Monday, August 6, 2018

Cavium Inc (CAVM) Shares Bought by Montag & Caldwell LLC

Montag & Caldwell LLC raised its stake in shares of Cavium Inc (NASDAQ:CAVM) by 37.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,311 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares during the quarter. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Cavium were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAVM. Inverness Counsel LLC NY lifted its position in shares of Cavium by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Inverness Counsel LLC NY now owns 279,825 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $22,213,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Cavium by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,322 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Cavium by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 2,015 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB increased its holdings in shares of Cavium by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB now owns 9,895 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Cavium by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,160 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.82% of the company’s stock.

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Cavium stock remained flat at $$86.23 during trading hours on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,077.88 and a beta of 1.45. Cavium Inc has a 12-month low of $56.96 and a 12-month high of $92.66.

Cavium (NASDAQ:CAVM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 2nd. The semiconductor provider reported ($0.60) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $230.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.58 million. Cavium had a negative net margin of 6.12% and a positive return on equity of 6.16%.

CAVM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. ValuEngine cut shares of Cavium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 19th. BidaskClub cut shares of Cavium from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.82.

Cavium Company Profile

Cavium, Inc designs, develops, and markets semiconductor processors for intelligent and secure networks in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated semiconductor processors that enable intelligent processing for wired and wireless infrastructure and cloud for networking, communications, storage, and security applications.

Featured Story: Diversification

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Cavium (NASDAQ:CAVM)

Friday, August 3, 2018

Favorable News Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Affect Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) Stock Pr

Media headlines about Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR) have trended positive on Thursday, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group rates the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Innovative Industrial Properties earned a news impact score of 0.50 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news headlines about the company an impact score of 48.1448106054572 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Shares of Innovative Industrial Properties traded up $0.52, reaching $33.32, during trading on Thursday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The stock had a trading volume of 2,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,744. Innovative Industrial Properties has a fifty-two week low of $16.35 and a fifty-two week high of $39.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.72 million, a PE ratio of 49.73 and a beta of -1.22.

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Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Innovative Industrial Properties had a return on equity of 1.42% and a net margin of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 million during the quarter. analysts expect that Innovative Industrial Properties will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 29th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Innovative Industrial Properties’s payout ratio is 149.25%.

IIPR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Investment Research raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. ValuEngine raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd.

In related news, VP Brian J. Wolfe sold 6,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.34, for a total transaction of $224,525.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,824.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 400 shares of company stock valued at $14,612 over the last three months. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Innovative Industrial Properties Company Profile

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc is a self-advised Maryland corporation focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of specialized industrial properties leased to experienced, state-licensed operators for their regulated medical-use cannabis facilities. Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, commencing with the year ended December 31, 2017.

Read More: Trading Strategy

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR)

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Investors who have pulled billions out of stocks may be making the wrong call amid tech sell-off

The slaughter of consumer internet stocks Facebook, Twitter and Netflix has led investors to run scared of technology stocks in software and semiconductors that have actually done well. But this may cost them.

Reflections of people are seen in the windows of the Nasdaq offices in Times Square in New York. Don Emmert | AFP | Getty Images Reflections of people are seen in the windows of the Nasdaq offices in Times Square in New York.

On Monday investors pulled $1.3 billion out of the Invesco QQQ Trust, a broadly focused technology fund that follows the Nasdaq 100 index. And in the past one-week period through Monday, they yanked $2.4 billion from the ETF, three times greater than outflows from any other equity ETF in the past week, according to XTF.com. In semiconductors, the investor outlook is mixed, with almost $300 million of new investor money coming into Van Eck Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) in the past week, but the only semiconductor ETF that was positive in the past week is one that shorts the sector. Of the 51 tech sector ETFs tracked by XTF.com, only two had significant positive flows in the past week, SMH and the broad Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK).

Now some Wall Street experts are making the prediction that this tech sell-off is the signal that the long reign of growth stocks over lower-priced, slower-growing value companies is ending. But the sell-off seemed to run out of steam on Tuesday, as the Nasdaq rebounded, up near 0.6 percent at the close, and Apple reported strong results for the fiscal third quarter. Apple stock was up 4 percent Wednesday morning and the Nasdaq continued higher in early trading.

The debate now is whether investors acted too quickly to unload what has been the dominant group of stocks in the market since the last recession.

The top of a fund's holdings list matters

As measured by the Invesco QQQ Trust, an ETF that tracks the Nasdaq 100, the drop in tech stocks since Facebook missed second-quarter earnings forecasts on July 25 is about 2.5 percent. But nearly half of the QQQ's holdings are in Apple (11 percent), Amazon (10.5 percent), Microsoft (10 percent) and Google parent Alphabet (9 percent), the only four stocks that represent more than 5 percent of the fund. Facebook was next at just under 5 percent, as of July 30.

Some tech stock ETFs have been hit hard for the right reasons, such as the Global X Social Media ETF (SOCL), down more than 9 percent in the past week. With large-capitalization tech stocks central to market gains for the last year, the Netflix drop of nearly 9 percent, and Facebook decline of over 21 percent, are not surprising after each missed consensus forecasts.

The hottest tech ETF, the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index ETF (FDN), was down more than 6 percent in the week through Monday. As of July 30, Facebook and Netflix were its third- and fourth-largest holdings, after Amazon and Alphabet. FDN has taken in more this year than any other tech ETF, over $2 billion in positive flows from investors.

But Amazon has dropped more than 4 percent, and Alphabet has lost nearly 5 percent, even though those companies met or exceeded analyst expectations for second-quarter profits.

"Great opportunities can surface when investors overreact to short-term setbacks for companies. That has happened with Amazon.com and Google (Alphabet) countless times just in the nine years I've been managing the portfolio." -Ken Allen, manager of T. Rowe Price's $5.3 billion Communications and Technology Fund (PRMTX)

Market history shows evidence of tech rebounds after big declines. Tech stocks declined by more than 5 percent over three consecutive sessions through Monday. According to hedge fund analytical tool Kensho, since the end of the financial crisis in March 2009, the NASDAQ Composite dropped by at least 1 percent in three straight sessions on five previous occasions to current tech sell-off. After these drops, the Nasdaq rebounded sharply over the next month, up over 5 percent and generating a positive return in all five instances.

Even amid the heavy tech selling in recent days, the NASDAQ remains on pace to end up for the fourth-consecutive month, with a 2.5 percent return in July.

Bill Miller still likes Facebook

Famed value investors such as Miller Value Partners chief Bill Miller and Ken Allen, manager of T. Rowe Price's $5.3 billion Communications and Technology Fund (PRMTX), argue that technology and internet companies are still in the early- to middle stages of exploiting their opportunities.

Miller, for one, has no intention of giving up on Facebook.

"Facebook is quite attractive at these levels, trading at 17 times next year's earnings, a lower multiple than many much slower-growing consumer-staple stocks," said Miller in an email to CNBC. He bought heavily when Facebook slipped to about $150 earlier this year, from $193 on Feb. 1, and had made a paper profit of about 40 percent as shares surged to $217.50 last week before the post-earnings crash. "The current actions they are taking to spend more to strengthen security and safety should enhance their competitive position and extend their growth runway," Miller wrote.

show chapters Buy these 3 tech ETFs on the dip, says Kevin O'Leary Buy these 3 tech ETFs on the dip, says Kevin O'Leary    10 Hours Ago | 05:20

Microsoft is trading at 21.7 times next year's profit, a relatively high number for the software giant as it pushes into cloud computing, a business that has long commanded high price-to-earnings ratios. Alphabet is trading at 30.5 times the average analyst estimate of 2018 profit and 25 times next year's projected earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. Netflix and Amazon, as has always been true, have much higher multiples.

"Tech stocks often get lumped together when they really shouldn't," said Lara Crigger, who covers tech ETFs for ETF.com "If a social media company is reporting flat user growth [as both Facebook and Twitter did], they should fall. Alphabet and Apple aren't affected as much by that.''

Hot tech ETFs amid the sell-off ETF YTD flows 1-week performance
First Trust Dow Jones Internet $2.2B (-6.2%)
Vanguard Information Technology $1.5B (-2.8%)
Technology Select Sector $1.3B (-3%)
iShares Global Tech $803M (-3%)
Fidelity MSCI Information Technology $653M (-3.6%)
XTF.com, data through July 30

The technology sector as a whole trades at 17.5 times this year's projected earnings, while the broader market's price-to-earnings ratio is 15.9, according to CFRA Research stock strategist Sam Stovall.

"The P/E ratio on the S&P 500 tech sector is nowhere near where it was in 2000," Stovall said, adding that betting on stocks and sectors with stronger gains over the past year, as technology has in the last 12 months, to keep beating the market has been a winning strategy for more than two decades now. "Despite an end-of-month social media meltdown, investors may still be willing to stick with a momentum strategy."

T. Rowe Price's Allen also argues that retail investors should ride out dips in tech companies that are still taking market share from competitors and reimagining how business is done in their industries.

"Great opportunities can surface when investors overreact to short-term setbacks for companies," said Allen, whose fund has beaten the S&P by an average of five percentage points each year for the last decade. "That has happened with Amazon.com and Google (Alphabet) countless times just in the nine years I've been managing the portfolio.''

Why the bears expect more tech selling

On the flip side is Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson, who argues that growth-stock valuations, relative to the market, are at levels only seen in the run-up to the 2000 dot-com bust. "The bottom line for us is that we think the selling has just begun and this correction will be biggest since the one we experienced in February," Wilson said, pointing to the 10 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index between Jan. 23 and Feb. 8, which the market had nearly fully recouped by last week. Wilson says the more an investor has in tech, the worse their portfolio will suffer.

"It could very well have a greater negative impact on the average portfolio if it's centered on tech, consumer discretionary and [smaller-capitalization stocks], as we expect."

There was a greater move into U.S. value stocks in July. According to ETF data from XTF.com compiled by DataTrek Research, U.S. equity ETF flows were very strong in July, at over $12 billion of fresh capital through last Friday, but flows into US equity growth funds slowed in July to $1.1 billion �� its year-to-date average has been $1.3 billion/month. More than double that amount flowed to value funds in July, $2.5 billion, which also is notably higher than its 2018 YTD average of $750 million/month.

The Morgan Stanley strategy argues that the recent moves in tech may represent valuation concerns finally asserting themselves.

"We have been out on a limb the past month with our defensive rotation call, and truth be told, we haven't had much interest from clients wanting to follow us down this path," Wilson and colleagues wrote in a July 30 note to Morgan Stanley clients. "Nevertheless, since our upgrade of [the electric-utility sector] on June 18th, defensive sectors have meaningfully outperformed."

With the market up about 1.8 percent since June 18, technology was down slightly, and overall returns are being driven by 5 percent-plus gains in consumer staples and utilities, Wilson said, using last Friday's closing prices. Consumer discretionary, a category that includes Amazon and Netflix, is also in negative territory over the last six weeks.

The market ran out of good news to look forward to after Amazon's strong earnings report, and the preliminary data Friday, saying the U.S. economy boosted gross domestic product at a 4.1 percent annual clip during the second quarter, Wilson says that with the GDP report out of the way, valuation concerns seem to have moved to the forefront.

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Sinclair Broadcasting, Investors Bancorp Sink into Thursday’s 52-Week Low Club

July 19, 2018: Here are four stocks trading with heavy volume among 76 equities making new 52-week lows in Thursday’s session. On the NYSE advancers led decliners by about 1.4 to 1 and on the Nasdaq, advancers led decliners by about 1.27 to 1.

Investors Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: ISBC) traded down less than 0.1% Thursday and posted a new 52-week low of $12.52 after closing Wednesday at $12.63. The stock’s 52-week high is $14.69. Volume totaled around 6.2 million, more than double the daily average. The company had no specific news and shares have reversed course, heading for a gain of about 1% for the day.

Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD) dropped about 1.7% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $23.28. Shares closed at $23.68 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $32.75. Volume totaled 40% higher than the daily average of around 3.9 million. The company had no specific news.

Sibanye Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SBGL) traded down about 7.6% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $2.07 after closing Wednesday at $2.24. The stock’s 52-week high is $6.76. Volume was about equal to the daily average of about 4.1 million shares. The company had no specific news.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) traded down about 5.1% Thursday to set a new 52-week low of $26.00. Shares closed at $27.40 on Wednesday, and the 52-week high is $40.15. Volume was more than double the daily average of around 1.7 million. The company was stung by the release of an FCC letter claiming that Sinclair did not “fully disclose facts” in some parts of its communications related to the acquisition of Tribune Media.

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What’s Apple got to show for a 5X increase in R&D?

Friday, July 20, 2018

Better Buy: Amazon (AMZN) vs. Facebook (FB) Stock

Both Facebook (FB ) and Amazon (AMZN ) report their quarterly financial results during the week of July 23. The question is should investors consider buying shares of either Facebook or Amazon? And is either tech giant a clear winner at the moment?

Business Overview

Facebook closed the first quarter with 1.45 billion daily active users, which marked a 13% jump from the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, the social media company’s MAU’s also popped by 13% to hit 2.2 billion. And investors should note that these user totals don’t even include the hugely popular and quickly expanding WhatsApp or Instagram—which recently surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. Facebook’s photo-sharing app alone crushes Twitter (TWTR ) and Snapchat’s (SNAP ) combined user totals .

The company’s massive user base has helped it gain a large share of advertising dollars. Plus, Facebook, along with Google (GOOGL ) , are set to continue to grab a ton of ad revenue, especially as traditional TV fades. And this is highly important since roughly 99% of Facebook’s total Q1 revenues came from advertising.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s e-commerce dominance has forced the likes of Target (TGT ) , Walmart (WMT ) , and nearly every other retailer to revamp their business models. Amazon’s AWS cloud hosting business is also successful, helping the company compete against Microsoft (MSFT ) , Google, and IBM (IBM ) .

Furthermore, Amazon has spent more money on its Amazon Prime Video service as it aims to take on Netflix (NFLX ) , Hulu, and soon enough Disney (DIS ) and Apple (AAPL ) .

Stock Movement

Shares of Amazon have outpaced FB over the last three years, having climbed 272% compared to Facebook’s roughly 113% surge. This trend continued over the last 24 months, with AMZN stock up 144% against FB’s 74% climb. Amazon stock has topped Facebook since the start of the year as well. Still, despite this disparity, investors should note that both stocks currently sit near their all-time highs.

 

Valuation

Moving on to valuation, investors will once again see a big difference, but this time in Facebook’s favor. AMZN is currently trading at 107.4X forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimates, which marks a massive premium compared to the S&P 500’s 17.3X. However, it is worth noting that Amazon and its management team don’t care much about its valuation picture, as they have pursued rapid growth and expansion over almost everything else.  

On the other hand, Facebook stock is currently trading at 24.1X forward 12-month Zacks Consensus EPS estimates, which represents a substantial discount compared to its industry’s 32.5X average. Furthermore, FB has traded as high as 31.5X over the last year, with a one-year median of 27X.

 

Investors will also see that Facebook is currently trading above its five-year low of 20X. But, Facebook stock looks rather attractive at its current level compared to its own historical standards.

Outlook

Facebook, which is set to release its Q2 financial results after market close on Wednesday, July 25, is projected to see its revenues climb by over 44% to touch $13.43 billion, based on our current Zacks Consensus Estimate. Looking a bit further ahead, Facebook’s full-year revenues are expected to climb by nearly 41% to touch $57.29 billion.

FB’s adjusted quarterly earnings are projected to pop by 32.6% to reach $1.75 per share, while its full-year EPS figure is expected to expand by more than 25%.

Amazon is set to release its second-quarter earnings results following the closing bell on Thursday, July 26. And its growth picture looks similarly stellar. 

AMZN is expected to see its Q2 revenues soar by nearly 41% to $53.46 billion. Amazon’s full-year sales are projected to reach $237.93 billion, which would mark nearly 34% growth.

Meanwhile, AMZN’s quarterly earnings are expected to skyrocket 522% from $0.40 per share in the year-ago period to $2.49 per share. Amazon’s fiscal 2018 earnings are expected to expand by nearly 179%.

Bottom Line

Amazon has seen its earnings estimate revision activity trend in the wrong direction over the last 60 days, for both the quarter and the current year, which helps contribute to Amazon’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Meanwhile, Facebook has earned four upward earnings estimate revisions for both Q2 and the full year, with 100% agreement to the upside, all within the last 30 days.

Facebook is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and sports an “A” grade for Growth in our Style Scores system. Therefore, FB stock looks like it is clearly the better buy over Amazon at the moment given its growth outlook, positive earnings revision trends, and its solid valuation picture—especially compared to AMZN.

Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?

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Thursday, July 19, 2018

Comcast drops bidding war for Fox, handing deal…

Comcast is abandoning its contest with the Walt Disney Co. to acquire a collection of Twenty-First Century Fox assets including the Fox�movie and TV studios, and stake in streaming service Hulu.

Over the last two months, Comcast has countered Disney in a bidding war for Fox's assets including its FX and National Geographic channels, 22 regional sports networks, and its 30 percent share of streaming service Hulu and a 39 percent stake in U.K.-based pay-TV and broadband provider Sky.

Both companies consider the assets crucial to a growing battle for entertainment, news and sports content delivered over the internet, as well as traditional pay-TV systems on cable, satellite and fiber.�Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch who, along with sons Lachlan and James, control Fox has said the family plans to refocus a smaller Fox on news and sports programming.

Comcast's exit paves an open path to Disney's acquisition of the Fox assets. Disney and Fox shareholders are scheduled to vote July 27 on the deal, and Fox's board has suggested shareholders approve the Disney sale.

More: What could a Comcast-Disney duel for Fox mean for you �� and the Marvel Universe?

That recommendation hadn't slowed the Philadelphia-based Internet and cable heavyweight. Comcast last month trumped�Disney's original $52.4 billion offer for the Fox assets made in December with its own all-cash offer of $65 billion, about a 20 percent premium to Disney's original bid.

Then Disney on June 20 countered with a $70.4 billion bid of cash and stock. Still, many Wall Street analysts expected Comcast to respond.

But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts decided to withdraw, he said Thursday.���I��d like to congratulate (Disney CEO) Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company," he said in a statement.

Comcast (CMCSA) shares rose 3.5 percent, Disney (DIS) shares gained 1.1 percent�and 20th Century Fox (FOXA) shares lost 1.5 percent.�

Instead, Comcast will focus on acquiring�U.K.-based pay-TV and broadband provider Sky, Roberts says. Prior to putting its selected assets up for sale, Fox had been seeking to�buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own.

But its $15 billion acquisition offer has been stalled by regulatory issues. Among U.K. regulators' concerns: sexual harassment and and discrimination in the workplace at Fox News. The Murdochs ousted senior executives�and top on-air talent at�Fox News to send a signal to regulators that it had taken the issue seriously, but approval was far from certain.�

Comcast then moved on Sky. In February, Comcast said it planned to submit a�nearly $31 billion bid for the service, with Roberts saying Sky would serve as an international growth platform for the company. When it made the bid official in April,�Comcast vowed to "establish an editorial Sky News board with the responsibility to ensure the editorial independence of Sky News for 10 years."

The company also pledged to maintain, for the next decade,�at least the current spending level on Sky News, as well as keep Sky's U.K. headquarters for five years. Comcast also vowed not to buy any U.K. newspapers for five years.

Comcast made its bid for Disney a day after a federal judge�approved AT&T's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, as many experts saw that as sign of a lightening in�regulatory scrutiny of media company mergers and acquisitions.

Subsequently, the Fox�board said a deal with Comcast would carry "higher regulatory risk" than one with Disney. Last week, the Justice Department said it would appeal the AT&T-Time Warner decision.

As for Disney, its deal for the Fox assets is approved in the U.S. by the Justice Department, provided it sells�Fox's 22 regional sports networks.

The new Disney will not only have Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm studios, but also the Fox movie and TV studios with franchises such as The Simpsons, Avatar and Alien.

Additionally, the acquisition of the X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four franchises, all created by Marvel Comics, offers a vast potential for Disney to unleash new Marvel films even more character-stuffed than the recent "Avengers: Infinity War" film.

��Our incredible enthusiasm for this acquisition and the value it will create has continued to grow as we��ve come to know 21st Century Fox��s stellar array of talent and assets," Iger said in a statement. "We��re extremely pleased with today��s news, and our focus now is on completing the regulatory process and ultimately moving toward integrating our businesses.��

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Buy AAPL Stock Before It Wins the $1 Trillion Race

Back in 2015, Money Morning Defense and Tech Specialist Michael Robinson was the first tech analyst we know of to predict Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) would reach a market cap of $1 trillion.

His bold prediction will soon come true, with Apple's market cap sitting at $923 billion.

And now is the perfect time to own shares of AAPL stock before it reaches $1 trillion…

dow jones news todayOf course, there are other stocks we like in the race: Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) has a market cap of $783 billion, Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) has a market cap of $812 billion, and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) has a market cap of $855 billion.

But CEO Tim Cook's company is clearly ahead.

"As much as I like Microsoft, you'd be crazy to bet against Apple in a case like this," Robinson said on June 8.

Now, he still thinks these are two great companies to own.

Free Book: The secrets in this book helped one Money Morning reader make a $185,253 profit in just eight days. Learn how to claim your copy here…

But there's one big reason you want AAPL in your portfolio right now…

Why You Need to Own AAPL Stock

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT) Earns News Impact Score of 0.17

Media stories about Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT) have been trending somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research group identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Permian Basin Royalty Trust earned a daily sentiment score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the oil and gas producer an impact score of 46.225040116545 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded Permian Basin Royalty Trust from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 19th.

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Permian Basin Royalty Trust traded down $0.03, reaching $9.20, during mid-day trading on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. 2,466 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,212. The company has a market capitalization of $432.53 million, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.52. Permian Basin Royalty Trust has a 1 year low of $7.80 and a 1 year high of $10.30.

Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.73 million for the quarter. Permian Basin Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 5,529.95% and a net margin of 95.80%.

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 29th will be paid a $0.044 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 28th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%.

Permian Basin Royalty Trust Company Profile

Permian Basin Royalty Trust, an express trust, holds overriding royalty interests in various oil and gas properties in the United States. The company owns a 75% net overriding royalty interest in the Waddell Ranch properties comprising Dune, Judkins, McKnight, Tubb, University-Waddell, and Waddell fields located in Crane County, Texas.

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT)

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Twilio Inc (TWLO) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $130.25 Million

Equities analysts predict that Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) will post sales of $130.25 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Seven analysts have issued estimates for Twilio’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $131.55 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $129.35 million. Twilio posted sales of $95.87 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 35.9%. The business is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 6th.

On average, analysts expect that Twilio will report full year sales of $541.98 million for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $541.00 million to $544.91 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the business will report sales of $662.26 million per share, with estimates ranging from $636.58 million to $680.34 million. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Twilio.

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Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Twilio had a negative net margin of 16.61% and a negative return on equity of 21.88%. The firm had revenue of $129.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $115.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

TWLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Vetr raised shares of Twilio from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.36 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 19th. ValuEngine raised shares of Twilio from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Twilio from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Twilio in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Twilio from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.44.

Twilio opened at $56.17 on Wednesday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. Twilio has a fifty-two week low of $23.25 and a fifty-two week high of $62.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.88 and a beta of -0.27.

In related news, CFO Lee Kirkpatrick sold 15,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.13, for a total transaction of $924,852.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO George Hu sold 6,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.10, for a total transaction of $413,848.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,972 shares of company stock valued at $4,997,598 in the last 90 days. 19.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delpha Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Twilio in the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Twilio in the first quarter worth about $228,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Twilio in the first quarter worth about $249,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Twilio by 83.0% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,889 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Twilio in the first quarter worth about $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.11% of the company’s stock.

About Twilio

Twilio Inc provides a cloud communications platform that enables developers to build, scale, and operate communications within software applications in the United States and internationally. The company's programmable communications cloud provides a set of application programming interfaces that enable developers to embed voice, messaging, and video capabilities into their applications.

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Sunday, June 24, 2018

Tech Stocks This Week: Facebook Surpasses $200, Red Hat Sinks, and More

So much for Facebook�(NASDAQ:FB) stock's sell-off earlier this year�sticking around. Shares of the social-network company have surged 26% since the beginning of April, reaching new highs and surpassing $200 for the first time this week. Meanwhile, investors punished security and software services company BlackBerry�(NYSE:BB) and open-source software vendor Red Hat�(NYSE:RHT) this week.

Here's what investors should know about these three top stories in tech.

Facebook's new features impress

Facebook is trading at about $202 at the time of this writing, and bullishness toward the company's stock comes as data privacy concerns fade away as the company demonstrates more ways to monetize its platform.

A group of teenagers using mobile phones.

Image source: Getty Images.

Facebook introduced several new impressive features this week, including a subscription option for Facebook Group administrators and autoplay video ads within Facebook Messenger. But perhaps the one feature that could evolve into the biggest catalyst for Facebook is the company's new�long-form�video platform on Instagram, called IGTV. The platform's immersive mobile content better positions Facebook to vie for high-dollar TV advertising budgets.

While Facebook didn't demonstrate any ad products for IGTV, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said the platform could eventually debut ads. Investors almost certainly can count on ads, since Facebook will need to offer monetization strategies to creators in order to entice them to regularly create content on the platform.

By combining this new feature with Facebook's resources and Instagram's 1 billion monthly active users, IGTV represents the social network's best chance at competing more directly with Alphabet's�YouTube.

Facebook stock ended the week up nearly 2%, despite the S&P 500's 0.5% decline during the week.

BlackBerry's outlook for software and services revenue disappoints

As BlackBerry continues to transform into a software and services company, its enterprise software and services segment has been on a roll recently.

Software and services revenue in BlackBerry's just-reported fiscal first quarter was up 14% year over year on a non-GAAP�basis and 18% year over year on a GAAP basis. This momentum in software services was "driven by strong double-digit billings and an increase in recurring revenue," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen in the company's fiscal 2019 first-quarter earnings call.�

But investors may be concerned about management's outlook for software and services revenue to increase by just 8% to 10% year over year in fiscal 2019. This guidance, which marks a notable deceleration in the key metric, reflects the company's decision to stop selling its software and services on a licensing basis.�Instead, BlackBerry will attempt to sell customers its software and services on a subscription basis.

BlackBerry stock is down about 8.7% on Friday at the time of this writing. For the whole week, BlackBerry stock fell nearly 13%.

Red Hat falls despite better-than-expected results

Perhaps the most interesting story in tech this week came from open-source software vendor Red Hat. The sub-$2 billion company suffered a pullback when it posted its fiscal first-quarter results.

The stock's decline comes despite Red Hat reporting impressive non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.72 on revenue of $814 million. The two figures were up 24% and 20%, respectively, from the year-ago quarter. Further, both key metrics easily beat consensus analyst estimates for non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.69 and revenue of about $808 million.�

"We again delivered strong revenue growth in Q1 as customers continued to adopt our cloud enabling technologies for their applications," said Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst in a press release about the quarter.

Despite the solid results, investors may be fretting over the�worse-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue guidance.

Red Hat finished the week down about 19%, but the stock is up 18% year to date and 44% in the past 12 months.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Why I Hope Micron's Stock Declines...Even Though I'm a Shareholder

The objective of investing is, of course, for your stocks to go up over time (a shocking revelation, I know!). However, because Foolish, long-term investors advocate holding stocks for years, there might actually be times when you wish a stock you own would go down for an extended period, even if you already have a full position. I believe that's currently the case with Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), which has been one of my best-performing stocks this year. Read on to see why a drop in price could lead to good things for Micron investors.

Why I like Micron

Micron's stock has been all the rage recently, nearly doubling in price over the past 12 months. As one of only three producers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and one of only six producers of NAND flash memory, Micron has benefited greatly from soaring memory prices. While the industry has traditionally been tied to the mobile and PC markets, demand for memory has expanded (even exploded) to cloud data centers, artificial intelligence workloads, and specialty embedded chips in connected devices and self-driving cars.

Micron is not without skeptics, though, especially those who believe we're at a peak in memory pricing. That's why Micron trades at a shockingly low forward price-to-earnings ratio of 5.5. Memory has been cyclical -- sometimes violently so -- and investors seem to be nervous about granting Micron an earnings multiple in line with the overall market, which currently trades at a forward P/E of 17.3, more than triple that of Micron.

That's fine by me, though. In fact, I hope Micron's valuation remains under pressure for the foreseeable future.

A woman sits on a park bench looking puzzled about something

Why do I want Micron's stock to go down? Image source: Getty Images.

Paying owners $10 billion

After years of carrying billions in debt, Micron's recent success should allow the company to become "net debt neutral" -- having as much cash as debt -- by the end of this quarter. That would be the first time in many years that's happened.

MU Net Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly) Chart

MU Net Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

Now that its balance sheet has been repaired, Micron will begin returning cash to shareholders in the form of a massive $10 billion share repurchase program that was announced at the company's May analyst and investor event.

There's one small catch, though: These stock buybacks won't kick in until the beginning of Micron's next fiscal year, which begins in September. Until then, Micron will pay down its secured debt, some of which is denominated in foreign currencies, requiring expensive currency hedges. After that point, the company's plan is to return at least 50% of its free cash flow to shareholders.

Go ahead, Mr. Market, make my day

In Warren Buffett's 2016 letter to shareholders, he discussed the topic of share repurchases at length, writing in part:

... repurchases only make sense if the shares are bought at a price below intrinsic value ... Consider a simple analogy: If there are three equal partners in a business worth $3,000 and one is bought out by the partnership for $900, each of the remaining partners realizes an immediate gain of $50. If the exiting partner is paid $1,100, however, the continuing partners each suffer a loss of $50. The same math applies with corporations...

Since we now know that Micron plans to begin buying back stock come September, I'm hoping for shares to languish. The lower the price, the more shares Micron can buy, and the larger the "gains" for us remaining owners. At the current $70 billion market capitalization, $10 billion could buy back almost 15% of the company.

And I may not have to wait that long for results -- the company could feasibly generate $10 billion in cash flow just in the upcoming year, should memory pricing remain stable.

But I need to be right

Of course, if my take on the memory industry is wrong, Micron's intrinsic value would not be as high as I might think, and the upcoming repurchases would be wasted on buying overpriced stock.

But despite recent gains, I still think Micron is undervalued, and that favorable changes to the memory industry will last longer than others think. Past cycles have caused the industry to consolidate to only a handful of players, and with demand for memory and storage exploding, I think profitability can hold up throughout the cycle better than in the past.

We'll find out more about the company's financial performance when Micron reports earnings on June 20. If profits continue to grow, retiring shares at today's prices should greatly benefit all shareholders. And if the company can retire shares at even lower prices come September, all the better for us long-term believers.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

An Ethereum Futures Future? U.S. Commodities Giants Lie In Wait After SEC Surprise

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-895638624&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/895638624/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; A sign hangs outside the Cboe Global Markets, Inc. building. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Chicago-based commodities giants Cboe and CME Group are exploring the ethereum cryptocurrency with a $49.6 billion market value in a number of different ways. The problem is, until last week, U.S. regulatory uncertainty was preventing them from taking one crucial step.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;While ethereum futures contracts that let owners bet for and against the cryptocurrency are already trading in the U.K., doubts about whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would classify ethereum as a security&a;nbsp;was a concern to both exchanges and to many others in the industry.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Both Cboe and CME Group have been trading bitcoin futures since last year, following guidance that classified bitcoin as a commodity and left it squarely in the Chicago giants&s; domain. But with the distinct chance that ether, which had early on been purchased by a relatively small group of people, might be deemed a security, the companies were among countless others that were slowly building related products in the background, while waiting for additional clarity.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Then, on stage last week, SEC director William Hinman spoke ten magic words that brought that clarity and have sent much of the cryptocurrency world into a tizzy: &a;ldquo;C&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;urrent offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Cboe president Chris Concannon was on a flight from Chicago when he heard the news and tells &l;/span&g;&l;i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Forbes &l;/span&g;&l;/i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;the first thing he did was call his director of communications to prepare for a deluge of requests from the media. The moment he and his team had been waiting for had finally happened, and it was time to act.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&a;ldquo;We have been contemplating futures on ethereum for sometime,&a;rdquo; Concannon told &l;/span&g;&l;i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Forbes&l;/span&g;&l;/i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;. &a;ldquo;This clearly makes the complexity of ether potentially being a security go away, and it certainly clears a path for launching a future on ether.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;While Concannon was not able to publicly talk about whether the $15.6 billion Cboe is actively preparing to launch ethereum futures, he says the exchange has wanted to do so since&a;nbsp;it first started exploring cryptocurrency.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;To help jump-start that process, Cboe, the largest options and futures exchange in the U.S. with 22.95% of the market share, formed an exclusive partnership last year with the New York-based Gemini Trust Company, run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Using Gemini&s;s bitcoin market data for bitcoin derivatives and indices, Cboe launched the first bitcoin futures (XBT) contract in the U.S. in December 2017, and has since traded 680,000 contracts with a notional value of $6.85 billion, according to company documents. &l;/span&g;

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&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Justification&a;nbsp;for the firm&a;rsquo;s entry into bitcoin comes from a 2015 decision from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that officially recognized the cryptocurrency that doesn&s;t rely on a central authority&a;mdash;and any copy, or &a;ldquo;fork&a;rdquo; of its code&a;mdash;as a commodity. But ethereum, which kicked off in 2014 by selling a portion of its cryptocurrency prior to launch, has remained in a gray area, with many skeptics saying the cryptocurrency was more centralized than some wanted to admit.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;While the uncertainty has prevented regulated U.S. companies from offering ethereum futures, Cboe partner Gemini added ethereum to its trading platform in 2016 and since last July has been holding a daily ether auction at 4pm ET. Data from this auction would play a crucial role in the pricing of any ethereum futures contract Cboe might eventually launch, Concannon said.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;In fact, it is the Cboe partnership with Gemini that Concannon believes could accelerate his company&a;rsquo;s time to market if&a;nbsp;it ever decides to launch any number of cryptocurrency futures. In addition to bitcoin and ethereum, Gemini last month &l;a href=&q;/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2018/05/14/winklevoss-brothers-bitcoin-exchange-adds-zcash/#255468eb6b98&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;added&l;/a&g;&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&a;nbsp;support for zcash, litecoin, and bitcoin cash, all of which are forks of bitcoin.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&a;ldquo;That partnership was structured to allow us to roll out additional products on other currencies and literally use the same structure,&a;rdquo; said Concannon. &a;ldquo;So we don&a;rsquo;t have to do anything unique. It just follows in the same footsteps as the bitcoin future.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;A week after Cboe launched the first ever regulated U.S. bitcoin futures, fellow Chicago commodities giant CME Group followed suit and started blazing its own trail toward possible ethereum futures adoption.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Unlike Cboe, which quickly got to market by partnering with Gemini, CME Group created its own bitcoin indices in partnership with U.K.-based Crypto Facilities. Called the &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index, the increasingly &l;a href=&q;https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-regulators-demand-trading-data-from-bitcoin-exchanges-in-manipulation-probe-1528492835&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;controversial &l;/a&g;indices were launched&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g; in November 2016 and generate a bitcoin price based on data contributed from participating exchanges.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;A&a;nbsp;little over a year after launching the indices, CME Group initiated its own bitcoin futures contracts (BTC) that rely on those indices. For the past three months, BTC future contracts have &l;a href=&q;ftp://ftp.cmegroup.com/bitcoinfutures/Bitcoin_Futures_Liquidity_Report.pdf&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;traded &l;/a&g;on average $130 million in notional volume per day, according to company data. &l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;While global head of CME Group&a;rsquo;s equity products Tim McCourt told &l;/span&g;&l;i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Forbes &l;/span&g;&l;/i&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;the exchange doesn&a;rsquo;t currently have plans to launch ethereum futures, a very familiar playbook as with bitcoin has already started to unfold. Just last month CME Group announced it had partnered with Crypto Facilities, the company that helped&a;nbsp;it with bitcoin futures, and launched an ether-dollar reference rate and real-time index.&l;/span&g;

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&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Rolled out in phases, the index&a;nbsp;became a full &a;ldquo;industrial&a;rdquo;-scale service earlier this month, and while the number of subscribers isn&s;t being revealed, a CME Group spokesperson told &l;em&g;Forbes&l;/em&g; the company&a;rsquo;s ether landing page had been visited 5,200 times since launch. McCourt says CME Group is gauging interest in the index from existing market participants and could build any number of services based on demand.&l;/span&g;

&a;ldquo;Just like the bitcoin future was designed and deployed in response to customer demand,&a;rdquo; said McCourt, &a;ldquo;so will any further product development, whether it be ether or other tokens, crypto or digital assets.&a;rdquo;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;In spite of CME Group&a;rsquo;s denial that it has any plans to follow its bitcoin futures with an ethereum futures product, a closer look at the exchange&a;rsquo;s past work with Crypto Facilities provides some hard evidence of what this &q;customer demand&q; might look like.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Long before CME Group had launched bitcoin futures, its partner, Crypto Facilities, had started offering the contracts, and it continues to expand its related services. Founded in 2015, the London-based startup has been years ahead of the curve in the cryptocurrency futures space. Overseen by the less stringent&a;nbsp;U.K. regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as far back as October 2016 Crypto Facilities had started trading XRP futures, and last month, just a week before CME Group revealed its ether indices, Crypto Facilities launched the first regulated ethereum futures using those same indices.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;In the short time since those ethereum futures were launched, they have grown to represent a tenth of the total value, and company founder and CEO Timo Schlaefer expects $150 million in transaction volume this quarter alone. &l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Monthly XRP volumes are now at about $125 million,&a;nbsp;compared with $30 million in February, he said, and total futures trading volumes are up 84% in Q1 2018 compared to Q4 2017, he added.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&a;ldquo;We see a strong demand for reliable and trusted price points for the top cryptocurrencies,&a;rdquo; said Schlaefer.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;But of course, it&a;rsquo;s not all upside in the nascent world of cryptocurrency futures. Beyond increasing concerns that the ability to short bitcoin has contributed to the cryptocurrency&a;rsquo;s drop in price from $19,000 last year to $6,420 today, a rising tide of concerns relates to even more malicious manipulations.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;Last week, the CFTC demanded data from several exchanges associated with the CME CF Bitcoin Reference rate. In spite of a number of safeguards in place for the reference rate, including a volume-weighted median of data and discarding outlier data points, concerns have persisted that the largely unregulated nature of the underlying exchanges providing the data is a potential weakness in the system.&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;To help address these concerns and more, Crypto Facilities last month hired Sui Chung, the former managing director of E&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;uromoney Institutional Investor&l;/span&g;&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;, to oversee the index and pricing product business. While acknowledging the concerns, Chung detailed the cryptocurrency futures weighting process in an email to &l;em&g;Forbes&l;/em&g;&a;nbsp;and stood by the data:&l;/span&g;

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: 400;&q;&g;&a;ldquo;We are always reviewing the adoption and liquidity levels of tokens to understand if the market requires and we can produce reliable, trusted and robust price points.&a;rdquo;&l;/span&g;&l;/p&g;

Friday, June 1, 2018

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2019

tags:LMAT,CNSL,BRKR,SMBC,

(Editor's note: There is much greater liquidity on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ticker Z01).

The Elevator Pitch

Zooplus (OTC:ZOPLY) (OTC:ZLPSF) is the leading online retailer of pet food and supplies in Europe. Generally, in a commoditized market such as selling pet food, the lowest cost provider with the best customer service has the "right to win". We believe that Zooplus will be this winner, given its structural cost advantage versus its competitors (which we explore below). Additionally, customer satisfaction is extremely high, and we can clearly see customers' appreciation for the company's value proposition, as evidenced by the 94% sales retention rate. These unbeatable low prices and high customer satisfaction have led to a 31% annualized sales growth rate since 2010, while still possessing a long runway for continued expansion.

We believe the market is underestimating the long-term earnings power of the firm and consequently significantly undervaluing the company. For instance, the stock is currently trading at 0.9x 2016 sales while comparable acquisitions have taken place at 2-6x multiples. Additionally, we believe at maturity, the business will have normalized operating margins of 8-10%, implying a valuation of ~10x normalized EBIT.

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2019: LeMaitre Vascular, Inc.(LMAT)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Shares of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMAT) were down 20 percent to $31.235 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results.

    Essendant Inc (NASDAQ: ESND) was down, falling around 24 percent to $7.255 after reporting downbeat quarterly earnings.

  • [By Brian Feroldi]

    In response to reporting first-quarter�results, shares of�LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT), a medical device maker focused on niche products used during�vascular surgery, fell 20% as of 10:35 a.m. EDT on Thursday.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Shares of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMAT) were down 17 percent to $32.19 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results.

    LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ: LKQ) was down, falling around 16 percent to $31.49 following weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2019: Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc.(CNSL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Consolidated Communications (CNSL)

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

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL) is one of 74 public companies in the “Telephone communication, except radio” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Consolidated Communications to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2019: Bruker Corporation(BRKR)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bruker (BRKR)

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

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bruker (BRKR)

    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 Bruker (BRKR)

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

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2019: Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.(SMBC)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [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 Joseph Griffin]

    Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) was downgraded by equities researchers at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a market perform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Somewhat Favorable Media Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Impact Clearsign Combustion (CLIR) Share Pric

Press coverage about Clearsign Combustion (NASDAQ:CLIR) has been trending somewhat positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Clearsign Combustion earned a news sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the technology company an impact score of 46.3610235421976 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

NASDAQ:CLIR traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $2.10. 92,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,183. Clearsign Combustion has a 52 week low of $1.65 and a 52 week high of $4.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 5.67 and a quick ratio of 5.67.

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Clearsign Combustion (NASDAQ:CLIR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 11th. The technology company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $0.53 million during the quarter.

About Clearsign Combustion

ClearSign Combustion Corporation designs and develops technologies to enhance emission and operational performance, energy efficiency, and overall cost-effectiveness of combustion systems in the United States. Its Duplex, Duplex Plug & Play, and Electrodynamic Combustion Control platform technologies enhance the performance of combustion systems in a range of markets, including energy, commercial/industrial boiler, chemical, petrochemical, and power industries.

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Clearsign Combustion (NASDAQ:CLIR)

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:INSM,TSU,TTEK,PTLA,GSM,

Small cap generic pharmaceutical stock Lannett Company, Inc (NYSE: LCI) is the�second most shorted stock on the NYSE with short interest of 55.65% according to�Highshortinterest.com. Lannett Company was founded in 1942 and�develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications and therapeutic areas. The Company believes its ability to select viable products for development, efficiently develop such products (including obtaining any applicable regulatory approvals), vertically integrate�itself into certain specialty markets and achieving economies in production are all critical for its success in the generic pharmaceutical industry in which it operates.

However, Lannett Company has faced�problems multiplied by a debt financed $1.23 billion acquisition of�Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals more than a year ago that has not proven to be as lucrative as originally expected. The FDA��s decision to withdraw approval of Lannett Company's ability to sell a generic version of�Concerta for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder caused problems.

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019: Insmed, Inc.(INSM)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC Buys 13,438 Shares of Insmed, Inc. (INSM)” was first posted by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this article on another site, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of United States & international trademark and copyright laws. The original version of this article can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3353518/tiaa-cref-investment-management-llc-buys-13438-shares-of-insmed-inc-insm.html.

  • [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Valeritas Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLRX) shares jumped 17 percent to $3.65. Cambium Learning Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABCD) shares rose 13.5 percent to $11.70. McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) gained 11.6 percent to $6.75 after the UK-based offshore oil service company Subsea 7 made an unsolicited bid to buy McDermott for $7 per share. However, the acquisition offer is contingent on McDermot terminating its pending merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) shares jumped 11.2 percent to $14.95. Nautilus is expected to release Q1 results on May 7, 2018. Craig-Hallum initiated coverage on Nautilus with a Buy rating and a $19.00 price target. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) shares gained 11 percent to $2.2199. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) surged 10.8 percent to $4.50. Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FRSX) rose 10.1 percent to $3.39. Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG) climbed 9.6 percent to $32.10. Stars Group Inc (NASDAQ: TSG) announced plans to acquire Sky Betting & Gaming for $4.7 billion. Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares jumped 9.1 percent to $25.66. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform. Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) rose 8.4 percent to $75.65 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and raised its FY18 earnings outlook. Command Security Corporation (NYSE: MOC) shares gained 6.4 percent to $3.0960 after the company disclosed a $23 million five-year contract with LaGuardia Gateway Partners for LaGuardia Airport New Central Terminal Building. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) rose 6.2 percent to $2.41 after falling 10.98 percent on Friday. Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) shares rose 5.7 percent to $69.31. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced plans to acquire Vectren for $72 per share in cash. Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) gained 4.9 percent to $18.035. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hanesbrands from Hold to Buy. M
  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Insmed Inc. (NASDAQ: INSM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

    Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham, based on the run-up in shares and on a harder earnings comparison that will be harder to beat. Lululemon was up 1% at $96.31 but was down 2% at $94.30 on Monday. It had a consensus target price of $89.93.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $25.57. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform.

    Equities Trading DOWN

  • [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares rose 78.82 percent to close at $7.26 on Monday. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) shares jumped 18 percent to close at $2.36. McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) climbed 15.7 percent to close at $7.00 after the UK-based offshore oil service company Subsea 7 made an unsolicited bid to buy McDermott for $7 per share. However, the acquisition offer is contingent on McDermot terminating its pending merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FRSX) gained 17.21 percent to close at $3.61. Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG) rose 14.16 percent to close at $33.45. Stars Group Inc (NASDAQ: TSG) announced plans to acquire Sky Betting & Gaming for $4.7 billion. China Internet Nationwide Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ: CIFS) shares jumped 12.79 percent to close at $25.58. Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) shares gained 11.52 percent to close at $15.00. Nautilus is expected to release Q1 results on May 7, 2018. Craig-Hallum initiated coverage on Nautilus with a Buy rating and a $19.00 price target. Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX) rose 10.94 percent to close at $22.91. Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares rose 10.76 percent to close at $26.05. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform. NextDecade Corporation (NASDAQ: NEXT) shares rose 10.02 percent to close at $6.48. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) shares gained 8.37 percent to close at $2.46 on Monday after falling 10.98 percent on Friday. Cambium Learning Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABCD) shares gained 7.81 percent to close at $11.11. Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) shares rose 7.26 percent to close at $70.31. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced plans to acquire Vectren for $72 per share in cash. Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) rose 6.66 percent to close at $74.45 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and raised its FY18 earnings outlook. Hanesbrands Inc.

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019: Tele Celular Sul Participacoes S.A.(TSU)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Trisura Group (TSE:TSU) insider David James Clare acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$25.22 per share, with a total value of C$252,200.00.

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019: Tetra Tech Inc.(TTEK)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Tetra Tech (TTEK)

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

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019: Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(PTLA)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Keith Speights]

    Three big healthcare winners this week were STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC), and Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTLA). Each of these stocks jumped more than 24% over the last few days. Are STAAR Surgical, Tenet, and Portola smart picks for investors after the stocks' huge gains?

  • [By Motley Fool Staff]

    It was a decision a long time in the making, but the Food and Drug Administration has officially given Portola Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:PTLA) AndexXa the green light. The approval ends a winding road for the company that includes a regulatory rejection, a refiling for approval, and requests for additional information. With a go-ahead finally secured, is this biotech about to become a top stock to buy?

  • [By ]

    Portola Pharmaceuticals (PTLA) : "The news is already in this story. I'd rather be in something better."

    STMicroelectronics (STM) : "No. You want Cisco Systems (CSCO) ahead of when they report."

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Buy For 2019: Globe Specialty Metals Inc.(GSM)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.97 per share on revenue of $2.91 billion. Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.5 per share on revenue of $3.95 billion. The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.02 per share on revenue of $8.47 billion. AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $13.01 per share on revenue of $2.72 billion. Dycom Industries, Inc. (NYSE: DY) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $734.86 million. Eaton Vance Corp. (NYSE: EV) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $425.42 million. Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $124.17 million. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.93 per share on revenue of $715.15 million. Radcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: RDCM) is expected to post quarterly earnings at $1.96 per share on revenue of $718.59 million. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.04 per share on revenue of $718.96 million. CYREN Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYRN) is estimated to report quarterly loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $7.72 million. Ferroglobe PLC (NYSE: GSM) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.16 per share on revenue of $559.15 million. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited (NYSE: RDY) is estimated to report earnings for its fourth quarter. BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) is expected to report quarterly loss at $0.07 per share. Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is estimated to post quarterly earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $1.58 billion.

     

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “$559.12 Million in Sales Expected for Ferroglobe (GSM) This Quarter” was originally published by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this news story on another site, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of United States & international trademark and copyright laws. The original version of this news story can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3385662/559-12-million-in-sales-expected-for-ferroglobe-gsm-this-quarter.html.

  • [By Garrett Baldwin]

    Markets have been under pressure once again by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Inflation levels are going through the roof… but the people in charge of managing it have been lying to Americans for years. Now, it's time to get even.�Money Morning�Liquidity Specialist Lee Adler has the perfect way to make a lot of money when no one is looking.�Read it here.

    The Top Stock Market Stories for Monday Markets are cheering news that the supposed trade war between the United States and China is "on hold," according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin and U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, announced that both nations have reached an agreement, one that established a framework to help address ongoing trade imbalances between the two countries. The prices of crude oil is in focus after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won reelection over the weekend. The election featured a very low turnout and a very large outcry that the vote was rigged. Maduro has a 75% disapproval rating and has been the face of the OPEC member's widespread mismanagement and economic collapse. Prior to the election, a member of the Trump administration said that the United States would not recognize the authenticity of the election. The United States is considering additional sanctions on Venezuela. Today is a major day for mergers and acquisition activity. Today, Blackstone Group LP�(NYSE: BX) announced plans to purchase U.S. hotel operator LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) for a whopping $3.7 billion. The deal comes at a time that the travel industry is experiencing one of the best periods in a decade. If you're looking for a way to make money ahead of Memorial Day weekend, we show you how here. Four Stocks to Watch Today: GOOGL, GE, MBFI, FITB Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) is under pressure this morning after a harsh piece aired last night on "60 Minutes." The segment discussed the organization's power and influence. It also featured inter

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Summit Midstream Partners (SMLP) Getting Somewhat Negative News Coverage, Report Shows

News coverage about Summit Midstream Partners (NYSE:SMLP) has been trending somewhat negative this week, Accern reports. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by reviewing more than 20 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. Summit Midstream Partners earned a coverage optimism score of -0.03 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the pipeline company an impact score of 47.2013706542046 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

Here are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

Get Summit Midstream Partners alerts: Brad N. Graves Sells 5,000 Shares of Summit Midstream Partners (SMLP) Stock (americanbankingnews.com) US Capital Advisors Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Summit Midstream Partners (SMLP) (americanbankingnews.com) Summit Midstream Partners LP (SMLP): Shares Climb 4.56% (parkcitycaller.com) Summit Midstream Partners to Post FY2019 Earnings of $1.64 Per Share, US Capital Advisors Forecasts (SMLP) (americanbankingnews.com)

NYSE:SMLP opened at $15.75 on Friday. Summit Midstream Partners has a one year low of $13.10 and a one year high of $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.76.

Summit Midstream Partners (NYSE:SMLP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.04. Summit Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $126.20 million during the quarter. equities research analysts anticipate that Summit Midstream Partners will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 8th were issued a $0.575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 7th. This represents a $2.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.60%. Summit Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 140.24%.

SMLP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $22.00 price target on Summit Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 8th. Citigroup upgraded Summit Midstream Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Summit Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 6th. SunTrust Banks lowered their price target on Summit Midstream Partners to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Summit Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Summit Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

In related news, insider Steven J. Newby purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.88 per share, with a total value of $238,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 38,812 shares in the company, valued at $616,334.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brad N. Graves sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.37, for a total value of $76,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 66,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,878.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $169,050.

About Summit Midstream Partners

Summit Midstream Partners, LP focuses on owning, developing, and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets primarily shale formations in the continental United States. The company provides natural gas gathering, treating, and processing services, as well as crude oil and produced water gathering services.

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Summit Midstream Partners (NYSE:SMLP)