US Gas Price Reacts to Crude Oil’s Falling Price

The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose by about two cents last week to start the new week at $2.97, according to the latest data from GasBuddy. Pump prices reached that level last Friday ahead of the Memorial Day holiday and have held steady through the weekend.

Month over month, the price is up about 15.5 cents a gallon and is more than 59 cents a gallon higher year over year. Last month the national average was $2.81, while the year-ago average was $2.37.

While expectations may have been for higher prices over the holiday weekend, the reported increase in oil production from OPEC and its partners, including Russia, sent crude prices tumbling by about $5 a barrel over the weekend, and the downtrend continues Monday.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said:

As the summer driving season gets underway, there’s reason to be optimistic and perhaps happy: OPEC appears ready to raise crude oil production to meet higher global demand, dashing at least for now, the likelihood of seeing the national average hit that ugly $3/gallon mark. For now, the national average peaked just under that level and prices are now starting to move ever-so-slowly lower, but more drops are coming. Crude oil dropped to $66.84 per barrel in electronic trading last night, representing a $5 per barrel loss in less than a week. I can confidently say that gas prices will be moving lower this week and perhaps into next week, so long as nothing comes out of left field to derail the plummet in oil prices. Motorists beware, however, the fall in gas prices will be slow to arrive at some stations and quick at others, so before gleefully filling up, check if you’re getting the best deal in the area.

According to GasBuddy, states where prices moved most last week were: Wyoming (up 10 cents); Indiana (down seven cents); Arizona (up six cents); Alaska, Colorado, South Dakota and Illinois (up five cents); and Washington, North Dakota and Wisconsin (up four cents).

States with the lowest average prices last week included: South Carolina ($2.64); Mississippi ($2.65); Alabama ($2.66); Oklahoma ($2.67); Louisiana ($2.68); Arkansas ($2.69); Missouri ($2.71); Tennessee ($2.72); Kansas ($2.73); and Texas ($2.75).

The highest average prices per gallon last week were reported from California ($3.75); Hawaii ($3.68); Washington ($3.44); Alaska ($3.38); Oregon ($3.34); Nevada ($3.32); Idaho ($3.17); Utah ($3.14); Connecticut ($3.13); and Pennsylvania ($3.10).

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery traded down 2% in the noon hour Monday at $66.52, while Brent for July delivery traded at $75.04. The price differential (spread) between WTI and Brent crude dipped by $1.54 to $8.52 a barrel week over week.

ALSO READ: Now Is the Time to Buy Mega-Cap Energy Stocks as Oil Stumbles

SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Synaptics, Incorporated (SYNA)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA) by 35.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,062 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 10,281 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Synaptics worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 2,792.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 356,784 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $14,250,000 after purchasing an additional 344,447 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Synaptics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. First Quadrant L P CA lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 671.1% during the 4th quarter. First Quadrant L P CA now owns 7,711 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 241,753 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $9,656,000 after purchasing an additional 21,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aperio Group LLC lifted its holdings in Synaptics by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 10,718 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 4,032 shares during the last quarter. 96.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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In other Synaptics news, Director Russell J. Knittel sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.45, for a total transaction of $651,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $768,543.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nelson C. Chan sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.17, for a total value of $135,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,684.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,385 shares of company stock worth $1,965,037. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Synaptics stock opened at $42.38 on Monday. Synaptics, Incorporated has a one year low of $33.73 and a one year high of $64.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 9th. The software maker reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. Synaptics had a positive return on equity of 11.99% and a negative net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $394.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $401.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts expect that Synaptics, Incorporated will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SYNA has been the subject of several research reports. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Synaptics in a report on Thursday, May 10th. Cowen set a $60.00 price target on Synaptics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Synaptics from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Synaptics in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised Synaptics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Synaptics Company Profile

Synaptics Incorporated develops, markets, and sells intuitive human interface solutions for electronic devices and products worldwide. The company offers its human interface products solutions for mobile product applications, including smartphones, tablets, and touchscreen applications, as well as mobile, handheld, wireless, and entertainment devices; notebook applications; and other personal computer (PC) product applications, such as keyboards, mice, and desktop product applications.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYNA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA).

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:PPL,GD,LFUS,PAYX,TLK, Yield, yield, yield . . . investors love it. Gurus and professors hate it (focus on total return they say). Having gotten out of grad school nearly 40 years ago, I’ve long felt free to ignore what gurus and professors think and obsess instead on real people who invest real money who want and need real income. That’s why equity income is such an important part of my strategic arsenal. That, and the fact that the fixed income bull market is over.

Coca-Cola, one of the dividend paying companies included in this portfolio (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Dividend Stocks in the Context of the World of Income

To the extent one wants to manage risk, you can’t beat the shortest-term Treasury instruments and money market funds. We all know that. Unfortunately, we also know that despite the Fed’s recent nudge upward, yields remain ridiculously low.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: PPL Corporation(PPL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Investors bought shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) on weakness during trading on Tuesday. $85.45 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $30.50 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $54.95 million into the stock. Of all companies tracked, PPL had the 26th highest net in-flow for the day. PPL traded down ($0.42) for the day and closed at $27.23

• [By Paul Ausick]

  PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) posted a 52-week low of $30.74 after closing Tuesday at $30.76. The 52-week high is $40.20. Volume was about 3.2 million, about 25% below the daily average of around 4.5 million shares. The electric utility company had no specific news.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,988,914 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the April 13th total of 22,001,974 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,372,103 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Wall Street brokerages expect Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) to report $1.51 billion in sales for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have made estimates for Pembina Pipeline’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $1.19 billion and the highest estimate coming in at $1.83 billion. Pembina Pipeline posted sales of $866.72 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 74.2%. The firm is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 7th.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) dropped about 1.7% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $30.44 after closing at $30.95 on Friday. Volume was around 4.1 million about 10% below the daily average of around 4.6 million. The company had no specific news.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Cramer and Moreno also looked at General Dynamics (GD) which peaked in early March, before starting a downtrend until Tuesday. Last week, General Dynamics fell to the lower end of its channel, but then it bounced right to the high end, and Wednesday it firmly broke out above the high end of this channel. The stochastic oscillator, which is a powerful momentum indicator is making a bullish crossover, and based on today's move, Moreno thinks General Dynamics can return to its old highs at $230.

• [By ]

  Only 10% of the companies on the list had female CEOs at the helm, four of which -- Hewlett Packard (HP) , Lockheed Martin (LMT) , General Motors (GM) , and General Dynamics (GD) -- grew significant revenue in five years or less. 

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Shipbuilding and services specialist�Huntington Ingalls (NYSE:HII) was spun off from Northup Grumman in early 2011. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) is roughly six times larger and offers a far more diversified list of products and services that includes submarines, aircraft, and armored vehicles, among other things. Both, however, provide key products and services to the U.S. military. That's normally a fairly consistent business driven by large and often very long contracts. With a supportive administration in the White House, it would seem like now is a good time to take a look at this pair of stocks. But which of these two military-industrial companies is a better buy? Using a Benjamin Graham�lens, the answer may not be what you want to hear.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) by 72.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,391 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Littelfuse were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) was upgraded by stock analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

  Several other equities analysts have also commented on LFUS. ValuEngine raised Littelfuse from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 3rd. Barrington Research reissued a hold rating on shares of Littelfuse in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Littelfuse from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Littelfuse has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Paychex Inc.(PAYX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Paypex (CURRENCY:PAYX) traded 1% lower against the dollar during the one day period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on May 20th. In the last week, Paypex has traded 45.6% higher against the dollar. Paypex has a total market capitalization of $142.70 million and $8,938.00 worth of Paypex was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Paypex token can currently be purchased for about $2.09 or 0.00024454 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,098 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.9% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Aperio Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,732 shares during the quarter. Aperio Group LLC owned 0.06% of Paychex worth $12,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By ]

  In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Paychex (PAYX) , Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) and XPO Logistics (XPO) .

  Cramer was bearish on 3M (MMM) , Fitbit (FIT) and Granite Construction (GVA) .

• [By ]

  "For many other stocks, such as gaming (EA, TTWO) and IT services ( (PAYX) , (GPN) ), regulatory risks for Facebook may not necessarily pose a risk to their core business models," writes Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin. "We expect correlations for these stocks would likely revert to historical averages and present potential buying opportunities given their underperformance since March."

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: P.T. Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk.(TLK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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.

• [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.

Saudi Oil Minister Says Aramco IPO Is `Most Likely' in 2019

The initial public offering of Saudi Aramco will be "most likely" happen in 2019, the kingdom’s oil minister said on Friday, confirming a delay into next year for what’s likely to be the world’s largest ever share sale.

"We’re simply waiting for a market readiness for the IPO," Khalid Al-Falih, who’s also the company’s chairman, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia on Friday.

#lazy-img-328058624:before{padding-top:66.64999999999999%;}

Khalid Al-Falih on May 25.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

For almost two years, Saudi officials said repeatedly the IPO was "on track, on time" for the second half of 2018. But for the first time in March they suggested it could be delayed until 2019, pushing back a central plank of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to modernize the economy.

The Aramco IPO would be a once-in-a-generation event for financial markets. Saudi officials said they hope to raise a record $100 billion by selling a 5 percent stake, valuing the company at more than $2 trillion and dwarfing the $25 billion raised by Chinese retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2014.

Others have poured cold water on the valuation, suggesting a figure much closer to $1 trillion, basing their calculations in part on the first set of accounts on the company revealed earlier this year by Bloomberg News.

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BlackRock (BLK) Announces $2.88 Quarterly Dividend

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of 2.88 per share by the asset manager on Thursday, June 21st. This represents a $11.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%.

BlackRock has increased its dividend by an average of 9.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 8 years. BlackRock has a payout ratio of 44.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect BlackRock to earn $30.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $10.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.4%.

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Shares of BLK traded down $4.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $542.66. The stock had a trading volume of 377,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 3.96 and a quick ratio of 3.96. The company has a market cap of $87.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $393.00 and a 1-year high of $594.52.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 12th. The asset manager reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 39.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.25 EPS. analysts expect that BlackRock will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other BlackRock news, COO Robert L. Goldstein sold 5,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $2,790,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff A. Smith sold 650 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.55, for a total transaction of $353,957.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,716 shares of company stock worth $3,702,471. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

BLK has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup downgraded BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $625.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Deutsche Bank cut their price target on BlackRock to $623.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. ValuEngine downgraded BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Wednesday, March 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $566.62.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.

Coty (COTY) Receiving Somewhat Favorable News Coverage, Analysis Finds

Press coverage about Coty (NYSE:COTY) has been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. Accern identifies negative and positive press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Coty earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the company an impact score of 46.5548238138549 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

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

Get Coty alerts: Investor’s Roundup (Beta Factor Analysis) �� Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) (thestockgem.com) Coty Inc. (COTY) -11.38% away from 20 SMA (nasdaqchronicle.com) Are Analysts Optimistic About: Coty Inc. (COTY) and Range Resources Corporation (RRC) (nmsunews.com) Coty’s results beyond expectations (retailnews.asia) Moving Average Crossover Alert: Coty Inc. (COTY) (finance.yahoo.com)

Shares of COTY stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.98. The stock had a trading volume of 9,392,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,314,577. Coty has a 12-month low of $13.81 and a 12-month high of $21.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Coty (NYSE:COTY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.01. Coty had a positive return on equity of 4.31% and a negative net margin of 3.13%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts predict that Coty will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 31st will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 30th. Coty’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Several brokerages have commented on COTY. Citigroup upped their price objective on Coty from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Coty from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase upped their price objective on Coty from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays set a $20.00 price objective on Coty and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Coty in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.68.

In other news, Director Robert S. Singer bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.12 per share, for a total transaction of $211,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 155,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,188,600. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel E. Ramos acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.32 per share, with a total value of $286,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,150.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 81,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,167,878 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, sells, and distributes beauty products worldwide. It operates in three segments: Consumer Beauty, Luxury, and Professional Beauty. The Consumer Beauty segment offers color cosmetics, retail hair coloring and styling products, body care products, and mass fragrances primarily through hypermarkets, supermarkets, drug stores and pharmacies, mid-tier department stores, and traditional food and drug retailers, as well as own branded e-commerce and direct to consumer Websites.

Are Oregon's Marijuana Woes a Precursor of What's to Come in Canada?

The marijuana movement in North America is seemingly unstoppable at the moment. Mexico legalized medical cannabis in June 2017, 29 U.S. states have legalized marijuana in some capacity since 1996, and Canada stands on the verge of becoming the first developed country in the world to legalize adult-use cannabis by this summer. That's what I'd call a great recipe for rapid sales growth within the marijuana industry.

According to cannabis research firm ArcView in partnership with BDS Analytics, North American legal weed sales grew by 33%, to $9.7 billion in 2017 and they're expected to hit approximately $47 billion annually by 2027. Growth like this is tough for investors to ignore, which is a big reason why marijuana stocks have ascended to the heavens.

Image source: Getty Images.

The U.S. cannabis industry is rife with risk

But the cannabis industry isn't without its own unique set of risks. Within the United States, for example, cannabis is still a Schedule I drug at the federal level. In short, this means it's entirely illegal, considered to be highly prone to abuse, and has no recognized medical benefits.

Though states have been able to legalize the drug via statewide or legislative votes, federal law still supersedes state regulations outlined in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In other words, this house of cards could come crashing down if the federal government suddenly decided to enforce a strict interpretation of the CSA. Though the chances of that happening are unlikely, anything is possible with ardent cannabis opponent Jeff Sessions leading the Department of Justice.

Aside from this gray cloud, marijuana-based businesses also struggle as a result of the federal Schedule I classification. Most cannabis businesses have little or no access to basic banking services such as a line of credit or even a checking account. This is because under a strict interpretation of the CSA, banks fear monetary or criminal repercussions by aiding pot-based businesses.

Likewise, profitable weed businesses also get hit with a more than three-decade-old tax rule known as Section 280E. This rule disallows businesses that sell a federally illegal substance from taking normal corporate income-tax deductions. The end result is an effective tax rate than can be as high as 90%!

And these aren't even all the issues U.S.-based pot growers could face.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oregon growers are being forced to adapt amid a marijuana glut

As reported by the Associated Press, a marijuana glut in the state of Oregon is forcing growers in the state to adapt their business models or deal with severely depressed margins. Like a handful of other states that have legalized recreational pot, such as Washington and Colorado, all weed grown within the state has to stay within its borders.

However, unlike its neighbor Washington, Oregon hasn't placed a cap on the number of licenses to be issued for cultivation. The result of this free-for-all is an absolute glut of dried cannabis within the state.

According to AP, there's nearly 450,000 kilograms of marijuana (nearly 1 million pounds) floating around in the system and little way to dispose of it. Because of this glut, per-gram cannabis prices have collapsed by 50% since 2015, falling from $14 per gram to just $7 per gram, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.

While some producers in Oregon are simply learning to cope with depressed margins in a saturated market, others have adapted by turning to hemp and its medical byproduct, cannabidiol (CBD). Next to Colorado, Oregon has moved to the No. 2 spot in terms of hemp production (hemp is the cannabis plant's cousin that can be used in a variety of industrial purposes). Additionally, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content -- the psychoactive component of cannabis -- in hemp is just 0.3% compared to as much as 30% THC content for cannabis plants.

The move makes sense considering that CBD commands a significantly higher price point than dried cannabis, which has become borderline commoditized and targets a niche consumer base. CBD is often revered for its medical benefits, although clinical studies have been hit-and-miss, depending on the indication.�

Image source: GW Pharmaceuticals.

Cannabidiol is gaining added limelight in the U.S. given the expectation that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will approve GW Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:GWPH) lead drug Epidiolex next month. GW Pharmaceuticals' drug sailed through pivotal-stage trials and delivered a statistically significant reduction in seizure frequency relative to the baseline when compared to the placebo for two rare types of childhood-onset epilepsy. There's never been a cannabinoid-based drug approved by the FDA before, giving GW Pharmaceuticals a chance to make history�and perhaps persuade the U.S. federal government to adjust its stance on CBD, as a whole.

Could Canada follow in Oregon's footsteps?

The big question is, given what we're witnessing in Oregon, will Canada follow suit and switch its production away from dried cannabis in favor of oils and extracts�or even hemp?

Before we dive in, understand that there are two pretty significant differences between Oregon's cannabis market and that of Canada -- and I'm not talking about population or size. First, Canada allows its cannabis to be exported beyond its country's borders, providing a possible means of reducing excess supply. The other difference is that Health Canada, which regulates the Canadian cannabis industry, does somewhat limit the number of cultivation licenses. Therefore, there's not as much of a free-for-all nature to growing pot in our neighbor to the north as there is in Oregon.

Still, talk of a domestic glut in Canada if the Cannabis Act is signed into law in June is very real. Most reports would suggest that domestic demand will equate to roughly 800,000 kilograms a year. Comparatively, full capacity production for Canada's dozens of licensed growers may top 2 million kilograms by 2020 or 2021, leading to more than 1 million kilograms in annual oversupply. What happens to this excess pot?

Some of it likely would be exported to foreign countries that've legalized medical marijuana. But it's unknown if demand in these foreign nations will be strong enough to offload more than 1 million kilograms of annual domestic oversupply. If it isn't, per-gram cannabis prices -- and margins -- could tumble.

Image source: Getty Images.

Interestingly enough, Canadian growers aren't sitting idly by to see if this scenario plays out. They've been incorporating cannabis oils and extracts into their product lines in greater numbers.

Canopy Growth Corp., the biggest pot stock by market cap, announced in February that 23% of its third-quarter sales were from oils, up from 13% in the year-ago quarter.�Similarly, Ontario-based MedReleaf noted in its most recent quarterly results that 21% of total sales were derived from oils, up from just 3% in the year-ago period.�

Canadian growers also are being ushered in the direction of higher oil and extract output, given that foreign countries with medical marijuana laws haven't necessarily given the OK for patients to use dried cannabis. CBD oil, for instance, is almost universally accepted in these countries. Plus, physicians typically favor that their patients take oils rather than smoke cannabis.

Ultimately, it's probably a bit early to suggest that Canada is going to turn out like Oregon. However, it's not out of the question that Canadian growers shift their production to hemp and CBD in the years that lie ahead in order to escape some combination of domestic oversupply or cannabis commoditization. It's certainly a situation that bears close monitoring.