tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37321627075078427682024-03-08T16:49:37.510-08:00Top Stocks To BuyTop Stocks To BuyKang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.comBlogger336125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-61650934044462114882019-04-02T06:53:00.000-07:002019-04-02T06:54:07.512-07:00Suzy Welch on managing your money: 'Hope is not a strategy' <p>People need to start talking about money if they want to make good financial decisions, management expert Suzy Welch told CNBC on Monday.</p> <p>According to a new CNBC Invest In You and Acorns Savings Survey, 57 percent of Americans are more confident about their ability to save, yet more than a third said they don't make enough money to meet their needs and put money aside. Of those surveyed, 27 percent said they almost never discuss personal finances with their family.</p> <p>"People are not having conversations about money and what they should do to plan for the time when they are going to have a financial emergency — because you are going to have one," said Welch, an author and CNBC contributor.</p> <p>"Hope is not a strategy when it comes to managing your money."</p> <p>Getting it right is important, especially if you are among the vast majority of Americans who manage their own money. According to the survey, 75 percent do so. For younger people, that number is higher: 82 percent of millennials said they don't get help managing their finances.</p> <p>That's why financial planning should start early. As a parent, you can talk to your kids about money — even if they don't want to.</p> <p>"It takes a special young person to say, 'I'm going to save. I'm going to figure out what investing even means,'" Welch said on "Power Lunch." "You can figure out a way to save and have a financial plan for yourself."</p> <p>Once young adults head off to work, they may not hire someone to manage their money or put aside savings for retirement because they aren't making a lot of money. However, while they may think that's OK, the opposite is true, she pointed out.</p> <p>"The less money you have, the more careful you actually have to be with it," she said. "People really start saving and setting aside when they get in their 40s and 50s, when retirement is coming at them like a locomotive, and it's usually pretty late in the game for that to be happening."</p> <p>If hiring help is out of reach or you just want to sort out your finances on your own, there are a number of resources available online. That includes things like budget and bill trackers, as well as online inflation calculators that help you anticipate the value of money in years to come.</p> <p>The survey, which polled 2,381 adults about their financial wellness, was conducted for CNBC by SurveyMonkey in March.</p> <p>Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-3219036683855898322019-03-26T19:36:00.000-07:002019-03-26T19:37:08.188-07:00Mark Mobius: A different outcome in Mueller report could've emboldened China <p>The Chinese government would have taken a tougher stance on trade with the U.S. if it thought Robert Mueller's investigation was any real risk to Donald Trump's presidency, veteran fund manager Mark Mobius told CNBC on Monday.</p> <p>China "probably has done all the numbers and they realize it would be very difficult to impeach the president," the co-founder of Mobius Capital Partners said on "Squawk Box."</p> <p>"If there was a possibility of him being impeached, then of course there would be a different situation" on trade.</p> <p>Attorney General William Barr on Sunday released a summary of Mueller's findings in the Russia investigation and Trump's 2016 campaign. Barr said Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to establish that Trump committed obstruction of justice, or that his campaign coordinated with Russia's efforts to influence the election. U.S. stock futures initially rose after the news but struggled during Monday's session to hold those gains.</p> <p>The conclusion of Muller's investigation lifts a cloud that has loomed over Trump's presidency. In response to the findings, Trump took a victory lap on Twitter, saying, "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"</p> <p>Barr specifically noted that Mueller did not exonerate Trump.</p> <p>Mueller's report comes amid a high stakes economic battle between China and the U.S., which initially centered on the American trade deficit with China.</p> <p>The White House said the president is sending U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Beijing on Thursday to continue U.S. talks with China as the two sides approach the finish line on a deal.</p> <p>Mobius, who has more than four decades of experience in emerging markets, said he doesn't expect Mueller's findings to have an impact on Trump. Mobius has previous said he agreed with Trump "completely" when it comes to China and its trade deficit with the U.S.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-43554904974144863732019-03-19T01:49:00.000-07:002019-03-19T01:51:01.714-07:00For GE's Larry Culp, it's all about the art of managing expectations <p>General Electric Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp had a lot on his plate during the company's 2019 outlook presentation on Thursday.</p> <p>Once the biggest public company in the United States, GE has shed more than $200 billion of market value since 2017. Its stock was booted from the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average last year, and its accounting is under federal investigation. The formerly sprawling industrial giant is being dismantled piece by piece.</p> <p>For Culp, with billions of dollars and the fate of an American crown jewel in his hands, managing investor expectations is at the top of his priority list. And it looks like it's starting to work.</p> <p>Culp, on the job less than six months, has to try and win back the confidence of GE shareholders and employees and calm its detractors, and the numbers aren't helping. On Thursday, he projected 2019 earnings per share would come in between 50 cents and 60 cents, below the 70 cents Wall Street had expected. He also put details on a prediction he made last week: GE's cash flow this year will either be unchanged or or turn negative by as much as $2 billion.</p> <p>But Thursday morning selling in GE shares was contained. Nobody panicked. In fact, the stock ticked lower in premarket trading but then shot back into positive territory, up 4 percent at mid-morning and adding to a 10 percent gain since last week.</p> <p>Culp's step-by-step effort to keep shareholders in the loop, disclosing just as much information as he can without setting the bar too high, appears to have soothed some nerves and softened stock fluctuations. On every call he makes, there are so many constituencies," said RBC's General Electric analyst Deane Dray. "It's the investment community and it's all the internal – the employees – he needs to make sure he wins their hearts and minds, instill confidence."</p> <p>"You can hear it in his voice," Dray said.</p> 'We have work to do' <p>Culp took over as CEO on Oct. 1 with a long to-do list he is slowly checking off. GE recently announced the spin-off of its 111-year-old rail business as well as a sale of part of its stake in oilfield services firm Baker Hughes.</p> <p>Culp's track record as CEO of the science and technology conglomerate Danaher, where he more than quintupled market value and revenue over a decade, was supposed to give investors hope, but some remain unconvinced. GE is a much larger company, with revenue north of $120 billion and almost five times as many employees.</p> <p>Those with any meaningful financial stake in General Electric have likely been following headlines about its cash flow, a term used by analysts to describe any money left over after a company has paid for its normal operations. To the dismay of some investors, Culp on Thursday projected the company could burn as much as $2 billion more in cash than it makes this year.</p> <p>But the situation is expected to improve next year. "We have work to do in 2019, but we expect 2020 and 2021 performance to be significantly better," Culp said in a press release. Challenges should diminish, he added, and operational improvements should yield financial results.</p> <p>The relative calm in the stock after the disclosure could be because Culp had already prepared investors by saying last week the number would be negative, without specifics.</p> <p><img src="https://fm-static.cnbc.com/awsmedia/chart/2019/2/14/export-CRYBW.1552566123803.png" class="inlineChart"></img></p> <p>"That's the hard part," said RBC's Dray, who has a buy rating on GE shares. "Everyone wants to hear all the specifics right then and there." Instead, on the third and fourth quarter earnings calls, Culp "was trying to sensitively explain and give a road map when he clearly did not have all the specifics yet."</p> <p>And remember: Culp and Dray are talking about estimates here. Investors will have to wait to see if 2019 cash is, in fact, negative.</p> <p>The forecast that cash flow would turn positive in 2020 and pick up more momentum in 2021 "is the biggest positive disclosure, in our view," Dray said in a note to clients.</p> Not far from the tree <p>Culp's ability to manage expectations is far from unique.</p> <p>There is perhaps no CEO better equipped or better practiced at managing steep investor expectations than Apple's Tim Cook. Between a devout customer base, a hard-to-please investor pool and a one-of-a-kind predecessor, Cook had his work cut out for him on Day One in 2011. And it hasn't gotten any easier.</p> <p>Fears of plateauing smartphone sales appeared to peak on Jan. 2, when Apple lowered its first-quarter sales guidance, citing softer demand in China. Specifically, Cook et al. said Apple's revenue would be closer to $84 billion, down from the $89 billion to $93 billion it previously projected.</p> <p>"If you look at our results, our shortfall is over 100 percent from iPhone and it's primarily in greater China," Cook told CNBC at the time. "It's clear that the economy began to slow there for the second half and what I believe to be the case is the trade tensions between the United States and China put additional pressure on their economy."</p> <p>Despite the fact that Apple had topped Wall Street profit estimates in 19 of the last 20 quarters, shares sank nearly 10 percent the day after the disclosure and drew a deluge of worrisome analyst notes. Analysts from Jefferies and Macquarie each threw in the towel and downgraded the stock to a neutral rating from buy.</p> <p>"Biggest miss in years," Jefferies said in a note to investors.</p> <p>"The bottom line is that we are late (obviously), but we can no longer recommend Apple," Macquarie added.</p> <p>Oppenheimer said Apple's announcement "raises more questions than answers."</p> <p>Almost predictably, Apple reported both a profit and sales that were better than expected a month later, and its stock remains more than 25 percent above its Jan. 3 close.</p> <p>In fact, annual revenue under Cook has more than doubled in his eight years at the helm and earnings per share have tripled. Apple's cash hoard has ballooned to $245 billion as management eases the company toward a recurring, service-based model, opening the door to M&A and other strategic moves.</p> <p>The point is that it's actually easy to overlook the success Cook and Apple have had over the past several years by fixating on current iPhone sales trends, a short-term view that billionaire value investor and Apple stakeholder Warren Buffett has repeatedly criticized.</p> <p>The "Oracle of Omaha," who actually owned GE preferred stock during the financial crisis, has for decades touted a strategy of buying no-nonsense stocks and long-term investments in favor of trying to time the market based on short-term outlooks. Instead, he's focused on long-term fundamentals: whether or not Apple or General Electric equity looks cheap over a five- or 10-year horizon.</p> <p>"The idea that you're going to spend loads of time trying to guess how many iPhone Xs ... are going to be sold in a three-month period totally misses the point," Buffett said in a "Squawk Box " interview last year. "</p> <p>"Nobody buys a farm based on whether they think it's going to rain next year," he added.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-29345028611046262352019-03-17T13:54:00.000-07:002019-03-17T13:55:33.964-07:00Cramer: The disrupters have been the biggest winners — Kraft Heinz take note <p>Innovative companies have been some of the biggest winners when the stock market rises and it's a theme that established names should take note of, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Wednesday.</p> <p>All of the major markets made gains during the session—the Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 148 points, the S&P 500 increased 0.7 percent to top 2,800, the Nasdaq closed up 0.7 percent—powered by the tech and semiconductor sectors.</p> <p>Facebook, Google-parent Alphabet, and Amazon with their targeted ads have disrupted traditional advertising and ad-supported media, which is getting behind subscription models and paywalls, Cramer said. Financial technology stocks like Visa, PayPal, and Square, among others, are changing the way people bank and manage their money, he added.</p> <p>"Trying to reinvent your business has its risks, but standing still may be an even dicier proposition," the "Mad Money" host said. "You either disrupt or you get disrupted—the companies that do nothing have the stocks that should be sold."</p> <p>Cramer also pointed to the health care sector where DexCom and Tandem Diabetes have products that have transformed diabetes treatment, changing the insulin pump market once dominated by Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson.</p> <p>The companies that don't disrupt themselves first end up like Kraft Heinz, Cramer said. Their stock price tumbled just shy of 25 percent in 2019 and more than 50 percent in the past year. Kraft Heinz could end up like Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Kellogg, and Dean Foods if it doesn't make moves, he said.</p> <p>Cramer recommended that the household food and beverage brand should follow the lead of famed activist investor Nelson Peltz, who sits on Procter & Gamble's board and once sat on that of Kraft Heinz. Peltz joined Aurora Cannabis as astrategic advisor on Wednesday and said he thinks the company is "poised to go to the next level across a range of industry verticals." The pot stock closed the session nearly 14 percent higher.</p> <p>The host thinks cannabis could disrupt the opioid drugs, animal health, tobacco and even alcohol industries. Companies like Altria and Constellation Brands have already jumped in the marijuana game, he noted.</p> <p>"That's why I think Kraft Heinz needs to move quickly. It's urgent that they sell Maxwell House and Breakstone's sour cream and cottage cheese, then take the money and move aggressively into cannabis," Cramer said. "That would prove, without a doubt, that Kraft Heinz is a growth company with a forward-looking agenda."</p> <p>"Sometimes, companies need to be willing to totally reinvent themselves if they want to stay relevant or even just stay in the game," he said. "You either bite the bullet and disrupt your whole industry or you get disrupted and … end up like roadkill."</p> <p>Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, PayPal, and Johnson & Johnson.</p> <p>Questions for Cramer?<br> Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC</p><p>Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!<br> Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram</p><p>Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-41699831041504037772019-03-16T07:43:00.000-07:002019-03-16T07:44:52.503-07:00No One Is Afraid of Slowing Growth at Momo <p>Revenue growth continues to decelerate at Momo (NASDAQ:MOMO), but it's hard to be disappointed by a 50% top-line gain. The Chinese social video and online dating specialist posted fourth-quarter results on Tuesday morning, landing comfortably ahead of its earlier guidance. </p> <p>Net revenue climbed 50% to hit a record $559.1 million. It's the seventh time over the past eight quarters that the pace of the top-line increase has slowed at Momo, though it's not much of a slide compared to the 51% revenue uptick last time out. The dot-com speedster was only targeting growth of 43% to 47% at the time of its third-quarter report.</p> <img alt="Reception desk at Momo." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F515973%2Fmomohq.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Momo.</p> Internet thrilled the video star <p>Once again, we see live video as the top driver at Momo, contributing 77% of the revenue for the quarter. The segment's top-line showing increased 36% for the period. Momo's value-added services business -- including membership subscription and virtual gift revenues -- is growing even faster, soaring 272% (and now accounting for 19% of the revenue mix). There were declines in its mobile gaming and mobile marketing segments, but they have never been needle movers here.</p> <p>Momo's popularity continues to grow. There were 113.3 million monthly active users in December, up from 110.5 just three months earlier and 94.4 million a year earlier. Momo is also doing a good job of getting a larger percentage of its users to pay up for premium services, and the revenue per paying user is also on the rise. </p> <p>Unfortunately, costs are growing even faster than revenue and user counts. Adjusted earnings rose just 22% -- as it did back in the third quarter -- to hit $0.59 a share, but most investors were bracing for slower growth.</p> <p>The deceleration will continue. Momo's initiated guidance calls for just 28% to 32% in revenue growth for the current quarter. </p> <p>Momo has been a volatile stock in recent years, but it's been a winner more often than not during earnings season. The stock's 12% increase on Tuesday makes this the fourth time in the past five quarters that the stock has moved at least 9% higher the day it posts its financial results. </p> <p>Momo's platform is still strong and growing. The acquisition of social dating app Tantan last year helped leverage its success with live video while providing a boost to its paying user count. Armed with more than $1.6 billion in cash, it wouldn't be a surprise if Momo goes shopping again. It's putting some of the money to use by declaring a special dividend that amounts to $0.62 per depositary share. Investors will enjoy the pocket change as they ponder what Momo will do to eventually reverse the deceleration in revenue growth. </p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-79655171113165712972019-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:002019-03-13T19:11:31.173-07:00Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Nowtags:III,RDC,LUNA,SORL, <P>There are numerous trading techniques to consider for each and every options trade, so Fred Oltarsh at Options Strategy Network details five of the ones he considers extremely vital for trying to put the percentages in the trader's favor.</P> <P>The key to trading options contracts successfully (individual stocks and futures as well) is to put the percentages in your favor. This involves numerous trading techniques discussed in the Options Strategy Network options guide. Briefly, one should consider the following factors for each and every trade: 1) liquidity or the cost to initiate and liquidate the position, 2) implied volatility or the relative value of the particular option one is trading, 3) having a pre-designated point of liquidation, 4) risk/reward ratio after commissions and slippage and 5) diversification of strategies and trades.</P> <P>Each analysis described above increases the likelihood of success of an individual trade. Examining the liquidity of the market that one is about to trade is the first step to increasing levels of productivity. If one is buying a stock for a long-term hold, the implications of liquidity are not as great for that trader as for the trader who intends to buy and sell stock frequently. If one is day trading, whether stocks or options, even a bid/ask spread of a penny on a low priced stock, has an impact on the bottom line. The best way to analyze it is to quickly determine the difference of the bid/ask spread as a percentage of the value of the instrument traded. Then determine what that value is per one thousand dollars invested. If the number sounds high, it's probably worth staying away from that trade.</P><h3>Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Information Services Group Inc.(III)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:III) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 110,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $453,000. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>3i Group (LON:III) had its price target upped by Societe Generale from GBX 1,020 ($13.58) to GBX 1,130 ($15.04) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Information Services Group, Inc. Common Stock (III)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Rowan Companies Inc.(RDC)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Jason Hall]</b> <p>And while Ensco has taken its share of asset writedowns in recent years to decommission older, non-economical vessels, it has also been one of the biggest beneficiaries of consolidation. In 2017, it acquired Atwood Oceanics, a smaller company with a young, high-spec fleet of floating vessels, and more recently agreed to merge with Rowan Companies (NYSE:RDC), which has a high-quality fleet of jack-up rigs and a strong backlog of work for that fleet. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Jason Hall, Tyler Crowe, and Matthew DiLallo]</b> <p>At the same time, there has been a tremendous amount of consolidation (like this and this and this), leaving fewer -- stronger -- companies operating just when work is starting to pick up. Here's a look at quarterly revenue for Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Ensco PLC (ADR) (NYSE:ESV), Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE), and Rowan (NYSE:RDC) so far this year. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Lisa Levin]</b> <p>Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers</p> Losers MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) fell 23.4 percent to $5.25 in pre-market trading after a first-quarter earnings miss. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.48 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings. Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) fell 14 percent to $13.15 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered FY18 organic growth guidance. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) fell 13.2 percent to $3.10 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly results. Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) shares fell 10.7 percent to $14.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 8.50 percent on Wednesday. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT) fell 9 percent to $14.80 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) fell 8.3 percent to $19.90 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that IMblaze370 Phase 3 pivotal trial of atezolizumab and cobimetinib in patients with heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer did not meet primary endpoint. Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN) fell 8.2 percent to $10.80 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) shares fell 7.4 percent to $43.00 in pre-market trading. Synaptics reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) shares fell 7.4 percent to $76.23 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 earnings. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) shares fell 7 percent to $59.36 in pre-market trading. Integra LifeSciences priced its 5.25 million share public offering of common stock at $58.50 per share. Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) shares fell 6.9 percent to $12.75 in pre-m</li> <li> <b>[By Travis Hoium, Jason Hall, and Matthew DiLallo]</b> <p>And while offshore still has a ways to go, I think investors should do well to buy Ensco at current prices. At recent prices, its shares trade for about 24% of tangible book value. Furthermore, it's also a 23% discount to the book value of Rowan Companies (NYSE:RDC), which will merge with Ensco sometime in the first half of the year. It's a substantial discount to more typical book value multiples these companies have carried during healthy offshore drilling environments:</p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Rowan Companies (NYSE:RDC) has been given a $20.00 price objective by stock analysts at B. Riley in a report issued on Monday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. B. Riley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 54.32% from the stock’s previous close.</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Luna Innovations Incorporated(LUNA)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>Luna Coin (CURRENCY:LUNA) traded 5.2% higher against the dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on September 26th. Luna Coin has a total market capitalization of $11,480.00 and approximately $13.00 worth of Luna Coin was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Luna Coin coin can now be bought for $0.0067 or 0.00000104 BTC on major exchanges including CoinExchange and YoBit. Over the last seven days, Luna Coin has traded 20.8% lower against the dollar. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA) rose 16.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $4.14 and last traded at $3.93. Approximately 651,876 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,262% from the average daily volume of 47,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.37.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Luna Coin (CURRENCY:LUNA) traded up 0.8% against the dollar during the one day period ending at 14:00 PM Eastern on September 18th. One Luna Coin coin can now be bought for about $0.0086 or 0.00000135 BTC on exchanges including CoinExchange and YoBit. Luna Coin has a market cap of $14,603.00 and approximately $2.00 worth of Luna Coin was traded on exchanges in the last day. In the last seven days, Luna Coin has traded down 6.7% against the dollar. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>PRA Health Sciences (NASDAQ: PRAH) and Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA) major shareholder Clinic Carilion sold 6,100 shares of Luna Innovations stock in a transaction on Friday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $20,801.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,054,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,005,452.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Luna Innovations (LUNA)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: SORL Auto Parts Inc.(SORL)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Lisa Levin]</b> <p>Shares of SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) got a boost, shooting up 13 percent to $5.90 after reporting upbeat Q1 results.</p> <p>Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOLI) shares were also up, gaining 24 percent to $27.3947 following Q3 results.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>These are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern Sentiment Analysis’s analysis: </p> Get Innovative Industrial Properties alerts: Return on Equity (ROE) under Consideration Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), Neonode Inc … (stocksnewspoint.com) Morning Miraculous Stocks: Taseko Mines Limited (NYSE:TGB), WMIH Corp. (NASDAQ:WMIH), Innovative Industrial … (journalfinance.net) Dazzling Stocks: Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR), SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SORL), ReWalk … (thestreetpoint.com) Head-To-Head Contrast: Kennedy-Wilson (KW) vs. Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) (americanbankingnews.com) Innovative Industrial (IIPR) versus Colliers International Group (CIGI) Financial Contrast (americanbankingnews.com) <p>A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 16th. ValuEngine raised Innovative Industrial Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Lisa Levin]</b> Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares climbed 70.3 percent to $5.45 after reporting 2017 year-end results. MEDIGUS Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS) surged 39.8 percent to $1.58 in reaction to its Monday announcement of a distribution agreement. The medical device company said it reached an agreement to distribute its minimally invasive medical devices in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) gained 25.6 percent to $11.50. Arcadia Biosciences reported that Albert D. Bolles, Ph.D. has joined its board of directors. Aytu Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ: AYTU) shares jumped 21.8 percent to $0.4798 after the company late Monday reported lighter-than-expected Q1 loss. Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOLI) shares gained 21.1 percent to $26.77 following Q3 results. Pfenex Inc. (NYSE: PFNX) rose 16.8 percent to $7.1271 after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events. MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) rose 13.8 percent to $2.88. Red Violet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDVT) jumped 13.1 percent to $6.41 after reporting Q1 results. SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) shares gained 12 percent to $5.87 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Bovie Medical Corporation (NYSE: BVX) gained 8.4 percent to $3.96 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. Rosehill Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) surged 8.4 percent to $7.90 after announcing Q1 results. LiqTech International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIQT) rose 8.1 percent to $0.5171 following Q1 results. ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) rose 7.7 percent to $5.6103 following Q1 results. Nine Energy Service, Inc. (NYSE: NINE) shares climbed 7.4 percent to $35.90. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) rose 6.7 percent to $6.40 after the company presented XEN901 Phase 1 clinical update and XEN1101 TMS pharmacodynamic Phase 1 data. MYnd</li> <li> <b>[By Lisa Levin]</b> Gainers Red Violet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDVT) rose 75.31 percent to close at $9.94 after reporting Q1 results. Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares jumped 40.62 percent to close at $4.50 on Tuesday after reporting 2017 year-end results. MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) gained 34.39 percent to close at $3.40. MEDIGUS Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS) gained 32.74 percent to close at $1.50 in reaction to its Monday announcement of a distribution agreement. The medical device company said it reached an agreement to distribute its minimally invasive medical devices in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Pfenex Inc. (NYSE: PFNX) surged 31.15 percent to close at $8.00 after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) rose 21.07 percent to close at $11.09. Arcadia Biosciences reported that Albert D. Bolles, Ph.D. has joined its board of directors. Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) rose 20.23 percent to close at $10.58. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) shares gained 17.62 percent to close at $17.82. Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: APVO) rose 17.1 percent to close at $5.82. Phoenix New Media Limited (NYSE: FENG) shares jumped 16.23 percent to close at $4.87 following Q1 earnings. Stein Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) rose 16.04 percent to close at $3.69. PPDAI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDF) climbed 15.99 percent to close at $7.98 following Q1 results. Tyme Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYME) rose 15.93 percent to close at $3.42. LiqTech International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIQT) gained 15.59 percent to close at $0.5532 following Q1 results. Sophiris Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPHS) gained 13.92 percent to close at $3.52 on Tuesday following Q1 results. Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) jumped 13.4 percent to close at $2.37. Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI) shares surged 13.05 percent to close</li> <li> <b>[By Stephan Byrd]</b> <p>Icahn Enterprises LP Common Stock (NASDAQ: SORL) and Sorl Auto Parts (NASDAQ:SORL) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends. </p></li> </ul> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-373248351259263342019-03-12T17:39:00.000-07:002019-03-12T17:40:02.623-07:00Why Taxing the Rich Isn't a Social Security Cure-All <p>Ready or not, Social Security is in trouble.</p> <p>Although its "Judgment Day" changes frequently, the past 34 reports from the Social Security Board of Trustees, dating back to 1985, have shown that the program won't collect enough revenue over the next 75 years to cover expenditures. As of the 2018 report, there's a cash shortfall of a whopping $13.2 trillion between 2034 and 2092.</p> <p>As a number of demographic changes continue to take shape, the program -- possibly beginning in 2019 -- will expend more than it collects for the first time since 1982. These net cash outflows are expected to widen with each passing year, leading to the complete exhaustion of the program's $2.9 trillion in asset reserves by 2034.</p> <p>If there is a silver lining here for seniors and future generations of retirees, it's that Social Security doesn't need a dime in asset reserves to remain solvent. Recurring revenue sources that include the payroll tax on earned income, and the taxation of benefits, ensure that the program is incapable of going bankrupt. However, it won't save Social Security from an across-the-board benefit cut of up to 21% if Congress doesn't do something to raise additional revenue, reduce expenditures, or enact some combination of the two.</p> <img alt="Two Social Security cards lying atop fanned piles of cash. " src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F514762%2Fsocial-security-cash-benefit-retirement-congress-check-getty.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> Raising or eliminating the payroll tax cap is the most popular solution <p>Among the boatload of solutions on the table in Capitol Hill, none is more popular with the American public than raising or eliminating the earnings cap associated with the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income (i.e., wages and salary paid to you). An informal online poll from The Washington Post in 2014 showed that almost 70% of online readers would stand behind raising the earnings tax cap, with none of the other 11 solutions garnering more than 45% support. (Users were free to choose as many ideas as they'd stand behind.)</p> <p>In 2019, all earned income between $0.01 and $132,900 is subject to the payroll tax, meaning more than nine out of 10 workers is paying into the program on every dollar they earn. Meanwhile, earned income above $132,900 is exempt from the payroll tax, allowing the rich to escape paying tax on some, or perhaps a majority, of their income. Between 1983 and 2016, the amount of earned income to be exempted each year has quadrupled from about $300 billion to $1.2 trillion.</p> <p>Raising or eliminating the payroll tax cap wouldn't affect the vast majority of the population, and in a way would be viewed as a means of leveling the playing field by making all earned income taxable, which is one reason it's so popular. At the same time, it offers the potential to dramatically increase taxable revenue collection, putting Social Security on firmer ground over the long run. Some pundits have even suggested that eliminating the cap completely could resolve Social Security's long-term cash shortfall.</p> <img alt="A close-up of a W2 tax form, highlighting wages that were taxable by Social Security and Medicare. " src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F514762%2Fsocial-security-payroll-tax-wages-medicare-irs-w2-stub-getty.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> Sorry, folks, but taxing the rich isn't a Social Security cure-all <p>The reality, though, is that taxing the rich isn't likely to be a cure-all for Social Security, even if it does provide an immediate lift in taxable revenue.</p> <p>The first problem with taxing well-to-do workers is that ignores a trend that's persisted since Social Security was signed into law in 1935: increasing longevity. As a result of easier access to medical care, better pharmaceutical products, and improved health education, life expectancies have been on the rise over the long run. Between 1960 and today, the average individual is living about nine years longer. More specifically, as it relates to Social Security, the average 65-year-old is going to live about two more decades. The program was never designed to support retired workers for two-plus decades. Even with added revenue from the taxation of most or all earned income, increasing longevity may push expenditures well beyond collected revenue.</p> <p>Second, a more recent problem that's cropped up over the past decade is the precipitous decline in fertility rates. Over the long run, the trustees project an average birth rate per woman of 2. But in 2018, fertility rates hit a 40-year low of 1.76 births per woman. If fertility rates continue to decline, or even if they maintain the existing birth rate of less than 1.8 births per woman over their lifetime, it's going to have a notably negative impact on Social Security's worker-to-beneficiary ratio, and it'll almost certain cause the program's cash shortfall to widen. As with increasing longevity, a "tax-the-rich" strategy may not account for the magnitude of cash shortfall that persistently low fertility rates could bring about.</p> <img alt="A visibly annoyed senior man in a suit. " src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F514762%2Fsenior-in-suit-annoyed-portrait-getty.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> <p>Third, and finally, we have to remember what happened when the wealthy had significantly higher marginal tax rates imposed decades ago. Despite peak marginal federal income tax rates of 70% to 90%, most rich Americans avoided an effective tax rate of anywhere near this number. Yes, tax loopholes helped, but the response by the wealthy to shift their earned income made an arguably bigger difference.</p> <p>What does this have to do with payroll tax revenue? The simple answer is that there are a number of income sources that aren't subject to the payroll tax, including pretty much all types of investments and rental income. Wealthy individuals could simply repurpose their income generation to these exempt sources and retain more of their money. Not to mention, the response by the rich to higher Social Security payroll taxes may disrupt economic growth via lower reinvestment. That would be a secondary means of lowering taxable revenue collection.</p> <p>Don't get me wrong: I do believe that a bipartisan approach that includes a higher tax rate on upper-income earners is needed to help shore up Social Security. But taxing the rich may not be enough by itself to fully fix Social Security.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-60209735000376907392019-03-11T10:57:00.000-07:002019-03-11T10:58:49.011-07:00Duality Advisers LP Buys Shares of 63,770 Nucor Co. (NUE) <p><img src="https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/nucor-co-logo.jpeg" alt="Nucor logo" title="Nucor logo" class="companylogo" />Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 63,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,000. </p> <p>Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Nucor by 65.5% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 177,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,232,000 after buying an additional 70,211 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Nucor by 23.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 224,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,268,000 after buying an additional 41,917 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 290.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 185,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,764,000 after buying an additional 137,871 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 66.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 8,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in Nucor by 9.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the company’s stock. </p> Get Nucor alerts: <p>NUE opened at $57.79 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $49.79 and a 1-year high of $68.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 3.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.51. </p> <p> Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.14. Nucor had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 24.57%. The company had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year. </p> <p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.00%. </p> <p>In other news, Chairman John J. Ferriola sold 87,719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.35, for a total value of $5,293,841.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock. </p> <p>A number of brokerages have issued reports on NUE. UBS Group set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Nucor and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 10th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 1st. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 14th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Friday, November 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.45.</p> TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: This article was first reported by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this article on another website, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright law. The legal version of this article can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4209860/duality-advisers-lp-buys-shares-of-63770-nucor-co-nue.html. <p>Nucor Profile</p> <p>Nucor Corporation manufactures and sells steel and steel products in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; hollow structural section steel tubing, steel electrical conduit, plate steel, and structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, wire rods, and special bar quality; and tubular and plate steel products.</p> <p>See Also: Bid-Ask Spread</p> <p>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NUE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE).</p> <p><img src='https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx?Prefix=NYSE&Symbol=NUE' alt='Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Nucor (NYSE:NUE)' title='Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Nucor (NYSE:NUE)' /></p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-17444580214650001412019-03-09T20:56:00.000-08:002019-03-09T20:57:15.873-08:00GNC Holdings Inc (GNC) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript <img alt="Logo of jester cap with thought bubble." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F515408%2Ftranscripts-logo.png&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p> <p>GNC Holdings Inc (NYSE:GNC)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallMarch 07, 2019, 8:30 a.m. ET</p> Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: <p>Operator</p> <p>Good day, and welcome to the GNC Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded.</p> <p>At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Matt Milanovich, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.</p> <p>Matt Milanovich -- VP-Investor Relations & Treasury</p> <p>Good morning, and thank you for joining us on GNC's fourth quarter 2018 conference call. I would like to remind everyone that during this conference call, GNC management will make certain forward-looking statements about its outlook that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words such as believe, plan, intend, expect, anticipate or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are protected by the Safe Harbor contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstance that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in GNC's filings with the SEC. GNC is making these statements as of March 5th, 2019 and assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.</p> <p>In addition to the GAAP results, GNC will provide certain non-GAAP financial measures. GNC's earnings press release for the fourth quarter of 2018 can be found under the News Release link on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website at www.gnc.com. The tables attached to that earnings press release include reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.</p> <p>With that, I'll turn it over to our Chairman and CEO, Ken Martindale.</p> <p>Kenneth A. Martindale -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Thank you, Matt. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for accommodating the change in release timing. We felt it was important to communicate the details around our recently formed joint venture with International Vitamin Corporation concurrently with the results of the fourth quarter.</p> <p>As you can see, we achieved some major milestones in strengthening our balance sheet and repositioning the Company during the past several weeks. We were pleased to receive the final $150 million tranche of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group's $300 million investment, culminating a yearlong effort to formalize our partnership.</p> <p>With the transaction complete, we are launching two joint ventures with Harbin that will give us access to an extensive distribution network and deep manufacturing expertise in China. The Hong Kong-based China JV, which operates the existing cross-border e-commerce business, and is the largest current growth driver in China, was formed simultaneously with the closing of the Harbin investment.</p> <p>Over the next few quarters, we'll complete the permitting and regulatory filing process to kick off the China JV and finalize the contribution of the existing China assets to the newly formed joint venture. The China JV will include the retail stores in China and the pharmacy distribution channel. When the China joint venture is finalized, Harbin will contribute $20 million of working capital to the newly formed entity.</p> <p>This morning, we also announced in a separate press release a strategic joint venture agreement with International Vitamin Corporation, a global leader in vitamin and nutritional supplement manufacturing. Under the terms of the agreement, GNC will receive $101 million from IVC and contribute the net assets of the Nutra manufacturing facility and Anderson facility in exchange for an initial 43% ownership in the joint venture.</p> <p>Over the next four years, GNC will receive an additional $75 million from IVC as IVC's ownership of the joint venture increases to 100%. The joint venture will be responsible for the manufacturing of the products currently produced by Nutra. This strategic partnership with IVC gives us access to their industry-leading experience and expertise, greatly increases our manufacturing capacity and lets us leverage the collective buying power of the two organizations. Over time, it will provide us a level of efficiency that we could not have achieved on our own while allowing our team to continue focusing on delivering high-quality, innovative products to our customers.</p> <p>In addition, IVC has capacity to scale up, giving us room for future growth and supporting our global expansion plans without the need for significant future capital investment. As part of the transaction, IVC will take over manufacturing and integrate into GNC supply chain management while product development and innovation will stay in the hands of GNC's expert internal team. Quality assurance will be a shared responsibility moving forward.</p> <p>IVC has exceptional in-house end-to-end manufacturing capabilities supported by an integrated ERP system and the expertise to keep GNC at the forefront of our industry. It has a stable supply of low-cost raw materials and more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and distribution facilities in the US as well as a growing global presence with existing facilities in Europe and China.</p> <p>The IVC partnership is consistent with our emphasis on streamlining business processes and gives our team the freedom to focus on what we do best, understanding today's rapidly changing consumers and bringing innovative products to life. In the coming months, we will work closely with the IVC team to integrate our operations and continue delivering great service to all of our customers, including our franchisees.</p> <p>As part of our continued efforts to strengthen and ultimately restructure our balance sheet, we use the proceeds from the China and Nutra transactions to retire the remainder of our B-1 Term Loan and further paid down the B-2 extended Term Loan.</p> <p>Now, let me take a few minutes to talk about recent results. Our adjusted EBITDA performance was below our expectations, driven by both margin and SG&A impacts, which Tricia will cover in a few minutes shortly. We were however, satisfied with the underlying sales trend during the quarter. Our domestic retail comp trend improved to negative 1.4% and we continue to be encouraged by the results of our modified sales incentive program that focuses our team on increasing foundational product sales. Our e-commerce business grew even as we cycled against two years of significant growth and the anniversary of GNC products being available on Amazon Prime. The maturity of our Amazon Prime relationship will provide a headwind in 2019.</p> <p>Now, let's turn to progress we're making on a go-forward strategy. In the US domestic retail business, we're making progress against our plan to increase the productivity of our retail portfolio by renegotiating lease terms, closing unproductive stores and transferring sales to stronger locations nearby. As we mentioned last quarter, we have identified 700 to 900 unproductive stores to be closed over the next three years. Our plan generally align store closures with lease terminations, resulting in minimal write-offs and cash expense as the current portfolio's average remaining lease term is less than three years.</p> <p>Our store closure process is rigorous and focused on minimizing closing costs, retaining our best people and maximizing sales volume in surrounding stores. In 2018, the team closed 257 stores and exceeded their sales transfer goal of 30%. Keep in mind, our stores have high fixed cost, driven by large portion of the stores operating with one person at a time. So, transfer-related increases in volume have a positive impact on the affected stores' EBITDA.</p> <p>Our international business continues to grow and posted strong results with a 12.1% year-over-year revenue increase. The results were driven by strength in China, Mexico and South Korea, and we continue to believe that the business is well-positioned as we head into 2019. More specifically in China, the world's second largest health and wellness market, our business was up 30% in the fourth quarter, driven by growth in cross-border e-commerce.</p> <p>As we begin to leverage Harbin's distribution network in regulatory, operational and manufacturing experience through the JV, we expect to generate additional momentum in this business. Being relevant to consumers and delivering a constantly excellent experience, one that's personalized and aligned with your changing expectations is our path to growth and differentiation. Our loyalty program, myGNC Rewards, finished the quarter with 17 million members, including 1 million PRO Access members. The program provides opportunities to build stronger relationships with our existing customers and drive more meaningful personalized experiences.</p> <p>Over the next three years, we will strategically invest in the systems and software needed to deliver a true omni-channel experience being very-targeted with our capital. In 2019, we will focus that investment on strengthening our e-commerce and mobile platforms and on improving our order management capabilities. We plan to replace our current order management system over the next year, giving us the capability to efficiently add services like buy online, pickup in store; and buy online, ship from store. Additionally, this new system will result in improved delivery service speed and cost-effective international e-commerce capabilities.</p> <p>We continue to make positive strides with our own brands and in the fourth quarter, GNC branded products made up 54% of our sales. This is up from 48% at this time last year and 52% in Q3, partly driven by the introduction of our innovative Earth Genius brand in TamaFlex, which addresses unmet consumer needs.</p> <p>Our wholesale division continues to represent an opportunity to increase revenues by putting our well-recognized brands in front of consumers who don't currently shop with us. New customers can engage with our products in these channels creating an opportunity to attract them back into our retail stores and GNC.com, where they can see our full product line and experience everything that GNC has to offer. We recently extended our 20-year relationship with Rite Aid for another three years and gained more flexibility to partner with retailers in different channels.</p> <p>Looking ahead, I see tremendous opportunity and potential for GNC. We've made substantial progress in strengthening our balance sheet and putting ourselves in a position to succeed. We have a strong highly recognized brand and a strategy to leverage that brand across multiple channels, touching both existing and new customers. And while we still have much work to do, we feel good about the foundation that we've laid to regain momentum in the business throughout the coming year.</p> <p>With that, I'll turn it over to Tricia for a closer look at the quarter.</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Thanks, Ken, and good morning, everyone. Over the past 16 months, we've reduced our debt by approximately $500 million and reduced go-forward annual interest costs by more than $30 million. As Ken mentioned, we used the proceeds from the joint venture investments to pay off our B-1 Term Loan and pay down the B-2 extended Term Loan. Additionally, we now have three strategic partners to grow the business, a Hong Kong JV, a China JV, and a manufacturing JV.</p> <p>As we move into 2019, the formation of the Hong Kong and China joint ventures will result in an operating income reduction of approximately $6 million compared to 2018. The joint venture's operating performance, net of taxes, will be recorded as an adjustment to the income statement between operating income and net income. As a 35% owner of the newly formed JVs in 2019, GNC will recognize its share of the Hong Kong and China JV's profitability net of tax as a line item between GNC's operating income and net income on the income statement.</p> <p>Additionally, GNC will recognize royalties in GNC's International segment operating profit. In 2019, as compared to 2018, we expect no material impact to net income as a result of the formation of the joint venture. Going forward, the joint venture will heavily invest in marketing to drive an expected $200 million in revenue for the joint venture over the next three years.</p> <p>Let me give you some more specifics on the manufacturing joint venture starting with the details of the investment. In March of 2019, IVC's $101 million investment gives them 50% of our Nutra business. Over the next four years, IVC will gradually increase their stake in Nutra with four approximately $19 million annual investments, until they own the business outright in February 2023. Our joint venture with IVC gives us a level of efficiency that we cannot achieve on our own and allows us to focus on what we do best. In addition, it provides incremental capital to reduce our outstanding debt.</p> <p>Now, moving on to the impacts to our financials related to this joint venture. As a reminder, the Nutra business is included in our Manufacturing and Wholesale segment. Going forward, the impact to this segment without Nutra is a decrease of approximately $25 million to $30 million in EBITDA. As a 43% owner of the JV, in 2019, GNC will recognize its share of the JV's profitability net of tax as a line item between GNC's operating income and net income on the income statement.</p> <p>Turning to our Q4 financial results, our adjusted EBITDA of $35 million was below our expectations, largely driven by a $2.5 million reserve as a result of balance sheet risk associated with a third-party vendor, a $2.5 million correction related to previously recorded revenue for specialty manufacturing, and $3 million in store compensation driven by incremental store associate commissions. In 2019, much of the store compensation impact will be offset by changes to other components to the commission structure. Overall, salaries and benefits for domestic retail in 2019 is expected to be slightly higher as a percent of sales, driven by minimum wage rate increases.</p> <p>Fourth quarter consolidated revenue was $547.9 million compared with $562.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The decrease is primarily attributable to store closures at the end of the lease term, which is a component of our store portfolio optimization strategy. Fourth quarter same-store sales, including GNC.com, were down 0.6%. E-commerce sales were 9.3% of US and Canada revenue in the current quarter compared with 8.4% in the prior year quarter, driven by growth in revenue from both GNC.com and our Amazon Marketplace.</p> <p>Our e-commerce comp sales increased 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Keep in mind that we're comparing against two years of significant growth from this channel and we've now lapped the first year of our partnership with Amazon. And as Ken mentioned, this presents a headwind for us going into 2019.</p> <p>Revenue from our domestic franchise locations decreased $5 million due to a 1.3% decrease in same-store sales and a decrease in the number of franchise stores. Revenue from our international business was up 12.1%, driven by increased China cross-border e-commerce sales and strong performance from franchisees in Mexico and South Korea. As previously mentioned, the Harbin joint venture partnership unlocks our expansion into China, and we're working in key markets such as India, the Philippines and Europe.</p> <p>Manufacturing and wholesale revenue, excluding intersegment sales, decreased $3.4 million, driven by the $2.5 million adjustment from the previously recorded revenue for specialty manufacturing that I mentioned earlier. This adjustment also drove the $3.3 million reduction in adjusted operating income compared to the prior year.</p> <p>Fourth quarter gross profit was 31.5% compared with 32.6% in the prior year. As we discussed on our last call, the fourth quarter is our seasonally slowest quarter resulting in deleverage from occupancy and distribution, which are largely fixed costs. Margins were also negatively impacted by the $2.5 million reserve related to the risk associated with the third-party vendor and the specialty manufacturing adjustment previously noted. Excluding the one-time impact, margin rate was up 44 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2018.</p> <p>At 27.1% of sales, fourth quarter adjusted SG&A was 200 basis points above last year due to one-time legal settlement benefits in the fourth quarter of 2017 and incremental associate commissions from the program introduced in August 2018 to build basket as previously mentioned.</p> <p>We are encouraged by the early results of our Companywide cost optimization plan, which we will continue to expect to deliver $15 million to $20 million in savings in 2019 with an additional $25 million to $30 million in 2020. In 2018, we generated $95.9 million in net cash from operating activities, invested $19 million in capital expenditures and generated $95.7 million in free cash flow.</p> <p>Fourth quarter free cash flow benefited from a $12.4 million tax refund related to 2017. For the 12-month period ended in December 31st, 2018, our total net debt to adjusted EBITDA, which includes adjustments from our credit agreement, is 4.9 times. We reiterate our long-term lease adjusted net leverage target at 3 times with rent capitalized at 5 times. As previously mentioned, we received a full $300 million investment from Harbin and $101 million from IVC that will show an additional decrease in our leverage ratio in the first quarter. In 2019, we will continue to use the majority of our free cash flow to pay down debt. In 2019, we also expect to incur a lease liability between $525 million and $575 million on our balance sheet related to the new lease accounting rules.</p> <p>From a P&L standpoint, we expect in 2019 for occupancy to decrease $20 million due to this lease accounting change as well as our continued ongoing efforts to lower rent expense. The finalization of the Harbin transaction and recent IVC joint venture, along with the reduction of approximately $500 million in debt in the last 16 months, has positioned us to succeed. We're currently working with both new joint venture partners on initiatives that will enhance our long-term strategy, and we look forward to sharing more details with you later this year.</p> <p>With that, let's open the call for your questions.</p> Questions and Answers: <p>Operator</p> <p>Thank you. (Operator Instructions) We can now take a question from Huang Yang from Citi. Please go ahead. Please unmute your line, sir.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>(technical difficulty)</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>I'm sorry. I didn't catch that question.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi. Can you hear me?</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yes.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>I'm sorry. So, just you had nice sequential improvement in the same-store sales in the domestic stores. What's driving that? Any particular products or categories that are a standout?</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yes. So, we introduced two new product lines, TamaFlex and Earth Genius, in the latter part of Q3, and those certainly were significant drivers to both the same-store sales as well as the improvement in our GNC brand mix to 54% in the fourth quarter.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>And so then, if I look at the EBIT in your domestic store segment, what were the actual gross margins, and I'm sorry if I missed it on the on the product side?</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah. So, the gross margins were impacted by a couple of one-time adjustments that we talked about earlier. So, first, there was a $2.5 million adjustment related to one of our third-party vendors and some balance sheet risks there. So that was incurred in the quarter. Additionally, in the quarter from a margin perspective on the US and Canada segment, there was an adjustment where there was an impact related to our PRO Access program. So we made some changes to that program during the year that improved the experience for the customers but also added some incremental costs. And what we've been able to do as we go into 2019 is maintain that service level but minimize the cost impacts and bring us back to a more normalized level back to 2017. So, the combination of those items as well as some impacts in SG&A related to the incentives for our commission structure, those were the biggest drivers of the reduction in EBITDA in that segment.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>But, is -- is it really one-time or should we think about these margins as sort of a reset for that segment?</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Certainly, the call-outs that I made on the margin side, the $2.5 million and the other PRO Box impacts were one-time in nature.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. And then, just lastly on the new JV with ICV, is it -- IVC, I'm sorry, when is the transition -- are there any risks to transitioning the business or is it really -- or the manufacturing is going be done in the same facilities so it doesn't really make a difference?</p> <p>Kenneth A. Martindale -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>The joint venture is in the same facility, and it's one of the reasons that we've structured it the way that we have. The teams have been working together to put a transition plan together. We are anxious to start leveraging the opportunities we have to drive cost out together, but first and foremost, we want to make sure that we're really focused on the transition going smoothly. So, the teams are working together. They're down there meeting today, and we're off and running. But we're going to take it slow and steady and make sure that we manage the transition as carefully as we can.</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>Thank you.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>(Operator Instructions) We can now take our next question from Hale Holden from Barclays. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Hale Holden -- Barclays -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi. Thank you for taking my call. I was just wondering if you could just give us the current outstanding balance on the B-2 post for IVC pay-down.</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>The outstanding balance on the B-2 as of yesterday is $458 million. There's $275 million outstanding and as a FILO and the remaining outstanding on the converts that existed at the end of this calendar year. There's nothing outstanding -- there's nothing outstanding on the ABL.</p> <p>Hale Holden -- Barclays -- Analyst</p> <p>Perfect. I appreciate it. Thank you.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions on the line at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to the host for any additional or closing remarks.</p> <p>Matt Milanovich -- VP-Investor Relations & Treasury</p> <p>Great. Well, we thank you all for joining us. And again, I appreciate you accommodating the change in the call time. We look forward to talking to you guys again in another quarter. Have a great day.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Thank you. That concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disconnect.</p> <p>Duration: 30 minutes</p> Call participants: <p>Matt Milanovich -- VP-Investor Relations & Treasury</p> <p>Kenneth A. Martindale -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Tricia Tolivar -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Huang Yang -- Citigroup -- Analyst</p> <p>Hale Holden -- Barclays -- Analyst</p> <p>More GNC analysis</p> <p>Transcript powered by AlphaStreet</p> <p>This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-34660829590199810322019-03-08T21:52:00.000-08:002019-03-08T21:53:33.912-08:00Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Nowtags:ARQL,AMGN,ALNY,BIIB, <p>Cantor Fitzgerald set a $15.00 target price on Cidara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CDTX) in a report released on Tuesday morning. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.</p> <p>Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Cidara Therapeutics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Cidara Therapeutics and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 9th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Cidara Therapeutics from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 11th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cidara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 25th. They set a buy rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, WBB Securities upgraded shares of Cidara Therapeutics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Cidara Therapeutics currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $11.60.</p><h3>Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Maxx Chatsko]</b> <p>Shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) rose over 70% today after the company reported full-year 2018 operating results and provided full-year 2019 guidance. That said, investors are probably used to wild swings in the stock price by now. The development-stage pharma didn't turn in a particularly impressive performance last year. Management expects revenue to drop significantly in the year ahead as collaboration revenue dries up, which will also widen operating losses.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Money Morning Staff Reports]</b> <p>But Blink and our other penny stocks to watch are unlikely to continue to lock in such spectacular gains in June. After looking at our 10 top penny stocks to watch this month, we'll show you a small-cap stock with great profit potential in its future…</p> Penny Stock Current Share Price Law Month's Gain Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK) $7.07 439.85% Senes Tech Inc. (Nasdaq: SNES) $1.27 175.40% Vivis Inc. (Nasdaq: VVUS) $0.77 150.41% Adomani Inc. (Nasdaq: ADOM) $1.49 137.68% NF Energy Saving Co. (Nasdaq: NFEC) $2.34 134.88% Vaalco Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY) $2.15 109.06% Heat Biologics Inc. (Nasdaq: HTBX) $2.35 99.12% ArQule Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQL) $4.88 90.74% LiqTech International Inc. (NYSE: LIQT) $0.66 85.60% Transenterix Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) $3.46 77.84% <p>While last month's gains are tremendous, they also illustrate the inherent dangers that come with investing in penny stocks.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Stephan Byrd]</b> <p>ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQL)’s share price rose 6.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $5.21 and last traded at $5.15. Approximately 955,706 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 1,244,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.85.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>ValuEngine upgraded shares of ArQule (NASDAQ:ARQL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.</p> <p>Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ARQL. Zacks Investment Research upgraded ArQule from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $2.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 20th. BidaskClub upgraded ArQule from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, March 24th. B. Riley set a $4.00 price objective on ArQule and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Leerink Swann upgraded ArQule from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 5th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted their price objective on ArQule from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $5.35.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Lisa Levin]</b> Gainers Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) shares surged 20.6 percent to $6.39. WBB Securities upgraded Melinta Therapeutics from Hold to Speculative Buy. Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) shares climbed 17.2 percent to $30.87 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) shares rose 15.2 percent to $28.804 after the company declared a special one-time cash dividend of $14.97 per ADS. Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) gained 15 percent to $53.35 after the company reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) surged 14.2 percent to $2.625. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) rose 13 percent to $5.12 after gaining 4.86 percent on Thursday. Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) gained 12.8 percent to $16.97 after the company posted better-than-expected FQ4 results. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: LOMA) shares rose 12 percent to $12.94. ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) shares rose 12 percent to $5.07. Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX) climbed 11.4 percent to $43.50. Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ: ZLAB) gained 11.3 percent to $24.7000. Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME) rose 9.7 percent to $19.64. Park City Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYG) climbed 9 percent to $7.90. Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) gained 7.9 percent to $38.82 after Citron reversed previously bearish position on the stock. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) shares jumped 7.3 percent to $3.55. Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE: DECK) rose 3.5 percent to $107.27 after reporting better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter. <p> Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Trey Thoelcke]</b> <p>Amgen Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMGN) death cross also occurred this week, after the gap between the two averages had been closing since last October. As with some of its peers, short interest in this biotech stock has waned recently. Amgen shares are down more than 4% year to date. Yet, here too analysts recommend buying shares.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Chris Lange]</b> <p>Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall to 9.62 million shares from the previous level of 9.79 million. Shares were last seen at $178.26, in a 52-week trading range of $153.56 to $201.23.</p></li> <li> <b>[By ]</b> <p>Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) -- Amgen is a leading global biotech developer with a diverse product portfolio and promising development pipeline. The company has special expertise in cancer research and renal failure (kidney disease) treatments. Its biggest blockbuster is the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel, used primarily for rheumatoid arthritis, which is in the top-five worldwide with annual sales of nearly $8 billion.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Todd Campbell]</b> <p>Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) may not be as exciting a stock to own as clinical-stage upstarts, but shares in this biotech Goliath have been mounting a rally lately that should make every investor take notice. So far in 2018, Amgen's rewarded investors with an 18% return.</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ALNY)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Cory Renauer]</b> <p>Staying on top of every new drugmaker takes a lot more time than you probably have. That said, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) shareholders want to keep their eyes on young Eidos and its lead candidate. Here's why.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Sean Williams, Chuck Saletta, and Brian Feroldi]</b> <p>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).</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Biogen Idec Inc(BIIB)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Trey Thoelcke]</b> <p>Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) also saw a death cross earlier this month, and the gap between the moving averages is now more than 9% of the share price. The stock was just downgraded by one analyst and another recently anticipated no growth in the share price. The stock is up more than 6% since the beginning of the year. The consensus recommendation remains to buy Biogen shares.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Brian Orelli]</b> <p>Data source: Alkermes.</p> What happened with Alkermes this quarter? Sales of opioid and alcohol-dependence drug Vivitrol increased 11% year over year as states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, and Kentucky increase coverage of the drug as a treatment option for patients suffering from substance-use disorder. Schizophrenia drug Aristada saw sales increase 72% year over year and 35% quarter over quarter, thanks to the launch of Aristada Initio, which helps patients get started on the drug while hospitalized. Alkermes estimates it captured 29% of new prescriptions for long-acting aripiprazole, the active ingredient in Aristada. Ampyra, which goes by Fampyra outside the U.S., brought in $38.8 million, basically flat year over year, which wasn't bad since a generic launched in the U.S. last year. Manufacturing and royalty revenues for Risperdal Consta, Invega Sustenna, and Invega Trinza were up about 4% year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue also included a one-time payment of $26.7 million, which came from the sale of certain royalty streams by Zealand Pharma to Royalty Pharma. In November, Alkermes reported positive data from a second phase-3 clinical trial for schizophrenia drug ALKS 3831 that showed patients taking the drug had lower weight gain than those taking olanzapine. In December, Alkermes and its partner Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) filed for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of diroximel fumarate, which Biogen plans to market under the name Vumerity. In January, Alkermes got bad news from the FDA when the agency turned down the marketing application for its depression drug ALKS 5461. <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p></li> <li> <b>[By George Budwell]</b> <p>Shares of large-cap biotech Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) gained a healthy 15.2% in July, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. What triggered this breakout? </p></li> <li> <b>[By Chris Lange]</b> <p>Short interest in Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) increased to 4.33 million shares from the previous 3.86 million. The stock recently traded at $306.68 within a 52-week range of $249.17 to $370.57.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Jon C. Ogg]</b> <p>Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) was maintained as Market Perform and the price target was lowered to $318 from $337 (versus a $319.43 prior close) at RBC Capital Markets. The firm expects no growth in its stock price with its MS drug revenues at potential with flat or even lower sales trends ahead.</p></li> </ul> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-57773662264802781422019-03-07T08:44:00.000-08:002019-03-07T08:45:25.206-08:00BidaskClub Lowers Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI) to Sell <p><img src="https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/community-trust-bancorp-inc-logo.png" alt="Community Trust Bancorp logo" title="Community Trust Bancorp logo" class="companylogo" />Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.</p> <p>Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Community Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 15th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Community Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 15th.</p> Get Community Trust Bancorp alerts: <p>Shares of CTBI opened at $42.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Community Trust Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $35.70 and a fifty-two week high of $53.00. </p> <p> Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $48.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.80 million. Community Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 26.51% and a return on equity of 11.42%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Community Trust Bancorp will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year. </p> <p>In other news, Director Franky Minnifield bought 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.74 per share, for a total transaction of $66,784.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,472.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock. </p> <p>Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTBI. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 32.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 31,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 7,585 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Community Trust Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,099,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Community Trust Bancorp by 5.0% during the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 26,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Community Trust Bancorp by 16.6% during the third quarter. Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC now owns 7,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Community Trust Bancorp by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.38% of the company’s stock. </p> <p>Community Trust Bancorp Company Profile</p> <p>Community Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc that provides commercial and personal banking services to small and mid-sized communities. The company accepts time and demand deposits, Keogh plans, and savings certificates, as well as checking and savings, individual retirement, NOW, and money market accounts.</p> <p>Recommended Story: How much money do you need to begin day trading?<br> </p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-5159149752354794702019-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:002019-03-06T08:44:38.942-08:00Axon Enterprise (AAXN) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Hold” <p><img src='https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/taser-international-inc-logo.jpg' alt='Axon Enterprise Inc logo' title='Axon Enterprise Inc logo' class='companylogo size-full' />Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday. </p> <p>According to Zacks, “Axon Enterprise, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture and sale of conducted electrical weapons for the law enforcement, federal, military, corrections, private security and personal defense markets. Its operating segment consists of TASER Weapons and Axon segments. TASER Weapons segment involves in the sale of conducted electrical weapons, accessories and other products and services. Axon segment focuses on devices, wearables, applications, cloud and mobile products. Axon Enterprise Inc., formerly known as TASER International Inc., is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ. “</p> Get Axon Enterprise alerts: <p>Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. ValuEngine upgraded Axon Enterprise from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 4th. BidaskClub upgraded Axon Enterprise from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Axon Enterprise from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 8th. Northland Securities reiterated a buy rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Axon Enterprise in a research report on Wednesday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Axon Enterprise from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, November 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $66.27.</p> <p> Shares of NASDAQ AAXN opened at $51.20 on Friday. Axon Enterprise has a 52-week low of $36.91 and a 52-week high of $76.45. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.40, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.97. </p> <p>Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $114.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.03 million. Axon Enterprise had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 6.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Axon Enterprise will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p> <p>In related news, Director Michael Garnreiter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,660. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick W. Smith sold 107,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.27, for a total value of $4,522,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 632,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,736,620.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,100 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,725 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock. </p> <p>A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAXN. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Axon Enterprise by 1,515.0% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its stake in Axon Enterprise by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Axon Enterprise by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Axon Enterprise by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Axon Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. 82.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p> <p>Axon Enterprise Company Profile</p> <p>Axon Enterprise, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) worldwide. The company operates through two segments, TASER Weapons, and Software and Sensors. It offers TASER X26P and TASER X2 smart weapons for law enforcement; consumer CEWs; and replacement cartridges and consumables, as well as performance power magazines.</p> <p>Read More: What is a blue-chip stock?<br> </p> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Axon Enterprise (AAXN)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p> <p><img src='https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx?Prefix=NASDAQ&Symbol=AAXN' alt='Analyst Recommendations for Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN)' title='Analyst Recommendations for Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AAXN)' /></p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-30651432472738064162019-03-05T00:32:00.000-08:002019-03-05T00:33:41.867-08:003 Embarrassingly Cheap Dividend Stocks <p>Income investors love the combination of income and growth that dividend stocks offer. The only thing better than a dividend stock with a healthy yield is a stock that combines strong dividends with attractive valuations.</p> <p>Sometimes, investors beat down a dividend stock so far that it just gets embarrassingly cheap. Below, I'll take a closer look at Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS), Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), and Ford Motor (NYSE:F) -- all of which have attractive dividend yields, low valuations, and the potential to restore shareholders' faith in their long-term business prospects.</p> <img alt="Three plant shoots sprouting from piles of coins." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F513938%2Fmoney-grow-gettyimages-466258533.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> Look north <p>U.S. investors often neglect Canadian banks, but the biggest financial players north of the border have a lot to offer. Bank of Nova Scotia (also known as Scotiabank) has a reputation for excellence, and with its current yield coming in at around 4.5%, dividends have played a key role in keeping Scotiabank's shareholders happy.</p> <p>Yet Scotiabank has faced some challenges lately, with its stock down 11% over the past year. Domestic banking performance has largely been to blame, as the bank has missed earnings expectations for three straight quarters despite seeing solid growth in its international banking operations. Rising expenses and higher loan losses have become somewhat problematic, and Scotiabank is seeing pressures that many of its Canadian peers aren't seeing -- a troubling sign for the bank.</p> <p>Nevertheless, Scotiabank has confidence in its future, and it's expressed that confidence through higher payouts. The bank made a 2.4% increase to its dividend in February, and despite a cooling housing market in Canada and the challenges of integrating large acquisitions to its wealth management division, Scotiabank appears primed to take advantage of recovering stock markets and concentrate on its best international opportunities. At an earnings multiple of just 11, moreover, Scotiabank's shares aren't out of line with what you'd pay for high-quality banks across North America.</p> Energetic dividends <p>Valero Energy also has a healthy dividend yield of 4.2%, but like Scotiabank, the refining giant's stock has been under pressure over the past year. Shares are down 9% since this time last year, with much of the decline coming in the last quarter of 2018. That's brought earnings multiples down considerably, into the 11 to 12 range recently.</p> <p>The thing to remember about Valero is that its exposure to energy is in some ways the reverse of what most companies in the space experience. Valero likes low oil prices as long as it can sell refined products like gasoline and diesel fuel at relatively healthy prices, because crude oil is the refinery company's input rather than output. Yet the steep plunge in markets for refined products outpaced oil's drop in late 2018, and that sent the stock tumbling.</p> <p>Even so, the refiner has continued to produce good results. In its most recent quarter, Valero saw operating income jump more than 50%, with strong gains in its refinery operations offsetting weakness in its ethanol business. Efforts to provide infrastructure to move cheap domestic crude to its refinery locations have paid off handsomely, and high utilization rates indicate that Valero's taking maximum advantage of current conditions. Refining is cyclical, but a high dividend and good prospects make Valero look like a bargain.</p> Ford revs its engines <p>Finally, Ford Motor has been high on the list of dividend payers for a long time. With a regular quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, the automaker's yield has climbed to nearly 7% -- yet the stock currently fetches just 10 times trailing earnings and less than seven times what Wall Street expects Ford to earn in 2019.</p> <p>The main problem for Ford is that its business has hit hard times. In 2018, operating profit for the automaker was down 28%, and revenue managed only a 2% gain. Ford shipped almost 10% fewer vehicles in 2018 than it did in 2017, and conditions were especially weak internationally, as the automaker suffered substantial losses in South America, Europe, and China. Efforts to innovate in areas like autonomous vehicles haven't yet paid dividends, and pension charges also weighed on profits.</p> <p>But Ford has prospects to bounce back. The company thinks that higher steel prices, a strong dollar, and other headwinds are likely to ease up in 2019, and that should help its international results. Investors have been waiting for a turnaround to take shape, but the odds look better that Ford will make it a reality in the near future.</p> Put the odds in your favor <p>Cheap dividend stocks aren't surefire winners, as there are always things that can happen to hurt a business further. Yet given their potential for success, Ford, Valero, and Scotiabank all look embarrassingly cheap right now -- and you can get paid a handsome dividend even as you wait to see share prices go back up.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-42169775686205042572019-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:002019-03-03T20:33:22.801-08:00FGL Holdings (FG) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript <img alt="Logo of jester cap with thought bubble." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F514332%2Ftranscripts-logo.png&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p> <p>FGL Holdings (NYSE: FG)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 28, 2019, 9:00 a.m. ET</p> Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: <p>Operator</p> <p>Good morning and welcome to the FGL Holdings Fourth Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. All participants are in a listen-only mode. (Operator Instructions). After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.</p> <p>I would now like to turn the conference over to Diana Hickert-Hill, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Investor Relations and Communications. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Diana Hickert-Hill -- Chief Investor Relations Officer</p> <p>Thank you, operator and good morning everyone. We appreciate you joining our earnings call. Today, we will discuss our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2018, which ended on December 31. You can find the financial information for FGL Holdings on the Investors section of our website fglife.bm.</p> <p>Today's presenters include Chris Blunt, President and Chief Executive Officer and Dennis Vigneau, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, our Chief Investment Officer, Raj Krishnan will join the question-and-answer portion of the call.</p> <p>Some of the comments we make during this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. We do not intend to update any comments on this call to reflect new information subsequent events or changes in strategy. A number of risks and uncertainties exist that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. We discussed these factors in detail in our 2017 Form 10-K and in the 2018 10-K that we plan to file tomorrow with the SEC.</p> <p>During our conference call, we may refer to non-GAAP financial measures that we believe may be meaningful to investors. Please refer to our fourth quarter earnings release, financial supplement and investor presentation that we posted to our website. These documents contain a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP. And finally all comparison and comments today will be to the fourth quarter of 2017, unless we state otherwise.</p> <p>I will now turn the call over to Chris.</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Thanks, Diana and good morning everyone. Before I talk about our fourth quarter and full year results, I want to take a couple of minutes to update you on my first two months with the company. In short, I'm thrilled to be here at F&G, and I'm excited about our progress and trajectory. I've spent considerable time with our employees at all levels of the company and I have to tell you the team is fired up and we are delivering on our growth targets.</p> <p>F&G has a long-standing track record in its core markets. Our business focus helping middle income consumers prepare for and save for retirement positions us in an attractive segment of financial services, given demographic trends and an aging population. We work primarily with independent insurance agents to market and distribute our products and the strength of our distribution relationships as a source of true differentiation.</p> <p>Our ability to generate attractively priced stable liabilities allows us to optimize our investment allocation with attractive asset classes. As you know, we favor complexity and liquidity risk over credit risk, which matches well with our liabilities. Given by background with Blackstone Insurance Solutions, I can speak directly to the strategic nature of our investment management partnership. This is a tremendous advantage in a number of ways as we go-to market.</p> <p>Since the merger with CF Corp in late 2017, the company's momentum has accelerated. We have benefited, not only from our investment strategy, but also with a stable group of core shareholders who have consistently supported the company, but most importantly, I have been impressed with our team. The level of expertise and discipline across the organization is significant. We're focused on leveraging these talents as we find ways to accelerate growth through organic and inorganic means.</p> <p>Turning to shareholders, I was pleased to meet with some of our investors in Boston and New York City, in my first week on the job. Given our priority of helping investors understand the F&G story. We have more investor marketing plans on the horizon, both near term and throughout the year. In short, we love to tell our story and help people learn more about our company, and that's why we're so optimistic about our future.</p> <p>I'll now walk through our top priorities from last April's Investor Day and we'll start with one of our most important milestones. As you know, we've been focused on securing improved ratings. In November, A.M. Best raised our operating company ratings to A-minus or excellent. This upgrade helps us accelerate our organic growth in current and new channels and provide this with greater strategic flexibility. In addition, we were especially pleased that they initiated a rating of FG Re business at the A minus level as well. Now with our A-minus rating in hand, we are moving full steam ahead with our FG Re growth plans.</p> <p>Second, we established plans to drive profitable organic growth in our existing businesses. I will go through our detailed top line results in a minute, but it's clear, we've made great progress on this objective, delivering 33% sales growth this year. Most importantly we've been disciplined in writing new business. Our returns have exceeded profitability targets, both in the quarter and in the full year. Third, we told you that by partnering with Blackstone on investment management, we would be able to leverage their world-class originations, structuring and underwriting capabilities to execute our investment grade portfolio rotation and we're doing just that.</p> <p>To date, we've focused on reducing corporate bond holdings, which are largely BBB rated with tight spreads. Our focus is on replacing those investments with investment grade, structured securities sourced by Blackstone. 2018 was a critical transitional year for our portfolio and we remain confident that this repositioning will be accretive to portfolio yields and net investment income, while actually improving diversification and the overall risk profile.</p> <p>Dennis will provide more information about the repositioning progress in a few minutes. Now as I alluded to earlier, as part of our investor marketing efforts, we are going to host a deep dive session on our general account investment portfolio for our shareholders and analysts, this April in New York City. So you can learn more specifics about exactly how we're benefiting from our partnership with Blackstone. We will webcast the session as well. So stay tuned for details on logistics in the near future.</p> <p>Next, we highlighted that our post merger restructuring enabled us to form a reinsurance company in Bermuda, we are leveraging this capability to generate third-party clients both block and flow reinsurance business. While it is early days we have solid momentum and a number of clients and prospects in the pipeline. We expect to generate more than $175 million of flow reinsurance deposits in our first year, and have a number of potential transactions that we believe will drive significant growth in 2019. Growing our reinsurance business is a high priority for us as it helps diversify our business and ultimately will help lower our overall effective tax rate.</p> <p>Finally, we stated that M&A would be part of our strategy and that we were open to looking at whole companies as well as blocks of business. We are pleased to have John Bayer join our leadership team as Head of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, John brings extensive experience to the team, enabling us to have a laser like focus on this important growth lever.</p> <p>In addition, we will continue to leverage our partnership with Blackstone, CC Capital and FNF to help source potential deals as well. As we mentioned in prior calls, we are consistently evaluating a number of opportunities, both large and small where we feel we can leverage our competitive strengths. However, our focus remains on being good stewards of capital. Pricing transactions that returns consistent with our organic growth opportunities with a similar risk profile, and we remain confident in our ability to execute our acquisition strategy as accretive opportunities arise.</p> <p>Again, we just finished our first year post transaction and are delivering on our strategy. In a personal level, I can tell you this is my 33rd year in financial services. I have never been more excited about an opportunity that I am about this one.</p> <p>Now, let's turn to our fourth quarter results. F&G exceeded guidance we provided at our April Investor Day, earning $1.19 per share, and I would note, this is inclusive of the share count adjustment from our recent warrant exchange. We delivered $1.19 common earnings per share or a 40% increase in earnings on a common share count basis. Our return on equity expanded 460 basis points to 16.6%, demonstrating the effectiveness of our investment thesis and repositioning progress.</p> <p>Dennis will walk through the details, as some factors can be lumpy, but it really was a strong finish to a year in which we were driving a lot of change. I'll note that on a net income available to common shareholders basis, we had $156 million loss in the quarter, largely driven by mark-to-market volatility. Now let's look at our top line performance. Our fourth quarter sales totaled $1 billion in the quarter, up 60% and our full year 2018 sales totaled $3.6 billion, up 39% from 2017. We are seeing these results come from across our product portfolio and in line with the overall market demand. FIA sales totaled $666 million in the quarter, up 44% over last year and up 6% over the third quarter. Full year FIA sales totaled $2.3 billion, up 28% over last year.</p> <p>Our multi-year guaranteed annuity or MYGA sales and federal home loan bank borrowings totaled $290 million in the quarter, up 80% from last year. Year-to-date, MYGA sales and FHLB borrowings totaled $1.1 billion, up 42% from last year. So, strong annuity sales we've seen, it's helpful to note what are the key growth drivers. We see the strong sales momentum coming -- momentum coming from several factors: attractive market demographics, strong long tenured relationships we've developed with our distribution partners. Our partners increasing confidence in our company's future and our partnership with Blackstone. Recruitment of new agents who want to sell our products to meet their clients' needs. New agents accounted for 16% of our 2018 FIA sales.</p> <p>Our comprehensive competitive product portfolio that meets a range of consumer needs. The successful launch of the new performance-based income and accumulation product series in February, which contributed 12% of our FIA sales in 2018. And finally, the elimination to the cloud of uncertainty related to the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule earlier in the year.</p> <p>Turning to Indexed universal life or IUL business, we delivered $8 million of target premium in the quarter, up modestly from last year and from the third quarter. I will note that sales in this product line are particularly sensitive to ratings. So, we expect that our recent upgrade to A minus will help boost our sales. On the flow reinsurance front, our deposits totaled $53 million in the quarter and $185 million for the full year 2018. We remain bullish on our ability to grow our flow reinsurance business at FG Re and we're in discussions on a couple of opportunities that we believe could drive nice growth in 2019. So, again quite pleased with our 2018 sales overall.</p> <p>Now before I turn the call over to Dennis, I want to make a few high-level comments on capital deployment and include some views on our 2019 goals. Our Board recently authorized a share repurchase program of up to $150 million. We view repurchases as a good use of capital, depending and competing uses of capital and our valuation. Additionally, our Board authorized a quarterly penny per share dividend, beginning with the first quarter of 2019. This step essentially opens up additional funds that can only invest in dividend paying stocks and so, it helps us further diversify our investor base.</p> <p>Now looking to 2019, we remind you that we do not plan to give earnings guidance. That said, we do want to share some metrics we believe may be helpful for you to see how we think about the year ahead. First on sales, we expect another strong year and one in which we will outperform industry sales, although we expect it will be more in line with earlier years more in the 10% to 15% growth range. Next on taxes, we expect to be in the 20% effective tax rate range for the year. We do expect that rate will begin to decline over the next few years as we build our offshore business, which is not subject to the U.S. taxes.</p> <p>Third, on expenses, we've done a terrific job completing our $15 million reduction in expenses and in 2019, we will reinvest roughly half of those savings to fund channel expansion, technology and growth for the year. By 2020, we'll start to see roughly two-thirds of those expense savings come through to the bottom line. And finally, we'll give you more color on specific benefits from our portfolio reposition when we host our update in April.</p> <p>So with that, I'll turn the call over to Dennis to discuss our results in more detail.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Thanks, Chris and good morning everyone. Today, I'll focus my comments on the following. The earnings and performance trends across the business, progress we've made on repositioning the investment portfolio, an update on actions in response to tax reform. And lastly, a few thoughts on capital and liquidity as we head into 2019. Before I get into the specifics of the quarter, let me begin by saying that we are very pleased with the overall performance of the business and are seeing significant momentum on several fronts.</p> <p>Top line annuity sales growth is up 54% in the quarter and 33% year-over-year, slightly ahead of the overall market. The portfolio reposition is delivering tangible lift with clear improvement in net investment income and yields shining through in the current quarter. Fourth quarter earnings doubled over the prior period and are up 41% year-over-year. The return on equity has expanded 460 basis points year-over-year and we see potential for further expansion as we look forward.</p> <p>And lastly, AUM continues to grow nicely with stable policyholder trends contributing to earnings growth. By just about any measure, Q4 results were terrific and the business is set up very well as we head into 2019. With those highlights as a backdrop, let me get into more details. Beginning with adjusted operating income available to common shareholders, we delivered $76 million or $0.34 per share compared to $37 million or $0.17 per share last year.</p> <p>I'll note the current period had some lift from favorable items that, although, core to our overall operating performance are not consistent period-to-period. More specifically, the current period at AOI of $13 million of net favorability or $0.06 per share from the following. A $24 million favorable tax benefits generated by our BEAT tax planning strategy. I'll speak to that more in a moment as well as $4 million of mortality gains in our single premium indexed annuity or SPIA. These two items were partially offset by $9 million of unfavorable adjustments for market movement on futures, $4 million higher DAC amortization due to market movement and $2 million of project costs.</p> <p>Last year's fourth quarter AOI of $37 million also included a net $6 million of unfavorable items. Even adjusting for these lumpy operating items, we had a very strong fourth quarter with AOI increasing $20 million or 47% over the prior year. This uplift in AOI continues to be driven by ongoing invested asset growth, the benefits of the portfolio reposition lift, a lower effective tax rate, disciplined expense management and improving underlying trends in net spreads. One item worth-mentioning is the unfavorable adjustment for market movement on futures contracts in the quarter.</p> <p>As background, we statically hedge our liabilities at between 90% and 95% using call options, based on expected policyholder behaviors and optionality. We then use futures to dynamically hedged the remainder. Our goal is to be risk neutral with this dynamic aspect over the course of any given year. Given the high degree of volatility in the markets during the fourth quarter, we saw an additional loss of $9 million in 4Q. Though for the full year, this was just $4 million net loss, well within our normal operating parameters.</p> <p>As with the expense of the call options, this modest mark to market fluctuations is an integral aspect of our adjusted operating income. Turning to reported net income on a GAAP basis during the fourth quarter, we reported a net loss available to common shareholders of $156 million or $0.70 per share. There is a page in our presentation detailing the drivers here, but in summary, this GAAP result was driven primarily by several aspects of mark-to-market volatility, all of which are excluded from AOI and all of which are after DAC and tax.</p> <p>First, the typical adjustment related to the FIA embedded derivative market movements was $77 million in the quarter. We also had $72 million of net unrealized losses driven by market value changes on preferred equity securities we hold in our portfolio, which now flow through the income statement on a GAAP basis, effective with new accounting requirements effective at the beginning of 2018. There were $52 million net realized losses related to the wrap-up of our Phase II portfolio reposition strategy, $31 million of other market and non-operating items such as the embedded derivative related to a remarketing feature in our outstanding preferred stock issuance, and $15 million of credit-related impairment losses, driven by our holdings in PG&E. As well as a $15 million reversal of prior period benefit from a tax election excluded from AOI in Q1. Again all of these details can be found in the presentation.</p> <p>Looking at our results for the full year 2018, we reported $257 million of adjusted operating income or $1.19 per share, which as I mentioned is up 41% compared to $182 million or $0.85 per share in 2017. This robust earnings performance, provide significant capital redeployment options to drive future shareholder value, such as organic new business sales at mid-teens returns additional share repurchases or accretive M&A. To translate this performance to a book value per share perspective, we would view the core book value per share growth to be 16% or an ending $8.16 per share compared to last year at $7.05. We then purposefully reinvested $0.58 of that into portfolio repositioning losses to drive higher future investment income and $0.49 into the warrant tender to minimize future dilution. The combined, expected IRR of these actions is about 20%.</p> <p>Mark to market volatility during the quarter was another $0.66 per share, resulting in an ending reported book value per share of $6.43. It's important to note that we've seen about a third of the market impact rebound already in the early part of the first quarter. Overall, we expect our underlying strong performance combined with a disciplined redeployment strategy to drive enhanced value going forward.</p> <p>Turning to the investment portfolio performance for which we have provided additional information in the presentation as well. The portfolio is performing well and we made significant progress on the reposition which is clearly demonstrated in the sequential net investment income growth relative to the third quarter. Let's walk through what we accomplished during the quarter and how we are positioned entering 2019. Ending -- average assets under management totaled $25.6 billion at December 31, reflecting an increase of $1.3 billion of net asset flows year-over-year, which is net of -- expected run-off in our MYGA portfolio. And this also excludes the impact from purchase accounting.</p> <p>As a reminder, the purchase accounting of PGAAP mark to market is a non-cash adjustment which will amortize as a reduction to net investment income over the remaining asset life. GAAP earned yield on the investment portfolio was 4.51% for the fourth quarter. This level is 20 basis points higher than the 4.31% yield in the fourth quarter of 2017, and reflects the benefits from the portfolio reposition, net of fees and the impact of PGAAP.</p> <p>As we head into 2019, the run rate net investment yield is about 4.75% reflecting more than 40 basis points improvement since the merger with further expansion to come in the future. Net investment income was $295 million in the quarter, up $29 million or 11% compared to last year. This lift reflects a 34 million increase from invested asset growth, $31 million of portfolio reposition lift, both of which were partially offset by premium amortization and higher plant fees.</p> <p>Net investment income in the fourth quarter was up $28 million or 10% sequentially, again from the reposition lift clearly coming through. Net investment spread for our core product line FIA's is at 255 basis points. FIA spreads have historically achieved a range of 280 basis points to 300 basis points. Now having been reset post PGAAP for the non-cash premium amortization and fees. Page 11 in the earnings presentation lays out the trend in net investment spreads since the transaction closed last year.</p> <p>As you can see the underlying trends which separates out the non-cash impact of PGAAP are squarely within our targeted range and reflect very stable policyholder option and crediting costs, as well as profit margins. Overall, we are confident that as we achieve the full annualized lift in net investment income, combined with the run-off of the PGAAP premium amortization, we will see additional sustained increases and reported net investment spreads.</p> <p>Fourth quarter credit related impairments were $22 million before DAC and taxes and $15 million after tax. And they were driven primarily by our investment in PG&E which filed for bankruptcy in January of 2019. We recorded this impairment in our financials, reflective of the market value and conditions as of the balance sheet date and we did not sell down any of this position and sensed the impairment these bonds have traded back into the mid '90s.</p> <p>Let me shift to a few details on where we're putting money to work. Fixed income asset purchases during the quarter totaled $2.7 billion at an average net yield of 5.47%. Those purchases were primarily in structured securities such as CLOs, mortgage-backed securities and ABS and represent both new money flows and repositioning. On a year-to-date basis we have purchased $10 billion of fixed-income assets at a weighted average NAIC rating of 1.5 and an average net book yield of 5.1%.</p> <p>As far as our progress repositioning the in-force portfolio that has been executing in four phases. You'll recall the first, which was the $2.7 billion block trade in the first quarter, where we picked up 150 basis points of yield, that trade provides $40 million of annualized gross net investment income lift, and delivered about $33 million throughout 2018.</p> <p>Secondly, with respect to structured products, we have now completed a $4.1 billion rotation in the fourth quarter, moving out of corporates and into structured asset at a 5.8% growth and a 5.1% net yield. These trades will provide $55 million of annualized gross investment income lift, and delivered about $16 million of that in 2018. These structured asset trades reflect our mandate with both Blackstone's GSO Capital and Blackstone's real estate manager brands.</p> <p>We continue to favor structured assets which provide attractive yields, enhanced credit protection and floating rate upside relative to corporate public bonds. We increased this asset class from 23% to 34% of the overall portfolio over the past year with a comparable decrease and public corporates. Our structured asset allocation has reduced the overall duration of the portfolio to about a half-year long relative to the liabilities. Additionally, it also supports the ALM profile and cash flow testing, as well as giving us flexibility to manage the portfolio, irrespective of the rate environment. Again this phase is completed and we will see the full run rate uplift in 2019.</p> <p>Third with respect to alternative asset, this program is well under way. At this time, we have over $550 million or 2% of the portfolio in funded alternative assets and we ended the year with $1.7 billion of commitments. We expect alternative assets to build to about 3.5% of the portfolio by the end of 2019 on a funded basis as existing commitments turn into those funding. We also expect to continue to build toward 5% level thereafter with future timing aligned to achieve our profitability and capital targets. On average, we are assuming a net 12% return for this asset class over the life of the investment.</p> <p>Finally, we continue to pursue some additional optimization actions to enhance new money rate and to expand the reposition, to include some additional operating subsidiaries, which combined delivered $5 million total uplift in 2018 and once completed we will deliver $15 million to $20 million of gross income lift in 2019. Furthermore, we've initiated in the early part of the first quarter of $500 million de-risking action in BBB-minus securities and we'll update you further on that next quarter.</p> <p>Shifting to a few thoughts on actions related to tax reform during the fourth quarter. You may recall that earlier in 2018, we expected to make a tax election to have our Bermuda-based affiliated company treated as a U.S. taxpayer. This assumed election maintain flexibility for our affiliated reinsurance platform to ensure that ultimately we would have no negative exposure to the BEAT tax.</p> <p>In the fourth quarter with final guidance and regulations coming out concluding that the BEAT tax would apply on a gross basis for affiliated reinsurance. We shifted that strategy and pursuant to that modified tax planning strategy, we decided to not elect a 953(d) election for our Bermuda affiliate company and instead due to the phase-in of the BEAT tax over three years grading from a 5% rate in 2018 to a 12% rate in 2020. We elected to be subject to the BEAT tax through September 30th. And then we fully recapture the affiliate business in the fourth quarter.</p> <p>Since the BEAT impact under this strategy was less than the assumed 21% tax rate under the alternative 953(d) election, we generated a $39 million tax benefit, of which as I mentioned $24 million accrued to the benefit of AOI. The remaining $15 million was excluded due to -- to reflect the reversal of the tax election previously adjusted from AOI in 2018. Our reported AOI effective tax rate for the full year 2018 was about 14% or 7 points lower than the 21%, it would have otherwise been under the 953(d) election.</p> <p>As I mentioned these types of planning strategies are lumpy in nature, but are core aspect of our operating performance. Apart from BEAT, we continue to work on third-party strategies and opportunities to grow our reinsurance platform. These strategies should reduce our overall effective tax rate over a medium-term to 15%. The flow reinsurance and block M&A pipeline is active and we are making good progress with several partners. For 2019, we expect the tax rate in the 19% to 21% range, as a couple of potential strategies to reduce the overall ETR emerge.</p> <p>I'll finish my comments with a few thoughts on capital. We finished the fourth quarter in a strong capital position with an estimated risk-based capital or RBC ratio of about 470% on a consolidated basis, which as we've quoted throughout 2018 includes the impact of tax reform. Next, with regard to liquidity and deployable capital, at year-end we had about $250 million comprised of insurance company surplus, available debt capacity and holding company assets.</p> <p>Let me add a few details on where we're allocating that capital beyond growth in the business. In early October, we successfully completed the warrant tender. On December 19th, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to $150 million of F&G outstanding common stock. This program will expire in December of 2020 and may be modified at any time. Since the repurchase program was announced, we've repurchased 1.7 million shares at an average price of $6.89 and we'll continue to repurchase shares at a measured pace. Also in December 2018, the company's Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per share. The first of which was declared yesterday and will be payable on April 1st.</p> <p>In summary, as we discussed at our Investor Day back in March. F&G's first year after the merger has proven to be productive and in many ways transformational for the enterprise. We delivered 33% annuity sales growth while achieving new business profit and capital targets. We delivered 41% growth in adjusted operating earnings year-over-year and we are seeing significant expansion in net investment spreads. We've successfully executed our tax planning strategy, while not only avoiding any negative impacts from the BEAT tax but generating a $24 million benefit on an AOI basis.</p> <p>Our investment portfolio reposition is largely completed with $56 million of gross uplift delivery in 2018 and significantly more to come, as we look forward to the full year impacts of Phase 1 and 2 along with the growing alternative asset allocation.</p> <p>Lastly, we are quite pleased to have achieved an upgrade to A minus with A.M. Best and are focused on further upgrades in the future. As Chris mentioned, we'll look forward to hosting the upcoming deep dive on investments for shareholders in April. We will expand on all the benefits from our partnership with Blackstone.</p> <p>With that, let me turn the call back to the operator for questions.</p> Questions and Answers: <p>Operator</p> <p>Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) The first question will come from John Barnidge of Sandler O'Neill. Please go ahead.</p> <p>John Barnidge -- Sandler O'Neill Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Thank you. So the second phase of the portfolio repositioning came in a bit earlier than what we were expecting in the third quarter. And guess, in the market volatility, in December allowed you to accelerate those and take advantage of mispriced assets. Can you talk about kind of where we go from here on the non-alternatives? And then maybe, during the quarter where you saw strength and weakness within the portfolio?</p> <p>Raj Krishnan -- Chief Investment Officer</p> <p>Hey, good morning. It's Raj. So if you sort of think about the fourth quarter and the portfolio repositioning, we did take advantage of widening spreads in -- across most securitized products specifically in November and December. If you think about what LIBOR did during the fourth quarter, we took advantage of that as well. And in terms of the repositioning of structured assets is largely done. So where we go from here, I think, Dennis alluded to, our focus on our derisking a portion of our BBB-minus portfolio, which we're under way right now, but I would say the the lion's share of the shift from Corps' structure is complete.</p> <p>John Barnidge -- Sandler O'Neill Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Great. And then a follow-up question. Contribution from sales on new agents recruited was strong. And then you're talking about expanding IUL relationships given upgrade? How large, do you see the IUL relationship market being? And then how much further contribution, do you see from the new agents continuing going forward? Thank you for the answers.</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Hey, John. This is Chris. I'd comment on a couple of things, I think -- I don't think we've scratched the surface on sort of expanding the base of agents who can sell our products. So that will be probably the only thing I can say there in terms of outlook, quite bullish on life, it will take a little longer to ramp that up, as you know, given our starting point here, but I think there will be a lot of opportunities for us in the IUL space as well as potentially other life products down the road.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Our next question will come from Dan Bergman of Citi. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Daniel Bergman -- Citi Research -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi, thanks. Now that you've achieved the A.M. Best upgrade, just wanted to see if you could provide a little more detail on the types and amount of investments you need to make to access the bank and broker-dealer channel. How quickly will that be completed and kind of in what timeframe do you expect to ramp to meaningful sales through banks and broker-dealers? And any sense of just how big that could get overtime?</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yeah, this is Chris. I would say again. I think there's a big opportunity there. The low hanging fruit for us is the independent broker-dealer channel. I think to be -- quite clear, probably won't start seeing meaningful sales in those channels into early 2020. There is some work that needs to be done. Dennis can elaborate on what some of those investments are, but its largely technology, pipes and plumbing, a little bit of staffing getting ready on the sales and marketing side. That's not significant. There are some other channels that will require a higher rating than A minus for us to access overtime and there -- we're looking at all sorts of options, including whether or not there are other potential carrier partners.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, its Dennis. I would just add, you know the investment there is probably in the $4 million to $6 million range.</p> <p>Daniel Bergman -- Citi Research -- Analyst</p> <p>Great. Thanks. And then, it looked like the pace of surrenders and withdrawals picked up a bit in the fourth quarter, so just wanted to see if you could provide any sense of what drove that and I mean, what level of surrender activity we should expect in 2019 and going forward?</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yeah, great question. We had a five-year, MYGA block that we rode a big block -- that we rode at the end of 2013, a big chunk of that matured in the fourth quarter of '18 and we saw normal experience and shock lapses, really nothing more than that. It was probably in $300 million range, somewhere in that ballpark that rolled off. We'll see a little bit more of that in the first quarter, just given the product issuance cycle, the big program we did in December of 2013, rolled over into the first quarter of 2014. So we'll see potentially some more come up for shock lapse in the first quarter, but we will update you on the next earnings call. Not unexpected in anyway.</p> <p>Daniel Bergman -- Citi Research -- Analyst</p> <p>Great. Thanks so much for taking the question.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Our next question will come from John Nadel of UBS. Please go ahead.</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>Hey, good morning. Congrats on a really strong quarter. The portfolio repositioning, is that uplift on a quarter-over-quarter basis in the yield and your -- you know expectation that you're running at 4.75% or better ended into 2019, I mean maybe, Raj you could go into a little bit more detail on just how aggressive, Blackstone was in the month of November and December. I mean, those look like in hindsight with a couple of months of hindsight, they look like just terrific investing opportunities, maybe you can go through that a little bit?</p> <p>Raj Krishnan -- Chief Investment Officer</p> <p>Certainly, again thank you for comment. We've been very measured over the course of the past year in the repositioning. I know that we spoke earlier in the quarters about how we were being very diligent sort of -- candidly sort of waiting for the market to come to us. As we got our -- as you sort of got our strategies put in place, as we thought about the spread widening that really began to accelerate at the end of last year. We did take advantage with our partners of Blackstone to lean into candidly some for selling from some other folks in the market, its something we've done before, it's something that we've been able to execute. I think in scale with our investment partner.</p> <p>So I would characterize it as being judicious and timing as opposed to aggressive in the types of assets being bought. So as we sort of begin the 2019 year, our cash position is zeroed out. The rotation from a Corps' structure is largely complete. And again, I think we sort of begin the year as Dennis mentioned at the running rate that really does reflect the fully repositioned cooperative structure trade that was executed at the end of last year.</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>Excellent. And then maybe one for Dennis. If I'm -- so I am looking at your statutory book value, and I understand the share counts higher given the warrant exchange, I mean, that accounts for some of it, but your RBC ratio is sustained by stable and yet statutory book value fell quarter-over-quarter and I guess, I'm just trying to square that circle, it's not intuitive to me how that could occur?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, we did -- as part of the warrant tender, we took a $60 million dividend from the operating company, (multiple speakers) warrant tender. So that's part of the driver there.</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. So it's the increased share count in the dividend. Got it. Okay, that's very helpful.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>That's right, yeah.</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>And then last one for me really quick, is there anything in the expense line. This quarter that you would call out as sort of one-time in nature that we should maybe ignore on a go-forward basis or at least consider in our modeling on a go-forward basis?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah. There were two big items in expenses this quarter. One is, we had about $5 million of our transition expense related to Chris Littlefield and the embedded derivative on the preferred stock issuance that we have outstanding at the mark to market on that, which was about $10 million pre-tax, $9 million or $10 million pre-tax also flow through that line. So it's probably $15 million of one-timers in there.</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>Gotcha. Okay, that's very helpful. Thanks so much.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, you bet. Thanks, John.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Our next question will come from Pablo Singzon of J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Pablo Singzon -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi, good morning. Dennis, can you please comment on FG's current capital generation model? How much are you generating every year? And how much is being used for organic growth, especially now that you see your sales accelerating?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>So on a consolidated statutory basis this year, we generated about $200 million of net earnings. We see that, given the way tax reform is going to phase in, it's got that eight year phase in coming out of 2017. $200 million -- on a core basis it's going to continue to grow, but given the tax payments that are associated with that. It's going to range anywhere from $200 million to $250 million over the next couple of years on our bottom line after those impacts for tax reform. So it's good strong that's after funding meaningful and 10% to 15% top line growth that Chris mentioned earlier, and all the other initiatives that we have. So I feel pretty good about it.</p> <p>Across all the platforms, they're generating positive earnings. You will -- in the Iowa company, just as a point of note, because it will stand out, if you look at that filing once it's sent in a few days. You'll see a net loss in Iowa. You might recall that because we had a split business with the original ModCo transaction we had all the $11 billion offshore with all -- generating strong profits. We had Iowa, which was funding all of the new business during 2018.</p> <p>Until we did that recapture, we had a mismatch of where the earnings were sitting. So Iowa on a full year basis, generated a net loss, as well it paid a ceding commission to the Bermuda platform. So that all went through the earnings line on that company, but it all came back in and we moved over $800 million of capital back from Bermuda into the IUL company in the fourth quarter.</p> <p>So just a bit of an anomaly and I could certainly chat with you offline, if you have more questions.</p> <p>Pablo Singzon -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst</p> <p>Got it. That's very helpful. And then just switching gears for my second question. Maybe for Dennis or Chris. Just wanted to get more insight underneath of the reinsurance blocks you're planning to underwrite. Is it mostly annuities life insurance and how should we think about the impact on the financials and sources of earnings going forward? Thanks.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah. So in terms of the flow deals that we're doing. We've got a partner and that generated $185 million of flow FIA sales, that we reinsured back on a 90-10 basis from that partner. In total right now, we've got about $450 million of liabilities, related to that treaty in our Bermuda company. That's just plain vanilla FIA product. And really what our -- what our approach is with some of these partners is, we will provide product development, product support, reinsurer on any basis that they want to to. 50-50, 80-20, 90-10.</p> <p>And it's plain vanilla and often times, these FIA products are -- have simpler features than what we sell regularly in our own IMO channel, it's high margin business comparable or better to what we are selling onshore and it's just a really nice way for us to leverage our product and distribution capabilities and partner up by bringing that offshore platform to third parties. So, and in terms of profits, you will see those come through as you would with any other new business that we generate onshore.</p> <p>Pablo Singzon -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst</p> <p>Thank you.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Your next question will come from Kenneth Lee of RBC Capital. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Kenneth Lee -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi, thanks for taking my question. Wondering if you could just elaborate more about the BBB rated derisking efforts and should we expect any further derisking efforts and how are you thinking about potentially mitigating risk and is there any change in investment approach given concerns for any kind of potential credit downturn? Thanks.</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Sure. Thanks. Thanks, Kenneth. So, stepping back for a second. We've had a pretty material rally intends as well as a high-grade credit since the beginning of this year. I think the investment grade index is rally probably 30 basis points or so year-to-date high yields up five something percent, year-to-date. So against that backdrop, we have been executing a trade out of BBB-minus securities really focusing on energy names some times our services names, really trying to get ahead of potential ratings downgrade and sort of migration considerations.</p> <p>I would say that once $0.5 billion-or-so of trades are done, I think we are done. But a little to say that at any point in time, we want to be thinking about. Wherever possible, upgrading the quality of the asset portfolio and you've heard me talk about this in the past, we think about this portfolio to have flexibility around our capital around, ALM and around liquidity. So we just want to have a lot of dry powder if necessary, and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.</p> <p>Kenneth Lee -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst</p> <p>Got you, great. And just one follow-up question, how do you guys think about cost of crediting and where do you guys see that trending over the year? Thanks.</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, hi this Dennis. It's actually been fairly well behaved. If I were to compare, contrast what is costing us now, contracts were buying relative to say periods last year. It's actually come down a bit, but it's been, overall whether it was, it sort of high point last year or maybe slightly below that currently it will end the normal volatility from our perspective. We see, as those changes come through, we dynamically price and reprice our new business every month. So we're responding pretty quickly to that, and as we strive to achieve our margin. So overall it's been behaved. I don't see anything that's going to markedly change that dynamic within, but there will be some normal fluctuations as we go forward.</p> <p>Kenneth Lee -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst</p> <p>Got you. Thank you very much.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>The next question will come from Alex Scott of Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Alex Scott -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi good morning. First one I had, was I guess just on the CLO exposure, it became more significant as part of this reallocation into structured products, I think it's around your -- get book value access, yes I know. So I was just interested in any kind of commentary or you could provide around the credit quality of that portfolio, specifically I guess maybe the rating agency categories in terms of the tranches and how that might differ from like the NAIC classes that you're in. And then also just the floating rate securities overall. I think, you mentioned the increased allocation but if you could quantify that, just so we could understand how three-month LIBOR will impact things?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Certainly. So first the question CLOs. We've been really focused on BBB and higher tranches in our CLO exposure. When I think about the composition of our CLO portfolio on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we probably ended the year right around 60%, 65% in solidly -- in the single A higher category. There was a material up in quality trade for the CLO portfolio during the fourth quarter. Again taking advantage of that sort of extraordinary weakness that we saw in the leveraged loan market that began to ripple through November and December.</p> <p>We did take advantage of that to add significantly to a single A and Double A rated securities. We've targeted a long-term rating for the CLO portfolio at NAIC 1.5. We are actually higher than that as we stand at the end of the year, probably NAIC 1.39 (ph) and 1.4 roughly. In terms of LIBOR, I think we ended the year somewhere around 15% exposure to what I consider floating-rate assets. We probably have a bit more than that in shorter dated securities as well, and certainly as we've seen the move upwards in LIBOR, we are benefiting from that in our CLO performance.</p> <p>And then when I think about the aggregate positioning of our CLO portfolio going forward, we really have focused on CLOs as sort of one of the legs of our structured asset portfolio, the other leg is CMBS and RMBS securities and the third leg is ABS and securitized credit. So that composition, I think we feel pretty good about where we are right now. You probably remember from a couple of years back, we have probably as much as 30% of the portfolio in floating-rate assets. I think we sort of watch that very carefully. We like the flexibility it gives us to manage portfolio in different rate environments, but at some point in time, if there is a normalization of the yield curve we'll reevaluate that posture.</p> <p>Alex Scott -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. Follow-up question I had was just on the reinsurance transaction you did this quarter, I mean, it is relatively small, it appeared but was interested in just as we look forward, are those the kind of opportunities you'll be looking to do more frequently to increase the amount of capital we have to put toward some of these inorganic opportunities that are out there. And if there's any way to think about how could the EPS accretion from something like that differ from just sort of thinking through deploying the excess capital that you already have today?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, hey it's Dennis again. You should think about us as we go forward continually seeking ways in which we can maximize the efficiency of how we deploy capital. In the particular transaction we did reinsure off a couple of -- a couple of blocks sort of two different characteristics. First one was $750 million of deferred annuities, that's on a funds withheld basis. We also reinsured just about $4 billion of FIA in a very capital efficient transaction at a risk charge of about 250 basis points. That particular treaty has an experience refund mechanism that's, as long as the block performs, we'll see the residual profits on that above the 250 basis point risk charge come back to us.</p> <p>We're very confident in the performance of that block as our partners, we worked with on that. So for us, that's just a really efficient way to free up a meaningful amount of capital that we can then redeploy into other unaffiliated business. And we talked about this at several points last year that we would seek to free up capital efficiently and then redeploy it into unaffiliated flow and block deals where we could get profit into the Bermuda platform.</p> <p>So we're earning mid-teens on the existing business, we're paying about a 250 basis point charge as long as it performs those residual profits should come back to us and then we're taking that capital, we're reinvesting it again at mid-teens returns. So highly accretive and I think we'll update you as we go throughout 2019. As Chris and I mentioned, we've got a very good pipeline and I think we'll have some nice progress on both flow and block in 2019.</p> <p>Alex Scott -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst</p> <p>Thanks very much.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>The next question will come from Andrew Kligerman of Credit Suisse. Please go ahead.</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>Hey, good morning. The first question. Just on the alternatives of $500 million, $550 million funded, could you give a little color on the types of investments there?</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Certainly, the long-term allocation for alternatives portfolio is largely split one-third, one-third, one-third between private equity, credit-oriented investments and real assets. Where we stand right now, it's probably more heavily weighted toward credit based on the deployment of the capital, right now, it's about 40% credit related, that 20% private equity and 39% real assets.</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>Got it. And just thinking about the 4.75% portfolio yield run-rate that you specified, it sounds like you still have a lot of activities occurring in the portfolio. Could you give us a sense of where that 4.75% could go in terms of maybe separating out the alternative impact and then just all other investments. Where do you think that could go by the end of the year?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Good morning, Andrew. It's Dennis. I think at this point, I'll stick with the 4.75%. There are, as you mentioned, still a few activities that are coming online with those other activities, I mentioned, I want to see how the fundings come through in the first quarter, and I think I can give you a better insight into that on the next call but we feel pretty good about 4.75% and I think we'll see some upside on that certainly develop over time.</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>Fair enough. And Dennis the math you gave on the buyback, I quite, I think you said 1.7 million shares times $6 plus, so $10 million plus of buybacks in the roughly two months since you announced the authorization, as we look through the year, is that a pace that you'd like to continue. The stock is certainly moved up. So maybe these slowed down. What are you thinking as we go through the year and you have a pretty sizable amount remaining on the authorization?</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>Yeah, I think it's going to depend on a number of factors. We've got a full pipeline. We did, in order to buy during the current period, we had a 10b5-1 plan. We sort of reached certain limits and parameters within that plan as we initiated. You're unable to alter those plans once you are in the blackout period. We will use combination of that plus perhaps some open market purchases. As we go forward, we can commence buying again next week now that earnings are out.</p> <p>I think, I would just say it's going to be measured and purposeful. We've got a tremendous number of both organic growth both domestically within our existing channels as well as on the flow and block side that we're actively pursuing. So we're going to keep going, but it's going to be measured. I'd hesitate to give you a number that we're seeking to hit. We're trying to be opportunistic with it.</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>And one last quick one. Just on distribution, you mentioned that there is some channels that would require higher ratings. Is that the bank channel and are you doing anything in that channel?</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>I would say -- this is Chris. I would say there are opportunities to access the bank channel. Some banks would require a higher rating than that but it's absolutely on the radar, and my comment before, given the scenario that Dennis described of our Bermuda operation. There is also the option to access those channels through flow agreements with other carriers that might have a higher rating. So, probably a bit of a misconception out there that you sort of have to wait to get to A, to go make a lot of progress in those channels. I don't view it that way and I think we can make some significant A (ph) particularly as we head into 2020.</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>Great, thanks a lot.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we will conclude the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to CEO, Chris Blunt for any closing remarks.</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Great thanks everybody. Really appreciate the questions, your interest in F&G. I would just say looking back over the first full year for the company post transaction, obviously you can hear. We feel great about the progress, the momentum, our plans going forward. You see the strong progress with our top line sales growth and our continued bottom line performance. Full-year earnings up a strong 41% over last year and our AOI return on equity is more than 15%.</p> <p>Obviously, we're delivering on the objectives that we set forth. As we get these ratings upgrades -- is already helping to fuel our growth, but we're positioning ourselves for future additional ratings enhancements. So just wanted to say thank you for your interest. Your investment in F&G and we look forward to updating you again on our progress on our first quarter call. Thanks.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now concluded. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.</p> <p>Duration: 61 minutes</p> Call participants: <p>Diana Hickert-Hill -- Chief Investor Relations Officer</p> <p>Chris Blunt -- President & Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Dennis Vigneau -- Chief Financial Officer</p> <p>John Barnidge -- Sandler O'Neill Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Raj Krishnan -- Chief Investment Officer</p> <p>Daniel Bergman -- Citi Research -- Analyst</p> <p>John Nadel -- UBS -- Analyst</p> <p>Pablo Singzon -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst</p> <p>Kenneth Lee -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst</p> <p>Alex Scott -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst</p> <p>Andrew Kligerman -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst</p> <p>More FG analysis</p> <p>Transcript powered by AlphaStreet</p> <p>This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-66184469891372722472019-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:002019-03-02T10:35:51.489-08:00AGF Investments Inc. Takes $443,000 Position in Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN) <p><img src="https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/alexion-pharmaceuticals-inc-logo.jpg" alt="Alexion Pharmaceuticals logo" title="Alexion Pharmaceuticals logo" class="companylogo" />AGF Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 4,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000. </p> <p>Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NuWave Investment Management LLC raised its position in Alexion Pharmaceuticals by 851.9% during the fourth quarter. NuWave Investment Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. We Are One Seven LLC bought a new position in shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Shine Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Shine Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. 92.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p> Get Alexion Pharmaceuticals alerts: <p>In other Alexion Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Ludwig Hantson sold 3,244 shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $310,937.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,696 shares in the company, valued at $14,444,211.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Daniel Bazarko sold 2,000 shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,520. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,488 shares of company stock worth $873,875. 4.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. </p> <p> Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $135.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.88. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.56 and a 1 year high of $140.77. </p> <p>Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Alexion Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 18.15%. Alexion Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year. </p> <p>A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALXN shares. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price target on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 30th. ValuEngine raised shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 8th. BidaskClub raised shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Alexion Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.63.</p> <p>WARNING: “AGF Investments Inc. Takes $443,000 Position in Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN)” was reported by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this piece on another website, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of U.S. and international trademark & copyright law. The legal version of this piece can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4188611/agf-investments-inc-takes-443000-position-in-alexion-pharmaceuticals-inc-alxn.html. </p> <p>Alexion Pharmaceuticals Profile</p> <p>Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes various therapeutic products. The company offers Soliris (eculizumab), a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a genetic blood disorder; atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a genetic disease; and generalized myasthenia gravis, a debilitating, complement-mediated neuromuscular disease.</p> <p>Recommended Story: What is the float in trading stocks?</p> <p>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALXN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN).</p> <p><img src='https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx?Prefix=NASDAQ&Symbol=ALXN' alt='Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN)' title='Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN)' /></p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-54710556057444442352019-03-01T13:55:00.000-08:002019-03-01T13:56:23.647-08:00Here Are 120 Million Reasons to Love iQiyi in 2019 <p>iQiyi (NASDAQ:IQ) used its recent fourth-quarter conference call and earnings documents to lay out plenty of exciting figures for investors to home in on. Sales for the period came in significantly ahead of the market's expectations, rising 55% year over year to reach $1 billion.</p> <p>The trajectory of big operating-loss increases continued as well, with losses for the quarter rising to $500 million. That brought the company's total net loss after its first year of public reporting as a stand-alone company to roughly $1.3 billion. </p> <p>The increasingly bold red ink is a doozy, even when taking iQiyi's connection to parent company and Chinese search giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) into account. And a half-billion-dollar operating loss might reasonably be expected to have driven sell-offs after earnings. Instead, shares have climbed roughly 20% after the release -- and another huge number that was hinted at in the company's conference call likely has a lot to do with the big gains.</p> iQiyi moves toward 120 million subscribers in 2019 <p>The most exciting figure to come out of iQiyi's recent earnings report wasn't mentioned explicitly. Laying out the company's expected subscriber growth for 2019, the company's director of investor relations Dahlia Wei said: "We remain optimistic about the membership business in 2019. We would like to reiterate that we think the net additions in this year will be pretty much similar as the net additions we achieved in year '18."</p> <p>With iQiyi having posted 36.6 million member additions across 2018 to end the year at 87.1 million subscribers, a similar performance in 2019 would have the company wrapping the year with somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 million paid members. That's a number that should delight iQiyi shareholders, particularly in light of strong momentum for other areas of the business. </p> <img alt="A network of screens." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F513288%2Fgettyimages-994786392.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> Member services solidifies as a high-growth core business <p>For 2018, iQiyi's member services revenue grew 72% year over year -- in line with the 74% growth that it posted in its paid subscriber rolls to jump from 50 million to 87 million members across the year. If that membership-growth-to-services-revenue dynamic holds, that would put the company's member services revenue on track to grow somewhere between 35% and 40% this year. Coming in at the high end of that target would see the subscription segment alone do roughly $2.1 billion in sales across 2019.</p> <p>If dropping from 74% growth to 40% growth sounds worrying, it shouldn't. Big growth at other segments is part of the reason, but it's worth examining what might look like a big growth deceleration solely within the context of the subscription businesses.</p> <p>iQiyi has to spend money to produce new content for its platform, but the cost to produce a given show or film series should not be hugely affected by the amount of subscribers on the service. The company does have to create new properties to broaden the appeal of its platform, and fresh content is a big factor in customer acquisition costs. But per-user content costs should drop substantially as the subscriber base scales. It's also worth pointing out that a 40% growth target for membership services revenue in 2019 does not include any price hikes or other monetization within the segment, and could actually prove conservative. </p> iQiyi's smaller businesses are getting bigger <p>Another reason to like the current outlook for the member services business is that it's not iQiyi's only growth engine. Advertising revenue continued to grow at a solid clip in 2018, rising 21% on the year and roughly 9% in the year's final quarter, indicating there may be some deceleration there. However, the company's distribution segment and other-revenues segment continue to emerge as substantial components in the growth engine, and there are still long-term growth avenues for the ad-supported business. </p> <p>iQiyi's other-revenues segment (which consists of online games, merchandising, comics, social media services, and other products) posted 105% growth in 2018 and 129% year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter. Management cited strong performance across multiple businesses in the segment as well as the integration of video game developer Chengdu Skymoons for the big gains.</p> <p>More visibility into the individual components driving the big increase would be nice, particularly what portion of sales came from Skymoons -- which the company acquired in a $300 million deal last year. However, with roughly $160 million in sales across the fourth quarter, the segment's revenue contribution is now substantial and has the markings of a meaningful sales pillar. Taken in conjunction with the $76 million that the company recorded for its distribution segment in the fourth quarter (up 137% year over year), it's clear that iQiyi has promising irons in the fire. </p> iQiyi's massive user base sets up big potential <p>It's instructive to look at the shift that's happened at iQiyi across just four quarters. Online advertising accounted for the plurality of sales in the company's first publicly reported quarter -- with the ad unit's $336 million in revenue narrowly edging out the subscription segment to claim the top spot and account for 43% of total sales.</p> <p>By the fourth quarter, member services had climbed to 46% of sales despite big growth for the distribution and other revenues segments -- and online advertising accounted for just 32% of the $1 billion in revenue across the period. Subscription services has become the company's core business, and the segment looks strong.</p> <p>Even if the company's membership growth were to decelerate substantially next year -- say, to 20 million members across 2020 -- that conservative trajectory still has iQiyi hitting 140 million subscribers in relatively short order. With that kind of user base, the company really starts to wield a sizable sales base and can better leverage economies of scale on the content side of things.</p> <p>iQiyi's massive spending push starts to look a lot more reasonable in that context. And comments from management suggesting that content production and acquisition costs should begin to fall in the near future suggest other positive margin tailwinds. There's still a long runway for growth in subscription revenue, and the impact of pricing increases down the line will be even more substantial thanks to rapid member growth. Factor in promising trends for the company's distribution and other-revenues segments, and iQiyi's growth story looks to be heating up.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-22870358059264903622019-02-28T01:30:00.000-08:002019-02-28T01:31:47.386-08:00Pool Corp (POOL) Files 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended on December 31, 2018 <p>Pool Corp (NASDAQ:POOL) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2018. Pool Corp is a wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products. It also distributes irrigation and landscape products in the United States. Pool Corp has a market cap of $6.47 billion; its shares were traded at around $160.69 with a P/E ratio of 28.60 and P/S ratio of 2.23. The dividend yield of Pool Corp stocks is 1.08%. Pool Corp had annual average EBITDA growth of 15.10% over the past ten years. GuruFocus rated Pool Corp the business predictability rank of 4-star.</p> <p>For the last quarter Pool Corp reported a revenue of $543.1 million, compared with the revenue of $510.2 million during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $3 billion, an increase of 7.5% from last year. For the last five years Pool Corp had an average revenue growth rate of 7.6% a year.</p><p> The reported diluted earnings per share was $5.62 for the year, an increase of 24.6% from previous year. Over the last five years Pool Corp had an EPS growth rate of 22.4% a year. The Pool Corp had a decent operating margin of 10.47%, compared with the operating margin of 10.2% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of Pool Corp is 8.19%. The profitability rank of the company is 8 (out of 10).</p> <p>At the end of the fiscal year, Pool Corp has the cash and cash equivalents of $16.4 million, compared with $29.9 million in the previous year. The long term debt was $657.6 million, compared with $508.8 million in the previous year. The interest coverage to the debt is at a comfortable level of 15. Pool Corp has a financial strength rank of 6 (out of 10).</p> <p>At the current stock price of $160.69, Pool Corp is traded at 83.3% premium to its historical median P/S valuation band of $87.67. The P/S ratio of the stock is 2.23, while the historical median P/S ratio is 1.22. The intrinsic value of the stock is $159.99 a share, according to GuruFocus DCF Calculator. The stock gained 14.36% during the past 12 months. </p> <p>For the complete 20-year historical financial data of POOL, click here.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-29648757768531163922019-02-24T15:12:00.000-08:002019-02-24T15:13:24.702-08:00Galectin Therapeutics (GALT) Stock Rating Upgraded by ValuEngine <p><img src="https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/galectin-therapeutics-inc-logo.jpg" alt="Galectin Therapeutics logo" title="Galectin Therapeutics logo" class="companylogo" />Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.</p> <p>Separately, B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Galectin Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.50.</p> Get Galectin Therapeutics alerts: <p>GALT stock opened at $6.02 on Wednesday. Galectin Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $3.10 and a twelve month high of $9.49. The company has a market cap of $233.26 million, a PE ratio of -12.29 and a beta of 3.76. </p> <p> In other news, Director Gilbert F. Amelio sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard E. Uihlein acquired 51,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.87 per share, with a total value of $250,805.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,538,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,361,467.43. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 45.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. </p> <p>A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 199.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 588,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 392,151 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $237,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 45.7% in the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 58,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 18,336 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Galectin Therapeutics by 5.0% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 689,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 32,751 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Galectin Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $107,000. 15.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p> <p>Galectin Therapeutics Company Profile</p> <p>Galectin Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of therapies for fibrotic disease, skin disease, and cancer. The company's lead product candidate includes galectin-3 inhibitor (GR-MD-02), a galactoarabino-rhamnogalacturonan polysaccharide polymer for the treatment of liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis patients, as well as for the treatment of cancer.</p> <p>Further Reading: Growth Stocks, What They Are, What They Are Not</p> <p>To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-43586372546493017102019-02-22T00:19:00.000-08:002019-02-22T00:20:03.553-08:00These 2 Surging Stocks Are Still Buys <p>I highlighted Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) and Skechers (NYSE:SKX) as two beaten-down stocks to buy back in December. The timing was lucky -- both stocks and the broader market bottomed out just a few days later.</p> <p>The stock market has done well since then, with the S&P 500 gaining nearly 20% from the bottom. But Hanesbrands and Skechers have each gained more than 50%. Those are impressive gains, but they're not the end of the story. Both stocks are still cheap, and both would still make great additions to your portfolio.</p> <p><img alt="HBI Chart" src="https://media.ycharts.com/charts/b1bc4a5d8f4bb0bbf7fbca13189ef9d4.png"/></p> <p>HBI data by YCharts.</p> Hanesbrands <p>2018 wasn't a great year for Hanesbrands until the very end. Retailer Target announced it was dropping C9 by Champion, an exclusive line of activewear, from its stores in 2020. That blew a $380 million hole in Hanesbrands' annual revenue, and it threatened a key growth business for the company.</p> <p>Later, the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings and a strengthening U.S. dollar led Hanesbrands to reduce its full-year outlook. The company took a $14 million bad-debt charge related to Sears, and it assumed that it would lose about 1% of its sales as the iconic retailer circled the drain.</p> <p>Those two negative developments set the stage for a brutal decline when the stock market ran into trouble in December. In the six months ending when Hanesbrands stock finally bottomed out in late December, the shares lost nearly 50% of their value.</p> <p>Things have quickly gotten better. Hanesbrands stock has surged, now up a whopping 66% from its low. A big chunk of that gain came after Hanesbrands reported exceptionally strong fourth-quarter results. Revenue surged 7.5% year over year, led by growth in activewear and international sales. And while adjusted earnings per share declined, they would have risen by 12% if not for a higher tax rate.</p> <p>Even after the big rally of the past two months, Hanesbrands stock remains cheap. Shares trade for just 11 times the midpoint of the company's adjusted earnings guidance, and a dividend yield above 3% is icing on the cake. Hanesbrands isn't a growth company, and the loss of the Target revenue will create some challenges next year. But the pessimism that decimated the stock in 2018 was clearly overdone.</p> <img alt="Skechers shoes." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F512890%2Fskechers-shoes-held_iGGBqFc.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Skechers.</p> Skechers <p>Shares of Skechers were also beaten down in 2018 thanks to extreme pessimism. Since bottoming out in late December, the stock is up about 55%. A strong fourth-quarter report, featuring solid revenue growth and a big boost to per-share earnings, helped undo much of the damage of the past year. The company managed to keep costs in check, something it hasn't been able to do in recent quarters amid investments in international markets.</p> <p>Skechers expects revenue growth in the first quarter to be weak, thanks to currency and the timing of the Easter holiday. But analysts are expecting solid 7.8% revenue growth for the full year, along with near-double-digit earnings growth. Based on the average analyst estimate for 2019 earnings, Skechers stock trades for about 16 times earnings.</p> <p>That may not seem all that cheap, but Skechers' balance sheet is loaded with excess cash. The company had $1.07 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments at the end of the fourth quarter and just $97 million in debt. If the net cash is backed out, Skechers' cash-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio falls to just 13.</p> <p>Skechers stock isn't as cheap as Hanesbrands. Its long-term growth prospects are likely better, given its opportunity in China and other international markets, so that makes some sense. But the stock is still trading at a discount to the market, even after surging over the past couple of months. It's not too late to buy this cheap growth stock.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-60293717629628457562019-02-20T15:41:00.000-08:002019-02-20T15:42:31.450-08:00Why LeMaitre Vascular Is Soaring What happened <p>After the company reported fourth-quarter and full-year results, shares of LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT), a medical device company focused on vascular surgery, jumped 18% as of 10:15 a.m. EST on Wednesday.</p> So what <p>Here are the headline numbers from the quarter:</p> Sales grew 9% to $28.4 million. That was well ahead of the $25.9 million that analysts had projected. Operating income surged 14% to $7.2 million. Net income grew 41% to $6 million, or $0.30 per share. That figure blew past the $0.20 that Wall Street was expecting. The board of directors approved a 21% increase to the quarterly dividend and gave the thumbs-up to repurchasing $10 million shares of common stock. <p>Zooming out to the full year, here's how the company performed in 2018:</p> Revenue jumped 5% to $105.6 million. That was solidly ahead of the $103 million that was expected. Net income grew 34% to $22.9 million. However, the bulk of the increase is attributable to one-time gains on business divestitures and acquisitions. EPS jumped 31% to $1.13. This was comfortably above the $1.04 that market watchers were expecting. <img alt="Doctors performing surgery." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F512581%2Fdoctors-performing-surgery.jpg&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> <p>Turning to guidance, here's what management is predicting about the quarter and year ahead:</p> First-quarter 2019 sales are expected to grow about 8% to a range of $27.7 million to $28.5 million. That's ahead of the current estimate of $27.2 million. First-quarter 2019 EPS is expected to land between $0.18 and $0.20. The midpoint of this range is slightly behind the $0.20 that was expected. Full-year 2019 sales are expected to grow about 8% to $113 million to $114.4 million. That's also ahead of the $110.3 million that was predicted. Full-year 2019 EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.82 to $0.86. This range compares favorably to the $0.81 expectation. <p>Given the better-than-expected results and guidance, it isn't hard to figure out why shares of this beaten-down gem are getting a boost today.</p> Now what <p>LeMaitre's results should go a long way to prove to Wall Street that this is the same Steady Eddie growth business that it has always been. While shares are no longer a screaming bargain, my view is that this is still a high-quality business that buy-and-hold investors should get to know.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-23236013778059531152019-02-17T23:56:00.000-08:002019-02-17T23:57:33.739-08:00Restaurant Group (RTN) Given “Hold” Rating at Peel Hunt <p><img src="https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?w=250&zc=1&src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/restaurant-group-logo.gif" alt="Restaurant Group logo" title="Restaurant Group logo" class="companylogo" />Restaurant Group (LON:RTN)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Peel Hunt in a research report issued on Thursday.</p> <p>A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Group from GBX 320 ($4.18) to GBX 165 ($2.16) and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, January 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a GBX 200 ($2.61) target price for the company. Liberum Capital restated a “hold” rating and set a GBX 180 ($2.35) target price on shares of Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, January 24th. Shore Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Restaurant Group in a research report on Thursday, January 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Group from GBX 270 ($3.53) to GBX 170 ($2.22) and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Restaurant Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 220.45 ($2.88).</p> Get Restaurant Group alerts: <p>LON RTN opened at GBX 135.30 ($1.77) on Thursday. Restaurant Group has a 1 year low of GBX 229.20 ($2.99) and a 1 year high of GBX 381.70 ($4.99). </p> <p> In other news, insider Debbie Howard Hewitt acquired 13,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 146 ($1.91) per share, with a total value of £19,942.14 ($26,057.94). </p> <p>About Restaurant Group</p> <p>The Restaurant Group plc operates restaurants and pub restaurants in the United Kingdom. Its brands include Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Coast to Coast, Brunning & Price, Garfunkel's, and Joe's Kitchen. The company also operates TRG concessions that provide table service, counter service, sandwich shops, pubs, and bars in the United Kingdom's airports.</p> <p>Recommended Story: How prevalent are 12b-1 fees?</p> <p><img src='https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsAndPriceTargetChart.ashx?Prefix=LON&Symbol=RTN' alt='Analyst Recommendations for Restaurant Group (LON:RTN)' title='Analyst Recommendations for Restaurant Group (LON:RTN)' /></p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-56298349177871982342019-02-17T03:51:00.000-08:002019-02-17T03:52:21.514-08:00MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp (MX) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript <img alt="Logo of jester cap with thought bubble." src="https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F511965%2Ftranscripts-logo.png&w=700&op=resize"/> <p>Image source: The Motley Fool.</p> <p>MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp (NYSE:MX)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 14, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET</p> Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: <p>Operator</p> <p>Good day, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Quarter Four 2018 MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions will follow at that time.</p> <p>(Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this call will be recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Bruce Entin, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.</p> <p>Bruce Entin -- Head of Investor Relations</p> <p>Thank you, Chris, and thank you for joining us to discuss MagnaChip's financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31st, 2018. The fourth quarter earnings release that we filed today after the stock market closed and other releases can be found on the Company's Investor Relations website.</p> <p>The telephone replay of today's call will be available shortly after the completion of the call and the webcast will be archived on our website for one year. Access information is provided in the earnings release. Joining me today are YJ Kim, MagnaChip's Chief Executive Officer, and Jonathan Kim, our Chief Financial Officer. YJ will discuss the Company's recent operating performance and the outlook for 2019 and Jonathan will provide an overview of our Q4 and 2018 financial results and provide financial guidance for Q1 2019.</p> <p>There will be a question-and-answer session following today's prepared remarks. During the course of this conference call, we may make forward-looking statements about MagnaChip's business outlook and expectations. Our forward-looking statements and all other statements that are not historical facts, reflect our beliefs and predictions as of today and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties as described in the Safe Harbor discussion found in our SEC filings.</p> <p>During the call, we will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP measures are not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, but are intended to illustrate an alternative measure of MagnaChip's operating performance that may be useful.</p> <p>A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in our fourth quarter earnings release available on our website under the Investor Relations tab at www.magnachip.com.</p> <p>I now will turn the call over to YJ Kim. YJ?</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Welcome to everyone on the Q4 conference call. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so let's get started. MagnaChip had a solid year in 2018, revenue of $750.9 million, increased 10.5% over 2017, despite uncertain macro factors, a general slowdown in China and on inventory correction by customers. The improvement in our revenue performance was especially notable considering that China accounted for more than 40% of our annual revenue for 2018, either through direct sales or indirect sales, through distributors and Korean OLED panel makers.</p> <p>Our Standard Products Group turned in strong performance in 2018 with revenue of $425.4 million, up 18.4% over 2017 and up 29.3% on an adjusted basis. Both OLED and power had the record revenue in 2018 and are positioned for success in 2019, due to their strong product line ups and customer traction.</p> <p>OLED revenue of $188 million in 2018 was on all-time high and was nearly triple the number of 2017 level. The $188 million in revenue, beat our previous record in 2016 by 17%. OLED display driver ICs accounted for 73.4% of the display revenue in 2018, up from 30.1% in 2017, which illustrates how we are improving the product mix within our display business.</p> <p>We were awarded a record 41 new OLED design wins in 2018 from smartphone makers, primarily in China, but also in Korea that compared favorably with 29 OLED design wins in 2017. In a seasonally soft Q4, OLED revenue declined more than expected due to a slowdown in the smartphone market in China.</p> <p>Our OLED business is off to a good start in 2019 and we currently expect Q1 '19 OLED revenue to be higher than Q4 '18 and 2019 OLED revenue is expected to be higher than 2018, driven by our strong product lineup and well-established traction with the world's top two OLED panel makers, that are co-located with us in Korea.</p> <p>In Q4, we were awarded five new OLED design wins, including three from a major smartphone maker in Korea for mid-range smartphones, the first time in recent memory that we've cracked such mid-range phones in Korea. Our first 28 nanometer display driver is functional and ready for sampling this month and we anticipate volume production in the second half of this year.</p> <p>We are confident that multiple smartphone makers will be drawn to its ultra low power specs and features, which are best in class. The 28 nanometer display drive IC is targeted at volume premium feature smartphones. As we look ahead to 2019 and beyond, we are beginning to see the emergence of new growth drivers to ignite growth in the smartphone market, four of our smartphones are expected to be showcased at Mobile World Congress this month, they all form (ph) exciting glimpse of what's around the corner. The rollout of the 5G and WiFi 6 also has the potential to drive smartphone upgrade cycles into high gear.</p> <p>Turning now to power. The portfolio optimization initiatives we launched a few years ago in the power business paid up handsomely in 2018. Revenue of $169.3 million, set a record and increased 13% from 2017. Our current view is that power business will show a significant revenue growth in 2019 over 2018.</p> <p>We don't break up our power profit margin, but we can point out that profit margin increased nearly 4 percentage points in 2018 over 2017, despite industrywide raw wafer price increases. The trajectory of the margin ramp has been steep over the past few years.</p> <p>Our power business benefited in 2018 from an industry wide shortage, but our success also can be traced to the continuous growth in our portfolio of premium products. Revenue for higher margin premium products, which include IGBTs, Super Junction MOSFETs and Power ICs, increased 27.7% year-over-year and represented 44% of total power revenue in 2018.</p> <p>Premium power products did particularly well in consumer and industrial markets. Our battery FET for smartphone batteries has the number one market share in Korea and we've design into next generation of phones in Korea.</p> <p>Looking ahead, we see many opportunities to pair (ph) power products with OLED, DDICs in smartphones, and in many other devices. In Q4 2018, we were awarded five power discrete design wins for automotive application that we expect to go through full qualification in 2019. And we expect to begin production on these devices in 2020.</p> <p>We anticipate that automotive will account for approximately 5% of our power discrete revenue in 2021 and 10% in 2022, due mainly to the sharp growth expected in the electrical -- electric vehicles market.</p> <p>Bloomberg forecast that electric vehicles will grow worldwide from 1.1 million in 2017 to 11 million in 2025 and then surge to 30 million in 2030.</p> <p>Turning now to foundry. Of the three businesses, foundry was impacted the most by an inventory correction and China slowdown. Foundry revenue in 2018 increased 1.6%, but declined 7.2% on an adjusted basis.</p> <p>In Q4 '18, foundry revenue increased 3.1% from year ago, but declined 8% on an adjusted basis. Gross margin in Q4 '18 declined 8.5 percentage points from year ago or 7.2 percentage points on an adjusted basis.</p> <p>We first pointed out foundry weakness on our Q3 earnings call last October and in again in our 10-Q last November. In that filing, we said we believed we were heading into a period of weaker demand from our foundry customers as a result of a recent softening in global market conditions. We added in the 10-Q that rising wafer and other costs lower than expected fab utilization and auto factors may adversely impact our foundry gross margin and other operating results, and we said that such an impact could potentially be material.</p> <p>To respond to these issues, we said we were evaluating a number of options to optimize our foundry operations and expense structure with an intent toward maximizing shareholder value.</p> <p>Today, we announced that we are undertaking a strategic evaluation of our foundry business and Fab 4, the larger of our two 8-inch analog and mixed signal fabs. Fab 4 accounts for approximately 73% of our total capacity, the great majority of the capacity in Fab 4 is allocated to serving the needs of our foundry customers.</p> <p>The strategic evaluation is expected to include a range of possible options, including but not limited to joint ventures, strategic partnerships, as well as M&A possibilities. The Company has retained financial and legal advisors to assist in the evaluation. As we proceed with this strategic evaluation process, we intend to be mindful of the best interests of shareholders, customers and employees.</p> <p>Looking ahead, our current view is that utilization in Fab 4 will experience a severe decline in the first half of 2019 due to an inventory correction as well as our decision to be more selective about the business as we undergo the strategic evaluation process. This in turn will depress gross margins for the foundry and for the Company as well.</p> <p>Our current view is that we are cautiously optimistic that revenue for MagnaChip for the 2019 year likely will decline by low single-digit percentage points as compared with 2018 despite current foundry weakness.</p> <p>Our current expectation is that we will see a strong recovery in the second half of 2019 and exit the year on an upswing with a gross margin level in Q4, consistent with our performance for the 2018 year. We will exercise discipline was expenses in 2019. SG&A and R&D expenses in 2019 are expected to be below the 2018 level. We also have implemented a hiring fees, except for R&D personnel.</p> <p>Before I turn the call over to Jonathan, let me conclude by saying, I'm excited that Magnachip is on the verge of making a major strategy shift (ph) that will change our future course. Jonathan?</p> <p>Jonathan Kim -- Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer</p> <p>Thank you, YJ, and welcome to everyone on the call. As a reminder, the results that we discuss are historical numbers on an as reported basis and reflect year-over-year results, unless otherwise noted. Please refer to our published financial tables for the as adjusted historical numbers to reflect changes associated with the transfer in January, 2018. Our portion of our non-OLED display business from the Standard Products Group to Foundry Services Group as part of a portfolio optimization initiative.</p> <p>Let's begin with our corporate financial recap of 2018. Several key financial measures in 2018, including revenue, gross profit dollars, operating income and adjusted EBITDA achieved their highest annual levels since 2012. We achieved these results despite softness in our foundry business caused in part by an uncertain macroeconomic climate as well as higher labor costs and substantially higher wafer prices that dampened gross margin.</p> <p>Here's a snapshot of the key financial measures in 2018 and how they compare to 2017. Revenue of $750.9 million increased 10.5% from $679.7 million. Gross profit dollars of $198.1 million increased 5.4% from $187.9 million. Operating income of $47.4 million increased 20.9% from $39.2 million and adjusted EBITDA was $84.3 million, up 7.1% from $78.7 million.</p> <p>Let's now turn to our 2018 financial recap. SPG revenue in 2018 increased 18.4% over 2017 and increased 29.3% on an as adjusted basis. SPG benefited from a three-fold increase in OLED revenue and a 13% year-over-year increase in power revenue.</p> <p>Foundry revenue increased 1.6% from 2017, but declined 7.2% on an as adjusted basis. SPG revenue was 56.7% of total revenue in 2018 compared to 52.9% in 2017, and 48.4% on an as adjusted basis.</p> <p>Foundry revenue was 43.3% of total revenue in 2018, compared to 47.1% in 2017 and 51.6% on an as adjusted basis. Our top ten customers represented 61% of revenue in 2018 as compared to 57% in 2017. Total gross profit dollars was $198.1 million in 2018 up 5.4% from 2017 as a result of a $23.3 million increase in gross margin dollars from SPG and an increase of $29.6 million on an as adjusted basis.</p> <p>The gain in total gross profit dollars was achieved despite a decrease of $12.9 million in gross profit dollars from foundry and a decrease of $19.2 million on an as adjusted basis.</p> <p>We believe gross margin dollars is a key financial metric worth monitoring because revenue growth can drive fall through to operating income, adjusted EBITDA and cash flows from operations, and that's exactly what happened in 2018.</p> <p>Total gross profit margin was 26.4% in 2018 compared to 27.6% in 2017. Within the segments, foundry gross margin of 25.4% in 2018 compared to 29.8% in 2017 and to 29% on an as adjusted basis as a result of lower fab utilization, particularly in our larger Fab 4.</p> <p>SPG gross margin was 27.1% in 2018 compared to 25.7% in 2017 and 26.1% on an as adjusted basis. The improvement in SPG margin year-over-year reflecting a better product mix in OLED display drivers as well as a higher percentage of revenue from premium products in our power business.</p> <p>Both OLED and power revenue are expected to grow in 2019 and related gross margin for SPG is expected to decline in the first half of 2019, but to recover in the second half due to an improved product mix.</p> <p>Operating income was $47.4 million or 6.3% of revenue in 2018, up 20.9% from $39.2 million or 5.8% of revenue in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA was $84.3 million or 11.2% of revenue in 2018, up 7.1% from $78.7 million or 11.6% of revenue in 2017. Lastly, SG&A was $72.6 million or 9.7% of revenue in 2018 down 11.2% from $81.8 million or 12% of revenue in 2017, as we focused on cost controls to improve profitability. R&D was $78 million or 10.4% of revenue in 2018, up 10.7% from $70.5 million or 10.4% of revenue in 2017, as we invested more resources, primarily into our OLED business.</p> <p>Let's turn now to Q4 financial results. Revenue of $179.4 million came in at the midpoint of our guidance range of $174 million to $184 million. Revenue was up 2.8% from a year ago, due primarily to an increase of 2.5% year-over-year growth in the Standard Products Group and 14.3% on an as adjusted basis.</p> <p>Power revenue increased to 14.6%, year-over-year, reflecting strength in premium products. Display revenue declined 6.6% year-over-year, but increased 13.9% on an as adjusted basis, reflecting the higher percentage of revenue from OLED, as a result of a previously mentioned transfer of LCD business to the Foundry Services Group.</p> <p>Foundry revenue in Q4 was up by 3.1% year-over-year, but down by 8% on an as adjusted basis, due to factors we described elsewhere on the call today. Total gross profit margin of 24.5% in Q4 was below the guidance range of 25% to 27% and down 3.8 percentage points year-over-year, due primarily to lower fab utilization, particularly in our foundry related business.</p> <p>Increased inventory reserve related to a legacy display product and also due to increased costs for wafers and labor. Notably, we're in the process of actively negotiating with our vendors to curb the persistent wafer price increases. As a result, we expect raw wafer costs for the Company to trend down modestly during 2019.</p> <p>Gross profit dollars in Q4 was down 11% year-over-year. Total fab utilization declined to the mid 80% range in Q4 from the 90% range in Q4 last year, although the decline was steeper and more impactful in our larger Fab 4, which is primarily used by our foundry business. We now expect utilization in Fab 4 to decline significantly in Q1, consistent with a continuing inventory correction and our decision to be more selective about business as we undergo our strategic evaluation process and our gross margin will decline in tandem during Q1.</p> <p>Turning now to operating expenses in Q4, SG&A was $17.5 million or 9.8% of revenue as compared to $23.6 million or 13.5% in Q4 a year ago. The decrease was primarily related to a $4.2 million in special charge taken in Q4, as a result of a tax audit by the Korean National Tax services.</p> <p>R&D was $18.5 million or 10.3% of revenue, as compared to $18.1 million or 10.4% in Q4, a year ago. The increase of $0.5 million or 2.5% was due primarily to development activities for new OLED products.</p> <p>Looking ahead, SG&A and R&D expenses in dollar terms in 2019 is expected to be lower than in 2018, as we focus on cost control. Turning now to the balance sheet, cash was $132.4 million at the end of Q4 2018, as compared with $133.5 million in Q3 2018 and $128.6 million in Q4 2017.</p> <p>Accounts receivable totaled $80 million, a decline of 22.5% from $103.2 million in Q3. The decrease was related to the timing of payments from certain customers. Inventories in Q4 of $71.6 million were flattish with $71.5 million in Q3. CapEx totaled $10.1 million in Q4, compared with previously estimated guidance of $16 million. We reduced CapEx as a prudent measure due to lower than expected loading in our fabs, particularly in Fab 4.</p> <p>For the full year 2018, CapEx was approximately $33 million or $29 million on a normalized basis as compared to a previously estimated plan to spend approximately $39 million or $35 million on a normalized basis in 2018. The normalized basis excludes a $4.3 million payment for a purchase of certain assets related to a water treatment facility arrangement that was fully financed by a third party.</p> <p>With that, here's our guidance for Q1. For the first quarter of 2019, MagnaChip anticipates revenue in this seasonally soft quarter to be in the range of $150 million to $155 million, down sequentially about 15% at the midpoint of the projected range. The guidance for the first quarter of 2019 compares with revenue of $179.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $165.8 million in the first quarter of 2018.</p> <p>Gross profit margin to be in the range of 14% to 16%. This compares to 24.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 26.9% in the first quarter of 2018, both revenue and gross profit margin guidance reflect a downturn in the foundry business, due in part to a continuing inventory correction and the Company's decision to be more selective about business as it undergoes a strategic evaluation process.</p> <p>With that, I will turn the call back to Bruce. Bruce?</p> <p>Bruce Entin -- Head of Investor Relations</p> <p>Thank you, Jonathan. So, Chris, this concludes our prepared remarks. We now would like to open the call for questions.</p> Questions and Answers: <p>Operator</p> <p>Thank you. (Operator Instructions). And our first question comes from Suji Desilva with ROTH Capital. Your line is now open.</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Hi, YJ. Hi Jonathan. So question first -- so first on the gross margin, look, perhaps you know, the first half, what is your plan for utilization and how you plan to run the Fab near term in terms of managing and what portion of the business do the foundry has which you consider desirable versus not desirable to understand how much you're trying to kind of flush out of the system if you would?</p> <p>Jonathan Kim -- Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer</p> <p>Hi, so I think we mentioned a number of things in connection with what's impacting the utilization and it's mostly related to the inventory correction and the China slowdown that lot of folks have talked about out in the industry, but it also has to do with our strategic evaluation process as well.</p> <p>So having said that, also during the second half, out in the industry, we also hear about a recovery, and so with the inventory correction and the China slowdown aspect of the impact, it recovers during the second half, we do see a recovery in the second half, and so in connection with that, we're going to continue to service our foundry customers and we do see a recovery in the second half, and so we're being selective for now in connection with the strategic evaluation process, but the expectation is that with the improvement in the inventory correction as well as the China slowdown in the second half, we should see the related improvement.</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. And then on the OLED business, what's the typical number of wins you'd expect in a given quarter, you had five this quarter and how much potential is there for that business to grow in '19, given that you have a lot more designs in flight now ramping versus a year ago? What's the potential there?</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yes Suji, that's very good question. So I think that the -- in the '17 year of design win and that helped to go into '18 ramp and then more on the design win in the numbers, but if you look at now, we are getting a point where the business on OLED is stabilizing. It's matter of a key quality designs that we win.</p> <p>So for example, in the Q1, we are guiding now that the OLED revenue to grow this quarter, that's due to key 13 number design, that's really ramping up despite the China slowdown market.</p> <p>So I would say that going forward, it's a matter of the -- not necessarily in total number, but it's a quality of the each design wins. So, and with our 20-nanometer, I think that our portfolio is more strengthened, so that's how we see the 2019 to grow over 2018.</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. Thanks YJ, and then my last question is on the foundry restructuring announcement here, you did entitled (ph) it three months ago, so I just wanted to ask more contextual question you had a review for the Company about a year plus ago and took longer than a year. What's the timeframe you imagine for this process, if you can give us any thoughts there, and then are there any participants from the last review that perhaps you're still engaged with, and maybe you could just talk about why now is the time for you guys to look at the foundry business in this light versus the past?</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yes. So I see there is multiple question there, so I'll try to answer one by one, but in terms of timing, look, our goal is to go through the strategic evaluation process. Our goal is to conclude, in terms of the -- why now, you know, if you look at the -- when we took over the business few years ago, and we solidified the power business, now power is growing very nicely, it's higher than corporate gross margin growth for '19 and beyond with automotive sector, if you look at the display, we transformed the Company from the LCD now to OLED. OLED now account 73% and we are the leader in the industry as an independent guy have shipped more than 400 million units.</p> <p>So the next that we have to look at is the -- how to fix the foundry for next level. So that's what it is.</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Any thoughts on timeframe, YJ?</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yeah, we don't speculate on time. But our goal is to go through the process and conclude it.</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Okay. YJ, I'll pass it along. Thank you.</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Thank you.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Thank you. (Operator Instructions). And our next question comes from the line of Ari Shusterman (ph) with Needham & Company. Your line is now open.</p> <p>Ari Shusterman -- Needham & Company -- Analyst</p> <p>Hello, this is Ari. And I'm speaking -- I'm asking a question on behalf of Rajvindra Gill from Needham & Company. So this is with regards to the Foundry business. I think you hinted at this, probably (Technical Difficulty) declining so much in foundry, when it's 42% (ph) (Technical Difficulty) and how much foundry is China and I think you also talked about inventory correction, can you give some more color on that please?</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Yeah, it was hard to hear, it was breaking down, but the -- so the slowdown in the foundry, I think that's industry global. So you see the latest foundry people reporting the results all soft outlook for the first half and then rebound second half.</p> <p>So I think that, that's consistent in the foundry customer. In terms of our exposure to China as we said before earlier that the about more than 40% of total revenue come from China directly or indirectly, through distribution or through our panel makers as a customer.</p> <p>I hope that answers your question.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>And I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to Mr. Bruce Entin, Head of Investor Relations for any further remarks. Actually we do have one...</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Go ahead.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Actually that does conclude today's program. I would like to turn it back to Mr. Bruce Entin.</p> <p>Bruce Entin -- Head of Investor Relations</p> <p>So thank you, Chris. This concludes our fourth quarter 2018 earnings conference call. Please look for details of our future events on MagnaChip's Investor Relations website. Thank you for joining us today.</p> <p>Operator</p> <p>Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating in today's conference. This does conclude today's program. You may all disconnect. Everyone have a great day.</p> <p>Duration: 35 minutes</p> Call participants: <p>Bruce Entin -- Head of Investor Relations</p> <p>Young-Joon (YJ) Kim -- Board of Director, Member of the Risk Committee and Chief Executive Officer</p> <p>Jonathan Kim -- Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer</p> <p>Suji Desilva -- ROTH Capital Partners -- Analyst</p> <p>Ari Shusterman -- Needham & Company -- Analyst</p> <p>More MX analysis</p> <p>Transcript powered by AlphaStreet</p> <p>This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.</p> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-38779209660035368422019-02-15T19:02:00.000-08:002019-02-15T19:03:56.466-08:00Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019tags:ALL,SON,LMT,TOWN,AMGN, What happened <p>MuleSoft (NYSE:MULE) stock gained 42.4% in March, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence .</p> <p>Data source: MULE data by YCharts.</p> <p>Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) announced on March 20 that it had signed a deal to acquire MuleSoft, valuing the company at $6.5 billion and roughly 10.4 times its expected sales this year. MuleSoft's technology for pulling data from different cloud sources will be used to power the Salesforce Integration Cloud. </p> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> So what <p>MuleSoft and Salesforce began discussing a potential merger on Feb. 10. By early March, Salesforce had tendered an initial offer. The customer-relationship-management software giant then came back with a larger offer a few days later, landing at the final $6.5 billion figure that was announced on March 20. That closing price represented a 36% premium compared to MuleSoft's valuation prior to the announcement.</p><h3>Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019: Allstate Corporation (ALL)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Stephan Byrd]</b> <p>Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 1st. The insurance provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.45. Allstate had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts forecast that Allstate Corp will post 9.42 EPS for the current year. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Allstate (ALL)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>Allion (CURRENCY:ALL) traded up 4.4% against the US dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 8:00 AM Eastern on May 29th. One Allion coin can currently be purchased for $0.0143 or 0.00000193 BTC on popular exchanges including YoBit, Cryptopia and CoinExchange. Allion has a total market cap of $88,618.00 and $1,993.00 worth of Allion was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last week, Allion has traded down 4.3% against the US dollar. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Garrett Baldwin]</b> <p>Click here to learn more…</p> Stocks to Watch Today: DIS, TMUS, BP, S Shares of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) will lead a busy day of earnings reports. Wall Street is expecting a small decline in revenue for the first quarter. Disney is still in the process of absorbing most of Fox's assets from a deal last June. In addition, Disney will be launching its streaming service, Disney+, and investors will be looking for updates on the project. In deal news, T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) is looking to sweeten an offer to regulators to ensure a merger with rival Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S). The telecom giant told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that it would freeze the prices of many plans if it receives approval for a deal. T-Mobile has offered $26 billion to buy Sprint. Shares of BP Plc. (NYSE: BP) rallied more than 3.7% after the global energy giant topped 2018 earnings expectations. The firm's big bets on shale developments have paid off. Profitability more than doubled over the previous year, while production topped out at 3.7 million barrels per day. Look for earnings reports from Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Becton, Dickenson & Co. (NYSE: BDX), BP Plc. (NYSE: BP), Chubb Ltd. (NYSE: CB), Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR), Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR), Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (NYSE: EL), Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ), Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA), Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP), and Tableau Software Inc. (NASDAQ: DATA). <p>Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its stake in Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Allstate accounts for about 2.3% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lessened its position in shares of Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL) by 22.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,753 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Allstate were worth $5,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. </p></li> </ul><h3>Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019: Sonoco Products Company(SON)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products Co (NYSE:SON) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products Co (NYSE:SON) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Sonoco Products (SON)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Packaging Co. of America (NYSE: PKG) and Sonoco (NYSE:SON) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Sonoco Products (SON)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Reuben Gregg Brewer]</b> <p>The retail apocalypse is a huge deal for brick-and-mortar stores, even if the pain doesn't turn out to be as bad as some hyperbolic market watchers suggest. The main issue, of course, is the growing importance of online sales. But what if you could find a company that wasn't as prohibitively expensive as many tech stocks and was set to benefit from e-commerce growth? That would be little-known Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON). Here's what you need to know about this 2.9%-yielding industrial stock.</p></li> </ul><h3>Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019: Lockheed Martin Corporation(LMT)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Lou Whiteman]</b> <p>Sciple: That will be our first look at how any of these companies was affected by the shutdown. We had a lot of defense contractors reporting earnings in this past week. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), Raytheon (NYSE:RTN), Northrop (NYSE:NOC). Of course, those numbers are not embracing a significant chunk of the government shutdown. However, they did give relatively muted guidance looking out into next year. Can you talk about that a little bit? </p></li> <li> <b>[By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]</b> <p>For the details of Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Stonehearth+Capital+Management%2C+LLC</p>These are the top 5 holdings of Stonehearth Capital Management, LLCVanguard FTSE Emerging Markets (VWO) - 256,939 shares, 16.37% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 1.31%Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA) - 218,068 shares, 13.58% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 0.31%iShares MSCI Frontier 100 Fund (FM) - 247,185 shares, 11.36% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 0.89%Vanguard Small-Cap (VB) - 53,681 shares, 11.01% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 0.23%Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity (DBEF) - 228,07</li> <li> <b>[By Lou Whiteman]</b> <p>A version of Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) high-tech Aegis weapon system upgraded for ballistic missile defense (BMD) provided the computing power and radars used in the test, while a Raytheon-built (NYSE:RTN) SM-3 interceptor was fired at the target.</p></li> <li> <b>[By ]</b> <p>Boeing's guidance on cash flow was important given that aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) expects "negative cash from operations in the second quarter" and did not raise its cash flow guidance, which sent the stock tumbling by more than 6% Tuesday. </p></li> </ul><h3>Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019: Towne Bank(TOWN)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Joseph Griffin]</b> <p>John W. Rosenthal Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 10.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,000 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. TowneBank comprises approximately 2.5% of John W. Rosenthal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. John W. Rosenthal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in TowneBank were worth $3,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) had its hold rating reissued by analysts at Brean Capital. </p> <p>KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN). The firm issued an overweight rating on the stock. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) is scheduled to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, July 25th. Analysts expect TowneBank to post earnings of $0.50 per share for the quarter. </p></li> </ul><h3>Hot High Tech Stocks For 2019: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Chris Lange]</b> <p>Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall to 9.62 million shares from the previous level of 9.79 million. Shares were last seen at $178.26, in a 52-week trading range of $153.56 to $201.23.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Chris Lange]</b> <p>Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) saw its short interest fall to 10.24 million shares from the previous level of 10.63 million. Shares were last seen trading at $206.00, in a 52-week trading range of $163.31 to $210.19.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Ethan Ryder]</b> <p>Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C. trimmed its position in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,311 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Eqis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for approximately 0.5% of Eqis Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Eqis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. </p></li> <li> <b>[By ]</b> <p>Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) -- Amgen is a leading global biotech developer with a diverse product portfolio and promising development pipeline. The company has special expertise in cancer research and renal failure (kidney disease) treatments. Its biggest blockbuster is the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel, used primarily for rheumatoid arthritis, which is in the top-five worldwide with annual sales of nearly $8 billion.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Chris Lange]</b> <p>Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is waiting for the FDA to review its Biologics License Application (BLA) for Aimovig (erenumab) for the prevention of migraine in patients experiencing four or more migraine days per month. The FDA has set a PDUFA date for May 17.</p></li> </ul> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-41525082703381137182019-02-14T22:08:00.000-08:002019-02-14T22:10:00.426-08:00These Stocks Have Surged 25% Or More So Far In 2019. Why I Think You Should Buy Them Today &l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-1126628428&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/1126628428/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; </p><p>These stocks have seen their stock values swell by a fifth or more since January 1. And I can see them continue to surge as the year progresses.</p><p>&l;strong&g;Divestment News&l;/strong&g;</p><p>Fuller, Smith &a;amp; Turner has seen its share price go gangbusters since the turn of 2019. It&a;rsquo;s up 25% in the year to date but, unlike some of the stocks surging in the new year, the pub operator&a;rsquo;s rise cannot be&a;nbsp;&l;span&g;simply&l;/span&g; attributed to bright trading numbers.</p><p>Instead the small cap has thrust higher&a;nbsp;chiefly because of news that it is to divest its portfolio of centuries-old ales and beers to Japan&a;rsquo;s Asahi Group for an enterprise value of &a;pound;250m, a move that will see its beloved brands like London Pride and Cornish Orchards come under Asian control.</p><p>The deal will allow Fuller, Smith &a;amp; Turner to continue selling these beverages through its establishments via a long term supply agreement, it said, whilst allowing it to focus on improving its&a;nbsp;position as one of the UK&a;rsquo;s major premium pub and hotel operators.</p><p>&l;strong&g;Top Trading&l;/strong&g;</p><p>The divestment of its much-loved drinks stable may have commanded the headlines in January and driven its share price skywards. But don&a;rsquo;t underestimate the impact of more strong trading numbers in helping to boost investor appetite for the stock, too.</p><p>Last month the London business also declared that it had&a;nbsp; delivered &a;ldquo;&l;em&g;a very strong performance&l;/em&g;&a;rdquo; since it last updated the market during late November, and that like-for-like sales across its Managed Pubs and Hotels had leapt 5.6% in the 42 weeks to January 19.</p><p>The popularity of its beers and the quality of its estate is allowing it to defy the broader pressure on consumer spending power that the slowing UK economy is causing and over the critical month of December like-for-like sales leapt an impressive 8.7%.</p><p>It&a;rsquo;s not a shock to find City analysts predicting that earnings at Fuller, Smith &a;amp; Turner will continue edging higher, then, by 1% in 2019 and 4% in 2020. Not spectacular numbers, sure, but testament to the company&a;rsquo;s resilience, a quality that merits a slightly-toppy forward P/E ratio of 17.1 times in my opinion. It&a;rsquo;s a top leisure stock to buy into today, in my opinion.</p><p>&l;strong&g;It&l;span&g;&a;rsquo;s&a;nbsp;Time To Shine&l;/span&g;&l;/strong&g;</p><p>Petropavlovsk is another London-listed share that has charged higher since the turn of the year, its market value up 32% to be exact since New Year&a;rsquo;s Day.</p><p>The surging gold price has been one critical driver so far in 2019, the safe-haven metal ploughing through levels not seen since last spring above $1,320 per ounce. And the concoction of geopolitical and macroeconomic stresses currently swirling means that additional strength is quite possible in the weeks and months ahead.</p><p>What&a;rsquo;s more, strong production news from Petropavlovsk in recent weeks has helped its share price to gain ground. With its Pokrovskiy pressure oxidation (or POX) facility having poured maiden gold ahead of schedule in December, full-year production came in at some 422,300 ounces. And with further processing lines set for commissioning as 2019 progresses total production this year is estimated at between 450,000 ounces and 500,000 ounces.</p><p>With output surging and gold prices expected to remain robust, City brokers are forecasting profits increases of 52% this year and 28% in 2020. Despite its bright growth outlook the gold digger still trades on a mega-low prospective P/E ratio of 6.8 times, though. I reckon this leaves plenty of space for its share price to keep on charging.&l;/p&g; Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3732162707507842768.post-77024368917905111242019-02-14T00:02:00.000-08:002019-02-14T00:03:31.417-08:00Top Value Stocks To Buy For 2019tags:APB,FNJN,PRGS, <p>Cemtrex (NASDAQ:CETX) is a small industrials company out of Long Island, NY. You've likely never heard of it, but it immediately needs to be on your radar because of its low valuation, high appetite for growth, and positioning in several different, but favorable global markets. This stock is a classic high risk, high reward small-cap with an attractive, yet unrecognized growth profile. Based upon a projected fair value of $19.41/share, the stock has implied upside of 163%.</p> <p> </p> <p>Source: Cemtrex</p> <p>Background and Quick Trading Data</p> <p>Cemtrex is a small-cap stock with a market capitalization of just $72 million. It's volatility is massively high and to put it blatantly, management even wrote in the risk factors section of their recent 10-K, "Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk." Having been in the position for a couple weeks now, I can tell you that some days you'll be up over 10%, but other days you'll suffer 6% losses. If, after reading this pitch, you choose to buy the stock, think about allocation carefully as to not subject your entire portfolio to an undue level of risk. Liquidity is not yet ample enough for major institutional investors to take positions in, as they risk a liquidity crunch in the event of a sell-off, however it's perfectly adequate for retail investors. The rolling three month average daily volume is just over 370,000 shares. The stock's beta is 1.16.</p><h3>Top Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: Asia Pacific Fund, Inc. (APB)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Media coverage about Asia Pacific Fund, Inc. (The) common stock (NYSE:APB) has been trending somewhat positive on Sunday, Accern reports. Accern rates the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Asia Pacific Fund, Inc. (The) common stock earned a news impact score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the investment management company an impact score of 45.8681605197346 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days. </p></li> </ul><h3>Top Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: Finjan Holdings, Inc.(FNJN)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>Finjan Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:FNJN) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 32,387 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the previous session’s volume of 494,407 shares.The stock last traded at $4.98 and had previously closed at $5.08.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Max Byerly]</b> <p>Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) and Finjan (NASDAQ:FNJN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and dividends. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Stephan Byrd]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Finjan (FNJN)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Finjan (FNJN)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> <li> <b>[By Logan Wallace]</b> <p>Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Finjan (FNJN)</p> <p>For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com</p></li> </ul><h3>Top Value Stocks To Buy For 2019: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)</h3> <b>Advisors' Opinion:</b> <ul><li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>GSA Capital Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,142 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 16,052 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.13% of Progress Software worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. </p></li> <li> <b>[By Stephan Byrd]</b> <p>Progress Software Corp (NASDAQ:PRGS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 775 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,170% compared to the typical daily volume of 61 put options.</p></li> <li> <b>[By Garrett Baldwin]</b> <p>Get an exclusive invitation to meet Tim before everyone else right here.</p> The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday The U.S. markets are preparing for the eighth interest rate hike since 2015, and the Federal Reserve may not be done yet. Markets are weighing the possibility that the Fed may raise rates one more time this year (in December). The hikes come as the Fed is attempting to shrink its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. When Powell speaks this afternoon, expect a few questions about the impact of the trade war between the United States and China. Reporters will also likely want to know about geopolitical risks to the U.S. economy and how they might affect growth in a higher-interest-rate environment. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech before the United Nations General Assembly. During his talk, Trump praised the U.S. economy and defended his administration's actions this year on trade. Trump said that the United States will no longer endure "abuse" from other trade partners. The U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer also said Tuesday that the U.S. is prepared to proceed on a new trade deal with Mexico without the participation of Canada. Oil prices are in focus after President Trump called out OPEC members before the U.N. on Tuesday. During his talk, Trump accused OPEC and non-OPEC participants in collusion efforts on production and prices of ripping off the rest of the world. Three Stocks to Watch Today: NKE, SVMK, DB Shares of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) fell 3.5% after the sports apparel giant reported earnings after the bell. The company topped earnings expectations and reported profit growth of 15%. However, investors took some profits off the table. Shares of Nike stock are up more than 35% on the year. SVMK, the parent company of SurveyMonkey, has priced its upcoming IPO at $12 per share. That figure is above analysts' initial range expectation of $9 to $11 per share. The firm expects to reach a market capitalization of $1.46 bil</li> <li> <b>[By Shane Hupp]</b> <p>Smith Asset Management Group LP cut its holdings in shares of Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) by 45.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,653 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 52,380 shares during the period. Smith Asset Management Group LP owned 0.14% of Progress Software worth $2,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. </p></li> </ul> Kang Liqinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01589629485071086051noreply@blogger.com0