Highwoods Properties Inc (HIW) Shares Sold by UMB Bank N A MO

UMB Bank N A MO reduced its stake in Highwoods Properties Inc (NYSE:HIW) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,939 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,310 shares during the period. UMB Bank N A MO owned 0.09% of Highwoods Properties worth $4,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BB&T Securities LLC bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Wealthstreet Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $225,000. Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 470.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TLP Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 39.3% during the first quarter. TLP Group LLC now owns 5,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 22nd. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Co lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 14th. Finally, SunTrust Banks set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.71.

Highwoods Properties stock opened at $49.67 on Thursday. Highwoods Properties Inc has a fifty-two week low of $41.34 and a fifty-two week high of $53.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.37). Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 27.68%. The firm had revenue of $178.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties Inc will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Douglas Miller sold 3,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.87, for a total transaction of $186,998.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 83,438 shares in the company, valued at $4,244,491.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW) real estate investment trust (?REIT?) and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fullyintegrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

See Also: Average Daily Trade Volume Explained

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Tennant Company Raises Its 2018 Outlook Again

Tennant's (NYSE:TNC) business is on the upswing. The cleaning machine specialist this week announced broad-based sales growth and upgraded its outlook for the second time in fiscal 2018.

More on that brightening operating forecast in a moment. First, here's how the second-quarter headline figures compared to the prior year:

�Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Year-Over-Year Change

Revenue	$292 million	$271 million	8%
Net income	$12.7 million	($2.6 million)	N/A
EPS	$0.69	($0.15)	N/A

Data source: Tennant. EPS = earnings per share.

What happened this quarter?

Tennant's sales gains beat management's expectations, while its profitability held steady despite rising costs. These wins put the company on track to post significant operating improvements this year compared to 2017.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here are the key highlights of the quarter:

Organic sales grew 5.2% to mark just a slight slowdown from the prior quarter's 6.5%. Demand increased in each of Tennant's geographic regions, but the U.S. market was a standout performer as the company's focus on larger customers paid off and that group delivered robust revenue gains. Reported gross profit margin improved by 2 full percentage points. However, after stripping out a one-time charge in the prior-year period, gross margin actually held steady at 41% of sales. The lack of growth here was pinned on the combination of a shift toward high-volume accounts and rising costs. Research and development spending stayed below management's full-year target due to the timing of new-product releases. That fact, plus a slight drop in reported selling expenses, led to a significant expansion of profitability as operating margin jumped to 6.5% of sales from 3.4% a year ago. What management had to say

"We posted organic revenue growth in every geographic region for the third consecutive quarter," CEO Chris Killingstad said in a press release. "We had revenue growth across all of our channels," he continued, "with particular strength in our strategic [large-volume] accounts."

While noting challenges with respect to labor shortages and rising material costs, the CEO highlighted the company's financial successes during the quarter. "We also made efficient use of our expense structure and substantially improved our cash flow," Killingstad said. Overall, he said executives are "pleased with our progress to date and are confident in the underlying performance of the business."

Looking forward

Citing the "significant momentum" that management sees in its operating results, Tennant boosted its 2018 outlook on both the top and bottom lines. The company now sees organic growth coming in at between 4% and 4.5%. That range stood at 3% to 3.5% in late April.

The target for adjusted earnings rose despite expectations for elevated costs ahead. That goal is now between $117 million and $121 million, up from the prior range of $113 million to $118 million.

Tennant still believes gross profit margin will inch up to 41% of sales, which is higher than last year's 40% but lower than the 43% rate it had reached in previous fiscal years. Its research and development spending, meanwhile, will remain a key priority as the company prepares to innovate around new products like the global rollout of its T7 robotic floor scrubber.

Tesla Earnings Highlight Rapid Model 3 Production Ramp-Up

Electric-car company Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) second-quarter results are out. As expected, revenue soared and losses continued to mount. Beyond the quarter's financial results, Tesla's second-quarter update provided an important glimpse into other important areas, including Model 3 production, a forecast for cash to increase in the second half of the year, and more.

Here's an overview of the results.

Model 3. Image source: Tesla.

Tesla's second-quarter results: The raw numbers

Metric

Q2 2018

Q2 2017

Change

Vehicle deliveries	40,768	22,026	85%
Revenue	$4.0 billion	$2.8 billion	43%
Non-GAAP EPS	($3.06)	($1.33)	N/A
GAAP EPS	($4.22)	($2.04)	N/A

Data source: Tesla's second-quarter shareholder letter.�

Driven primarily by an 85% year-over-year increase in deliveries, Tesla's revenue increased 43% year over year to a record $4 billion. During the quarter, Tesla delivered 40,768 vehicles. Combined Model S and X deliveries amounted to 22,319 units, and Model 3 deliveries were 18,449.

Highlighting how sharp Tesla's ramp-up in Model 3 production and deliveries is, the important vehicle's deliveries increased 125% sequentially.

Tesla's non-GAAP loss per share of $3.06 was wider than its loss of $1.33 in the year-ago quarter, but it was narrower than its non-GAAP loss per share of $3.35 in Q1. Tesla's GAAP loss per share widened from a loss of $2.04 in the year-ago quarter to a loss of $4.22 in Q2, but this loss was nearly in line with its $4.19 loss per share in Q1.

Highlights

Tesla highlighted a range of important updates on its business in its second-quarter shareholder letter, including the following:

Tesla's automotive gross margin was 20.6% in Q2, up from 19.7% in the first quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP automotive gross margin was 21%, up from 18.8% in Q1. Model 3 gross margin went from negative in Q1 to "slightly positive in Q2, even though we were still ramping production and did not yet deliver any All-Wheel-Drive or performance models," Tesla said in its second-quarter shareholder letter. Tesla's Model 3 margin improvements were due to "dramatic reductions in manufacturing costs through lower labor hours per unit, reduction in ramp cost, higher leverage of fixed costs, and lower material costs." Tesla's Gigafactory battery production achieved an annualized production run rate of about 20 gigawatt hours, "making it the highest-volume battery plant in the world by a significant margin," Tesla said. Cash outflow from operating activities narrowed from $398 million in Q1 to $130 million in Q2. Model 3 gross profit when excluding non-cash items was positive for the first time. Negative free cash flow narrowed from $1.05 billion in Q1 to $738 million in Q2. Tesla maintained its recently achieved production rate of 7,000 vehicles per week (5,000 Model 3s and 2,000 combined Model S and X) "multiple times" during July. Looking ahead

Management believes the second half of the year will be far better than the first, driven by soaring Model 3 production and profitability.

Expecting to achieve a Model 3 production rate of 6,000 units per week by the end of August, management anticipates seeing Model 3 production rise from 28,578 units�in Q2 to 50,000 to 55,000 units in Q3. Model 3 deliveries are expected to be even higher during the period.

As Model 3 production and deliveries increase, Tesla expects to achieve improved economies of scale. Management said it expects a Model 3 gross margin of 15% in Q3 and about 20% in Q4. As a result, Tesla still expects to achieve GAAP profitability in Q3 and Q4 and believes its $2.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents will increase in both quarters.

Longer-term, Tesla says it's aiming to achieve a Model 3 production rate of 10,000 units per week sometime next year.

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tags:PMBC,FWRD,DORM,GOLD,RHP,

PG&E Corp. suffered another legal setback with a judge saying he won’t release the company from a key legal claim over the most destructive wildfires in California history.

PG&E has been challenging a California law allowing private property owners to hold the utility 100 percent responsible for any losses caused by its equipment or power lines even if it didn’t act negligently. Edison International, owner of the dominant utility in southern California, is also facing the prospect of multibillion-dollar payouts under the same law over a record-setting blaze near Los Angeles.

Friday’s tentative ruling marks the second time in a month a state judge has refused to spare PG&E from having to face a claim under inverse condemnation.

“There is no basis for PG&E’s argument that imposing inverse condemnation liability” is unconstitutional unless the utility is guaranteed to “automatically recover” its costs through rate hikes, Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow said in the ruling.

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  Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high and low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $80.07 and last traded at $79.93, with a volume of 191025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.56.

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Hot Performing Stocks For 2019

tags:FBIZ,FRO,PSTI,GTT,PHD,RKDA,

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

  Get GTT Communications alerts: GTT to Present at Spring 2018 Investor Conferences (finance.yahoo.com) Unified Communications Week in Review: Firstcom, 8×8, RingCentral (unified-communications.tmcnet.com) RingCentral, SD-WAN vendors team up to deliver UCaaS (searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com) GTT Communications (GTT) CEO Richard Calder Sells 6,000 Shares (americanbankingnews.com) GTT Communications (GTT) EVP Chris Mckee Sells 7,000 Shares (americanbankingnews.com)

  GTT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on GTT Communications from $52.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. William Blair reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of GTT Communications in a research report on Wednesday, March 28th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of GTT Communications in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SunTrust Banks increased their price objective on GTT Communications to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Group increased their price objective on GTT Communications to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.22.

Hot Performing Stocks For 2019: Pioneer Floating Rate Trust(PHD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News headlines about Pioneer Floating Rate Trust (NYSE:PHD) have trended somewhat positive on Thursday, Accern reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Pioneer Floating Rate Trust earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media headlines about the investment management company an impact score of 46.8710327510951 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Hot Performing Stocks For 2019: Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.(RKDA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) watched its shares absolutely explode on Wednesday after the firm announced that it reached a couple key milestones. Specifically, the firm said that it achieved two technology milestones in its High Fiber Resistant Starch (RS) Wheat program.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) shares climbed 70.3 percent to $5.45 after reporting 2017 year-end results. MEDIGUS Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: MDGS) surged 39.8 percent to $1.58 in reaction to its Monday announcement of a distribution agreement. The medical device company said it reached an agreement to distribute its minimally invasive medical devices in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RKDA) gained 25.6 percent to $11.50. Arcadia Biosciences reported that Albert D. Bolles, Ph.D. has joined its board of directors. Aytu Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ: AYTU) shares jumped 21.8 percent to $0.4798 after the company late Monday reported lighter-than-expected Q1 loss. Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: HOLI) shares gained 21.1 percent to $26.77 following Q3 results. Pfenex Inc. (NYSE: PFNX) rose 16.8 percent to $7.1271 after the company announced the positive top-line PF708 study results in Osteoporosis patients that showed no imbalances in severity or incidence of adverse events. MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEIP) rose 13.8 percent to $2.88. Red Violet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDVT) jumped 13.1 percent to $6.41 after reporting Q1 results. SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORL) shares gained 12 percent to $5.87 after reporting upbeat Q1 results. Bovie Medical Corporation (NYSE: BVX) gained 8.4 percent to $3.96 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. Rosehill Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) surged 8.4 percent to $7.90 after announcing Q1 results. LiqTech International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIQT) rose 8.1 percent to $0.5171 following Q1 results. ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) rose 7.7 percent to $5.6103 following Q1 results. Nine Energy Service, Inc. (NYSE: NINE) shares climbed 7.4 percent to $35.90. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: XENE) rose 6.7 percent to $6.40 after the company presented XEN901 Phase 1 clinical update and XEN1101 TMS pharmacodynamic Phase 1 data. MYnd
• [By Max Byerly]

  Arcadia Biosciences (NASDAQ: RKDA) and CVR Partners (NYSE:UAN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019

tags:XIN,ATAX,ADM,RDC,BDL,

If you're looking for tips on how to make money with�penny stocks today, we have one tip that can help you find the safest companies to invest in.

Investing in penny stocks is popular for one big reason: The shares are inexpensive, usually below $5, so you can quickly make triple-digit profits. Biotech penny stock Oncobiologics Inc. (Nasdaq: ONS) soared from $0.87 to $1.89 between Aug. 31 and Sept. 11. That's a 117.2% gain in just six sessions.

But penny stocks can be risky if they rally for the wrong reasons…

VideoThe 3 Best Strategies for Trading Penny Stocks Today

For example, Cynk Technology Corp. (OTCMKTS: CYNK) surged a mind-blowing 24,900% in just two months, from May to July 2014.�But by September that year, CYNK stock had crashed to just $0.20 per share. This aroused the suspicion of the SEC since the company claimed to operate a social media network that nobody had ever heard of.

The SEC eventually determined that Cynk was a shell company with zero assets, zero revenue, and just one employee. The stock's meteoric rise and fall was found to be a pump-and-dump scam operated by a stock promoter named Gregg Mulholland. In February, he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for his role in the scam.

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019: Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd(XIN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Mixin (CURRENCY:XIN) traded up 6.2% against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on July 17th. One Mixin token can currently be purchased for approximately $550.98 or 0.07481400 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Mixin has a total market cap of $241.93 million and approximately $90,201.00 worth of Mixin was traded on exchanges in the last day. Over the last week, Mixin has traded up 19.1% against the U.S. dollar.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Mixin (XIN) is a proof-of-stake (PoS) token that uses the SHA256 hashing algorithm. It launched on October 2nd, 2017. Mixin’s total supply is 1,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 438,115 tokens. Mixin’s official message board is mixin.one/logs. Mixin’s official Twitter account is @XIN_Foundation and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Mixin is mixin.one.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 30th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 11th will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%.

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019: America First Tax Exempt Investors L.P.(ATAX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on America First Multifamily Investors (ATAX)

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

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Shares of America First Tax Exempt Investors, L.P. (NASDAQ:ATAX) hit a new 52-week high and low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $6.47 and last traded at $6.43, with a volume of 54800 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.43.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on America First Multifamily Investors (ATAX)

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

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company(ADM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) by 40.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,084 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Archer Daniels Midland were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its position in Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE:ADM) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 896,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149,800 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Archer Daniels Midland were worth $38,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lowered its position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE:ADM) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,526 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Archer Daniels Midland were worth $4,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019: Rowan Companies Inc.(RDC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 656,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 41,386 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.52% of Rowan Companies worth $7,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers MDC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA) fell 23.4 percent to $5.25 in pre-market trading after a first-quarter earnings miss. Hudson Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.48 in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q1 earnings. Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) fell 14 percent to $13.15 in pre-market trading after the company posted downbeat Q2 earnings and lowered FY18 organic growth guidance. Myomo, Inc. (NYSE: MYO) fell 13.2 percent to $3.10 in pre-market trading after reporting downbeat quarterly results. Rowan Companies plc (NYSE: RDC) shares fell 10.7 percent to $14.13 in pre-market trading after climbing 8.50 percent on Wednesday. BT Group plc (NYSE: BT) fell 9 percent to $14.80 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results and announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years. Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) fell 8.3 percent to $19.90 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that IMblaze370 Phase 3 pivotal trial of atezolizumab and cobimetinib in patients with heavily pretreated locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer did not meet primary endpoint. Infinera Corporation (NASDAQ: INFN) fell 8.2 percent to $10.80 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 results. Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) shares fell 7.4 percent to $43.00 in pre-market trading. Synaptics reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed estimates. Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) shares fell 7.4 percent to $76.23 in pre-market trading after reporting Q1 earnings. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) shares fell 7 percent to $59.36 in pre-market trading. Integra LifeSciences priced its 5.25 million share public offering of common stock at $58.50 per share. Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) shares fell 6.9 percent to $12.75 in pre-m
• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.36 and last traded at $16.09. Approximately 144,835 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,492,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.22.

Top 5 Penny Stocks For 2019: Flanigan's Enterprises Inc.(BDL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Bitdeal (CURRENCY:BDL) traded 12.6% lower against the dollar during the 24-hour period ending at 15:00 PM ET on July 10th. Bitdeal has a market cap of $592,736.00 and $1,700.00 worth of Bitdeal was traded on exchanges in the last day. One Bitdeal coin can now be bought for $0.0034 or 0.00000053 BTC on popular exchanges including CoinExchange and Cryptopia. During the last seven days, Bitdeal has traded 11.9% lower against the dollar.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) shares jumped 26.5 percent to $6.9042. Blink Charging reported Q1 net income of $2.2 million, versus a year-ago net loss of $3.1 million. Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO) shares climbed 17.4 percent to $3.11. Eleven Biotherapeutics posted a Q1 loss of $0.11 per share. Flanigan's Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: BDL) shares jumped 17 percent to $27.97 following Q2 results. Flanigan's Enterprises posted Q2 earnings of $0.75 per share on sales of $29.456 million. Borqs Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRQS) rose 15.8 percent to $8.05 after reporting Q1 results. Abaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAX) jumped 15.3 percent to $82.75. Zoetis Inc. (NYSE: ZTS) announced plans to acquire Abaxis for $83 per share in cash. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 15.1 percent to $6.33. Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GEMP) rose 13.8 percent to $6.27. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) gained 12.8 percent to $5.98. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Enphase Energy with a Buy rating. PetIQ Inc (NASDAQ: PETQ) shares surged 12.1 percent to $21.68 after reporting a first-quarter sales beat. NF Energy Saving Corporation (NASDAQ: NFEC) climbed 11.6 percent to $2.399. Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: AHPI) surged 11.4 percent to $3.0643. Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BOOT) gained 11.1 percent to $24.40 after the company reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong first-quarter earnings guidance. Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) rose 10.9 percent to $3.16. Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) gained 10.1 percent to $11.71 after reporting Q1 results. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) climbed 7.9 percent to $2.61 following Q2 results. The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: STKS) gained 7.6 percent to $2.41 after reporting Q1 results. Biolinerx Ltd/S ADR (NASDAQ: BLRX) rose 7.3 percent to $0.8798 after the company was granted a patent approval. The clinical-st

Better Buy: Apple Inc. (AAPL) vs. Corning Incorporated (GLW)

Smartphones have taken over the world. If you went back 20 years and claimed most people wouldn't be using the internet from personal computers -- and instead from connected phones that fit in their pockets -- you would've been laughed out of the room.

But truth, as they say, is often stranger than fiction. And two of the leading companies behind this movement are the subject of today's match-up: smartphone manufacturer�Apple, and the maker of the Gorilla Glass on many such phones,�Corning.

Image source: Getty Images.

But which is a better bet at today's prices? If we look at the question from three different angles, I think it's easy to see why one stock is a better bet than the other.

Financial fortitude

When it comes to financial fortitude, the No. 1 thing I want to know -- as a long-term, buy-to-hold investor -- is how a company would be affected by a financial crisis.

It doesn't really matter if the crisis is macro or company-specific in nature, there are three different camps a company can come down in: the fragile, the robust, and the antifragile. You can find out more about these three distinctions here.

Keeping in mind that Apple is valued at almost�40 times the size�of Corning, here's how the two stack up.

Company Cash Debt� Free Cash Flow

Corning (NYSE:GLW)	$3.4 billion	$4.8 billion	$38 million
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)	$267 billion	$101 billion	$54 billion

Data source: Yahoo! Finance. Cash includes short- and long-term investments. Free cash flow presented on trailing-12-month basis.

Even after adjusting for size, it's clear that Apple is in a stronger position. Not only does it have the largest cash balance the world has ever seen -- worth more than a quarter-trillion dollars -- but Corning has a net negative cash position.�

In addition, Corning's cash flow is not very impressive. That's mostly due to the fact that the company is making large capital investments right now for the future of the business. That's a good move in the long run, but it introduces a level of fragility over the short run should any type of crisis hit.

Winner: Apple

Valuation

Next we have valuation. Because there's no litmus test to definitively tell you whether or not a stock is expensive, I like to consult a number of different data points.

Company P/E Ratio P/FCF Ratio PEG Ratio Dividend FCF Payout

Corning	17	600	1.6	2.6%	1,700%
Apple	18	17	1.2	1.6%	24%

Data sources: Yahoo! Finance and E*Trade. P/E calculated using non-GAAP earnings where applicable.

If we go simply based on the most popular valuation metric -- P/E -- we've got a pretty close battle. But by peeking underneath the hood, we see that this isn't as close as it appears.�

Because of the aforementioned capital expenditures, Corning's free cash flow is very low. That leads to a sky-high P/FCF ratio and a dividend that appears unsustainable. While fellow Fool.com contributor Matthew Cochrane makes a compelling argument that Corning's expenditures will more than pay for themselves to help the company meet demand for its goods, these dynamics clearly put Corning in a trailing position behind Apple.

Not only does Apple have a much more sustainable dividend payment -- it only eats up one-quarter of the company's free cash flow, meaning there's tons of room for growth -- but even after accounting for growth prospects (via the PEG ratio), Apple appears to be trading at a discount.

Winner: Apple

Sustainable competitive advantage

But I have saved the most important aspect for last: the strength of each company's moat.�

At their core, each of these companies is a manufacturer. Traditionally, such players rely almost exclusively upon scale to lower prices, and patents to protect trade secrets. In this day and age, those aren't the most powerful moats to rely upon.

But there's more to the story than that. According to�Forbes, Apple has the most powerful brand in the world -- worth over $180 billion. That's an important differentiator, as end users don't really care who makes the glass on their smartphones so long as it's functional. Many do, however, care about the brand of their phone.

Corning, however, does have some nuanced moats�of its own. Because of the contracts it has in place with telecom companies for its optical communications products, there's guaranteed revenue that will be rolling in over the next few years. And the years of capital expenditures it has made have allowed Corning to be the low-cost provider of fiber-optic cables, which these telecom players use.

Apple, though, benefits from more than just brand value as well. Because all of a person's iDevices are synced with one another in the cloud, there are moderately high switching costs involved with getting a non-Apple device: You lose access to your apps and stored data. For some people, that's a big deal.

So which is more valuable: Apple's brand and high switching costs, or Corning's longer-term contracts and low-cost advantage? Personally, I think it's too close to call, so I'm designating this a draw.

Winner: Tie

And my winner is...

While both companies have moderately wide moats, Apple's financial fortitude and valuation give it the advantage here.

That being said, I recently sold all of my Apple shares because I simply believe that its moat isn't as strong as those of other investment opportunities out there. That's why I haven't given either company an outperform rating on my own CAPS profile.

First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) Given News Impact Rating of 0.23

Press coverage about First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) has been trending somewhat positive on Saturday, according to Accern. The research group scores the sentiment of media coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. First Financial Bancorp earned a news impact score of 0.23 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the bank an impact score of 45.5407494849709 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next few days.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BidaskClub cut First Financial Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 30th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded First Financial Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut First Financial Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 18th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. ValuEngine cut First Financial Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Get First Financial Bancorp alerts:

NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.75. 218,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,094. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.80 and a 1-year high of $33.70.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 26.91%. The business had revenue of $92.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp will post 2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 31st. First Financial Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.20%.

In other news, insider Bradley J. Ringwald sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.11, for a total transaction of $62,220.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.23, for a total value of $1,128,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,229 shares of company stock worth $1,841,705 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and other banking, and banking-related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The company accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.

ValuEngine Downgrades New York & Company, Inc. (NWY) to Hold

ValuEngine lowered shares of New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Separately, Roth Capital began coverage on shares of New York & Company, Inc. in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. They issued a buy rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock.

Get New York & Company Inc. alerts:

Shares of NYSE:NWY opened at $4.86 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $308.57 million, a P/E ratio of 48.60 and a beta of 1.44. New York & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.29 and a twelve month high of $5.34.

New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $218.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.98 million. New York & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 15.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. equities analysts forecast that New York & Company, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, EVP Faeth Bradley sold 33,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.07, for a total value of $167,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur E. Reiner sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.16, for a total transaction of $312,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,500 shares of company stock worth $564,795. Insiders own 53.80% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company, Inc. by 2,019.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 460,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 439,141 shares in the last quarter. Wynnefield Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company, Inc. by 179.0% in the first quarter. Wynnefield Capital Inc. now owns 724,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,449,000 after buying an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New York & Company, Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $183,000. Tibra Equities Europe Ltd bought a new position in shares of New York & Company, Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company, Inc. by 3.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,491,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,420,000 after buying an additional 75,510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.77% of the company’s stock.

New York & Company, Inc. Company Profile

New York & Company, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of women's fashion apparel and accessories in the United States. It offers a merchandise assortment, including wear-to-work, casual apparel, and accessories comprising pants, dresses, jackets, knit tops, blouses, sweaters, denims, T-shirts, active wear, handbags, jewelry, and shoes under the New York & Company, NY&C, NY Style, Soho New York & Company Jeans, Lerner, Lerner New York, and Fashion to Figure brand names for women between the ages of 25 and 49.

To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.

KAZ Minl PLC/ADR (KZMYY) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

KAZ Minl PLC/ADR (OTCMKTS:KZMYY) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

According to Zacks, “KAZ Minerals PLC is involved in mining, producing and selling copper concentrates primarily in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The company’s operating segment consists of East Region Operations, Mining Projects and Bozymchak segments. It operates underground mines in the East Region of Kazakhstan and open-pit mine in Bozymchak, Kyrgyzstan and develops various mining projects situated at Bozshakol, Aktogay, and Koksay. KAZ Minerals PLC, formerly known as KAZAKHMYS LTD, is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. “

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KZMYY has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded KAZ Minl PLC/ADR from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 8th. HSBC downgraded KAZ Minl PLC/ADR from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 18th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded KAZ Minl PLC/ADR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Shares of KZMYY opened at $5.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 2.80. KAZ Minl PLC/ADR has a one year low of $3.69 and a one year high of $7.59.

KAZ Minl PLC/ADR Company Profile

KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining, processing, and sale of copper concentrates primarily in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The company operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, and East Region and Bozymchak segments. It operates the Bozshakol open pit mine in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; Aktogay open pit mine located in eastern Kazakhstan; three underground mines and concentrators located in the eastern region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold open pit mine located in western Kyrgyzstan.

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bitJob Trading Down 3% This Week (STU)

bitJob (CURRENCY:STU) traded 10.3% lower against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 9:00 AM Eastern on July 6th. One bitJob token can now be bought for about $0.0130 or 0.00000198 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Qryptos, Radar Relay, HitBTC and IDEX. bitJob has a market cap of $622,554.00 and approximately $46,621.00 worth of bitJob was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. In the last week, bitJob has traded down 3% against the US dollar.

Here’s how related cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get bitJob alerts: XRP (XRP) traded down 2.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.47 or 0.00007239 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded down 2.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.20 or 0.00003110 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded down 10.3% against the dollar and now trades at $1.06 or 0.00016158 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded 0.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00015318 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 8.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $38.33 or 0.00584364 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 5.8% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0366 or 0.00000558 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded 3.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $13.47 or 0.00205389 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded 6.2% lower against the dollar and now trades at $2.47 or 0.00037598 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 8.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $4.69 or 0.00071523 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded 6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0821 or 0.00001252 BTC.

bitJob Profile

bitJob launched on September 12th, 2017. bitJob’s total supply is 200,000,000 tokens and its circulating supply is 48,043,991 tokens. bitJob’s official website is bitjob.io. bitJob’s official Twitter account is @BitJob_Team and its Facebook page is accessible here. bitJob’s official message board is medium.com/bitjob. The Reddit community for bitJob is /r/bitJob and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

bitJob Token Trading

bitJob can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: YoBit, IDEX, HitBTC, Qryptos and Radar Relay. It is usually not presently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as bitJob directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire bitJob should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, GDAX or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy bitJob using one of the exchanges listed above.

ON Semiconductor (ON) Cut to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “ON Semi is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of a broad range of discrete and embedded semiconductor components. The company benefits from robust demand, adoption and favorable product mix. The company continues to gain from its strength in automotive and industrial end-markets. The addition of Fairchild’s offerings has expanded the company’s product portfolio. Synergies from acquisitions have given the company exposure to new end markets along with higher margin capabilities. We believe the recent acquisition of SensL Technologies, which is expected to be immediately accretive, is a positive. Notably, shares of the company have outperformed the industry on a year-to-date basis. However, intensifying competition and high debt position remain woes. Furthermore, restructuring activities limit bottom-line growth.”

Get ON Semiconductor alerts:

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. ValuEngine cut ON Semiconductor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. BidaskClub cut ON Semiconductor from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 27th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on ON Semiconductor from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ON Semiconductor from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.10.

Shares of ON Semiconductor opened at $22.15 on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. ON Semiconductor has a 12-month low of $13.65 and a 12-month high of $27.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. ON Semiconductor had a return on equity of 23.00% and a net margin of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. ON Semiconductor’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts anticipate that ON Semiconductor will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

In other ON Semiconductor news, EVP William Hall sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.14, for a total value of $66,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith D. Jackson sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,919,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,107,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,546,549.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,929 shares of company stock worth $3,129,066 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ON. Blue Harbour Group L.P. lifted its holdings in ON Semiconductor by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. Blue Harbour Group L.P. now owns 5,508,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $134,748,000 after buying an additional 2,938,900 shares during the period. Robecosam AG lifted its holdings in ON Semiconductor by 157.9% in the 1st quarter. Robecosam AG now owns 2,746,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $67,179,000 after buying an additional 1,681,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in ON Semiconductor by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,085,228 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $197,764,000 after buying an additional 829,500 shares during the period. Income Research & Management purchased a new stake in ON Semiconductor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,039,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in ON Semiconductor by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 1,950,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,697,000 after buying an additional 750,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

ON Semiconductor Company Profile

ON Semiconductor Corporation manufactures and sells semiconductor components for various electronic devices worldwide. It operates through three segments: Power Solutions Group, Analog Solutions Group, and Image Sensor Group. The Power Solutions Group segment offers discrete, module, and integrated semiconductor products for various applications, such as power switching, power conversion, signal conditioning, circuit protection, signal amplification, and voltage reference.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ON Semiconductor (ON)

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

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:TBI,MED,ISRG,JWN,

President Donald Trump retreated from imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods because of White House discord over trade strategy and concern about harming negotiations with North Korea, according to people briefed on the administration’s deliberations.

Trump also succumbed to pressure from farm-state Republicans, who heavily lobbied the White House to resolve its trade differences with China, which had especially targeted U.S. agricultural products with planned retaliatory tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the administration’s plan to impose tariffs had been suspended, and Trump said on Twitter on Monday that the Chinese had agreed to purchase unspecified amounts of American farm products. Some of his loyalists led by former chief strategist Steven Bannon criticized the deal as a capitulation.

The agreement at least delays a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, a prospect that has rattled financial markets for months. But many U.S. concerns about China’s economic practices remain unresolved: its acquisition of American technologies; the country’s plans to subsidize the growth of advanced domestic industries such as artificial intelligence and clean energy; and U.S. companies’ access to China’s markets.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Trueblue worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Trueblue (TBI)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Trueblue (NYSE: TBI) is one of 23 public companies in the “Help supply services” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Trueblue to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  MediBloc [QRC20] (MED) is a proof-of-work (PoW) token that uses the HybridScryptHash256 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on January 3rd, 2014. MediBloc [QRC20]’s total supply is 4,097,545,844 tokens and its circulating supply is 2,966,384,100 tokens. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official website is medibloc.org/en. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official Twitter account is @MEDDevTeam. The official message board for MediBloc [QRC20] is medium.com/@MediBloc. The Reddit community for MediBloc [QRC20] is /r/MediBloc and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

• [By Max Byerly]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 0.2% lower against the U.S. dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 16:00 PM Eastern on June 7th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $37.92 million and $586,074.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. Over the last week, MediBloc has traded down 36% against the U.S. dollar. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0128 or 0.00000166 BTC on major exchanges including Coinrail, Bibox and Gate.io.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 20 percent to $119 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 22 percent to $121.06 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  As of the time of this article, home cleaning robot maker iRobot's (IRBT) shares are down over 6% on the news. And though it makes surgical robots rather than anything meant for homes, Intuitive Surgical  (ISRG) is down close to 2%. As usual, Wall Street immediately trembles on any sign that Amazon plans to further expand its reach.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Stock No. 3: Let's go back to the well. So, April last year what was the "I?" Quick quiz at home? That's right. It was Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG). I own the company, and in front of my gathered fellow Heels last week, I put Intuitive Surgical on this list, as well, so I present it for you again today. It reminds us to continue to add to our winners. It was a winner a year ago. It had a three for one stock split, something that I don't personally care about. I don't think we should spend a lot of time talking about stock splits. I realize some people think they're exciting or are confused by them.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). Sanford C. Bernstein issued an outperform rating on the stock.

  Argus started coverage on shares of Integer (NYSE:ITGR). The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  On Thursday, earnings are expected from JCPenney Co. (JCP) , Action Alerts PLUS holding Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) , Nintendo Co. (NTDOY) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) .

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reported fourth-quarter and full fiscal-year 2017 results after markets closed Thursday evening. The department store giant posted quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 on revenues of $4.7 billion. In the same period a year ago, Nordstrom reported EPS of $1.27 on revenues of $4.32 billion. Fourth-quarter results compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $1.24 and $4.62 billion in revenue. EPS includes a negative impact of $0.31 per share related to changes in U.S. tax law.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Crude oil prices continue to remain in focus after Brent crude hit $80.00 per barrel. The benchmark crude touched $80.00, as markets are concerned about the impact renewed Iranian sanctions will have on global supply. French oil giant Total announced Wednesday that it was abandoning a gas project in Iran after failing to obtain a waiver from the Trump administration to do business in Iran. The sanctions are expected to decline global output at a time that OPEC is already working diligently to push oil prices higher by containing excessive global production. Four Stocks to Watch Today: JCP, BABA, F, KR Shares of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) are ticking higher after its earnings report before the bell. Yesterday, retail companies were stunned by the 11% jump for its rival Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) stock thanks to a strong first-quarter report. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.�(NYSE: BABA) is generating a lot of buzz as investors monitor trade relations between the United States and China. BABA stock had slumped by 18% thanks to trade restrictions on Chinese companies. Ford Motor Co.�(NYSE: F) announced it will restart production of its popular F-150 pickup truck at its Dearborn, Mich., facility. The company recently suspended operations after a fire damaged supplies needed for manufacturing. The F-150 is the most popular consumer vehicle in the United States. In an effort to beat back the growth of Wal-Mart and Amazon, grocery giant Kroger Co.�(NYSE: KR) announced a deal to purchase a 5% stake in British online supermarket Ocado. The deal will allow Kroger to utilize the UK firm's warehouse automation technology in the United States and improve its supply chain costs. Look for additional earnings reports from Applied Materials Inc.�(Nasdaq: AMAT), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), The Children's Place Inc.�(Nasdaq: PLCE), Teekay Corp.�(NYSE: TK), and Quantum Corp.�(NYSE: QTM).

  Follow�Money Morning��on��Facebook,�Twitter, and�LinkedIn.

• [By Mac Greer]

  They have a lot of things in the works. They're�kind of throwing some things at the wall and seeing what will stick. They have their Macy's Backstage concept, which is their discount concept. Every�retailer has to have one nowadays, like a Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN)�Rack, for example. They�actually bought a concept store in New York City called�Story,�which is a store that revamps its inventory every four to eight weeks to try to keep it fresh. That would be some Inventory management job. Their buyers have their work cut out for them. But, interesting. They're trying a lot of different things.�

• [By Chris Lange]

  Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) released its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. The retailer said that it had $0.51 in earnings per share (EPS) on $3.56 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $0.44 in EPS on revenue of $3.46 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.37 and $3.35 billion in revenue.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  On the other hand, comp sales declined at the struggling Lord & Taylor chain, which again failed to keep up with top rival Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN). Comp sales rose 0.7% for Nordstrom's full-line business last quarter. The Saks OFF 5TH off-price chain struggled, too, with comp sales down 3.5%. (Nordstrom Rack has also had a rough time lately, but it eked out a 0.4% comp sales gain in Q1.) Lastly, Hudson's Bay's European operations had another awful quarter, as comp sales plunged 6.6%.

3 Ways To Profit From The Dodd-Frank Reform

All the chaotic news arising from the White House has distracted investors from what is the most significant change in nearly a decade. Not only is this transformation revolutionary, but it is also exceedingly bullish for the stock market.

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I am talking about the rollback of the draconian Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Prection Act of 2010. Zeal to protect the public and financial system from another 2008 style systemic meltdown resulted in the passage of the bill. No one thought about the bearish ramifications on the financial industry.

Put simply, Dodd-Frank prevented banks from maximizing profits in the name of protecting the financial system and consumers.

Now that it is rolled back, specific stocks and sectors will likely benefit bullishly.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the bill's passage was a step toward "freeing our economy from overregulation. Our smaller banks are engines of growth. By lending to small businesses and offering banking services to consumers, these institutions are and will remain vital for millions of Americans who participate in our economy."

This article will identify the sectors likely to benefit from the changes and provide specific stock picks for each industry. I will also provide my No. 1 stock pick based on the new regulations.

1. Small and Regional Banks
The rollback via the new bill will have the most significant impact on the small and regional bank sector. It effectively lowers Dodd-Frank regulations for small and regional banks via increasing the capital threshold for prudential standards, stress test demands and mandatory risk committees.

One of the facts that helped the rollback take place is the decline in community banks. Bank lenders dropped from around 8,400 in 2007 to approximately 5,500 in 2017. "This bill was perfectly crafted to allow greater flexibility for small community banks and credit unions...so it is purposeful that this bill does not include provisions for the largest banks," North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a prime sponsor of the bill, told Reuters.

The change increases the capital threshold from $50 billion to $250 billion for SIFI (systemically important financial institutions). However, the limit would be eliminated for institutions under $10 billion. Thereby, federal oversight is lowered for banks under $250 billion. At the same time, capital, lending, and trading rules are eased on small institutions.

I particularly like the fact that SIFI change is expected to increase organic and merger-related growth in the regional and small banking sectors. This will provide a competitive advantage to smaller institutions, giving them a fighting chance against the behemoth banks.

Currently, I like People's Utah Bancorp (Nasdaq: PUB), 1st Source Corporation (Nasdaq: SRCE), and East West Bancorp (Nasdaq: EWBC) as stocks likely to benefit in the small/regional sector.

2. Large Custodial Banks
It is important to note the differences between institutions that have custody of client's assets but do not act as lenders or investment bankers.

The new changes decrease the capital requirements for custodial banks, which are very bullish, as it frees up capital for growth/dividends. The capital requirement is the amount of liquidity a bank is required to hold and is set by the FDIC or FRB in the United States.

The largest custodian banks are State Street (NYSE: STT) and BNY Mellon (NYSE: BNY). Both these stocks stand to benefit from the Dodd-Frank rollback

3. Mortgage Credit
The new bill eliminates escrow requirements for residential mortgage loans held by a depository if conditions are met. Also, it guides Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to institute alternative credit scoring methods beyond the outdated, tired and arguably flawed FICO score.

Not only will this aid mortgage companies and home lenders, but it may also trigger the next real estate boom. Imagine many current renters who failed to qualify for a mortgage under FICO gave a second chance to buy a home under the new scoring system. Indeed, only a percentage of the buyers will be eligible, but it will likely be enough to create upward pressure on the national housing market. In turn, the large builders like Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) and DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) stand to reap the profits.

Interestingly, builders like TOL have rolled out lower housing cost options fitting precisely with the demographic most likely to benefit from the new scoring system.

In the mortgage business, I like going right for the big daddy Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) as being very likely to benefit from the change. In fact, FMCC is my favorite choice right now in the $1.63 per share range. My target price is $3.00 per share with initial stops suggested at $1.23 per share.

Risks To Consider: It is critical to note that the possible new credit scoring system may not be implemented, and it may be more onerous than FICO for some. Be extremely cautious investing on speculation of future change.

Also, investing in the stock market is very risky. No matter how sure you are of a specific outcome, anything can and does happen. Always use stops and position size properly.

Action To Take: Consider adding one or more of the above stocks to your long-term portfolio!

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A Crypto Startup Aims To Bring Stability To A Volatile Market

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-953781032&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/953781032/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;638&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; A view of the Federal Reserve is seen on May 2, 2018 in Washington, DC. - The Fed is not expected to raise the benchmark lending rate later Wednesday when it announces its decision on monetary policy at the conclusion of a two-day meeting, but is widely expected to hike a second time in June. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

A new cryptocurrency startup, &l;a href=&q;https://www.reserveprotocol.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Reserve&l;/a&g;, with backing from investors including &l;a href=&q;https://cointelegraph.com/news/stablecoin-project-secures-backing-from-peter-thiel-coinbase-40-others&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Peter Thiel and others&l;/a&g;, aims to solve one of the biggest challenges with cryptocurrencies. Namely, price stability and functionality as a true form of transactional money. These so-called stablecoins, which most crypto projects have tried to resolve by pegging to a hard fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar, are far from widescale adoption. Whether Reserve fixes this remains to be seen, but the investor confidence, economic and regulatory advisory power arrayed behind Reserve, and its CEO Nevin Freeman&a;rsquo;s vision, makes it a project worth watching.

One clear focal point where stablecoins can have an enormous societal impact are in economies suffering from pernicious rates of hyperinflation, capital controls and failed fiat currencies. In Reserve&a;rsquo;s case they have identified 16 markets that meet one or all of &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/04/15/in-a-real-war-can-virtual-assets-be-a-haven/#60259ad42a96&q;&g;these conditions&l;/a&g;. People in countries such as Venezuela are already leveraging the power of cryptocurrencies as an alternative or work around to failed government economic policies. Similarly, countries like Zimbabwe, which is notorious for stratospheric rates of hyperinflation, make for interesting test beds for monetary innovation. The biggest challenge with all of these examples, however, is whether a decentralized cryptocurrency can thrive without an implied central government or bank blessing and whether they will be broadly accepted as a form of payment. Cryptocurrency friction-fighting powers notwithstanding, the challenge of broadening market adoption for stablecoins may require working within the system, rather than around it. This much is true in &l;a href=&q;http://www.caribbean360.com/business/bitt-founder-to-advise-bermuda-government-on-digital-currency&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Gabriel Abed&a;rsquo;s&l;/a&g; drive to link Caribbean central banks and island nations using &l;a href=&q;https://www.bitt.com/?_ga=2.188931305.397593989.1529697558-978223586.1529697558&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;Bitt&a;rsquo;s technology&l;/a&g; platform as a settlement and exchange engine and blockchain as a common thread.

While original cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin being the archetype, continue to defy &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2017/11/28/bitcoin-an-asset-currency-or-collectible/#127700e6300e&q;&g;classification&l;/a&g;, their shortfall as a high-velocity transactional currency is clear. Indeed, there are many a case of spender&a;rsquo;s remorse wherein erstwhile Bitcoin holders have spent &l;a href=&q;http://www.newsweek.com/bitcoin-pizza-day-2010-10000-bitcoin-would-now-be-83-million-938206&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;$83 million on buying pizza&l;/a&g; and other items of decidedly lower value. This price volatility in cryptocurrencies has made them an attractive investor bet or store of value, but generally defied their utility as a form of M2 money supply &a;ndash; lest the cryptocurrency is merely a proxy, like cell phone air time, for a function carried out by a bank, such as remittances. To achieve this standard, price stability is a condition precedent and the greenback reigns supreme in the world of analog, physical currencies. One of the most attractive aspects of low-friction economics is how cryptocurrencies and blockchain fight high-cost intermediaries by flattening the relationship between buyer and supplier. When the functions (and &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/05/28/our-economic-model-is-out-of-wacc/#3ac7b1d37395&q;&g;expense ratios&l;/a&g;) of a vertically stacked bank, insurance company or money transfer organization (MTO), such as MoneyGram or Western Union, can be performed horizontally, instantaneously and autonomously, opportunities and spending power are unlocked.

Perhaps the easiest way to create a true stablecoin, which can be used for high-velocity exchange over a calendar year, is to set a timer or a &a;ldquo;use it or lose it&a;rdquo; feature. After all, to quote the great &l;a href=&q;https://www.michaeljcasey.com/&q; target=&q;_blank&q;&g;crypto-chronicler&l;/a&g;, Michael Casey, cryptocurrencies being nothing more than computer code can be designed to perform certain functions, whereas a dollar cannot. By this measure a stablecoin could have a 12-month expiry date and a peg to the U.S. dollar driving up its utility as a form of currency, while driving down the behavioral urge to hoard the asset, which is true of more volatile cryptocurrencies. Doing all of this at a lower frictional cost than fiat currencies could spell the right combination of speed, utility and stability that currently defies the market of more than 1,600 cryptocurrencies.

Of course, the real challenge with cryptocurrencies and their broader adoption across the spectrum of consumption is how narrowly they are accepted by vendors and services providers. Part of the reason cell phone airtime has been accepted in many countries as an exchange of value is that the cell phone providers control a veritable closed-loop economy, where issues of scale were resolved at the outset before an economic proxy was introduced. The same holds true for global credit networks, such as Visa, Master Card, American Express and fiat currencies for that matter. Who stands behind you matters greatly to how much confidence a vendor will have in accepting your payment. The question of ongoing utility post-transaction is just as important, as the question of economic interoperability. Against this backdrop, the fiat economy, which cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been railing against since Bitcoin&a;rsquo;s genesis block, has had a long head start, a few wars, incarceration powers and a monopoly on fear and coercion. Sadly, all of these seem to be preconditions for &a;ldquo;normalizing&a;rdquo; a global economy. What may be playing in Reserve&a;rsquo;s favor, as well as other stablecoin projects, is that a large swath of humanity has grown tired of &l;a href=&q;https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/04/26/why-blockchain-why-now/#4668b39d4f42&q;&g;one-sided institutional trust&l;/a&g;, for which the vacuum can be filled with innovative approaches to finance and economics.&l;/p&g;