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PFE | PFE Vs NVO Which Stock Is The Better Value Option | Investors interested in Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are likely familiar with Pfizer PFE and Novo Nordisk CSE NOVOb NVO But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks Let s take a closer look
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk are sporting Zacks Ranks of 2 Buy and 3 Hold respectively right now This means that PFE s earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook But this is only part of the picture for value investors
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional tried and true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels
Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics including the popular P E ratio as well as the P S ratio earnings yield cash flow per share and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years
PFE currently has a forward P E ratio of 12 92 while NVO has a forward P E of 21 52 We also note that PFE has a PEG ratio of 2 15 This figure is similar to the commonly used P E ratio with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company s expected earnings growth rate NVO currently has a PEG ratio of 2 19
Another notable valuation metric for PFE is its P B ratio of 3 37 The P B ratio pits a stock s market value against its book value which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities For comparison NVO has a P B of 16 02
Based on these metrics and many more PFE holds a Value grade of B while NVO has a Value grade of C
PFE is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model And based on the above valuation metrics we feel that PFE is likely the superior value option right now |
PFE | Pfizer names former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb to its board | Reuters Pfizer Inc N PFE said on Thursday it has named former U S Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to its board of directors effective immediately Gottlieb stepped down abruptly as the FDA chief in March this year a role he had held since May 2017 He was well regarded by public health advocates and won bipartisan support for his efforts to curb use of flavored e cigarettes by youths Unlike his predecessors who said drug pricing was not the purview of the FDA Gottlieb waded into the intensifying debate about the high cost of medicines for U S consumers and had the agency actively looking into possible solutions Gottlieb ran into fierce opposition from anti regulation groups such as Americans for Tax Reform and former FDA officials who said the agency s regulatory efforts would destroy thousands of jobs Pfizer has also appointed Gottlieb to the board s regulatory and compliance as well as the science and technology committees |
PFE | Senator Warren asks former FDA chief Gottlieb to resign from Pfizer board | Reuters U S Senator Elizabeth Warren urged former U S Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to immediately step down from Pfizer Inc s N PFE board three months after his departure from the health regulator
In a letter to Gottlieb Warren who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election said this kind of revolving door influence peddling smacks of corruption
Gottlieb who won bipartisan support for his efforts to curb use of flavored e cigarettes by youths stepped down from the FDA in April a role he had held since May 2017
He was named to Pfizer s board last Thursday and was added to the board s regulatory and compliance as well as the science and technology committees
Warren added that such moves could make Americans cynical and distrustful about whether high level officials from President Donald Trump s administration are working for the people or for future corporate employers
Gottlieb said in a tweet on Tuesday that he had a productive relationship with Warren while he was at the FDA and would respond to her letter privately
When asked to comment on Senator Warren s letter Pfizer pointed Reuters to the company s announcement on Thursday |
PFE | Pfizer Falls 3 | Investing com Pfizer NYSE PFE fell by 3 13 to trade at 42 66 by 10 18 14 18 GMT on Thursday on the NYSE exchange
The volume of Pfizer shares traded since the start of the session was 4 35M Pfizer has traded in a range of 42 68 to 43 56 on the day
The stock has traded at 44 5600 at its highest and 42 6600 at its lowest during the past seven days |
WFC | Curbing enthusiasm ahead of Fed meeting | By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK Reuters With stocks already in a corrective phase on Wall Street next week s long awaited Federal Reserve meeting may not spur a wild market reaction even if the central bank hikes rates for the first time in almost a decade Economists are about equally split on whether the long awaited move will come though futures market trades are pointing to at least one more month of the Fed delaying its 0 25 percentage point increase in the fed funds rate But market participants say they ve already priced in that rate hike and its exact timing will not shake their long term bets For some the repricing of the S P 500 in recent weeks spurred mostly by weakness in China and other foreign markets may have actually given the Fed room for the rate hike It has made the world a safer place for the Fed to do whatever they have to do in the next few weeks said John Manley chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Funds Management in New York Traders have already priced in the increase and whether it comes in September October or December isn t going to make an enormous difference he said Traders still expect the next month to be somewhat jittery and may be watching industrial output and retail sales data out of China early next week for signs of just how weak Asian markets could be The CBOE volatility index spiked last month and its 14 day average hit its highest since late 2011 on Thursday Spot and 1 month VIX futures are tracking each other and are both higher than 2 and 3 month VIX futures in a rare inversion of the curve that points to sharp short term gyrations It has become the norm after a Fed meeting for stocks to be volatile often changing direction various times between the time of the statement and the market close a couple hours later WILL THEY OR WON T THEY Analysts say a large majority of the trading linked to a Fed move next week has already been made If the Fed can t be confident that the market can handle a 25 basis point hike that doesn t play well with investors said Michael O Rourke chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich Connecticut Fed Chair Janet Yellen has repeatedly said a hike is data dependent but she expects to begin raising rates before the end of 2015 Market participants are split on the meaning of a rate increase For some it would be the stamp of approval the U S economy has been expecting after a strong recovery in job creation and five consecutive quarters of GDP growth Others fear a hike would stymie growth that has been sluggish and also encourage deflation I would be more concerned if they did not raise rates because that would be a sign of maybe slowing economic activity said Peter Tuz president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville Virginia Equities have been expected to fall on an announcement of Fed tightening as the central bank s ultra easy monetary policy has been a pillar of the rally that saw the S P 500 more than triple from early 2009 to May s record high However the recent selloff which took major indexes into correction territory may give the market some stability however the Fed decides to act Selling has been extreme said Frank Gretz market analyst and technician for Wellington Shields Co a New York brokerage on a Friday note The probabilities say a low is in
The Fed has tried to signal its move to markets but a Reuters poll of economists gave the probability of a September move a 50 50 chance down from a 60 percent median probability predicted in a survey taken last month |
WFC | U S consumer spending rising solidly manufacturing still weak | By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON Reuters U S consumer spending grew at a fairly healthy pace over the past two months pointing to underlying strength in domestic demand that could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates on Thursday
While other data on Tuesday showed continued weakness in manufacturing economists said that was unlikely to have much impact on the U S central bank s decision whether to raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade
Looking at the data alone Fed officials will probably say yes the conditions are right to tighten If it were not for the increase in financial stress they would be tightening this month said Jeremy Lawson chief economist at Standard Life LONDON SL Investments in Edinburgh
The Commerce Department said retail sales excluding automobiles gasoline building materials and food services increased 0 4 percent in August after an upwardly revised 0 6 percent increase in July
These so called core retail sales which correspond closely to the consumer spending component of gross domestic product provided the latest sign of sturdy economic momentum and suggested the recent stock market sell off had little immediate impact on U S household spending
U S stocks were trading higher and the dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies Prices for U S government bonds fell
The Fed s policy setting committee meets on Wednesday and Thursday against the backdrop of a tightening U S labor market low inflation and slowing global growth The Fed s benchmark overnight interest rate has remained near zero since December 2008
U S financial markets have sharply dialed down expectations of a rate hike in the wake of the recent volatility in global equity markets Traders are now pricing in a 27 percent probability of a rate hike on Thursday
The Fed should be more reassured about the underlying pace of demand growth with this sales report and at the margin we think this report takes us another step closer to a rate increase on Thursday said John Ryding chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York
MANUFACTURING DRAGData ranging from employment to housing have suggested the U S economy retained most of its momentum from the second quarter when output expanded at a 3 7 percent annual pace
Overall retail sales rose 0 2 percent last month as strong gains in auto sales were offset by a 1 8 percent drop in the value of sales at service stations as gasoline prices declined
Receipts at auto dealerships rose 0 7 percent in August after rising 1 3 percent in July There were sales increases for clothing stores online retailers restaurants and bars sporting goods and hobby shops and electronics and appliance outlets
Receipts at building materials and garden equipment stores and furniture retailers fell despite a strengthening housing market
The generally bright news on spending was tempered by the soft factory data A separate report from the Fed showed manufacturing output fell 0 5 percent in August hurt by a 6 4 percent drop in auto production after increasing 0 9 percent in July
Economists however cautioned against reading too much into the drop in motor vehicle and parts production last month because of the volatility tied to the annual summer plant shutdowns for retooling
As any automaker can tell you the summer shutdowns are increasingly becoming a thing of the past as technology improves and the retooling process is either shorter or no longer tied exclusively to the summer months said Tim Quinlan an economist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC in Charlotte North Carolina
The trouble is the seasonal adjustment process does not yet know that
Excluding autos factory output was unchanged last month Manufacturing which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy has been slammed by the headwinds of a strong dollar slack economies oversees and lower oil prices
A third report on Tuesday showed factory activity in New York state contracted in September for a second straight month |
WFC | Wall Street ends down after choppy session Fed holds rates | By Sinead Carew Reuters Major Wall Street indexes gave up a 1 percent rally to end lower on Thursday after the Federal Reserve cited concerns about global economic growth in its decision to hold off on raising interest rates The U S central bank held rates steady in a bow to worries about the global economy financial market volatility and sluggish inflation at home but it left open the possibility of a modest policy tightening later this year The S P financial index SPSY led the decline after being among the top performers throughout the prior five sessions The decline in financial stocks which benefit from higher rates alongside the rise in utility stocks suggest that investors now believe interest rates will remain low for longer than previously expected Investors focus turned to the next Fed meeting on Oct 27 28 as they were still left to figure out the timing for the Fed s first benchmark rate increase since 2006 Trading was extremely choppy after the Fed s 2 p m statement with major U S indexes swinging between session highs and lows The three major U S indexes all rose more than 1 percent for a while during Fed Chair Janet Yellen s 2 30 p m press conference but then retreated All the uncertainty that was in the market leading up to this meeting is still in place There was very little clarity given said John Culbertson chief investment officer of Context Asset Management in Philadelphia You re going to hear the same conversation in the markets for the next 30 days that you heard in the last 90 days he said citing difficulties making high conviction trades Questions about when the Fed will shift gears have dogged Wall Street for months a situation complicated in recent weeks by market turbulence linked to slowing growth in China and worries about the health of the global economy In our minds it was the correct decision The inflation data does not support a rate hike at this time You throw in some of the global turbulence and that supports the decision to leave rates unchanged said Brian Rehling co head of global fixed income at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC in St Louis The Dow Jones industrial average DJI fell 65 21 points or 0 39 percent to 16 674 74 the S P 500 SPX lost 5 11 points or 0 26 percent to 1 990 2 and the Nasdaq Composite IXIC added 4 71 points or 0 1 percent to 4 893 95 Ahead of the news U S interest rates futures had indicated only a 25 percent chance the central bank would raise rates on Thursday and 35 of 80 economists polled by Reuters earlier this week expected an increase Only four of the 10 major S P sectors ended higher with the utility index up 1 3 percent having the best day The financial services index SPSY turned negative during Yellen s comments and ended down 1 3 percent while the telecommunications index dropped 1 1 percent Trading was heavy with almost 8 billion shares changing hands on U S exchanges on Wednesday in line with the 8 1 billion daily average for the previous 20 trading days which saw a spike in volume according to Thomson Reuters data Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE 1 866 to 1 201 for a 1 55 to 1 ratio on the upside on the Nasdaq 1 546 issues rose and 1 244 fell for a 1 24 to 1 ratio favoring advancers
The S P 500 posted 15 new 52 week highs and 2 lows the Nasdaq recorded 59 new highs and 31 lows |
WFC | Fed holds but questions remain over how it communicates | By Ann Saphir and Jason Lange
WASHINGTON Reuters The Federal Reserve held interest rates near zero on Thursday raising questions over how it will ever manage to lift them off the floor and how effectively it will communicate plans to do so
Only just over half economists polled have predicted such an outcome a rare occurrence and a sign of just how hard it has become to read the Fed these days
Prior to the rate decision Fed Chair Janet Yellen had not spoken in almost two months Two of her closest allies had spoken late last month but delivered seemingly contradictory messages just days apart
After the decision Yellen said while it was an unfortunate state of affairs that every comment by a Fed official is parsed for hints about the Fed s next move uncertainty in financial markets is natural when a policy shift is near as it is today
Policymakers do not she said try to make up their minds on a daily basis based on the economic release of the moment but use their regular meetings to take stock of the accumulated information and make a decision from there
We do our darndest to pull together the best analysis we can Yellen told a news conference
The issue appears to be how Yellen manages the rate setting body Like her predecessor Ben Bernanke she listens to others before speaking at the open markets committee and she appears to value forming consensus shown by the fact that there was just one dissent in Thursday s vote
The language used by the Fed is aimed at giving it a high degree of flexibility when it comes to rate decisions
That may now be a weakness when it comes to communicating where the Fed is in situations in which it might need to pivot in response to developments such as the recent market turmoil in China and beyond possibly leading to continued volatility in financial markets
For months the Fed has said it will only raise rates once it is reasonably confident that inflation will rise back to its 2 percent target At the same time it has said it expects it will rise toward that rate despite continued misses and without spelling out what more information would be needed
I think the Fed has muffed the communication going into this meeting said Lou Brien analyst for Chicago trading firm DRW Holdings They could have offered more clarity
Markets were pricing in a one in four chance of a 25 basis point rate rise ahead of Thursday s meeting according to the CME Fedwatch tool
TOWER OF BABEL
The mixed messages in recent months mark a departure from Yellen s pledge in an April 2013 speech to end the days of never explain never excuse when she said the Fed would reap the benefits of clearly explaining its actions to the public
Yellen earlier this year became a convert to so called data dependent policy making The idea was that the Fed would say what the economic data should look like before it tightens policy allowing the public to try to figure out if incoming data met that bar
In August the New York Fed president William Dudley suggested that turmoil in global financial markets meant the chances of a September rate hike were receding Just days later Fed Vice President Stanley Fischer left the door to a rate rise open
That made the Fed look like a Tower of Babel said Wells Fargo NYSE WFC economist John Silvia
Still not all investors were thrown by the Fed s lack of clarity In their view Fed policy setters simply cannot make the kind of guarantees on rates that they used during the depths of the recession
And with data and global financial turmoil pushing the Fed is different directions Yellen may have made the right choice in staying silent rather than risk appearing to be overly swayed by one economic data or another
The best you can hope for is guidance around progress being made toward their objectives said Craig Bishop lead strategist for the U S fixed income group at RBC Wealth Management which has 275 billion under management
This story has been refiled to remove extraneous word it from first paragraph |
LB | L Brands Earnings beat Revenue misses In Q4 | Investing com L Brands NYSE LB reported fourth quarter earnings that beat analysts expectations on Wednesday and revenue that fell short of forecasts
The firm reported earnings per share of 2 14 on revenue of 4 85B Analysts polled by Investing com anticipated EPS of 2 07 on revenue of 4 89B That compared to EPS of 2 11 on revenue of 4 82B in the same period a year earlier The company had reported EPS of 0 16 on revenue of 2 77B in the previous quarter
L Brands follows other major Services sector earnings this month
On January 31 Amazon com reported fourth quarter EPS of 6 04 on revenue of 72 38B compared to forecasts of EPS of 5 65 on revenue of 71 88B
Alibaba earnings beat analyst s expectations on January 30 with third quarter EPS of 12 19 on revenue of 117 28B Investing com analysts expected EPS of 11 45 on revenue of 119 03B
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
LB | Stocks U S Futures Drop as North Korea Talks Collapse 4Q GDP Ahead | Investing com U S futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday as U S President Donald Trump s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended abruptly while sentiment continued to suffer after downbeat comments on a potential trade deal with China from U S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer
The double blow came ahead of a delayed reading on the strength of the U S economy in the form of fourth quarter gross domestic product data at 8 30AM ET 13 30 GMT
The blue chip Dow futures lost 51 points or 0 19 to 24 957 5 points by 6 41 AM ET 11 41 GMT the S P 500 futures fell 7 points or 0 25 to 2 787 88 points while the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 28 points or 0 39 to 7 094 0 points
U S President Donald Trump said that he had walked away from talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because of unacceptable demands to lift U S sanctions
Trump insisted that good progress was made over denuclearization but that the U S could not lift all of the sanctions at the current juncture
Sometimes you have to walk and this was just one of those times Trump said adding that it was a friendly walk
Markets had already turned more cautious after comments from USTR Lighthizer on Wednesday
Lighthizer told a Congressional hearing on Wednesday that it was too early to predict an outcome to negotiations between Washington and Beijing over trade dampening hopes for a quick and comprehensive deal
Thursday s calendar also features data on weekly jobless claims as well as the Chicago PMI survey
Among several appearances from Federal Reserve officials investors will likely focus on remarks from the central bank s chief Jerome Powell and vice chairman Richard Clarida
As the fourth quarter earnings period comes to an end a string of weak numbers and disappointing guidance looked set to hit shares on Thursday
L Brands NYSE LB Square NYSE SQ Box NYSE BOX and Fitbit NYSE FIT saw sharp declines in premarket trade after issuing outlooks that missed analysts estimates
A notable exception came with Anheuser Busch Inbev NYSE BUD whose shares jumped 5 7 after the company forecast stronger growth in 2019
Elsewhere pessimism sent European stocks lower for a second day with all continental bourses in the red
Earlier Asian shares closed lower with South Korea s KOSPI taking the brunt falling 1 8
Outside of equities the U S dollar index which measures the greenback against six rival currencies fell 0 31 to 95 74 by 6 44 AM ET 11 44 GMT while the yield on the 10 year Treasury dropped 2 3 basis points to 2 67
In commodities gold futures gained 0 51 at 1 327 95 a troy ounce while crude oil traded down 0 33 to 56 75 a barrel
Reuters contributed to this report |
LB | Victoria s Secret Owner L Brands Suddenly Turning Heads Midday | Investing com The market is having second thoughts about Victoria s Secret owner L Brands with the stock jumping a day after it sold off on guidance concerns
The company issued downside earnings guidance for its fiscal first quarter and fiscal 2020 when it reported earnings after the bell Wednesday Investors piled out of the stock accordingly on Thursday
But today there s suddenly renewed optimism with the stock wiping out all of the prior session s losses and then some
L Brands NYSE LB rose 7 7 midday following its previous close of down 4 6
Barclays LON BARC upgraded the stock this morning to overweight from equal weight keeping its 31 price target
Barclays said the company outlook for the current fiscal year is reasonable and liked the company s strategy to build visibility and the risk reward balance following the Thursday pullback according to published reports
The S P 500 consumer discretionary index rose 0 6 |
LB | Investor Barington pushes L Brands for Victoria s Secret spinoff | Reuters Barington Capital on Tuesday urged U S consumer products group L Brands NYSE LB to break itself up by separating its Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works businesses from the company in an effort to improve financial performance The activist shareholder in a letter to L Brands chairman said the company should retain a financial adviser to help explore options including a spinoff of Victoria s Secret or an initial public offering of Bath Body Works
The Company has significantly underperformed its peers and the market as a whole Barington said |
LB | Earnings Preview L Brands LB Q4 Earnings Expected To Decline | The market expects L Brands NYSE LB to deliver a year over year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended January 2019 This widely known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company s earnings picture but a powerful factor that might influence its near term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates
The earnings report which is expected to be released on February 27 2019 might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations On the other hand if they miss the stock may move lower
While management s discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations it s worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise
Zacks Consensus Estimate
This owner of Victoria s Secret Bath Body Works and other chain stores is expected to post quarterly earnings of 2 07 per share in its upcoming report which represents a year over year change of 1 9
Revenues are expected to be 4 85 billion up 0 6 from the year ago quarter
Estimate Revisions Trend
The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4 49 lower over the last 30 days to the current level This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period
Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts
Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings Whisper
Estimate revisions ahead of a company s earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model the Zacks Earnings ESP Expected Surprise Prediction
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier
Thus a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate However the model s predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and or Zacks Rank of 4 Sell or 5 Strong Sell
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for L Brands
For L Brands the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company s earnings prospects This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 1 13
On the other hand the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3
So this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that L Brands will beat the consensus EPS estimate
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue
While calculating estimates for a company s future earnings analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates So it s worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number
For the last reported quarter it was expected that L Brands would post earnings of 0 15 per share when it actually produced earnings of 0 16 delivering a surprise of 6 67
Over the last four quarters the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times
Bottom Line
An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors Similarly unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss
That said betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success This is why it s worth checking a company s Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they ve reported
L Brands doesn t appear a compelling earnings beat candidate However investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release |
LB | L Brands LB Down More Than 6 Despite Q4 Earnings Beat | L Brands Inc NYSE LB reported fourth quarter fiscal 2018 results wherein top and bottom lines improved year over year and the latter marked its fifth consecutive quarter of positive surprise However results remained dismal in the company s Victoria s Secret business which has long been battling competition and consumers changing preferences In fiscal 2019 sales are likely to be hurt by La Senza s sale and closure of Henri Bendel business Moreover soft merchandise margins are likely to hit gross margin rate These factors led to a not so impressive guidance which seems to have hurt investors confidence Well shares of the company lost 6 2 during the after market trading on Feb 27 In the past three months the company s stock plunged closed to 19 compared with the S P 500 s growth of 1 8 Markedly management envisions fiscal 2019 earnings per share to be 2 20 2 60 lower than the current consensus mark of 2 65 The guidance includes nearly 14 cents impact from greater tax rate Moreover earnings per share are envisioned to be breakeven in the first quarter compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents Detailed Quarterly DiscussionIn the quarter under review L Brands adjusted earnings came in at 2 14 per share which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 07 Also the bottom line improved 1 4 year over year Solid performance by Bath Body Works was the primary driving factor Net sales climbed marginally to 4 85 billion The top line figure came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate Furthermore L Brands total comparable sales climbed 3 in the quarter Victoria s Secret sales dropped 5 to 2 532 million Comparable sales fell 3 while comparable store sales comps tumbled 7 Comps remained flat in the lingerie business whereas the same declined low double digits at PINK On the brighter side Victoria s Secret Beauty comps saw a mid single digit jump Also total digital sales registered an increase of 8 Management stated that Victoria s Secret results in this segment lagged expectations as comps declined and merchandise margins fell considerably in all core categories The fall in margins stemmed from elevated promotions to boost traffic and clear inventories On the contrary Bath Body Works BBW delivered a solid show and surpassed management s expectations Total sales here improved 9 to 1 951 million with 12 rise in comparable sales and 8 growth in comparable store sales Sales were fuelled by robust improvements in the three key categories including home fragrance soap and body care Notably product acceptance for the Fall and Holiday season items aided results BBW direct channel remained sturdy with sales up 30 Also merchandise margin rose on the back of lower promotions We also note that L Brands International sales rallied 12 in the fourth quarter to 190 7 million courtesy of strength across both Victoria s Secret and BBW L Brands adjusted gross profit dropped 3 6 to roughly 1 967 7 million while the adjusted gross margin contracted 170 basis points bps to 40 6 Reduction in merchandise margin rate and higher occupancy costs led to gross margin decline Adjusted operating income declined from 986 6 million to 898 7 million as strength in Bath and Body Works was more than offset by softness in Victoria s Secret Adjusted operating margin collapsed 200 bps to 18 5 Store UpdateIn fiscal 2018 L Brands opened three Victoria s Secret stores and shuttered 30 taking the total count to 1 143 In the same period 55 Bath Body Works stores were inaugurated and 28 were closed which totaled to 1 721 stores At the end of fiscal 2018 this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel had 79 international stores The company sold its La Senza stores United States and Canada to an affiliate on Regent LP this January As of Feb 2 2019 L Brands operated 2 943 stores Total franchised stores as of Feb 2 2019 were 674 including 219 Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories 47 Victoria s Secret nine Pink and 223 Bath Body Works stores The company sold its La Senza stores Also the franchised stores comprised 164 and 12 Travel Retail stores of Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories and Bath Body Works respectively Other Financial DetailsL Brands exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 1 413 5 million down from the prior year quarter s 1 514 9 million Long term debt increased marginally to 5 739 4 million from nearly 5 707 million a year ago Shareholders deficit came in at 865 6 million For fiscal 2019 the company projects capital expenditures to be 575 600 million It anticipates free cash flow of 700 million for the same period In fiscal 2018 L Brands repurchased 5 4 million shares for 196 1 million As of Feb 2 2019 the company had shares worth 78 7 million remaining under its existing 250 million buyback plan GuidanceToward the end of fiscal 2018 management decided to shut its Henri Bendel business sell off La Senza and reset its dividend These actions are likely to help the company focus on the core areas with higher growth potential In fiscal 2019 management intends to remain committed toward improving Victoria s Secret s performance by staying customer focused enriching assortments and enhancing store and online experiences Further the Zacks Rank 3 Hold company focuses on efficient management of costs capital and inventory Additionally the company announced that it will stop reporting monthly sales and only report quarterly sales data henceforth All said L Brands anticipates first quarter fiscal 2019 comps to fall low single digits Total sales growth is expected to be roughly 1 point lower than comps This can be accountable to La Senza s and Henri Bendel s loss Further gross margin is expected to contract year over year due to lower merchandise margins SG A costs are anticipated to escalate as a percentage of sales on account of lower sales Earnings per share are envisioned to be breakeven in the first quarter compared with 17 cents recorded in the year ago period This includes nearly 5 cents adverse impact from higher tax rate Also the earnings guidance for the first quarter falls way below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents For fiscal 2019 the company anticipates comps to rise low single digits Total sales growth is likely to lag comps by about 2 points due to the same factors impacting the first quarter sales Gross margin rate is likely to decrease year over year mainly due to lower merchandise margins SG A costs are expected to increase year over year stemming from higher wage rate and inflation related pressure Check These Solid Retail Bets Boot Barn Holdings NYSE BOOT with long term earnings per share growth rate of 20 7 carries a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Zumiez NASDAQ ZUMZ also with a Zacks Rank 1 has long term earnings per share growth rate of 12 5 DSW Inc NYSE DSW with a Zacks Rank 2 Buy has long term earnings per share growth rate of 9 Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2019In addition to the stocks discussed above would you like to know about our 10 finest buy and holds for the year Who wouldn t Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity In 2018 while the market dropped 5 2 the portfolio scored well into double digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as 61 5 And from 2012 2017 while the market boomed 126 3 Zacks Top 10s reached an even more sensational 181 9 |
PFE | Hutchison China MediTech Surufatinib NETs Solid Data At ESMO | Hutchison China MediTech Ltd NASDAQ HCM presented robust SANET ep Phase III China data at ESMO 2019 on surufatinib in non pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors NET The data support a China NDA submission imminent with surufatinib likely to be the first of HCM s non partnered assets to reach the market late 2020 NET tumors are highly prevalent fragmented in primary origin and are an unmet medical need Surufatinib could be the first universal drug to treat NET in all patients regardless of tumor subtype the SANET p Phase III data in pancreatic NET H120 is critical to widening its market potential The global US and Europe registration Phase III study is planned for H120 CK Hutchison Holdings CKHH reduced its holding by 1 3 to below 50 49 9 We see this as a significant positive as it removes the significant overhang on the shares We value HCM at 5 7bn
Surufatinib solid data in non pancreatic NET
Positive Phase III surufatinib data unveiled at the interim analysis of SANET ep advanced extra pancreatic NET led to trial cessation as recommended by IDMC a year ahead of schedule Surufatinib met superiority criteria in meeting its primary endpoint of progression free survival PFS 9 2 months vs placebo 3 8 months HR 0 334 p
NET and BTC represents 1bn global opportunity
We continue to forecast global peak sales for surufatinib of 953m across the NET and biliary tract cancer BTC indications We now forecast China launch in late 2020 previously 2021 due to clearer regulatory timelines and US EU launch in 2024 HCM has accelerated global ex China development of its non partnered assets fruquintinib surufatinib HMPL 523 and HMPL 689 as evidenced by a leap in R D expense in 2018 19 In the rapidly changing landscape that is oncology timeliness is critical and investment in surufatinib is coming to fruition
Valuation 5 7bn or 42 78 ADS
We value HCM at 5 7bn 42 78 ADS vs 5 7bn 42 62 ADS previously We now forecast surufatinib launch in China in late 2020 previously early 2021 based on an October 2019 China NDA submission We have increased 2020 R D expenses and rolled forward our model in time
ADR share price performance
Business description
Hutchison China MediTech is an innovative China based biopharmaceutical company targeting the global market for novel highly selective oral oncology and immunology drugs Its established commercial platform business continues to expand its outreach
Portfolio rapidly advancing
HCM continues to make rapid progress towards its goal of becoming an international biotech company with a marketed portfolio of innovative drugs Of its late stage pipeline surufatinib savolitinib and fruquintinib are in pole position to ensure HCM s goal is reached in the medium term Surufatinib has made significant strides this year the Phase III SANET ep trial cessation one year ahead of schedule due to overwhelming positive efficacy in advanced stage non pancreatic NET means the drug could launch in China in late 2020 If the global Phase III trial US and Europe due to initiate in H1 20 results are consistent with data seen in Chinese patients to date this would pave the way for surufatinib to be the first universal small molecule drug treatment for NET
NET Fragmented but highly prevalent disease
Data from Frost Sullivan indicate the global NET market in 2018 was worth approximately 5 8bn and is expected to grow to 21 2bn by 2030 NET cancers arise out of cells of the endocrine and nervous systems predominately the digestive and respiratory tracts NETs can be aggressive or indolent in nature the latter meaning that patients can survive longer in the course of disease than certain solid tumors NETs are typically classified as pancreatic NETs or extra pancreatic NETs a catch all for a tumor that does not arise out the pancreas and commonly include lung NETs and gastrointestinal GI NETs NETs can be functional 40 of patients or non functional depending on whether the hormones produced by the tumor lead to symptoms functional NET
In China there is significant market opportunity with reported incidence of NET in 2018 of approximately 67 600 While the current prevalence of NET in the US is 150 000 patients incidence of 19 000 new cases per year current treatment modalities are typically limited to subsets of NET with only Afinitor approved for a broad range of NETs pancreatic GI and lung
SANET ep supports broad use in non pancreatic NET
Surufatinib s China Phase III program consists of two studies evaluating the drug vs placebo in pancreatic NET SANET p planned n 195 and non pancreatic NET SANET ep actual n 198 thus covering all NET patient types In June 2019 HCM announced the independent data monitoring committee had recommended stopping the Phase III SANET ep early following positive interim data This was based on the trial meeting its primary endpoint of PFS and the trial was unblinded a year ahead of schedule Upon unblinding patients on placebo had the opportunity to cross over to the surufatinib arm Surufatinib met primary endpoints and significantly improved investigator assessed PFS PFS 9 2 months vs placebo 3 8 months HR 0 334 p
Eligibility criteria for the study included well differentiated extrapancreatic ep NET pathological grade 1 or 2 with advanced disease patients with prior use of VEGF VEGFR inhibitors were excluded Around 69 of patients on surufatinib had received prior systemic anti tumor therapy chemotherapy somatostatin analogues everolimus vs 64 on placebo
Safety was in line with previous data hypertension 64 3 on drug vs 26 5 on placebo and proteinuria 70 5 on drug vs 52 9 on placebo while the most common adverse events were medically manageable Given surufatinib inhibits three different targets vascular endothelial growth factors VEGFRs fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 FGFR1 and colony stimulating factor 1 receptor CSF 1R at therapeutic dosing its tolerability with combination therapies is an important factor However median exposure days on surufatinib 217 days and placebo 146 days suggests discontinuation rates were largely due to disease progression rather than tolerability issues
At ESMO 2019 HCM reported preliminary results of the global Phase Ib study of surufatinib in US solid tumor patients HCM initiated the US Phase Ib II study in P NET and BTC in July 2018 The two part study design including dose escalation and dose expansion assessed safety and tolerability It confirmed a safety and PK pharmacokinetic profile consistent with studies in China patients Importantly surufatinib showed early signs of utility two partial responses n 15 pNET patients in heavily pre treated patients with some receiving up to eight different lines of therapy The maximum tolerated dose recommended Phase II dose was established as 300mg daily for global development
Global development plans closely follow China
HCM is building its China oncology commercial team ahead of surufatinib launch with the intention to have full coverage of China in preparation for launch late 2020 NET will be surufatinib s first potential approved indication Non pancreatic NET is estimated by HCM to represent 80 of NET cases in China SANET p Phase III data pancreatic NET H1 20 is critical to widening its market potential to an additional 10 20 of patients Based on the SANET ep data of the Chinese patients with advanced disease prior to enrolment around 40 had received treatment with chemotherapy 30 with a somatostatin analogue and c 10 with everolimus on the strength of the data presented we believe that surufatinib could provide a universal treatment for NET particularly if SANET p provides a similar benefit to patients with pancreatic NET reduction in risk of disease progression Pricing strategies in China will be important given competitor NRDL reference pricing of 2 007 per month for Sutent and 1 320 per month for Affinitor
HCM plans to investigate surufatinib in other solid tumors both as monotherapy and in combination therapy with a PD 1 focus HCM has multiple PD 1 collaborations in place the Tuoyi Junshi collaboration dose expansion study in multiple tumor types is anticipated to start in Q419
Following encouraging proof of concept data from the Phase II study in BTC a pivotal open label Phase IIb III trial NCT03873532 in China initiated in 2019 Interim data on the first 80 patients recruited into this trial are expected mid 2020 BTC represents a high unmet need due to limited treatment options and an increasing patient population
Surufatinib s global registration clinical trial is in planning stage The end of Phase II meeting with the FDA is expected in Q419 with US and Europe Phase II III estimated to start in H1 20
Competitive landscape in NET
To date no targeted therapies have been approved across the broad NET population Although progress has been made in the treatment of NETs most approved treatments are for subsets of NET dependent on the primary site of NET stage and grade Treatment options include surgery where possible and long term systemic treatment to treat symptoms and suppress tumor growth include somatostatin inhibitors such as Novartis s Sandostatin LAR octreotide and Lutathera 177Lu Affinitor which slow the hormonal production driving the formation of NETs ex lung Approved drugs include somatostatin inhibitors Afinitor an mTOR inhibitor and sunitinib a tyrosine kinase inhibitor Exhibit 2 highlights the different treatment options by NET subtype available in the US In China the Afinitor label has now been expanded to include the same NET indications as its USA label pancreatic GI and lung
The treatment landscape is fragmented for example Lanreotide data CLARINET supports use in pNET and GI NET while Sutent sunitinib data support its use in pNET only Targeting aberrant angiogenic VEGF signalling has been proven with Sutent in treating pancreatic NETs demonstrating a 5 9 month improvement in mPFS vs placebo HR 0 42 p
Surufatinib multiple modes of action in cancer
Surufatinib is an oral angio immunokinase inhibitor that targets VEGF1 2 and 3 FGFR1 and CSF 1R kinases During the last decade modalities of cancer treatment that involve targeted therapy addressing cancer specific mutations harnessing the power of the immune system and cancer cell blood supply to treat the tumor microenvironment are additional armaments to traditional chemotherapy and surgical treatment options As such combination therapies evaluating drugs with multiple mechanism of action are approved eg EGFR inhibitor plus PD 1 inhibition or undergoing late stage testing in a multitude of cancer Surufatinib is a small molecule therapeutic protein that addresses three distinct kinases and thus multiple different regulatory processes that enable cancer proliferation
Anti angiogenesis via VEGF receptor and FGFR inhibition VEGF inhibition is a well known mechanism of action with leading antibody Avastin FY18 sales 7 0bn approved for over 30 tumor types in its decade on the market FGFRs are transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases that mediate cell differentiation migration and survival genetic aberrations to FGFRs can lead to a gain in function and have been implicated in the progression of a range of cancers
CSF 1R is a cell surface protein that acts as the receptor for the cytokine CSF1 which controls macrophage a type of white blood cell function Inhibition of CSF 1R limits the production of pro tumor macrophages which among other functions is believed to aid in angiogenesis tumor cell invasion and evasion of the immune system CSF 1R activity which is very novel and potentially important for PD 1 combinations as there may be synergy both act by activating the immune system against the cancer may differentiate it from competitor PD 1 PD L1 inhibitor combination studies with axitinib Pfizer NYSE PFE or lenvatinib
Surufatinib s three in one profile bodes well for current and evolving treatment paradigms in oncology where immunomodulatory drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors are being used in earlier lines of therapy
Valuation
We value HCM at 5 7bn 42 78 ADS vs 5 7bn 42 62 ADS previously We now forecast surufatinib is launched in China in late 2020 previously early 2021 We have increased 2020 R D expenses and rolled our model forward in time We use a risk adjusted net present value NPV method to discount future cash flows for the innovation platform savolitinib fruquintinib surufatinib epitinib HMPL 523 and HMPL 689 valuation of 4 131 4m We use earnings based multiples for HCM s commercial platform subsidiaries and JVs Applying a 20 4x multiple on our forecast 2019 net attributable profit equity in earnings of equity investees net of tax for the JVs of 39 2m yields a valuation of 800 4m Exhibit 3
CKHH offering removes a significant overhang on the shares
In June 2019 major shareholder CKHH completed an offering of some of its ADSs which reduced its holding in HCM to 51 15 from 60 2 previously CKHH recently announced it had reduced its holding by 1 3 to below 50 49 9 This will enable CKHH to deconsolidate HCM from its accounts CKHH remains committed to its investment in HCM and has no plans in the near future to reduce its holdings further We see this as a positive for HCM as it removes a significant overhang on the shares We note that this latest offering has had no effect on the number of shares in issue and does not dilute any current shareholders |
PFE | Alteryx Highlighted As Zacks Bull Of The Day | For Immediate ReleaseChicago IL October 11 2019 Alteryx NYSE AYX as the Bull of the Day Here is a synopsis of all four stocks Alteryx is the 7 billion big data analytics engine that serves customers across dozens of industries from Audi and Barclays LON BARC to Pfizer NYSE PFE and Unilever LON ULVR Since I bought Alteryx for my TAZR Trader portfolio in late May I ve produced several research articles and video reports on this amazing big data analytics engine And since Alteryx just delivered another strong beat and raise quarter which will keep it a Zacks 1 Rank Strong Buy it s time to recap the investment thesis and the opportunities ahead for the company Here s what I told my members on July 31 after the AYX Q2 report TAZR TradersRight now let s get to our all star earnings player Alteryx We got a beat and raise though Q3 EPS could be softer than expected as the full year powers through to 47 cents vs consensus of 43c Alteryx delivered Q2 EPS of 0 01 vs expectations of a 6 cent loss Even better revs came in over 7 higher than consensus at 82M vs 76 5M The slight wince on the guide was management seeing Q3 EPS 6c 9c vs consensus 13c But as noted above the full year guide is a range of 44c 50c And the revenue guidance still maintained an upward trajectory with Q3 seeing 88 91 million vs consensus 87 5M Full year rev guide is for 370 375 million vs consensus of 360M representing a blistering 83 annual growth in sales Key highlights of the business expansion Added 305 new customers in Q2 to hit 5 278 customers a 34 increase from Q2 2018 Achieved a dollar based net expansion rate annual contract value based of 133 Large contract momentum persists with a 50 increase in deals over 250 000 Doubling of contracts deals over 1 000 000 Our forward momentum continued in the second quarter highlighted by revenue growth of 59 year over year and net expansion rates of over 130 driven by both strong market tailwinds and solid execution said Dean Stoecker CEO of Alteryx Inc We continue to be humbled and amazed by the innovative ways our customers are leveraging the Alteryx platform to transform their business in remarkable ways end of TAZR notes from July 31 That last sentence from Dean Stoecker is a key ingredient of Alteryx success I learned this when I was studying the company platform and customers in early June during their annual user conference Inspire in Nashville Media ContactZacks Investment Research800 767 3771 ext 9339Zacks com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks Terms and Conditions of Service disclaimer Past performance is no guarantee of future results Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment legal accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to buy sell or hold a security No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor It should not be assumed that any investments in securities companies sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking market making or asset management activities of any securities These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks The S P 500 is an unmanaged index Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release |
PFE | Germany s Stada buys six of GSK s consumer brands eyes further deals | FRANKFURT Reuters Private equity backed generic drugmaker Stada said on Friday it would buy six consumer healthcare products from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline to bolster its presence in Europe The price tag for the mainly Europe focused brand portfolio which include itch relief cream Eurax antiseptic cream Savlon and Tixylix cough liquids was in the high double digit million pound range according to a person close to the deal Stada declined to comment on the price GSK is streamlining its product offering as it prepares to fold its consumer business into a joint venture with Pfizer NYSE PFE by the second half of this year creating a market leader that will primarily look to the United States and China for growth Stada CEO Peter Goldschmidt said the company which will fold the brands into its British Thornton Ross unit would bring to bear its knowledge of complex European healthcare markets that some global players are lacking also with a view to future deals or alliances We have a strong presence in almost all the European countries there are not many companies where that is the case For companies in say the United States India or China that are looking for a European partner we are the go to partner the CEO told Reuters
The German company majority owned by buyout firms Bain and Cinven since 2017 reported adjusted earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization EBITDA of just over 500 million euros last year on sales of 2 3 billion euros |
LB | Victoria s Secret owner L Brands to sell La Senza lingerie brand | Reuters L Brands N LB on Thursday said it would to sell its luxury lingerie brand La Senza to an affiliate of private equity firm Regent LP capping a months long effort to sell the loss making business The company has been facing stiff competition from American Eagle Outfitter s N AEO Aerie and upstarts such as Adore Me and Third Love forcing it to sell its non core assets and focus on brands such as Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works As part of the deal Regent would assume La Senza s liabilities and would have to pay L Brands if it sells or monetizes any part of the lingerie brand L Brands bought Canadian chain La Senza for about 700 million in early 2007 and expects it to incur an operating loss of 40 million in the year The company which had said it was exploring options for La Senza business in October expects to complete the transaction in January Shares of the company which had fallen 48 percent this year were rose 1 percent to 31 8 in early trading |
LB | Will L Brands LB Beat Estimates Again In Its Next Earnings Report | Have you been searching for a stock that might be well positioned to maintain its earnings beat streak in its upcoming report It is worth considering L Brands NYSE LB which belongs to the Zacks Retail Apparel and Shoes industry
This owner of Victoria s Secret Bath Body Works and other chain stores has an established record of topping earnings estimates especially when looking at the previous two reports The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 6 27
For the last reported quarter L Brands came out with earnings of 0 16 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 15 per share representing a surprise of 6 67 For the previous quarter the company was expected to post earnings of 0 34 per share and it actually produced earnings of 0 36 per share delivering a surprise of 5 88
Price and EPS Surprise
For L Brands estimates have been trending higher thanks in part to this earnings surprise history And when you look at the stock s positive Zacks Earnings ESP Expected Surprise Prediction it s a great indicator of a future earnings beat especially when combined with its solid Zacks Rank
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank 3 Hold or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time In other words if you have 10 stocks with this combination the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier
L Brands currently has an Earnings ESP of 0 91 which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company s earnings prospects This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock s Zacks Rank 2 Buy indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner We expect the company s next earnings report to be released on February 27 2019
When the Earnings ESP comes up negative investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric But a negative value is not indicative of a stock s earnings miss
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher On the other hand some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate
Because of this it s really important to check a company s Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they ve reported |
PFE | Zoetis Appoints Kristin Peck As New CEO Alaix To Retire | Zoetis Inc NYSE ZTS announced that Kristin Peck will succeed Juan Ram n Alaix as the chief executive officer CEO effective Jan 1 2020 as the latter will retire by the end of the year Alaix has been Zoetis CEO since its formation in 2012 and will continue to act as an advisor on the leadership transition through Dec 31 2020 Currently Peck is the executive vice president and group president of U S Operations Business Development and Strategy She too has been a member of the executive leadership team since the company s formation and has played a key role in its growth trajectory She previously served as Pfizer s NYSE PFE executive vice president of Worldwide Business Development and Innovation as part of the company s Executive Leadership Team It remains to be seen how this transition impacts the business Zoetis is a leader in the animal health business with a wide portfolio The company s performance has been stellar in the year so far backed by growth in new parasiticide products and vaccines a solid dermatology portfolio and the addition of Abaxis diagnostics platform Livestock product sales too returned to growth in the second quarter Key dermatology products like Apoquel and Cytopoint new products such as Simparica and Stronghold Plus and increased medicalization rates in key international markets should propel further growth Notably the European Commission EC recently granted marketing authorization to Simparica Trio sarolaner moxidectin pyrantel chewable tablets a once monthly triple combination antiparasitic medication for dogs with or at risk from mixed external and internal parasitic infestations The approval should strengthen the company s market leading parasiticide portfolio for companion animals Per Zoetis the global canine parasiticides market is worth more than 4 billion and the largest therapeutic category in medicines for dogs The FDA earlier approved ProHeart 12 moxidectin the industry s only once yearly injection to prevent heartworm disease in dogs aged 12 months or older Zoetis expanded its Fostera swine vaccine franchise in the second quarter with approvals of different formulations in new geographies These should boost further growth Meanwhile the animal health business has been in focus Elanco Animal Health NYSE ELAN recently inked a definitive agreement to acquire Bayer s OTC BAYRY Animal Health business for 7 6 billion Just Released Zacks 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of 24 6 per year These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Stock Moves 1 1 What You Should Know | Pfizer PFE closed the most recent trading day at 35 44 moving 1 1 from the previous trading session This change was narrower than the S P 500 s 1 56 loss on the day Elsewhere the Dow lost 1 19 while the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 1 67
Heading into today shares of the drugmaker had lost 2 72 over the past month outpacing the Medical sector s loss of 3 6 and lagging the S P 500 s loss of 1 22 in that time
PFE will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release which is expected to be October 29 2019 The company is expected to report EPS of 0 63 down 19 23 from the prior year quarter Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of 12 22 billion down 8 07 from the year ago period
For the full year our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of 2 81 per share and revenue of 50 98 billion which would represent changes of 6 33 and 4 97 respectively from the prior year
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short term business trends As such positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company s business and profitability
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near term share price momentum To benefit from this we have developed the Zacks Rank a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system
The Zacks Rank system ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell It has a remarkable outside audited track record of success with 1 stocks delivering an average annual return of 25 since 1988 The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0 12 higher within the past month PFE currently has a Zacks Rank of 1 Strong Buy
Digging into valuation PFE currently has a Forward P E ratio of 12 74 This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry s average Forward P E of 14 44
Investors should also note that PFE has a PEG ratio of 2 85 right now The PEG ratio is similar to the widely used P E ratio but this metric also takes the company s expected earnings growth rate into account Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are on average holding a PEG ratio of 2 11 based on yesterday s closing prices
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 35 which puts it in the top 14 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
You can find more information on all of these metrics and much more on Zacks com |
PFE | Pfizer Executive Technology Is Basically Good Enough to Ramp Up Production Blockchains | A Pfizer NYSE PFE executive has challenged existing theories about slow rates of blockchain adoption telling the Consensus conference on May 14 that the technology is basically good enough to have more production blockchains than we have today
Ken Nessel senior director of business technology at the pharmaceutical giant made his comments during the second day of the conference in New York City He joined AstraZeneca s Kate Gofman for an event called From Bench to Bedside Blockchains and the Future of Clinical Research |
WFC | Focus on Fed euro zone s economic health | By Ingrid Melander PARIS Reuters The search for clues to whether the Federal Reserve will raise U S interest rates in September for the first time in nearly a decade is set to intensify next week U S employment rose at a steady clip in July and wages rebounded after unexpectedly stalling in June signs of an improving economy that could open the door wider to a rate hike soon But Friday s data did not cement expectations the Fed will act next month Because this report was not extraordinarily strong it was simply in line with expectations that leaves the markets having to look toward other data said Paul Christopher head global market strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Investment Institute in St Louis July retail sales expected on Thursday will be the key number to look for while comments by policymakers Dennis Lockhart and William Dudley will also be carefully scrutinized Atlanta Fed President Lockhart a centrist who votes on the Fed s policy setting Open Market Committee is due to speak on Monday with New York Fed President Dudley seen as a dove and a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen following on Wednesday On the other side of the pond Greek bailout talks UK labor market figures and euro zone second quarter GDP data will dominate the agenda in a week where most Europeans will be on summer holidays Unemployment may creep higher again due to election uncertainty but rising wages are likely to be the key focus given the Bank of England s gradual shift to more hawkish commentary regarding medium term inflation risks ING analysts wrote in a note Monthly jobless and average earnings data are due on Wednesday While there is nothing like the high drama of recent months in the Greek saga with signs of progress in the reform talks negotiations are entering a crunch period this week with Athens keen to wrap things up just after Aug 15 to receive aid in time to make an Aug 20 bond repayment to the European Central Bank The August reading of Germany s ZEW investor morale indicator on Tuesday and second quarter preliminary GDP data on Friday will gauge the strength of recovery elsewhere in the euro zone after German and French industrial output data disappointed Before that investors will closely monitor a raft of Chinese data including July inflation published on Aug 9 and July trade data a day before
July s manufacturing PMIs failed to point to any meaningful pickup in the Chinese economy therefore a keen eye will be kept on the official hard data for clues on the health of the economy Investec analysts said in a note |
WFC | McIlroy at Whistling Straits to prepare for PGA | Reuters World number one Rory McIlroy arrived at Whistling Straits for a practice round on Saturday as he bids to return to competitive golf from an ankle injury and defend his PGA Championship title at the links style venue next week Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that the four times major champion had scheduled a practice round at the site for Saturday a report that turned out to be accurate even though it was denied by the golfer s publicist The Northern Irishman out of action since he ruptured a ligament in his left ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4 does not have to commit to the tournament which starts on Thursday until his official tee time for the opening round McIlroy has been grouped with Masters and U S Open champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the first two rounds of the year s final major at Whistling Straits in Kohler Wisconsin Should he tee off as expected on Thursday it would be just 40 days since he suffered an injury that some medical experts said might take about three months to heal It also would be seven and a half weeks since he tied for ninth in the U S Open at Chambers Bay and would give the PGA Championship a huge boost as he and Spieth share top billing The 26 year old Northern Irishman withdrew from the July 9 12 Scottish Open after suffering the ankle injury and was unable to defend his British Open title the following week at St Andrews Over the past week McIlroy has posted a string of teasing videos and messages on Twitter NYSE TWTR and Instagram highlighting his recovery progress On Thursday he posted on his Instagram account a video of himself pounding a driver on a practice range in Portugal accompanied by the comment Feels good to hit the driver again He also posted two pictures of his left foot the first showing a very swollen ankle soon after he had suffered the injury and the second revealing a bruised but greatly improved ankle 4 and a half and 3 and a half weeks ago respectively I ve come a long way since McIlroy tweeted On Friday McIlroy hinted strongly at his journey to Whistling Straits by posting a picture of the interior of a private jet with a British passport front and center on a table Accompanying the picture was a series of emojis or picture characters indicating a flight from Portugal to the United States followed by a thumbs up a victory sign and a golf course symbol After a strong start to the 2015 season highlighted by three wins McIlroy showed signs of fatigue when in the immediate aftermath of a runaway victory at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in North Carolina he missed the cut at two successive European Tour events in May Those missed cuts came at the end of a run of five successive tournaments He has played just 12 tournaments this year nearly half of them in that one stint
McIlroy won last year s PGA Championship by one shot after a final round shootout that finished in near darkness at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville Kentucky |
LB | Victoria s Secret CEO to step down WSJ | Reuters Victoria s Secret Lingerie Chief Executive Officer Jan Singer is leaving the company a little over two years after she took the job the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter Victoria s Secret the high end lingerie brand of L Brands Inc N LB and its teen focused PINK brand have been losing customers for years as more women shift to cheaper bralettes and sports bras from companies such as American Eagle Outfitter s N AEO Aerie In the last two years quarterly same store sales of Victoria s Secret have risen only once L Brands CEO Leslie Wexner has been looking to shore up the company s profits by closing its underperforming Henri Bendel business and reviewing options for its La Senza lingerie brand L Brands and Victoria s Secret did not immediately respond to requests for comment
Denise Landman CEO of PINK is also leaving the company at the end of the year |
LB | Francesca s FRAN Q3 Earnings Beat Soft View Hurts Stock | Francesca s Holdings Corporation NASDAQ FRAN reported third quarter fiscal 2018 results with the top and the bottom line surpassing estimates but declining year over year Moreover comparable store sales comps decreased year over year marking the seventh straight quarter of comps decline Further management lowered outlook for fiscal 2018 and provided soft view for the fourth quarter which hurt investors sentiments Notably shares of the company plunged more than 16 on Dec 11 Moreover this Zacks Rank 4 Sell stock has lost 52 6 in the past three months underperforming the s 13 decline Q3 HighlightsFrancesca s adjusted loss of 17 cents per share excluding non recurring items for third quarter fiscal 2018 compared unfavorably with earnings of 1 cent in the year ago quarter However the bottom line was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents Net sales declined 9 8 to 95 4 million from 105 8 million in the prior year quarter primarily due to decline in comps However net sales surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 94 9 million Comps declined 14 in the quarter due to soft boutique traffic partially offset by sales from 24 net new boutiques added since the year ago period Francesca s Holdings Corporation Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Sales from Apparel business decreased 11 5 to 48 4 million while sales from Accessories business declined 3 4 to 14 8 million Sales from Gifts business fell 20 5 to 8 7 million whereas sales from other categories plunged 70 6 to 0 6 million However sales from Jewelry business was almost flat at 22 9 million Gross profit decreased 19 6 year over year to 33 6 million while gross profit margin contracted 430 basis points bps to 35 3 Meanwhile operating loss came in at 23 1 million against operating profit of 0 5 million in the third quarter last year Store UpdateDuring the fiscal third quarter Francesca s Holdings did not open any new boutiques but closed four bringing the total boutique count to 738 These consist of 352 mall locations and 386 non mall locations of which 90 are outlets During the fourth quarter the company intends to open a boutique and close 11 existing boutiques mostly in January For fiscal 2018 Francesca s Holdings plans to open 32 boutiques close 25 boutiques and refresh 81 boutiques Other Financial AspectsFrancesca s Holdings ended the fiscal third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 10 7 million with no debt outstanding and total shareholders equity of 94 8 million Cash flow from operations amounted to 5 8 million in the first three quarters of fiscal 2018 Capital expenditures were 21 9 million year to date which included 8 4 million for new boutiques 8 9 million for remodels and 2 million for existing boutiques For fiscal 2018 the company expects capital expenditure to be around 30 million OutlookFollowing a soft third quarter the company provided a soft outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter and trimmed its view for fiscal 2018 For fourth quarter fiscal 2018 management anticipates net sales of 118 124 million with 10 15 decrease in comps Further the company anticipates adjusted loss of 7 14 cents per share Fiscal 2018 net sales are expected to be 427 433 million compared with the prior year net sales of 471 7 million Comps are expected to fall mid to low teens with adjusted loss per share of 34 41 cents Earlier Francesca s Holdings envisioned net sales between 453 million and 463 million with comps decreasing 8 10 Further the company expects adjusted earnings per share of 15 25 cents 3 Stocks to Watch Rocky Brands NASDAQ RCKY delivered average positive earnings surprise of 53 3 in the trailing four quarters and sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Deckers Outdoor Corporation NYSE DECK delivered average positive earnings surprise of 69 1 in the trailing four quarters It has long term earnings growth rate of 11 3 and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy L Brands Inc NYSE LB has long term earnings growth rate of 11 5 and a Zacks Rank of 2 Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
LB | Vera Bradley VRA Stock Down On Q3 Earnings Sales Miss | Vera Bradley Inc NASDAQ VRA reported third quarter fiscal 2019 results wherein both the top and bottom lines missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and decreased year over year Moreover the company continued to struggle with its dismal comparable store sales comps performance Lower than expected results hurt investor sentiments Consequently shares of the company fell more than 10 during the trading session on Dec 12 This Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock has lost 45 6 in the past three months underperforming the s 18 8 decline Q3 Highlights In the quarter under review Vera Bradley adjusted earnings came in at 12 cents per share which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 16 cents Also the bottom line declined 47 8 from the year ago quarter Net revenues decreased 14 4 to 97 7 million from 114 1 million in the prior year quarter Also the top line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 101 4 million This was mainly due to shift of sales in direct segment of around 6 million in the fiscal second quarter compared to the last year quarter linked to the timing of promotional events Vera Bradley Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Direct segment revenues fell 11 7 to 73 5 million with decrease in comps including e commerce and the event shift of 16 5 in the quarter Revenues at indirect segment decreased 21 7 to 24 2 million due to lower orders from both specialty accounts and key accounts as well as reduced department store presence Moving ahead adjusted operating income came in at 5 3 million compared with 13 million a year ago Adjusted SG A expenses remained almost flat at 51 9 million Other Financial AspectsVera Bradley ended the fiscal third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 62 3 million short term investment of 46 million with no debt outstanding and total shareholders equity of 289 9 million Cash flow from operations amounted to 11 6 million during the 39 week period ended Nov 3 2018 Net capital expenditures for the quarter and 39 week period ended Nov 3 2018 were 0 7 million and 6 6 million respectively For fiscal 2019 the company expects capital expenditure to be roughly 8 million compared with 11 8 million recorded last year During the fiscal third quarter the company repurchased roughly 7 5 million of common stock Vera Bradley is left with approximately 2 3 million at the end of the quarter under share repurchase authorization However the company repurchased 2 3 million remaining under the plan this November Further the board of directors approved a new 50 million share repurchase authorization which will expire in December 2020 OutlookFor the fiscal fourth quarter management anticipates net sales of 114 119 million compared with 132 million a year ago Further the company anticipates earnings of 22 25 cents per share down from 33 cents reported in the year ago quarter The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter stands at 20 cents Net sales for fiscal 2019 are expected to be 412 417 million compared with the prior year net sales of 454 6 million Also Vera Bradley anticipates earnings of 57 60 cents per share Earlier the company envisioned net sales between 410 million and 420 million The company expects earnings per share of 55 62 cents compared with 60 cents in the prior year The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal year is pegged at 59 cents Interested in Retail 3 Stocks You Can t Miss Boot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT delivered average positive earnings surprise of 15 1 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 23 and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see L Brands Inc NYSE LB has a long term earnings growth rate of 11 5 and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Foot Locker Inc NYSE FL delivered average positive earnings surprise of 6 8 in the trailing four quarters The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of All Last year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
LB | Why Is L Brands LB Up 2 Since Last Earnings Report | A month has gone by since the last earnings report for L Brands NYSE LB Shares have added about 2 in that time frame outperforming the S P 500
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is L Brands due for a pullback Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts L Brands Q3 Earnings BeatL Brands Inc delivered fourth straight quarter of positive earnings surprise when it reported third quarter fiscal 2018 results Meanwhile revenues came almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate Following the results the company raised fiscal 2018 earnings guidance However the company decided to reduce its annual dividend from 2 40 to 1 20 The company will save nearly 325 million from the reduction in dividend which will be used in deleveraging of the company s balance sheet Detailed Quarterly DiscussionIn the quarter under review L Brands quarterly earnings came in at 16 cents per share which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny However the bottom line declined 46 7 year over year Per L Brands robust results at Bath Body Works overshadowed the company s dismal performance at Victoria s Secret Meanwhile net sales advanced 6 to 2 77 billion The top line figure was almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 76 billion Furthermore L Brands comparable sales including direct sales were up 4 in the quarter However store only comps were flat year over year While sales at Victoria s Secret Stores declined 5 2 to 1 177 8 million Victoria s Secret direct sales increased 18 6 to 351 million Total Victoria s Secret sales rose 0 7 to 1 528 8 million while comparable sales declined 2 Bath Body Works total sales were up 17 2 to 956 2 million with a 10 rise in comparable sales Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works International sales surged 16 6 to 134 million Other revenues increased 5 2 to 155 9 million Adjusted gross profit grew 3 to 1 022 9 million while gross margin decreased 90 basis points bps to 36 9 Gross margin contraction can be primarily attributed to reduction in merchandise margin rate Adjusted operating income plunged 33 to 155 6 million with the operating margin contracting 320 bps to 5 6 Store UpdateIn the first nine months of fiscal 2018 L Brands opened one Victoria s Secret store and shuttered seven outlets taking the total count to 1 163 stores In the same period 48 Bath Body Works stores were inaugurated and 17 were closed which aggregated to 1 725 stores At the end of the third quarter this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel had 69 International stores 23 Henri Bendel stores and 125 La Senza stores the United States and Canada As of Nov 3 2018 L Brands operated 3 109 stores Total franchised stores as of Nov 3 2018 were 849 including 227 Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories 42 Victoria s Secret eight Pink 206 Bath Body Works and 186 La Senza stores Also the franchised stores comprised 170 and 10 Travel Retail stores of Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories and Bath Body Works respectively Other Financial DetailsL Brands exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 348 4 million down from the prior year quarter s tally of 734 9 million Long term debt increased marginally to 5 814 3 million from 5 704 7 million a year ago Shareholders deficit came in at 1 311 5 million For fiscal 2018 the company projects capital expenditures to be 625 million It continues anticipating free cash flow of 800 million for the same period In the quarter under review the company repurchased 0 3 million shares for 10 million At the quarter end it had 78 7 million remaining under the current share buyback program of 250 million GuidanceManagement issued guidance for the fourth quarter and riased its view for fiscal 2018 L Brands anticipates fourth quarter comps to rise in the range of 1 4 Sales in the quarter are expected to be about 1 to 2 points higher than comps Further gross margin is expected to decline year over year and SG A costs are anticipated to escalate considerably as a percentage of sales Gross margin will be negatively impacted by decrease in merchandise margin rate Earnings per share are envisioned in the range of 1 90 to 2 10 compared with 2 11 registered in the prior year quarter For fiscal 2018 the company continues to anticipates comps to be up low single digits Gross margin rate is likely to decrease year over year Also SG A costs are expected to increase year over year All said management increased its fiscal 2018 earnings per share guidance to 2 60 2 80 from the range of 2 45 2 70 L Brands posted earnings of 3 20 per share a year ago The company anticipates total sales growth of about 3 4 points higher than comps on account of square footage and international growth and also owing to implementation of the new accounting standard for revenue recognition
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates
VGM Scores
Currently L Brands has a poor Growth Score of F however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A Charting a somewhat similar path the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side putting it in the top 40 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising It comes with little surprise L Brands has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months |
LB | Is L Brands LB Stock Undervalued Right Now | The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks Nevertheless we know that our readers all have their own perspectives so we are always looking at the latest trends in value growth and momentum to find strong picks
Of these value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment Value investors use tried and true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels
On top of the Zacks Rank investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits For example value investors will want to focus on the Value category Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and A grades for Value will be some of the highest quality value stocks on the market today
One company to watch right now is L Brands NYSE LB LB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of 2 Buy and a Value grade of A The stock is trading with P E ratio of 10 08 right now For comparison its industry sports an average P E of 12 85 Over the last 12 months LB s Forward P E has been as high as 19 91 and as low as 9 84 with a median of 11 96
LB is also sporting a PEG ratio of 0 88 This figure is similar to the commonly used P E ratio with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company s expected earnings growth rate LB s PEG compares to its industry s average PEG of 1 11 LB s PEG has been as high as 1 73 and as low as 0 86 with a median of 1 04 all within the past year
Finally we should also recognize that LB has a P CF ratio of 5 71 This data point considers a firm s operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook This stock s P CF looks attractive against its industry s average P CF of 7 10 Over the past year LB s P CF has been as high as 12 22 and as low as 5 07 with a median of 6 87
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at but they help show that L Brands is likely being undervalued right now Considering this as well as the strength of its earnings outlook LB feels like a great value stock at the moment |
LB | L Brands Sees Hammer Chart Pattern Time To Buy | L Brands Inc NYSE LB has been struggling lately but the selling pressure may be coming to an end soon That is because LB recently saw a Hammer Chart Pattern which can signal that the stock is nearing a bottom What is a Hammer Chart Pattern A hammer chart pattern is a popular technical indicator that is used in candlestick charting The hammer appears when a stock tumbles during the day but then finds strength at some point in the session to close near or above its opening price This forms a candlestick that resembles a hammer and it can suggest that the market has found a low point in the stock and that better days are ahead Other FactorsPlus earnings estimates have been rising for this company even despite the sluggish trading lately In just the past 60 days alone 11 estimates have gone higher compared to 1 lower while the consensus estimate has also moved in the right direction Estimates have actually risen so much that the stock now has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy suggesting this relatively unloved stock could be due for a breakout soon This will be especially true if LB stock can build momentum from here and find a way to continue higher of off this encouraging trading development You can see Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
PFE | Exact Sciences Gets FDA Nod For Label Expansion Of Cologuard | Exact Sciences Corp NASDAQ EXAS announced that the FDA has approved a label expansion of its noninvasive colorectal cancer screening test Cologuard The test can now be used in eligible average risk individuals aged 45 years or older expanding on its previous indication for 50 years or older As a result of the broader label approximately 19 million average risk people in the United States from the age group of 45 49 years can now access a new sensitive at home stool based screening test Cologuard is a stool DNA based colorectal cancer screening test for average risk individuals The test uses a biomarker panel which analyzes a person s stool sample for 10 DNA markers as well as blood in the stool We note that the FDA approved Cologuard for the first time in August 2014 Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the United States and an early screening will go a long way in better management of the disease Given the widespread prevalence of colorectal cancer among Americans under 50 years the expanded label bodes well for molecular diagnostics company Exact Sciences Notably in May 2018 the American Cancer Society ACS updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines to include people between 45 years and 49 years while the prior ACS recommendation called for screening to begin at age 50 The news of the approval boosted the company s stock price which eventually retraced by the end of the day Exact Sciences Corporation Price
In July Exact Sciences announced that it will acquire Genomic Health Inc NASDAQ GHDX for 2 8 billion thereby creating a leading global cancer diagnostics company The combined company will offer two of the strongest and fastest growing brands in cancer diagnostics Cologuard and Oncotype DX We remind investors that Exact Sciences also has a promotion agreement with Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE whereby the latter will promote Cologuard and provide certain sales marketing analytical and other commercial operations support services Meanwhile Guardant Health Inc NASDAQ GH is evaluating LUNAR RUO assay to identify early stage colorectal cancer patients with post operative molecular residual disease who may benefit from adjuvant therapy Exact Sciences currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Today s Best Stocks from ZacksWould you like to see the updated picks from our best market beating strategies From 2017 through 2018 while the S P 500 gained 15 8 five of our screens returned 38 0 61 3 61 6 68 1 and 98 3 This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon From 2000 2018 while the S P averaged 4 8 per year our top strategies averaged up to 56 2 per year |
PFE | Protalix Completes Enrollment In Third Fabry Disease Study | Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc NYSE PLX announced that it has completed enrollment in the third phase III study evaluating its pipeline candidate PRX 102 pegunigalsidase alfa for the treatment of Fabry disease a rare inherited genetic lysosomal disorder
The BALANCE study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PRX 102 compared to Fabrazyme agalsidase beta on renal function in Fabry patients with progressing kidney disease previously treated with agalsidase beta
Fabrazyme currently marketed by Sanofi NASDAQ SNY is already approved for treating Fabry disease Replagal too won the nod for addressing the same
Shares of Protalix have slumped 33 5 so far this year compared with the decline of 3 2
BALANCE is the third phase III study on PRX 102 The first two studies BRIDGE and BRIGHT are both fully enrolled and ongoing
Along with the press release the company said it plans to submit a biologics license application BLA to the FDA under an accelerated approval pathway for PRX 102 in the first quarter of 2020 The BLA will be supported by results from the completed phase I II studies of PRX 102 and the ongoing phase III BRIDGE clinical study
Notably in January 2018 the FDA granted a Fast Track designation to the candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease
We would like to remind investors that Protalix has a single marketed drug Elelyso approved for treating Gaucher disease The drug is marketed by Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE in the United States as part of an exclusive license and supply agreement
The company is also developing OPRX 106 as an orally delivered anti inflammatory treatment In 2018 it delivered positive results from the phase II OPRX 106 study for the treatment of ulcerative colitis Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc Price
Zacks Rank A Stock to Consider
Currently Protalix is a Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock
A better ranked stock in the biotech sector is Acorda Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ ACOR carrying a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy at present You can see
Acorda s loss per share estimates for the current year narrowed from 3 51 to 2 74 over the past 60 days The company recorded a positive earnings surprise in the preceding four quarters the average beat being 69 68
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was hand picked by a Zacks expert as the 1 favorite stock to gain 100 or more in 2020 Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor |
PFE | Pfizer posts earnings beat raises 2019 profit forecast | By Tamara Mathias Reuters Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and slightly raised its earnings forecast for the year as the largest U S drugmaker reined in costs and recorded higher sales of cancer drug Ibrance and pneumonia vaccine Prevnar Shares of the company rose 1 percent to 39 98 in trading before the bell To push growth and reduce bureaucracy Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla has ordered a reorganisation of Pfizer into three businesses since taking over in January Analysts are impatiently awaiting the changes that will spur growth for the company in the next few years Pfizer expects mid single digit operational revenue growth from post 2020 through 2025 said Bourla Meanwhile the company is relying on its growth drivers such as Ibrance and Prevnar Ibrance brought in sales of 1 13 billion during the quarter up 21 4 percent from a year earlier just ahead of analysts estimates of 1 12 billion Prevnar raked in 1 49 billion beating the average estimate of 1 39 billion Overall we think these results are good enough given the pressure the stock has felt in recent weeks but probably do not do much to change the fundamental debates around the stock Credit Suisse SIX CSGN analyst Vamil Divan said Pfizer is under pressure as one of its biggest drugs Lyrica faces generic competition The company therefore has been investing in cancer treatments and gene therapies and expects to gain approval for a new heart drug touted as a potential blockbuster later this year It has also signed a joint venture agreement with Britain s GlaxoSmithKline Plc to form the world s biggest consumer health business with brands such as Advil and Chapstick by the second half of the year Pfizer pushed its 2019 adjusted earnings per share forecast marginally higher to between 2 83 and 2 93 from a prior estimate of 2 82 to 2 92 It also reiterated its full year revenue target of 52 billion to 54 billion Excluding special items the company earned 85 cents per share beating analysts estimate of 75 cents Net income rose 9 percent to 3 88 billion or 68 cents per share in the first quarter Revenue rose 1 6 percent to 13 12 billion ahead of estimates of 12 99 billion |
PFE | Pfizer Rises 3 | Investing com Pfizer NYSE PFE rose by 3 01 to trade at 40 79 by 11 40 15 40 GMT on Tuesday on the NYSE exchange
The volume of Pfizer shares traded since the start of the session was 10 43M Pfizer has traded in a range of 39 80 to 40 80 on the day
The stock has traded at 40 8000 at its highest and 38 8100 at its lowest during the past seven days |
WFC | Wells Fargo wins dismissal of Los Angeles predatory lending lawsuit | Reuters Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Co on Friday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by Los Angeles that accused the largest U S mortgage lender of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by engaging in predatory lending practices U S District Judge Otis Wright said the undisputed facts show that Wells Fargo did not violate the FHA during the two year statute of limitations period Los Angeles accused Wells Fargo in its December 2013 lawsuit of having engaged in discriminatory lending since at least 2004 by targeting minority borrowers with high cost loans they could not afford resulting in a disproportionately large number of foreclosures
Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco and is also the fourth largest U S bank by assets |
WFC | Wells Fargo wins dismissal of predatory lending lawsuits | By Jonathan Stempel Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC won the dismissal of two lawsuits on Friday that had accused the largest U S mortgage lender of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by engaging in predatory lending practices in Los Angeles and Chicago The lawsuits by the city of Los Angeles and by Cook County Illinois which includes Chicago accused Wells Fargo of steering black and Hispanic borrowers into higher cost loans a process sometimes called reverse redlining They said this resulted in higher foreclosures and lower property tax collections and necessitated higher spending to combat urban blight Los Angeles and Chicago are the second and third most populous U S cities We are pleased with both decisions Wells Fargo spokesman Ancel Martinez said The San Francisco based lender is also the fourth largest U S bank by assets Several large U S cities and counties such as Baltimore Cleveland Memphis and Miami have accused banks of biased mortgage lending that prolonged the nation s housing crisis Their lawsuits have had mixed success In the Los Angeles case the city accused Wells Fargo of discriminatory lending dating to 2004 U S District Judge Otis Wright however found no showing of FHA violations within the two year statute of limitations period prior to the December 2013 lawsuit Wright also faulted Los Angeles s litigation strategy He said the city failed to identify any Wells Fargo policy to steer minorities into costly loans and instead the city objected to the bank s issuance of federally insured loans that can help lower income borrowers afford homes despite their higher costs In the name of advocating on behalf of minority borrowers the city decided to fight for an outcome that would hurt those same borrowers Wright wrote That decision is disheartening Meanwhile in the Chicago case U S District Judge Gary Feinerman said Congress did not authorize entities such as Cook County to pursue an FHA claim to begin with The county alleges neither that it was denied a loan nor offered unfavorable terms setting aside the obvious point that Cook County is not alleged to have a race or other protected trait Feinerman wrote He said his decision did not mean that Wells Fargo complied with the FHA or that direct victims of alleged abusive lending did not deserve compensation The office of Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wright s decision The Cook County State s Attorney s Office said it is reviewing Feinerman s decision
The cases are City of Los Angeles v Wells Fargo Co et al U S District Court Central District of California No 13 09007 and County of Cook Illinois v Wells Fargo Co U S District Court Northern District of Illinois No 14 09548 |
LB | Midday Gainers Losers 08 23 2018 | Gainers OBLN 45 LEJU 27 LX 24 REED 17 WSM 15 SSC 13 INSG 13 DHX 13 RAVN 12 MOXC 11 Losers HMNY 27 CATO 18 PAVM 16 LB 13 YECO 7 SMRT 13 SYN 11 AKRX 12 CKPT 10 LCI 10 Now read |
LB | L Brands to close all Henri Bendel stores website | Reuters Victoria s Secret owner L Brands Inc N LB on Thursday said it would close all 23 of its Henri Bendel stores and the Henri Bendel e commerce website in January The company cut its full year earnings forecast in August blaming falling demand for its PINK line of lingerie amid competition from brands such as American Eagle Outfitter s N AEO Aerie The company expects Henri Bendel which sells women s handbags jewelry and luxury fashion accessories to bring in revenue of about 85 million for 2018 It did not provide any details on costs related to the closing of the business The Henri Bendel stores and the website will remain in operation through January 2019 it said
Heri Bendel which opened its first store in 1895 in New York s Greenwich Village was bought by L Brands in 1985 |
LB | Chart Of The Day Despite Recent Losses Bulls Are Back For L Brands | L Brands NYSE LB the company that owns such high profile global brands as Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works led yesterday s retail stock advance gaining 6 74 after consumers descended on stores during Black Friday This bullish move pushes back on bears who punished the stock after the company released Q3 2018 earnings on November 19 where it reported a decline in profits and announced it would cut its annual dividend
In the two weeks since shares of the company have lost a quarter of their value falling from a high of 38 on November 12 to a low of 28 10 on November 21 off those losses a full 6 was shaved off immediately after the Q3 report
While its revenue increased 6 YoY to 2 78 billion beating estimates by 10 million its profits dropped 0 30 YoY The retailer s Victoria s Secret and Pink stores lost market share to more modest brands As well the company had to resort to accounting gimmicks to show a boost in sales
Technical analysis however tells another story
Despite the 6 12 or 17 71 bloodbath the stock suffered on November 19 the price found support at its October low propelling the price higher over the past three days so far paring half of the previous dead drop
Zooming out reveals that the pattern is being traded in an H S bottom subject to an upside breakout of the neckline where the previous highs meet with precision at 38 14 Yesterday s jump climbed back above both the 50 DMA and the 100 DMA
Also the 50 DMA crossed above the 100 DMA So not only is the price doing better than these averages but the level over the last 50 days is better than that of the previous 100 days Note how the 200 DMA red protects the neckline
The positive divergence provided by the RSI is also notable It rises from May September while the price during the same period fell A positive momentum price divergence occurs when the momentum climbs while the price descends And since momentum leads price it suggests the price will follow suit and head higher Note the significance of the H S bottom as the 50 week MA guards its neckline
Zooming out further reveals a staggering 72 60 plunge from the 98 68 peak made in November 2015 to the 26 08 low this past August Since a pattern is judged within the context of the previous move and a bottom must follow a decline it suggests that the more significant the preceding drop the potential rebound will be equally significant
Case in point the weekly RSI provides a double positive divergence with the price The RSI rose from August 2017 to April 2018 and then again to August 2018 Conversely the rate declined during both these periods
Trading Strategies Long Position Setup
Conservative traders should wait for a 3 percent penetration of the neckline to filter out bull traps Then they d wait for a likely return move to retest the upside of the neckline with at least one long green candle following a red or small candle of any color
Moderate traders should wait for a minimum 2 percent penetration then for the return move that may follow Depending on risk aversion they could enter a position close to the neckline s resistance to reduce exposure or wait for integrity confirmation with at least one long green candle engulfing a red or small candle of any color
Trade Sample
Entry 38
Stop loss 37
Risk 1
Target 50
Reward 12
Risk Reward Ratio 1 12
Aggressive traders should wait for an upside breakout of at least 1 percent to limit the potential for a bull trap
Trade Sample
Entry 38 50
Stop loss 38 00
Risk 0 50
Target 44 50
Reward 6
Risk Reward Ratio 1 12 |
LB | Is L Brands LB A Great Value Stock Right Now | The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks Nevertheless we know that our readers all have their own perspectives so we are always looking at the latest trends in value growth and momentum to find strong picks
Of these perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments Value investors use tried and true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels
In addition to the Zacks Rank investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system Of course value investors will be most interested in the system s Value category Stocks with A grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment
One stock to keep an eye on is L Brands NYSE LB LB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of 2 Buy and a Value grade of A The stock is trading with a P E ratio of 12 46 which compares to its industry s average of 15 04 Over the past year LB s Forward P E has been as high as 19 91 and as low as 9 84 with a median of 12 34
We also note that LB holds a PEG ratio of 1 08 This popular metric is similar to the widely known P E ratio with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company s expected earnings growth rate LB s industry currently sports an average PEG of 1 29 Over the last 12 months LB s PEG has been as high as 1 73 and as low as 0 86 with a median of 1 07
Finally we should also recognize that LB has a P CF ratio of 7 07 This metric takes into account a company s operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook LB s current P CF looks attractive when compared to its industry s average P CF of 8 36 Within the past 12 months LB s P CF has been as high as 12 22 and as low as 5 07 with a median of 6 99
These are only a few of the key metrics included in L Brands s strong Value grade but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook LB looks like an impressive value stock at the moment |
LB | Zumiez ZUMZ Q3 Earnings Beat Stock Dips On Soft Q4 View | Zumiez Inc NASDAQ ZUMZ reported third quarter fiscal 2018 results wherein both the top and bottom line improved year over year and came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate While this marked the company s third consecutive earnings beat sales topped estimates for the 10th straight quarter Additionally November marked the 11th straight month of positive comparable sales comps this year However management s bearish outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 disappointed investors Also shares of the company declined more than 6 during the after market trading session on Dec 6 In the past three months this Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock has lost 34 underperforming the s 12 2 decline Q3 HighlightsZumiez delivered earnings of 55 cents per share exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the year ago quarter figure of 48 cents Net sales advanced 1 2 year over year to 248 8 million marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 248 6 million The company s sales gained from comps growth and the addition of nine stores since the end of third quarter last year However this was partly offset by the loss of 9 6 million contributions from the calendar shift which led to the occurrence of the back to school season in second quarter fiscal 2018 compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2017 Zumiez Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Quarterly comps grew 4 8 within the company s forecast of 4 6 growth This marked its ninth straight quarter of positive comps and increase in transactions Comps benefited from higher transaction volume as well as increase in dollars per transaction Strength in the men s women s and footwear categories also aided comps growth partly negated by lower comps across hardgoods Notably the favorable comps trend continued in November Comp for the four week period ended Dec 1 2018 jumped 2 3 compared with a 7 8 increase registered in the year ago quarter Zumiez also reported sales growth of 9 4 to 84 4 million in the same month While gross profit increased 4 2 to 86 9 million in the fiscal third quarter gross margin expanded 100 basis points bps to 34 9 Gross margin expansion can be attributed to 70 bps improvements in inventory shrinkage and product margin partly offset by 30 bps increase in shipping and fulfillment cost Zumiez s selling general and administrative SG A expenses increased 6 1 to nearly 68 5 million while SG A expense as a percentage of sales expanded 130 bps to 27 5 The uptick was driven by the movement of 9 6 million in revenues from third quarter fiscal 2018 in to the fiscal second quarter due to calendar shift mentioned earlier This in turn resulted store operating costs deleverage higher corporate expenses and increase in the accrual of annual incentive compensation Consequently operating income amounted to 18 4 million down 2 1 from 18 8 million in the prior year quarter Financial UpdateZumiez ended the reported quarter with cash and marketable securities of 127 9 million up 49 1 year over year The upside was driven by cash flow from operations partly offset by capital expenditures Total shareholders equity at the end of the third quarter was 368 8 million Further the company generated 17 1 million as cash flow from operations in the first nine months of fiscal 2018 For fiscal 2018 the company anticipates capital expenditures of about 20 million compared with 24 million last year Store UpdateAs of Dec 1 2018 the company operated 708 stores including 610 in the United States 50 in Canada 41 in Europe and seven in Australia The company remains on track to open 13 stores in fiscal 2018 including seven in Europe one in Australia and five in the United States Of these it has opened 12 stores year to date This leaves the company with the target of opening just one store in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 GuidanceManagement remains impressed with Zumiez s robust third quarter show and strong back to school season Moreover the company has kick started the fourth quarter on a solid note driven by robust demand during the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday Further the company s differentiated product offering seamless multi channel shopping experience and superior customer service positions it well for a strong finish to the year and continued success over the long term However the company s disappointing outlook for fourth quarter fiscal 2018 lagged analyst expectations It expects net sales of 295 301 million with comps growth of 0 2 Consolidated operating margins are projected to be 11 3 11 6 of net sales compared with 12 in the year ago quarter
Consequently the company projects earnings of 1 02 1 08 per share compared with 80 cents in the prior year quarter Notably the company s sales and earnings projections lie significantly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 313 4 million and 1 14 respectively Moreover Zumiez revealed that the additional 53rd week in fiscal 2017 will be detrimental to sales and earnings growth rates in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2018 The extra week is expected to affect fiscal 2018 comparisons from the prior year figure by roughly 9 1 million for sales 1 9 million for operating profit and 5 cents per share for earnings Nevertheless the company reiterated its fiscal 2018 guidance It expects comps to grow in the mid single digit range while operating margin is anticipated to increase in the mid to high teens range Moreover earnings per share is anticipated to be within 1 64 1 70 Interested in Retail 3 Stocks You Can t MissBoot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT delivered average positive earnings surprise of 15 1 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 23 and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see L Brands Inc NYSE LB has a long term earnings growth rate of 11 5 and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Foot Locker Inc NYSE FL delivered average positive earnings surprise of 6 8 in the trailing four quarters The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
LB | L Brands Sustains Decent Comparable Sales Run In November | L Brands Inc s NYSE LB sustained focus on cost containment inventory management merchandise and speed to market initiatives has kept it afloat in a competitive environment Further the company s Bath Body Works segment continues to drive the comparable sales comps performance Comps for the four week period ended Dec 1 2018 rose 9 Comps for the month under review fared better than the prior year period s decline of 1 and also showcased an improvement from growth of 4 and 5 registered in October and September respectively Net sales during the month under review surged 26 to 1 596 billion from 1 267 billion reported in the prior year period After recording flat comps in the month of October Victoria s Secret comps increased 2 in the month of November on account of growth witnessed in lingerie and beauty This was partly offset by sluggishness in the Pink brand Moreover merchandise margin rate fell considerably in the month under review primarily owing to higher promotional activity Comps at Bath Body Works surged 18 in the month of November following an increase of 11 in the preceding month Merchandise margin rate fell owing to calendar shift Promotional activity was lower during the period L Brands operational efficiencies together with its new and innovative collections bode well Furthermore the company s focus on tapping international markets is likely to provide long term growth opportunities and generate increased sales volumes We note that shares of this Zacks Rank 2 Buy stock have increased 13 against the s decline of 17 7 in the past three months 3 Other Stocks to Focus UponBoot Barn Holdings NYSE BOOT has an average positive earnings surprise of 15 1 for the trailing four quarters It sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Shoe Carnival NASDAQ SCVL delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 31 4 in the trailing four quarters The stock flaunts a Zacks Rank 1 Fossil Group Inc NASDAQ FOSL has an average positive earnings surprise of 119 5 in the trailing four quarters and a Zacks Rank 1 Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
LB | Stitch Fix SFIX Stock Down Despite Q1 Earnings Sales Beat | Stitch Fix Inc NASDAQ SFIX reported first quarter fiscal 2019 results wherein the top and bottom lines came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved year over year However this better than expected performance was not enough to placate investors who seem to be let down by management s expectation of no increase in active subscribers in the holiday quarter Markedly shares of the company decreased almost 15 during the after market trading session on Dec 10 Also this Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock has lost 43 5 in the past three months underperforming the s 17 7 decline Q1 HighlightsIn the quarter under review Stitch Fix s adjusted earnings came in at 10 cents per share which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents This was the fourth straight quarter of positive earnings surprise Notably the bottom line more than doubled from the prior year period number Net revenues grew 24 to 366 2 million and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 357 8 million The uptick was driven by rise in both active client count and net revenue per active client While active client grew 22 to 2 9 million mainly owing to growth in Women s Men s as well as Kids revenue per client improved 2 year over year despite the dilutive impact of newer categories Stitch Fix Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Moreover Stitch Fix added new brands across Women s Men s and Kids categories In Men s the company launched bigger sizing offering up to 3XL and a 48 inch waist as well as short and tall fit options in the first quarter While gross profit increased 28 year over year to 165 2 million gross profit margin expanded roughly 140 basis points bps to 45 1 Meanwhile operating income improved 14 2 to 10 9 million Other Financial AspectsStitch Fix ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 173 3 million long term investments 83 9 million and total shareholders equity of 333 5 million Cash flow from operations amounted to 51 million in the first three months of fiscal 2019 OutlookFor the second quarter fiscal 2019 management anticipates net income in the range of 360 368 million reflecting year over year growth of 22 24 While adjusted EBITDA is envisioned in the band of 8 12 million adjusted EBITDA margin is expected in the 2 2 3 3 range Overall Stitch Fix s goal is to attain top line growth of 20 25 However the company expects lower expenditure on advertisement and flat active client count quarter over quarter Also gross margin is expected to contract in the second quarter For fiscal 2019 the company envisions net revenue growth of 21 25 year over year compared with prior view of 20 25 This revised range signifies net revenues between 1 49 billion and 1 53 billion Further the company continues to expect adjusted EBITDA in the range of 20 40 million reflecting an adjusted EBITDA margin of 1 3 2 6 Interested in Retail 3 Stocks You Can t MissBoot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT delivered average positive earnings surprise of 15 1 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 23 and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see L Brands Inc NYSE LB has a long term earnings growth rate of 11 5 and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Foot Locker Inc NYSE FL delivered average positive earnings surprise of 6 8 in the trailing four quarters The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2 Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Stock Moves 0 24 What You Should Know | Pfizer PFE closed at 36 82 in the latest trading session marking a 0 24 move from the prior day This change was narrower than the S P 500 s daily loss of 0 31 At the same time the Dow lost 0 52 and the tech heavy Nasdaq lost 0 28
Prior to today s trading shares of the drugmaker had gained 7 05 over the past month This has outpaced the Medical sector s loss of 0 98 and the S P 500 s gain of 2 92 in that time
PFE will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release On that day PFE is projected to report earnings of 0 62 per share which would represent a year over year decline of 20 19 Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of 12 22 billion down 8 07 from the year ago period
PFE s full year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of 2 81 per share and revenue of 50 98 billion These results would represent year over year changes of 6 39 and 4 97 respectively
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for PFE Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near term business trends As a result we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company s business outlook
Based on our research we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near team stock moves Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple actionable rating system
The Zacks Rank system ranges from 1 Strong Buy to 5 Strong Sell It has a remarkable outside audited track record of success with 1 stocks delivering an average annual return of 25 since 1988 Within the past 30 days our consensus EPS projection has moved 0 3 higher PFE currently has a Zacks Rank of 4 Sell
Digging into valuation PFE currently has a Forward P E ratio of 13 14 This represents a discount compared to its industry s average Forward P E of 13 83
Also we should mention that PFE has a PEG ratio of 2 94 The PEG ratio is similar to the widely used P E ratio but this metric also takes the company s expected earnings growth rate into account The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1 99 as of yesterday s close
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 35 which puts it in the top 14 of all 250 industries
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups Our research shows that the top 50 rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1
Be sure to follow all of these stock moving metrics and many more on Zacks com |
PFE | Transgene PHOCUS Turns To Earlier Stage Assets | The recent failure of the Phase III PHOCUS trial is disappointing but we do not feel is critical to Transgene s PA TRNG future The company s potential pipeline combined with ICIs remains the key driver of long term value Focus now turns to the rest of the pipeline particularly the expected readout by year end of the Phase II trial of TG4010 nivolumab in first line non small cell lung cancer NSCLC Early stage development continues with the announcement of the Invir IO collaboration with AstraZeneca AZN and the advancement of the first product candidate TG4050 from the company s myvac platform into the clinic initiating clinical trials in H219 We value Transgene at 287m 3 45 share vs 312m 5 02 share previously
Pexa Vec fails Phase III futility analysis
The PHOCUS Phase III trial has been terminated based on the recommendation of the Independent Data Monitoring Committee IMDC following a planned interim futility analysis The IMDC believed the trial was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint of a statistical increase in overall survival OS over the control arm The trial had enrolled 190 patients at time of completion Patients in the PHOCUS trial were randomised to one of two treatment arms where they received Pexa Vec sorafenib Nexavar or sorafenib alone Following a review of the full data set and interactions with clinicians Transgene has also decided to halt the ongoing Pexa Vec nivolumab Phase II trial
Expansive pipeline offers opportunities
Transgene has four ongoing studies with two new products TG4050 and anti CTLA 4 oncolytic virus expected to enter the clinic in the next 12 months Efficacy data from the Phase II TG4010 nivolumab chemotherapy trial in first line NSCLC will be central to determining Transgene s long term immune oncology IO strategy data due in H219 Transgene continues to progress its technology notably in H119 it announced a partnership with AZN to develop five novel armed oncolytic viruses 10m upfront potential future milestones and royalties
Valuation 287m 3 45 share
We value Transgene at 287m 3 45 share vs 312m 5 02 share previously based on a risk adjusted NPV model of TG4010 TG4001 TG1050 and TG6002 The decrease in value is driven by the removal of Pexa Vec from our valuation This has been offset by the gross 48 7m capital raise and 10m upfront from the AZN deal We have updated our R D cost assumptions across assets rolled forward our model and updated for FX
Share price performance
Business description
Transgene is a French drug discovery and development company focused on the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases with immunotherapies Its products are TG4010 TG4001 TG1050 TG6002 and TG4050
Investment summary
Company description Immunotherapy platform
Transgene is a drug discovery and development company that develops viral vector based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancers and infections It has two platforms therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic viruses Its lead clinical stage programme is TG4010 Therapeutic vaccine TG4010 is being trialled in combination with PD 1 ICIs in first line non squamous NSCLC Transgene s other clinical candidates are TG4001 in head and neck cancer TG1050 in hepatitis B TG6002 in glioblastoma and Pexa Vec nivolumab in hepatocellular carcinoma HCC Early stage development continues with its Invir IO anti CTLA 4 and myvac platforms TG4050 Transgene is based near Strasbourg France and was founded in 1979 It was listed on the Nouveau March now Euronext in 1998 Transgene is 60 owned by Institut M rieux
Valuation rNPV of 287m 3 45 share
We value Transgene at 287m 3 45 share vs 312m previously 5 02 share based on a risk adjusted NPV model of TG4010 TG4001 TG1050 Pexa Vec and TG6002 The decrease in value is driven by the removal of Pexa Vec from our valuation This decrease has been offset by the gross 48 7m capital raise assumed net 47m and 10m upfront from the AZN deal We have updated our R D cost assumptions across assets rolled forward our model and updated for FX Our valuation includes the prospects for TG4010 in NSCLC in the US and Europe combined peak potential sales of c 2 5bn TG1050 for hepatitis B in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 2 0bn across both regions and TG4001 for oesophageal cancer in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 200m across both regions Due to a shift in strategy we no longer value TG6002 for glioblastoma and instead now value its potential in colorectal cancer in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 800m across both regions We do not currently include TG4050 or the Invir IO anti CTLA 4 oncolytic virus in our model but will reassess on the start of clinical trials
Financials 48 7m capital raise enables cash reach into 2021
Transgene reported cash and equivalents of 12 8m at 30 June 2019 vs 16 9m at 31 December 2018 This does not include the post period gross capital raise of 48 7m and the 10m upfront from signing the AZN deal Net cash burn in H119 was 4 1m vs 8 3m in H119 and the company expects this to be around 20m in FY19 we forecast 20 4m Transgene has secured a 20m revolving credit facility with Natixis The credit facility has a 30 month term and Transgene will be able to draw and repay the facility at its discretion Transgene has used its shares in Tasly Biopharmaceuticals as collateral We forecast a decrease in 2019 R D based on a reduction in the number of clinical trials year on year while we expect 2019 G A expenses to be largely in line with 2018 We forecast a cash reach into 2021 based on the capital raise and AZN upfront alone with no draw down of the Natixis credit facility
Sensitivities ICI combinations may not be conclusive
Transgene is subject to the usual risks associated with drug development including clinical development delays or failures regulatory risks competitor successes partnering setbacks and financing and commercial risks The key sensitivities relate to the results of the ICI combination studies of TG4010 and TG4001 The outcome of the TG4010 combination studies in particular will have an impact on its partnership and or the financing prospects for the programme First results from these trials will be available later this year We note that the ICI combination trials are small open label and non controlled therefore it is not possible to ascertain the magnitude of the effect of each product separately and assess the actual synergistic effect
Broad pipeline of assets limits PHOCUS impact
Partner Sillajen has stopped the Phase III PHOCUS trial of Pexa Vec in patients with advanced HCC hepatocellular carcinoma after planned interim futility analysis determined the therapy was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint While the failure is disappointing we do not feel it is critical to Transgene s future The potential of the company s pipeline in combination with ICIs particularly in relation to expanding the eligible patient population who respond to ICIs remains the key driver of long term value As such multiple combination readouts before year end will be more telling of the strategic potential of its assets notably the data from the Phase II TG4010 nivolumab chemotherapy trial in first line NSCLC
In addition to clinical assets Transgene continues to rapidly advance its next generation platforms Invir IO and myvac The first product candidate TG4050 from the company s myvac platform is expected to enter the clinic by year end while the collaboration with BioInvent aims to have its anti CTLA 4 oncolytic virus enter the clinic in Q120
Global pharmaceutical companies continue to recognise the need to develop the next generation of immunotherapies This was evidenced by the announcement earlier in the year of the collaboration with AZN to develop five novel armed oncolytic immunotherapies 10m upfront potential future milestones and royalties This partnership provides external validation of Transgene s oncolytic virus expertise and in the long term could be a significant contributor of revenue to the company
Pexa Vec End of the line
Pexa Vec is an oncolytic virus that targets fast dividing cells with an active EGFR Ras signalling pathway that is believed to cause cells to lyse and stimulate a T cell immune response Transgene s partner Sillajen has stopped the Phase III PHOCUS trial of Pexa Vec in patients with advanced HCC after a planned interim futility analysis determined the therapy was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint
The PHOCUS study was an international randomised 1 1 open label study comparing Pexa Vec followed by Bayer s sorafenib anti BRAF VEGFR PDGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor versus sorafenib alone in patients with advanced HCC who have not received prior systemic therapy n 600 Pexa Vec was administered as three bi weekly intratumoural injections at day one and weeks two and four followed by sorafenib at week six the comparator arm received sorafenib 400mg twice daily starting on day one The primary endpoint was OS secondary endpoints include time to progression progression free survival PFS overall response rate ORR and disease control rate DCR SillaJen had responsibility for conducting and funding the study and retains rights outside Europe China and South Korea Transgene retains development and commercialisation rights in Europe Lee Pharma retains China rights and Green Cross Pharma has South Korea rights
The trial was ceased based on the recommendation of the IMDC The IMDC believed the trial was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint of a statistical increase in OS over the control arm The trial had enrolled 190 patients at the time of completion Patients in the PHOCUS trial were randomised to one of two treatment arms where they received Pexa Vec sorafenib Nexavar or sorafenib alone
Following the failure of the Phase III PHOCUS trial analysis of the data and conversations with physicians in the field Transgene has decided to cease the Pexa Vec nivolumab Opdivo Phase II trial We believe recent struggles for ICIs in HCC as shown by the failure of the second line Phase III KEYNOTE 240 trial following accelerated approval of Keytruda in this setting based on Phase II KEYNOTE 224 results and the first line Phase III Checkmate 459 trial will also have been factored into the reasoning for the cessation of the trial particularly as the standard of care SOC for HCC continues to evolve rapidly with recent approvals for tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib first line HCC and cabozantinib second line HCC
At this time we do not expect Pexa Vec to be utilised in any new clinical trials
TG4010 Important data readout approaches
Initial data from the Phase II NCT03353675 in first line patients testing a triple combination of TG4010 Opdivo nivolumab Bristol Myers Squib and chemotherapy are expected to readout by year end The trial is a single arm EU US study and is anticipated to enrol 39 patients without EGFR mutations or ALK rearrangements who express low or undetectable levels of PD L1 The primary endpoint is an objective response rate and Transgene is funding the study with Bristol Myers Squib supplying Opdivo For patients without a driver mutation EGFR MEK etc the standard of care has quickly become chemotherapy plus Keytruda irrespective of PD L1 status The first line setting could be a significant opportunity for Transgene if TG4010 in combination with a PD L 1 ICI is proven to be more effective than PD L 1 ICI monotherapy treatment in low PD L1 expressing patients
First line NSCLC treatment is now dominated by PD L 1 approvals notably Keytruda plus chemotherapy and Tecentriq plus Avastin plus chemotherapy Transgene s first line TG4010 NSCLC trial will need to demonstrate a comparable or improved ORR Keytruda combo ORR 48 95 CI 43 45 and Tecentriq triple combo ORR 55 95 CI 49 60 in similar patient populations to be considered for future development Since the commercial launch of Keytruda Merck and Opdivo Bristol Myers Squib in melanoma in 2014 PD L 1 ICIs have become the standard of care in many cancers FY18 sales of Opdivo and Keytruda were 6 7bn and 7 2bn respectively
Transgene believes its therapeutic vaccine TG4010 a modified vaccinia Ankara MVA virus that expresses MUC1 antigen and interleukin 2 IL 2 could prove beneficial in combination with PD L 1 ICIs TG4010 is believed to induce a specific T cell response to target MUC1 expressing cancer cells that when used in combination with a PD L 1 ICI removes inhibitory effects on the T cell Along with the MUC1 T cell stimulation IL 2 enables the differentiation of T cells into effector and memory T cells which could enhance the response against the MUC1 expressing cancer cells
TG4010 has previously been tested in combination with chemotherapy Data from the Phase IIb TIME trial compared chemotherapy plus TG4010 to chemotherapy plus placebo in patients with advanced NSCLC n 222 For the total population squamous and non squamous NSCLC patients receiving TG4010 benefited compared to the placebo arm ORR 39 6 vs 28 8 duration of response 30 1 vs 18 7 weeks In non squamous NSCLC patients the ORR was 40 n 98 in the experimental arm compared with 28 in the control arm with median duration of response of 41 and 18 weeks respectively Median PFS in non squamous NSCLC patients was 5 8 months 95 CI 5 5 7 2 vs 5 0 months 95 CI 4 2 5 8 for the control The median OS in non squamous NSCLC patients was 14 6 months 95 CI 11 1 20 4 vs 10 8 months 95 CI 9 5 14 5 for the control In a post hoc analysis of all non squamous NSCLC patients there was a similar level of PFS and OS benefit in the 97 patients with low levels of PD L 1 expression
Rest of pipeline still on track for inflection points
Transgene has a range of other product candidates in the clinic with multiple readouts anticipated in the next 12 months Transgene forecasts readouts for TG6002 in colorectal cancer administered intravenously and TG4001 in HPV human papilloma virus cancers including oropharyngeal in combination with PD L1 inhibitor avelumab in H219 and H1120 respectively Additionally Transgene will present Phase Ib trial data at ESMO 2019 27 September to 1 October for TG4001 Beyond these new trials are expected to initiate by year end with TG4050 tested in patients with HPV head and neck ovarian cancers and TG6002 tested in patients with colorectal cancer and liver metastasis intrahepatic arterial administration
TG4001 Potential in HPV positive HNSCC
TG4001 is a therapeutic vaccine based on an MVA vector engineered to express HPV 16 antigens E6 and E7 with adjuvant IL 2 In collaboration with Pfizer NYSE PFE and Merck Transgene is running a Phase Ib II study in second line HPV positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma HNSCC combining TG4001 and the anti PD L1 antibody avelumab The trial is funded by Transgene while Pfizer and Merck will provide avelumab Pfizer and Merck do not have exclusive rights to the data or TG4001 both of which remain Transgene s Patient enrolment is ongoing with 52 patients expected to be treated The study is split into two parts in the Phase Ib component nine patients were tested at increasing doses of TG4001 in combination with a fixed dose of avelumab
Transgene will present Phase Ib trial data at ESMO 2019 and plans to host a press conference on 3 October to further detail the findings The published ESMO abstract highlights the treatment of nine patients with oropharyngeal five anal two cervical one or vaginal one cancer Patients had refractory or metastatic cancers and had received at least two prior treatment regimens Three patients received a low dose 5x106 plaque forming units pfu of TG4001 and the other five a high dose 5 x107 pfu TG4001 was administered SC weekly for six weeks every two weeks up to M6 and every 12 weeks thereafter All patients additionally received avelumab at 10mg kg every two weeks No dose limiting toxicities or serious adverse events were observed Three out of the nine patients had a partial response Phenotypic and gene findings supported the idea of a shift in tumours from a cold state to an immunologically hot state
In the expansion cohort Phase II 40 patients with HPV positive HNSCC are being enrolled into a single arm cohort Patients will receive the highest dose tested in the Phase Ib component of the trial The primary outcome of the Phase II part will be efficacy as measured by ORR Interim results are expected in H120 Details of the financial terms IP rights or other aspects of the agreement between the three parties have not been disclosed
TG1050 Phase I complete in hepatitis B
TG1050 is a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B that expresses three antigens of the hepatitis B virus HBV Transgene presented Phase I data NCT02428400 for TG1050 at the AASLD 2018 liver meeting Data were presented on the safety and immunogenicity of either single or multiple injections of TG1050 at various dose levels The 48 patients were split into single n 12 or multiple injections n 36 cohorts Patients in each cohort were then randomised across three dose levels 109 1010 and 1011 virus particles and randomised in each dose level 3 1 to either receive treatment or placebo
There were no serious adverse events AE reported and all AEs were grade 1 or 2 except one grade 3 which was not related to treatment Immune responses to the HBV antigens that TG1050 encodes for were monitored Exhibit 3 Detectable responses occurred at the higher doses 1010 and 1011 virus particles in both the single injection SD cohort and the multiple injection MD cohort against the three antigens vectorised by TG1050 The intermediate dose 1010 vp was immunogenic in c 70 of patients
Additionally at the 2018 AASLD liver meeting Transgene presented preclinical data on the combination of TG1050 with a range of immunomodulators TLR9 agonist PDE5 inhibitor and direct acting antivirals siRNA capsid inhibitor entecavir Combinations with the TLR9 agonist PDE5 inhibitor and the siRNA led to improvements in antiviral effects
Next generation viral vector in TG6002
TG6002 is a viral vector derived from vaccinia virus expressing the FCU1 gene The FCU1 gene encodes a protein that catalyses the transformation of the nontoxic pro drug flucytosine into 5 FU and 5 fluorouridine monophosphate a widely used chemotherapy Its expression is restricted to tumours thereby reducing toxicity to normal tissues The company has conducted numerous in vitro and in vivo experiments to establish its mechanism of action
TG6002 is involved in a Transgene sponsored Phase I II trial in advanced gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma colon cancer and the first patient was dosed via IV in October 2018 The trial NCT03724071 is enrolling 50 patients who have failed or are intolerable to standard therapeutic options Initial data are expected by year end
Additionally Transgene is preparing a new Phase I II study in patients with advanced gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma colon cancer with liver metastasis who will be dosed by intrahepatic arterial administration The first patient is expected to be enrolled by year end Transgene also expects to take TG6002 into a new indication in 2020
We note the Phase I II trial in glioblastoma with Assistance Publique H pitaux de Paris principal investigator Professor Delattre and support from French National Cancer Institute is still enrolling patients However it no longer forms a core part of Transgene s strategy No safety issues have been found to date according to clinicaltrial gov the completion of the trial is expected in 2021
Evolving partnerships and platforms
Transgene continues to advance its partnerships and early stage technologies Notable in 2019 was the announcement of a partnership with AZN to develop oncolytic viruses using Transgene s Invir IO platform Although early the partnership could generate significant value for Transgene in the long run More advanced is Transgene s partnership with Tasly Biopharmaceuticals which was formed in summer 2018 Tasly paid Transgene 48m in shares and has gained Greater China rights to T601 and T101 The Invir IO collaboration with BioInvent has been expanded to include the development of anti CTLA 4 antibody armed oncolytic vaccinia virus expected in the clinic in H120 The first product candidate TG4050 from the company s myvac platform is expected to enter clinical trials later this year
AZN partnership major validation of Invir IO platform
Global pharmaceutical companies continue to recognise the need to develop the next generation of immunotherapies This was evidenced by the announcement earlier in the year of the collaboration with AZN to develop five novel armed oncolytic immunotherapies based on Transgene s novel vaccinia virus double deleted backbone Invir IO platform Transgene received 10m upfront and is eligible for additional pre clinical milestones of up to 3m If AZN decides to exercise an option on any of the candidates Transgene will receive an option payment in addition to eligibility for development and commercial milestones plus royalties on any future sales
Transgene is responsible for the design and engineering of the oncolytic virus and for in vitro pre clinical development AZN will select the genes to be encoded within the viruses and will be responsible for further in vivo pre clinical development If AZN decides to take up the option on a virus it will then be responsible for clinical development and commercialisation This partnership provides external validation of Transgene s oncolytic virus expertise and in the long term could be a significant contributor of revenue to the company We do not currently value the AZN partnership due to its early nature but will reassess this once assets enter the clinic
Tasly Biopharmaceuticals Hong Kong IPO still expected
In July 2018 Transgene sold the greater China rights for T601 TG6002 and T101 TG1050 to Tasly Biopharmaceuticals This was an expansion of a previous partnership formed in 2010 that was based on the development of T601 and T101 Transgene received approximately 2 53 of the outstanding capital of Tasly Biopharmaceuticals which was valued at 48m However the valuation of this holding could decrease or increase depending on future funding events Tasly has filed its prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and we expect it to aim complete the IPO as soon as possible although we note local political unrest could halt or delay any planned filing Transgene has a 12 month post IPO lock up on its shares in Tasly Biopharmaceuticals
In China T101 has completed a Phase I trial of T101 for treating chronic HBV infection T101 is a viral vector that expresses the same suite of HBV antigens as TG1050 The trial is a randomised double blind placebo controlled study that enrolled 36 patients who are on antiviral therapy According to Tasly the trial produced satisfying results in safety tolerability and immunogenicity with both single and multiple injections well tolerated and producing no serious AEs The trial demonstrated that T101 could stimulate an HBV specific T cell response when injected subcutaneously generated antiviral activity Future development plans are unclear at this time
T601 is an oncolytic virus that expresses the same FCU1 gene as TG6002 Tasly submitted an IND application to the China authorities National Medical Products Administration in April 2018 and it was approved in April 2019 Under the IND application Tasly has agreed to commence a clinical trial in advanced malignant solid tumours of the digestive tract The company expects a Phase I trial to initiate in H219 and plans to enrol 45 60 patients
Invir IO and myvac Deals demonstrate value
Transgene s early stage technology platforms Invir IO and myvac are coming to a critical juncture in the next 12 months as they enter the clinic For myvac Transgene has announced its plans to start clinical development partnership with NEC Corporation for new asset TG4050 by year end TG4050 is based on Transgene s personalised immunotherapy platform myvac and NEC s neoantigen prediction system Transgene will initiate two clinical studies in H219 focusing on second line following surgery and chemo ovarian cancer and second line following surgery and radiation therapy head and neck cancer patients The trials are jointly funded by both parties
In additional support of the industrialisation of the myvac platform the NEOVIVA project was awarded a 5 2m grant from Bpifrance s Investments for the Future programme Transgene will receive 2 6m of the grant The NEOVIVA project is across four companies and aims to develop and validate manufacturing approaches for individualised therapies The two TG4050 trials will provide proof of concept for the myvac platform
In 2017 Transgene launched its Invir IO technology platform The technology aims to use the cancer cell killing capability of oncolytic viruses in combination with the ability of the viruses to insert relevant genes into cancer cells to express other anti cancer compounds The technology is based around high capacity vaccinia viruses which are engineered to express a range of anti cancer drugs such as ICIs enzymes ligands chemokines and cytokines Transgene is developing both its own internal proprietary product candidates and partnered candidates most notably with AZN and BioInvent
The BioInvent collaboration is focused on new unspecified multifunctional oncolytic viruses for the treatment of solid tumours Transgene will provide its oncolytic virus expertise and technology Invir IO while BioInvent will provide its antibody capabilities including novel antibody sequences Costs revenue and royalties will be split 50 50 The first product will look to vectorise BioInvent s anti CTLA 4 antibodies for use in cancers R D costs in addition to revenues and royalties from any candidates produced will be shared 50 50 Transgene has 10 wholly owned preclinical candidates based on its Invir IO platform and anticipates the first product candidate will enter the clinic in H120
Sensitivities
Transgene is subject to the usual risks associated with drug development including clinical development delays or failures regulatory risks competitor successes partnering setbacks and financing and commercial risks The key sensitivities relate to the results of the ICI combination studies of TG4010 and TG4001 The outcome of the TG4010 combination studies in particular will have an impact on its partnership and or the financing prospects for the programme First results from these trials will be available later this year We note that the ICI combination trials are small open label and non controlled therefore it is not possible to ascertain the magnitude of the effect of each product separately and assess the actual synergistic effect
Financials 48 7m capital raise boosts cash reach
Transgene reported revenue for H119 of 4 9m vs 3 5m in H118 which consisted of 3 1m in government financing for research expenditure and 1 5m in collaboration and licensing income Net cash burn in H119 was 4 1m vs 8 3m in H119 and the company expects this to be around 20m for the full year we forecast 20 4m
Transgene reported cash and equivalents of 12 8m at 30 June 2019 vs 16 9m at 31 December 2018 This does not include the post period gross capital raise of 48 7m and the 10m upfront from signing the AZN deal
Transgene has secured a 20m revolving credit facility with Natixis The credit facility has a 30 month term and Transgene will be able to draw and repay the facility at its discretion Transgene has used its shares 27 4m in Tasly Biopharmaceuticals as collateral We forecast a decrease in 2019 R D to 23 3m based on a reduction in the number of clinical trials y o y as numerous trials were completed or terminated in 2018 TG4010 in second line NSCLC TG1050 in hepatitis B and Pexa Vec in HCC breast and solid tumours We forecast 2019 G A expenses 7 1m to be largely in line with 2018 We forecast a cash reach into 2021 based on the capital raise and AZN upfront alone with no draw down of the Natixis credit facility
Valuation 287m 3 45 share
We value Transgene at 287m 3 45 share vs 312m 5 02 share previously based on a risk adjusted NPV model of TG4010 TG4001 TG1050 and TG6002 The decrease in value is driven by the removal of Pexa Vec from our valuation This has been offset by the gross 48 7m capital raise assumed net 47m and 10m upfront from the AZN deal However we note that on a per share basis our valuation has lowered significantly as a result of the dilution from the 48 7m capital raise We have updated our R D cost assumptions across assets rolled forward our model and updated for FX Our valuation includes the prospects for TG4010 in NSCLC in the US and Europe combined peak potential sales of c 2 5bn TG1050 for hepatitis B in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 2 0bn across both regions and TG4001 for oesophageal cancer in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 200m across both regions Due to a shift in strategy we no longer value TG6002 for glioblastoma and instead now value its potential in colorectal cancer in the US and Europe peak potential sales of c 800m across both regions We do not currently include TG4050 or the Invir IO anti CTLA 4 oncolytic virus in our model but will reassess on the start of clinical trials
Our key assumptions on TG4010 TG1050 TG6002 and TG4001 are as follows
TG4010 we model a classical clinical development timeline for the project in NSCLC There could be considerable upside if the company goes for accelerated filing and or development is expanded into other cancer indications
TG1050 our valuation includes the EU and US markets and we have assumed TG1050 will be out licensed on completion of a successful Phase II proof of concept study We forecast that a partner will fund Phase III trials registration and commercial launch
TG6002 we no longer value glioblastoma and our valuation is now based on colorectal cancer patients in the EU and US For TG6002 we have assumed that TG1050 will be out licensed on completion of a successful Phase I studies We forecast that a partner will fund Phase II III trials registration and commercial launch
TG4001 our valuation is based on HPV positive oesophageal patients in the EU and US who have failed standard therapy |
PFE | Drones to deliver vaccines blood and drugs across Ghana | By Kate Kelland LONDON Reuters Hundreds of drones will begin delivering life saving vaccines blood and medicines to patients in Ghana this week in the largest scheme of its kind the global vaccine alliance GAVI said on Wednesday Medics will place orders by text message when supplies run dry said GAVI chief executive Seth Berkley Drones will then fly in from four distribution centers hover over health posts and drop deliveries using tiny parachutes The idea is that these four distribution centers can make up to 600 on demand delivery flights a day Berkley told reporters in a telephone briefing And that can expand up to 2 000 a day over time The aim is for deliveries to arrive within 30 minutes Berkley added meaning emergency treatments such anti snake venom or rabies shots could arrive in time to save lives The project led by Zipline a California based robotics company is designed to deliver to around 2 000 health facilities serving 12 million people across the west African country It is backed by the non profits GAVI and the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation as well as several companies including the parcel delivery firm UPS and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer NYSE PFE Up to 12 routine and emergency vaccines will be available including shots for yellow fever polio measles meningitis and tetanus as well as 148 blood products and other critical medicines The drones fly autonomously and can carry up to 1 8 kilograms of cargo GAVI said
Zipline said a similar but smaller project had made more than 13 000 deliveries of blood products since it was launched in Rwanda in 2016 about a third of them for emergency life saving treatment |
PFE | Newer drugs fuel AstraZeneca quarterly sales beat | By Pushkala Aripaka and Ankur Banerjee Reuters AstraZeneca Plc beat first quarter sales and earnings expectations on Friday as the British drugmaker benefited from a push into cancer drugs and emerging markets including China Newer treatments such as lung cancer drug Tagrisso now the company s top selling medicine have helped the drugmaker s return to growth after years of crumbling sales due to patent losses on older drugs Sales in China have shown explosive growth more than doubling since 2012 but AstraZeneca executives on Friday said that may not be sustained The enormous growth you currently see in China 28 percent probably is not sustainable but we feel very bullish that the growth will continue to be at a pace of between 15 percent and 20 percent Ruud Dobber executive vice president BioPharma told Reuters Shares of the company were down 0 2 percent at 5 878 pence at 1031 GMT The turnaround in AstraZeneca s fortunes has been powered by a push into cancer treatments led by Chief Executive Pascal Soriot who saw off a 2014 takeover bid from Pfizer NYSE PFE in part by promising annual sales of 45 billion by 2023 In the first quarter sales from its oncology unit rose 59 percent to 1 89 billion accounting for 35 percent of total product sales The company has moved deeper into cancer therapy market through wide ranging deals including those for immunotherapy and targeted therapy Last month it agreed a multi billion dollar oncology deal with Japan s Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd Interactive graphic on AZN s top 10 drugs by sales We re reaching that point where after years of having to keep faith we have actually got something tangible to believe in Hargreaves Lansdown LON HRGV analyst Nicholas Hyett said AstraZeneca also backed its annual sales and earnings forecast and said it has extensively prepared for UK s anticipated exit from the European Union even in the event of a no deal exit The company has already spent more than 40 million pounds 52 million on Brexit preparations including stockpiling six weeks worth of drugs in the UK and four weeks in continental Europe to guard against shortages AstraZeneca said product sales rose 14 percent at constant currency to 5 47 billion in the quarter led by its lung cancer drug Tagrisso and respiratory treatment Pulmicort Interactive graphic on AZN s quarterly oncology sales China sales increased by 28 percent to 1 24 billion in the quarter accounting for nearly a quarter of overall product sales Core earnings came in at 89 cents per share in the quarter Analysts on average were expecting core earnings of 85 cents per share and product sales of 5 29 billion according to a company provided consensus of 19 analysts |
PFE | Pfizer Earnings Revenue Beat in Q1 | Investing com Pfizer NYSE PFE reported first quarter earnings that Beat analysts expectations on Tuesday and revenue that topped forecasts
The firm reported earnings per share of 0 85 on revenue of 13 12B Analysts polled by Investing com forecast EPS of 0 75 on revenue of 13B That compared to EPS of 0 77 on revenue of 12 91B in the same period a year earlier The company had reported EPS of 0 64 on revenue of 13 98B in the previous quarter
Pfizer follows other major Healthcare sector earnings this month
On April 16 J J reported first quarter EPS of 2 1 on revenue of 20 02B compared to forecasts of EPS of 2 04 on revenue of 19 61B
Novartis ADR earnings Beat analysts expectations on April 24 with first quarter EPS of 1 21 on revenue of 11 11B Investing com analysts expected EPS of 1 11 on revenue of 11 09B
Stay up to date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing com s earnings calendar |
LB | Notable earnings after Wednesday s close | HTHT LB SNPS WSM ZAYOFor Seeking Alpha s full earnings season calendar click here Now read |
LB | L Brands slides on weaker demand for Pink lingerie | Reuters Shares of L Brands Inc N LB hit their seven year low on Thursday after the parent of Victoria s Secret cut its full year earnings forecast blaming falling demand for its Pink line of lingerie The outlook cut hinted that PINK could be going down the same road as Victoria s Secret which has been losing customers as more women shift to cheaper bralettes and sports bras from companies such as American Eagle Outfitter s N AEO Aerie Pink was launched in 2002 targeting younger customers that the more high end Victoria s Secret known for its splashy fashion shows and winged models was failing to attract Shares of L Brands tumbled more than 10 percent to 28 61 in early trading They have lost more than half their value since the beginning of the year L Brands cut its full year earnings forecast to a range of 2 45 to 2 70 per share from a range of 2 70 to 3 00 estimated previously Analysts on average expected earnings of 2 69 per share in fiscal 2019 according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Comparable sales at Victoria s Secret which also houses Pink fell 1 percent in the second quarter bigger than the 0 3 percent fall analysts had expected Victoria Secret is broken and Pink is cracking and will not be a quick fix Jefferies analyst Randal Konik said L Brands also said Pink Chief Executive Officer Denise Landman would retire at the end of the year and would be replaced by Bath Body Works executive Amy Hauk |
LB | Are Investors Undervaluing L Brands LB Right Now | While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies With this in mind we are always looking at value growth and momentum trends to discover great companies
Considering these trends value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market Value investors use a variety of methods including tried and true valuation metrics to find these stocks
Luckily Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits Value investors will be interested in the system s Value category Stocks with both A grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now
One company value investors might notice is L Brands NYSE LB LB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of 2 Buy and a Value grade of A The stock is trading with a P E ratio of 14 38 which compares to its industry s average of 15 60 Over the last 12 months LB s Forward P E has been as high as 19 91 and as low as 9 84 with a median of 12 45
Investors should also note that LB holds a PEG ratio of 1 25 This metric is used similarly to the famous P E ratio but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock s expected earnings growth rate LB s industry currently sports an average PEG of 1 32 LB s PEG has been as high as 1 73 and as low as 0 86 with a median of 1 08 all within the past year
Finally investors should note that LB has a P CF ratio of 7 14 This metric focuses on a firm s operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook This stock s P CF looks attractive against its industry s average P CF of 8 54 LB s P CF has been as high as 12 22 and as low as 5 07 with a median of 6 99 all within the past year
These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at but they help show that L Brands is likely being undervalued right now Considering this as well as the strength of its earnings outlook LB feels like a great value stock at the moment |
LB | L Brands LB Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates | L Brands NYSE LB came out with quarterly earnings of 0 16 per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 15 per share This compares to earnings of 0 30 per share a year ago These figures are adjusted for non recurring items
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 6 67 A quarter ago it was expected that this owner of Victoria s Secret Bath Body Works and other chain stores would post earnings of 0 34 per share when it actually produced earnings of 0 36 delivering a surprise of 5 88
Over the last four quarters the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times
L Brands which belongs to the Zacks Retail Apparel and Shoes industry posted revenues of 2 77 billion for the quarter ended October 2018 in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate This compares to year ago revenues of 2 62 billion The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters
The sustainability of the stock s immediate price movement based on the recently released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management s commentary on the earnings call
L Brands shares have lost about 41 4 since the beginning of the year versus the S P 500 s gain of 2 3
What s Next for L Brands
While L Brands has underperformed the market so far this year the question that comes to investors minds is what s next for the stock
There are no easy answers to this key question but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company s earnings outlook Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter s but also how these expectations have changed lately
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried and tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions
Ahead of this earnings release the estimate revisions trend for L Brands was mixed While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company s just released earnings report the current status translates into a Zacks Rank 3 Hold for the stock So the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future You can see the complete list of today s Zacks 1 Rank Strong Buy stocks here
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead The current consensus EPS estimate is 1 98 on 4 80 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and 2 65 on 13 17 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank Retail Apparel and Shoes is currently in the top 29 of the 250 plus Zacks industries Our research shows that the top 50 of the Zacks ranked industries outperform the bottom 50 by a factor of more than 2 to 1 |
LB | L Brands LB Q3 Earnings Beat Stock Down On Dividend Cut | L Brands Inc NYSE LB delivered fourth straight quarter of positive earnings surprise when it reported third quarter fiscal 2018 results Following the quarterly results the company raised the earnings guidance for the fiscal year However shares of the company declined 4 8 in after market trading on Nov 19 Notably L Brands decision to cut dividend led to the downturn Currently the company is planning to reduce its annual dividend from 2 40 to 1 20 L Brands will save nearly 325 million from the reduction in dividend which will be used in deleveraging of the company s balance sheet Additionally the company s Victoria s Secret chain has been bearing the brunt of consumers changing preferences stiff competition and heavy discounts In fact these factors seem to have disappointed investors Evidently L Brands has lost 26 in a year s time against the s 10 1 growth Detailed Quarterly DiscussionIn the quarter under review L Brands quarterly earnings came in at 16 cents per share which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny However the bottom line declined 46 7 year over year Per L Brands robust results at Bath Body Works overshadowed the company s dismal performance at Victoria s Secret Net sales advanced 6 to 2 77 billion The top line figure was almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 76 billion Furthermore L Brands comparable sales including direct sales were up 4 However store only comps were flat year over year While sales at Victoria s Secret Stores declined 5 2 to 1 177 8 million Victoria s Secret direct sales increased 18 6 to 351 million Total Victoria s Secret sales rose 0 7 to 1 528 8 million while comparable sales declined 2 Bath Body Works total sales improved 17 2 to 956 2 million with a 10 rise in comparable sales Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works international sales increased 16 6 to 134 million Other sales rose 5 2 to 155 9 million Adjusted gross profit grew 3 to 1 022 9 million while gross margin decreased 90 basis points bps to 36 9 Reduction in merchandise margin rate led to the gross margin contraction Adjusted operating income plunged 33 to 155 6 million with the operating margin declining 320 bps to 5 6 L Brands Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Store UpdateIn the first nine months of fiscal 2018 L Brands opened one Victoria s Secret store and shuttered seven outlets taking the total count to 1 163 stores In the same period 48 Bath Body Works stores were inaugurated and 17 were closed which totaled to 1 725 stores At the end of the third quarter this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel had 69 International stores 23 Henri Bendel stores and 125 La Senza stores the United States and Canada As of Nov 3 2018 L Brands operated 3 109 stores Total franchised stores as of Nov 3 2018 were 849 including 227 Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories 42 Victoria s Secret eight Pink 206 Bath Body Works and 186 La Senza stores Also the franchised stores comprised 170 and 10 Travel Retail stores of Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories and Bath Body Works respectively Other Financial DetailsL Brands exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 348 4 million down from the prior year quarter s tally of 734 9 million Long term debt increased marginally to 5 814 3 million from 5 704 7 million a year ago Shareholders deficit came in at 1 311 5 million For fiscal 2018 the company projects capital expenditures to be 625 million It continues anticipating free cash flow of 800 million for the same period In the quarter under review the company repurchased 0 3 million shares for 10 million At the quarter end it had 78 7 million remaining under the current share buyback program of 250 million GuidanceManagement issued guidance for the fourth quarter and raised its view for fiscal 2018 L Brands anticipates fourth quarter comps to rise in the range of 1 4 Further gross margin is expected to contract year over year SG A costs are anticipated to escalate considerably as a percentage of sales Gross margin will be negatively impacted by decline in merchandise margin rate Earnings per share are envisioned in the range of 1 90 2 10 compared with 2 11 registered in the prior year quarter For fiscal 2018 the company continues to anticipate comps to be up low single digits Gross margin rate is likely to decrease year over year SG A costs are expected to increase year over year Management also raised its fiscal 2018 earnings per share guidance from the range of 2 45 2 70 to 2 60 2 80 Last year L Brands posted earnings of 3 20 per share Moreover the company anticipates total sales growth of about 3 4 points higher than comps owing to square footage and international growth as well as implementation of the new accounting standard for revenue recognition The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth quarter and fiscal 2018 earnings per share is pegged at 1 98 and 2 65 respectively Zacks Rank Other Stocks to ConsiderL Brands currently has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Some other top ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Boot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT The Buckle Inc NYSE BKE and Express Inc NYSE EXPR each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 You can see Boot Barn Holdings reported better than expected earnings in three of the trailing four quarters the average being 15 1 Buckle delivered better than expected earnings in the trailing four quartersExpress earnings for the current year are expected to grow by 30 6 Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think 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PFE | Pfizer Falls 3 | Investing com Pfizer NYSE PFE fell by 3 02 to trade at 39 69 by 13 51 17 51 GMT on Wednesday on the NYSE exchange
The volume of Pfizer shares traded since the start of the session was 22 15M Pfizer has traded in a range of 39 68 to 40 96 on the day
The stock has traded at 43 0000 at its highest and 39 6500 at its lowest during the past seven days |
WFC | Nasdaq at record as Wall Street runs on strong data Greece eyed | By Rodrigo Campos Reuters The Nasdaq Composite on Thursday erased its last standing milestone from the dot com era as it set a record intraday high with stocks on Wall Street in rally mode boosted by strong economic data A report in German newspaper Die Zeit about possible concessions made to Greece by its international creditors which briefly extended the market s rally was later denied by EU diplomats The Nasdaq Composite IXIC hit a high of 5 143 316 topping the previous 5 132 52 record which stood since March 10 2000 It also set a record closing high as did the Russell 2000 while the S P 500 closed within 0 5 percent of its record U S consumer prices posted last month their largest increase in more than two years jobless claims applications fell last week to a near 15 year low and factory activity in the mid Atlantic region accelerated to a six month high in June Economic growth is beginning to make itself more evident said John Manley chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Funds Management in New York Manley said the perceived dovishness of the Federal Reserve s statement and estimates after its meeting on Wednesday continued to support equities The Fed is going to be very slow to raise interest rates he said Markets have closely watched for signals from the U S central bank as it prepares to raise rates for the first time in almost a decade The Dow Jones industrial average DJI rose 180 1 points or 1 percent to 18 115 84 the S P 500 SPX gained 20 8 points or 0 99 percent to 2 121 24 and the Nasdaq Composite IXIC added 68 07 points or 1 34 percent to 5 132 95 Euro zone leaders will hold an emergency summit on Monday to try to avert a Greek default after bank withdrawals accelerated and government revenue slumped as Athens and its international creditors remained deadlocked over a debt deal The ECB told a meeting of euro zone finance ministers it was not sure if Greek banks would be able to open on Monday said officials with knowledge of the talks The Greek situation is an emotional one for investors and it is hard to know how exactly markets will react said Wells Fargo s Manley In 2010 a Greek default would have been a real problem I don t see a lot of ramifications among financial institutions if it happened now and if there were the ECB and IMF will know how to deal with it he said All the 10 major S P 500 sectors were higher with the health index leading with a 1 5 percent rise Fitbit N FIT shares ran up as much as 59 5 percent to 31 90 in their market debut before closing at 29 68 48 4 percent above the 20 IPO pricing Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2 062 to 1 015 for a 2 03 to 1 ratio on the upside on the Nasdaq 1 949 issues rose and 833 fell for a 2 34 to 1 ratio favoring advancers The benchmark S P 500 index posted 41 new 52 week highs and 2 new lows the Nasdaq Composite set 161 new highs and 30 new lows
About 6 2 billion shares changed hands on U S exchanges above the 5 96 billion daily average so far this month according to BATS Global Markets data |
WFC | Shares in Brazilian Steakhouse Fogo de Chao soar after strong IPO | Investing com Shares in Fogo de Chao simmered on Friday jumping more than 30 at one point from an initial public offering of 20 during its highly anticipated Wall Street debut
The fine dining Brazilian Steakhouse chain which opened its first U S restaurant in Dallas in 1996 saw it shares reach as high as 26 55 in Friday s session before closing at 25 75 up 5 75 or 28 75 The company which was founded by two sets of brothers in the southeastern Brazilian countryside in 1979 currently owns 26 restaurants in the United States as well as 10 others in Brazil and one in Mexico The restaurant was purchased by GP Investments a Brazilian private equity firm in 2006 and was later sold to U S private equity firm Thomas H Lee Partners three years ago
Fogo de Chao CEO Lawrence Johnson indicated on Friday that the company has plans to open an additional 100 restaurants on a long term basis
It s a big day for the company Johnson told CNBC I think it just shows that when you bring out a unique differentiated concept when you perfect it and take it to different markets and the public responds the result is what we re seeing today
Jefferies and J P Morgan Securities are acting as joint book running managers in the offering while Credit Suisse SIX CSGN Deutsche Bank XETRA DBKGn Securities Piper Jaffray Co Wells Fargo NYSE WFC and Macquarie Capital are also acting as book running managers Fogo de Chao said in a statement The offering is expected to close on June 24
Fogo de Chao employs a Southern Brazilian cooking technique known as churrasco to prepare its barbecued fire roasted beef using a traditional gaucho method of roasting meats over an open fire In English the Portuguese phrase Fogo de Chao translates to fire on the ground
I knew this was going to be a winner in the U S Johnson added I helped the founders open one restaurant in Dallas another in Houston and the rest is history |
LB | H M launches on Alibaba s Tmall | Budget fashion retailer H M launches its core brand on Alibaba s BABA 1 2 Tmall today to better compete in China The listing is the first time the brand has sold through a third party but Inditex s Zara joined Tmall in 2014 Zara is the world s leading retailer with H M coming in second H M had launched its own online store in the region in 2014 but Tmall and Taobao stand dominant in the Chinese e commerce market Previously Bloomberg Alibaba in talks to buy Rocket Internet s retail unit March 20 Now read |
LB | Tax cut helping turn U S small caps into unlikely source of safety | By David Randall NEW YORK Reuters The Republican led corporate tax cut is helping turn the shares of smaller publicly traded companies in the United States into an unexpected source of stability as the broader stock market wobbles Typically the shares of small and mid cap companies in the Russell 2000 index RUT are more volatile than the large cap S P 500 SPX in part due to their concentration on the U S economy and smaller financial cushions Yet since concerns about rising inflation and an escalating trade war stopped the broad U S stock market in its tracks after the S P 500 hit record highs in January the Russell 2000 has held on to more of its gains It dropped 0 4 percent from its high of the year compared with a 5 5 percent decline in the S P 500 When you look at the remainder of 2018 and especially going into 2019 the forward expectations are that the small cap universe is going to see accelerating earnings growth whereas the large caps in general are still going to be growing but they won t see a benefit as magnified said Martin Jarzebowski a portfolio manager at the Federated Clover Small Cap Value fund O VSFAX Fund managers and analysts say that small companies are benefiting in part from December s tax cut which slashed the average tax rate among small cap companies from 35 percent to 21 percent Large cap companies which earn a greater percentage of their revenues abroad saw their effective tax rates fall from roughly 27 5 percent to 22 5 percent according to estimates from Credit Suisse SIX CSGN So far companies in the Russell 2000 have paid 9 2 billion less in taxes this quarter compared with the last quarter of 2017 before the tax bill passed according to estimates from Sandy Villere a fund manager at New Orleans based Villere Funds Jarzebowski said he has been focusing more of his portfolio on small cap financial companies seeing the greatest benefit from lower taxes and low unemployment such as First Midwest Bancorp Inc O FMBI and Chemical Financial Corp O CHFC both of which are up approximately 3 percent for the year to date Small companies are also improving their margins by an average of 0 5 percent as they spend less on buybacks and more on reinvesting said Venu Krishna a strategist at Barclays LON BARC That in turn should provide a cushion for small caps even if wider volatility continues he said You are going to see more respectable earnings throughout the year even after the benefits of the tax cut are factored away he said The volatility has shrunk trailing price to earnings valuations by 6 percent since the Russell 2000 hit a record high in January Krishna added leaving small caps both cheaper and less risky at a time when companies are growing their pre tax earnings by an average of 14 percent year on year Eric Marshall a fund manager at Dallas based Hodges Capital is moving more of his portfolio into small cap retail companies that are trading at depressed multiples The retail sector is expected to see a significant benefit from the tax cut because the majority of revenues are domestic For the most part the tax cuts are already factored in by the market and if you see a company beat estimates by just a penny or two they re not getting rewarded for that he said We re looking for areas where there s top line growth and increased consumption in places you haven t seen that for a while Portfolio holding American Eagle Outfitters Inc N AEO for instance recently hit a five year high thanks in large part to the growth of its Aerie lingerie brand that is taking market share away from L Brands N LB Victoria s Secret
You had the market pretty much leaving retail for dead and that s one place where we are seeing a lot of value Marshall said |
LB | Why Is L Brands LB Up 7 Since Its Last Earnings Report | It has been about a month since the last earnings report for L Brands Inc NYSE LB Shares have added about 7 in that time frame
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is LB due for a pullback Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts L Brands Q1 Earnings Top Revenue in Line With EstimatesL Brands came up with first quarter fiscal 2018 results wherein earnings of 17 cents per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents though it slumped 48 5 year over year Also management lowered its guidance for fiscal 2018 which sent shares of this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel down 4 9 during yesterday s after market trading session Moving back to L Brands first quarter results the company s net sales advanced roughly 8 to 2 625 8 million The figure was almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 625 9 million Furthermore L Brands comparable sales including direct sales were up 3 in the quarter However store only comps decreased 2 year over year Sales at Victoria s Secret Stores inched lower by 0 9 to 1 235 9 million while Victoria s Secret direct sales were up 23 4 to 353 5 million Total Victoria s Secret sales rose 3 7 to 1 589 4 million while comparable sales rose 1 Bath Body Works total sales were up 12 2 to 760 4 million with an 8 rise in comparable sales Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works International sales surged 30 8 to 135 1 million Other revenues increased 15 3 to 140 9 million Gross profit grew 4 5 to 943 8 million while gross margin reduced 120 basis points bps to 35 9 Operating income plunged almost 26 to 154 8 million with the operating margin contracting 270 bps to 5 9 Store UpdateIn the quarter under review L Brands opened one Victoria s Secret store and shuttered six outlets taking the total count to 1 165 stores In the same period 13 Bath Body Works stores were inaugurated and 11 were closed which totaled to 1 696 stores Further the company had 60 Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works International stores 24 Henri Bendel stores and 124 La Senza stores U S and Canada at the end of the first quarter As of May 5 2018 L Brands operated 3 069 stores Management plans to open 125 153 total Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works International stores wholly owned and licensed in fiscal 2018 with plans to shut down 32 44 stores This will take the company s total Victoria s Secret and Bath Body Works International store count to 760 800 stores Also L Brands intends to introduce and close 2 and 6 La Senza International stores respectively which will take its International count to 190 in fiscal 2018 Total franchised stores as of May 5 2018 were 830 comprising 237 Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories 37 Victoria s Secret six Pink 188 Bath Body Works and 192 La Senza stores Also the franchised stores include 163 and 7 Travel Retail stores of Victoria s Secret Beauty Accessories and Bath Body Works respectively Other Financial DetailsL Brands exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 1 031 5 million down from the prior year quarter s tally of 1 554 9 million Long term debt increased marginally to 5 718 6 million from 5 701 5 million a year ago Shareholders deficit came in at 968 6 million For fiscal 2018 the company projects capital expenditures to range between 675 million and 700 million down from 750 million projected earlier Meanwhile L Brands now anticipate free cash flow of 800 million in fiscal 2018 compared to the prior guidance of 900 million GuidanceManagement issued guidance for second quarter and lowered its view for fiscal 2018 L Brands company anticipates second quarter comps to rise in low single digits Further gross margin is expected to decline year over year and SG A costs are anticipated to escalate considerably as a percentage of sales Earnings per share are envisioned in the range of 30 35 cents per share versus 48 cents recorded in the year ago quarter For fiscal 2018 the company now envisions comps to be up low single digits Earlier management projected the same to increase in the 2 4 range Gross margin rate is now likely to decrease year over year whereas it was anticipated to remain flat before Also SG A costs are expected to increase year over year All said management lowered its fiscal 2018 earnings per share guidance from a range of 2 95 3 25 to 2 70 3 00 In the year ago period the company posted earnings of 3 20 per share
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates There has been one revision higher for the current quarter compared to nine lower Last month the consensus estimate has shifted downward by 22 7 due to these changes
L Brands Inc Price and Consensus
VGM Scores
At this time LB has a subpar Growth Score of D however its Momentum is doing a bit better with a C Following the exact same course the stock was also allocated a grade of C on the value side putting it in the middle 20 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Zacks style scores indicate that the company s stock is suitable for value and momentum investors
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift It s no surprise LB has a Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months |
LB | This Retailer Could Drop After Earnings LB | Retail earnings are hot this week with L Brands Inc NYSE LB set to unveil its second quarter report set to hit after the market closes tomorrow Aug 22 Ahead of the event the stock is down 2 1 at 32 39 after RBC Capital lowered its price target to 35 from 40 citing a lack of value for LB brand Victoria s Secret
A long term underperformer LB has shed more than 46 year to date and touched a six year low of 30 42 on July 25 The stock recently rallied into overhead resistance at its 40 day moving average which according to data from Schaeffer s Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White may indicate that it could be an attractive time to bet on LB s next leg lower
Per White L Brands shares are now within one standard deviation of their 40 day moving average after a lengthy stretch below this trendline There have been nine similar signals of this kind in the past three years after which LB went on to average a one week loss of 1 28 with just 22 of those returns positive One month later the stock was lower more than half the time down an average of 1 98
Switching gears to LB s earnings history the stock has closed lower the day after the company reported in four of the last eight quarters including a 13 9 drop in early March On average the shares have moved 5 9 the day after earnings over this time frame regardless of direction This time around however the options market is pricing in a larger than usual 9 2 move for Thursday s trading
Options traders have been anticipating a move to the upside Data from the International Securities Exchange ISE Chicago Board Options Exchange CBOE and NASDAQ OMX PHLX PHLX shows the the equity s 10 day call put volume ratio of 2 46 in the 93rd annual percentile In other words LB calls have been purchased over puts at a faster than usual clip in the past two weeks though with a healthy 8 2 of the stock s float sold short some of this could be due to hedging
Regardless L Brands stock has consistently rewarded premium buyers over the last year per its elevated Schaeffer s Volatility Scorecard SVS reading of 93 out of 100 In other words LB has tended to make outsized moves in the past 12 months relative to what the options market was anticipating |
LB | Should Value Investors Buy L Brands LB Stock | Here at Zacks our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks Nevertheless we are always paying attention to the latest value growth and momentum trends to underscore strong picks
Of these value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued leaving room for profits
Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits For example value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the Value category When paired with a high Zacks Rank A grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today
L Brands NYSE LB is a stock many investors are watching right now LB is currently holding a Zacks Rank of 2 Buy and a Value grade of A The stock holds a P E ratio of 12 23 while its industry has an average P E of 15 03 Over the last 12 months LB s Forward P E has been as high as 19 91 and as low as 9 84 with a median of 12 45
We also note that LB holds a PEG ratio of 1 06 This popular figure is similar to the widely used P E ratio but the PEG ratio also considers a company s expected EPS growth rate LB s industry has an average PEG of 1 31 right now Over the last 12 months LB s PEG has been as high as 1 73 and as low as 0 86 with a median of 1 08
Finally investors will want to recognize that LB has a P CF ratio of 6 08 This metric takes into account a company s operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook This stock s P CF looks attractive against its industry s average P CF of 8 12 Within the past 12 months LB s P CF has been as high as 12 22 and as low as 5 07 with a median of 7 06
These are just a handful of the figures considered in L Brands s great Value grade Still they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook and we can clearly see that LB is an impressive value stock right now |
PFE | Pfizer PFE Down 11 5 Since Last Earnings Report Can It Rebound | A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Pfizer PFE Shares have lost about 11 5 in that time frame underperforming the S P 500
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release or is Pfizer due for a breakout Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late let s take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts Pfizer Beats on Q2 Earnings Misses Sales Lowers 2019 OutlookPfizer posted mixed results for the second quarter of 2019 While it beat earnings estimates it fell short of the consensus mark for revenues The company lowered its guidance for full year earnings and sales Second quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share of 80 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents Earnings rose 4 year over year driven by higher revenues on an operational basis lower cost of sales and reduced share count Currency changes had a negative impact of 3 cents per share on adjusted earnings Revenues of 13 26 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 32 billion Revenues declined 2 from the year ago quarter on a reported basis On an operational basis excluding the 4 negative impact of currency revenues rose 2 year over year as higher sales of some key brands in Pfizer s Biopharmaceuticals group was partially offset by generic biosimilar competition for products that have lost marketing exclusivity and decline of Upjohn revenues in China International revenues declined 4 to 6 93 billion However on an operational basis international sales rose 3 in the quarter U S revenues were up 2 to 6 34 billion Adjusted selling informational and administrative SI A expenses rose 2 operationally in the quarter to 3 46 billion Adjusted R D expenses rose 3 to 1 83 billion Segment DiscussionIn 2018 Pfizer s reporting segments were Pfizer Innovative Health IH and Pfizer Essential Health EH Beginning the first quarter of 2019 Pfizer started reporting under three new business units Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group previous IH unit except Consumer Healthcare Upjohn previous EH unit and Consumer Healthcare Pfizer Biopharma sales grew 2 on a reported basis up 6 an operational basis from the year ago period to 9 6 billion Higher sales of brands like Eliquis Ibrance and Xeljanz biosimilars and a strong emerging markets performance up 12 drove this segment s sales growth Weaker sales of Prevnar 13 Prevenar 13 and Enbrel internationally and product supply shortages in the hospital business partially offset the increase Within the Biopharma group Oncology revenues increased 23 to 2 24 billion Vaccine revenues rose 2 to 1 38 billion Internal Medicine rose 6 to 2 33 billion The Inflammation Immunology franchise rose 5 to 1 22 billion However the portfolio of Rare Disease declined 2 to 521 million The newly added Hospital sub segment s sales declined 4 to 1 91 billion The Hospital segment comprises Pfizer s global portfolio of sterile injectable and anti infective medicines In the sterile injectables business manufacturing supply constraints continue to impact Pfizer s sales Pfizer s Upjohn group s sales declined 11 on reported basis to 2 81 billion On an operational basis sales declined 7 in the segment due to lower revenues in China and the United States China revenues were hurt by volume based procurement reforms that were implemented in March 2019 while in the United States sales were hurt by lower revenues for Viagra Revenues from the Consumer Healthcare unit declined 3 to 862 million However on an operational basis sales rose 1 as lower sales in the U S market were offset by higher sales in international markets Performance of Key DrugsIbrance revenues rose 27 year over year to 1 26 billion on continued strong uptake in developed Europe and Japan as well as in certain emerging markets and consistent growth in the United States Xeljanz sales rose 36 to 613 million driven by continued growth in rheumatoid arthritis RA revenues and contributions from the drug s recent expansion into psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis in the United States and only ulcerative colitis indication in certain developed markets In July Xeljanz s prescribing information in the United States was updated by the FDA to include two additional boxed warnings as well as changes to the indication and dosing for UC following review of a post marketing study Regarding this update Pfizer mentioned on the call that the label update may have some negative impact on prescribing and hurt sales in the future quarters Global Prevnar 13 Prevenar 13 revenues declined 3 to 1 18 billion Prevnar 13 revenues declined 10 in the United States reflecting decreased government purchases for the pediatric indication and continued decline in revenues for the adult indication Prevenar 13 revenues rose 6 in international markets Meanwhile due to some unfavorable revisions in ACIP s pneumococcal vaccination guidelines for Prevnar 13 in adults in the United States Pfizer expects some decline in demand for Prevnar which can hurt sales in the future quarters Enbrel revenues declined 16 to 420 million in key European markets due to continued biosimilar competition as well as unfavorable timing of government purchases in certain emerging markets Xalkori sales rose 2 to 133 million Sutent sales declined 4 to 248 million Inlyta revenues increased 34 to 104 million Eliquis alliance revenues and direct sales rose 26 to 1 09 billion Chantix sales rose 1 to 276 million in the quarter Xtandi recorded alliance revenues of 201 million in the quarter up 18 year over year Revenues from the biosimilars portfolio grew 20 operationally to 217 million in the quarter Inflectra recorded sales of 53 million globally flat year over year New biosimilar product Retacrit a biosimilar of Epogen and Procrit is off to a good start in the United States recording 30 million of revenues in the second quarter In the Upjohn segment sales of key drug Lyrica declined 1 to 1 18 billion reflecting wholesaler destocking ahead of the drug s loss of exclusivity which began in July Viagra sales declined 35 to 114 million due to generic competition that began in December 2017 2019 GuidancePfizer lowered its previously issued sales and earnings guidance for 2019 to reflect the formation of the Consumer Healthcare JV with Glaxo and the completion of Array BioPharma and Therachon acquisitions Other than pending business development activity incremental negative impact of foreign exchange and unfavorable product developments in case of Prevnar and Xeljanz also contributed to the guidance cut Revenues are expected in the range of 50 5 billion to 52 5 billion compared with 52 0 billion to 54 0 billion expected previously Adjusted earnings per share are expected in the range of 2 76 2 86 versus the previous expectation of 2 83 2 93 For the remainder of the year the consumer JV with Glaxo is expected to have a negative impact of 3 cents on adjusted EPS The Array and Therachon acquisitions will hurt the same by 4 cents per share Foreign exchange is expected to have a unfavorable impact of 1 2 billion on revenues and 8 cents on adjusted EPS for the year which represents more onerous negative impact than guided previously Research and development expense is expected in the range of 7 9 8 3 billion versus 7 8 8 3 billion while SI A spending is projected in the range of 13 0 14 0 billion versus 13 5 14 5 billion expected earlier Adjusted tax rate is still expected to be approximately 16 in 2019
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then
In the past month investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates The consensus estimate has shifted 8 15 due to these changes
VGM Scores
At this time Pfizer has a subpar Growth Score of D however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B Charting a somewhat similar path the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side putting it in the middle 20 for this investment strategy
Overall the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C If you aren t focused on one strategy this score is the one you should be interested in
Outlook
Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift It s no surprise Pfizer has a Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months |
PFE | Global Blood Focuses On Lead Candidate Amid Competition | We issued an updated report on Global Blood Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ GBT on Sep 2 The company s lead product candidate is voxelotor GBT440 an oral once daily treatment for sickle cell disease SCD SCD is a chronic inherited blood disorder that affects hemoglobin The company is evaluating voxelotor in a phase III HOPE study in adult and adolescent patients with SCD Data from the study presented in December 2018 demonstrated rapid robust and sustained improvements in hemoglobin levels and measures of hemolysis with a favorable safety and tolerability profile for both 1500 mg and 900 mg doses In the second quarter of 2019 the company announced a final agreement with the FDA on the design of the post approval confirmatory study of voxelotor to demonstrate stroke risk reduction benefit of the drug considering transcranial doppler TCD flow velocity as the primary endpoint Shares of the company have gained 12 year to date against the s decline of 1 7 The FDA approved a rolling submission of voxelotor for the potential treatment of SCD The company expects to submit an NDA in the second half of 2019 In August 2018 the company entered an exclusive worldwide license agreement with drug giant Roche Holding SIX ROG AG OTC RHHBY for the development and commercialization of inclacumab a novel fully human monoclonal antibody against P selectin as a treatment for vaso occlusive crises VOC in patients with SCD However Global Blood has no approved products in its portfolio yet The company has only one candidate voxelotor which is in late stage studies If the company is unable to receive regulatory approval for the drug its business will be significantly affected as inclacumab is in early stages of development The company is also battling stiff competition The FDA has accepted Novartis NYSE NVS Biologics License Application BLA for its investigational sickle cell medicine crizanlizumab SEG101 and granted Priority Review to the same Pfizer NYSE PFE is also developing rivipansel for the treatment of VOC in patients with SCD Global Blood currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Legalizing THIS Could Be Even Bigger than Marijuana Americans spend an estimated 150 billion in this industry every year more than twice as much as they spend on marijuana Now that 8 states have fully legalized it with several more states following close behind Zacks has identified 5 stocks that could soar in response to the powerful demand One industry insider described the future as mind blowing and early investors can still get in ahead of the surge |
WFC | Quail Hollow local Simpson in tie for lead | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Local favourite Webb Simpson chipped in twice on his way to a share of the lead with fellow American Robert Streb after the second round of the 7 1 million Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Friday Simpson who plays at Quail Hollow Club at least once a week when he is at home used his extensive course knowledge to card a five under par 67 and join first round leader Streb 69 at 10 under 134 They were two shots clear of their nearest rivals while the two most celebrated players in the field Rory McIlroy 67 and Phil Mickelson 66 vaulted into contention just three strokes off the pace Simpson the 2012 U S Open champion chipped in from 55 feet at the par four ninth and provided an even more impressive encore from 65 feet at the par three 17th I don t think I ve ever chipped in twice on tour in the same round he told reporters before rushing off to his mother in law s birthday party I can t imagine more support than today If I m struggling at any point early in the round tomorrow I think that support will help me Simpson who lives adjacent to the seventh hole felt that his course knowledge helped his comfort level at the event The best player is going to win this week no matter how many times he has played it but I definitely feel a little sense of comfort knowing I ve been here so much he said Earlier in the day world number one McIlroy followed up his Thursday night comment that the course was there to be had by compiling five birdies in a bogey free round MEDIOCRE IRON PLAY The Northern Irishman said good driving had been the key to his score but lamented some mediocre iron play that prevented him from piling up more birdies Mentally I feel very sharp he said I m not putting myself under that much stress of having to save pars or anything McIlroy 26 observed how much he has changed as a golfer since his maiden PGA Tour victory here five years ago Everything has changed he said I feel I m a much better player My stature is much higher When I m on the leaderboard it carries a bit more weight I m much better prepared and equipped to be in contention week in and week out more grounded and mentally much better as well Mickelson meanwhile was relieved to finally post a score that in his opinion reflected the quality of his performance The American left hander also said he was shocked that he had never won at Quail Hollow a course he believes suits his aggressive style
I ll have a good shot this weekend Mickelson told reporters Hopefully I can break through |
WFC | McIlroy shoots career low 61 to lead in Charlotte | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Rory McIlroy shot his lowest score as a professional a course record 11 under par 61 to charge into the lead after the third round at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Saturday The Northern Irishman used an astonishing display of long driving to overpower Quail Hollow and struck a series of towering iron shots that honed in on the pins to set up 11 birdies He posted an 18 under 198 total a tournament record low score to open a four shot lead over American Webb Simpson 68 and a seven shot advantage over third placed Robert Streb McIlroy s 61 bettered by one stroke the course record he held jointly with Brendon de Jonge McIlroy rated it among the best of his career I looked at the scores in the morning and saw there were some low ones out there the world number one told reporters I got a little more aggressive and it paid off I just aimed at the flags today It s as simple as that I was taking dead aim The four times major champion recalled he once shot a 61 at Portrush in Northern Ireland in an amateur event That was a good round There s been quite a lot of rounds where I ve got it going but that was definitely up there today said McIlroy had 23 putts but did not hole anything longer than 15 feet and only once at the first hole where he sank a seven footer for par was he in serious danger of dropping a shot He started thinking about shooting a 59 after a birdie at the 13th took him to eight under McIlroy needed to birdie the difficult final two holes to shoot a magical 59 but it was not to be as he left his approach shots a long way from the hole on both occasions I was a little disappointed not finishing it off the way I wanted to said McIlroy who notched his first PGA Tour victory here five years ago He nearly did not play here this year due to his busy schedule He is glad he decided to come even if it means playing five weeks in a row
I love the place I m playing well so at least for now that decision to play has paid off he said |
WFC | McIlroy retains four shot lead midway through final round | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Rory McIlroy retained a four stroke lead halfway through the final round at the 7 1 million Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Sunday A day after shooting a course record 61 at Quail Hollow McIlroy was steady rather than spectacular on the front nine The Northern Irishman made tap in birdies at both of the par fives but missed several other makeable putts A bogey at the par three second where he three putted was his first blemish since the first round The world number one made the turn at 19 under while American Patrick Rodgers moved into second place at 15 under American Webb Simpson got within three shots after the second hole but a double bogey at the sixth where he three putted from four feet effectively ended his chances |
WFC | McIlroy allays burnout fears over heavy playing schedule | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Rory McIlroy may be battling fatigue when he continues his five week trans Atlantic playing schedule in Europe over the next fortnight but the world number one has shrugged off any talk of burnout ahead of next month s U S Open After his runaway seven stroke victory at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Classic on the PGA Tour on Sunday McIlroy plans to get as much rest as possible before he starts the defense of his BMW PGA Championship title this coming week I m going to try to get a lot of sleep between now and teeing it up on Thursday at Wentworth the Briton told reporters before jumping on a private jet for an overnight flight to London for the European Tour s flagship event McIlroy will also contest the Irish Open before taking two weeks off prior to the U S Open at Chambers Bay in Washington State The 26 year old has never seen the course but scoffed at a recent statement by U S Golf Association executive director Mike Davis that only a couple of practice rounds were required to have a chance of winning What s Mike Davis s handicap McIlroy asked Reuters when informed of the official s comment I m going to go up a little early so I ll probably play three practice rounds It s a bit of an unknown so you have to prepare but I think you can fall into the trap of trying to over prepare If you don t go out and execute all that preparation doesn t mean anything so I d rather have my game in good shape going in there and play practice rounds the way I usually would I think that will do well for me If McIlroy continues to play as well as he did in Charlotte he will be tough to beat no matter how well or otherwise he knows the course He used a magnificent display of long and accurate driving to plunder Quail Hollow and shatter the tournament record by five shots with his 21 under par 267 total When McIlroy is on his game he can demolish a course like nobody else He can work the ball either way with his driver and he hits it so far that almost every par five is reachable in two shots Asked whether he was surprised to shoot 21 under he said It s out there if you don t make many mistakes
Realistically with someone my length off the tee you should be making six birdies out there the four par fives and two drivable par fours That s six birdies a day 24 under |
WFC | San Bernardino council backs bankruptcy plan that hammers bondholders | By Tim Reid LOS ANGELES Reuters San Bernardino s council approved a bankruptcy exit plan on Monday night that seeks to virtually eliminate the southern California city s pension bond debt while paying Calpers the state pension system in full The city council voted 6 1 for the plan after a debate which included input from residents The bankruptcy blueprint called a plan of adjustment must now be presented to the federal judge overseeing the city s bankruptcy by May 30 under a court imposed deadline Under the plan city officials want to slash their 50 million pension debt to just a penny on the dollar The city previously agreed to pay Calpers its biggest creditor in full now and at all times in the future an agreement incorporated into the plan The Luxembourg based bank EEPK holder of the 50 million pension obligation bonds Ambac Assurance Corp which insures a portion of the bonds and Wells Fargo NYSE WFC the bond trustee have declined to comment since the plan was released last Thursday San Bernardino also intends to virtually eliminate retiree health care costs under the plan and to outsource its fire emergency response and trash services San Bernardino a city of 205 000 65 miles east of Los Angeles declared bankruptcy in August 2012 with a 45 million deficit
Along with Detroit Michigan and Stockton California it has been one of a handful of municipal bankruptcies that have been closely watched by the 3 6 trillion U S municipal bond market |
WFC | Confident McIlroy targets two more majors this year | By Ken Ferris LONDON Reuters Rory McIlroy is confident he can add two majors to his trophy haul this year after a successful 12 months in which he has proved himself to be the world s best player At Wentworth this week to defend his PGA Championship title McIlroy on Tuesday picked up the European Tour Golfer of the Year and Players Player of the Year awards The world number one who has won four majors so far in his career clinched his third tournament of 2015 on Sunday with a seven shot win at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Classic The 26 year old who claimed the WGC Match Play title two weeks ago has been in superb form and now has six top 10 finishes in his last eight PGA Tour starts There are three majors left and I feel two of those venues could suit me St Andrews The Open and Whistling Straits US PGA Championship he told Sky Sports Chambers Bay at the U S Open is a bit of an unknown quantity But there are two great opportunities for major titles and a lot of other opportunities for wins I d also like to increase my lead in the world ranking said McIlroy who already has a lead of almost 200 points over Jordan Speith followed by Sweden s Henrik Stenson and Speith s fellow Americans Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk I feel like I m in a generation with a lot of young guys that are coming up and I want to be the best of this generation McIlroy said in a BBC interview on Tuesday I want to win a lot more tournaments I can win a lot more majors I haven t put a number on it because I don t want to put that burden on myself I just want to be better than everyone else I ve put in a lot of hard work over the past 12 months just working that little bit harder just those tiny little differences that separate a top five finish from a win McIlroy has a long way to go to catch Tiger Woods who has won 14 major titles but he has closely studied the former world number one The one thing I ve learned from Tiger from getting to know him is how hard he works the ones who work the hardest do the best said McIlroy
I ll never be able to do for golf what Tiger did He was a phenomenon he brought so many more people into the game because of his background and how he started on tour |
WFC | Leaderboard fear factor is a definite plus for McIlroy | By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER England Reuters World number one Rory McIlroy believes there is something of a fear factor when rival golfers see his name on a leaderboard these days The Northern Irishman has already scooped four major victories by the age of 26 and with three tour wins to his credit this season he is again on course on dominate the golfing landscape just like he did in 2012 and 2014 I feel like my name now carries a certain weight on the leaderboard McIlroy told a news conference on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth I don t know if you call that intimidation but I feel when players see my name on the leaderboard now it might mean a little bit more than it used to However even the world s greatest golfers lose far more times than they win and McIlroy is no different I don t feel I m unbeatable that s for sure he said Golf is a very fickle game and it can humble you quite quickly McIlroy gave yet another example of his supreme talent by romping to a seven stroke triumph at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in North Carolina on Sunday He has developed a penchant for runaway victories in his short career but he is not fussy how he achieves them I ll take any wins any way I can get them whether it s by one shot or in a playoff or by seven shots like last week said McIlroy who also won the Dubai Desert Classic in February and the WGC Cadillac Match Play in California at the start of this month I feel like now I m a player that can win all different sorts of ways which I m happy about I can be in contention and guts it out with a few other players or separate myself I separated myself from the field with a 61 on Saturday so I went out on Sunday and didn t need to do much It was sort of a stress free 18 holes McIlroy launches his campaign at the BMW PGA Championship an event that carries a prize fund of five million euros 5 55 million at 0835 local time on Thursday in the company of European Ryder Cup team mates Martin Kaymer and Jamie Donaldson |
WFC | Golf No glory is Rory s story as McIlroy misses cut | By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER England Reuters World number one Rory McIlroy suggested he was probably in need of a rest after missing the cut by ballooning to a six over par 78 in the second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Friday The title holder frittered away stroke after stroke at the European Tour s flagship event and his five over total of 149 meant he missed the cut by a considerable margin McIlroy is in the middle of an untypically busy schedule of five tournaments in a row that will end with the Irish Open event he hosts at Royal County Down next week The 26 year old Northern Irishman cruised to a seven shot win at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in North Carolina on Sunday but he told reporters on Friday that his trans Atlantic exertions had finally caught up with him I m a little disappointed I m not going to be here for the weekend said McIlroy who also won the WGC Cadillac Match Play in California at the start of the month I d still rather be here but it s not all bad getting to go home for the weekend If there was any weekend to miss coming off the back of three good weeks in the United States I m probably in need of a little bit of a rest McIlroy seemed out of sorts from the start as he found five bunkers in six holes On the second the four times major winner mouthed did you see that at a television camera as if to complain about the uneven greens when his putt hit a bump and stopped well short of the hole He perked up by bagging a birdie at the short eighth arrowing a pinpoint five wood within a few feet of the cup McIlroy then dropped another stroke at the 10th before snap hooking his drive left at the 11th and slumping to a double bogey six More bogeys followed at the 13th and 16th He almost chipped in for an eagle at the 17th but the three putts he took from 20 feet at the last capped a miserable day After missing the cut for only the third time in 45 tournaments McIlroy said Any time you are defending a title you want to come back and give it a valiant effort
It was inevitable at some point the run was going to come to an end Now I just dust myself off and get ready for next week at the Irish Open |
LB | Victoria s Secret drags on L Brands results | Shares of L Brands NYSE LB move sharply lower after the retailer sets profit guidance below expectations 2 95 3 25 vs 3 43 along with its Q4 report Victoria s Secret was the culprit again in dragging down quarterly results with a 1 drop in comparable sales despite a promotional cadence The VS business is the middle of a shift in mix of its selling products that could pay off over the long term but is dinging profit in the near term Following the report Telsey Advisory Group lowered its rating on L Brands to Market Perform from Outperform and slashed the price target to 52 from 70 Bernstein cut its PT on L Brands to 59 from 69 Shares of L Brands are down 7 05 in premarket trading to 45 85 Now read |
LB | L Brands updates on sales sets new buyback program | L Brands NYSE LB reports total sales increased 11 6 to 854M during February Comparable sales were up 3 during the month vs 4 expected Comparable sales were up 2 for the Victoria s Secret business while Bath Body Works turned a 7 comp L Brands says it authorized a new 240 buyback program inclusive of 23 1M outstanding under its prior authorization LB 0 86 premarket to 44 35 Now read |
LB | Why L Brands Stock Fell 4 6 In Spite Of Positive Comps | Shares of L Brands Inc NYSE LB witnessed a decline of around 4 6 in spite of delivering improved comparable sales comps for March 2018 Though comps grew for the fourth consecutive month it wasn t enough to placate investors who were let down by the decline in PINK comps In fact sources revealed that PINK witnessed its first comps decline in the company s record Well management blamed the drop in PINK comps on softness in its swim business which it plans to discontinue Coming to numbers comps for the five week period ended Apr 7 2018 rose 4 after improving 3 and 7 in February and January respectively Net sales in the month under review rose 7 to 1 02 billion While comps inched up 1 at Victoria s Secret the same at Bath Body Works improved 10 Moreover Victoria s Secret merchandise margin rate fell significantly in March primarily due to rise in promotional activities to boost traffic However in case of Bath Body Works merchandise margin rate was flat compared with last year Notably March comps received nearly 2 points boost from early Easter which is expected to dent comps in April Price PerformanceEver since the company announced fourth quarter results on Feb 28 shares of this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel beauty as well as personal care products have declined 26 7 Moreover in a month the stock has declined 12 4 as against the s rise of 1 7 The downside stemmed from soft outlook for first quarter and fiscal 2018 Management anticipates first quarter comps to be in low single digits Sales are projected to be nearly 5 points higher than comps Further gross margin is expected to decline marginally due to a fall in merchandise margin rate somewhat offset by lower buying and occupancy expenses This Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell company envisions earnings per share in the range of 15 20 cents showing a fall from 33 cents in the year ago quarter For fiscal 2018 the company s gross margin rate is likely to stay in line with the prior year quarter s tally Still Interested in Retail Check these Hot PicksGuess NYSE GES delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 34 7 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 17 5 and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Tailored Brands NYSE TLRD delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 50 9 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 16 5 and a Zacks Rank 1 G III Apparel NASDAQ GIII delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 41 2 in the trailing four quarters It has a long term earnings growth rate of 15 and a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
PFE | Medical R D Alliance Expands Blockchain Project to Include Data Sharing | The Pistoia Alliance has expanded its blockchain project to include data sharing data identity and data integrity according to a press release published on Feb 8
The Pistoia Alliance is a not for profit organization established in 2007 with representatives from well known pharmaceutical industry companies which include Pfizer NYSE PFE Novartiz and GSK The Pistoia Alliance was formed to help integrate new technology to assist in the companies respective research and development R D fields |
PFE | Irish drug trial technology firm Teckro wins 25 million injection | By Ludwig Burger Reuters Ireland s Teckro which makes software that allows physicians to take part in drug development trials from mobile devices has won 25 million in financial backing from investors as it hatches longer term plans for a stock market listing A fund managed by Bill Maris the former head of Google s venture capital arm as well as Founders Fund an early backer of SpaceX and Airbnb took part in the latest funding round it said on Thursday It will allow Teckro to expand internationally and develop its machine learning based digital platform which it sells to drugmakers The drug companies in turn make the software available to physicians and nurses involved in the clinical development studies they sponsor Testing on humans is by far the most expensive part of bringing experimental drugs to market Those costs are rising as the science behind the drug becomes more complex and Teckro says it can simplify the process by moving some of the paperwork into digital form and by allowing doctors to quickly retrieve information It s really about providing answers to day to day questions any doctor and nurse may have in the context of a clinical trial in an instant said co founder and Chief Executive Gary Hughes The healthcare industry is quickly adopting digital business models using tools from computer aided molecular drug design to artificial intelligence to analyze patients treatment history or genetic code Pharma majors Novartis GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer NYSE PFE have created the role of chief digital officer over the past two years Teckro s system is already used by more than 10 000 healthcare practitioners and its commercial customers include global pharma majors as well as smaller biotech firms said Hughes He declined to provide names The latest round takes Teckro s total funding to 43 million Hughes declined to say what percentage in the company the investors received in return or what price tag the transaction puts on the entire company If the administrative hassle of clinical trials can be reduced more community hospitals will eventually be able to participate in them he added While Teckro s three founders sold a previous venture Firecrest in 2011 Hughes vowed that they have longer term ambitions for Teckro which was founded in 2015 This time our ambition is to go all the way An IPO initial public offering is potentially out there We don t have a specific time frame in mind other than we re thinking long term for Teckro |
WFC | Analysis Players win thrusts Fowler into major conversation | By Mark Lamport Stokes LOS ANGELES Reuters Rickie Fowler s stunning victory at the 10 million Players Championship was unquestionably the perfect riposte to any criticism of his perceived inability to close out tournament wins Much more significantly through his thrilling playoff win after four extra holes at the TPC Sawgrass thrust his name back into the conversation about the players most likely to dominate the game at the highest level over the next decade Fowler has been bracketed with Rory McIlroy Jordan Spieth and Jason Day as golf s most exciting young guns but doubts had surfaced after he started this year with a solitary career win on the PGA Tour despite several close calls along the way An anonymous player poll conducted by Sports Illustrated revealed last week that the young American and England s Ian Poulter were the two most overrated golfers on the U S circuit Regardless of the survey s merits Fowler used the results as strong motivation as he stormed to the top of the Players Championship leaderboard with an eagle birdie birdie finish in regulation before sealing victory in the playoff Given the fact that Rickie Fowler by some of his peers anonymously was called out as being overrated I cannot remember a more in your face victory in any other endeavor in any other sport said Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee After earning the winner s cheque for 1 8 million at the unofficial fifth major by adding a second PGA Tour title to his career resume Fowler readily admitted that the player poll had given him timely motivation I laughed at the poll but if there was any question I think this right here answers anything you need to know the 26 year old told reporters I was always looked at as only having one win on tour and I always felt that I needed to put myself in position to win more often and I did that last year said Fowler who claimed his maiden PGA Tour win at the 2012 Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship I wasn t able to end up as the last guy standing then but it feels good to be back in that position and I m hoping to be back in the same position more often FRUITS OF HARD WORK Last year Fowler became only the third player after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to finish in the top five at all four majors in the same season the result of hard work and improved ball striking in association with his swing coach Butch Harmon This overrated thing that came out it motivated him Harmon told Golf Channel You ve got to hand it to him He just keeps fighting That s what I love about this kid He s got no quit in him Fowler climbed to ninth in the world rankings following his victory at the TPC Sawgrass and Harmon expects his pupil to now work even harder at his game as he strives for greater consistency in golf s big events and many more tournament wins You ve got to put in more time and you ve got to work harder at it because everybody that s trying to beat you is working that hard Harmon said of Fowler who tied for second last year at both the U S Open and British Open He s dedicated The fact that he d only won one time before last week really bothered him because he knows how good he is The rest of the world knows how good he is now and now we have to keep validating that and keep winning
Expect Fowler world number one McIlroy Masters champion Spieth and emerging Japanese talent Hideki Matsuyama as long as they all remain fit to be regular contenders at the majors for at least the next decade |
WFC | Scott and Simpson to follow different paths to U S Open | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Adam Scott has heeded a warning that nobody who arrives only a couple of days before the U S Open will have a realistic chance of winning the June 18 21 championship at Chambers Bay near Seattle But fellow major winner Webb Simpson has laughed off the same advice and will arrive on site a few days beforehand after playing in the PGA Tour event in Memphis the previous week Scott the 2013 Masters champion who held the world number one ranking for 11 weeks last year said he would be at Chambers Bay a lot in the weeks before the second major of the season I plan to be there for a significant period the Australian told reporters on Wednesday on the eve of this week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship at Quail Hollow It looks like something quite unique and hearing Mike Davis s comments of how a person without good knowledge of the course won t have a chance shows me that certainly you re going to have to get a few rounds in and hopefully a few different conditions U S Golf Association executive director Mike Davis said last month that Chambers Bay a new links style course adjacent to Puget Sound would require extensive homework by the players I would contend that there is no way a player will have success here at Chambers Bay unless he really studies the golf course and learns it Davis told reporters The idea of coming in and playing two practice rounds and just walking it and using your yardage book that person is done He will not win the U S Open BUSY SCHEDULE But American Simpson who won the 2012 U S Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco said his busy schedule would preclude an early reconnaissance mission I can t get out there It s not exactly easy to get there from the East Coast Simpson told reporters at Quail Hollow I heard what Davis said It s just I love playing the St Jude Classic in Memphis That would be my only window to go I would rather play in that tournament than go see Chambers Bay Simpson however plans to be extra focused once he arrives on site for the U S Open I m really going to be serious about Monday Tuesday Wednesday and almost make those days more important than the tournament and just see what happens he said Like Scott Phil Mickelson will pay an early visit to Chambers Bay something that has become a habit ahead of the majors for the six time U S Open runner up
They close Chambers Bay on May 27th I ll plan on going there sometime after that American Mickelson said |
WFC | Wells Fargo moves to streamline major departments report | Reuters Wells Fargo Co N WFC the largest U S mortgage lender has undertaken a study to streamline five of its key departments a move that could lead to job losses the Charlotte Observer reported on Wednesday The five departments under review include human resources technology support finance communications and marketing an unnamed source told the Observer adding that the aim was to find savings that could be reinvested in areas like cyber security risk and compliance among others The company which announced the move internally last month took a similar review in 2008 after it bought Wachovia Corp the Observer added Wells Fargo could not immediately be reached for comment
The San Francisco based company last month reported a drop in quarterly profit for the first time in five years as employee costs rose while margins are under pressure from low interest rates |
WFC | Busy McIlroy returns to scene of first U S win | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Rory McIlroy does not usually play five successive weeks of tournament golf but he could not resist returning to the site of his first PGA Tour victory for this week s Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship McIlroy announced his arrival to an admiring American audience when he shot a final round 62 at Quail Hollow in 2010 a year after his first professional win at the European Tour s Dubai Desert Classic He has played the PGA Tour event every year since finishing outside the top 10 only once with a missed cut in 2011 It doesn t seem that long ago 2010 but great to be back McIlroy told reporters after playing in Wednesday s pro am with Grace Vaughan a 16 year old with a blood disorder who won an essay contest to play with any professional of her choosing McIlroy opted to compete this week but his busy schedule means he will reluctantly miss the Jack Nicklaus hosted Memorial tournament in early June two weeks before the U S Open The Northern Irish world number one loves the event at Muirfield Village in Ohio so much that he wrote Nicklaus a letter to apologize for his absence By coincidence he then met Nicklaus on Monday at the Bears Club in Florida where they both have their primary residence The first thing he Nicklaus said to me was that he d received my letter and I said to him I wanted to write rather than phone or just advise the tour He seemed pretty taken back to get my letter and that made me feel good McIlroy 26 said The four time major winner heads a strong field at Quail Hollow that includes nine of the world s top 20 LOW SCORING ON THE CARDS Australia s former world number one Adam Scott felt the course was set up well and that low scores would be possible but not guaranteed It s not soft It s not firm It s just nice the Australian said while patiently signing hundreds of autographs on his way from the 18th green to the clubhouse The tournament is being played two weeks later in the schedule this year and American Webb Simpson who lives adjacent to the seventh hole believes the later time slot has helped the course condition after a wretched February of snow and ice The course has appreciated a couple more weeks Simpson said The course is beautiful and the greens super fast Even if this place wasn t my home I would still have this as one of my top courses of the year Strong though the field is few regular PGA Tour events attract all the big names and this week is no exception
Among those missing are Tiger Woods Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Players Championship winner Rickie Fowler |
WFC | Scott barely interested in Olympic golf exhibition | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Adam Scott considers Olympic golf to be an exhibition sport and is barely interested in competing at next year s Rio Summer Games the former world number one told Reuters In fact the 2013 Masters champion sounds like he would much prefer to lie on the couch and watch Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps add to their gold medal totals in Brazil even though golf will make its first appearance at the Olympics since 1904 I m not definitely ruling it out but certainly I m not planning my schedule around playing the Olympics Scott told Reuters at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship in Charlotte I m planning my schedule around playing majors the best I can If I can fit going to the Olympics into that it might be a bit of fun then lucky me if I qualify But if not I m not going to miss it that s for sure and I ll enjoy watching the major Olympic sports Scott believes the focus of the Olympics should be on sports where winning a gold medal is the pinnacle not an afterthought He thinks the addition of sports such as tennis and golf are unwarranted Whether I win an Olympic medal or not is not going to define my career or change whether I ve fulfilled my career he continued It s nothing I ve ever aspired to do and I don t think I ever will It s all about the four majors and I think that s the way it should stay for golf To go and play an exhibition event down there to meet some athletes in other sports in the middle of the major season I don t think any other athletes in their sport would do that Asked to clarify that he thought Olympic golf was an exhibition Scott 34 did not shy away from the question Yes I do because I don t believe a lot of sports belong there he said It s gotten away from where it started The 2016 Olympics will be held in August To accommodate it the year s final major the PGA Championship has been moved to late July from its traditional date in the second week of August Scott is almost certain to be exempt for what is shaping up to be a two man Australian Olympic men s team He currently is ranked 11th in the world The only countryman ranked higher is number eight Jason Day Third best is John Senden ranked 48th Scott understands that some think having golf in the Olympics will help grow the game but taking the spotlight away from athletes who toil much of their careers in obscurity is not something he feels good about Most of the athletes at the Olympics probably have trained four years specifically to peak at this one event said Scott It s the pinnacle of their sport They get one crack at their big thing every four years They have put their life on hold for this event and it s so important to them and I feel it s their time
Golf doesn t need to be in the Olympics |
WFC | Early U S Open preparation not essential Moore | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters American Ryan Moore says there is a 90 percent chance that next month s U S Open will be won by a player who does not arrive early at the relatively unknown venue Chambers Bay The world number 32 disagrees with a comment recently made by a top U S Golf Association USGA official that any player who gets in only a couple of practice rounds will have no chance of winning the June 15 18 event Moore lives in Puyallup only a few miles kilometers from Chambers Bay in Washington State and he is one of the few PGA Tour players familiar with the course a new links style layout adjacent to Puget Sound USGA executive director Mike Davis said last month I would contend that there is no way no way a player will have success here at Chambers Bay unless he really studies the golf course and learns it The idea of coming in and playing two practice rounds and having your caddie just walk it and using your yardage book that person is done He will not win the U S Open Moore acknowledges that the course will take longer than most to learn but he felt that Davis was overstating things I think there s a 90 percent chance he Davis will be wrong because someone s going to win that golf tournament and pretty much everybody is going to be showing up the week of four time PGA Tour winner Moore told Reuters on Thursday Most players will not arrive at Chambers Bay until the week of the tournament though there are notable exceptions including Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott both of whom plan an early visit Despite Moore s suspicion that Davis will be proved wrong the Washington State resident plans to prepare meticulously for the year s second major I m going to be there the entire week before so I ll probably play a good five or six rounds on it before the tournament Moore 32 said I ve probably played it five or six times but I haven t played it in four or five years It s a U S Open on a true links style golf course with fescue greens fescue fairways and a lot of elevation changes too so it s going to be interesting For me it s all about the condition I ve never played it with the greens firm and fast so we ll see what condition they re able to get it into It s going to be interesting It s certainly a course with a lot of character
Moore was speaking after shooting a one under par 71 in the opening round of the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship at Quail Hollow |
WFC | Streb tames par fives to take early lead in Charlotte | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters American Robert Streb rode a little luck and a hot putter into a one stroke lead after the opening round of the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship on Thursday Streb dominated the par fives picking up birdies at all four of the long holes en route to a bogey free seven under par 65 in pleasant morning conditions at Quail Hollow The 28 year old from Oklahoma leads fellow Americans Patrick Reed and Kevin Chappell by one stroke with local favorite Webb Simpson among a large group two back Streb whose breakthrough PGA Tour victory came at the McGladrey Classic in October had a mini slump earlier this year which coincided with the arrival of a daughter in February But a putting adjustment last week led to a solid tie for 30th at the Players Championship and he carried that form into Thursday Everything is trending the right way at the moment Streb told reporters I got the putter going got my hands pushed forward a little bit and finally just made some putts over five six feet Last week was the first time in awhile I felt like I had putted solid for the most part Streb s lucky break came at the par five seventh where his 15 yard pitch shot was moving like a rocket when it clattered against the pin and stopped four feet away setting up birdie I hit my pitch too hard Luckily it hit the flag Everything was going my way said Streb Reed played in an afternoon grouping with Rory McIlroy and he outplayed the world number one who shot 70 Reed has struggled with his driver recently but he found signs of improvement and pounced on his birdie opportunities when they occurred The driver has been going a little sideways recently but today I was able to keep it in play said Reed whose first of four tour victories came barely an hour up the Interstate 85 freeway in Greensboro less than two years ago Even though I only hit eight fairways to me that seems like a lot and the putter was working really well McIlroy meanwhile did not seem fazed at giving the frontrunners a headstart
I feel like the course is there to be had There s definitely something in the middle to low 60s out there tomorrow morning said the Northern Irishman who entertained a large gallery with some superb drives though he also made a few mistakes most notably a double bogey at the par three 17th |
WFC | Swede Stenson wants to embrace Olympic experience | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters While Adam Scott considers Olympic golf to be an exhibition sport Swede Henrik Stenson by contrast wants to embrace the entire experience at the Rio Games next year on and off the course World number three Stenson plans to immerse himself by marching in the opening ceremony staying in the athletes village and trying to win a medal for his country as golf returns to the Olympic schedule for the first time since 1904 He even has envisaged the pride that would come from having an Olympic medal on his mantelpiece to gaze at as he relaxes in his rocking chair as a senior citizen Above all Stenson believes it will be important for most of the top players who are exempt to show up in Brazil to increase the chances of golf retaining its Olympic status I see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of the Olympics the 39 year old told Reuters at the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship It s a cool event and given my age it could be the only chance I have I think I d stay in the village to get the feel of it That would elevate the experience I know some of the athletes who will be there and I m sure I will make some new friends That s part of the experience being able to have dinners and some chats MEDAL CHANCES As for the golf Stenson fancies his chances of snaring a medal in an event that will have a limited 60 man field that will include a smattering of players without any hope of competing with the big boys Because of the structure of the qualification I would think it would be down to 30 40 guys competing for the medals said Stenson who is part of a four player Olympic liaison committee with Thongchai Jaidee Karrie Webb and Park In bee So of course you fancy your chances if you re having a good week Stenson readily acknowledges that a gold medal is not as coveted as a major championship victory but he nonetheless considers it would be a big deal It would be huge back home winning a medal because Sweden is a big sporting nation and they would look at it like getting a medal in any other sport he said I think it would be bigger outside the golfing community Told of the lukewarm attitude to Olympic golf expressed by Australian Scott earlier this week Stenson said each to his own and emphasized the importance of the top players competing It s down to having all the top guys who are qualified showing up and playing he said I think that will be a big part of whether golf is successful or not
Of course it wouldn t be good for the tournament if there are a lot of top guys not showing up |
WFC | Knost not crying in his beer after hole in one | By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina Reuters Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez won 288 bottles of beer for a hole in one during the second round of the European Tour s Spanish Open on Friday A few hours later on the other side of the Atlantic American Colt Knost recorded an ace at the par three 17th hole in the second round of the Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Championship at Quail Hollow Club His reward Simply the honor on the next tee But the former U S Amateur champion had no complaints after holing out with a three iron from what he said was 221 yards His feat just the second ace ever at the tournament coupled with a birdie at the difficult par four 18th helped the American card a four under par 68 and advance to the final two rounds Standing on 17 I told another player in the group we both needed a miracle to somehow make the cut That was probably the definition of it Knost told Golf Channel Delighted though he was with his ace at the 17th in some respects he was happier with his birdie at the last Honestly I m more proud of 18 being able to calm myself down and focus and make a birdie on a really hard hole he said Knost posted a one under total of 143 to end the day nine strokes off the lead |
LB | L Brands reports 1 gain in Dec comparable sales | L Brands NYSE LB reports sales increased 3 in December to 2 516B Comparable sales were up 1 for the period to miss the consensus estimate for a 1 4 gain The company expects to report Q4 EPS of 2 00 vs a prior guidance range of 1 95 to 2 10 and the consensus estimate of 2 05 Source Press ReleaseNow read |
LB | What Falling Estimates Price Mean For L Brands LB | Similar to wise buying decisions exiting certain underperformers at the right time helps maximize portfolio returns Selling off losers can be difficult but if both the share price and estimates are falling it could be time to get rid of the security before more losses hit your portfolio One such stock that you may want to consider dropping is L Brands Inc NYSE LB which has witnessed a significant price decline in the past four weeks and it has seen negative earnings estimate revisions for the current quarter and the current year A Zacks Rank 4 Sell further confirms weakness in LB A key reason for this move has been the negative trend in earnings estimate revisions For the full year we have seen 11 estimates moving down in the past 30 days compared with just one upward revision This trend has caused the consensus estimate to trend lower going from 3 48 a share a month ago to its current level of 3 17 Also for the current quarter L Brands has seen seven downward estimate revisions versus no revisions in the opposite direction dragging the consensus estimate down to 19 cents a share from 32 cents over the past 30 days The stock also has seen some pretty dismal trading lately as the share price has dropped 22 in the past month L Brands Inc Price and Consensus So it may not be a good decision to keep this stock in your portfolio anymore at least if you don t have a long time horizon to wait If you are still interested in the Retail Apparel and Shoes industry you may instead consider a better ranked stock Boot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 2 Buy and may be a better selection at this time You can see Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
LB | Moving Average Crossover Alert L Brands LB | L Brands Inc NYSE LB could be a stock to avoid from a technical perspective as the firm is seeing unfavorable trends on the moving average crossover front Recently the 50 Day Moving Average for LB broke out below the 200 Day Simple Moving Average suggesting short term bearishness This has already started to take place as the stock has moved lower by 23 6 in the past four weeks And with the recent moving average crossover investors have to think that more unfavorable trading is ahead for LB stock If that wasn t enough L Brands isn t looking too great from an earnings estimate revision perspective either It appears as though many analysts have been reducing their earnings expectations for the stock lately which is usually not a good sign of things to come Consider that in the last 30 days 11 estimates have been reduced while one has moved higher Add this in to a similar move lower in the consensus estimate and there is plenty of reason to be bearish here That is why we currently have a Zacks Rank 4 Sell on this stock and are looking for it to underperform in the weeks ahead So either avoid this stock or consider jumping ship until the estimates and technical factors turn around for LB You can see Investor Alert Breakthroughs PendingA medical advance is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization Billions of dollars in research have poured into it Companies are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous products are in the pipeline Cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in sight and so are big potential profits for early investors Zacks names 5 stocks to buy now |
PFE | Conatus CNAT Beats On Q2 Earnings Stops Emricasan Studies | Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ CNAT reported a loss of 2 cents per share in the second quarter of 2019 narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents and also the year ago loss of 15 cents Moreover revenues of 10 8 million rose 22 7 year over year owing to an increase in net cumulative catch up revenues recognized from its partner Novartis NYSE NVS Moreover the top line comprehensively beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 million Shares of Conatus have plummeted 82 3 so far this year against the increase of 12 3 Conatus has no approved product in its portfolio at the moment The revenues generated by the company are all related to its collaboration with Novartis for the worldwide development and commercialization of emricasan Due to lack of an approved product the company is totally dependent on emricasan for growth However following a series of disappointing results from the study on emricasan Conatus and Novartis have decided to stop planning for the further development of emricasan Moreover along with earnings release Conatus stated that is in discussion with Novartis for winding down the collaboration altogether Emricasan a caspase inhibitor was being developed for the treatment of patients with fibrosis or cirrhosis caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis NASH Conatus acquired the worldwide rights to emricasan from Pfizer NYSE PFE in July 2010 Quarter in DetailIn the second quarter research and development expenses were 8 6 million down 19 6 from the year ago figure mainly owing to lower expenses related to emricasan and lower personnel costs General and administrative expenses were 3 1 million up 19 2 from the year earlier quarter primarily due to the recognition of severance and noncash stock compensation costs Emricasan FailsIn June Conatus announced top line results from the phase IIb ENCORE LF study on emricasan for treating patients with decompensated nonalcoholic steatohepatitis NASH cirrhosis The study failed to meet its primary endpoint Consequently the company decided to discontinue further development of emricasan in the ENCORE LF study At the same time Conatus announced outcomes of the phase IIb ENCORE PH program which evaluated emricasan for a 24 week extension period Although results were consistent from the initial 24 week treatment period the study missed predefined objectives Last December Conatus presented top line data from the ENCORE PH study wherein emricasan demonstrated clinically meaningful treatment effects on the compensated NASH cirrhosis patients who face the peril of passing to the decompensation state However the study failed to attain its primary goal Earlier this March Conatus announced that the ENCORE NF study which evaluated emricasan for treating patients with biopsy confirmed NASH and liver fibrosis could not achieve the primary goal as it lacked the desired effect on earlier stage NASH fibrosis patients Also in June 2019 Conatus announced that it is planning to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives to add shareholder value The company appointed Oppenheimer Co Inc an independent investment bank and financial services company as its financial advisor for assistance Conatus also decided to slash its staff headcount by almost 40 as part of its restructuring plan and suspend the development of its preclinical candidate CTS 2090 which was being assessed for treating autoinflammatory diseases As of Jun 30 2019 Conatus had cash cash equivalents and marketable securities of 28 7 million compared with 33 8 million as of Mar 31 2018 The company expects the current year end balance in the range of 10 15 million Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Zacks Rank Key PickConatus carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold A better ranked stock in the healthcare sector is BeiGene Ltd NASDAQ BGNE which sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see BeiGene s loss per share estimates have been narrowed 2 7 for 2019 and 2 2 for 2020 over the past 60 days This Could Be the Fastest Way to Grow Wealth in 2019Research indicates one sector is poised to deliver a crop of the best performing stocks you ll find anywhere in the market Breaking news in this space frequently creates quick double and triple digit profit opportunities These companies are changing the world and owning their stocks could transform your portfolio in 2019 and beyond Recent trades from this sector have generated 98 119 and 164 gains in as little as 1 month |
PFE | Deciphera s GIST Drug Succeeds In Pivotal Study Stock Up 80 | Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ DCPH announced encouraging data from a pivotal phase III study INVICTUS evaluating its pipeline candidate ripretinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors GIST in fourth or later line setting Data from the study demonstrated that treatment with ripretinib led to significant reduction in the risk of disease progression or death On the back of this encouraging data the company announced that it will file a new drug application in the first quarter of 2020 seeking approval of ripretinib in a similar indication Shares of Deciphera skyrocketed almost 80 on Aug 13 following the study data announcement In fact the company s shares have rallied 71 so far this year against the s decline of 2 1 The INVICTUS study evaluated KIT and PDGFR inhibitor ripretinib in GIST patients previously treated with at least Novartis NYSE NVS Gleevec imatinib Pfizer s NYSE PFE Sutent sunitinib and Bayer s OTC BAYRY Stivagra regorafenib Data from the study showed ripretinib met the primary endpoint of progression free survival PFS The median progression free survival or PFS was 6 3 months for ripretinib significantly higher than 1 month for placebo or 85 reduction in risk of disease progression or death Median overall survival was 15 1 months for ripretinib versus 6 6 months for placebo Although ripretinib improved objective response rate or ORR 9 4 it was not statistically significant compared to placebo ORR 0 In a separate press release Deciphera announced updated data from a phase I study evaluating ripretinib in GIST patients in second third or fourth line settings Data showed that treatment with ripretinib led to median PFS of 42 weeks 40 weeks and 30 weeks and achieved ORR of 30 23 and 15 in second third and fourth line setting respectively Updated data demonstrates that median PFS was sustained across all arms of the study Moreover the data supports ongoing phase III study INTRIGUE evaluating ripretinib in second line GIST Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc Price
Zacks RankDeciphera currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
PFE | Epizyme EPZM Focuses On Developing Lead Drug Tazemetostat | We issued an updated report on Epizyme Inc NASDAQ EPZM on Aug 14 The company s lead pipeline candidate is tazemetostat a first in class EZH2 inhibitor which is currently being evaluated for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies as a monotherapy and to treat relapsed and front line disease as a combination therapy Epizyme s NDA for accelerated approval of tazemetostat for the treatment of patients with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma ES who are not eligible for curative surgery was accepted by the FDA for priority review in July 2019 The FDA is expected to give its decision on Jan 23 2020 If approved tazemetostat will be the first commercially available EZH2 inhibitor and the first treatment specifically indicated for epithelioid sarcoma patients A potential approval will significantly boost the growth prospectsThe company also plans to submit an NDA for accelerated approval of tazemetostat in patients with follicular lymphoma FL regardless of their EZH2 mutational status who have been previously treated with two or more systemic therapies The company expects to submit the NDA for accelerated approval in the fourth quarter of 2019 Epizyme is planning to initiate multiple clinical studies to evaluate tazemetostat in earlier treatment lines of follicular lymphoma and explore new combinations and potential indications in both FL and solid tumors The company also intends to discover the potential of tazemetostat in earlier lines of FL as combination therapy It is planning to conduct a confirmatory program with an adaptive study evaluating the combination of tazemetostat and the chemo free treatment regimen R2 Celgene s NASDAQ CELG Revlimid plus Roche s OTC RHHBY Rituxan in the second line or later treatment setting for FL patients both with and without EZH2 activating mutations The final design is subject to alignment with the FDA and the company expects to initiate the safety run in portion in the second half of 2019 Epizyme also aims at completing IND enabling studies on EZM8266 its G9a inhibitor designed to treat patients with sickle cell disease SCD It is on track to begin clinical development of the candidate in the second half of 2019 with a dose finding and safety study Epizyme s proprietary product platform is used to create small molecule inhibitors of a class of enzymes known as histone methyltransferases HMTs However the company faces competition from companies like Glaxo Novartis NYSE NVS Pfizer NYSE PFE and Constellation which are developing new epigenetic treatments for cancer targeting HMTs Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond 775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases They re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases Zacks has just released Century of Biology 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of 98 119 and 164 in as little as 1 month The stocks in this report could perform even better |
PFE | Pfizer Rises 3 | Investing com Pfizer NYSE PFE rose by 3 01 to trade at 42 46 by 14 49 19 49 GMT on Thursday on the NYSE exchange
The volume of Pfizer shares traded since the start of the session was 20 56M Pfizer has traded in a range of 41 35 to 42 46 on the day
The stock has traded at 42 4700 at its highest and 39 4700 at its lowest during the past seven days |
PFE | GSK pays up to 4 2 billion for Merck KGaA cancer immunotherapy | By Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT Reuters GlaxoSmithKline bolstered its cancer drug development pipeline on Tuesday agreeing to pay up to 3 7 billion euros 4 2 billion to Germany s Merck KGaA for the rights to a next generation immunotherapy Merck will receive an upfront payment of 300 million euros for the drug known as M7824 or bintrafusp alfa and is eligible for potential payments of up to 500 million euros depending on development milestones in lung cancer the two companies said in statements on Tuesday Merck could also get up to a further 2 9 billion euros depending on commercial milestones for a total deal value of as much as 3 7 billion euros Merck will book any future U S sales from the product while GSK will account for sales from other parts of the world GSK in December moved to bolster its cancer medicines cabinet with the 5 1 billion purchase of Tesaro Later that month it unveiled plans to separate its prescription drugs and vaccines business from its over the counter products unit under a joint venture deal with Pfizer s consumer health division For GSK this alliance is a further step in the company s priority to strengthen its pharmaceuticals pipeline it said The M7824 drug a fusion protein that triggers two immune responses to cancer cells is being tested on 10 tumour types and was recently shown to delay the progression of a certain type of lung cancer for at least 9 5 months in half of the trial participants Merck has already started a mid stage phase II trial in non small cell lung cancer comparing M7824 directly with U S rival Merck Co s Keytruda currently seen as the most promising cancer immunotherapy on the market with 7 2 billion in 2018 sales Keytruda is part of a class of immunotherapies known as checkpoint inhibitors which are expected to generate well over 20 billion in combined annual revenues over the next few years Merck KGaA which has no ownership ties with Merck Co is competing in that class with a drug called Bavencio jointly developed with Pfizer NYSE PFE but analysts expect the drug to play only a minor commercial role For M7824 Merck combined Bavencio s mode of action with another immune response booster known as TGF beta inhibtion This combination in a single molecule is unique We don t know of any other at this time said Belen Garijo the head of Merck s healthcare division Deutsche Bank DE DBKGn analysts said the trial against Keytruda was the main study to watch We expect investors to see the deal as a bold move to build GSK s late stage oncology pipeline bringing in an asset with very large potential but with substantial risk they wrote in a note Merck s shares traded 2 1 percent higher at 1420 GMT while GSK was up 1 7 percent both outperforming the 0 7 percent gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Health Care index
1 0 8758 euros |
WFC | Twitter cuts revenue forecast shares slump | By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Devika Krishna Kumar Reuters Twitter Inc N TWTR reported quarterly revenue that fell short of Wall Street estimates and cut its full year forecast because of weak demand for its new direct response advertising sending shares down as much as 24 percent on Tuesday User growth was off to a slow start in April the company said even though it hit its own target for the just ended first quarter Twitter forecast 2015 revenue of 2 17 billion to 2 27 billion down from its earlier forecast of 2 3 billion to 2 35 billion Analysts on average had been expecting 2 37 billion Twitter said its new direct response ads intended to encourage actions such as clicking on a link to an advertiser s website did not produce the revenue expected Advertisers limited their spending and the click rate on Twitter s ads fell but the company expects improvement in the second half of 2015 Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto said on a call with analysts The company which allows users to broadcast 140 character messages said revenue rose to 436 million in the first quarter from 250 5 million a year earlier This was below the average analyst estimate of 456 8 million according to Thomson Reuters I B E S Concerns about Twitter were exacerbated when the results were leaked before the market closed Market data firm Selerity tweeted the figures saying it had found the release on Twitter s investor relations website Twitter blamed the Nasdaq which it said managed its investor relations website Everything looked weaker than expected said Arvind Bhatia a SterneAgee CRT analyst This sort of loss of momentum is probably going to cause a bigger outside reaction than in normal circumstances The company s monthly active users rose 18 percent from the previous year to 302 million in line with some analysts expectations Twitter s net loss widened to 162 4 million or 25 cents per share for the quarter from 132 4 million or 23 cents per share a year earlier Excluding items the company earned 7 cents per share above the 4 cents per share expected by analysts Selerity s tweet about Twitter s earnings raised questions about the social media company s internal controls said Brian Jacobsen chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo NYSE WFC Fund Management Ahead of earnings on Tuesday Twitter said it had acquired marketing technology company TellApart to ramp up its direct response advertising
Twitter shares closed down 18 2 percent at 42 27 on the New York Stock Exchange and fell further to 41 89 after hours |
LB | Boot Barn soars after strong results in hurricane influenced quarter | Boot Barn NASDAQ BOOT runs up 19 after topping estimates on both lines of its FQ2 report and lifting guidance The retailer now sees FY18 EPS of 0 57 to 0 61 vs 0 57 consensus Same store sales were up 1 8 despite the disruption to business from the U S hurricanes The company ended the quarter with inventory down 1 on a per store basis Shares of Boot Barn are threatening to trade over 10 for the first time since May Previously Boot Barn beats by 0 02 beats on revenue Nov 2 Now read |
LB | Delta Galil Industries ADR reports Q3 results | Delta Galil Industries ADR OTCQX DELTY Q3 EPS of 0 57Revenue of 340 3M 14 7 Y Y Press ReleaseNow read |
LB | L Brands declares 0 60 dividend | L Brands NYSE LB declares 0 60 share quarterly dividend in line with previous Forward yield 4 88 Payable Dec 8 for shareholders of record Nov 24 ex div Nov 22 Now read |
LB | Retail rally takes hold | There s widespread gains in the retail sector after holiday quarter guidance from a number of key reporters came in ahead of expectations On the mall side of the industry Express NYSE EXPR is up 7 7 and DSW NYSE DSW is 6 5 higher Buckle BKE 9 3 Chico s FAS CHS 4 8 J Jill JILL 4 4 L Brands LB 2 1 Guess GES 6 2 and Genesco GCO 9 6 are also notably higher Select footwear stocks are also off and running after strong earnings were turned in Foot Locker NYSE FL Gainers include Caleres NYSE CAL 4 0 Vera Bradley NASDAQ VRA 3 3 Steven Madden NASDAQ SHOO 2 3 Skechers NYSE SKX 1 6 Previously Retail sector poised for breakout Nov 17 Now read |
LB | Guess 12 as Americas retail revenue sinks 13 comp sales 10 | Guess NYSE GES 12 2 after hours as Q3 earnings match estimates but revenues fall short of expectations and the company guides the midpoint of Q4 revenues well below consensus Retail revenue in the America remains weak falling 13 4 Y Y in U S dollars and 14 3 in constant currency during Q3 and retail comp sales including e commerce slid 10 in U S dollars and 11 in constant currency Results continue to be more promising in Europe and Asia where Q3 revenues were up 19 and 17 respectively mainly driven by new store openings and positive comp sales Operating margin in the Americas Retail segment improved 240 bps to 2 5 in Q3 from 4 9 in the prior year quarter but margin for Europe fell 320 bps to 3 0 from 6 2 a year ago For Q4 GES sees EPS of 0 48 0 55 vs 0 52 analyst consensus estimate and revenues 10 12 to 647M 761M vs 753M consensus Now read |
LB | Here Is Why L Brands LB Stock Declined 13 In A Month | L Brands Inc NYSE LB has been witnessing a downtrend in the Zacks Consensus Estimate after the company updated fourth quarter fiscal 2017 guidance Shares of this specialty retailer of women s intimate and other apparel beauty and personal care products home fragrance products and accessories has declined 13 3 in a month underperforming the s growth of 1 9 Management projects earnings in the band of 3 05 3 20 per share for fiscal 2017 which is well below fiscal 2016 and 2015 earnings of 3 74 and 3 99 respectively Moreover the company now expects earnings per share for the fourth quarter to be nearly 2 in comparison with previous guided range of 1 95 2 10 Analysts polled by Zacks are now less constructive on the stock This is evident from the movement witnessed in the Zacks Consensus Estimate that declined 0 5 and 0 3 to 2 02 and 3 12 respectively in the past 30 days Further declining bottom line and shrinking gross margin remain major concerns Management anticipates gross margin to deteriorate year over year during the fourth quarter as well as fiscal 2017 Turnaround Strategy Bode WellHowever the Zacks Rank 3 Hold company continues to revamp business by improving store experience localizing assortments and enhancing direct business We believe these measures facilitate it to generate incremental sales and increase store transactions through higher conversion rate The company is repositioning its La Senza brand by focusing on the younger generation and providing fashionable assortments at a reasonable price Moreover to drive growth the company remains focused on adding the entire PINK and lingerie assortments at its Victoria s Secret stores and seeks to expand in the adjacent categories In an effort to streamline Victoria s Secret business the company made some strategic changes in 2016 L Brands stated that the strategic efforts will continue in 2017 which is likely to put pressure on the results However it is confident of achieving growth in the long run and anticipates annual operating income to increase by 10 Further the company s foray into international markets is likely to provide long term growth opportunities and generate increased sales volumes Hot Stocks in the Retail Space Worth Checking OutInvestors interested in the retail space may consider better ranked stocks such as American Eagle Outfitters Inc NYSE AEO Boot Barn Holdings Inc NYSE BOOT and The Children s Place Inc NASDAQ PLCE These three stocks carry a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see American Eagle Outfitters has a long term earnings growth rate of 7 5 Boot Barn Holdings has an impressive long term earnings growth rate of 15 7 Children s Place has reported better than expected earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average earnings beat of 14 The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
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