Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:NPI,BXS,RDS.A,MTW,P,MKTX,

Wall Street veteran Sam Stovall is warning stock investors the longest bull market on record will end with an epic meltdown.

According to the CFRA chief investment strategist, it's a side effect of an unprecedented business cycle.

"Three conditions: Very long, very high, very expensive," Stovall said Tuesday on CNBC's "Futures Now." "History would imply that be careful because now we're likely to fall into a very deep bear market when it does finally hit with the average decline being close to 40 percent plus."

His latest thoughts came as the Dow was hitting record highs. The blue chip index is now up more than 8 percent this year. The S&P 500 is performing a tad better — up more than 9 percent for 2018.

Since the bull market began on March 9, 2009, the Dow and S&P 500 have soared more than 300 percent each. For now, Stovall doesn't see any near-term signs that the win streak is about to end.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund, Inc.(NPI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northland Power (TSE:NPI) had its target price lowered by Canaccord Genuity from C$28.00 to C$27.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Northland Power (TSE:NPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The solar energy provider reported C$0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of C$0.46 by C$0.13. The business had revenue of C$486.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$412.97 million. Northland Power had a return on equity of 26.18% and a net margin of 20.85%.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of Northland Power Inc. (TSE:NPI) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$27.07.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Northland Power (TSE:NPI) is set to release its earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, May 9th. Analysts expect Northland Power to post earnings of C$0.45 per share for the quarter.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: BancorpSouth, Inc.(BXS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by Brean Capital in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Brean Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) in a research report released on Sunday.

  Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Bancorpsouth Bank from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 19th. Stephens restated a buy rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Bancorpsouth Bank in a report on Monday, August 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $35.57.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bancorpsouth Bank (BXS)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) – FIG Partners increased their FY2019 earnings estimates for shares of Bancorpsouth Bank in a report released on Wednesday, March 6th. FIG Partners analyst J. Rodis now anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $2.41 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.40. FIG Partners also issued estimates for Bancorpsouth Bank’s Q4 2019 earnings at $0.64 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $2.56 EPS.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) – Equities researchers at Piper Jaffray Companies dropped their Q1 2019 earnings estimates for shares of Bancorpsouth Bank in a note issued to investors on Monday, January 28th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst B. Rabatin now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.56 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.57. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Bancorpsouth Bank’s Q2 2020 earnings at $0.62 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $0.66 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $2.53 EPS.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Bancorpsouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.00.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Royal Dutch Shell PLC(RDS.A)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A)

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

• [By Alexander Bird]

  Much of Wall Street will tell you to stick with the oil industry giants – companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) or Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (NYSE: RDS.A).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) and Oasis Petroleum (NYSE:OAS) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribing]

  (NYSE:RDS.A) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallJan. 31, 2019 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Ben van Beurden

• [By Dustin Parrett]

  Earlier this year, Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (NYSE: RDS.A) spent $217 million to buy a 44% stake in Silicon Ranch Corp., a major U.S. solar developer. Shell is committing $1 billion a year to clean energy investments.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Royal Dutch Shell plc ADR Class A (RDS.A)

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

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Manitowoc Company, Inc. (MTW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE:MTW) CEO Barry Pennypacker bought 19,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.19 per share, with a total value of $493,724.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

• [By Lee Samaha]

  Shares of crane manufacturer The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW) fell 12.5% in August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The slide picked up pace after the release of the company's second-quarter earnings report in the first week of August.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on The Manitowoc (MTW)

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

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Manitowoc Co Inc  (NYSE:MTW)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 08, 2019, 10:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Euro FX(P)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael A. Robinson]

  While I do most of my music streaming with rival Pandora Media Inc. (Nasdaq: P), I do also use Spotify, especially when I'm traveling outside the United States, where Pandora has zero presence.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) shares shot up early on Monday after it was announced that the company would be acquired by Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Pandora Media (NYSE:P) was downgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, The Fly reports.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.(MKTX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 42.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Joe Tenebruso]

  Shares of MarketAxess Holdings (NASDAQ:MKTX) leapt nearly 14% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the leading electronic fixed-income investment trading platform delivered strong fourth-quarter results and boosted its dividend.

Synchronoss Technologies' Turnaround Work Leaves Investors Wanting More

Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ:SNCR) has gone through a tough couple of years. After seeing its stock suspended from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to delays in amending and preparing financial statements, the cloud computing company has undergone some big internal moves in order to get itself moving in the right direction again.

Coming into Tuesday's fourth-quarter financial report, Synchronoss investors were prepared for further weakness in the company's financials. The results that the company posted had some encouraging signs, although they also included troubling numbers that investors will have to come to grips with in order to have full confidence in the cloud-specialist's future.

Image source: Getty Images.

Synchronoss deals with falling sales

Synchronoss' fourth-quarter results showed some of the same trends that investors have seen in recent quarters. Revenue of $82.1 million was down 23% from the fourth quarter of 2017, accelerating in its pace of decline compared to the company's results from last quarter. Synchronoss posted a net loss of $101.9 million, which worked out to $2.56 per share.

As it did in November, Synchronoss pointed out that on an adjusted pre-tax operating earnings basis, the company was more successful. That metric came in at $15.4 million, marking the second-straight quarter of positive results. Yet even judging the company on that generous measure, Synchronoss brought in less than half the adjusted pre-tax operating earnings for the period that it did the same time a year ago. The big culprit for Synchronoss' losses was a massive asset impairment charge, which added up to $109.1 million on a pre-tax basis.

Synchronoss did try to point to some other positives. The company reported adjusted operating cash flow of almost $30 million, with the positive number indicating progress on its strategic initiatives. It also noted the rise in adjusted pre-tax operating margin resulting from its efforts to improve efficiency.

CEO Glenn Lurie highlighted the areas in which Synchronoss sees the most promise. "Our success is being driven by the significant value our platforms deliver," Lurie said, "in solving some of the most complex challenges facing the telecommunications, media, and technology industry, including the risk of disintermediation from over-the-top applications, managing the increasing complexity to deliver a true digital consumer experience and journey that end-users expect while reducing costs and driving incremental revenue." The CEO also noted its ongoing efforts to boost key financial metrics.

What's ahead for Synchronoss?

Synchronoss is also optimistic about the future. As Lurie pointed out, "Thus far in early 2019, we are winning a growing number of new customers while expanding engagements with existing customers." CFO David Clark also chimed in with his belief that there's more room to cut costs and boost profitability.

Some key wins during the quarter helped to build momentum for Synchronoss. The company made a partnership with Rackspace under which it will use the Synchronoss DXP platform internally, as well as reselling it to its customers. Synchronoss also renewed a key agreement with BT Group, formerly known as British Telecom, and it continued to make progress in expanding and developing advanced messaging capabilities with three major mobile operators in the Japanese market.

But what will be essential is whether Synchronoss can make good on its expectations for the coming year. Clark gave guidance for full-year revenue of $340 million to $355 million, which would represent growth of 5% to 9% from final 2018 figures. Further cost savings should help bring adjusted pre-tax operating earnings for the year to $30 million to $40 million.

Synchronoss investors weren't happy with the report, and the stock dropped 12% in premarket trading Wednesday following the Tuesday night announcement. Until the cloud computing specialist can demonstrate that it has truly turned things around, some shareholders will remain skeptical that the company will ever be able to recapture the full potential it once had.

Top Value Stocks To Buy Right Now

tags:PLT,TROX,CRME,

Generally speaking, growth stocks are expensive. They trade for high multiples of everything, with prices based on potential rather than current results. Paying up for a growth stock makes sense if the price is reasonable based on the company's growth prospects, but unchecked optimism can sometimes push growth stock prices beyond reason.

Occasionally, a growth stock falls out of favor. When that happens, the stock may start looking more like a value stock, even though the above-average growth potential is still there. Three of our Motley Fool contributors think Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ:CY), Skechers (NYSE:SKX), and Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TEVA) fall into this category. Here's what you need to know about these deep-value growth stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Top Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Plantronics Inc.(PLT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: “Brian S. Dexheimer Sells 500 Shares of Plantronics (PLT) Stock” was originally posted by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this piece on another publication, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of US and international copyright & trademark law. The original version of this piece can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3355123/brian-s-dexheimer-sells-500-shares-of-plantronics-plt-stock.html.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Lapides Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Plantronics Inc (NYSE:PLT) by 36.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,200 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 24,100 shares during the quarter. Lapides Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Plantronics were worth $3,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) and Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Plantronics Inc  (NYSE:PLT)Q3 2019 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 05, 2019, 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Tronox Limited(TROX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Tronox Ltd (OTCMKTS:TROX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 27,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Tronox Ltd (OTCMKTS:TROX) traded down 8.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.95 and last traded at $11.09. 1,237,777 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 1,334,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.14.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of Tronox (NYSE:TROX) jumped over 20% today after the company announced it had filed a joint motion with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to delay the appeal schedule regarding the review of its proposed acquisition of Cristal. The move suggests the titanium dioxide manufacturer and the FTC are making progress toward a compromise over the acquisition of the Saudi-based chemicals producer, which has been under intense regulatory scrutiny for two years. 

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Tronox (TROX)

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

Top Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Cardiome Pharma Corporation(CRME)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Cardiome Pharma Co. (TSE:COM) (NASDAQ:CRME) – Stock analysts at Zacks Investment Research issued their Q2 2018 EPS estimates for Cardiome Pharma in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 22nd. Zacks Investment Research analyst J. Vandermosten anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of ($0.26) for the quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

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

  Get Cardiome Pharma alerts: Cardiome Pharma Corp (TSE:COM): Should The Recent Earnings Drop Worry You? (finance.yahoo.com) Pacira Pharmaceuticals Gets a Hold Rating from Canaccord Genuity (analystratings.com) As of May, 21 Analysts See $-0.20 EPS for Cardiome Pharma Corp. (CRME) (thecasualsmart.com) Cardiome Pharma Corp. (CRME) stock added 0.33% off its SMA-20 (thestocksnews.com) Cardiome Pharma (CRME) Upgraded to Sell at ValuEngine (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of CRME traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 730 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,610. The firm has a market cap of $80.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 3.99 and a current ratio of 4.80. Cardiome Pharma has a 52 week low of $2.28 and a 52 week high of $2.30.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME) is expected to post quarterly loss at $0.07 per share on revenue of $6.34 million.

  Quest Resource Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: QRHC) is estimated to post quarterly loss at $0.09 per share on revenue of $24.85 million.

Better Buy: General Electric vs. Coca-Cola

The two companies may seem like a strange pair to compare, but doing so helps us understand the long-term investment case for both stocks. General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) are both iconic American companies that have seen better days and face questions over their near-term free-cash-flow (FCF) generation and long-term growth prospects. Let's take a look at both companies and assess which is a better buy.

Is Coca-Cola's dividend safe?

Coca-Cola recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.40 a share from $0.39 a share previously, meaning the stock trades on a forward yield of 3.6% at the time of writing.

That's good news for investors used to owning a Dividend King -- Coca-Cola has raised its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years. But here's the thing: Coca-Cola's dividend wasn't covered by its FCF in 2018, and it's unlikely to be in 2019, either.

Metric

Coca-Cola 2019 Estimates

Coca-Cola 2018

Operating cash flow	$8 billion	$7.32 billion
Capital expenditures	$2 billion	$1.35 billion
Free cash flow	$6 billion	$5.97 billion
Dividends paid	$6.9 billion	$6.64 billion

Data source: The Coca-Cola company presentations.

It's obviously not a sustainable situation, particularly as management's aim is actually to grow the dividend as a function of FCF aiming for a 75% payout ratio.

However, the reality is that earnings growth and cash-flow generation are being held back because of action taken by management to restructure the business and improve productivity for the long term. 

Coca Cola's growth initiatives

Initiatives such as refranchising the company's bottling operations and investing in growth initiatives such as the acquisition of Costa (coffee) and other beverages is seen as leading to improved productivity as well as earnings and cash-flow growth. Management expects long-term organic revenue growth of 4% to 6%, with EPS growing 7% to 9% and FCF conversion from net income to improve to 90% to 95% from just 70% in 2018.

It's an ambitious set of targets, and if achieved, the dividend will look sustainable within in a few years. However, given that management has already backed off the target to improve operating margin to 34%-plus by 2020 from 27% in 2017 -- put down to the impact of acquisitions -- investors have reason to call it into question.

Thinking long term, investors also have to consider whether Coca-Cola and PepsiCo can leverage the opportunity of emerging market growth in order to offset any demand decline due to changes in consumer tastes away from sugary soft drinks and toward more health-conscious options.

In this context, it's worth noting that Coca-Cola, and Pepsico for that matter, have significantly underperformed the market over the last decade -- despite myriad attempts to diversify their product line-ups and expand snack sales (Pepsico).

KO data by YCharts.

General Electric's cash-flow troubles

The word is out. GE's industrial FCF is expected to be negative in 2019, according to CEO Larry Culp at a recent conference. However, unlike Coca-Cola, the key driver of GE's stock price isn't its dividend yield, but rather its earnings and FCF prospects going forward.

It's no secret that GE is going through a very difficult period, and earnings and cash flow are being constrained because of a combination of significant restructuring action taken at GE Power and the ramp in production of the loss-making LEAP engine at GE Aviation -- don't worry too much about that because LEAP engines will start to generate highly profitable service/aftermarket revenue in a few years.

The question with GE is what kind of cash flow will the company be generating in a few years? Culp will probably shed some light on this soon -- at least by possibly outlining what the one-off costs are in 2019. With this figure, analysts can better estimate what the underlying rate of GE's FCF really is.

The two iconic companies both face uncertainty in 2019. Image source: Getty Images.

General Electric's long-term future

What we do know is that GE Aviation (one of the three business to be kept for the long term alongside GE Power and GE Renewable Energy) generated $6.47 billion in segment profit in 2018 and is set for low-single-digit earnings growth in 2019. Margin, earnings, and cash-flow conversion should improve at GE Aviation in the coming years as the LEAP production ramp moderates and aftermarket revenue starts to flow.

All of this leaves the key issue, aside from potential problems at GE Capital, to be the shape of the margin recovery at GE Power. As Culp has outlined, turning GE Power around will take some time.

In addition, demand for GE's core gas turbine product may be structurally challenged by the decreasing cost of renewables and the decreasing cost of storage -- something likely to increase in demand for renewable energy. The jury is out on the subject.

Which stock is better?

It looks like General Electric is the better buy, but that's not saying either is a good buy right now. If forced to buy one and hold it for a decade, then GE wins, in my opinion.

Why? The fallout of a potential failure to hit its targets could be significant at Coca-Cola, and any dividend cut would hit the company hard. Meanwhile, trading on a forward P/E ratio of 21 times earnings, it's hard to argue that the stock has significant upside.

GE also faces significant downside risk, but Siemens plans to generate a low single-digit margin in its power segment in 2019, so it's possible to make money from gas turbines. Moreover, cutting the fat from a business that became bloated due to over-optimism from GE's previous management could cut costs significantly and return GE Power to high single-digit margins over time. That might be enough to see the stock get a re-rating, all the while being supported by a strong aviation segment.

Imperva Inc (IMPV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Imperva Inc (NASDAQ:IMPV) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.78.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BidaskClub downgraded Imperva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 4th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Imperva from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Saturday, January 5th.

Get Imperva alerts:

Shares of NASDAQ:IMPV remained flat at $$55.74 on Friday. Imperva has a fifty-two week low of $41.00 and a fifty-two week high of $57.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.07 and a beta of 1.09.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Imperva by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 2,962,136 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $137,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,987 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Imperva by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,962,136 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $137,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,987 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Imperva by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,434,982 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $135,604,000 after purchasing an additional 20,178 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Imperva by 7.4% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,269,580 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $58,972,000 after purchasing an additional 87,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperva in the fourth quarter valued at $70,165,000. Institutional investors own 93.43% of the company’s stock.

Imperva Company Profile

Imperva, Inc engages in the development, market, sale, and support of cyber security solutions that protect business critical data and applications in the cloud or on premises worldwide. The company's SecureSphere product line provides database, file, and Web application security in various data centers, including on-premises data centers, as well as in private, public, and hybrid cloud computing environments.

Further Reading: Investing in Dividend Stocks

Is Illumina a Buy?

No company has dominated gene sequencing like Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN). And the stock's performance has reflected that dominance. Illumina's share price has skyrocketed more than 850% over the past 10 years. 

Success isn't just a thing of the past for Illumina, though. The stock jumped more than 37% in 2018 thanks in large part to continued momentum for its latest gene-sequencing system, NovaSeq. But is Illumina a great pick for investors to buy now? 

Image source: Getty Images.

Reasons to buy

There are basically two assumptions you have to make to buy Illumina stock. First, you have to believe that the growth opportunities in gene sequencing are significant. Second, you have to think that Illumina is well positioned to capitalize on those growth opportunities enough to drive its share price higher.

The first assumption is pretty much a no-brainer. Illumina CEO Francis deSouza stated at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January that in the future "the ubiquity and impact of genomics will dwarf everything we've seen to date." He's almost certainly right.

Although significant progress has been made, only a small fraction of human genomes have been sequenced. Very few genetic variants have been characterized using gene sequencing in relation to the total number of possible variants. There are tremendous growth opportunities for gene sequencing in a number of areas, including consumer genomics, non-invasive prenatal testing, population genomics, personalized medicine, and rare and undiagnosed disease research and treatment.

One of the biggest opportunities is in the use of gene sequencing in analyzing liquid biopsy for the early detection of cancer. Some predict that liquid biopsy could be a $100 billion market in the future.

What about the second assumption that Illumina should be able to capitalize on these opportunities? This one might not be a no-brainer, but it seems like a pretty good bet. Illumina is already a market leader in virtually all of the categories listed as potential areas for growth. 

Illumina's short-read sequencing technology is respected in the industry for its high levels of accuracy and throughput. The company is opening up gene sequencing to new customers with its NovaSeq and iSeq systems. Illumina even thinks that it will be able to lower the cost for sequencing a human genome from around $1,000 to $100 in the not-too-distant future using the NovaSeq platform.

The company's strong financial position, with consumables generating an impressive amount of cash flow, arguably should enable Illumina to stay at the forefront of gene sequencing. Illumina continues to invest nearly 19% of revenue to research and development. Illumina also has the financial flexibility to make strategic acquisitions, such as its pending buyout of Pacific Biosciences of California that gives the company a presence in the long-read sequencing technology arena.

Reasons to stay away

There are also reasons investors might choose to avoid Illumina. Probably the two top factors for not buying the stock are its valuation and the potential for disruptive competition.

Illumina isn't cheap by any measure. The stock trades at nearly 55 times trailing 12-month earnings and over 40 times expected earnings. Even incorporating five-year growth projections into the equation doesn't help very much: Illumina's price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio is 2.18. 

Perhaps the scariest prospect for Illumina, though, is that its technology could be rendered obsolete by a competitor. Privately held Oxford Nanopore is one rival that hopes to dethrone Illumina. The company uses a process called nanopore sequencing. Oxford Nanopore's devices are small -- one is the size of a desktop PC while another is a handheld device. The accuracy levels of its systems don't match Illumina's, but the company continues to make progress on that front.

There are other rivals for Illumina, too. Chinese genomics company BGI has stated that it intends to offer human genomic sequencing at a cost of less than $300 by 2020. Roche, which attempted to acquire Illumina in 2012, is a major player in the gene-sequencing market and is researching nanopore sequencing.

Decision time

So do the reasons to buy Illumina outweigh the reasons to stay away or vice versa? Let's look more closely at the objections to the stock.

Yes, Illumina has a sky-high valuation. However, it's important to note that the company's current earnings multiples are actually lower than they've been on average over the last 10 years. 

The tougher question to answer is whether Illumina's technology might be swept aside by competitors. However, Illumina's acquisition of PacBio should help the company fend off competition to some extent. And Illumina was even an early investor in Oxford Nanopore, although its exact stake in the company isn't known.

My view is that knowns for Illumina -- including the tremendous opportunities and its leading position in the industry -- are bigger factors than the unknowns about the potential for more competition in the future. I think Illumina is a buy.

Dow Jones Today Strained as Chinese Phone Maker Sues U.S. Government

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The Dow Jones today fell after news that Chinese phone maker Huawei would sue the U.S. government for banning its products.

This was a setback for investors who have waited on the edges of their seats for good news to come out of U.S.-China trade talks. More on this below – and how Jack Daniel's whiskey feels about it.

Here are the numbers from Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Index	Previous Close	Point Change	Percentage Change
Dow Jones	25,673.46	-133.17	-0.52%
S&P 500	2,771.45	-18.20	-0.65%
Nasdaq	7,505.92	-70.44	-0.93%

Now, here's a closer look at today's Money Morning insight, the most important market events, and stocks to watch.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Thursday Investors are eyeing news that the U.S. deficit with China hit a 10-year high during December. This widening deficit occurred even in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's large tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump has been slapping tariffs on China to reduce this deficit. However, Americans continued to buy cheap manufactured goods while the Chinese government has scooped up cheap commodities and raw materials from other nations. Yesterday, shares of Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B), the manufacturer of Jack Daniel's whiskey, fell 7% after announcing the tariffs were hurting sales. Now, new tensions in the trade deal are emerging as the Chinese tech firm Huawei has sued the U.S. government over a ban to sell its equipment to the United States. Before the bell, the European Central Bank planned to announce its latest decision on interest rates and other monetary policy matters. The ECB Bank Chief Mario Draghi hosted a press conference to discuss the bank's forecast for the European economy. Many analysts project that several key markets – like Germany – have seen a cooldown in economic activity in recent months. The ECB has never raised interest rates during any part of Draghi's eight-year term. The 2020 election is heating up around one issue – but it's not the one that you think. In fact, Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin projects that President Trump will do something shocking before the election: legalize cannabis across the United States. Think that's crazy? Well, you'd be amazed at how easy it would be. You'll also be shocked by how much money you could make by getting out in front of this trend – check out Tim's latest insight right here. Stocks to Watch Today: KR, AMZN, PEP Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has learned that brick-and-mortar retail is difficult. The e-commerce giant announced plans to shut all 87 of its pop-up shops inside other stores' locations, including Whole Foods and Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS). The stores – which will close in April – were designed to showcase Amazon products and services like Echo smart speakers, Fire TV, Amazon Prime, Audible, and Kindle. Still, the firm will likely add pop-up shops like these when it begins unveiling new Amazon grocery stores. The firm will open as many as 3,000 Amazon Go stores by 2021.

Billions Are Now in Play: Millions of Americans could collect "federal rent checks" – to learn how to claim your portion of an $11.1 billion money pool using this backdoor investment, click here now…

Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) continue to slump. The stock was off another 1%, a day after falling another eight percentage points. The downturn came after its CEO announced its industrial division will be cash-flow negative in 2019. Shares of PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) were off 1% this morning after the stock received a downgrade from Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS). While the Swiss bank called PepsiCo a "high quality" business, it raised concerns about its need to heavily invest over several years into struggling business lines and snack products. It also raised concerns about the ongoing competitive threats in the industry. CS set a price target for Pepsi at $100 per share, which is well below yesterday's trading price of $116. Look for other earnings reports from American Outdoor Brands Corp. (NASDAQ: AOBC), Burlington Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BURL), Care.com Inc. (NASDAQ: CRCM), Chuy's Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY), El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LOCO), GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC), H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB), Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV), Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), and UMH Properties SH (NYSE: UMH).

Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Sells 3,254,735 Shares of Benefitfocus Inc (BNFT) Stock

Benefitfocus Inc (NASDAQ:BNFT) major shareholder Goldman Sachs Group Inc sold 3,254,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.80, for a total value of $152,321,598.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Shares of NASDAQ BNFT traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.07. The company had a trading volume of 344,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,754. Benefitfocus Inc has a 12 month low of $21.75 and a 12 month high of $60.66.

Get Benefitfocus alerts:

Benefitfocus (NASDAQ:BNFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 26th. The software maker reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $74.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.03 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.06) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Benefitfocus Inc will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

BNFT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Benefitfocus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 27th. BidaskClub lowered Benefitfocus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Benefitfocus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 23rd. Wedbush reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Benefitfocus in a research report on Wednesday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Benefitfocus to $58.00 and gave the stock an “average” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Benefitfocus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.75.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Benefitfocus by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,255 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Benefitfocus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Benefitfocus by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,579 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Benefitfocus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Benefitfocus by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 14,874 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the last quarter. 93.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: “Goldman Sachs Group Inc Sells 3,254,735 Shares of Benefitfocus Inc (BNFT) Stock” was first published by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this article on another publication, it was stolen and republished in violation of United States and international copyright & trademark legislation. The legal version of this article can be accessed at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4204763/goldman-sachs-group-inc-sells-3254735-shares-of-benefitfocus-inc-bnft-stock.html.

Benefitfocus Company Profile

Benefitfocus, Inc provides cloud-based benefits management platform for consumers, employers, insurance carriers, and brokers in the United States. It operates through Employer and Carrier segments. The company's products for insurance carriers include Marketplaces, which are online shopping environments; eEnrollment that provides online enrollment for benefits; eBilling, an electronic invoice presentment and payment solution; eExchange, a solution for communication; eSales for carriers and brokers to organize and manage accounts, track leads, generate quotes, and create proposals for products; and Core & Advanced Analytics, a data analytics solution.

Further Reading: What is Liquidity?

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:NHC,TDS,NEWR,SKX,UVE, Samantha Bee is expected to kick off her TBS show Wednesday night addressing the controversy over her use of a vulgarity to describe Ivanka Trump. In the process, she becomes merely the latest purveyor of political humor to get singed by their own red-hot rhetoric since the start of the Trump presidency.

Bee's acerbic commentary on "Full Frontal" has made her a late-night star, and one of the most-quoted anti-Trump voices on television. But as fellow comics Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher and Michelle Wolf have discovered, there is also a contingent eager to pounce on any perceived misstep or instance of "crossing the line," as Bee acknowledged she did in an apology statement, over comedic material that they think goes too far.

Jon Stewart, who hosted "The Daily Show" back when Colbert and Bee were correspondents there, recently suggested that's no accident. During a question-and-answer session in San Francisco over the weekend, Stewart said conservatives consciously push a narrative in which they are the "real victims," adding, "It's a game, it's a strategy, and it's working."

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now: National HealthCare Corporation(NHC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of National HealthCare Co. (NYSEAMERICAN:NHC) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,558 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.08% of National HealthCare worth $883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL bought a new position in shares of National Healthcare (NYSEAMERICAN:NHC) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Shares of Nobilis Health (NYSEAMERICAN:HLTH) (TSE:NHC) traded down 15.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $1.35 and last traded at $1.35. 1,239,040 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 331% from the average session volume of 287,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.60.

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.(TDS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  These are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s scoring:

  Get Savara alerts: Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor Receptor Subunit Alpha Market Therapeutic Pipeline, H1 2018 … (managementjournal24.com) Painstaking Stocks: Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKER), Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS), Savara … (thestreetpoint.com) Stock to Follow:: Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC),Savara Inc. (SVRA) (bitcoinpriceupdate.review) Chimerix (CMRX) & Savara (SVRA) Head to Head Analysis (americanbankingnews.com) Is It Time To Buy Stock? Savara Inc. (SVRA) (nysewired.com)

  Shares of Savara traded down $0.10, reaching $12.59, during trading on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 148,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,976. Savara has a 52-week low of $5.07 and a 52-week high of $17.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.15 and a beta of -0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 16.28 and a current ratio of 16.28.

• [By Max Byerly]

  TokenDesk (CURRENCY:TDS) traded down 6.1% against the dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 19:00 PM E.T. on June 21st. TokenDesk has a total market cap of $908,489.00 and $445,110.00 worth of TokenDesk was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, TokenDesk has traded down 48.1% against the dollar. One TokenDesk token can now be bought for about $0.0884 or 0.00001315 BTC on popular exchanges.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  TokenDesk (CURRENCY:TDS) traded down 21.7% against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 23:00 PM E.T. on September 10th. One TokenDesk token can currently be purchased for about $0.0086 or 0.00000136 BTC on popular exchanges including YoBit and HitBTC. TokenDesk has a market cap of $88,778.00 and approximately $166,500.00 worth of TokenDesk was traded on exchanges in the last day. In the last week, TokenDesk has traded down 50.2% against the U.S. dollar.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Telephone And Data Systems Inc  (NYSE:TDS)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 22, 2019, 9:30 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now: New Relic, Inc.(NEWR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Shares of New Relic (NYSE:NEWR), the software-as-a-service company, rose 25.5% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after an analyst upgraded the company's stock and raised its price target.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribing]

  New Relic (NYSE:NEWR) Q3 2019 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 6, 2019 5:00 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  New Relic (NYSE: NEWR) and ImageWare Systems, Inc. common stock (OTCMKTS:IWSY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now: Skechers U.S.A., Inc.(SKX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund, Timothy Green, and Dan Caplinger]

  So we asked a few of your fellow investors here at The Motley Fool what they might recommend buying instead of falling for the hottest penny stocks today. Read on to see the specifics of why our panelists would prefer Visa (NYSE:V), Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS), and Skechers (NYSE:SKX) over pretty much every penny stock on the market today.

• [By Timothy Green]

  When footwear company Skechers (NYSE:SKX) reports its second-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday, the specter of its first-quarter report will be hanging over the stock. While Skechers reported stronger-than-expected revenue last time around, its guidance sent the stock tumbling more than 26% the next day.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Hill: Shares of Skechers (NYSE:SKX) up 15% on Friday after the shoe company posted record revenue of just over $1 billion in the fourth quarter. 2018, a tough year for Skechers, Ron, so they kind of needed a hit.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Skechers (NYSE:SKX) shareholders had a strong start to the year, as their stock gained 19% compared to an 8% spike in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Top 5 Stocks To Watch Right Now: UNIVERSAL INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC(UVE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UVE) was down 3.2% at $44.65, in a 52-week range of $19.55 to $46.26.

  United Insurance Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: UIHC) was down 1.9% at $20.45. Its 52-week range is $14.55 to $22.23.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) CEO Sean P. Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total transaction of $715,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,479,141 shares in the company, valued at $52,908,873.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.12% of Universal Insurance worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Steve Symington]

  As for individual stocks, GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) extended Friday's gains amid optimism for the action camera and drone specialist's ongoing turnaround, while shares of Universal Insurance Holdings (NYSE:UVE) rallied on news of the waning storm in Florida.

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

  Get Universal Insurance alerts: Should You Buy Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) At US$035.15? (finance.yahoo.com) Analyzing Universal Insurance (UVE) and Infinity Property and Casualty (IPCC) (americanbankingnews.com) Why Fundamental Investors Love Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) (finance.yahoo.com) Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:UVE) Stock Under Examination – Week Performance is -3.2876713 (stocknewscaller.com)

  A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UVE shares. ValuEngine cut shares of Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a $35.00 target price on shares of Universal Insurance and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 10th.

Facebook And Google Are Most-Bought Stocks Of Guru Investors In 4th Quarter

&l;p&g;As the market slumped in the fourth quarter, investors tracked by GuruFocus gravitated to several tech and financial stocks, particularly Facebook&a;nbsp;and Alphabet.

&l;img class=&q;dam-image bloomberg size-large wp-image-42901778&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/42901778/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;640&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; More top investors bought social media company Facebook than any other stock of the S&a;amp;P 500 in the fourth quarter of 2018, data shows. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

The S&a;amp;P 500 index declined 13.97% in the fourth quarter, marking its worst stretch since the third quarter of 2011, when it fell 14.33%. During the storm, the most popular stocks among investors tracked by GuruFocus, a group of the world&a;rsquo;s most prominent managers, most of whom have a value slant, were: Facebook, Google, (Buffett&a;rsquo;s third-largest holding) Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs&a;nbsp;and Citigroup.

According to the S&a;amp;P 500 Screener, the investors preferred Facebook and Google to their rival Amazon, which ranked as the seventh most-bought stock in the index.

Other hot names held less appeal during the quarter. Apple,&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Warren Buffett&a;rsquo;s largest holding, ranked far behind as the 21st most-bought stock. Bank of America&a;nbsp;trailed its big-bank peers at No. 11. JPMorgan, a financial stock Buffett bought more of during the quarter, was 46 on the list.

The most-bought stocks

&l;strong&g;Facebook&l;/strong&g;

At 26, more investors GuruFocus tracks bought shares of Facebook than any other stocks in the S&a;amp;P 500 during the fourth quarter. The company&a;rsquo;s shares fell 19% in the fourth quarter. The largest new purchase by a GuruFocus investor was made by&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Glenn Greenberg, who made it 5.62% of his long portfolio.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Steve Mandel&a;nbsp;had the largest position with 0.23% of shares outstanding.

Facebook Inc. has a market cap of $477.67 billion; its shares were traded around $167.37 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 22.14 and price-sales ratio of 8.75. Facebook Inc. had annual average earnings growth of 48.30% over the past five years.

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

Twenty investors GuruFocus tracks bought Google shares during the fourth quarter, making it the second most popular stock of the index. Its stock price declined 14% during the quarter.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Al Gore&a;rsquo;s Generation Investment Management established the largest new position at 3.92% of its long portfolio. Investment firm Dodge &a;amp; Cox holds the largest position with 0.44% of its shares outstanding.

Alphabet Inc. has a market cap of $800.56 billion; its shares were traded around $1,147.80 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 26.43 and price-sales ratio of 6.17. Alphabet Inc had an annual average earnings growth of 15.3% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Alphabet Inc.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.

&l;strong&g;Wells Fargo&l;/strong&g;

Twenty investors GuruFocus tracks bought shares of Wells Fargo during the quarter, making it tied with Google for the number of purchasers, though it has a lower overall weighting in their portfolios.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;David Tepper&a;nbsp;started the largest new position at 0.69% of his long portfolio.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Warren Buffett&a;nbsp;has the largest position with 9.32% of shares outstanding.

Wells Fargo &a;amp; Co. has a market cap of $227.97 billion; its shares were traded around $50.11 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 11.72 and price-sales ratio of 2.79. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Wells Fargo &a;amp; Co. is 3.40%. The forward dividend yield of Wells Fargo &a;amp; Co. is 3.60%.

&l;strong&g;Goldman Sachs&l;/strong&g;

Twenty investors also purchased Goldman Sachs shares, with a lower overall weighting in their combined portfolios. The stock&a;rsquo;s price dropped 26% over the quarter. The&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Yacktman Focused Fund&a;nbsp;started the largest new position at 0.68% of its portfolio.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Warren Buffett&a;nbsp;has the largest Goldman Sachs stake with 4.93% of shares outstanding.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has a market cap of $72.17 billion; its shares were traded around $195.98 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 7.75 and price-sales ratio of 2.30. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is 1.63%. The forward dividend yield of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is 1.61%.

&l;strong&g;Citigroup&l;/strong&g;

Nineteen investors purchased Citigroup shares, making it the fifth most-bought stock in the index. The stock&a;rsquo;s price plunged 28% in the fourth quarter.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Steven Cohen&a;nbsp;started the largest new position at 0.89% of his long portfolio.&l;span&g;&a;nbsp;&l;/span&g;Jeff Ubben&a;nbsp;has the largest position, with 1.33% of shares outstanding.

Citigroup Inc. has a market cap of $149.91 billion; its shares were traded around $63.75 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 9.54 and price-sales ratio of 2.20. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Citigroup Inc. is 2.61%. The forward dividend yield of Citigroup is 2.79%.

This article originally appeared &l;a href=&q;https://www.gurufocus.com/news/827276/facebook-and-google-are-mostbought-stocks-of-investing-gurus-in-4th-quarter&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;HERE&l;/a&g;.&l;/p&g;

Chipotle Stock Continues Its Delicious Rebound

Every year, InvestorPlace asks ten people who work in and around the investment industry, to pick a stock they think will outperform the indexes. Not one of our experts chose Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) in 2019. That’s too bad because Chipotle stock is up 42% year to date through March 1.

Source: Shutterstock

If Chipotle were in the group of ten stocks, it would be leading the pack. It’s a wonder, Kyle Woodley, InvestorPlace’s former managing editor didn’t run with Chipotle stock for a second consecutive year. In 2018, CMG stock delivered a 49% return, good enough for second place.

The Chipotle turnaround is real. The question investors are asking themselves at this point is whether the stock can keep moving higher. Despite all of its health & safety woes in recent years, CMG is trading within 19% of its all-time high of $758.61, reached in July 2015.

I see Chipotle stock retesting its all-time high within the next 12 months. Here’s why.

The Taco Bell Guy

When Chipotle hired Brian Niccol to run the company, there was a lot of skepticism from investors. Some analysts questioned whether bringing in the former Taco Bell CEO in February 2018 would move the needle enough to rescue CMG stock — it was trading around $300 at the time.

“It looks like to me that this is really just a relief rally that’s starting to form,” said Piper Jaffray analyst Craig Johnson at the time of Niccol’s announcement. “You can go up another 7% just to get back to the 50-day [moving average] on this stock, and if you were to really reverse a long-term trend, you’d have to get above $400.”

It did and then some.

Brian Niccol’s history of turning around companies and rebuilding brands made him the right person at the right time for the job. CNBC’s Jim Cramer believes that Niccol’s emphasis on execution will continue to drive CMG higher as Niccol drives gross margins higher while coping with the increased traffic from a forgiving customer base.

In November, I suggested that CMG would have another big year in 2019, due to its stronger gross margins and same-store sales revival. The company’s Q4 2018 results suggest I wasn’t too far off the mark.

Whether we’re taking revenues, profits, or same-store sales growth, Niccol underpromised and overdelivered in Q4; there’s no reason he won’t continue to do the same in Q1 and beyond.

Digital Gone Wild

In Q4, Chipotle’s digital orders grew by 66% to $158.6 million or 12.9% of sales. To meet the increase in digital orders the company is putting new assembly lines in the restaurants to deal with these orders. Also, it’s testing drive through as a way to improve the online order pickup experience.

America remains a drive-through nation, so anything it can do to drive more sales from its Chipotlanes is good news for investors. Of course, Niccol understands it’s all about execution, so the test is only in ten Chipotle locations, opting to go slow until it’s worked out all of the kinks.

Compare Brokers

Going forward, Chipotle plans to invest in pickup lanes at new restaurants over store renovations at older stores. What that says is that customers like the new store designs (layout, etc.) and the numbers bear this out.

Digital online ordering is here to stay.

Add to that a delivery business that is faster than most — according to Niccol, Chipotle consistently has one of the best delivery times through DoorDash, its third-party delivery service — and the company’s growth runway is better than most of its peers.

The Bottom Line on Chipotle Stock

Except for the company’s ongoing challenge of rising labor costs — labor inflation expected to rise by at least 4% in 2019 — I don’t see any bumps in the road for Chipotle stock in 2019.

If you own CMG stock, I would continue to hold. If you don’t and want to own a restaurant stock, Chipotle is a great place to start.

As of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:MMP,RIG,WPZ,ECA,COP,

Is it time for one of the market's most traditional hedges, which has fallen out of favor in 2018, to get another look?

Gold prices have tumbled in 2018, dropping despite fears of a global trade war and turmoil in emerging-market economies. Such issues are risks that the market has mostly shrugged off, with the S&P 500 returning to record territory late last month, but the precious metal could be well positioned to provide some safety in the event those factors escalate and start to have a bigger impact on equities, said one analyst.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Magellan Midstream Partners L.P.(MMP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) has a roughly 6% yield, while Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP) offers a slightly lower 5.5%. Before simply buying the higher-yielding midstream company, step back and consider the risks at each today. When you do that, the slightly lower yield at Magellan looks a lot more enticing. Here's what you need to know to decide which is the better buy: Enbridge or Magellan.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Several high-yielding dividend stocks have taken it on the chin this year due to a sell-off in the stock market and rising interest rates. That one-two punch has hit pipeline stocks the hardest, with several top-notch companies tumbling by a double-digit percentage since the start of the year. Three that stand out as excellent options to consider buying now that they're on sale are Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP), Antero Midstream Partners (NYSE:AM), and Enbridge (NYSE:ENB).

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Meanwhile, Valero Energy is investing in new midstream infrastructure that it could eventually drop down to its MLP, including those under construction in two joint ventures it formed with Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP) last year. The first one will invest $380 million in building new refined products pipelines and storage assets in central Texas, which should start service by the middle of next year. Meanwhile, Valero and Magellan Midstream are also building a new marine terminal near Houston. Valero will pour $410 million into the terminal, which should start up in early 2020. Magellan sees the potential to invest another $700 million to double the terminal's size in the future, which is a project that it could partner with Valero.

• [By ]

  That means pipelines are equally busy carrying all that raw crude into these refineries and then carrying out gasoline, diesel and other finished products. So you'd think these would be boon times for Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP), which owns 10,000 miles of pipeline that connect with 50% of the nation's refinery capacity.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Hall]

  So what's an investor to do? Owning the companies best-positioned to profit is a great place to start. Consider two of Big Oil's finest in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS-A)(NYSE:RDS-B) and Total SA (ADR) (NYSE:TOT), offshore driller Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) and natural gas for transportation specialist Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE).

• [By Jason Hall]

  On June 27, shares of Seadrill Ltd (NYSE:SDRL), Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO), and Ensco PLC (NYSE:ESV) traded up more than 10% at various points. And while they've cooled off a bit -- up 9.9%, 10.3%, and 8.9%, respectively, at recent prices -- they continue to march toward today's close with big gains. And while not quite as much as the three aforementioned companies, shares of Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) and Noble Corporation PLC (NYSE:NE) are showing big days as well, up 6.4% and 7.2% in late-afternoon trading. 

• [By Tyler Crowe, Matthew DiLallo, and Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  While we aren't prognosticators on crude oil prices, there does appear to be a lot of value in the energy sector at this price level. So we asked three Motley Fool investors to highlight a stock in the sector they like this month. Here's why they picked Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD), Enbridge (NYSE:ENB), and Transocean (NYSE:RIG). 

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG)’s share price shot up 1.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.60 and last traded at $13.39. 771,349 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 13,165,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.19.

• [By Jason Hall]

  Frankly, today's big drop shouldn't be a surprise for anyone. The company told us many months ago that common equity investors would only retain 2% -- at most -- of the company when it completed its bankruptcy proceedings, yet investors continued to pay a price for its stock that, at one point, would have made Seadrill worth nearly as much as competitors Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Diamond Offshore (NYSE:DO), and Noble Corporation (NYSE:NE) combined. But a relatively steady decline in the share price, combined with today's big drop, seems to be finally putting Seadrill more in line with its peers. 

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Williams Partners L.P.(WPZ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Williams Partners (WPZ)

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Barclays set a $46.00 price target on Williams Pipeline Partners (NYSE:WPZ) in a research note published on Saturday. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  Overall, earnings at both Williams and its MLP Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) were down slightly versus the year-ago period due to asset sales, while cash flow modestly increased thanks to lower interest expenses.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

  Get Encana alerts: Should You Listen to This Stock? Encana Corporation (ECA) moves 51.44% away from One Year Low (nasdaqchronicle.com) Hot Mover of the Day – Encana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) (thestockgem.com) Enrapturing Stocks: Encana Corporation, (NYSE: ECA), AmTrust Financial Services, Inc., (NASDAQ: AFSI) (globalexportlines.com) Analysts, Options Traders Love This Lesser-Known Energy Stock (schaeffersresearch.com) Encana Corp (ECA) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $1.12 Billion (americanbankingnews.com)

  ECA traded up $0.27 on Thursday, hitting $12.47. 9,071,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,380,907. Encana has a 12 month low of $8.01 and a 12 month high of $14.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.00.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Electra (CURRENCY:ECA) traded 3.4% lower against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 18:00 PM Eastern on June 4th. Electra has a total market capitalization of $45.83 million and approximately $326,372.00 worth of Electra was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Electra coin can currently be bought for $0.0018 or 0.00000024 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Novaexchange, Octaex, Fatbtc and Cryptopia. In the last seven days, Electra has traded 12.8% higher against the dollar.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) may be one of the most undervalued companies in the energy patch. The Canadian energy player was given upside of almost 60% in a call from Merrill Lynch that noted the innovative shale leader has an infrastructure advantage and rising free cash flow.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Electra (CURRENCY:ECA) traded 8% higher against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 22:00 PM ET on June 20th. In the last week, Electra has traded 12.6% higher against the U.S. dollar. Electra has a market capitalization of $34.87 million and $128,874.00 worth of Electra was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Electra coin can now be purchased for $0.0014 or 0.00000020 BTC on exchanges including Fatbtc, Novaexchange, CoinFalcon and CryptoBridge.

Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The number of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) shares short dropped to 16.06 million from the previous level of 17.34 million. Shares were trading at $71.44, within a 52-week range of $42.27 to $72.00.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  One oil stock, however, managed to go against that tide and deliver superior performance. That standout was ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), which generated a market-smashing total return of 15.6% last year. It was the second straight year that ConocoPhillips vastly outperformed peers, which the company attributes to a strategy shift it set in motion in late 2016. The oil giant firmly believes its plan will continue to pay dividends for investors, which was evident by the comments of CEO Ryan Lance on the fourth-quarter conference call, where he laid out why he expects the company to continue prospering.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  According to a recent report by Reuters, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has held talks with investment banks about helping the company unload its stake in Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE). That sale could net the oil giant more than $2 billion in cash, which would bolster its already sizable cash war chest and give it more money to allocate in creating value for investors.

• [By Matthew DiLallo]

  However, the most disappointing news was that Noble Energy "plan[s] to reallocate some near-term investment to our other U.S. onshore basins," according to CEO David Stover, due to pipeline constraints in the Permian Basin. In doing so, Noble Energy joined ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in publicly announcing plans to shift spending from the fast-growing Permian to another region until new pipelines come online toward the end of next year. While ConocoPhillips is reallocating its activity to the Eagle Ford, Noble will shift to the DJ Basin.

BidaskClub Downgrades HomeStreet (HMST) to Hold

BidaskClub lowered shares of HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of HomeStreet from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 10th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of HomeStreet to $26.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 20th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of HomeStreet to $35.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 19th. TheStreet upgraded shares of HomeStreet from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 31st. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of HomeStreet from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.17.

Get HomeStreet alerts:

NASDAQ:HMST opened at $28.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.69. HomeStreet has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $31.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.36. HomeStreet had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $100.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that HomeStreet will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of HomeStreet by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,968,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,253,000 after purchasing an additional 91,856 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,271,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,193,000 after buying an additional 20,458 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,562,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,410,000 after buying an additional 20,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 1,562,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,410,000 after buying an additional 20,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Counselors of Maryland LLC raised its stake in shares of HomeStreet by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Investment Counselors of Maryland LLC now owns 795,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,894,000 after buying an additional 14,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.43% of the company’s stock.

About HomeStreet

HomeStreet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services primarily in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Hawaii. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking, and Mortgage Banking. The Commercial and Consumer Banking segment offers deposit products; non-deposit investment products; and insurance products and cash management services.

Featured Story: Stock Symbol

Here's Why Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Jumped as Much as 26.9% Today

What happened

Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) rose over 26% today after the company reported that Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) voted to recommend Zynquista in patients with type 1 diabetes. The news comes less than two months after an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reached an impasse on recommending the drug in the same patient population, with eight members in favor and eight members against. 

While the European Medicines Agency (EMA) doesn't have to follow the CHMP recommendation, Wall Street is taking it as a sign that Zynquista has a future after all. It should earn marketing approval in the European Union in the next several months. Does that hint at a positive outcome ahead of the FDA decision on March 22?

As of 11:42 a.m. EST, the stock was still setting new daily highs, settling at a 26.5% gain.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

It's important to note that the news today doesn't mean Zynquista is approved for use in Europe. New drug applications are reviewed by advisory committees comprising experts in specific fields of medicine who pore over all data collected to date and vote on whether a drug candidate's benefits outweigh its risks. The final marketing approval decision is then made by regulators -- EMA in Europe and the FDA in the United States -- that take the committee's recommendation into consideration.

The fact that the FDA advisory committee failed to reach a consensus has made Zynquista's future more uncertain. Will the FDA recommend the drug anyway? Or will regulators request additional data be collected from new clinical trials? Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will find out on March 22.

Now what

The positive recommendation from CHMP means investors can relax a little. Zynquista is likely to be approved in Europe, which helps to partially de-risk the drug's future. Of course, earning marketing approval in the major U.S. market is necessary for the drug to live up to its blockbuster potential. The uncertainty makes Lexicon Pharmaceuticals a risky stock right now, although certainty will be provided, for better or for worse, later this month.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2019

tags:VALE,SHBI,GILD,DSGX,

FDx Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 45.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,380 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,981 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $103,000. Well Done LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $109,000. Smart Portfolios LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $113,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $116,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 82.9% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 737 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 72.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2019: VALE S.A.(VALE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  Wheaton first took the gold leap in 2013 when it struck an agreement with mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) to buy 25% of the gold produced from its Salobo mine in Brazil for the life of mine, as well as 70% of the gold produced from its Sudbury mines in Canada for a 20-year term. Wheaton paid $1.9 billion to Vale in addition to stock warrants for the deal.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Vale (NYSE:VALE) and Quaterra Resources (OTCMKTS:QTRRF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Shares of Brazilian mining powerhouse Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) rose 11.6% in September, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company's stock has experienced a series of sharp price advances and declines in 2018, but at the end of nine months, it was up roughly 21% for the year.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2019: Shore Bancshares Inc(SHBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Press coverage about Shore Bancshares (NASDAQ:SHBI) has been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Shore Bancshares earned a coverage optimism score of 0.15 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the bank an impact score of 46.3784121307224 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [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.

• [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.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2019: Gilead Sciences, Inc.(GILD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) has a PDUFA date for its HIV-1 treatment, bictegravir in combination with emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide, set on February 12. Shares of Gilead were last seen at $85.46, with a consensus price target of $86.54 and a 52-week range of $70.05 to $85.49.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) will report its most recent quarterly results Wednesday afternoon. The consensus estimates for the second quarter call for EPS of $1.56 and $5.2 billion in revenue. The shares were last seen trading at $76.98, in a 52-week range of $64.27 to $89.54. The consensus price target is $86.00.

• [By George Budwell]

  The immuno-oncology revolution kicked into high gear at the end of 2017, thanks to the back-to-back approvals for Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ:GILD) and Novartis' (NYSE:NVS) respective cell-based cancer therapies. While these two regulatory approvals marked a watershed moment in the annals of immuno-oncology, the fact remains that this high-growth market still has a lot of growing up to do.

• [By Timothy Green, Demitrios Kalogeropoulos, Keith Speights, Neha Chamaria, and Rich Smith]

  What stocks should you invest in? Five of our Motley Fool investors have some ideas. Here's why you should consider adding Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), SodaStream International (NASDAQ:SODA), and SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) to your portfolio in June.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2019: The Descartes Systems Group Inc.(DSGX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Descartes Systems Group (TSE:DSG) (NASDAQ:DSGX) had its target price lifted by Barclays from C$43.00 to C$45.00 in a research report report published on Thursday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) (TSE:DSG) was upgraded by research analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Descartes Systems Group (DSGX)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) (TSE:DSG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 28th. The technology company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.02). Descartes Systems Group had a return on equity of 5.88% and a net margin of 11.24%. The business had revenue of $70.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.69 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. Descartes Systems Group’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Descartes Systems Group Inc will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

  COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 278,713 Shares of Descartes Systems Group Inc (DSGX)” was posted by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are accessing this article on another site, it was stolen and reposted in violation of US and international copyright and trademark legislation. The legal version of this article can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4163867/mackenzie-financial-corp-purchases-278713-shares-of-descartes-systems-group-inc-dsgx.html.

  About Descartes Systems Group