Penumbra Inc (PEN) Insider James Robert Pray Sells 8,125 Shares

Penumbra Inc (NYSE:PEN) insider James Robert Pray sold 8,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $1,124,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,578 shares in the company, valued at $218,300.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

James Robert Pray also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Penumbra alerts: On Monday, July 23rd, James Robert Pray sold 8,125 shares of Penumbra stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.86, for a total value of $1,152,612.50.

Penumbra traded down $1.90, hitting $143.00, during trading hours on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. 610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 316,373. Penumbra Inc has a twelve month low of $78.90 and a twelve month high of $167.35. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14,490.00, a P/E/G ratio of 43.11 and a beta of 0.15.

Penumbra (NYSE:PEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.08. Penumbra had a return on equity of 1.13% and a net margin of 3.65%. The firm had revenue of $102.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.10) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts forecast that Penumbra Inc will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts have issued reports on PEN shares. Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Penumbra in a report on Wednesday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Penumbra in a report on Thursday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Penumbra in a report on Thursday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Penumbra from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Penumbra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Penumbra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $161.20.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. acquired a new position in Penumbra during the 2nd quarter worth $6,031,000. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Penumbra by 27.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 7,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Penumbra by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Penumbra during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,913,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Penumbra by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. 74.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penumbra Company Profile

Penumbra, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and internationally. The company offers neurovascular access systems designed to provide intracranial access for use in a range of neurovascular therapies under the Neuron, Neuron MAX, Select, BENCHMARK, DDC, and PX SLIM brands; aspiration based thrombectomy systems and accessory devices, including revascularization device for mechanical thrombectomy, such as Penumbra System under the ACE and the 3D Revascularization Device brands.

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Cintas (CTAS) Price Target Increased to $180.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note published on Friday. They currently have a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

CTAS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cintas from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a $192.53 rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Cintas from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $202.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Cintas from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 23rd. ValuEngine lowered Cintas from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. They set a conviction-buy rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Cintas presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $182.20.

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Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $9.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $203.57. 1,318,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.16. Cintas has a 12 month low of $130.09 and a 12 month high of $204.27. The firm has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.91.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 19th. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 24.81% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts predict that Cintas will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider James Phillip Holloman sold 7,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.26, for a total transaction of $1,288,388.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 133,491 shares in the company, valued at $22,861,668.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas E. Frooman sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $2,023,540.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 106,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,814,698.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Advisors Corp grew its position in Cintas by 0.7% during the second quarter. Asset Advisors Corp now owns 47,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,698,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Cintas by 18,267.8% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 766,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,064,000 after buying an additional 762,499 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 9.1% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management Inc. now owns 658,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,842,000 after buying an additional 55,186 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Cintas by 6.9% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 13,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Advisors LLC grew its position in Cintas by 0.6% during the second quarter. Boston Advisors LLC now owns 172,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,958,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.06% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation provides corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services; First Aid and Safety Services; and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, and carpet and tile cleaning services, as well as sells uniforms directly.

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Can We Predict The Bitcoin Trend By Watching Litecoin And Ethereum?

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image shutterstock size-large wp-image-1135687877&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1135687877/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;614&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Shutterstock

Bitcoin used to be the sandbox of the uber-nerd. Even today, old school market sophisticates whose job it should be to know all about crypto are still shuffling around in the foothill of understanding or worse totally clueless about what this new asset is. This is not surprising because crypto really is the deepest rabbit hole most of us will have to spelunk. This complexity is one of blockchain&a;rsquo;s core weaknesses, but the same can be said for the early internet and the emerging personal computing scene.

Unsurprisingly, it&a;rsquo;s the kids that have wriggled the deepest into the warren of blockchain knowledge, another field mark that this is the next big thing.

&l;em&g;&l;/em&g;

When bitcoin and cryptocurrency crossed over from the underworld subculture it was developing in at the end of 2016 and start of 2017, the price took off.

Let&a;rsquo;s call this moment Jan. 1, 2017. The denizens of crypto might disagree but without doubt 2017 was the year of bitcoin, so we can start there.

Let&a;rsquo;s look at how prices developed.

From this perspective, altcoins are the big story. While bitcoin was the giant brand, the runners-up in brand awareness, ethereum and litecoin, rose further for their Hodlers. &a;nbsp;The scale of the chart is normalised to BTC to USD:

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-57721&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/investor/files/2018/07/btcltceth1.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;592&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g; Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum prices: April 2017 to July 2018

If you had the good fortune to buy on the first of January and the &l;span style=&q;text-decoration: line-through;&q;&g;insanity &l;/span&g;foresight to hold, then even today after a crash, the returns remain practically psychedelically vast.

It is interesting to note that bitcoin peaked first, litecoin next and finally ethereum, with huge jumps for these coins after bitcoin peaks.

As believers we do not think cryptos will go to zilch, instead we look to the next bubble cycle to kick off. &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2018/07/13/bitcoin-is-a-logarithmic-asset/#6038131f7f54&q;&g;As I stated in a previous article,&l;/a&g; &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2018/07/13/bitcoin-is-a-logarithmic-asset/#6038131f7f54&q;&g;crypto is a logarithmic asset&l;/a&g;.

This explosive viral growth mechanism for crypto value is driven by the asset&a;rsquo;s passage from obscurity into the mainstream. When the next wave hits and the top tiers of &a;lsquo;normal people&a;rsquo; suddenly &a;lsquo;get it&a;rsquo; the cycle will repeat and repeat again and again as broader audiences experience cryptocurrency. That&a;rsquo;s the belief.

So where are we in the cycle?

Most of the way to the bottom of the crash at least in percentage terms from the top.

So let&a;rsquo;s look at what happened to BTC, ETH and LTC since bitcoin hit its peak. The scale as above is in BTC to USD:

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-57720&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/investor/files/2018/07/btcltceth2.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;589&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g; Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum prices: January to July 2018

We can see litecoin underperforming bitcoin and over the period because of the late rally for ethereum after bitcoin&a;rsquo;s peak, ethereum outperforms bitcoin. However, this outperformance would require a perverse and fortunate market timing for the buyer.

Let&a;rsquo;s look at the recent history since ethereum&a;rsquo;s peak:

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-57719&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/investor/files/2018/07/btcltceth3.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;591&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g; Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum prices: February to July 2018

Stating the obvious, all these coins are clearly correlated. ETH and LTC have the alpha on bitcoin. As such, it would make sense to watch them as a way to catch the bottom with some extra pop.

So let&a;rsquo;s go back to the beginning. We want a signal that shows us when to reenter. Ethereum and litecoin lagged the end of the bubble, signaled by bitcoin. What signaled the beginning?

What am I doing? As a believer that however much you polish your crystal balls you can never see the future clearly, I&a;rsquo;m gently buying dribs and drabs of bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin, all of which I hold and many other coins beside. I am, however, waiting to buy material amounts, because the trend is down and the trend is not our friend until the bend in the end.

I&a;rsquo;ll spend at the bend in the end.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-57718&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/investor/files/2018/07/btcltceth4.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;594&q; data-width=&q;900&q;&g; Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum prices: February to June 2017

That is pretty clear.

The altcoins have the alpha and ethereum leads the charge last time.

The past doesn&a;rsquo;t predict the future blah blah blah&a;hellip;. But you would be a fool not to watch for ethereum and litecoin to start rallying as a potential&a;nbsp; signal for the crypto market bottom we are all waiting for and last year it gave plenty of advanced warning, so will likely do so again after the &a;ldquo;Bitcoin is Dead&a;rdquo; headlines hit the mainstream press.

&l;a href=&q;http://bit.ly/2nP7Hek&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;nofollow noopener noreferrer&q; data-ga-track=&q;ExternalLink:http://bit.ly/2nP7Hek&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;em data-ga-track=&q;ExternalLink:http://bit.ly/2nP7Hek&q;&g;Be among the first to know the most important crypto and blockchain news and information with Forbes Crypto Confidential, a free weekly eletter. Sign up now.&l;/em&g;&l;/a&g;

&l;em&g;Disclosure: I own bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum&l;/em&g;.

-----

&l;em&g;Clem Chambers is the CEO of&a;nbsp; private investors Web site&l;/em&g;&l;span&g;&l;em&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/em&g;&l;/span&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.advfn.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;em&g;ADVFN.com&l;/em&g;&l;/a&g;&l;em&g; and author of &l;/em&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R3ABO9G&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Be Rich&l;/a&g;&l;em&g;, &l;/em&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HCOUWS2&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;em&g;The Game in Wall Street&l;/em&g;&l;/a&g;&l;em&g; and&l;/em&g; &l;a href=&q;https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077D9ZZ7P&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;em&g;Trading Cryptocurrencies: A Beginner&a;rsquo;s Guide&l;/em&g;&l;/a&g;&l;em&g;.&l;/em&g;

&a;nbsp;&l;/p&g;

Columbus McKinnon Corp. (CMCO) Receives $49.67 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Columbus McKinnon Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCO) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.67.

A number of brokerages have commented on CMCO. TheStreet upgraded shares of Columbus McKinnon from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 30th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Columbus McKinnon from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 4th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Columbus McKinnon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Columbus McKinnon in a report on Monday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock.

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Columbus McKinnon traded up $0.09, reaching $41.64, during trading on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The stock had a trading volume of 500 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,686. Columbus McKinnon has a 1-year low of $24.97 and a 1-year high of $45.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.06 million, a P/E ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.88.

Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. Columbus McKinnon had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm had revenue of $214.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbus McKinnon will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

In other news, VP Gregory P. Rustowicz sold 3,271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.13, for a total value of $137,807.23. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,269.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Columbus McKinnon in the 4th quarter worth about $5,710,000. Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbus McKinnon in the 4th quarter worth about $804,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,063,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,508,000 after purchasing an additional 88,613 shares during the last quarter. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Columbus McKinnon by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC now owns 57,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Columbus McKinnon in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbus McKinnon Company Profile

Columbus McKinnon Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets hoists, actuators, cranes, rigging tools, digital power control systems, and other material handling products for commercial and industrial applications worldwide. It offers various electric chain hoists, electric wire rope hoists, hand-operated hoists, winches, lever tools, and air-powered hoists under the Budgit, Chester, CM, Coffing, Little Mule, Pfaff, Shaw-Box, Yale, STAHL, and other brands; below-the-hook tooling, clamps, and textile strappings; and explosion-protected hoists, as well as supplies hoist trolleys.

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Esterline Technologies (ESL) Rating Lowered to Sell at Zacks Investment Research

Esterline Technologies (NYSE:ESL) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “Esterline Corporation is a specialized manufacturing company serving principally aerospace and defense markets. Esterline views the company’s businesses in three segments related to its set of core competencies: Avionics & Controls, Sensors & Systems, and Advanced Materials. Avionics & Controls segment focus on technology interface systems for commercial and military aircraft and similar devices for land- and sea-based military vehicles, cockpit displays and integration systems and other high-end industrial applications. The Sensors & Systems segment includes operations that produce high-precision temperature and pressure sensors, specialized harsh-environment interconnect solutions, electrical power distribution equipment, and other related systems principally for aerospace and defense customers. Advanced Materials focuses on process-related technologies including high-performance elastomer products used for a wide range of military and commercial aerospace purposes. “

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Separately, Barclays assumed coverage on Esterline Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 29th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.78.

Shares of Esterline Technologies traded up $0.05, reaching $74.65, on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The stock had a trading volume of 91,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,783. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. Esterline Technologies has a 1 year low of $67.15 and a 1 year high of $100.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 2.06.

Esterline Technologies (NYSE:ESL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The aerospace company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $517.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.91 million. Esterline Technologies had a return on equity of 6.08% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. analysts expect that Esterline Technologies will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, major shareholder Hawkeye Fund Fpa sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $146,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESL. Balter Liquid Alternatives LLC purchased a new position in shares of Esterline Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $195,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Esterline Technologies by 6,585.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 210,787 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 207,634 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Esterline Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $291,000. Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Esterline Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $347,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Esterline Technologies by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.55% of the company’s stock.

About Esterline Technologies

Esterline Technologies Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets engineered products and systems primarily for aerospace and defense customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Avionics & Controls, Sensors & Systems, and Advanced Materials. The Avionics & Controls segment offers global positioning systems, head-up displays, enhanced vision systems, and electronic flight management systems for control and display applications; lighted push-button and rotary switches, keyboards, lighted indicators, panels, and displays; and control sticks, grips, wheels, and switching systems.

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Mark Your Calendar for Netflix, Inc.'s Q2 Earnings

Streaming video veteran Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is gearing up for a second-quarter report next Monday evening. Stock prices have more than doubled in 2018 and nearly tripled in 52 weeks as the company kept beating its own estimates of how quickly the subscriber base might grow.

Will this report be any different? Let's have a look at what to expect from Netflix's next business update.

Guidance targets

Metric

Q2 2018 Guidance

Q2 2017 Results

Expected Year-Over-Year Change

Total domestic subscribers	57.9 million	51.9 million	12%
Total international subscribers	73.3 million	52.0 million	41%
Total streaming subscribers	131.2 million	104.0 million	26%
Total revenue (including DVD)	$3.93 billion	$2.79 billion	41%
GAAP earnings per diluted share	$0.79	$0.15	427%
Free cash flows	Negative	($608 million)	Not measurable

Data source: Netflix.

Hitting these subscriber numbers on the nose would work out to 1.2 million net new domestic subscribers coming aboard during the second quarter and 5.0 million new international customers. That would be 6.2 million new members on a global level. Analysts and investors will keep a close eye on these particular metrics because they provide the best measuring stick for Netflix's subscriber-growth ambitions.

You'll find that top-line revenue keeps growing faster than the subscriber additions might suggest. The extra boost comes from a steady stream of small price increases, and there seems to be a steady flow of subscribers opting for pricier plans with higher video quality and the ability to concurrently stream Netflix content on more devices. Expect these trends to continue, especially in the international division.

For what it's worth, analyst firms Cowen and Baird recently raised their target prices on Netflix thanks to strong growth indicators in each firm's own survey of domestic and international video consumers. Baird said that international growth is coming in particularly hot while Cowen underscored Netflix's "outsized" share of viewing hours among younger audiences.

Image source: Getty Images.

Going beyond the raw numbers

To keep the subscriber additions coming, Netflix is making heavy investments to create a strong portfolio of original content. The English-speaking portion of this catalog is shrinking at the company leans on production teams in other markets. In the latest earnings call, content chief Ted Sarandos highlighted titles from Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Denmark as border-crossing wins.

"There's incredible storytellers and producers around the world that just have not had access to a global audience before, and we've been able to find them pretty effectively," Sarandos said. This is now a core concept at the heart of Netflix's evolving content production strategy.

Netflix's management continues to expect negative free cash flows "for several more years," including this quarter. You can pin that cash burn on the large cash expenses Netflix is pouring into content production, which is different from paying smaller licensing fees to other studios for the right to stream their movies and shows. The company raised another $1.5 billion of new debt in April, all earmarked for content production budgets. It's a little early to expect another reach for capital right now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a return to the debt market around the third-quarter report.

Procter & Gamble shares downgraded by Jefferies because of rising commodity costs

Procter & Gamble's profitability will suffer because of rising commodity costs, according to Jefferies.

The firm lowered its rating for Procter & Gamble shares to hold from buy, predicting the company will report earnings below expectations next fiscal year.

Analyst Kevin Grundy cited a number of factors weighing on the consumer product giant, including slowing market growth, emerging market volatility, U.S. retail difficulties, a stronger U.S. dollar and pricing challenges that "should drive estimates lower again at P&G." His note on Monday was titled ��Tide Unlikely to Turn: Downgrade to Hold as Bull Thesis Wanes."

Grundy lowered his price target to $79 from $83 for Procter & Gamble shares. The new target is roughly even with Friday��s closing price.

The analyst noted a price basket of P&G key commodities costs has risen by about 15 percent over the past year. He said the company doesn��t have the ability to pass through higher costs to consumers.

��Commodities [are] a significant headwind,�� he said. ��P&G is expected to report its first year of negative pricing in well over a decade as the pricing environment has clearly become more difficult.��

As a result of gross profit margin pressure, Grundy reduced his fiscal year 2019 earnings per share estimate for the company to $4.25 from $4.52 versus the Wall Street consensus of $4.43.

��P&G (as well as other companies in our coverage) does not expect EMs or category growth rates to materially improve in the near-to- intermediate term,�� he said. ��In addition, competitive dynamics, particularly in P&G��s Baby and Grooming businesses (combined ~30% of global profits) will likely remain difficult.��

Procter & Gamble shares are underperforming the market this year. The stock declined 14 percent year to date through Friday compared with the S&P 500's 3 percent gain.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disclaimer

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:TI,GSAT,CGI,TOWR, Earth's mightiest heroes are about to take on a galaxy far, far away for a chance to make box office history this weekend.

Disney (DIS)'s latest Marvel Studios production, "Avengers: Infinity War" opens Thursday night to high box office expectations. The film, which stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chadwick Boseman and Scarlett Johansson is on track for a domestic opening at around $230 million opening, according to industry analysts.

With its massive star power and a storyline that is ten years in the making, "Infinity War" could topple "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to have the biggest domestic opening in history.

"If any film has a shot at beating 'Force Awakens' $248 million opening weekend record, it's 'Infinity War,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore (SCOR). "'The Force Awakens' had a build-up to its release that was decades in the making, but 'Infinity War' has a must-see factor built on the concept of bringing together of an almost unimaginable array of top Marvel characters in one enormous cinematic extravaganza."

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Telecom Italia S.P.A.(TI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Titan Mining Corp (TSE:TI) Director Richard William Warke purchased 13,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of C$1.40 per share, with a total value of C$19,040.00.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  TIM (NYSE: TI) and ORBCOMM (NASDAQ:ORBC) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Max Byerly]

  TIM (NYSE:TI) was downgraded by equities researchers at Berenberg Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Friday, The Fly reports.

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Globalstar Inc.(GSAT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Globalstar Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: GSAT) traded down about 5.9% Monday and posted a new 52-week low of $0.48 after closing Friday at $0.51. The stock’s 52-week high is $2.30. Volume totaled about 4.4 million, about 20% below the daily average of around �5.4 million. The company had no specific news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Globalstar Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: GSAT) traded down about 6% Tuesday and posted a new 52-week low of $0.47 after closing Monday at $0.50. The stock’s 52-week high is $2.30. Volume totaled about 4.3 million, about 20% below the daily average of around �5.4 million. The company had no specific news.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of Globalstar Inc. (NYSEMKT:GSAT) went on a roller coaster ride this morning. The satellite communications specialist's stock bottomed out in a 16% drop just after 10 a.m. EDT, recovering to a less dramatic 7% decline an hour later. The company is the target of a complicated merger deal today, and investors on the open market are not loving the idea.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Thursday morning, the telecommunication services shares rose 1.06 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE: GSAT), up 5 percent, and Partner Communications Company Ltd. (NASDAQ: PTNR) up 4 percent.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Globalstar (NYSEAMERICAN:GSAT) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 13th, there was short interest totalling 86,799,863 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the March 30th total of 81,207,186 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,541,037 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.3 days. Approximately 14.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Globalstar Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: GSAT) traded down about 12.5% Tuesday and posted a new 52-week low of $0.77 after closing Monday at $0.88. The stock’s 52-week high is $2.59. Volume was about 70% above the daily average of around 3.7 million shares. The had no specific news.

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Celadon Group, Inc.(CGI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Scopus Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Celadon Group, Inc. (NYSE:CGI) by 57.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 900,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,218,285 shares during the quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 3.18% of Celadon Group worth $3,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Celadon Group, Inc. (NYSE:CGI) by 26.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,347,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 283,476 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 4.76% of Celadon Group worth $4,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2019: Tower International, Inc.(TOWR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Tower International (NYSE:TOWR) was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Tower International (TOWR)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern’s analysis:

  Get Tower International alerts: Bridging North America will build Gordie Howe International Bridge (windsorstar.com) Woods Bagot Unveils Design of Firm’s First Grade a Office Tower in Manila (dexigner.com) Gordie Howe International Bridge will be longest cable-stayed bridge in North America (clickondetroit.com) China Tower Is Said to Start Gauging Demand for Hong Kong IPO (bloomberg.com) Brokerages Expect Tower International Inc (TOWR) Will Announce Earnings of $1.08 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com)

  TOWR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Tower International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Saturday, May 5th. ValuEngine downgraded Tower International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on Tower International in a research report on Thursday, May 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Tower International Inc (NYSE:TOWR) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.33.

Canadian Utilities Limited Class A (CU) Director Sells C$35,593.25 in Stock

Canadian Utilities Limited Class A (TSE:CU) Director P. Derek Cook sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.11, for a total transaction of C$35,593.25.

Canadian Utilities Limited Class A opened at C$33.49 on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Canadian Utilities Limited Class A has a one year low of C$30.80 and a one year high of C$41.90.

Get Canadian Utilities Limited Class A alerts:

Canadian Utilities Limited Class A (TSE:CU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The company reported C$0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of C$0.74 by C($0.07). Canadian Utilities Limited Class A had a return on equity of 3.91% and a net margin of 5.70%. The company had revenue of C$1.39 billion for the quarter.

A number of research firms have commented on CU. CSFB reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a C$42.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities Limited Class A in a research report on Thursday, March 29th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Canadian Utilities Limited Class A in a research report on Thursday, June 28th. National Bank Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities Limited Class A from C$41.00 to C$38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities Limited Class A from C$39.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th.

About Canadian Utilities Limited Class A

Canadian Utilities Limited engages in the electricity, and pipelines and liquids businesses. It operates through Electricity, Pipelines & Liquids, and Corporate & Other segments. The Electricity segment engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, and wind resources, as well as related infrastructure development in Western Canada, Ontario, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Australia, and Mexico.

Market Penalizes Medical Cannabis Producer Canopy Growth Despite Strong Revenue Growth

&l;p&g;Come October of 2018 and Canada will become one of the few developed countries to legalize recreational marijuana for adult-use. This revolutionary move has not only sent a wave of joy in the people of the country, but has also turned into a massive business opportunity for cannabis manufacturers, who had been restricting their output to only medical use until now. Consequently, pot stocks such as Canopy Growth has seen a surge in its stock price in the last few months, as investors are trying to leverage on the potential upside that the stock can offer. The company also has a partnership whereby &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/companies/constellation-brands/&q;&g;Constellation Brands&l;/a&g; (NYSE: STZ) has a 9.9% stake in the company.

However, the medical marijuana producer witnessed an initial sharp drop in its price after it released its fourth quarter and fiscal 2018 results. The stock plunged more than 10% to CAD 36.93 per share, as the company failed to meet the consensus expectations on both the revenue as well as earnings front. We figure that this is a market over-reaction to the earnings miss and believe that the stock has a huge upside potential with the opening up of the recreational marijuana market in third quarter of fiscal 2019. We have a &l;a href=&q;http://dashboards.trefis.com/no-login-required/8o4SkdRX&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;price estimate of CAD 53 per share for Canopy Growth&l;/a&g;.

You can view our &l;a href=&q;http://dashboards.trefis.com/no-login-required/8o4SkdRX?fromforbesandarticle=market-penalizes-medical-cannabis-producer-canopy-growth-despite-strong-revenue-growth&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;strong&g;Forecast For Canopy Growth interactive dashboard&l;/strong&g;&l;/a&g; and create scenarios to match your assumptions.

&a;nbsp;

&l;strong&g;Key Highlights Of Canopy&a;rsquo;s 2018 Results&l;/strong&g;

&l;/p&g;&l;ul&g;&l;li&g;Canopy Growth generated revenue of CAD 77.9 million for fiscal 2018, representing a growth of 95% on a year-on-year basis. This remarkable rise in revenue was driven by strong volume growth in Canada as well as Germany. Besides, the company witnessed a notable improvement in its pricing during the year, which further bolstered its top-line growth.&l;/li&g;

&l;li&g;In addition to volume and pricing growth, Canopy&a;rsquo;s strategy to launch new products, such as Spectrum Softgels, coupled with its expansion in international markets, such as Africa, Europe, and Australia, strongly complemented its revenue for the year. In fact, we believe that the company&a;rsquo;s plans to extend its presence in international markets will likely drive its top-line in the near term and enable it to become a global leader in the cannabis industry.&l;/li&g;

&l;/ul&g;&l;a href=&q;http://dashboards.trefis.com/no-login-required/8o4SkdRX?fromforbesandarticle=market-penalizes-medical-cannabis-producer-canopy-growth-despite-strong-revenue-growth&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;img class=&q; wp-image-185940 size-full&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/greatspeculations/files/2018/07/WEED-2.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;505&q; data-width=&q;1377&q;&g;&l;/a&g;

&l;ul&g;&l;li&g;Despite a remarkable increase in revenue growth, the company reported a net loss of CAD 70.4 million, CAD 0.40 per share, disappointing the investors. However, the management expects to make profits in third quarter of fiscal 2019, driven by the newly opened recreational marijuana market.&l;/li&g;

&l;li&g;In order to participate and lead the upcoming recreational marijuana market, Canopy has invested heavily in improving and expanding all aspects of its business operations. This involves investment in expanding its production capacity, improving its inventory levels, development of new and innovative products, and allocating a solid budget for the marketing and branding of its products.&l;/li&g;

&l;li&g;Furthermore, the company has secured multi-year supply chain agreements in the Canadian provinces. These include commitments of over 25,000 kg per year in 5 provinces and territories. It has also secured retail licenses in Manitoba, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Saskatchewan.&l;/li&g;

&l;/ul&g;

Based on the company&a;rsquo;s guidance and market trends, our price estimate for &l;a href=&q;http://dashboards.trefis.com/no-login-required/8o4SkdRX&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;&l;strong&g;Canopy Growth is CAD 53 per share&l;/strong&g;&l;/a&g;, based on &l;strong&g;2019 P/S Multiple of 56.2x (industry average).&l;/strong&g;

&a;nbsp;

&l;strong&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/strong&g;

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&l;div&g;What&a;rsquo;s behind Trefis? See How It&a;rsquo;s Powering New Collaboration and What-Ifs&l;/div&g;

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&l;div&g;For &l;b&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.trefis.com/info/trefis-technology&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;CFOs and Finance Teams&l;/a&g;&l;/b&g; | &l;b&g;&l;a href=&q;https://www.trefis.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Product, R&a;amp;D, and Marketing Teams&l;/a&g;&l;/b&g;&l;/div&g;

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&l;div&g;&l;strong&g;&l;a href=&q;http://www.trefis.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;MoreTrefis Research&l;/a&g;&l;/strong&g;&l;/div&g;

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Like our charts? Explore &l;a href=&q;https://dashboards.trefis.com/signupDashboard&q; target=&q;_blank&q; rel=&q;noopener noreferrer&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;example interactive dashboards&l;/a&g; and create your own.

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Darcrus (DAR) Price Reaches $0.0900 on Exchanges

Darcrus (CURRENCY:DAR) traded flat against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 20:00 PM ET on June 23rd. One Darcrus token can currently be purchased for $0.0900 or 0.00001470 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges. In the last seven days, Darcrus has traded down 17.5% against the US dollar. Darcrus has a market capitalization of $1.22 million and approximately $0.00 worth of Darcrus was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get Darcrus alerts: XRP (XRP) traded down 6.7% against the dollar and now trades at $0.52 or 0.00008331 BTC. Ripple (XRP) traded down 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.49 or 0.00007982 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded down 0.9% against the dollar and now trades at $0.20 or 0.00003293 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded down 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0436 or 0.00000712 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded up 1.4% against the dollar and now trades at $1.02 or 0.00016665 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded 0% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00016359 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded up 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $33.73 or 0.00550840 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded 2.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $15.35 or 0.00250668 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded 1.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $2.76 or 0.00045077 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 6.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $5.01 or 0.00081889 BTC.

Darcrus Profile

Darcrus’ genesis date was December 12th, 2016. Darcrus’ total supply is 13,600,388 tokens. Darcrus’ official Twitter account is @darcrus. The official website for Darcrus is darcr.us.

Darcrus Token Trading

Darcrus can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: Waves Decentralized Exchange. It is usually not presently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Darcrus directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Darcrus should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, GDAX or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Darcrus using one of the exchanges listed above.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:AMGN,ALNY,ARQL,BIIB,

Investing in biotech and pharmaceuticals is always a bit of a wild card. The industry is often at the mercy of government regulators, and a clinical trial can always present unexpected challenges. When biotech and pharma stocks hit it big, however, it��s big news that often yields big returns. A lesser promoted biotech sector is the medical devices arena, which is hardly as sexy and fun to watch, and rarely receives the same sound-bite press coverage, but nonetheless can offer premium investment opportunities.

A case in point is Ventripoint Diagnostics Ltd. (OTCMKTS:VPTDF), the Toronto based company that recently received approval from Health Canada for its VMS-Plus �� heart imagining and diagnostic device. Following the announcement of Health Canada��s approval letter, Ventripoint shares rose almost 600% from $0.10 to $0.69.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall to 9.79 million shares from the previous level of 10.46 million. Shares were last seen at $170.00, in a 52-week trading range of $152.16 to $201.23.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2,737.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Field & Main Bank grew its stake in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By ]

  Celgene (CELG) : "I'd rather buy Amgen (AMGN) or Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) . I think Celgene overpaid for that acquisition a few years ago."

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Investors sold shares of Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) on strength during trading hours on Thursday. $63.15 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $134.51 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $71.36 million out of the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Amgen had the 0th highest net out-flow for the day. Amgen traded up $2.11 for the day and closed at $185.79

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

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

• [By Keith Speights]

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

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

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

• [By Keith Speights]

  It's not exactly David vs. Goliath. However, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BLCM) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) are definitely in different leagues right now. Both are clinical-stage biotechs, but Bellicum's market cap is less than $350 million while Alnylam's market cap is close to $10 billion.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL) Director Ronald M. Lindsay acquired 23,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.67 per share, for a total transaction of $63,813.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,213. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

  A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ARQL. Roth Capital upped their price target on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Zacks Investment Research lowered ArQule from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. ValuEngine upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, B. Riley set a $4.00 price target on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $4.69.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine downgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

  Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.75 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 8th. B. Riley set a $4.00 target price on shares of ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 26th. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Swann upgraded shares of ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $5.35.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $5.00. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 134.38% from the company’s previous close.

Top Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shannon Jones]

  In this week's episode of Industry Focus: Healthcare, host Michael Douglass and Motley Fool contributor Shannon Jones look at what went wrong with Incyte's Epacadostat, where the company can go from here, and what this unfortunately means for the immuno-oncology sector on the whole. Then, in more pleasant news, the hosts dive into Novartis' (NYSE:NVS) newest acquisition of gene therapy company AveXis. Find out what this means for Novartis, why Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)�might be getting the stink eye from their investors right about now, whether or not Novartis overpaid to tuck this company under their belt, and more.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 3.86 million shares from the previous 3.45 million. The stock recently traded at $287.00, within a 52-week range of $244.28 to $370.57.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) shares took off after updated data from a trial evaluating�risdiplam suggested it could mount a stiff challenge to�Biogen's (NASDAQ:BIIB)�and Ionis Pharmaceuticals'�(NASDAQ:IONS)�Spinraza�for the treatment of� spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare and life-threatening genetic disease. The data is solid, but a one-and-done SMA treatment is already in late-stage studies at Novartis' (NYSE:NVS), and that therapy could become available as soon as 2019.�

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Wall Street continued its downward streak on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 100 points. Most major benchmarks fell more modestly, with a few actually poking into positive territory on the day. Trade-sensitive stocks were among the weakest as investors focused on uncertainty related to tariff disputes between the U.S. and China. But for some other companies, bad news of a different sort was responsible for the drops in their shares. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB), Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE), and Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ:CBIO) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Analysts at Canaccord Genuity upgraded Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) from Hold to Buy.

  Biogen shares rose 2.55 percent to close at $294.40 on Tuesday.

India Seeks `Responsible' OPEC Decision as Vienna Tensions Mount

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:49 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, expects a “responsible” approach from its suppliers as speculation mounts over whether OPEC and its allies will reach a deal to boost output at a meeting in Vienna this week.

India welcomes a proposal made by top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia to gradually ease the group’s supply curbs after prices rose to hit $80 a barrel last month, the South Asian nation’s oil minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said in an interview at the Austrian capital. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is heading into a contentious meeting on Friday, with Iran promising to block any decision to increase output.

“High prices are pinching our economy, pinching our country,” Pradhan said. “I think our supplying friends have taken notice of that.” India believes that $55 to $60 a barrel is a reasonable price level for now, he said. Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, was trading near $75 a barrel on Wednesday.

For more on how rising oil is hurting India, click here

India and China are considering teaming up to buy U.S. supplies and counter OPEC’s dominance in the world’s biggest oil market. The two nations want to put pressure on the producer group to keep prices under control, an Indian government official said earlier this month.

Separately, the South Asian country also plans to seek exemptions to continue Iranian oil imports and make payments for purchases after America decided to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Pradhan didn’t say if India plans cuts in Iranian purchases. The nation, which relies on imports for almost 80 percent of its oil needs, is diversified in terms of supplies, with cargoes coming from the Middle East, Latin America and the U.S., he said.

“Due to our relationship with different stakeholders, we’re confident we don’t have to face any situation of scarcity,” Pradhan said.

Buy Music Broadcast; target of Rs 450: Dolat Capital

Dolat Capital's research report on Music Broadcast

MBL reports revenue growth of 14.1% YoY led by Phase III stations in terms of volume and by legacy stations in terms of yields. EBITDA margin improved 1100bps YoY to 36.0% is also helped by better collection as no provision for RDD had a positive impact of 200 bps on the margin; balance of the margin improvement (+900bps) was due to absence of losses/launch expenses of new stations.

Outlook

We believe higher ad. spends due to elections, introduction of MRUC rating and lower threat from digital vs other segments of media are some of the key triggers for performance of radio. We maintain our BUY recommendation and rollover to Jun��19 TP of ` 450 based on 17x one yr. fwd. EV/EBITDA.

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 03:47 pm

Judge Raises Prospect of Hearing on FBI Leaks in Gambler Appeal

A federal appeals judge raised the prospect of ordering a hearing to consider the impact FBI leaks had on the insider-trading trial of a Las Vegas gambler.

"Why shouldn’t there be an evidentiary hearing?" Judge Denny Chin asked in Billy Walters’s appeal of his conviction, for which he’s serving five years.

Walters claims FBI leaks ahead of his trial tainted the case and created evidence for the government. The trial judge rejected Walters’s request for a hearing, which could include witness testimony and production of government emails, but ordered the U.S. to give him quarterly updates on a Justice Department investigation of the leaks. Last month the judge said he could appoint a special attorney to investigate the leaks if he’s not satisfied with the progress of the government probe.

Prosecutor Brooke Cucinella told the appeals panel a new hearing isn’t necessary because David Chaves, a former supervisory agent with the FBI who admitted being a source of leaks, is being investigated by the Justice Department’s office of Professional Responsibility and its Office of Inspector General.

"The Office of Inspector General seems to have his hands full," Judge Dennis Jacobs quipped, referring to investigations that office is also conducting into whether an FBI had an "informant" who targeted members of Trump’s 2016 campaign as well as a separate probe into federal law enforcement’s handling of the Hillary Clinton emails investigation.

The judges didn’t immediately rule on Walters’s appeal.

Among those attending the appeals court hearing was John Dowd, who most recently represented President Donald Trump. Dowd said he was there to show support for Walters. He had also complained about how FBI leaks tainted the insider-trading prosecution of his client, hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam.

Vegas Gambler in Insider Case Echoes Trump Attacks on FBI Leaks

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Five Reasons Why Global Investors Should Be Investing In China A-Shares

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg wp-image-38469827 size-large&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/38469827/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Bloomberg

&l;span&g;MSCI Inc.&s;s inclusion of A-shares in its influential emerging markets index is expected to steer RMB400 billion of foreign inflows into the Mainland China A-share market over the next five to 10 years. &l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;But the prospect of generous inflows inspired by this significant milestone in the growth of Mainland China&a;rsquo;s capital markets isn&a;rsquo;t the only reason why global investors should be investing in A-shares.&l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;For one, &l;strong&g;valuations look attractive&l;/strong&g;. Specifically, the 234 A-shares that are set to be included in MSCI&a;rsquo;s emerging markets index on June 1 on average trade at 11 times 2018 earnings against expected earnings growth of 15.9% this year. Putting things in context against the rest of Asia, only South Korea trades at a lower price-to-earnings multiple, while only India is expected to deliver a higher pace of earnings growth. Moreover, the 11 times 2018 earnings at which the 234 A-shares trade is also markedly lower than the 17 times earnings commanded by U.S. stocks.&l;/span&g;

&l;span&g;Importantly, &l;strong&g;A-shares also offer ample diversification benefits to global investors&l;/strong&g;. The historical average correlation between U.S. stocks and Mainland China A-shares is only 11%, which is even lower than the 32% for Hong Kong stocks. Additionally, the A-share market provides a very broad universe of stocks for investors to capture China&a;rsquo;s growth and economic trends. Its total market capitalization of $8.75 trillion is the second largest in the world. There are also a number of unique sectors that can only be accessed through the A-share market such as baijiu (or white liquor), home appliances and traditional Chinese medicine.&l;/span&g;

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-50&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/valuepartners/files/2018/05/Correlation-A-shares-and-SP500.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;510&q; data-width=&q;804&q;&g; The historical average correlation between U.S. stocks and Mainland China A-shares is only 11%.

&l;span style=&q;font-weight: normal !msorm&q;&g;&l;strong&g;Market inefficiency in&l;/strong&g;&l;/span&g;&l;strong&g; the A-share&l;span style=&q;font-weight: normal !msorm&q;&g; market &l;/span&g;offers&l;span style=&q;font-weight: normal !msorm&q;&g; a source of alpha for investors&l;/span&g;&l;/strong&g; &a;ndash; but meticulous on-the-ground research and disciplined stock picking are essential. Retail investors accounted for 86% of total market trading volume in 2016, according to data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The level is more than double the 35% retail investor participation rate for the Hong Kong stock market. Low participation by institutional investors and even lower participation by quant investors mean there is greater mispricing in the A-share market compared to more mature markets. And greater mispricing means there is more room for portfolio managers to generate alpha through disciplined bottom-up stock picking. As a long-time investor of A-shares, we established an office in Shanghai in 2009 to conduct the meticulous on-the-ground research that&a;rsquo;s paramount to successful stock picking in the A-share market.

&l;img class=&q;size-full wp-image-51&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/valuepartners/files/2018/05/Retail-Participation.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;510&q; data-width=&q;786&q;&g; Retail investors account for a massive 86% of turnover on the Mainland China A-share market.

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

The A-share market is less concentrated in large cap stocks compared to the U.S. stock market. While the top decile of companies by market cap account for 75% of the total market cap of the U.S. stock market, the level is only 59% for the A-share market. But despite their prevalence, small-cap and growth stocks command unparalleled popularity and generous valuation premiums to large cap stocks in the A-share market due to the high retail participation rate. As a result, large cap stocks tend to trade at a relative discount and present a &l;strong&g;good hunting ground of quality stocks for value investors&l;/strong&g;.

&l;span&g;Finally&l;/span&g;, the start of the initial round of A-share inclusion this week, while no doubt symbolically significant, marks&l;strong&g; only the beginning of the internationalization of the A-share market&l;/strong&g;. While A-shares are expected to account for only 0.9% of the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index by the end of the initial phase of inclusion taking place this week and in September, their weighting is set to increase substantially over time. A-shares could account for more than 18% of the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index if MSCI eventually includes more stocks and increases the weighting of A-shares to full weighting from the 5% partial inclusion weighting adopted for the initial phase. And that could translate to between RMB200 billion to RMB400 billion of inflows into A-shares over the next five to 10 years.

&l;strong&g;&l;em&g;Disclaimer:&a;nbsp;&l;/em&g;&l;/strong&g;&l;em&g;The views expressed are the views of Value Partners Hong Kong Limited only and are subject to change based on market and other conditions. The information provided does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. All materials have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. This material contains certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. Please note that any such statements are not guarantees of any future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected.&l;/em&g;&l;/p&g;

World's Top Oil Trader Says No One Will Avoid Iran Sanctions

The world’s top oil trader said it will be near impossible to avoid U.S. sanctions on Iran, suggesting Donald Trump’s attack on OPEC’s third-largest producer may have a bigger impact on the global crude market than many anticipate.

“For us it’s a real challenge,” Vitol Group Chairman Ian Taylor said on Friday at the St. Petersburg Economic forum, adding there are unanswered questions about Europe’s response, and whether the European Central Bank will “stand up” to Trump’s measures. "I personally think none of us will be able to get around it.”

#lazy-img-328057988:before{padding-top:66.68334167083543%;}

Ian Taylor

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

President Donald Trump said May 8 he was withdrawing the U.S. from an international pact on Iran’s nuclear program and reimposing sanctions that will force other nations to cut purchases. So far, there’s been little clarity about how his actions will impact the oil market because there’s less international support than last time. In particular, it’s been unclear by how much European refineries will cut purchases, if at all.

In the prior sanctions, which ran from 2012 to 2016, a handful of mostly Asian countries carried on purchasing but had to show the U.S. that they were lowering imports to avoid their banks losing access to America’s financial system. European purchasers all withdrew.

Taylor’s comments echo recent remarks by some of the world’s biggest oil companies and traders. Total SA CEO Patrick Pouyanne said nobody can have “any illusions” about European companies being exempt from U.S. sanctions. Bob Dudley, his counterpart at BP Plc, said his company won’t test the waters when it comes to Iran sanctions.

This time around, Europe is pushing back against Trump’s sanctions, raising the question about whether the bloc will organize a way for imports to continue. That would require a workaround in the financial market, and probably some new means of insuring tankers bringing cargoes from the Islamic Republic.

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Fluor Co. (FLR) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.69 Per Share

Wall Street analysts expect Fluor Co. (NYSE:FLR) to report earnings per share of $0.69 for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Four analysts have provided estimates for Fluor’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is $0.71 and the lowest is $0.67. Fluor posted earnings of $0.72 per share in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year over year growth rate of 4.2%. The business is scheduled to announce its next earnings report on Thursday, August 2nd.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Fluor will report full year earnings of $2.17 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.10 to $2.30. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the company will post earnings of $3.37 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.10 to $3.57. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of research analysts that cover Fluor.

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Fluor (NYSE:FLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The construction company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.25). Fluor had a net margin of 0.58% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FLR shares. ValuEngine upgraded Fluor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. Citigroup set a $69.00 target price on Fluor and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 4th. Vertical Research lowered Fluor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 4th. Barclays set a $60.00 target price on Fluor and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Fluor from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.07.

Fluor opened at $50.13 on Friday, according to Marketbeat. Fluor has a 12 month low of $37.03 and a 12 month high of $62.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Fluor’s payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

In other Fluor news, insider Robin K. Chopra sold 5,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total value of $319,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carlos M. Hernandez sold 30,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.25, for a total value of $1,762,470.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 121,218 shares of company stock worth $6,953,603. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Beacon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Fluor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fluor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $135,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fluor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fluor in the first quarter worth approximately $184,000. Finally, Comerica Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fluor in the first quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.69% of the company’s stock.

About Fluor

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, fabrication and modularization, commissioning and maintenance, and project management services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Energy, Chemicals & Mining; Industrial, Infrastructure & Power; Diversified Services; and Government.

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Upcoming Earnings: Target To Report Q1 Results Wednesday

Investors will likely get an update on Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) progress in what the company has called a “transition year” when it reports first-quarter earnings before market open on Wednesday, May 23.

In early 2017, TGT executives laid out their strategy to address customers’ evolving shopping habits. The plan largely centered around improving its digital experience, launching more exclusive brands, and remodeling existing stores and opening small-format locations.

Even though the company’s remodeling efforts are still in their early stages, there have been some analysts that have noted the company’s progress and think it has improved customer’s overall shopping experience, although there’s still uncertainty if it has started to impact the business in a meaningful way.

In Q4 2017, TGT’s comparable sales grew 3.6 percent year over year, and management said it expects comp sales growth in the low-single digits in 2018. On average, analysts are forecasting 2.8 percent year-over-year comp sales growth for Q1 2018.

Lately, the company has taken several steps aimed at improving its supply chain and digital capabilities. After acquiring same-day delivery company Shipt for $550 million in December 2017, TGT said it would roll out same-day delivery to half of its locations in early 2018 and in a majority of its stores by the 2018 holiday season.

In addition to offering same-day delivery in more markets, TGT has taken other steps to expand its fulfillment options. When it last reported, the company said it plans to increase the number of stores that offer Drive Up, which allows customers to have orders brought out to their car when they pull up to the store, from 50 to about 1,000 by the end of 2018.

Several analysts have been optimistic these steps will help bolster the company’s e-commerce growth. TGT’s digital channel sales were up 29 percent year over year in Q4 2017. At the same time, however, management has cautioned profit margins will be pressured by the rollout of new fulfillment options. 

Earnings and Revenue

TGT is expected to report adjusted EPS of $1.38, up from $1.21 in the prior-year quarter, on revenue of $16.57 billion, according to third-party consensus analyst estimates. Revenue is projected to grow 3.4 percent year over year.

When it last reported, TGT beat revenue estimates, but it missed on earnings and management’s earnings guidance was weaker than what analysts were expecting. Management said it expects adjusted EPS of $1.25 to $1.45 in Q1 and $5.15 to $5.45 for the full year.

Trading Activity

Around the upcoming earnings release, the options market has priced in about a 4.3 percent stock price move in either direction according to the Market Maker Move indicator on the thinkorswim® platform. Implied volatility was at the 39th percentile as of this morning. 

TARGET 2018 STOCK CHART. TGT bumped up against the mid-to-high $78 level twice early on in the year. After the second time hitting it at the end of February, the stock pulled back and had been trading in a narrower range from early March to early May. The stock has been rising leading up to the report and has been trading closer to its 2018 high of $78.70. Chart source: thinkorswim® by TD Ameritrade.  Not a recommendation. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

In short-term trading at the May 25 weekly expiration, call activity has been concentrated at the 77.5 and 78 strike prices, while put activity has been concentrated at the 75 strike. Looking at the June 15 monthly expiration, recent trading has been heavier at the 77.5 and 80 strikes on the call side, and again at the 75 strike on the put side.

Note: Call options represent the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time. Put options represent the right, but not the obligation to sell the underlying security at a predetermined price over a set period of time.

What’s Coming Up

Earnings season continues to wind down, with mostly retail and a few smaller tech companies reporting this week.

Consider keeping an eye on the FOMC minutes from the Fed’s May 1-2 meeting, scheduled for release at 2:00PM on Wednesday, the same day as TGT’s report.

The next Fed meeting is coming up on June 12-13. The futures market is currently predicting a 100 percent chance of a rate hike at that meeting, and about a 50-50 chance of four rate hikes this year. If you have time, check out today’s market update for a look at what else is going on across markets.

Information from TDA is not intended to be investment advice or construed as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular investment or investment strategy, and is for illustrative purposes only. Be sure to understand all risks involved with each strategy, including commission costs, before attempting to place any trade.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals: Worth At Least $30

When investors look back at the history of Valeant Pharmaceuticals�� (VRX) turnaround, they will remember May 8, 2018. Management��s earnings call for the first quarter is an inflection point for the company as the company builds on revenue growth and higher profits. The company has three catalysts that will lead the stock to a minimum $30 share price. That is, a forward P/E multiple of at least 8 times on sales growth of between 15 �� 20 percent, annually.

1) Management

Valeant��s new management team is suited to lead the company through the transformation process. It is not run by managers who mislead investors through deceptive earnings numbers during the quarterly conference call. The company has 20,000 dedicated staff that is working hard to reinvigorate drug sales growth. More specifically, the company appointed Mark McKenna from B+L to lead the Salix sales team. I previously noted the need for Salix having strong leadership in this area, and McKenna did not disappoint. The executive restructured the sales team to drive XIFAXAN sales, a drug indication for IBS-D. Before that, Salix suffered from high turnover. Moreover, Salix was not calling on primary care physicians to prescribe the drug to patients. With this new leadership, staff turnover slowed and the sales force successfully boosted XIFAXAN prescriptions up 7 percent year-on-year in the first 13 weeks of 2018.

In the first quarter, Salix grew revenue by 10 percent organically over last year. Bausch + Lomb��s revenue also grew 10 percent. The growth is attributed to strength in the Global Vision Care, International Prescription, and Global Surgical units. As shown in the slide below, Valeant��s top-10 products grew by over 20 percent year-on-year:

Source: Valeant Pharmaceuticals

The revenue potential for the drug does not end there. Salix will invest in studying new indications and new formulations of rifaximin. Further, the company enrolled over 300 patients for a Phase 2 study for treating acute overt hepatic encephalopathy.

2) Product Line-up

Thanks to a rejuvenated sales force, XIFAXAN will continue to drive Salix��s turnaround. Plus, chances are good that Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), through its acquisition of Actavis, will not have an approvable XIFAXAN ANDA. The strong patent protection and intellectual property position ensure Valeant will enjoy profit growth from sales through 2029.

VRX data by YCharts

Above, quarterly earnings report gave both TEVA and VRX stock a lift.

3) New Products

The 44 percent Y/Y growth in prescriptions for Relistor imply meaningful demand ahead for the product. In dermatology, SILIQ is a clear potential for contributing to growth but management is not breaking down sales numbers at the quarterly level. Unfortunately, despite the competitive pricing, SILIQ is likely lagging in sales due to the black box labeling. As a biologic, the drug must be injected (210mg/1.5ml in a single-dose, prefilled syringe). By comparison, patients on Regeneron��s (REGN) Dupixent take an injectable 300mg dose.

Psoriasis suffers are most accustomed to topical ointments. Currently, steroid ointments are taken for no more than two weeks at a time and do not need needles. So, Valeant��s DUOBRII, an ointment-based drug, is another psoriasis drug that could give the company meaningful sales growth. The PDUFA date is coming up next month. BRYHALI, another drug for psoriasis patients, has an October 5 PDUFA date. Both events could give VRX stock a boost. Valeant stock closed at $22.14, a level not seen since the start of the year.

Valuation and Takeaway

While the average price target on Valeant��s stock is $17.12, well below the $22 closing price, value investors should perform their own number crunching in a finbox.io model to arrive at a fair value. Assuming revenue growth picks up in FY 2020 through to FY 2022 in the range of 0 �� 5 percent. Annual revenue would be between $8 billion - $9 billion:

Source: finbox.io (click on the link to enter assumptions)

Assuming a steep discount at between 10 �� 12.5 percent, VRX stock would have a fair value of around $30 a share. Valeant, or (under its new name in July) Bausch Health Companies Inc., clearly has upside higher than that. But just as Teva is deeply undervalued at 7.6 times forward P/E and trading at $21 a share, Valeant��s fair value will rise as the company rolls out new products and continues reporting a strong quarter. Q1 is only a start and investors holding the stock will grow accustomed to strong results ahead. With that, I will raise my $30 price target accordingly.

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Coverage on Valeant stock began in 2015 (as a 'sell'). The stock was added as an investment for DIY Value Investing marketplace members.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in TEVA, VRX, REGN over the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.