGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $684,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of SemGroup by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 101,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of SemGroup by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 116,541 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of SemGroup by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,206,107 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,424,000 after purchasing an additional 315,078 shares during the last quarter.

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Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. ValuEngine upgraded SemGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on SemGroup in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Co lowered SemGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $30.95 to $20.20 in a research note on Sunday, June 10th. Capital One Financial reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of SemGroup in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on SemGroup from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. SemGroup has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.82.

SemGroup opened at $25.40 on Monday, according to Marketbeat. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.46. SemGroup Corp has a twelve month low of $20.20 and a twelve month high of $30.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -105.83, a PEG ratio of 124.51 and a beta of 1.87.

SemGroup (NYSE:SEMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.55). The firm had revenue of $661.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $570.99 million. SemGroup had a negative net margin of 1.74% and a positive return on equity of 2.17%. The company’s revenue was up 45.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. analysts forecast that SemGroup Corp will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SemGroup Company Profile

SemGroup Corporation provides gathering, transportation, storage, distribution, marketing, and other midstream services for producers, refiners of petroleum products, and other market participants. Its Crude Transportation segment operates crude oil pipelines and truck transportation businesses. It operates a 455-mile crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system in Kansas and northern Oklahoma; a 75-mile crude oil gathering pipeline system that transports crude oil from production facilities in the DJ Basin to the pipeline owned by White Cliffs Pipeline, LLC; a 527-mile pipeline that transports crude oil from Platteville, Colorado to Cushing, Oklahoma; and 3 pipelines with an aggregate of 106 miles of pipe, as well as crude oil trucking fleet of 215 transport trucks and 210 trailers.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:ASGN,FBNK,QGEN,

Biotech and pharmaceutical companies are generally involved in the lengthy process of getting their drug candidates to market through clinical trials. The amount of risk involved ranges from fair to great, should a study come back negative or a candidate not be approved. Conversely, if a drug is approved or passes a clinical trial, there can be massive upside.

In simpler terms, these updates within the industry have the potential to make or break biopharma companies.

Here 24/7 Wall St. has included a calendar of some of the biggest companies expecting clinical trial and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updates in February. We have added some color, a recent trading history and a consensus analyst price target.

It��s worth mentioning that these dates may be subject to change due to various internal and outside factors. Some of these changes are positive developments and some can be disasters if a company is deeply financed.

As a side note about the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA): a Priority Review designation is granted to medicines that the FDA determines have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a disease.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2019: On Assignment Inc.(ASGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Insperity (NYSE: NSP) and ASGN (NYSE:ASGN) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ASGN (NYSE: ASGN) and Amn Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2019: First Connecticut Bancorp, Inc.(FBNK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  BidaskClub downgraded shares of First Connecticut Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  First Connecticut Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNK) and Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ: SMBC) and First Connecticut Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  First Connecticut Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNK) and Entegra Financial (NASDAQ:ENFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

• [By Jordan Wathen]

  Shares of First Connecticut Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FBNK) are soaring today, rising by more than 19% as of 11:00 a.m. EDT on news of an acquisition. The parent company of�Farmington Bank will be acquired by People's United Financial (NASDAQ:PBCT) in an all-stock transaction valued at $544 million.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Connecticut Bancorp (FBNK)

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

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2019: Qiagen N.V.(QGEN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN), the molecular testing and lab supply company, started the year off with growth at the low end of its yearly guidance,�although the first-quarter sales number was in line with where management expected to start the year.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Qiagen (NYSE: QGEN) is one of 91 publicly-traded companies in the “Biological products, except diagnostic” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Qiagen to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

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

  Get Coty alerts: Accused Bigamist from San Angelo is On the Run Again (sanangelolive.com) Cosmetics Manufacturer Coty Takes Retail Space in Times Square (commercialobserver.com) Analyzing Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and Coty (COTY) (americanbankingnews.com) 3 Movers of Yesterday- Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), QIAGEN NV (NYSE:QGEN) (journalfinance.net) Trending Hot Stock’s Analysis �� Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) (nasdaqjournal.com)

  A number of research firms recently commented on COTY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Coty from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase raised their price objective on shares of Coty from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Coty from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Coty and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Coty in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.71.

Buy Sonata Software; target of Rs 380: HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities' research report on Sonata Software

Sonata� delivered� soft� 4QFY18� with� slight miss on both revenue and IITS margin.� International� IT� services� (IITS)� revenue� was� flat QoQ at USD 37.4mn,� below� our� estimate� of� USD� 38.9mn. Adjusting for one-time pass through� revenue� last� quarter,� QoQ IITS rev growth was 2.7%. IITS margin slipped� to� 19.8%� (vs.� our� est.� of� 21.0%)� despite higher off-shoring (+400bps QoQ). Travel (27% of rev, -3.6% QoQ) and Retail (25% of rev, -7.4% QoQ)� were under pressure while OPD (28% of rev) was flat QoQ. Focus on IPs and� Platforms� is driving Digital revenue (33% of rev, +3.1% QoQ, +23% YoY for FY18). Total revenue stood at Rs 6.26bn, down 18.4% QoQ, led by drop in Domestic Product & Services�� (DPS) rev (Rs 3.89bn, -26.7% QoQ).

Outlook

We expect IITS�� USD revenue to grow 14/15% with margin of 20/21% in FY19/20E. We like Sonata IP-focussed business model, capability to scale up� top-accounts,� quality� balance sheet (net cash of Rs 48/share, ~13% of Mcap), high RoE (~31%) and high dividend yield (~3.1%). Maintain BUY with a TP of Rs 380 based on 16x FY20 EPS.

For all recommendations report, click here

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 May 31, 2018 04:27 pm

$0.27 Earnings Per Share Expected for FNB Co. (FNB) This Quarter

Equities analysts predict that FNB Co. (NYSE:FNB) will post earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27 for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Seven analysts have issued estimates for FNB’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $0.26 and the highest estimate coming in at $0.28. FNB posted earnings per share of $0.23 during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 17.4%. The firm is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, July 19th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that FNB will report full year earnings of $1.12 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.09 to $1.15. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the business will post earnings of $1.24 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.21 to $1.30. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for FNB.

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FNB (NYSE:FNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. FNB had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $294.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FNB shares. ValuEngine upgraded FNB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. Zacks Investment Research raised FNB from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 6th. Boenning Scattergood reissued a “buy” rating on shares of FNB in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. TheStreet cut FNB from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of FNB in a research report on Wednesday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. FNB presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.29.

FNB stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.56. 1,966,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,230,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. FNB has a 1-year low of $12.02 and a 1-year high of $14.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.90.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 31st. FNB’s dividend payout ratio is 51.61%.

In other news, Director Mary Jo Dively purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.40 per share, with a total value of $40,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Stephen J. Gurgovits purchased 4,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.52 per share, with a total value of $55,026.40. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 256,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,465,568.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 10,770 shares of company stock valued at $145,250 in the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in FNB by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,411,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,986,000 after purchasing an additional 37,977 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in FNB by 28.8% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 17,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB lifted its stake in FNB by 35.5% during the first quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB now owns 39,331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in FNB by 1.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,849,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 39,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in FNB by 36.7% during the first quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,698,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,342,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,400 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FNB

F.N.B. Corporation, a financial holding company, provides a range of financial services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through four segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, and Consumer Finance. It offers commercial banking solutions, including corporate and small business banking, investment real estate financing, business credit, capital market, and lease financing services.

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

Fiat Chrysler Recalls 4.8 Million Cars Over Cruise-Control Flaw

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV recalled about 4.8 million U.S. vehicles to fix a software glitch that could keep a driver from being able to deactivate the cruise-control system.

The Italian-American automaker advised customers driving select Ram pickups, Jeep SUVs and Chrysler and Dodge brand models to avoid using cruise control until the software in their vehicles is upgraded. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an advisory to “strongly encourage” that consumers follow the directive.

While the recall is significant because of the sheer number of vehicles -- the number of cars, SUVs and trucks involved exceed Fiat Chrysler’s total U.S. sales during the last two years -- the costs may be less severe because the repair involves a software fix. Fiat Chrysler said it’ll start alerting customers as soon as next week and that it’s unaware of any injuries or accidents related to the flaw.

The company’s U.S. shares extended their decline in early trading, falling as much as 3.9 percent, and were down 2.5 percent as of 9:25 a.m. in New York.

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The recall affects 15 models from as early as the 2014 model year to brand new vehicles and includes top sellers like the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler SUVs, Ram’s 1500 pickup and Chrysler’s Pacifica minivan.

Fiat Chrysler said that in certain driving conditions, its cruise control systems automatically initiate acceleration to maintain speed. In an “an unlikely sequence of events,” automatic acceleration could occur simultaneously with an electrical network short-circuit and could prevent a driver from being able to cancel cruise control, according to the company.

The automaker said that the cruise control acceleration can still be overpowered by braking.

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Renewable Energy Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (REGI)

Renewable Energy Group Inc (NASDAQ:REGI) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 728 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 522% compared to the average daily volume of 117 call options.

Shares of Renewable Energy Group opened at $17.60 on Friday, according to Marketbeat.com. Renewable Energy Group has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $17.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

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Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 8th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $577.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.60 million. Renewable Energy Group had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 29.89%. analysts anticipate that Renewable Energy Group will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Renewable Energy Group news, Director Delbert Christensen bought 7,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.60 per share, with a total value of $86,315.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,756 shares in the company, valued at $797,569.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Chad Stone bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.73 per share, with a total value of $27,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 104,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,283.85. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 29,441 shares of company stock valued at $332,576. 1.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Renewable Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $131,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Renewable Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Renewable Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Renewable Energy Group by 73.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Renewable Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $160,000.

REGI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. ValuEngine raised shares of Renewable Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 14th. Roth Capital set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Renewable Energy Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 17th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Renewable Energy Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 10th. Finally, BidaskClub raised shares of Renewable Energy Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

About Renewable Energy Group

Renewable Energy Group, Inc produces and sells biofuels and renewable chemicals in North America. The company operates through Biomass-Based Diesel, Services, Renewable Chemicals, and Corporate and Other segments. It acquires feedstock; and manages construction and operates biomass-based diesel production facilities.

Kaplan sees another four rate hikes or so before Fed finishes its job

The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates about four more times before it reaches an equilibrium level, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said Thursday.

Speaking a day after the central bank released minutes from its May meeting, Kaplan said the Fed still has work to do before it can say that it has its benchmark funds rate at a level that is considered "neutral" for growth.

"My own view is we should be raising rates until we get to neutral," he told CNBC's Steve Liesman in a live interview from Dallas. "We should do it gradually. I'm not prepared to say yet I want to go above neutral."

The release of the minutes moved markets Wednesday afternoon, likely on commentary out of the meeting summary that indicated the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee, of which Kaplan is a nonvoting member, is willing to let inflation run a bit hotter than normal as the economy continues in recovery phase.

That could mean the Fed will take a more dovish approach to policy, holding off on raising rates even if inflation climbs above the FOMC's 2 percent target.

Kaplan said he is in the camp that would be willing to let conditions heat up a bit.

"I want to run around 2, and if we got a little bit above it and I thought it would be short-term and not long-term, I could tolerate it," he said during the "Squawk Box" interview. "If I thought it would persist I think it would affect my policy views."

On top of the increase already approved in March, market participants widely expect the Fed to hike its benchmark rate a quarter-point in June, followed by another move in September. However, traders have sharply pared back expectations for a fourth move in December. Last week the market saw chances of a fourth increase above 50 percent; that fell to just above 40 percent as of Thursday morning.

Fed officials have been discussing where they might reach a "neutral" rate that is neither stimulative nor restrictive. Kaplan said he estimates that is between 2.5 percent and 2.75 percent, compared to the 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent current target range.

On a separate matter, Kaplan said he is watching conditions in emerging economies such as Turkey and Argentina and the effects that Fed rate increases have in those parts of the world. He said that Fed tightening could trigger restraints on capital flows.

"If that get pronounced enough, that could lead to a rapid tightening in conditions in the United States, which in turn could slow the economy," he said.

Facebook's controversial 'revenge porn' pilot program is coming to the US, UK

Facebook's controversial pilot program to cut down on the spread of revenge porn is rolling out to more countries with a slightly revised process.

The company received flak for its pilot to fight revenge porn when it was announced in November. It asked users in Australia to send their intimate photos to themselves so Facebook could register and block them from ever being posted by other users.

Revenge porn is the term for the spread of intimate, nude or sexual images that are distributed without a person's consent -- and it is an epidemic in Australia. One in five Australians between the ages of 16 and 49 are affected, according to a recent study.

Now, users will reach out to one of Facebook's partners -- such as the Australian Office of the eSafety Commissioner, The National Network to End Domestic Violence in the US and the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, to obtain an online form requesting to submit revenge porn photos.

Users will be sent a link to a secure email address to then upload photos.

A Facebook spokesperson said the forms will be securely shared with Facebook, and a "very small team" will have access to the photos. The team will review and "hash" the image -- a process of creating and storing a numerical fingerprint of the photo to prevent anyone from uploading it across Facebook, Messenger or Instagram. Once hashed, Facebook said the photo will be deleted within a week.

The new process applies to Australian users, as well as users in the US, U.K. and Canada.

Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of safety, described in a blog post on Tuesday how her team traveled to nine countries across four continents to learn more about the abuse and cruelty that women face online.

"From Kenya to Sweden, women shared their painful, eye-opening experiences about having their most intimate moments shared without permission," wrote Davis. "From anxiety and depression to the loss of a personal relationship or a job, this violation of privacy can be devastating."

One in eight American social media users has been a target of nonconsensual pornography, according to a 2017 study conducted by the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.

Both men and women are victims of online harassment, but women are much more likely to receive sexualized forms of online abuse, according to the Pew Research Center.

In the US, there is no federal law against revenge porn, just a patchwork of state laws.

In addition to banning nudity on its platform, Facebook says it removes intimate images that are not consensually shared as it becomes aware of them. But content moderation is partly a volume issue. Millions of content reports flood its system weekly.

Facebook declined to share numbers for how many users have participated in its Australia program, but the spokesperson said it is encouraged by the feedback it has received from safety experts and partners.

Analysis: 3 tough questions after US-China trade truce

The United States and China have hit pause on a potential a trade war. Now comes the hard part.

After high-level talks in Washington, the world's two largest economies are putting threats of tariffs on hold while they try to deal with the issues that fueled recent clashes.

China has promised to increase its purchases of US exports significantly, but experts and senior officials say the key problems remain unresolved.

"This is unlikely to be the end of tension between the two countries," said Tai Hui, chief market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Hong Kong.

Here's where the difficulties are likely to arise.

1. Will China address US allegations of technology theft?

The United States' threat to impose steep tariffs on as much as $150 billion of Chinese goods resulted from an investigation into how China gets it hands on American technology.

Those issues, which include US companies being pressured to hand over tech secrets in exchange for access to China's huge market, haven't gone away, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Sunday.

"Real work still needs to be done to achieve changes in a Chinese system that facilitates forced technology transfers in order to do business in China," said Lighthizer, who also complained about "the theft of our companies' intellectual property and business know-how."

"Tens of millions of American jobs" could be at stake, he added.

US officials are particularly concerned about China's industrial plans including "Made in 2025," which seeks to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into high-tech industries like robotics, electric cars and computing with the aim of becoming a global leader in those fields.

But experts are skeptical that China will agree to change those plans, which it sees as central to its continued economic development.

"It isn't a line in the sand. It's a line set in stone. That's not even on the table," said Andrew Polk, co-founder of Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China. "It's China's plan to win the future."

2. Will US be able to make a dent in the giant trade gap?

China's pledge to significantly boost its purchases of American goods and services touches on a key demand from the Trump administration.

But experts are skeptical that the United States will be able to get Beijing to significantly close its $375 billion trade surplus. The US demand for a reduction of $200 billion was "practically impossible," said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics for research firm Oxford Economics.

The difficulty of achieving a big change in the headline number could result in "disappointment on the US side," he wrote in a note to clients.

President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Sunday on ABC that $200 billion is "a number that interests the president a lot." But Beijing has shot down suggestions it put a dollar figure on its offer.

A US team will travel to China to work out the details of increased Chinese buying in areas like energy and agriculture.

JPMorgan's Hui said tensions could flare up again if the United States thinks China is "dragging its feet on fulfilling its pledges."

Adding to the potential risks, Oxford Economics predicts that the US trade deficit with the rest of the world is set to rise by another $100 billion this year because of the Trump administration's moves to cut taxes and boost spending.

US trade with China, explained

3. What happens to ZTE?

Uncertainty also hangs over the fate of Chinese tech company ZTE (ZTCOF), which was hit last month by a US Commerce Department ban preventing it from buying vital parts from American companies.

Beijing has been pressing during the trade talks for Washington to lift the ban, which the company says has brought its factories to a standstill.

US officials said they imposed the ban because ZTE failed to comply with the terms of a deal last year under which it admitted to violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

Trump undermined that position last week when he announced he was working to help the company back into business and linked it to a "larger trade deal" he said was being negotiated with China.

But his comments sparked a backlash in Washington. And there was no mention of ZTE in the two countries' joint statement on the trade talks, keeping the company in limbo.

ZTE "may be part of the overall trade discussion, but it really is an enforcement action" being managed by the Commerce Department, Kudlow told ABC.

"Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free," he added. "It ain't gonna happen."

Nutanix (NTNX) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Nutanix (NASDAQ:NTNX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.53.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NTNX. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Nutanix from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Nutanix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo increased their price target on shares of Nutanix from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Nutanix in a research note on Thursday, May 10th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of Nutanix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd.

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In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Parks sold 1,858,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.94, for a total transaction of $70,528,600.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Sudheesh Nair Vadakkedath sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.94, for a total transaction of $1,357,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,458,246 shares of company stock valued at $99,766,863 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.81% of the company’s stock.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Nutanix by 1.6% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 101,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,986,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Nutanix by 7.1% during the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 27,197 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nutanix by 1.6% during the first quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,290 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,055,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Nutanix by 9.0% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nutanix by 1,600.0% during the first quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 2,125 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.86% of the company’s stock.

Nutanix traded down $0.06, reaching $58.24, during trading on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The company had a trading volume of 1,684,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,954,870. Nutanix has a 52 week low of $15.85 and a 52 week high of $60.00. The company has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.49 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 3.10.

Nutanix (NASDAQ:NTNX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 1st. The technology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.06. Nutanix had a negative net margin of 33.34% and a negative return on equity of 196.67%. The company had revenue of $286.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.28) earnings per share. Nutanix’s revenue was up 44.1% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts expect that Nutanix will post -1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nutanix Company Profile

Nutanix, Inc develops and provides an enterprise cloud operating system software. It offers enterprise applications, virtual desktop infrastructure, virtualization and cloud, big data, remote and branch office IT, and data protection and disaster recovery solutions; and hardware platforms and software options; and support and services.

Procter & Gamble Now at 5 Weeks as Dow’s Worst Performing Stock

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) posted a slim share price gain of 0.1% last week, not enough to shake off the company’s ranking as the worst performing Dow Jones industrial stock of this year. So far in 2018, the shares have lost 20.1%. This is P&G’s fifth consecutive week as the Dow’s worst stock for the year.

The second-worst Dow stock so far this year is 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), which is down 15.5%. That is followed by Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), down 15.3%, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), down 14.2%, and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), down 11.1%. Dow losers outnumber winners for the year to date by a score of 18 to 12.

The Dow dropped 116.08 points over the course of the past week to close at 24,715.09, down about 0.4% for the week. For the year to date, the consumer staples sector was down 13.7%, the worst performing among the 10 market sectors.

P&G’s share price hit a weekly low early Tuesday morning, tracking the Dow’s movement almost exactly. Then it bounced about twice as high, before dropping sharply again on Friday.

There are few tailwinds in the consumer staples sector. Its �� and P&G’s �� saving grace is its massive cash flow, according to a report Saturday morning in Barron’s. P&G pays a dividend yield of almost 4% at Friday’s closing price, and the company has boosted its payout every year for 62 consecutive years.

It’s that dividend that makes stocks like P&G stand out, and a patient investor is also likely to see share price growth that could boost the total return on some consumer staples stocks to as much as 10%. P&G’s $4 billion acquisition of Merck KGaA’s consumer-health unit is intended to raise the firm’s cash flow and boost margins, but not this year and maybe not by much next year.

But as CFRA analyst Keith Snyder told Barron’s: “I don’t mind sitting on a 4% dividend yield waiting for [top-line growth] to happen.”

Procter & Gamble stock closed at $73.45 on Friday, down about 0.7% for the day, in a 52-week trading range of $70.73 to $94.67. The 12-month consensus price target on the stock is $81.79, unchanged from the prior week, and the forward price-earnings ratio is 16.43.

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