'NY Times' supports new hire Sarah Jeong

�

NEW YORK ��� The New York Times reaffirmed its support Thursday for new hire Sarah Jeong after social media criticism of her tweets from several years ago that were derogatory of white people, with both the paper and the writer saying the comments were Jeong��s response to online harassment she had been receiving, but that she regrets her language.

The paper announced Wednesday it was hiring Jeong, a tech writer, to join its editorial board.

Soon after, mainly conservative social media took issue with the tweets, which seem to date to 2013 and 2014, and include statements like ��Oh man, it��s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men.��

In its statement on Twitter, the Times said Jeong��s ��journalism and the fact that she is a young Asian woman have made her a subject of frequent online harassment. For a period of time she responded to that harassment by imitating the rhetoric of her harassers. She sees now that this approach only served to feed the vitriol that we too often see on social media. She regrets it, and The Times does not condone it.��

The Times said it reviewed Jeong��s social media during its vetting process.

In her comment, Jeong posted examples of the kinds of harassing tweets she has received, involving calls of violence and racial slurs aimed at her.

She said she had thought of her comments as ��counter-trolling,�� and that ��while it was intended as satire, I deeply regret that I mimicked the language of my harassers. These comments were not aimed at a general audience, because general audiences do not engage in harassment campaigns. I can understand how hurtful these posts are out of context, and would not do it again.��

In February, the Times hired and then revoked its offer to Quinn Norton to join its editorial board after controversy over tweets using gay and racial slurs as well as referring to her friendship with a neo-Nazi. In announcing the revocation, the Times said the information was new to them.
�

Here's how much money you could be losing by avoiding the stock market

Having too much money in the bank is a problem that millions of Americans would love to have. But those fortunate enough to be in that position may be making a big financial mistake with their cash.

A new survey from Nerdwallet shows that while many Americans have little to no savings, the average American keeps $32,000 in cash. Keeping so much money in the bank could mean missing out on the potential rewards that come with investing that money.

For long-term goals like retirement, interest rates on savings may not even be keeping up with inflation.

"People keep money in cash because they want something that's guaranteed," says Erik Davidson, Chief Investment Officer at Wells Fargo. "They don't want to lose money. But after taxes and inflation, you're actually losing money."

Plus, you're missing out on some serious upside potential. The Nerdwallet analysis found that keeping that money in the bank rather than investing it could mean cost you $140,000 worth of returns over 30 years (assuming a 6% return from stocks vs. a 1% return on savings).

For long-term growth, most financial professionals agree that you need a diversified portfolio that includes stocks and bonds. Here's how to get started:

Open a retirement account

If you have access to an employer-sponsored retirement account, that's the easiest way to begin investing in the stock market. Of employers who offer a retirement plan, 76% will match some of your savings. If that's the case with your company, you should be investing at least enough to get the match.

"If you're not saving enough to get the employer match, you're leaving money on the table," says Jim Benedict, a certified financial planner and senior wealth strategist at PNC Wealth Management.

If you don't have access to a retirement plan at work, you can still get the tax benefits of putting money into a retirement account by opening an IRA or a Roth IRA on your own.

Keep it simple

Choosing investments can feel overwhelming, but there are lots of tools that can help. Your plan likely offers an online asset allocation calculator, which can help you determine how much of your portfolio you should put into stocks and how much should go into bonds or other investments, based on your time horizon and tolerance for risk. If that feels like too much, look for a target-date fund, which will automatically put your money into a mix of investments tied to your retirement date and take care of rebalancing for you as that date approaches.

Stay the course

While the stock market has been marching steadily upward for nearly a decade, it's going to fluctuate. At some point you will have periods of major losses. As long as you don't need your money immediately, there's no reason to stress over such movement. Check on your portfolio once or twice a year to make sure your allocations still fit with your long-term plan, but resist the urge to buy or sell based on recent market movements. And remember that such ups and downs are a normal part of investing.

"Don't panic and liquidate if you're down in a year, because you've got several years to recoup that back," says Derek Green, wealth advisor at Titus Wealth Management. "The best thing to do is to keep dollar-cost averaging and buying. Then when the rebound comes you'll be even better off."

Should Biotech Investors Fear Dilution?

Dilution is a central concern for biotech investors. The basic issue at hand is that developmental-stage or early commercial-stage biotechs rely heavily on dilution to raise the massive amount of capital necessary to fund their operations prior to becoming cash-flow-positive.�

So what is dilution exactly? Dilution is the issuance of new shares that results in current shareholders owning a smaller piece of the pie, so to speak. Companies issue new shares typically through either a secondary offering (aka a secondary registration) that requires shares be sold at prevailing market prices following a registration statement, or a shelf offering (aka shelf registration) that allows the company to dole out new shares when conditions are favorable to do so (such as a sudden price increase).

Image source: Getty Images.

The big difference with these two common mechanisms of issuing new equities is that secondary offerings are an immediate release of new shares at a set price, whereas shelf offerings can be executed over the course of up to two years.�

Given that dilution is part and parcel of investing in clinical- or early commercial-stage biotechs, I think it's critical for investors to understand the impact of capital raises on shareholder value from both a short- and long-term perspective. So, with this theme in mind, let's consider whether biotech investors should fear dilution, or simply shrug it off as a necessary evil.

The bad side of dilution

When companies resort to issuing new shares to raise capital, investors almost always decide to revolt right out of the gate -- causing the company's share price to dip further than it really should from a pure dilution standpoint (i.e., the share price decline should roughly reflect the magnitude of the offering).

This general trend stems from two interrelated factors. First off, the current crop of shareholders will subsequently own less of the company than they did previously, meaning that the value of each of their shares will decline as well. That's the basic and inescapable consequence of any new equity offering as described above.�

However, the bigger issue is the trust factor. The core problem is that a number of biotechs have done next to nothing to create shareholder value over their history. And instead, these companies have diluted shareholders time and again simply to pay their bills.

The small-cap immuno-oncology company Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) and the inhaled insulin company MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) are prime examples of this phenomenon. Even though both of these companies have been in existence for over two decades, these two particular biotechs have failed to bring a product to market capable of generating a significant revenue stream. As a result, these two companies have essentially been forced to wipe out their early shareholders through serial dilution.

AGEN data by YCharts.

Simply put, investors dread dilution because of the offhand chance that companies will abuse their goodwill through regular offerings like Agenus and MannKind -- regardless of the actual circumstances on the ground. As a result, secondary and shelf offerings more often than not cause panic in the shareholder community, triggering an emotionally charged decline in share price.��

But dilution can create shareholder value

Dilution isn't always a bad thing, however. The fact of life is that innovation in the biomedical field is insanely expensive. Not only do companies have to shepherd their products through the lengthy clinical trials process that can take upward of a decade, but they also need to pay sizable fees to regulators during the review process, as well as build out a sales force to market the drug post-approval. All of these steps require money, and lots of it.�

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) drugmakers Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) serve to underscore this point. Thanks to an overwhelmingly positive midstage trial result for Madrigal's MGL-3196 -- a drug that shares the same mechanism of action as Viking's VK2809 -- shares of both companies have skyrocketed in value this year.

To get to the launching pad, however, each company had to raise its fair share of capital via secondary offerings, whereby diluting shareholders. But this money was put to good use, and it ultimately created more value for shareholders.�

MDGL data by YCharts.

Madrigal is now reportedly entertaining possible suitors, and Viking is closing in on a top-line readout of its high-value NASH candidate later this year. The good times therefore appear to be only getting started for these two developmental biotechs, and this positive turn of events wouldn't have been possible without diluting early shareholders.�

Investor takeaway

Biotech investors will undoubtedly run into a secondary offering or shelf registration at some point in their career. There is no way around it due to the time-consuming nature of bringing new medicines to market. However, I think investors can protect themselves from catastrophic declines in value by being taking a critical look at how a company actually uses its capital.

In the case of Agenus and MannKind, these two companies have repeatedly promised to create shareholder value, only to stumble and eventually resort to issuing shares at inopportune moments (when their share prices were already on the decline). Madrigal and Viking, on the other hand, have taken their newfound capital and turned it into tangible value for shareholders. The market has thus rewarded these two promising biotechs with substantially higher valuations.�

The take-home point here is that dilution can be a powerful way to create value for shareholders, but it all depends on the company and management team in question. When a company chronically fails to transform newly acquired capital into shareholder value, biotech investors have the right to be wary of future capital raises.

But that doesn't mean that investors should fear dilution in all cases, all the time, per the prevailing trend. If anything, Madrigal and Viking prove that capital raises can be a thing of beauty for shareholders.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:TLK,PNW,FFNW,TEF,PPL,CR,CMI,GD,NDSN,PAYX,

This is how I imagine the conversation went down that finally pushed Bob Iger over the edge. Please keep in mind this is satire.

Imaginary Bob Iger: "So you're telling me you're keeping Disney in the penalty box due to cord cutting even though Netflix owes much of its success to re-running our movies, and to a handful of 2nd tier Marvel characters we licensed to Netflix because we were busy cementing the most powerful media brands on the planet?? I get it, House of Cards was great, but that's just one show coming to an end. You do realize we stole Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm with their endless libraries of future content for bargain acquisition prices, right? Marvel has 1000's of popular characters, such as Blade, that you probably didn't even realize. Lucasfilm owns the IP for Indiana Jones for god's sake. Don't you realize the potential if Disney diverts all cash flow to destroying the competition instead of paying dividends and doing buybacks?"

Big name analyst from large Wall Street bank: "I'm sorry Bob, Netflix (NFLX) has a DTC relationship with ~115 million subs and growing. They've done a great job following Amazon's (AMZN) lead of not confusing the market with short term profits. It keeps the focus on sub growth and fuzzy Internet metrics like engagement and hours of viewing per week. This allows our trading group to make tons of money selling options against the never ending stock increase. It's a win-win for us. Plus have you seen Ozark yet, it's great. Bateman killed it. And Shane from the Walking Dead is superb as The Punisher"

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: P.T. Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk.(TLK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Telekomunikasi Indonesia (NYSE:TLK), the largest telecommunications company in Indonesia, reported first-quarter results on Tuesday, May 2. Top-line sales rose modestly in the first quarter thanks to higher wireless subscriber counts and a healthy broadband business, but those upsides had to overcome a substantial headwind from a mass exodus of old-school wireline subscribers.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Tuesday afternoon, the telecommunication services shares climbed 1.18 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), up 7 percent, and Telekomnks Indn Prsr Tbk Prshn Prsrn-ADR (NYSE: TLK), up 3 percent.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Telekomnks Indn Prsr Tbk Prshn Prsrn (NYSE:TLK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Macquarie from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pinnacle West Capital Corporation(PNW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Bank of America upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $81.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 38.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,514,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 692,367 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned about 2.25% of Pinnacle West Capital worth $200,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $87 from $85 at Credit Suisse.

  Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $140 from $125 at JMP Securities.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Pinnacle West Capital Co. (NYSE:PNW) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Pinnacle West Capital were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a buy rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “In last three months, shares of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation have outperformed than its industry. Pinnacle West Capital is well positioned to gain from the ongoing economic improvement in its service territories and customer growth. Pinnacle West Capital’s long-term capital expenditure plan will further strengthen its traditional generation, transmission and distribution capabilities. The company is also investing in battery storage projects, which will make its renewable projects more effective. The company continues to have a strong credit rating. However, Pinnacle West Capital is subject to comprehensive regulations by federal, state and local regulatory agencies. In addition, its operations are subject to fluctuations in the commodity price and weather, as well as operational hazards.”

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: First Financial Northwest Inc.(FFNW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Financial Northwest (FFNW)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Financial Northwest (FFNW)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) will be announcing its earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.26 per share for the quarter.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Telefonica SA(TEF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  BME:TEF traded up €0.15 ($0.19) during midday trading on Friday, reaching €8.20 ($10.12). 33,480,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,390,000. Telef?nica has a 12 month low of €7.45 ($9.20) and a 12 month high of €10.63 ($13.12).

  ILLEGAL ACTIVITY NOTICE: “Telef?nica (TEF) Receives €9.69 Consensus PT from Brokerages” was originally reported by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this news story on another site, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of international copyright law. The legal version of this news story can be viewed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3380340/telef%ef%bf%bdnica-tef-receives-9-69-consensus-pt-from-brokerages.html.

  About Telef?nica

• [By Shane Hupp]

  UBS Group set a €10.00 ($11.76) price target on Telefonica (BME:TEF) in a report published on Wednesday morning, www.boersen-zeitung.de reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) and Koninklijke KPN (OTCMKTS:KKPNY) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

  Get Stellar Biotechnologies alerts: 200 days simple moving average (SMA200) to Watch Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK), Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc … (stocksnewspoint.com) Morning Stocks You Can’t Afford to Pass Up:: Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX), Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc … (journalfinance.net) Should Investors Adjust Their Holdings in Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (NasdaqCM:SBOT)? Target Weight Stands at … (bedfordnewsjournal.com) Bright Stocks in Review: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBOT … (journalfinance.net) Notable News Review: Telefonica, SA, (NYSE: TEF), Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc., (NASDAQ: SBOT) (globalexportlines.com)

  Separately, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Stellar Biotechnologies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 8th.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PPL Corporation(PPL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Maple Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,754 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 457,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,019 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $12,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CRB Futures Index(CR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Crew Energy (TSE:CR) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Canaccord Genuity from C$4.50 to C$4.00 in a report issued on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 101.01% from the stock’s previous close.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Crew Energy (TSE:CR) insider James A. Taylor acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$2.04 per share, for a total transaction of C$10,200.00.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Crane (CR)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  DA Davidson set a $111.00 price target on Crane (NYSE:CR) in a research report released on Friday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cummins Inc.(CMI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Hall]

  Furthermore, having a strong financial partner in Total to help it drive adoption of heavy-duty natural gas vehicles at this time could be a huge win. Prices of oil (and therefore diesel) have been steadily climbing over the past year, and the highly anticipated near-zero-emissions natural gas engine from�Cummins�(NYSE:CMI) and�Westport Fuel Systems�(NASDAQ:WPRT) is now being shipped to customers.�

• [By Max Byerly]

  Cummins (NYSE:CMI) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $160.00 to $150.00 in a research report released on Monday. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Chicago Equity Partners LLC decreased its position in Cummins (NYSE:CMI) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,515 shares during the period. Chicago Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Cummins were worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By ]

  As Caterpillar sank, so too did Cummins Inc. (CMI) , down 4.5%, Cree Inc. (CREE) , down 2.5%, Crane Co. (CR) , down 8% and Freeport McMoRan (FCX) , down 14.5%.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) by 8.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,587 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Cummins were worth $3,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) dropped about 2.1% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $187.32. Shares closed at $191.40 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $230.00. Volume was 25% higher than the daily average of around 1.6 million. The defense giant had no specific news.

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  Code Pink takes issue with BlackRock's investments in aerospace and defense companies such as General Dynamics Corp.(NYSE: GD), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC).

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This company, like other major defense prime contractors, had a very solid year and is also on the Merrill Lynch US 1 list.�General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) is engaged in business aviation, land and expeditionary combat vehicles and systems, armaments, munitions, shipbuilding and marine systems, and information systems and technologies.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nordson Corporation(NDSN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Nordson (NDSN)

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

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Nordson were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) Q2 2018 Earnings Conference CallMay. 22, 2018 8:30 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Steve Symington]

  Nordson Corporation�(NASDAQ:NDSN)�announced solid fiscal second-quarter 2018 results on Monday after the market closed, including an expected decline in organic volume that was more than offset by acquisitive growth.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

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

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

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Paychex Inc.(PAYX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 89,891 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Paychex worth $31,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  The secret to becoming a millionaire, of course, is getting out in front of a major investment trend before it becomes mainstream. In 2017, it was Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. But this year, it's a taboo investment that is creating millionaires all across North America. Tap into the "green rush," and prepare to become a "Marijuana millionaire." Learn how to get started right here.

  The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump is facing criticism after threatening to ramp up taxes on Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG). The iconic motorcycle producer said it will move parts of its production overseas in order to avoid tariffs from the European Union. Trump threatened to increase taxes on the firm. "Surprised that Harley-Davidson, of all companies, would be the first to wave the White Flag," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "I fought hard for them and ultimately they will not pay tariffs selling into the E.U., which has hurt us badly on trade, down $151 Billion. Taxes just a Harley excuse – be patient!" Earlier this month,�Microsoft Corp.�(Nasdaq:�MSFT) launched a $7.5 billion takeover of the web-based hosting service GitHub. The acquisition, orchestrated by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, brought out critics who claim that GitHub lacks any real profit potential for�Microsoft stock. Here's why those critics are wrong… and why MSFT is a buy. Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) has reversed its policy on cryptocurrency ads. The social media giant says that it will permit marketing from "pre-approved advisers." According to TechCrunch, the company will still ban ads pushing binary options and initial coin offerings. The report goes on to explain that cryptocurrency scams cost customers more than $500 million in just January and February 2018 alone. Four Stocks to Watch Today: ORCL, FB, GOOGL, BA Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) were largely flat despite a strong earnings report after the bell yesterday. The cloud computing giant reported EPS of $0.99
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) had its price target increased by research analysts at Citigroup from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.16% from the company’s previous close.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

  Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Paychex from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $66.00 target price (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Paychex from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Paychex from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $65.27.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:NXG,CME,ORE,NGD,

For a template on how to trade Italy 2018, investors should look back to Portugal in 2015.

That’s the advice of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The lesson is Italian bond yields have further to rise as a coalition of populist parties is poised to form a government, but that a Greece-style threat to the euro area isn’t looming.

The Portuguese example after the formation of a socialist government in 2015 suggests yield spreads over equivalent German benchmarks can be “significant and persistent” for some time, Goldman economist Huw Pill wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.

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“The Portuguese experience shows the election of a more populist government embodying euroskeptical elements in Italy need not create the existential crisis and domestic financial meltdown that we observed in Greece,” Pill said. “That said, we continue to view current market pricing as reflecting a somewhat complacent view of political developments in Italy.”

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2019: Northgate Minerals Corporation(NXG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of NEX Group PLC (LON:NXG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 696 ($9.21).

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2019: CME Group Inc.(CME)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference CallApril 26, 2018 8:30 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By ]

  Sure, I will invest more in certain high-confidence picks than others, but without going overboard. This might limit the impact from a triple-digit winner in my High-Yield Investing portfolio, such as CME Group (Nasdaq: CME), where we are showing a 156% gain at last count, but it will also soften the blow from a laggard.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,000.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2019: Orezone Gold Corp (ORE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Robertson]

  Finally, Richard Seville, the CEO of Brisbane-based Orocobre Ltd (ASX: ORE) which began lithium sales in 2015 from northern Argentina and also experienced difficulty boosting output, commented that an ��inability to access traditional funds has delayed the development of the sector�� and that ��these projects aren��t easy -- so the banks just don��t want to go there.��

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Galactrum (ORE) is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the
  Lyra2RE hashing algorithm. It launched on November 11th, 2017. Galactrum’s total supply is 2,092,679 coins and its circulating supply is 1,372,679 coins. Galactrum’s official Twitter account is @galactrum. Galactrum’s official website is galactrum.org.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2019: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARMO) shares rose 67.5 percent to $49.96 in pre-market trading after Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced plans to acquire ARMO BioSciences for $50 per share. Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR) rose 62.8 percent to $11.30 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q1 results and raised its FY18 outlook. vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) rose 23.4 percent to $2.11 in pre-market trading following announcement that the company will pre-specify new subgroup with the FDA and report Phase 3 Part B results in June. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) rose 19.1 percent to $5.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) rose 17.7 percent to $2.39 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) rose 15.2 percent to $2.20 in pre-market trading after French company Total announced plans to acquire 25 percent stake in Clean Energy Fuels for $83.4 million. Everspin Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRAM) rose 14.6 percent to $8.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported strong results for its first quarter. Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) shares rose 11 percent to $27.50 in pre-market trading after reporting upbeat Q1 sales. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN) rose 8.9 percent to $10.70 in pre-market trading following upbeat quarterly earnings. MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV) rose 8.1 percent to $11.35 in pre-market trading after the company announced opening of Investigational New Drug Application for MN-166 (ibudilast) in glioblastoma. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) shares rose 7.7 percent to $2.65 in pre-market trading after the company reported that its President and CEO Hannes Portmann left the company. The company named Raymond Threlkeld as successor. Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ: OTTR) shares rose 7.4 percent to $46.60 in the pre-market trading session. Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) shares rose
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) fell 23.3 percent to $9.87 in pre-market trading after declining 13.45 percent on Wednesday. SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SXCP) fell 12.8 percent to $16.00 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE: BGG) fell 11 percent to $17.55 in pre-market trading after the company posted mixed Q3 results and lowered its FY18 guidance. New Gold Inc. (NYSE: NGD) fell 8.4 percent to $2.30 in pre-market trading following downbeat Q1 results. Quality Care Properties, Inc. (NYSE: QCP) fell 8.2 percent to $20.85 in pre-market trading. Welltower announced plans to acquire QCP for $20.75 per share in cash. China Customer Relations Centers Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRC) shares fell 7.5 percent to $17.25 in pre-market trading after climbing 18.73 percent on Wednesday. Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) shares fell 5.7 percent to $5.58 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) fell 5.6 percent to $38.66 in pre-market trading following Q1 results. Southw
• [By Paul Ausick]

  New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) dropped about 3.8% Thursday to post a new 52-week low of $2.28. Shares closed at $2.37 on Wednesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $4.25. Volume was about 15% below the daily average of around 5.9 million shares. The company had no specific news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) dropped about 2.9% Monday to post a new 52-week low of $2.35. Shares closed at $2.42 on Friday and the stock’s 52-week high is $4.25. Volume was about 10% below the daily average of around 5.8 million shares. The gold mining company had no news.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  New Gold Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: NGD) dropped about 1.9% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $2.09. Shares closed at $2.13 on Monday and the stock’s 52-week high is $4.25. The junior gold miner had no specific news.

Top buy & sell ideas by Ashwani Gujral, Sudarshan Sukhani, Mitessh Thakkar for short term

The Nifty50 after opening higher at 10,939.65 wiped out early gains to hit an intraday low of 10,925.60, but managed to recoup those losses in morning trade itself and reclaimed psychological 11,000-mark in later part of the session. The index hit an intraday high of 11,018.50, before closing 71.10 points higher at 11,008.

The closing above 11,000-mark is a good thing but to maintain that momentum, the index has to close above 11,080 levels and then only it can be able to march towards its earlier life time high of 11,171 seen in January, experts said.

According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,949.57, followed by 10,891.13. If the index starts moving upwards, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,042.47 and 11,076.93.

The Nifty Bank index closed at 27,008.10, up 328.3 points on Tuesday. The important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 26,760.77, followed by 26,513.43. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 27,148.37, followed by 27,288.63.

related news 3 stocks that could return 9-13% in 1-2 months Sell United Spirits, target Rs 534: Vinay Rajani

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, top market experts recommend which stocks to bet on for good returns:�

Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com

Buy Berger Paints with a stop loss of Rs 309,�target of Rs�325

Buy Bajaj Finserv with a stop loss of Rs 6300, target of Rs 6450

Buy LIC Housing�Finance with a stop loss of Rs 512, target of Rs 534

Buy�Mahindra & Mahindra with a stop loss of Rs 915, target of Rs 940

Buy Bata India with a stop loss of Rs 835,�target of Rs 860

Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com

Buy Voltas with a stop loss at Rs 538 and target of Rs 562

Buy UltraTech Cement with a stop loss at Rs 3850 and target of Rs 4000

Buy Maruti Suzuki with a stop loss at Rs 9360 and target of Rs 9600

Sell Bharti Airtel with a stop loss at Rs 347 and target of Rs 332

Sell Balrampur Chini with a stop loss at Rs 67.50 and target of Rs 63.50

Mitessh Thakkar of mitesshthakkar.com

Buy Adani Power with a stop loss below Rs 20 and target of Rs 23.50

Buy IndusInd Bank with a stop loss of Rs 1892 and�target�of Rs 1930

Buy Nestle India with a stop loss of Rs 10280 and target of Rs 11000

Sell�Hindustan Unilever around Rs 1685 - 1690 with stop loss of Rs� 1706 and target of Rs 1652

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com/CNBC-TV18 are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. First Published on Jul 18, 2018 08:25 am

3 Top Bank Stocks to Buy in July

Banks are as healthy as they have ever been, and thanks to lower tax rates and rising interest rates, the future looks even rosier than the recent past. Starting later this week, the nation's largest banks will report their results for the second quarter, kicking off financials earnings season.

Below, three�Motley Fool investors explain why they believe Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are the best bank stocks to buy in July.

The best buy of the big four

Matt Frankel (Bank of America): Out of the "big four" U.S. banks -- that is, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America, Citigroup (NYSE:C), and Wells Fargo -- it's tough to make the case that Bank of America doesn't offer the best combination of growth and value.

And it's tough to overstate just how impressive Bank of America's turnaround has been in the post-financial-crisis years. The bank has steadily improved its profitability and efficiency, and is now above the industry benchmarks of a 10% return on equity and 1% return on assets for the first time in years.

The bank has done a great job of reducing expenses, in part by reducing its physical footprint and investing heavily in banking technologies. Bank of America's mobile and online platforms have won several awards for their functionality, and the bank's mobile channel usage has grown by 119% since 2015. In fact, Bank of America's consumer banking division operates at a 50% efficiency ratio, which is quite impressive for a big bank.

Despite the improvement, Bank of America trades at a significantly lower price-to-book valuation that JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and not too much higher than Citigroup, which I consider to be far riskier.

JPM price to book value data by YCharts.

For the money, there's no question that Bank of America is the most compelling big-bank stock.

Light at the end of the tunnel?�

Sean Williams (Deutsche Bank): Feel free to call me insane, but I like a little long-term risk in my diet. That's why I believe troubled German banking giant Deutsche Bank should be on your buy list in July.�

Deutsche Bank has a laundry list of problems it's contending with. Former CEO John Cryan was ousted in April after his efforts to turn the banking giant around failed to produce bottom-line improvements. The company has also been hit with a bevy of fines that, according to company filings, have totaled $17 billion since 2008.� To add to that, both the company's interest income and noninterest income fell during the company's most recently reported quarter.� And to top it all off, the Federal Reserve deemed the company's U.S. operations as "troubled" at the end of May.�

So, what the heck do I see in such a "troubled" bank? Namely, it's that with new CEO Christian Sewing at the helm, Deutsche Bank is finally focused on what I believe is a winning strategy of cutting costs, redefining its core markets, and possibly de-emphasizing its reliance on investment banking.

Image source: Getty Images.

Just a little over a month after taking over as CEO, Sewing announced that the bank would be shedding more than 7,000 jobs in order to get headcount "well below 90,000" from just over 97,000. While cost-cutting isn't a long-term fix, it's an easy way to pull levers in the meantime in order to remain healthfully profitable.�

The bank has also been divesting unprofitable or low-margin operations in select countries around the world, which should allow it to focus on its core market of Germany, and perhaps the United States. In doing so, it may also reduce its reliance on noninterest income and improve its sensitivity to interest rates, which wouldn't be all that bad given that the U.S. is in a monetary tightening cycle.

Another consideration here is that most of Deutsche Bank's litigation fines and fees should be in the rearview mirror. This should lead to more predictable results, and fewer surprising losses, in the years ahead.

If you're willing to be patient, I believe Deutsche Bank could double in value over the next five years.

Big and cheap

Jordan Wathen (Wells Fargo): This bank has me sounding like a broken record, but I can't help but think Wells Fargo is the most obvious bet in banking right now.

After some high-profile problems surrounding its sales practices (as it turns out, fake accounts were just the start), the bank entered into a consent order with the Federal Reserve that limited its size to just $2 trillion in assets until regulators allow it to grow.

When a bank earns double-digit returns on tangible equity, as Wells Fargo does, shareholders want balance-sheet growth, not stagnation. It was no surprise that shares plummeted on news of the unprecedented regulatory action earlier this year.

Things could soon change.�Last month, the Fed said it had no objections to Wells Fargo's plan to increase its dividend by roughly 10% and repurchase about $25 billion of stock. This is a noteworthy event because the Fed had ample cover to object to Wells Fargo's capital plans if it wanted to.

It's important to remember that the Fed stress-tests banks on quantitative and qualitative factors. Failing Wells Fargo for qualitative reasons would have been easy; simply cite its recent missteps in opening fake accounts, selling unnecessary insurance policies, and more.�Instead, Wells Fargo received no objection for the largest buyback plan of any big-four bank.

Shareholders may want Wells Fargo to limp along for a little longer. Priced as if a return to growth is years away, Wells Fargo can buy back roughly 9% of shares outstanding thanks to its $25 billion repurchase plan. I expect Wells Fargo to trade higher when it gets the green light to grow, and buybacks between now and then will only add fuel to the fire.�

�

Horizon Therapeutics (HPTX) Receiving Somewhat Positive Media Coverage, Analysis Shows

Headlines about Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HPTX) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. The research group scores the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Horizon Therapeutics earned a coverage optimism score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news articles about the biopharmaceutical company an impact score of 45.8301226256293 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Shares of NASDAQ:HPTX remained flat at $$45.99 during mid-day trading on Monday. Horizon Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $20.23 and a 12-month high of $46.96.

About Horizon Therapeutics

Horizon Therapeutics, Inc, formerly Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc, is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat disorders in the areas of orphan diseases. The Company’s products include RAVICTI (glycerol phenylbutyrate) oral liquid, BUPHENYL and AMMONAPS (sodium phenylbutyrate) tablets and powder.

Zacks: Analysts Expect Owens-Illinois Inc (OI) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $1.83 Billion

Equities research analysts expect that Owens-Illinois Inc (NYSE:OI) will announce sales of $1.83 billion for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Five analysts have provided estimates for Owens-Illinois’ earnings, with estimates ranging from $1.79 billion to $1.88 billion. Owens-Illinois reported sales of $1.75 billion during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 4.6%. The firm is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Monday, July 23rd.

On average, analysts expect that Owens-Illinois will report full year sales of $7.13 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $7.02 billion to $7.28 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the business will post sales of $7.16 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $7.00 billion to $7.35 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Owens-Illinois.

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Owens-Illinois (NYSE:OI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.01. Owens-Illinois had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 46.76%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of brokerages have commented on OI. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Owens-Illinois from $25.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 27th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Owens-Illinois from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 22nd. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Owens-Illinois from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Co dropped their target price on shares of Owens-Illinois from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 25th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Owens-Illinois from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.08.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OI. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Owens-Illinois by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 354,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,854,000 after purchasing an additional 69,313 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Owens-Illinois by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 270,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,988,000 after purchasing an additional 30,789 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Owens-Illinois by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 117,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 25,014 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Owens-Illinois by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 213,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,726,000 after purchasing an additional 19,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Owens-Illinois during the 4th quarter worth $306,000. 94.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE:OI traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $16.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,784,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,502,557. Owens-Illinois has a 1 year low of $16.22 and a 1 year high of $25.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.42.

About Owens-Illinois

Owens-Illinois, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells glass containers to food and beverage manufacturers primarily in Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. It produces glass containers for alcoholic beverages, including beer, flavored malt beverages, spirits, and wine.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Owens-Illinois (OI)

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

Plexus Corp. (PLXS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.75.

PLXS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $70.00 target price on Plexus and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 16th. BidaskClub raised Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 5th. TheStreet raised Plexus from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 25th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered Plexus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 2nd.

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In other Plexus news, VP Ronnie Darroch sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.22, for a total value of $112,518.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $587,343.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. Drury sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.66, for a total value of $293,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,910. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLXS. Aperio Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 14,762 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $702,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 89,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,412,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 32,575 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 64,672 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,927,000 after acquiring an additional 10,193 shares during the period. 96.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NASDAQ PLXS opened at $61.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.84. Plexus has a 52 week low of $49.20 and a 52 week high of $66.78.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The technology company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $699.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $691.05 million. Plexus had a positive return on equity of 10.96% and a negative net margin of 1.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. research analysts expect that Plexus will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

About Plexus

Plexus Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It offers product conceptualization solutions; and product design and value-engineering solutions, including program management, feasibility studies, specification development for product features and functionality, circuit design, field programmable gate array design, printed circuit board layout, embedded software design, mechanical design, test specifications development and product verification testing, and automated production solutions and complex automation design.

Vision Sciences (CGNT) Receiving Somewhat Positive News Coverage, Report Finds

News coverage about Vision Sciences (NASDAQ:CGNT) has trended somewhat positive on Friday, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Vision Sciences earned a coverage optimism score of 0.19 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news headlines about the medical device company an impact score of 43.7920504117832 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

CGNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Vision Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. Roth Capital lowered shares of Vision Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 23rd. Finally, Aegis lowered shares of Vision Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $4.75 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.50.

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Shares of NASDAQ:CGNT remained flat at $$3.85 during trading on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.49 million, a P/E ratio of -385.00 and a beta of 0.58. Vision Sciences has a 12 month low of $1.55 and a 12 month high of $3.92.

Vision Sciences (NASDAQ:CGNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 30th. The medical device company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01. Vision Sciences had a negative net margin of 1.57% and a negative return on equity of 1.39%. The business had revenue of $15.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.49 million. equities analysts forecast that Vision Sciences will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Vision Sciences Company Profile

Cogentix Medical, Inc, a medical device company, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets fiberoptic and video endoscopy products under the PrimeSight brand worldwide. The company offers endoscopes, such as cystoscopes, laryngoscopes, transnasal esophagoscopes, and bronchoscopes for medical use; and borescopes for industrial use, as well as digital processing units for medical use.

Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,588 Shares of Trex Company Inc (TREX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Trex Company Inc (NYSE:TREX) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,288 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.84% of Trex worth $26,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Trex by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,986 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Trex in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Trex in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Trex by 90.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,390 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invictus RG purchased a new stake in shares of Trex in the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.03% of the company’s stock.

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Trex opened at $125.82 on Monday, according to Marketbeat.com. Trex Company Inc has a 1 year low of $66.50 and a 1 year high of $129.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82 and a beta of 2.27.

Trex (NYSE:TREX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 7th. The construction company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Trex had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 45.74%. The firm had revenue of $171.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts anticipate that Trex Company Inc will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Trex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to buyback 2,900,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Several research firms have recently commented on TREX. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Trex in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Trex to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Trex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Sidoti raised shares of Trex from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $63.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.17.

In other Trex news, Director Frank H. Merlotti, Jr. sold 1,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.50, for a total transaction of $165,131.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,674 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,651. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan Horix Fairbanks sold 2,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $281,659.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,527,531.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,130 shares of company stock valued at $3,303,841. Company insiders own 1.17% of the company’s stock.

About Trex

Trex Company, Inc manufactures and distributes wood/plastic composite products, and related accessories primarily for the residential and commercial decking, and railing applications in the United States. It offers Trex Transcend, Trex Enhance, and Trex Select protective shells for protection against fading, staining, mold, and scratching; and Trex Hideaway, a hidden fastening system for grooved boards.

Ishares S&P 500 (IVV) Shares Sold by Gratus Capital LLC

Gratus Capital LLC decreased its position in Ishares S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:IVV) by 19.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC’s holdings in Ishares S&P 500 were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ishares S&P 500 in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ishares S&P 500 in the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Ishares S&P 500 in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. WealthTrust Fairport LLC bought a new stake in Ishares S&P 500 in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, HC Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ishares S&P 500 in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000.

Get Ishares S&P 500 alerts:

IVV opened at $273.98 on Tuesday. Ishares S&P 500 has a 12 month low of $241.58 and a 12 month high of $288.69.

Ishares S&P 500 Profile

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poor��s 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IVV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ishares S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:IVV).

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:TSU,INGN,UBNK,MTSL,USFD,COTV,KONE,THO,SBUX,BEN,

In November 2017, chip giant Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) offered to buy fellow chipmaker�Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) for $70 per share, a 28% premium to Qualcomm's closing price before speculation about the bid leaked. Qualcomm shares had been significantly depressed prior to Broadcom's offer amid an ugly legal battle with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) that threatened to destroy Qualcomm's wireless technology licensing operation -- its biggest profit center.

Qualcomm wasn't happy with the offer, but Broadcom wasn't willing to give up so easily. In February, Broadcom bumped its offer up to $82 per share -- an offer that Qualcomm still wasn't happy with.

Though Qualcomm's board of directors rejected the $82-per-share offer, claiming that it undervalued the company, Broadcom seemed to have significant shareholder support for its offer. Indeed, Qualcomm shareholders were on track to vote out the current board of directors and vote in a slate of directors hand-picked by Broadcom to approve this deal when President Trump issued an executive order blocking the takeover bid.�

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Tele Celular Sul Participacoes S.A.(TSU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Inogen, Inc(INGN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Inogen alerts: Comparing Halyard Health (HYH) and Inogen (INGN) (americanbankingnews.com) ‘The stock market has sucked on nitrous oxide’ �� Wall… (beaumontenterprise.com) EPS Calculations to Consider �� Inogen Inc (NASDAQ: INGN) (stocksmarketcap.com) Inogen’s shares drop on short seller Citron’s tweet (reuters.com) Inogen Hit By Citron Report; Analyst Rebuttal Calls This ‘An Excellent Entry Point’ (msn.com)

  Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Inogen from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. Leerink Swann restated an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Inogen in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. ValuEngine upgraded Inogen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Inogen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded Inogen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Inogen has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $178.00.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: United Financial Bancorp Inc.(UBNK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  New York Community Bank (NYSE: NYCB) and United Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBNK) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd.(MTSL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  News stories about MER Telemanagement Solutions (NASDAQ:MTSL) have trended somewhat positive on Sunday, according to Accern. The research group identifies negative and positive news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. MER Telemanagement Solutions earned a media sentiment score of 0.12 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news articles about the technology company an impact score of 45.5243579518781 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of US Foods (NYSE:USFD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $43.00 price objective on the stock.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.63 billion. Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $926.18 million. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion. US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $936.98 million. Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $23.80 billion. JD.com, Inc. (NYSE: JD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $15.65 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.6 per share o
• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Shares of US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) reached a new 52-week high and low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.82 and last traded at $35.76, with a volume of 54880 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.43.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

  Wall Street expects Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion before the opening bell. Discovery shares rose 0.47 percent to $23.50 in pre-market trading. Analysts expect Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) to post quarterly earnings at $1.22 per share on revenue of $5.72 billion after the closing bell. Marriott shares gained 0.08 percent to $136.75 in pre-market trading. Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Veeco Instruments shares surged 14.04 percent to $19.50 in the after-hours trading session. Before the markets open, DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. DISH shares gained 1.53 percent to close at $33.90 on Monday. Analysts are expecting US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) to have earned $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion in the latest quarter. US Foods will release earnings before the markets open. US Foods shares rose 0.57 percent to close at $33.72 on Monday. Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) disclosed that its CFO Andrew Vollero will leave the company and Amazon.com's VP Of Finance Tim Sloan will assume the role. Snap shares gained 1.3 percent to $10.88 in pre-market trading.

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

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Cotiviti Holdings, Inc. (COTV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Cotiviti Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:COTV) – Equities research analysts at Jefferies Group lowered their FY2018 earnings estimates for Cotiviti in a report issued on Wednesday, May 2nd. Jefferies Group analyst S. Dodge now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.68 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.71. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for Cotiviti’s FY2019 earnings at $1.87 EPS.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solution Holding Ltd(KONE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Money Morning News Team]

  While a 209% gain is exciting, FunctionX's gains are in the past. After looking at the 10 top penny stocks to watch this week, we'll show you a small-cap stock with serious profit potential ahead of it…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Law Week's Gain FunctionX Inc. (OTCMKTS: FNCX) $0.03 209% Turtle Beach Corp. (Nasdaq: HEAR) $4.48 52.73% DPW Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DPW) $1.16 51.31% Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc. (Nasdaq: EGC) $5.62 49.33% MYnd Analytics Inc. (Nasdaq: MYND) $1.91 49.21% Kingtone Wirelessinfo Solutions Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq: KONE) $6.43 48.42% Rennova Health Inc. (OTCMKTS: RNVA) $0.02 44.30% International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSE: THM) $0.72 41.64% Blonder Tongue Labs Inc. (NYSE: BDR) $1.13 41.14% Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: BLCM) $8.87 40.53%

  As the gains above suggest, penny stocks can provides tremendous returns for investors very quickly. However, it's important to note that investing in penny stocks is also inherently risky.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Thor Industries Inc.(THO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Tahoe Resources (TSE:THO) (NASDAQ:TAHO) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial reduced their FY2018 earnings estimates for shares of Tahoe Resources in a research report issued on Monday, April 9th. National Bank Financial analyst M. Parkin now forecasts that the company will earn $0.29 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $0.35. National Bank Financial currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock.

• [By ]

  Thor Industries (THO) : "They had expenses and inventory go up and it's been hurt by both. Those are negatives."

  Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) : "They had a bad quarter with bad guidance. I can't reassure you here. "

• [By ]

  LCI Industries (LCII) fell 5% on the day. Patrick Industries Inc. (PATK) dropped 4.24%. Thor Industries Inc. (THO) tanked 9.83%. Winnebago Industries Inc. (WGO) fell 8.85%. 

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Starbucks Corporation(SBUX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Ticker Tape]

  Additional names sold include Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), and Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR).

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) reported fiscal second quarter 2018 results after markets closed Thursday. For the quarter, the coffee roasting and restaurant company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53 on revenues of $6.03 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.45 on revenues of $5.29 billion. Fourth-quarter results compare to consensus estimates for EPS of $0.53 and $5.93 billion in revenues.

• [By Chris Lange]

  And Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is expected to release its most recent quarterly report late Thursday. The consensus forecast calls for $0.53 in EPS on $5.92 billion in revenue. Shares closed at $58.00 on Friday. The consensus target price is $63.82, and shares have changed hands between $52.58 and $64.87 in the past year.

• [By ]

  So what's the secret? It has nothing to do with options, buying or selling puts, taking out a margin account, or anything remotely complicated or risky. While we can't give away everything, what I can tell you is that it the system relies on two triggers that have been independently verified by academics to sidestep market crashes.
  Take what happened with Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) for example...

• [By ]

  The Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) CEO, one year into his tenure, is in the midst of a full-blown public relations crisis. "Boycott Starbucks" continues to trend on Monday, April 16, four days after a Starbucks employee called the police on two black men in Philadelphia, leading to their arrest and detainment.

• [By Casey Wilson]

  This entirely new technology is being built across the globe from the ground up. Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) has already installed its own version of it. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is rumored to be secretly equipping its iPhones to be compatible with it. And major airports, like JFK and LAX, have started to implement it, too.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Franklin Resources, Inc.(BEN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Press coverage about Franklin Templeton Investments (NYSE:BEN) has trended positive recently, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Franklin Templeton Investments earned a coverage optimism score of 0.42 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned press coverage about the closed-end fund an impact score of 46.7483317362535 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) traded down about 2% Wednesday to post a new 52-week low of $32.41 after closing Tuesday at $33.09. The stock’s 52-week high is $47.65. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 3.6 million shares. The company had no specific news Wednesday.

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  For the details of Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Gallagher+Fiduciary+Advisors%2C+LLC

  These are the top 5 holdings of Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLCFifth Third Bancorp (FITB) - 7,424,558 shares, 43.91% of the total portfolio. New PositionUnited States Steel Corp (X) - 3,763,643 shares, 25.82% of the total portfolio. Franklin Resources Inc (BEN) - 1,825,092 shares, 15.42% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 2.44%Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (CLF) - 1,780,977 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 1.33%Finisar Corp (FNSR) - 349,639 shares, 1.39% of t

Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Earns Daily Media Sentiment Score of 0.22

News headlines about Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) have trended somewhat positive on Wednesday, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing 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. Ameriprise Financial earned a news impact score of 0.22 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the financial services provider an impact score of 46.8731685740866 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

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

Get Ameriprise Financial alerts: Family finances: Finding the right adviser for you (chicagotribune.com) Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP): Technical Indicators: (stockquote.review) Why Is Ameriprise (AMP) Down 2.1% Since Its Last Earnings Report? (zacks.com) After 20 years with Ameriprise, $282M team bolts for Commonwealth (financial-planning.com) Brokerages Anticipate Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $3.09 Billion (americanbankingnews.com)

Ameriprise Financial traded down $2.07, hitting $142.17, during mid-day trading on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. 982,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,123,944. The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.86. Ameriprise Financial has a 52 week low of $118.84 and a 52 week high of $183.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 33.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. equities analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial will post 14.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 4th. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is 29.34%.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMP shares. UBS assumed coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Friday, March 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $217.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank assumed coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Friday, March 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $158.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. Finally, Sandler O’Neill set a $158.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Ameriprise Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.22.

In related news, CEO James M. Cracchiolo acquired 7,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.04 per share, with a total value of $1,006,696.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,416 shares in the company, valued at $32,978,272.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randy Kupper sold 4,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.61, for a total transaction of $699,251.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,448,693.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services to individual and institutional clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Annuities, and Protection segments. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice, as well as full-service brokerage services primarily to retail clients through its advisors.

Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. Has $42.42 Million Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO)

Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,940,432 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 246,581 shares during the period. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $42,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FLO. Truewealth LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $119,000. Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Flowers Foods by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 6,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. 66.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Get Flowers Foods alerts:

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FLO. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. ValuEngine raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Jefferies Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank set a $24.00 target price on shares of Flowers Foods and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Flowers Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

In related news, insider David M. Roach sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total value of $221,655.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 67,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,431,279.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 15.20% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $19.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.67. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.80 and a twelve month high of $22.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 16th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 15.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. sell-side analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets bakery products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Direct-Store-Delivery (DSD) and Warehouse Delivery. The DSD segment produces and markets fresh breads, buns, rolls, tortillas, and snack cakes. This segment offers its products primarily under the Nature's Own, Wonder, Cobblestone Bread Company, Tastykake, and Dave's Killer Bread brand names.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO).