Disney Prevails as Comcast Drops its Bid for Fox. Now What?

One part of the drama surrounding the purchase of�Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) that has been playing out since late last year has come to an end. In a conclusion that I predicted earlier this month, Disney (NYSE:DIS) is on track to succeed in its bid to acquire certain media assets of Twenty-First Century Fox, after Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) released a statement on July 19 that read simply, "Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the Twenty-First Century Fox assets and, instead, will focus on our recommended offer for Sky."�

What began with Disney's desire to expand internationally and increase its treasure trove of intellectual property descended into a corporate cat fight. As a result, Disney is now set to pay $20 billion more for Fox than it originally intended to spend.

Disney CEO Bob Iger and Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch. Image source: Disney.

Crashing the Fox hunt

Disney announced in December its intention to acquire a number of media assets from Fox for $52.4 billion. In a drama fit for prime time, Comcast decided to rain on Disney's parade by announcing its own $65 billion offer for Fox,�with Disney countering at $71.3 billion.�While some people expected Comcast to continue the bidding war, the price may simply have been too high. Another potential factor may have been the recent decision by the Department of Justice to appeal AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. This may have convinced Comcast that the regulatory environment wouldn't work in its favor, causing the company to withdraw its bid.

Comcast has instead decided to focus its energy and financial assets on a battle it believes it can win: The acquisition of the 61% of European pay-TV operator Sky that isn't already owned by Fox.

The prize

For its part, Fox will separate its Fox Broadcasting network and stations, Fox News, and Fox Business Network -- as well as sports channels FS1, FS2, and the Big Ten Network -- into a new public company that will be spun off to Fox shareholders.�

Disney will acquire several Fox cable assets in the deal, including the National Geographic and FX networks, while also gaining control over a number of Marvel characters under Fox's purview, including Deadpool, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The company will also get the Fox TV and film studios, which own hit television shows like The Simpsons, Modern Family, and This Is Us, and blockbuster movie properties such as Avatar.

Additionally, Disney will get a boost to its streaming ambitions by acquiring Fox's 30% stake in Hulu, increasing Disney's ownership to 60%. Another important component of the deal is Star India, which would benefit Disney on several fronts. Star owns 60 cable channels that boast 700 million monthly viewers, as well as two streaming services that serve an additional 150 million subscribers. All told, Star reaches 90% of all homes in India.�

Lastly, Disney will acquire the 39% of Sky that Fox already owns. Sky has 23 million pay-TV subscribers across Europe, as well as an international content production and distribution network.

What happens now?

Disney has already received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice to proceed with its acquisition of Fox, with the sole stipulation being that Disney will have to sell off Fox's 22 regional sports networks.�The company still needs to complete any remaining international regulatory hurdles, and should receive the necessary shareholder approval later this month.

The one remaining question is whether Disney will continue its pursuit of the other 61% of Sky. The company hasn't revealed its intentions, but in a filing with the SEC last week, Disney said that Fox "may elect not to increase the price offered by it in the Sky acquisition and any increase in the debt financing for the Sky acquisition would require Disney's consent, which Disney may elect not to provide."�

Disney could also decide to sell Fox's stake in Sky, in order to reduce the overall cost of the deal. Now, we'll just have to wait and see how that remaining skirmish plays out.

Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc (AHT) Receives $8.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc (NYSE:AHT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 27th.

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Shares of NYSE:AHT traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.18. The stock had a trading volume of 334,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,552. The company has a market cap of $795.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.94, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.36. Ashford Hospitality Trust has a 1 year low of $5.42 and a 1 year high of $8.66.

Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.39). The business had revenue of $342.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.42 million. Ashford Hospitality Trust had a negative net margin of 4.75% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. research analysts forecast that Ashford Hospitality Trust will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 28th. Ashford Hospitality Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.04%.

In related news, Director Alan Tallis sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.42, for a total transaction of $168,400.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,900 shares of company stock worth $339,406. 18.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AHT. Matarin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ashford Hospitality Trust during the first quarter worth about $5,949,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Ashford Hospitality Trust by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,575,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,063,000 after acquiring an additional 811,400 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ashford Hospitality Trust by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,166,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,849,000 after acquiring an additional 431,065 shares during the last quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC raised its position in Ashford Hospitality Trust by 28.7% during the first quarter. Global X Management Co. LLC now owns 1,636,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,573,000 after acquiring an additional 364,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial For Lutherans acquired a new position in Ashford Hospitality Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $2,319,000. Institutional investors own 72.33% of the company’s stock.

About Ashford Hospitality Trust

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality industry in upper upscale, full-service hotels.

Read More: What do I need to know about analyst ratings?

Procter & Gamble (PG) Downgraded by UBS Group to “Neutral”

UBS Group lowered shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday, www.benzinga.com reports. UBS Group currently has $83.00 price objective on the stock.

PG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a hold rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $87.97.

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Shares of Procter & Gamble stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.68. 8,234,628 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,923,112. The company has a market capitalization of $198.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Procter & Gamble has a 52 week low of $70.73 and a 52 week high of $94.67.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 19th. The company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $16.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.22 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 20.72%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. equities research analysts predict that Procter & Gamble will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 20th will be issued a $0.7172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 19th. This represents a $2.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.21%.

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Gary A. Coombe sold 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.25, for a total value of $113,528.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,698.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven D. Bishop sold 2,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $149,130.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,524 shares in the company, valued at $3,056,199.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,938 shares of company stock worth $1,604,483 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Marathon Asset Management LLP grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Marathon Asset Management LLP now owns 1,432,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,684,000 after purchasing an additional 39,774 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 139,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,817,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after acquiring an additional 4,964 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 60,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 6,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 121,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,181,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.42% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods to consumers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Greater China, Latin America, India, the Middle East, and Africa. The company's Beauty segment offers hair care products, including conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments; and skin and personal care products, such as antiperspirant and deodorant, personal cleansing, and skin care products.

Featured Story: Book Value Per Share �� BVPS

Disney wins: Comcast drops its bid for 21st Century Fox

Disney has won the war for 21st Century Fox.

Comcast announced Thursday that it will drop its pursuit of the 21st Century Fox assets that it was fighting over with Disney.

Comcast had bid $65 billion for Fox's movie studio, which is responsible for franchises like "Avatar" and "X-Men," along with Fox's regional sports networks and cable channels like FX and National Geographic. Disney's most recent bid was $71 billion.

The battle with Disney isn't completely over: Comcast said Thursday it will continue to pursue its bid for British broadcaster Sky, which Disney is also trying to buy through Fox. Comcast has offered $34 billion for that company.

A Comcast takeover of Sky would deprive Fox, and thus Disney, of a major direct-to-consumer platform in Europe that Iger has described as a "crown jewel" of the Fox assets.

Over the course of the bidding war, 21st Century Fox's value surged 36% as Disney, then Comcast, then Disney again bid for rights to most of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

The Murdochs will hold onto their broadcast, news and national sports programming, including Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Sports. The new company, known as "New Fox," will be headed by Lachlan Murdoch.

"I'd like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company," Comcast chief Brian Roberts said in a statement.

The bidding war between Iger and Roberts had become one of the most closely followed stories among Hollywood executives, given the sheer scale of the acquisition and the two men's well-known dislike for one another.

By winning the war for Fox, Disney will now have arguably the most formidable content portfolio in all of Hollywood, adding to an already impressive stable that includes Marvel, Pixar and LucasFilm.

But Sky is the other piece of the puzzle: One of Disney's top priorities is building direct-to-consumer relationships globally, so that it can compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Sky has a direct-to-consumer relationship with 23 million paying subscribers across five European countries, making it a key part of the overall Fox acquisition.

Should Sky go to Comcast, Iger would effectively cede the direct-to-consumer market in Europe to Roberts, who would then oversee the biggest pay-TV provider in the world.

Disney won the US Justice Department's approval for its acquisition of Fox assets last month. It agreed to spin off Fox's sports networks to get the government's blessing.

In an unrelated but equally consequential decision, the Justice Department last week appealed a court's approval of AT&T's purchase of Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.

That effectively drove a stake through Comcast's chances of buying Fox: Comcast's deal looks a lot more like AT&T's Time Warner purchase than Disney's Fox bid.

Catawba Capital Management VA Buys Shares of 1,351 Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD)

Catawba Capital Management VA bought a new stake in shares of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruderman Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products & Chemicals during the first quarter valued at about $104,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products & Chemicals during the first quarter valued at about $114,000. Private Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products & Chemicals by 2,231.4% during the first quarter. Private Capital Group LLC now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products & Chemicals during the second quarter valued at $164,000. Finally, Cerebellum GP LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products & Chemicals by 1,896.3% during the second quarter. Cerebellum GP LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. 86.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. Citigroup upped their target price on Air Products & Chemicals from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Air Products & Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 3rd. ValuEngine downgraded Air Products & Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Credit Suisse Group set a $181.00 target price on Air Products & Chemicals and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Air Products & Chemicals in a report on Tuesday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $178.47.

Shares of Air Products & Chemicals opened at $157.41 on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 2.89. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.88 and a 1 year high of $175.17.

Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Air Products & Chemicals had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 13.13%. research analysts forecast that Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, July 2nd will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 29th. Air Products & Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.73%.

Air Products & Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, electronics and performance materials, equipment, and services worldwide. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including metals, glass, chemical processing, electronics, energy production and refining, food processing, metallurgical, medical, and general manufacturing.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding APD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD).

Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) PT Raised to C$7.00

Gran Tierra Energy (TSE:GTE) (NYSEMKT:GTE) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Canaccord Genuity from C$6.00 to C$7.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity’s price target indicates a potential upside of 49.89% from the company’s current price.

GTE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Gran Tierra Energy from C$4.60 to C$5.10 in a research note on Thursday, May 3rd. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Gran Tierra Energy from C$4.00 to C$5.00 in a research note on Friday, May 18th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a C$6.25 price objective on shares of Gran Tierra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd.

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Gran Tierra Energy stock opened at C$4.67 on Tuesday. Gran Tierra Energy has a one year low of C$2.41 and a one year high of C$4.75.

Gran Tierra Energy (TSE:GTE) (NYSEMKT:GTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 1st. The company reported C$0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of C$0.11 by C($0.05). Gran Tierra Energy had a negative return on equity of 16.58% and a negative net margin of 31.22%. The business had revenue of C$174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$167.77 million.

In other news, insider Gmt Capital Corp bought 14,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$3.14 per share, for a total transaction of C$45,844.00. Insiders purchased a total of 62,900 shares of company stock valued at $200,705 over the last quarter.

About Gran Tierra Energy

Gran Tierra Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in Colombia. As of December 31, 2017, the company had total proved undeveloped reserves of 19.6 million barrels of oil equivalent. Gran Tierra Energy Inc was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Gogo, Real Goods Solar Topple into Monday’s 52-Week Low Club

July 9, 2018: Here are four stocks trading with heavy volume among 33 equities making new 52-week lows in Monday’s session. On the NYSE advancers led decliners by about 1.74 to 1 and on the Nasdaq, advancers led decliners by about 1.66 to 1.

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RGSE) traded down 7.5% Monday to set a new 52-week low of $0.37 after closing Friday at $0.40. The stock’s 52-week high is $3.25. Volume was more than 13 times the daily average of about 678,000 shares. The company had no specific news, but a report on solar energy prospects for 2018 may have weighed on the stock.

Cel-Sci Corp (NYSEAMERICAN: CVM) dropped about 1.2% Monday to post a new 52-week low of $0.83. Shares closed at $0.84 on Friday and the stock’s 52-week high is $3.66. Volume totaled almost 10 times the the daily average of around 450,000. The company had no specific news. The company’s shares traded up nearly 29% later in the day following an announcement that the firm won an arbitration hearing related to a Phase 3 trial conducted between 2011 and 2013.

Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) fell about 15% Monday to post a new 52-week low of $4.15. Shares closed at $4.89 on Friday. The 52-week high is $14.76. Volume of around 2.7 million was about 50% above the daily average. The company had no specific news.

Achaogen Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) traded down about 10% Monday and posted a new 52-week low of $7.64 after closing Friday at $8.51. The stock’s 52-week high is $25.22. Volume totaled around 2.2 million, about 70% above the daily average. The company had no specific news.

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5 Stocks Trading Under $10 With Massive Upside Potential

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:CRVL,CPIX,BKE,SNE,AAN,

Trilogy Global Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,979,106 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 291,570 shares during the period. Ita煤 Unibanco accounts for approximately 4.3% of Trilogy Global Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Trilogy Global Advisors LP’s holdings in Ita煤 Unibanco were worth $46,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITUB. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,159,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,070,000 after acquiring an additional 58,829 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 22,372,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $290,838,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177,751 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,914,919 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $336,894,000 after acquiring an additional 6,553,611 shares during the last quarter. Hermes Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hermes Investment Management Ltd. now owns 210,302 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after acquiring an additional 17,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ita煤 Unibanco by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 4,586,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,652,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. 4.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019: CorVel Corp.(CRVL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  AON (NYSE: AON) and CorVel (NASDAQ:CRVL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

• [By Max Byerly]

  GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in CorVel Co. (NASDAQ:CRVL) by 145.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,997 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in CorVel were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  CorVel (NASDAQ: CRVL) and Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  CorVel Co. (NASDAQ:CRVL) Chairman V Gordon Clemons sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.59, for a total transaction of $257,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CorVel (NASDAQ: CRVL) and AON (NYSE:AON) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  CorVel Co. (NASDAQ:CRVL) Chairman V Gordon Clemons sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.85, for a total transaction of $118,912.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019: Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc.(CPIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  JW Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPIX) by 32.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,942 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 84,939 shares during the period. Cumberland Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.2% of JW Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. JW Asset Management LLC owned about 1.14% of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Max Byerly]

  COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (CPIX) Research Coverage Started at B. Riley” was originally posted by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this report on another domain, it was copied illegally and republished in violation of US and international copyright & trademark legislation. The legal version of this report can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3364464/cumberland-pharmaceuticals-cpix-research-coverage-started-at-b-riley.html.

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019: Buckle, Inc. (BKE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  We're about to reveal a little wealth secret that could unlock the trade of a lifetime.�Money Morning�Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin takes you inside what could easily be a 10-bagger for investors in the weeks ahead.�Read more right here.

  The Top Stock Market Stories for Friday Meanwhile, the United States will continue to meet with China to discuss ways to accelerate a deal between the two nations on trade. U.S. Commerce head Wilbur Ross will be visiting the nation next month to lead the next round of talks. Last weekend, the two nations agreed in principle to avoid a trade war. Here's the thing… the U.S. government doesn't want you to know the full story of what is happening. Here's a look at the backroom details…. U.S. crude oil prices slumped below $70 per barrel Friday thanks to reports out of Russia on its plans to hike production. Russia says it may increase production as part of a plan to ease portions of its deal with OPEC to cap excessive global output. Oil traders have long suspected that Russia would be one of the first countries to turn away from the ongoing deal with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the global oil cartel as soon as prices and inventory levels stabilized. This could be a blow to predictions among OPEC nations, as well as some traders who were hoping that oil could push back toward $100 per barrel. Three Stocks to Watch Today: FL, NFLX, AMZN Foot Locker Inc.�(NYSE: FL) leads a light day of earnings reports. Shares of the shoe retailer popped 13% after the firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.45. Wall Street had anticipated EPS of just $1.24. The retailer benefited from stronger same-store sales and higher revenue, which also beat Wall Street expectations. On Thursday, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) surpassed The Walt Disney Co.�(NYSE: DIS) in market capitalization to become the most valuable media property on the planet. It's worth noting, however, that Netflix's market capitalization of $163 billion
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Zoe's Kitchen, Inc. (NYSE: ZOES) fell 27.8 percent to $10.45 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. The company also lowered its FY18 sales outlook from $358million-$368 million to $345 million-$352 million. Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) shares fell 15.6 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter. Rockwell Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMTI) fell 15.5 percent to $5.02 in the pre-market trading session after the company disclosed that its President and CEO Robert Chioini was terminated. BG Staffing Inc (NYSE: BGSF) shares fell 12.7 percent to $19.00 in pre-market trading after reporting a common stock offering. 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) fell 9.3 percent to $20.00 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly earnings. Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Corporation Limited (NASDAQ: APWC) fell 7.7 percent to $2.35 in pre-market trading after rising 3.88 percent on Thursday. Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS) shares fell 7.5 percent to $30.49 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat earnings for its first quarter on Thursday. Comps were up 1 percent in the quarter. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) fell 6.4 percent to $33.91 in pre-market trading. Buckle Inc (NYSE: BKE) fell 4.9 percent to $24.50 in pre-market trading following weak quarterly sales. China Rapid Finance Limited (NYSE: XRF) shares fell 4.9 percent to $3.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 11.53 percent on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) fell 4.8 percent to $78.98 in pre-market trading. Ross Stores reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak forecast for the current quarter. Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) shares fell 4.7 percent to $11.90 in pre-market trading after the company reported pricing of common
• [By Taylor Cox]

  Notable Earnings

  Foot Locker, Inc (NYSE: FL) Q1 premarket The Buckle, Inc (NYSE: BKE) Q1 premarket

  FDA/Biotech

  BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ: BMRN) PDUFA date for Pegvaliase

  IPOs

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019: Sony Corp Ord(SNE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT) tumbled 18 percent to $22.90 following Q1 results. Biglari Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BH) fell 17.4 percent to $349.52. Washington Prime Group will replace Biglari Holdings in the S&P SmallCap 600 on Tuesday, May 1. Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) dipped 15.7 percent to $14.03 after a mixed fourth quarter report. FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) fell 15.3 percent to $11.65. FormFactor is expected to release Q1 results on May 2. Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ: DAIO) dropped 14.3 percent to $6.24 following Q1 results. National Instruments Corporation (NASDAQ: NATI) fell 14.3 percent to $ 42.34 after reporting Q1 results. United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) dipped 14.2 percent to $32.37 following Q1 results. Civeo Corporation (NYSE: CVEO) dropped 13.5 percent to $3.33. Civeo posted a Q1 loss of $0.42 per share on sales of $101.504 million. athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) fell 12.4 percent to $125.310 after reporting Q1 results. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) shares tumbled 12.1 percent to $262.06 as the company posted Q1 results. Value Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: VALU) fell 11.3 percent to $19.10. Federated Investors, Inc. (NYSE: FII) shares dropped 11.2 percent to $27.605 after the company posted downbeat quarterly earnings. AV Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVHI) declined 10.7 percent to $17.20 following Q1 results. CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP) dropped 9.4 percent to $21.01 after reporting Q4 results. Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNDM) shares fell 8.9 percent to $7.280 following mixed Q1 results. Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) shares fell 8.4 percent to $45.97 after reporting Q4 results. LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ: LOGM) fell 8.2 percent to $109.825. LogMeIn reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but issued weak second quarter and FY18 earning guidance. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO
• [By Benzinga News Desk]

  Sony (NYSE: SNE) said it would pay about $2.3 billion to gain control of EMI, becoming the world’s largest music publisher in an industry that has found new life on the back of streaming services: Link

• [By Adam Levy]

  AT&T (NYSE:T) has nearly 1.5 million DIRECTV Now subscribers as of the end of the first quarter. The company's over-the-top linear TV streaming service has grown faster than competitors like DISH Network's (NASDAQ:DISH) Sling TV, Sony's (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation Vue, or Hulu Live. It seems like only a matter of time before DIRECTV Now's subscriber base surpasses Sling TV's 2.3 million subscribers to become the most popular streaming TV service.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 7,772 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,729% compared to the typical volume of 425 call options.

Best Value Stocks To Own For 2019: Aaron's, Inc.(AAN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Aaron’s (AAN)

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

Cenovus Energy (CVE) Receiving Somewhat Favorable News Coverage, Study Finds

Media stories about Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) have been trending somewhat positive on Thursday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group ranks the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Cenovus Energy earned a coverage optimism score of 0.24 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the oil and gas company an impact score of 46.1217870604505 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

These are some of the news headlines that may have impacted Accern’s analysis:

Get Cenovus Energy alerts: Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE) Value Moved to 26552735: Quant Update (tremontherald.com) Current Stocks in Review: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:AMTD), Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE … (journalfinance.net) Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) Collects Gains of 7.09% For the Week (mtlnewsjournal.com) A Head-to-head Comparison of: Apple Inc., (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cenovus Energy Inc., (NYSE: CVE) (globalexportlines.com) Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $4.21 Billion (americanbankingnews.com)

Shares of Cenovus Energy opened at $10.48 on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Cenovus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $6.90 and a fifty-two week high of $11.52. The company has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -524.00 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (TSE:CVE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.88 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 13.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) earnings per share. equities analysts predict that Cenovus Energy will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 15th were paid a $0.0389 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 14th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Cenovus Energy’s payout ratio is currently -750.00%.

CVE has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “sector perform overweight” rating to an “outperform overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 31st. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Cenovus Energy from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Cenovus Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.21.

About Cenovus Energy

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada and the United States. The company's Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and natural gas in northeast Alberta. This segment's bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as projects in the early stages of development, such as Telephone Lake.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:AVXL,BGS,CALM,

March 6, 2017: Markets opened lower Monday as investors and traders mull the probability of a more hawkish Fed interest rate policy that could cool what economic growth there has been. The energy sector ticked up a bit today, but the other 10 S&P sectors all traded down, led by real estate and financials. WTI crude oil for April delivery settled at $53.20 a barrel, down 0.2% on the day. April gold dropped less than 0.1% on the day to settle at $1,225.50. Equities were headed for a lower close shortly before the bell as the DJIA traded down 0.11% for the day, the S&P 500 traded down 0.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.25%.

The DJIA stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) which traded down 1.20% at $91.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $57.05 to $93.98. Volume was about 25% below the daily average of around 16 million shares. The big bank had no specific news.

The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) traded down 1.17% at $122.68. The stock’s 52-week range is $103.45 to $125.49. Volume was about equal to the daily average of around 1.5 million shares. The insurance provider had no specific news.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now: Anavex Life Sciences Corp.(AVXL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL)’s share price shot up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.35 and last traded at $3.93. 14,995 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average session volume of 606,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.13.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  News stories about Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) have trended somewhat positive recently, Accern reports. The research group identifies negative and positive media coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Anavex Life Sciences earned a media sentiment score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the biotechnology company an impact score of 46.1730416635586 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

  Get Anavex Life Sciences alerts: Comparing Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) & Viralytics (VRACY) (americanbankingnews.com) Hot Move to Watch Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (AVXL) (nasdaqplace.com) Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) and Intrexon (XON) Head to Head Review (americanbankingnews.com) -$0.10 EPS Expected for Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) This Quarter (americanbankingnews.com)

  A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price (up previously from $5.00) on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, May 31st. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Anavex Life Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 23rd. Noble Financial set a $7.00 target price on shares of Anavex Life Sciences and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 16th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Anavex Life Sciences in a research report on Thursday, March 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Anavex Life Sciences presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.55.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now: B&G Foods, Inc.(BGS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on B&G Foods (BGS)

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

• [By ]

  Cramer was bearish on BGC Partners (BGCP) , Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) , Sterling Construction Co. Inc.  (STRL) and B&G Foods (BGS) .

  Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE:BGS) by 38.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,949 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in B&G Foods were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

  Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a buy rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Tuesday, April 3rd. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of B&G Foods from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. Stephens reissued a buy rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of B&G Foods in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. Buckingham Research decreased their price target on shares of B&G Foods from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of B&G Foods from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.20.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares jumped 29.86 percent to close at $2.87 on Friday. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares gained 28.87 percent to close at $8.75 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Mexco Energy Corporation (NYSE: MXC) gained 27.02 percent to close at $5.4744. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) climbed 26 percent to close at $23.94. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 25.64 percent to close at $42.44 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.19 percent to close at $8.50 after reporting Q2 results. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares gained 22.45 percent to close at $31.58 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) gained 22.31 percent to close at $6.25 after reporting Q1 results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares jumped 22.27 percent to close at $121.46 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (NASDAQ: JRSH) gained 20.86 percent to close at $8.46. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 19.83 percent to close at $6.89 after reporting strong quarterly results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 18.01 percent to close at $55.95 on Friday after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 17.73 percent to close at $21.25 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT) rose 17.41 percent to close at $2.36. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares gained 16.78 percent to close at $12.25 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares rose 14.23 percent to close at $63.40 following Q1 result

Top Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.(CALM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  News headlines about Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) have trended somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of media coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Cal-Maine Foods earned a news sentiment score of 0.21 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the basic materials company an impact score of 45.5279430715424 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.15 and last traded at $52.25, with a volume of 5956 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.05.

Head-To-Head Analysis: Artesian Resources Co. Class A (ARTNA) versus Pure Cycle (PCYO)

Artesian Resources Co. Class A (NASDAQ: ARTNA) and Pure Cycle (NASDAQ:PCYO) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Get Artesian Resources Co. Class A alerts:

Artesian Resources Co. Class A has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pure Cycle has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Artesian Resources Co. Class A and Pure Cycle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Artesian Resources Co. Class A	17.54%	10.49%	3.15%
Pure Cycle	-40.01%	-1.53%	-1.50%

Dividends

Artesian Resources Co. Class A pays an annual dividend of $0.95 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Pure Cycle does not pay a dividend. Artesian Resources Co. Class A pays out 41.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Artesian Resources Co. Class A and Pure Cycle, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Artesian Resources Co. Class A	0	0	0	0	N/A
Pure Cycle	0	0	0	0	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

38.5% of Artesian Resources Co. Class A shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Pure Cycle shares are held by institutional investors. 20.6% of Artesian Resources Co. Class A shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of Pure Cycle shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Artesian Resources Co. Class A and Pure Cycle’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Artesian Resources Co. Class A	$82.24 million	4.30	$13.98 million	$2.30	16.66
Pure Cycle	$1.22 million	192.81	-$1.71 million	N/A	N/A

Artesian Resources Co. Class A has higher revenue and earnings than Pure Cycle.

Summary

Artesian Resources Co. Class A beats Pure Cycle on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Artesian Resources Co. Class A

Artesian Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides water, wastewater, and other services on the Delmarva Peninsula. The company distributes and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal, and utility customers, as well as for public and private fire protection in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; and offers wastewater services to customers in Delaware. It also provides contract water and wastewater services; water, sewer, and internal service line protection plans; and wastewater management services, as well as design, construction, and engineering services. In addition, the company offers services to other water utilities, including operations and billing functions; and owns real estate properties, including land for office buildings, a water treatment plant, and wastewater facility. As of December 31, 2017, it served approximately 84,200 metered water customers in Delaware, 2,300 metered water customers in Maryland, and 40 customers in Pennsylvania through 1,293 miles of transmission and distribution mains. Artesian Resources Corporation was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Newark, Delaware.

About Pure Cycle

Pure Cycle Corporation designs, constructs, operates, and maintains water and wastewater systems in the Denver metropolitan area and Colorado Front Range in the United States. It provides water production, storage, treatment, retail distribution systems bulk transmission, wastewater collection and treatment, irrigation water treatment and transmission, construction management, billing and collection, and emergency response services. The company offers its services to wholesale customers, which include commercial and industrial customers, and local governmental entities that provide water and wastewater services to their end-use customers. It also leases its farms. The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Watkins, Colorado.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:III,CNR,SWY,WFC,

Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) released its 2016 financial and operating results on Feb. 23. Stornoway is one of the top diamond exploration and development companies in Canada. It is headquartered in Montreal and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company’s flagship asset is the Renard Diamond Project, which is the first diamond mine in Quebec.

The major highlights in Stornoway's financial report for 2016 included the official opening of Reinard Diamond Mine on Oct. 19, 2016, in a grand ceremony that was attended by local as well as regional dignitaries, Stornoway staff, stakeholders in the project and members of the local community. The Renard Diamond Mine is the first diamond producing mine in Quebec and the sixth in Canada. The project was initiated in July 2014 and the first commercial production was announced on Jan. 1.

The total costs of the project as of Dec. 31, 2016, stood at 771.2 million Canadian dollars ($585.8 million), which was 99% of the project’s budget. With CA$2.8 million set aside for 2017, the total cost of completing the project is estimated at CA$774 million, which is CA$37 million below the initial budget set for the project in 2014.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2019: Information Services Group Inc.(III)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  3i Group (LON:III) had its price target upped by Societe Generale from GBX 1,020 ($13.58) to GBX 1,130 ($15.04) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR) and Information Services Group (NASDAQ:III) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2019: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  State of Tennessee Treasury Department lessened its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 842,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,507 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department owned about 0.11% of Canadian National Railway worth $61,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its position in Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,956,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 522,300 shares during the period. Canadian National Railway accounts for about 1.7% of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta as represented by Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.27% of Canadian National Railway worth $184,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) – Cormark raised their Q3 2018 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Canadian National Railway in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 10th. Cormark analyst D. Tyerman now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $1.15 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.14.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Wall Street analysts expect that Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) will announce $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Seven analysts have provided estimates for Canadian National Railway’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $1.06 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.97. Canadian National Railway reported earnings per share of $1.00 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 2%. The company is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Brokerages expect Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) (TSE:CNR) to announce earnings of $1.03 per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Eight analysts have issued estimates for Canadian National Railway’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $1.10 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.97. Canadian National Railway reported earnings of $1.00 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 3%. The business is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, July 24th.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2019: Safeway Inc.(SWY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Robertson]

  In addition, Goldcorp��s (NYSE: GG) �l茅onore mine in the heart of the territory along with the Troilus mine (which produced over 2 million ounces of gold from 1997-2010 and is estimated to have another remaining 2 million ounces of reserves) are helping to maintain the interest of junior exploration companies in nearby properties. The same can be said about the Otish Mountains�area following the discovery of diamonds by�Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX: SWY) at their Renard diamond mine which is projected to produce 1.5-2 millions carats per year.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2019: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shah Gilani]

  The dirt at Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) knows no depths. Last week, yet another example of systemic fraud was unearthed.

  From 2017 through early 2018, employees at the Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) fraudulently altered social security numbers, addresses, and dates of birth on thousands of corporate customer documents.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), plagued by a long list of banking rule violations and hundreds of millions of dollars in government penalties, has launched a new marketing campaign:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  This large cap bank is a solid value play for 2018, but still faces the possibility of large fines. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. The company provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 12,800 ATMs, the internet and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.

Traders Sell Maxim Integrated (MXIM) on Strength (MXIM)

Traders sold shares of Maxim Integrated (NASDAQ:MXIM) on strength during trading on Friday. $21.29 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $203.34 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $182.05 million out of the stock. Of all equities tracked, Maxim Integrated had the 0th highest net out-flow for the day. Maxim Integrated traded up $0.35 for the day and closed at $59.18

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MXIM shares. Macquarie cut Maxim Integrated from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Maxim Integrated from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 30th. BidaskClub cut Maxim Integrated from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 21st. Zacks Investment Research raised Maxim Integrated from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, ValuEngine cut Maxim Integrated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.38.

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The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 4.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.16.

Maxim Integrated (NASDAQ:MXIM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.03. Maxim Integrated had a return on equity of 35.78% and a net margin of 17.82%. The company had revenue of $648.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $640.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts forecast that Maxim Integrated will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 31st will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 30th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Maxim Integrated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.25%.

In other news, VP David Loftus sold 9,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.42, for a total value of $557,939.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Tunc Doluca sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.76, for a total value of $1,883,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 98,580 shares of company stock worth $5,803,934 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Maxim Integrated by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,230,789 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $64,346,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new stake in Maxim Integrated during the fourth quarter worth $1,615,000. Cerebellum GP LLC bought a new stake in Maxim Integrated during the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Maxim Integrated by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 444,297 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,229,000 after acquiring an additional 146,688 shares during the period. Finally, Eqis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Maxim Integrated by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.28% of the company’s stock.

About Maxim Integrated

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a range of linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits in the United States, China, rest of Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company also provides a range of high-frequency process technologies and capabilities for use in custom designs.

Top China Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:RIGL,WERN,MDC,SHBI,
Jaydeb Dey

Stewart & Mackertich Wealth Management Ltd

The Nifty yesterday ended 1.14 percent down at 10,128.40. Early morning positive opening got sold off, amid US-China trade worries, towards ending the session below critical supports placed around 10,210 and 10,170. Nifty ending the session with a big bearish candle soon after yesterday��s Falling-Wedge pattern breakout is disappointing for the bulls.

However, Falling- Wedge pattern breakout and the critical support placed around 10,080 are well intact and may arrest severe down fall here on. Next support is placed around 10,050. Also, RBI��s bi-monthly monetary policy scheduled to be released today is awaited.

On the Nifty hourly chart; midsession violent sell off led the Index closing below the neck line, placed around 10,210, of the Inverse ��Head-and-Shoulder�� pattern discussed in our previous communication. Hence, it may remain under pressure in today's session. However, that��s not an enough proof to invalidate the bullish reversal pattern as of now. Pivotal support is placed around 10,080. Pull back may face resistance on rise around 10,180 and 10,210.

Top China Stocks To Buy Right Now: Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc.(RIGL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Thursday ended in the red for most major benchmarks on Wall Street, with the Dow trading down by triple digits at times before climbing back toward the close. After having bounced back sharply in recent days, stocks seemed to lose upward momentum, and interest rate fears returned to the market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond once again moved above the 2.9% mark, and shorter-term Treasurys had yields reach levels they haven't seen in years. Yet even though the overall market was ready to take a break, some companies still enjoyed good news that lifted their shares. Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), Snap-on (NYSE:SNA), and Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

Top China Stocks To Buy Right Now: Werner Enterprises, Inc.(WERN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Werner Enterprises (Nasdaq: WERN) competes in the full-truckload (FTL) segment of the industry where drivers deliver entire truck-loads between two points, rather than making many stops to consolidate partial loads as in the LTL segment. This could mean that the company has relatively more to gain from autonomous trucking since highway driving is a larger portion of total drive time.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) and Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Top China Stocks To Buy Right Now: M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.(MDC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  MDC (NYSE:MDC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Raymond James in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $39.00 target price on the construction company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $35.00. Raymond James’ target price indicates a potential upside of 26.09% from the company’s current price.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Buying a new home isn't something you go out and do every day. So, as you can imagine, sales at homebuilders can be quite seasonal and a bit lumpy at times. One quarter of weak sales numbers isn't that big of a deal, really. However, this was the second quarter in a row where M.D.C. Holdings (NYSE:MDC) didn't look that great, especially when you consider the backdrop of an incredibly robust housing market and other homebuilders posting double-digit growth rates.

Top China Stocks To Buy Right Now: Shore Bancshares Inc(SHBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media coverage about Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) has trended somewhat positive on Sunday, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Shore Bancshares earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the bank an impact score of 47.376414932679 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Shore Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:SHBI) by 134.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 157,489 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,289 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Shore Bancshares were worth $2,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Buy Treasury Futures This Tuesday, 35 Years of Trading Data Show

Holidays offer a predictable break in the calendar, and a reliable way to cash in on the Treasury market, according to Morgan Stanley.

Prices of 10-year Treasury futures move differently around every holiday, but they’re consistent enough on an annual basis to successfully trade on, strategists Tony Small and Matthew Hornbach found.

By studying patterns around 10 U.S. holidays as far back as 1983 when Treasury trading is either closed or minimal, the analysts came up with strategies for each event. When executed together each year, the trades would have been profitable annually since 1987.

It just so happens that the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 28, when U.S. financial markets will be shut, provides the next opportunity.

The strategists recommend buying 10-year futures on the Tuesday after the holiday and selling them on Friday. That approach returned 0.43 percent on average since 1983 and posted the best ratio of returns above benchmark, taking volatility into account, out of any the report tested. As it turns out, the trade works best when Memorial Day falls on May 28 or later.

“It’s possible that month-end rebalance flow or reinvestment of large quarterly refunding coupons occurs after the holiday and during this period,” the two strategists wrote in a Tuesday note.

July 4 Window

Looking ahead to the U.S. summer, the analysts recommend buying futures two days after the U.S. Independence Day holiday in July, and selling them two trading days later, as “summer seasonality, possible flows associated with the start of a new quarter, and flows observed from Japanese insurance buying may be at work.”

The overall strategy returned an average of 2.22 percent since inception. It had its best year in 2008, returning 7.33 percent. Its worst performance was a loss of 2.54 percent in 1987. All trades were made either at 3 p.m. in New York or at the time prices are settled if the market closes early for a holiday.

“While history seldom repeats itself, it may rhyme enough for this strategy to offer investors an idea about how to tactically trade around U.S. holidays,” the analysts wrote.

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Insider Buying: Groundstar Res (GSA) Director Acquires 685,000 Shares of Stock

Groundstar Res (CVE:GSA) Director Donald Gordon purchased 685,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$0.02 per share, with a total value of C$13,700.00.

Donald Gordon also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Groundstar Res alerts: On Friday, April 6th, Donald Gordon purchased 80,000 shares of Groundstar Res stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$0.02 per share, with a total value of C$1,600.00.

Shares of CVE GSA opened at C$0.02 on Wednesday. Groundstar Res has a 1 year low of C$0.01 and a 1 year high of C$0.02.

Groundstar Res Company Profile

Groundstar Resources Limited explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas properties in Canada. The company was formerly known as Gramara Mercantile Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Groundstar Resources Limited in July 1973. Groundstar Resources Limited was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

LaSalle Hotel Properties Shares Jump on $4.8B Blackstone Buyout

LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO) shares were soaring Monday as the company has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX).

The merger will cost the New York investment group about $4.8 billion, giving it a larger share of the hotel market as the Bethesda-based company owns dozens of upscale hotels. The deal tops Pebblebrook Hotel Trust’s (NYSE:PEB) attempt at buying LaSalle Hotel Properties as the real estate investment trust attempted to buy the company for $3.7 billion.

The announcement arrived only three days after Blackstone had said that it would sell the last of its Hilton Worldwide Holdings shares, which are worth about $1.3 billion. Blackstone has been a Hilton investor for 11 years. This move is considered to be the most successful private equity deal on record, according to a Bloomberg News report.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Blackstone, which we believe is in the best interests of our shareholders and represents the culmination of a thorough review of strategic alternatives,” said Stuart L. Scott, Chairman of the Board of LaSalle.

LaSalle’s board and its advisers said it had contacted 20 potential buyers. The Blackstone deal is slated to close in the third quarter, although it would still need to be approved by LaSalle shareholders.

LHO stock surged 5.6%  Monday, while BX stock gained 1.8%.

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Quanterix Corp. (QTRX) Expected to Post Earnings of -$0.28 Per Share

Analysts expect that Quanterix Corp. (NASDAQ:QTRX) will announce ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Three analysts have made estimates for Quanterix’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at ($0.33) and the highest estimate coming in at ($0.23). The company is scheduled to report its next earnings report after the market closes on Wednesday, May 9th.

On average, analysts expect that Quanterix will report full year earnings of ($1.12) per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($1.17) to ($1.06). For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the company will post earnings of ($0.56) per share, with EPS estimates ranging from ($0.69) to ($0.42). Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow Quanterix.

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Quanterix (NASDAQ:QTRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.08).

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Quanterix in a research report on Sunday, May 13th. ValuEngine raised shares of Quanterix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Quanterix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Shares of Quanterix traded up $0.43, reaching $20.08, during trading on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,252. Quanterix has a 52-week low of $15.30 and a 52-week high of $24.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.20 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.42.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Quanterix during the 1st quarter valued at $129,000. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its position in Quanterix by 130.8% during the 1st quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 85,000 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quanterix during the 1st quarter valued at $431,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Quanterix during the 1st quarter valued at $3,439,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in Quanterix during the 1st quarter valued at $894,000. 45.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quanterix Company Profile

Quanterix Corporation, a life sciences company, develops and markets ultra-sensitive digital immunoassay platform that advances precision health for life sciences research and diagnostics in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It develops Simoa HD-1 Analyzer, a sensitive protein detection platform, which analyzes approximately six biomarkers per test; and Quanterix SR-X, which utilizes the same technology and assay kit as the Simoa HD-1 Analyzer.

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