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AMD | Doomsday Thursday | Ever since the great recession of 2008 the governments and central banks of the world have been pumping ludicrous amounts of money in the financial system in order to artificially inflate asset prices
In the short term this is really good for large corporations and financial institutions However the long term effects of these extraordinary and unprecedented policies are yet to be seen Some economists have hypothesized that the fallout from all this excess money in the system could be even more devastating than the original financial crisis that it was intended to fix
The US Federal Reserve has been making great efforts lately to get back to a normal policy Next week they should give us some indication about how they plan to get rid of more than 4 trillion worth of bonds and other assets that they have bought over the last decade
The European Central Bank however is still pumping about 60 Billion into their economy on a monthly basis In today s monetary policy meeting Mario Draghi is largely expected to maintain the pace of this program even though the noticeable effects have been very minimal lately
The fact that an unelected official has so much power over so many people is a bit sad I sincerely hope that in the near future we ll be moving to a better form of money One that is more efficient more democratic and more fair to everyone
Today s Highlights
UK Elections Day
Freeze FBI
Mining is now Mainstream
Please note All data figures graphs are valid as of June 8th All trading carries risk Only risk capital you re prepared to lose
Market Overview
Today is the day we ve been speaking about for almost two months When Theresa May first announced the snap elections on April 18th she had a very wide lead in the polls Since then her lead has narrowed to about 5
The main issue on the table is Brexit and what type of relationship England and the EU will have in 5 years time Multiple terrorist attacks and budget plans from both parties have tried to change the focus of these elections However at the end of the day the main decisive factor will be voter turnout
Price action in the UK s pound sterling has been as complacent as her citizens of late and many are just tuning out
In this graph we can see the GBP USD since the Brexit Referendum about a year ago Draw your own conclusions
At this point it s impossible to know what will happen next Who will win by how much and how the market will react remains a large question mark Exit polls should be available as early as 10 00 PM in London Be ready for anything
eToro has organized a special webinar to discuss these elections with three of our popular investors all from the UK and all with excellent trading stats Of course like all things in eToro lately the topic of conversation was changed about half way through to cryptocurrencies
The recording is available now on YouTube at
Trump Under Fire
Today fired FBI Director James Comey will take the stand and reveal the nature of some private conversations he s had with Donald Trump His opening statement has been released already You can find it
The main quote that keeps coming up is
I need loyalty I expect loyalty
Legal experts feel that from this statement Trump may have crossed a line but hasn t done anything explicitly illegal Therefore we may actually see some relief from the whole fiasco However if the Q A session today has any further revelations the consequences and market reactions could be significant
Crypto Mining is Big Business
Recently both AMD NASDAQ AMD and NVIDIA NASDAQ NVDA have announced that they will be making brand new graphics cards specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies
According to on both card makers have been selling out due to an influx of people looking to get in on the action So there is certainly a high demand for this new product
So if you re scared about the extreme volatility involved in trading directly on bitcoin and ethereum or even if you re just looking for another way to balance out your portfolio You can also check out the stocks of these two companies who are looking to capitalize on this new industry in quite a different way
Thanks to Jasper Lee our Managing Director in China for bringing this to my attention Shares in both of these companies are surging on the news
Disclosure This content is for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or an investment recommendation Past performance is not an indication of future results All trading carries risk Only risk capital you re prepared to lose |
T | AT T T 5G Launch Remains On Track Margin Woes Persist | On Apr 16 we issued an updated research report on AT T Inc NYSE T one of the largest wireless service providers in North America 5G the next phase of mobile telecommunication standards marks a revolution in the field of communications and technology AT T is gearing up to launch the first standards based mobile 5G services to consumers in multiple U S markets by the end of 2018 The company has been working hard since 2017 to lay the foundation for mobile 5G network and has completed network upgradation in 23 major cities In August 2017 AT T deployed 5G technology trials in three new cities Waco TX Kalamazoo MI and South Bend IN In December 2017 the company initiated its largest 5G fixed wireless trial in Waco TX partnering with the home and lifestyle brand Magnolia The company claims it to be the largest trial in terms of mobile traffic Notably completion of 3rd Generation Partnership Project s first implementable 5G New radio NR specification has set the stage for the global mobile industry to start full scale development of 5G NR for large scale trials and commercial deployments in 2019 AT T is also likely to immensely benefit from its long pending merger with Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX with the combined entity expected to become a major player in the consolidated telecom media space Since the announcement of the 85 4 billion cash and stock deal in October 2016 the industry has been rife with speculations over whether the deal will get regulatory approval The pending merger has been approved by antitrust officials in 17 countries and is waiting for the same from Brazil and the United States AT T has gained approval from the European Commission and from the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting services regulator for this deal However the deal awaits further clearances from other regulatory bodies Post a lawsuit filed by the U S Department of Justice in November 2017 the companies have further extended the closure date to Jun 21 2018 to clear regulatory issues as the matter remains sub judice Given the prevailing uncertainties the company is likely to go on the offensive to seek a verdict in its favor AT T has almost performed in line with the with an average loss of 4 7 in the last three months against a decline of 4 6 for the latter Moreover in a saturated wireless market spectrum crunch has become a major issue in the U S telecom industry Most of the carriers are finding it increasingly difficult to manage mobile data traffic which is growing by leaps and bounds The situation has become even more acute with the growing popularity of iPhone and Android smartphones as well as rising online mobile video streaming cloud computing and video conferencing services This has hurt the profitability of the company In addition the company s wireline division is struggling with persistent losses in access lines as a result of competitive pressure from voice over Internet protocol service providers and aggressive triple play voice data video offerings by the cable companies These are weighing on the company s revenues and margins Moreover AT T s quest for faster growth will increase subscriber acquisition cost in both consumer and SMB small and medium business units and put pressure on wireline margins Nevertheless we remain impressed with the inherent growth potential of this Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock Some better ranked stocks in the industry are SITO Mobile Ltd NYSE T and China Mobile Limited NYSE CHL each carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see SITO Mobile has a long term earnings growth expectation of 25 China Mobile has a long term earnings growth expectation of 5 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 |
T | AT T executives to run combined company after Time Warner deal | NEW YORK Reuters AT T Inc N T said on Friday that its executives will head its media and wireless businesses following the close of its 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX As of Aug 1 John Stankey who currently leads DirecTV and other entertainment businesses for the No 2 U S wireless carrier will lead the team charged with Time Warner s integration before transitioning to chief executive of the media business once the merger is complete John Donovan currently chief strategy officer has been named chief executive of AT T Communications which will include AT T s wireless and DirecTV businesses The deal expected to close by the end of the year would give AT T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets It still needs approval from the U S Justice Department AT T also said that Lori Lee will lead AT T s international business in addition to her responsibilities as global marketing officer The three executives will continue to report to AT T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson AT T said A source told Reuters earlier this month that AT T would run its wireless and DirecTV satellite television businesses separately from Time Warner Inc s media assets following its acquisition of the entertainment group AT T shares were up 8 cents at 39 08 in after hours trading |
T | HBO conducts forensic review to understand scope of hack | By Jessica Toonkel Reuters HBO s chief said on Wednesday that the company is conducting a forensic review of its computer systems to better understand the scope of a cyber attack that surfaced over the weekend Entertainment Weekly reported on Monday that hackers stole 1 5 terabytes of data and leaked online a script or treatment for an upcoming episode of the network s popular series Game of Thrones along with yet to be broadcast episodes of the series Ballers and Room 104 The hack comes at a sensitive time for HBO as its parent Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX is waiting for regulatory approval to sell itself to AT T Inc NYSE T in an 85 4 billion deal announced in October An HBO spokesman declined to discuss details of the hack Chairman Richard Plepler told employees in a Monday email seen by Reuters that the hackers had stolen proprietary information including some programming In his note on Wednesday he said that some employees had expressed concern about the email system At this time we do not believe that our email system as a whole has been compromised but the forensic review is ongoing he said
Plepler s note said that HBO would hire an outside firm to provide credit monitoring for employees but did not explain why |
PFE | Will The Allergan Fallout Impact Pfizer s Earnings | Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE Health Care Pharmaceuticals Reports May 3 Before Market Opens
Key Takeaways
The Estimize consensus is calling for earnings per share of 0 56 on 11 99 billion in revenue 1 cent higher than Wall Street on the bottom line and right in line on top
The biggest news from Pfizer this quarter has been the scrapped deal with Allergan NYSE AGN pa
Pfizer faces meaningful short term threats from mass genericization of key products and ongoing currency headwinds
What are you expecting for PFE
Just weeks after the collapse of the largest deal in American history Pfizer PFE is scheduled to report first quarter earnings The deal between Pfizer and Allergan was recently scratched after new tax reforms made the takeover no longer beneficial The fallout of the merger should have no bearing on earnings this quarter but disturbs future guidance and the psyche of investors
For Q1 the Estimize consensus is calling for earnings per share of 0 56 on 11 99 billion in revenue 1 cent higher than Wall Street on the bottom line and right in line on top Compared to a year earlier profits are predicted to increase 9 while sales could rise 11 Expected growth this quarter is largely consistent with the past few quarters in which Pfizer topped expectations in 4 consecutive quarters
Unfortunately the stock has only recently begun to trend positively Shares are now up 8 over the last 3 months and nearly 9 in the last 30 days During earnings season however the stock tends to remain relatively flat
Clearly the biggest news from Pfizer this quarter has been the scrapped deal with Allergan The deal which was valued at over 150 billion was intended to give Pfizer a home in tax friendly Ireland but also expand its already extensive pipeline of branded products Despite the flopped deal Pfizer should be just fine moving forward The company has aggressively cut costs expanded its pipeline and signed new licensing deals to meet or beat expectations
Within its current product suite Lyrica has seen the most robust growth with no signs of waning Meanwhile Pfizer has a deep pipeline of products pending FDA approval or on the verge of hitting the market Last quarter the company reported 30 phase III projects to meet the needs of various conditions
Due to the nature of pharmaceuticals Pfizer is constantly facing threats from all sides Genericization and currency headwinds continue to pose a risk to top line growth Pfizer expects both of these issues to impact revenue by nearly 5 billion in fiscal 2016 Genericization has lost the company exclusive rights to key products including Liptor and Zoloft Any pipeline setbacks would be a huge blow moving forward That said the most important thing to watch this Tuesday will be future guidance and any mention of the impact of the failed Allergan deal
Do you think PFE can beat estimates |
T | AT T s Plans To Cut Time Warner Buyout Costs Meet Resistance | Per Bloomberg AT T Inc NYSE T is witnessing some resistance from the company s bondholders in its efforts to reduce the cost of borrowings related to its planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate AT T has categorically proposed two options to get the deal First is an offer to buy back from investors some of the bonds used to fund the acquisition The second is to swap the bonds into new securities However either of the two cases would cost AT T a small premium but substantially less than the 1 it will otherwise have to pay costing 1 billion including interest AT T had issued these bonds last year with a stipulation that if the deal wasn t completed by April 2022 then the company would buy back the bonds at 101 of the face value At least four money managers that are among the biggest holders have decided to reject either options while two others have agreed for the swap A significant number of investors could accept either Representatives of AT T and Time Warner however did not comment on the subject Rationale Behind the MoveIt is believed that AT T s total debt repayment inclusive of accrued interest since the date of issuance of bond could be as much as 1 billion To reduce that liability the company is now seeking to minimize the interest burden to the possible extent It now plans either to buy back those debts or have the bondholders swap into new securities having the same coupon and maturity but different terms Also a cash offer by the company in this connection gave some of the bondholders an extra 0 25 cents on every dollar to tender their securities The buyback offer relates to a subset of the debt with the problematic term known as a special mandatory redemption SMR clause AT T s second effort to reduce costs will involve it swapping SMR provision out of those securities in an exchange deal for the same fee which is also beneficial for AT T s because the clause requires it to buy back bonds at 1 premium bit higher than present trade value Swap OptionLast week AT T stated that in order to qualify for the exchange offer it must receive consent from investors representing at least 300 million of the outstanding value on the bonds due 2037 2050 and 2058 However the bonds due 2023 do not have any minimum condition requirement Also there is no stipulation for the cash offer to hold good Some bondholders like pension funds and insurers have the incentive to go for the exchange since they need longer dated assets to match their liabilities All the bonds under discussion were sold in July 2017 for the Time Warner acquisition The April 2022 deadline was given on the bond documents The companies later agreed to make it June 2021 After the U S Justice Department sued to block the 85 billion combination on antitrust grounds arguing that the deal will raise prices for pay TV subscribers the risk of missing the acquisition deadline seems high However the trial is in process Share Price PerformanceOver the last three months shares of AT T have outperformed the with an average loss of 5 5 compared with a decline of 6 6 for the latter AT T carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked stocks in the industry are United States Cellular Corporation NYSE USM sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy and SITO Mobile Ltd NYSE T carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see United States Cellular has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 1 It exceeded earnings estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters with an average of 306 5 SITO Mobile has an expected long term earnings growth rate of 25 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 |
T | My Personal 8 Step Plan For 8 Dividends In Close End Funds | Today the 10 year Treasury pays just 2 7 Put a million bucks in T Bills and you re banking 27 000 per year
Hence the appeal of closed end funds CEFs which often pay 8 or better That s the difference between a paltry minimum wage income of 27 000 on a million saved or a respectable 80 000 annually
And if you re smart about your CEF purchases you can even buy them at discounts and snare some price upside to boot
Unfortunately this rising rate environment has income seekers scared of CEFs Many of my readers have asked me if they should bail on our high paying vehicles The financial media is in their heads and they re concerned that their funds are suddenly going to drop in price
Please don t toss yourself into poverty by following this misguided herd
With the markets in flux we should review the principles of successful CEF investing They are more nuanced than classic stock picking because we re analyzing managers strategies and holdings versus simple businesses models After all for lazy investors it s easier to count on dividends via AT T s NYSE T declining subscriptions than it is to determine how much China exposure the Aberdeen Asia Pacific Income Fund NYSE FAX has
The answer Only about 5 But that bit of extra bit of research will lead you to a secure 8 9 yield versus a fallible 5 6 for AT T
CEF Rule 1 Be Careful With Price Charts
PIMCO s Dynamic Income Fund NYSE PDI has been a great performer since its inception almost five years ago but you d never know it from its price chart
Looks Like Sleepy Gains
Until You Add the Payouts Back
Make sure the chart you re reading includes dividends paid so that it reflects total returns
CEF Rule 2 Demand Alpha
Past performance can be an educational indicator about the quality of the management team and its strategy PDI has had the benefit of the brightest bond minds on the planet calling the shots from Bond King Bill Gross to current superstar Dan Ivascyn and it delivered 97 total returns over the last five years with most of these coming in the form of cash payouts
Meanwhile Alpine s Global Dynamic Dividend Fund NYSE AGD has delivered the worst of all worlds to dividend investors It crashed harder than the broader markets in 2008 then provided almost no rebound as stocks themselves bounced back
Dynamic dividends Not here this dog is still down 18 over the last decade
More Downside None of the Upside
Don t be fooled by the siren song of its fat 7 5 current yield Which brings me to our next point
CEF Rule 3 Check Every Yield s Back Story
Some funds pay big distributions that look great but they re not sustainable However they continue to attract new sucker investors because they are able to fund their payouts they just happen to shed their net asset value NAV at a similar pace
For example here are two more dogs that have grinded sideways or worse over the last three years even when accounting for dividends paid
Big Yields But Lackluster Returns
CEF Rule 4 Know What s Funding Your Distributions
A closed end fund can pay you from some combination of
Investment income
Capital gains and or
Return of capital
Of the three investment income is preferable because it s usually the most reliable Many CEFs pay monthly distributions so it s best if they match up their payouts with steady income streams themselves
Capital gains from rising bond or stock prices can further boost distributions But they are at risk of disappearing if the markets turn unfavorably
Finally everyone assumes return of capital is bad because it s simply shipping your money back to you But as my colleague the CEF professor Michael Foster it s often very good for investors
What s more if the fund trades at a sizeable discount this can actually be a savvy way to kick start the closing of a discount window More on this shortly
CEF Rule 5 Don t Be Cheap About Fees
Most investors are conditioned by their experience with mutual funds and ETFs to search out the lowest fees almost to a fault This makes sense for investment vehicles that are roughly going to perform in line with the broader market Lowering your costs minimizes drag
Closed ends are a different investment animal though On the whole there are many more dogs than gems It s an absolute necessity to find a great manager with a solid track record Great managers tend to be expensive of course but they re well worth it
The stated yields you see quoted by the way are always net of fees Your account will never be debited for the fees from any fund you own They are simply paid by the fund itself from its NAV
CEF Rule 6 Ignore Short Term Interest Rates
Many funds are selling at bargain prices today thanks to the headline worry that higher rates hurt CEFs But that s just not true
Libor is tied closely to the Fed funds rate And the last time the Fed hiked its rate significantly CEFs did just fine
In June 2004 Fed chair Alan Greenspan began boosting rates from then historic lows Over a two year period he increased the federal funds rate from 1 to 5 25 An earthquake
How d CEFs perform Three prominent funds all outperformed the market during Greenspan s aforementioned run
Higher Rates No Problem for Top CEFs 2004 06
Regular readers will recognize the Greenspan example quite well because I ve been using it repeatedly to drive this point home And I m glad to share another data point our own profits from this rate hike cycle
The chart below illustrates three of my CEF recommendations rolling higher in lockstep with the Fed funds rate and that rate is the orange line stair stepping from the lower left to the upper right
This Rate Hike Cycle Our CEFs Have Rolled Higher
Once again the best CEFs are gaining value in the face of rate rises
CEF Rule 7 Demand a Discount
One aspect of the CEF structure lends itself perfectly to contrary minded investing fixed pools of shares
Mutual funds issue more shares whenever they want But closed ends have a fixed share count with their funds trading like stocks As a result from time to time a fund will fall out of favor and find its shares trading at a discount to its NAV
This is basically free money because these underlying assets are constantly marked to market If a fund trades at a 10 discount management could theoretically liquidate the fund and cash out everyone at 1 10 on the dollar immediately Or it can buy back its own shares to close the discount window and boost the share price
A discount is a great start but do make sure that management has
CEF Rule 8 When Possible Buy Along Insiders
It s rare to see any fixed income manager put his or her own money on the line at all unfortunately According to a recent Barron s article nearly half of all closed end funds have no insider ownership whatsoever
Why would we want to own any of them if the managers don t
The 3 Best Closed End Funds to Bankroll Your Retirement
Closed end funds are a cornerstone of my which lets retirees rely entirely on dividend income and leave their principal 100 intact
Well that s not exactly right
Their principal is more than 100 intact thanks to price gains like these Which means principal is actually 110 intact after year 1 and so on
To do this I seek out closed end funds that
Pay 8 or better
Have well funded distributions
Trade at meaningful discounts to their NAV
And know how to make their shareholders money
And I talk to management because online research isn t enough I also track insider buying to make sure these guys have real skin in the game
Today I like three blue chip closed end funds as best income buys And wait til you see their yields These slam dunk income plays pay 8 2 9 9 and even 10 1 dividends
Plus they trade at 10 to 15 discounts to their net asset value NAV today Which means they re perfect for your retirement portfolio because your downside risk is minimal Even if the market takes a tumble these top notch funds will simply trade flat and we ll still collect those fat dividends
Disclosure Brett Owens and Michael Foster are contrarian income investors who look for undervalued stocks funds across the U S markets Click here to learn how to profit from their strategies in the latest report |
T | Chunghwa Telecom reports Q2 results | Chunghwa Telecom NYSE CHT Q2 EPS of NT 1 35Revenue of NT 55 67B 0 9 Y Y Press ReleaseNow read |
T | AT T makes executive changes to prep for Time Warner closing | As it readies for the close of an 85B buyout of Time Warner TWX 0 5 AT T T 1 is announcing a number of executive appointments to set up for the combined company
Global Marketing Officer Lori Lee who led the merger integration planning team will also take on leadership of AT T International
John Stankey formerly CEO of AT T s Entertainment Group will take the leader of merger integration planning and work with Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes on a transition to Stankey as CEO of the post merger media company
John Donovan previously chief strategy officer and group president of AT T Technology and Operations will be CEO of AT T Communications including Business Solutions Entertainment Group and Technology Operations
The moves are effective Aug 1
Now read |
PFE | XOMA Here s Why We re Seeing Gains | XOMA Corporation NASDAQ XOMA is having an incredibly strong day in the market after reporting exceptional earnings after the closing bell yesterday Here s what we saw from the report
Earnings Per Share In terms of earnings per share XOMA produced well ahead of expectations In the fourth quarter analysts expected that the company would produce earnings in the amount of 0 15 per share However they actually reported revenue in the amount of 0 21 per share well ahead of analyst expectations
Revenue While earnings was overwhelmingly positive XOMA posted one of the strongest revenue beats I ve seen ever According to The Street the company was expected to produce revenue in the amount of 4 01 million However in the quarter the company actually produced revenue in the amount of 48 18 million more than 12 times expectations
As you can see from the data above the earnings release was overwhelmingly positive In a statement the company had the following to say with regard to the incredible results from the quarter
The increase in full year and fourth quarter 2015 revenues was due primarily to our licensing activity in the fourth quarter including a 37 million upfront payment from Novartis a 5 million upfront payment from Novo Nordisk CO NOVOb and a 3 8 million payment from Pfizer NYSE PFE
The CEO of XOMA John Varian followed up with the statement below
The transformation we initiated in the third quarter of last year and now have completed in less than six months was considerable in its scale and complexity but essential to position XOMA to deliver our promising portfolio of endocrine assets
How The Market Reacted To The News
As investors we know that the news moves the market So it s no surprise that news of an overwhelmingly positive earnings report from XOMA would move the needle for the stock in a big way Currently 11 12 the stock is trading at 0 93 per share after a gain of 0 04 per share or 5 06 thus far today
What We Can Expect To See Moving Forward
Overall I have a relatively bullish opinion of what we can expect to see from XOMA moving forward First and foremost I m incredibly impressed with the partners the company has been able to bring on board over the past few months Bringing in some of the largest players on the biotechnology field will likely lead to incredible improvements in XOMA s business as a whole On top of that I like what I m seeing with regard to the pipeline the company currently has At the moment they have 3 preclinical candidates as well as one candidate in the end of Phase 1 and one candidate in the midst of Phase 2 testing While I am a bit concerned about the company s cash flow I believe that the positive aspects of the stock largely outweigh anything negative there is to say |
PFE | Chinese Data Lifts Europe Oil Rebounds While FOMC Under Focus Pfizer | European markets are higher today despite the fact that Greece is dragged back in the headlines by the IMF Investors are optimistic this morning and willing to move on after a heavy sell off which took place last night over on Wall Street Thanks to the Chinese Caxin services PMI number it has assured the markets that there is hope that the Chinese economy will bounce back The number came in ahead of expectations with a reading of 52 2 compared to a forecast of 51 4 Although over in Japan the expectations are building up that the Bank of Japan is not going to sit tight and let the strength of the Japanese currency undo all of their easing efforts It is expected that the bank will intervene if we do fall below the 110 mark for the USD JPY pair
Warnings have started to creep in about global economic growth with Christine Laggard IMF chief warning yesterday that she is not pleased with the reform work carried out by various countries Reforms have been the cornerstone of her agenda and she has echoed this message over and over However it is the most arduous strategy to adopt for politicians seeing that it cuts into their own flesh with respect to their political party s popularity
The economic data out of Europe clearly highlights how meagre the performance has been in relation to reforms especially in countries such as France and Italy The services PMI fell back into contraction territory in France and the adverse factory order data for Germany occupied attitudes yesterday Expectations are not sky high today for Germany when its industrial production will hit the wire The forecast number of 1 8 is well below the previous reading of 3 3 It may get ugly if the actual number falls below the forecast and it could deflate the euro s rally even further
After another negative day oil prices are looking a little firmer today as traders are willing to believe somewhat the comments coming from Kuwait The country issued a statement which wasn t popular initially but in bad times any good news is appreciated Kuwait anticipates that a production freeze could take place when OPEC members meet and this is helping oil prices today Although oil buyers will not want to rely on such comments if purchasing over the coming days The biggest producer within the OPEC cartel Saudi Arabia has clearly stated their position with respect to a production freeze The Saudis are not willing to freeze oil production unless Iran follows suit and adopts a similar strategy
Back in the US it is all about the FOMC with everyone eagerly awaiting for what they have to say The FOMC members need to put on a united front with a clear message that confirms that they are on the same page It is bizarre for the FOMC members not to parade their solidarity Showing a distorted front and issuing their own agenda will only make for a muddy message
Traders will benchmark the statement with respect to when the next rate hike could be and if the tone amid Fed members is still dovish Certainly the Fed chair Janet Yellen is in no rush to make any hasty decree now for that could result in her paying the price later But some members on her committee do not agree with her state of mind
In terms of stock news Pfizer NYSE PFE is calling it a day with respect to their merger with Allergan NYSE AGN pa Allergan shareholders must be very bitter today when they were being offered the price which was substantially higher than their current market price Nonetheless for Pfizer the benefits audibly outweigh costs under the new law
In terms of stock news Pfizer is calling it a day with respect to their merger with Allergan Allergan shareholders must be very bitter today when they were being offered the price which was substantially higher than their current market price Nonetheless for Pfizer the benefits audibly outweigh costs under the new law
This is another victory for the Obama administration to stop the firms use the Smart Gates for tax avoidance The fail merger is also a wake up call for new firms who were envisaging of using the similar strategy to fly to the tax heaven country The new rules created by the Treasury are also going to make an impact on the banks which used to secure large sums of fees under these merger strategies Shares for both firms have another day of volatile session ahead of them as investors will digest this news
by Naeem Aslam |
PFE | Yen Bull Eyes 105 | Wednesday April 6 Five things the markets are talking about
Yesterday global equities came under renewed pressure with investors having a plethora of reasons why to choose from ranging from an overbought stock market suspect earnings reports weakening oil prices U S treasury department stunning the Street with new inversion rules weaker German factory orders a strengthening yen and an IMF Chief insisting that more government action is required to combat global sluggishness
Nevertheless today the market will want to be taking its cue from the Federal Open Market Committee FOMC minutes The fixed income market will be hoping to get a better idea on the timing of the next Fed rate hike While the rest of us want a clearer understanding of what prompted the Fed to reduce the number of forecasted dot plot rate hikes this year from 4 to 2 in a matter of months
1 Japanese officials clash over state of economy
With a matter weeks to go to the expected decision on second round of consumption tax hike Japan s government continue to debate just how bad domestic current conditions are to justify postponing the increase
Last week PM Abe indicated that his government would raise the tax rate unless there is a Lehman type event Overnight opposition speakers suggest that current consumption is at its worst level since the Lehman crisis
The rest of the market continues to focus on the strength of the yen outright trading atop its November 2014 highs 110 34 and wondering how aggressive the BoJ is expected to be
The market has been record short yen futures and the latest dollar move has many speculating some form of intervention by the Government or BoJ Technical analysts have eyed 110 as that breaking point
However according to Mr Yen former Minister of Finance Eisuke Sakakibara was in charge of currency intervention he remains more bullish on his own currency seeing it rallying to 105 in H2 as the outlook for the world economy worsens He said that a climb to 105 only then is likely to prompt Japanese officials to intervene verbally to try and talk it down while gains past 100 could see physical intervention to weaken it
2 Global yields plummet as flight to quality dominates
Rising demand for haven assets yesterday again pushed down government debt yields
German Bund fell to their lowest yield level in a year trading atop of zero interest 0 09 U S 10 s reached their weakest return in two months at 1 72 while U K gilt benchmark 10 years yielded 1 34
Downbeat German factory orders coupled with U K s Brexit referendum concerns has investors seeking sanctuary in the big dollar and like minded stateside assets Other safe haven instruments particularly gold 1 226 and yen 110 34 have also found favour with investors who are trying to preserve capital
Government bond yields have naturally fallen sharply this year as investors continue to struggle with a world of low growth subdued inflation falling productivity and a high level of debt globally The ECB and BoJ have already generated a growing pool of negative yield government bonds intensifying investors struggle to obtain income JGB s continue to trade below zero Even the Fed s cautious stance towards rate normalization has reduced the risk of U S bond yields backing up aggressively any time soon
3 Inversion rules stun Wall Street
The U S Treasury implemented tough new rules in Q4 to curb inversion deals a U S company reincorporates overseas following the purchase of a foreign company in an attempt to benefit from lower overseas tax rates
This week the U S Treasury has released another set of regulations aimed at tax inversions that look to prevent foreign companies from acquiring multiple U S companies over a short period of time The new rules suggest there now will be a three year limit on foreign companies acquiring U S assets to avoid ownership requirements for a later inversions deal
Yesterday s announcement has managed to scuttle the world s largest ever health care acquisition U S pharma giant Pfizer NYSE PFE 160b agreement to acquire 59 of Irish firm Allergan NYSE AGN pa in an inversion deal The deal would have given the New York based company a foreign address and a lower tax rate
The break up of the deal will cost Pfizer a supposed cool 400m
4 Equities suspend slide on oil inventory surprise
A rebound in world crude prices overnight WTI 37 03 Brent 38 79 is helping to slow down this months global equity slide Energy markets remain cautious after yesterday s API inventories recorded the first draw down 4 3m vs 2 6m prior in nearly two months Also aiding oil prices is Ecuador s President indicating that Latin America oil producers will meet on Apr 8th to discuss an oil output freeze
To date crude bulls have been focusing most of their attention on the April 17 Doha production meeting Kuwait continues to express their confidence that global producers may agree to limit crude output and this despite tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Data on U S oil stocks will be closely watched this morning Official EIA data is due at 10 30 EDT
5 Federal Open Market Committee FOMC minutes
The release of the March FOMC minutes at 02 00pm EDT today could renew pressure on the mighty dollar The market is hoping to get a better idea on U S rate normalization timing last week investors were sideswiped by Fed Chair s Yellen s overtly dovish comments
Expect fixed income dealers to be seeking out the comments from Fed Kansas City President Esther George she was the only dissenter on the vote to hold interest rates unchanged |
PFE | iFOREX Daily Analysis April 07 2016 | The dollar fell against most major currencies on Wednesday pressured by minutes of the U S Federal Reserve s meeting last month that urged for caution about future interest rate hikes Minutes from the Fed s March policy meeting suggested that the central bank appears unlikely to raise interest rates before June due to concerns over the limited ability to tackle a global economic slowdown The minutes showed debate over whether they might increase rates in April with a number of policymakers arguing that headwinds to growth would probably persist and many urging caution about raising rates At the meeting the FOMC voted 9 1 to hold its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at a targeted range between 0 25 and 0 50 In contrast with the Fed Bank of Japan policymakers will likely debate the possibility of easing further at their April 27 28 meeting as recently downbeat economic data has failed to reinforce their expectations that a moderate economic recovery would lift inflation towards their 2 percent target Today The U K is to release data on house price inflation the European Central Bank is to publish the minutes of its latest meeting and the U S is to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims
EUR USD
The euro posted a slight increase against the dollar on Wednesday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve s March meeting on Wednesday afternoon which showed that the U S central bank was divided on whether it will be appropriate to raise short term interest rates at the end of this month The currency pair traded in a tight range between 1 1327 and 1 1431 before settling 0 14 higher for the session When the Federal Open Market Committee last met in mid March several members wanted to consider the possibility of raising interest rates at the meeting while leaving a potential rate hike on the table when they meet again on April 26 27 The majority of the members expressed caution at raising rates prematurely due to concerns that global economic headwinds will only subside slowly in the near future Today the European Central Bank is to publish the minutes of its latest meeting and the U S is to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims
Pivot 1 1365Support 1 1365 1 1325 1 131Resistance 1 1435 1 146 1 148Scenario 1 long positions above 1 1365 with targets 1 1435 1 1460 in extension Scenario 2 below 1 1365 look for further downside with 1 1325 1 1310 as targets Comment the RSI is mixed to bullish
Gold
Gold posted a slight drop yesterday erasing some of its gains from the previous session s rise as investors traded cautiously Gold is coming off its strongest quarter in three decades where it gained 15 as investors shifted their attention into the safe haven asset due to rising concerns of a China driven global economic slowdown In its last meeting the FOMC lowered its long term interest rate and inflation forecasts reducing the number of projected rate hikes this year from four to two thus providing some support to the metal In the last FOMC meeting members voted 9 1 to hold interest rates at a targeted range between 0 25 and 0 50 For today the focus is shifted on the jobless claims report from the U S
Pivot 1232Support 1218 5 1214 5 1208 5Resistance 1232 1238 1243Scenario 1 short positions below 1232 00 with targets 1218 50 1214 50 in extension Scenario 2 above 1232 00 look for further upside with 1238 50 1243 00 as targets Comment the upward potential is likely to be limited by the resistance at 1232 00
WTI Oil
Crude oil prices gained by more than 5 on Wednesday rebounding from 1 month lows as inventories posted their biggest weekly decline last week since January temporarily easing concerns related to the excessive supply glut on domestic energy markets On Wednesday morning the U S Energy Department s Energy Information Administration EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report that crude inventories nationwide decreased by 4 94 million barrels for the week ending on April 1 falling sharply below consensus estimates of a build of 2 85 million barrels However at 529 9 million barrels U S crude oil inventories are still at historically high levels for this time of year Oil prices are expected to remain in a holding pattern heading into a highly anticipated meeting in Doha on April 17 when Russia Saudi Arabia and two other OPEC producers could freeze production at their respective levels from January
Pivot 37 16Support 37 16 36 5 35 88Resistance 38 39 39 39 85Scenario 1 long positions above 37 16 with targets 38 39 39 00 in extension Scenario 2 below 37 16 look for further downside with 36 50 35 88 as targets Comment the RSI is mixed with a bullish bias
US 500
U S stocks jumped on Wednesday supported by gains in healthcare shares after the collapse of the 160 billion merger of Pfizer and Allergan NYSE AGN pa and by a rise in energy shares Further support came from the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting which suggested that the Fed was unlikely to raise interest rates before June U S drugmaker Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE and Ireland based Allergan Plc called off their merger after new U S Treasury rules aimed at curbing tax cutting inversion deals The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0 64 percent the S P 500 gained 1 05 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 1 59 percent The S P had rallied 13 percent in the previous seven weeks thanks to stabilizing oil prices and reduced concerns about China s economy Investors will soon turn their attention to first quarter S P 500 earnings which are estimated to be down 7 4 percent from a year ago according to Thomson Reuters data
Pivot 2020 Support 2020 1970 1950 Resistance 2080 2100 2130 Scenario 1 long positions above 2020 00 with targets 2080 00 2100 00 in extension Scenario 2 below 2020 00 look for further downside with 1970 00 1950 00 as targets Comment the RSI has struck against a major resistance around 70 and is reversing down But the 20 day simple moving average is trending higher and plays a suppport role |
PFE | Oil Gains FTSE Oscillates 6200 | The FOMC minutes revealed some hawkish opposition among the members but the majority preferred to sit on the safe dovish side of the bench This was not the case for Bullard who insisted that the FOMC has reserved rights to move at any meeting On the flip side the majority of officials wanted to avoid sending wrong messages to the market The dominant force in the Fed s policy making is volatility and global risks against the domestic risks of inflation and employment In this context the market gives nearly no probability for an April action from the Fed and thus the market now looks to sell the greenback for now
Other drivers abound in the FX space the pound is vulnerable to rising Brexit shenanigans but remains for now above the 1 40 level Against the euro it looks even more shaky with the 0 81 level already breached
Bloomberg reported that if Britain decides to leave the European Union a corner of the credit market may depart with it and European banks could be left having to replace as much as 108 billion euros 123 billion of securities JP Morgan CEO Dimon warned against the pending risks saying that even in the best case scenario years of uncertainty could be ahead of us
The focus later this afternoon will be trained on Mario Draghi Monetary policy has driven yields on government to record lows but inflation remains an issue Likewise the recent volatility in equity markets has unnerved investors and the expected spill over effects of QE has not benefited European indices all that much
A divided Fed for sure but investors seem to have taken the minutes as positive for risk assets The big 4 5m barrel draws in oil inventory data from both the API and EIA yesterday was the real precursor to upside action though As stated many times this year equities are at the mercy of oil prices so any positive sign that the supply glut is diminishing is taken as a beacon of light We still have the April meeting in Doha to contend with so we can still expect a degree of choppiness in the oil market in the run up that will no doubt make its mark on risk sentiment
Oil companies are clearly benefiting from this short term change of fortunes
Shell LON RDSa 1 26
BP LON BP 0 84
A number of companies trade ex div this morning Lloyds LON LLOY 1 97 Aviva LON AV 1 92 Pearson LON PSON 6 62 GKN LON GKN 0 74 St James s Place PLC LON SJP 0 66 Rexam PLC LON REX 1 57 and Taylor Wimpey LON TW 0 67 This drags 8 points from the index
Mining stocks are benefitting from the lift higher in commodity prices The FTSE has challenged the 6200 level already but seems reluctant to push higher for now
Astrazeneca LON AZN 2 51 the M A watch continues and now with the Allergan NYSE AGN pa deal off the table many will speculate as to what Pfizer NYSE PFE might do next A possible interest in Astrazeneca or GSK is now front and centre for those wanting to front run any approach The thing is Pfizer already tried to approach Astra a couple of years ago to no avail
Marks and Spencer Group PLC LON MKS 1 81 Sales in the clothing and home arm fell by 2 7 on a like for like basis in the 13 weeks to 26 March On food M S said that like for like sales were unchanged but that thanks to the opening of 80 new stores during the year it had seen its market share grow to 4 3
J Sainsbury PLC LON SBRY 1 64 raised to outperform at Credit Suisse SIX CSGN
We call the Dow 30 points lower to 17685 |
AMD | The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Energy Industries And Integrated Device Technology | For Immediate Release
Chicago IL May 01 2017 Zacks com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets Stocks recently featured in the blog include Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD NASDAQ Advanced Energy Industries Inc NASDAQ and Integrated Device Technology Inc NASDAQ
Today Zacks is promoting its Buy stock recommendations
Here are highlights from Friday s Analyst Blog
Semiconductors Stocks Reporting Q1 Earnings on May 1
The first quarter earnings season has picked up pace with results from 181 S P 500 members or 40 of the index s total market capitalization already out as of April 26
As per the latest total earnings of these companies are up 10 on a year over year basis 75 7 of the companies beat EPS estimates while total revenue is up 4 3 on a year over year basis 64 1 of the companies beat top line estimates
Notably earnings and revenue growth numbers are significantly better than investor expectations In fact growth is on track to reach its highest level in almost three years We believe that continuation of these trends through the rest of this earnings season will serve as a reassuring development for the market
Overall first quarter earnings for S P 500 companies are anticipated to be up 9 7 from the year ago quarter on revenues that are estimated to increase 5 9 This would be better than the 7 4 growth in fourth quarter earnings on 4 8 higher revenues Finance Technology Industrial Products and Basic Materials are expected to post double digit earnings growth
We note that almost 25 8 of the total market capitalization in the technology sector has reported till now Total earnings are up 13 9 on a year over year basis 76 5 of the companies beat EPS estimates while total revenue is down 0 1 on a year over year basis 70 6 of the companies beat top line estimates
Earnings for the Technology sector are anticipated to be up 11 8 on the back of 6 1 higher revenues driven by strong growth from the semiconductor industry
The industry is anticipated to benefit from rapidly growing cloud computing as well as Internet of Things IoT markets which are driving growth for chip components to power applications particularly automotive medical healthcare and smart connected devices
Here we take a look at three semiconductor companies that are set to report their quarterly earnings on May 1 Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ is unlikely to beat first quarter 2017 expectations as it has an unfavorable combination of a Zacks Rank 3 Hold and an of 0 00 You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with our
This is because as per our proven model a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 to beat earnings You can see
We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank 4 or 5 Sell rated going into an earnings announcement especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions
However we note that AMD s results compared favorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters resulting in an average positive surprise of 35 76
We believe that AMD s improving position in key markets like virtual reality VR and augmented reality AR gaming and parallel processing driven by the launch of Radeon and Ryzen chips is a key catalyst Read More
AMD has also outperformed the Zacks industry on a year to date basis While the stock gained 20 1 the industry returned 17 3
Similarly Advanced Energy Industries Inc NASDAQ looks unlikely to beat first quarter fiscal 2017 estimates as it has an unfavorable combination of a Zacks Rank 3 and an Earnings ESP of 0 00
Notably Advanced Energy has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the preceding four quarters with an average positive surprise of 17 10 Moreover the company has outperformed the Zacks industry on a year to date basis While the stock has gained 37 the industry posted an increase of 25 2
Integrated Device Technology Inc NASDAQ is unlikely to beat fourth quarter 2017 estimates as it has an unfavorable combination of an Earnings ESP of 0 00 and a Zacks Rank 4 Sell Notably results have beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the preceding four quarters It has an average four quarter positive surprise of 8 27
Integrated Device products continue to gain traction in the computing communications and automotive markets However increasing competition is a significant headwind that will weigh on share price in 2017
We note that shares have gained 4 6 on a year to date basis worse than the Zacks Electronic Semiconductors industry s rise of 18 2
The Best Worst of Zacks
Today you are invited to download the full up to the minute list of 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys free of charge From 1988 through 2015 this list has averaged a stellar gain of 25 per year Plus you may download 220 Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sells Even though this list holds many stocks that seem to be solid it has historically performed 6X worse than the market
Today Zacks is promoting its Buy stock recommendations
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Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long term
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1 150 publicly traded stocks Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance Recommendations and target prices are six month time horizons
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar They re virtually unknown to the general public Yet today s 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys were generated by the stock picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 Its average gain has been a stellar 26 per year
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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 |
AMD | AMD Stock Slumps On In Line Q1 Earnings Demand For Ryzen Strong | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD just released its first quarter 2017 financial results posting adjusted earnings of 0 07 and revenues of 984 million
Currently AMD is a Zacks Rank 2 Buy but this ranking could change based on today s results The stock is down 7 86 to 12 55 per share in trading shortly after its earnings report was released
AMD
Matched earnings estimates The company posted a loss of 7 cents per share excluding one penny from non recurring items matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 0 07
Beat revenue estimates The company saw revenue figures of 984 million beating our consensus estimate of 983 million
Revenues were up 18 year over year driven by better results in both the Computing and Graphics and Enterprise Embedded and Semi Custom business segments Computing and Graphics revenue was up 29 to 593 million while Enterprise Embedded and Semi Custom revenue gained 5 to 392 million
For the second quarter of 2017 AMD expects revenue to increase approximately 17 percent sequentially plus or minus 3 percent The midpoint of guidance would result in second quarter 2017 revenue increasing approximately 12 percent year over year
We achieved 18 percent year over year revenue growth driven by strong demand for our high performance Ryzen CPUs as well as graphics processors said CEO Dr Lisa Su We are positioned for solid revenue growth and margin expansion opportunities across the business in the year ahead as we bring innovation performance and choice to an expanding set of markets
Here s a graph that looks at AMD s recent earnings performance history Advanced Micro Devices Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise For more than 45 years AMD has driven innovation in high performance computing graphics and visualization technologies the building blocks for gaming immersive platforms and the datacenter Hundreds of millions of consumers leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live work and play AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible
Check back later for our full analysis on AMD s earnings report
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AMD | Silicon Motion SIMO Beats Q1 Earnings Sales Estimates | Shares of Silicon Motion Technology Corp NASDAQ SIMO have increased almost 13 in the last three trading sessions following the announcement of first quarter 2017 results The improvement can be attributed to the company s quarterly figures which were better than management expectations Silicon Motion reported adjusted earnings of 66 cents per ADS which remained unchanged from the year ago quarter but declined 11 5 sequentially The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9 cents 15 79 Net sales increased 13 year over year but declined 11 7 from the previous quarter to 127 3 million The sequential decline was within management s guided range and can be attributed to seasonal weakness and NAND supply tightness However the figure was slightly better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 126 million Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Nevertheless we note that shares have underperformed the Zacks industry on a year to date basis While Silicon Motion returned 17 9 the industry gained 18 5 Segment SalesSales from mobile storage products which include Embedded Storage as well as Expandable Storage products increased 12 year over year but declined 11 quarter over quarter to 116 5 million Client SSD controller sales declined almost 20 sequentially but increased about 40 on a year over year basis Moreover eMMC controller sales remained flat sequentially but increased 15 from the year ago quarter SSD solution sales declined almost 10 sequentially and 20 from the year ago quarter Mobile communications product which include mobile TV SoCs and handset transceivers sales were 9 3 million up almost 33 from the year ago quarter but declined 25 6 from the previous quarter Operational DetailsNon GAAP gross margin including stock based compensation expanded more than 30 basis points bps on a year over year basis and 90 bps sequentially to 50 9 This was better than management s guided range of 48 50 5 The improvement was due to the utilization of lower priced NAND inventory Operating expenses as percentage of revenues increased 140 bps on year over year basis and 150 bps sequentially As a result operating margin expanded 150 bps both from the year ago quarter and previous quarter to 27 in the reported quarter slightly higher than management s guided range of 23 25 Liquidity Cash FlowExiting the quarter on Mar 31 Silicon Motion s cash and cash equivalents increased to 302 5 million from 274 5 million at the end of Dec 31 The company s total cash from operating activities for the three month period ended Mar 31 was 36 9 million as compared with 34 8 million reported at the end of Dec 31 GuidanceFor second quarter 2017 Silicon Motion expects non GAAP sales to be in the range of 134 140 million reflecting 5 10 growth on a sequential basis The anticipated growth is based on strong demand for embedded storage products 80 of revenues in addition to industrial and hyper scale SSD solutions Non GAAP gross margin is anticipated within 48 5 55 5 reflecting higher NAND costs Moreover operating margin is projected in the range of 25 5 27 5 for second quarter 2017 Operating expenses are anticipated to be similar to the figure reported in the first quarter For full year 2017 Silicon Motion anticipates revenues to increase 0 10 from 2016 to 556 612 million range Silicon Motion expects significant improvements in NAND flash supply in second half 2017 Management expects client SSD controllers to grow 20 25 from over 170 million in 2016 Further eMMC controller sales are expected to grow about 5 over 170 million in 2016 SSD solutions sales for the full year are anticipated to decline 15 to 20 from over 80 million in 2016 due to lack of flash availability Management expects growth from Ferri industrial SSD while Shannon hyperscale SSDs will continue to decline For full year 2017 gross margin is anticipated within 49 51 while operating margin is projected in the range of 27 5 29 5 Operating expenses are expected to grow in line with sales growth Majority of the operating expenses will be incurred in first half 2017 Zacks Rank Key PickSilicon Motion currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Applied Optoelectronics NASDAQ AAOI Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD and Impinj NASDAQ PI are better ranked stocks in the sector While Applied Optoelectronics sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy AMD and Impinj has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Long term earnings growth rate for Applied Optoelectronics AMD and Impinj are pegged at 20 6 25 and 25 respectively 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 |
T | Cincinnati Bell Slips To 52 Week Low What s Taking It Down | Shares of telecom service provider Cincinnati Bell Inc NYSE CBB tumbled to a 52 week low of 13 30 during the trading session on Mar 23 However the stock recovered marginally to close at 13 35 down 0 7 In fact the stock has not performed well in the past three months Shares of Cincinnati Bell have lost 36 7 compared with the s fall of 7 2 in the said time frame Reasons for the UnderperformanceCincinnati Bell continues to experience erosion in high margin local access lines At the end of 2017 Cincinnati Bell had 0 1837 million residential voice lines down 8 7 y y However business voice lines were 0 3331 million up 3 3 y y Long distance lines were 0 2936 million down 7 5 year over year The trajectory of access line losses is expected to continue in the upcoming quarters This is because with Digital Subscriber Line DSL and cable modems gaining widespread acceptance customers are deactivating the extra phone lines In addition the shift toward wireless services and aggressive rollout of VoIP and long distance services by Tier 1 competitors such as AT T NYSE T and Verizon in Cincinnati and Dayton have further resulted in access line erosion Also Cincinnati Bell is confronting competitive threats from local cable operators who aggressively deploy local phone service in addition to television This has already resulted in the loss of major business customers In an attempt to stay ahead in the competition expansion maintenance and upgrade of networks with various technologies have become necessary This adds to the company s capital expenditures Further intensifying competition in the company s operational region can be a drag on its pricing power thereby putting pressure on margins Downward Estimate Revisions Zacks Rank Style ScoreOver the last 60 days the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current quarter earnings has declined 333 33 to a loss of 13 cents per share The direction of estimate revisions serves as an important pointer when it comes to the price of a stock The downward estimate revisions along with the bearish Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell reflect pessimism over prospects of Cincinnati Bell Additionally the stock has an unattractive of C Here V stands for Value G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores Other Bearish ReadingROC Cincinnati Bell s return on capital ROC is 0 1 compared with 5 6 for the industry This implies that the company generates a lower return on investment than its industry Stocks to ConsiderSome better ranked stocks in the broader are Shenandoah Telecommunications Co NASDAQ SHEN Telefonica SA NYSE TEF and BT Group PLC NYSE BT While Shenandoah sports a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy Telefonica and BT Group carry a Zacks Rank 2 Buy You can see Sales for Shenandoah Telefonica and BT Group are estimated to rise 3 8 4 3 and 8 4 respectively for full year 2018 5 Medical Stocks to Buy NowZacks names 5 companies poised to ride a medical breakthrough that is targeting cures for leukemia AIDS muscular dystrophy hemophilia and other conditions New products in this field are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous treatments are in the pipeline Early investors could realize exceptional profits |
T | Frontier Communications Reaches Tentative Deal With CWA | Frontier Communications Corporation NASDAQ FTR NYSE T recently reached a new tentative deal with the Communications Workers of America CWA 142 This puts an end to the by almost 1 400 Frontier Communications employees in West Virginia and Ashburn The newly formed agreement has been sent to the employees for their consent CWA Local 142 union covers 1 400 employees in West Virginia and Ashburn The previous contract expired on Mar 3 2018 CWA members have been negotiating with Frontier Communications since last May The contract was originally set to expire on Aug 5 2017 but was extended till Nov 4 2017 and then until Mar 3 Sources say that lay offs concerns about further job cuts and reducing job security led the workers to strike However strikes are unproductive for employees as well as the company Frontier Communications seems satisfied on being able to engage in talks with union members The company is encouraging its workers to get back to work to provide quality customer service and offer broadband connectivity throughout the state In fact following the announcement of the tentative deal shares of Frontier gained 1 6 to close the trading session on Mar 26 at 7 04 In fact Frontier Communications has performed well over the last three months Shares of Frontier have gained 3 4 against the s decline of 8 2 Ratification of the deal would boost the stock further This is because materialization of the transaction would help in avoiding long labor strikes thus removing a major overhang on the stockSimilar Labor NegotiationsOn Mar 23 AT T Inc NYSE T reached a deal with the Communications Workers of America CWA in relation to more than 10 000 AT T Mobility employees in CWA District 3 the Southeast Region In June 2017 CenturyLink Inc NYSE T and CWA on an extension covering almost 25 of the company s total workforce spread across 13 states including Oregon Idaho and Colorado The company agreed to increase the annual pay from 2 5 to 3 while maintaining the existing pension and savings plan and increasing employee contributions for health care in the deal Zacks Rank A Key PickCurrently Frontier Communications is a Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock You can see A better ranked stock in the broader is Shenandoah Telecommunications Co NASDAQ SHEN carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Sales and earnings for Shenandoah are estimated to rise 3 8 and 76 9 respectively for full year 2018 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 |
T | AT T to run wireless media as separate units source | By David Shepardson and Anjali Athavaley Reuters AT T Inc N T will run its wireless and DirecTV satellite television businesses separately from Time Warner Inc s N TWX media assets following its 85 4 billion acquisition of the entertainment group a source told Reuters on Friday Buying Time Warner gives AT T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets AT T s post merger plans were earlier reported by Bloomberg News The deal announced in October is seen as a bold move by the telecommunications giant to acquire content to stream over its network AT T hopes the programming will give it a competitive edge in a saturated wireless market The deal also brings a wealth of user data for more targeted advertising The reorganization will leave AT T executives in charge of the combined company John Stankey who currently leads DirecTV and other entertainment businesses will head up the media division and John Donovan AT T s chief strategy officer who oversees technology and operations will run the wireless business the source said AT T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson will remain chairman and CEO of the combined company after the deal closes an AT T spokesman said In an emailed statement AT T spokesman Fletcher Cook said no decisions on an organizational structure have been finalized and that Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes were still working on them Time Warner did not immediately respond to a request for comment Bob Quinn AT T senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs told reporters this week that the company expects to close the merger by the end of the year We are just working through the process Quinn said noting it also needs approvals from some international agencies and the U S Justice Department All indications are that end of the year is definitely in reach He declined to weigh in on whether the White House could seek to intervene in the merger as some reports have suggested citing anonymous White House aides U S President Donald Trump has been critical of Time Warner s news division CNN in recent months calling the outlet fake news He had also expressed opposition to the merger during his election campaign
A group of Senate Democrats including Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken had also urged the Justice Department last month to closely scrutinize the deal |
PFE | How Are S P 500 Earnings Looking For Full Year 2016 | Meant to publish this earlier this week
Which sectors have improved in terms of Q4 15 earnings growth since Jan 1 16
First column is expected Q4 15 earnings growth as of Feb 9 the second data set is expected Q4 15 earnings growth as of Jan 1 16
Data courtesy of Thomson Reuters
Cons Disc 9 6 8 5
Cons Spls 1 3 2 1
Energy 75 3 67 7
Financials 2 10 9
Health Care 8 5 4 3
Industrials 1 8 1 8
Basic Mat 18 3 23 7
Technology 0 3 4
Telco 18 9 18 1
Utilities 9 3 6 3
SP 500 4 1 3 7
The biggest improvement is Technology albeit off low expectations Health care is solid too showing a 100 increase in actual versus expected but it is clear the political climate is spooking investors Look at Pfizer N PFE and large cap pharma for a safer way to play Health Care in 2016 s market Biotech is finally getting interesting from a technical perspective the O IBB is down 35 from its 400 peak in July 15 The 200 week moving average is 235
S P 500 Sectors ranked best to worst growth for Q4 16
Telco 18 9
Cons Disc 9 6
HealthCare 8 5
Fincl s 2
Technology 0 3
Cons Spls 1 3
Industrials 1 8
Utilities 9 3
Basic Mat 18 3
Energy 75 3
Q1 16 sector growth rate change from Jan 1 16 Note Energy wow
Cons Disc 15 3 18 3
Cons Spls 1 3 2 3
Energy 87 2 41 4 far worse than the rate of decline from last year hard to believe how this gets worse
Fincl s 0 9 2 4
HlthCare 6 4 7 4
Industrials 3 1 3 1
Basic Mat 14 1 1 1
Technology 5 5 1 7
Telco 4 7 5 8
Utilities 1 8 1 2
SP 500 4 2 2 3
For the current quarter expected growth for Consumer Discretionary HealthCare and Telco again top the list for the sectors with the best expected growth
2016 estimated earnings growth full year
Cons Disc 12 9 15 2
Cons Spls 4 1 6 3
Energy 50 6 10 1
Fincl s 8 4 8 8
HlthCare 8 1 9 6
Industrials 4 5 4
Basic Mat 1 5 11 6
Technology 3 1 7 4
Telecom 2 6 2 3
Utilities 4 1 3 7
SP 500 3 9 7 6
Analysis commentary The decline in Energy estimates continues to be nothing short of tragic I was having lunch with a client last week who works at a large bank and the regulators came through the bank and told the institution to write their energy loans down whether they were performing or not Shades of 2008 i e you will take this equity whether you want it or not
For full year 2016 HealthCare and Consumer Discretionary still show the best growth but the Financial sector for the next 11 months looks far better than the rapid drop for Q4 16
There are places to hide in this market and it may be last year s losers
I still think the US dollar weakening will help take some immediate pressure off the SP 500 Today the US dollar index dropped again Technology and Industrial s should be the immediate beneficiaries of a weaker dollar
The 4 sectors or asset classes that have been thoroughly trashed since last summer and have suffered the biggest declines are biotech s Transports small cap s Russell 2000 and Emerging Markets The Transports look to be bottoming Emerging Markets are range bound |
PFE | Pfizer Obeys The Elliott Wave Rules | Do you remember Black Monday It was August 24th 2015 when most stocks including Pfizer Inc N PFE saw their worst sell off in four years And while the majority of traders and investors were caught completely off guard by this swift and sharp decline to Elliott Wave analysts there was nothing surprising about it as proves However the purpose of this article published on October 4th 2015 was not only to demonstrate the Elliott Wave Principle s ability to warn you about an upcoming market crash but also to make another prediction about Pfizer Inc s stock prices See it on the chart below
According to the theory markets moves in repetitive patterns called waves Five waves in the direction of the larger trend are followed by three waves against it The five wave sequence forms a larger pattern knows as an impulse while the three wave move is a correction usually marked with A B C As the chart above shows Pfizer s impulse was over at 36 43 That is the starting point of the corrective phase of the 5 3 cycle So through the perspective of the Wave Principle the so called Black Monday was nothing more than a natural wave A part of a larger A B C corrective pull back In other words waves B up and C down were still left so more weakness could have been expected in Pfizer The next chart shows how the stock looks like today
The deceptive wave B has probably caused a lot of optimism within the lines of the bulls It almost reached the top of wave V of the impulse climbing as high as 36 04 Despite wave B s false strength wave C was still supposed to take prices below the bottom of wave A Which it did on February 8th 2016 when the stock fell to as low as 28 23 24 cents per share lower than the bottom of wave A at 28 47 The only thing we could not predict was the time factor We did not expect Pfizer s A B C correction to develop that fast But in technical analysis where prices are headed is far more important than when are they going to get there
From now on it appears wave C still has some room to evolve It may force Pfizer below the 28 mark but the support of wave IV is supposed to put the bears ambitions to rest Once wave C is over the requirement for a pull back of minimum three legs would be fulfilled and a new recovery could be anticipated |
AMD | Using Options To Profit From The Artificial Intelligence Boom | LEDE
If we apply risk controls to a very common option strategy in Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD we find better returns with less risk
PREFACE
While Nvidia Corporation NASDAQ NVDA is rightfully garnering all of the headlines for its successes in end to end machine learning and artificial intelligence that are driven by its GPU processors there is a smaller technology company that is competing Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD
While AMD stock has been ripping there is a risk conscious approach to options that benefits from the stock not going down a lot and it has performed exceedingly well
Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD
What we re about to look could feel uncomfortable not in that it s difficult but rather that s it s this simple and it is a glaring example of how the top 0 1 have been dissecting retail traders for decades But its objective data this is how option professionals find the edge they require to keep going
When trading options we need to answer three critical questions what to trade when to trade and when to close the trade Here s how knowing the answer to those questions has meant more than 200 returns over the last year in Advanced Micro Devices Inc
What to trade Let s examine selling out of the money puts in AMD
When to trade Let s now compare examine selling the monthly options versus the weekly options
It might have felt like a trivial difference to trade weekly or monthly options but it isn t trivial at all Selling a weekly out of the money put in AMD over the last two years has returned 28 while simply switching to the monthly option has returned 73 But we are just beginning our journey to discovery
Now that we know the what to trade and the when to trade we must objectively answer when to close
Reduce Risk
A short put actually has tremendous downside so we need to make a risk adjustment to this strategy While a short put can see a several hundred percent loss in any given trade we can put a stop loss on each trade to limit that black swan risk That answers when to exit the downside
We also need to answer when to close on the upside It turns out that if a put was sold for say 1 00 closing that put out once it goes down to 0 10 has had a large impact on results as well Here s how we account for both our stop loss and limit gain
And now the results
We have now fully answered the what to trade when to trade it and when to close it specifics of our option trades The final question we need to answer is if this is just luck
Is This Really Analysis or Just Luck
Skepticism is natural trading isn t a game and that means we have to prove to ourselves that this isn t luck or happen stance
What we need to do now is look at this short put over various time periods We see that it has worked over the last two years now let s look at the last year
A 176 return when we chop the risk down and close at the right time has turned into a 202 return over the last year in Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD
It s not a magic bullet it s just easy access to objective data
Finally we look at this short put over the last six months these are the results
While the risk reduction strategy actually didn t help returns the point is that it didn t really hurt returns we are seeing similar reward for far far less risk Yet again when we have access to objective data our what to trade when to trade and when to close rules have worked
What Just Happened
If you ve made it this far then you recognize that this is how people profit from the option market it s preparation not luck
To see how to do this for any stock or ETF and for any strategy with just the click of a few buttons we welcome you to watch this 4 minute demonstration video
Risk Disclosure
Past performance is not an indication of future results
Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options Investors could lose more than their initial investment
Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results The risk of loss in trading can be substantial carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition |
AMD | Double Top In NVIDIA Time To Short Sell Semiconductors | Semiconductors were real outperformers last year By far the strongest performer in the semiconductor space was NVIDIA NASDAQ NVDA as well as Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD
NVIDIA went up fivefold in less than a year That is impressive to say the least
However right now NVIDIA seems to be setting a major double top Note the purple circle on the first chart A double top was set in February and a lower high was set in March That is really concerning for NVDA and it seems that sellers are taking control over buyers
The downside potential in NVDA is significant It is not that the financials of the company are not good With a 32x P E ratio great turnover and EPS figures there really is not a financial problem The issue is that the stock got ahead of itself At a certain point too high too fast needs to correct
Ultimately NVDA can come down until its 90 week moving average which is around 55 Not that this our forecast but it s a potential downside target for the short to medium term depending on how broad markets will act
Now if NVDA would fal which we anticipate it would have major implications for stock markets The reason is that semiconductors have done very well since stock markets recovered early 2016 But as they have been leading stocks higher stock markets need a strong performance in semiconductors to remain in a bullish environment
As explained on below chart weakness in semiconductor stocks which translates in a break down below the rising trend purple rising trend line on below chart could create weakness in stock markets as a whole Watch 975 in the semiconductor index SOX as a breakdown price level
A sustained break below 975 points in SOX would also trigger short selling opportunities in the semiconductor index in case this comes with weakness in the stock market indexes |
T | Golf Mickelson set for first start since Bones split | By Frank Pingue Reuters Phil Mickelson will make his first PGA Tour start since parting ways with his longtime caddie at this week s Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia which returns after massive flooding last year forced cancellation of the event Mickelson has missed the cut in his three prior Greenbrier appearances but hopes to snap that barren run on the Old White TPC Course in White Sulphur Springs with younger brother Tim on the bag following last month s split with Jim Bones Mackay The left hander who had Mackay on his bag for all but one of his 42 PGA Tour wins has played in 15 tournaments this season with four top 10s and is yet to miss a cut This week will mark his first start since a ninth place finish at the St Jude Classic in early June but it comes on a course the five times major winner once described as brutally difficult Still Mickelson enjoys the area so much that he owns a home on the property and last year became a member of the Greenbrier Sporting Club plus a Tour ambassador for the resort Last year a mere two weeks before the Greenbrier Classic a devastating flash flood swept through the area and caused extensive damage to the course that was deemed beyond reasonable repair to conduct the tournament Since there was no tournament last year New Zealand s Danny Lee who won the 2015 edition in a four way playoff for his only PGA Tour win is the returning champion The world number 81 who will be grouped with Mickelson and twice U S Masters winner Bubba Watson for the first two rounds says he has benefited from coaching changes and the addition of a mental coach to his team After a share of fifth place at the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson in May Lee returned a week later to finish sixth at Colonial and then 10 days ago tied for third at the Travelers Championship I had some good finishes and I got to play in the final group on Colonial I haven t been in that situation for a while I kind of didn t sleep that well Saturday night said Lee But at Travelers I felt a lot better Then I played great that week all week I think I m on the right track to do something great I think
This version of the story has been refiled to add dropped word in lede |
T | CNBC AT T Time Warner deal could wrap in 60 days | AT T s NYSE T 85B buyout of Time Warner NYSE TWX could wrap up in as little as 60 days sources tell CNBC s David Faber Meanwhile several reports this morning that President Trump won t back the merger if Jeff Zucker is still in charge at CNN with which Trump s been actively feuding in speeches and on Twitter AT T down in premarket action as it goes ex dividend opened low and has returned to the flat line Time Warner is up 0 2 Updated 9 55 a m After opening low TWX is up 0 8 AT T is up 0 1 Now read |
T | U S senator urges DOJ to reject any White House push in merger probes | By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Reuters Senator Amy Klobuchar the top Democrat on the Senate antitrust panel sent a letter to the U S Justice Department on Friday urging that it reject any effort by the White House to inject politics into merger investigations The letter follows a New York Times report saying that White House advisors battling television news station CNN mulled using a government review of AT T NYSE T Inc s plans to merge with CNN parent Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX as leverage Any political interference in antitrust enforcement is unacceptable Even more concerning in this instance is that it appears that some advisers to the president may believe that it is appropriate for the government to use its law enforcement authority to alter or censor the press Klobuchar wrote in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions Both the White House and Justice Department declined comment for this story Klobuchar who has herself expressed concern about the 85 4 billion megadeal noted those concerns but added that the Justice Department s antitrust review should focus on consumer welfare rather than politics Klobuchar also asked Sessions to report to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the antitrust subcommittee any White House staffer or presidential adviser who had contacted the Justice Department about the merger
President Donald Trump has not commented publicly on the deal since the election but during his campaign he said it was an example of a power structure that was rigged against him and too much concentration of power in the hands of too few |
T | NFL s Cowboys top Forbes most valuable teams list | By Frank Pingue Reuters The Dallas Cowboys are the world s most valuable sports team according to the annual list published by Forbes on Wednesday that was dominated by National Football League teams The NFL s Cowboys who last year unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid for top spot on the list were valued at 4 2 billion a 5 percent jump compared to last year Forbes said in a statement Major League Baseball s New York Yankees who have both the highest sponsorship revenue and premium seating revenue in MLB jumped two spots to second on the list as their value rose 9 percent to 3 7 billion Soccer clubs Manchester United 3 69 billion Barcelona 3 64 billion and Real Madrid 3 58 billion rounded out the top five The NFL s Los Angeles Rams were the biggest gainer moving from outside the top 50 to 12th as their value doubled to 2 9 billion with their relocation from St Louis last year Relocations and new stadiums are fueling big increases in the value of NFL teams with the Cowboys the economic model every franchise hopes to match said Kurt Badenhausen senior editor Forbes Media Jerry Jones turned a money losing franchise into the most profitable sports franchise in the world as AT T NYSE T Stadium generates the highest sponsorship and premium seating revenue in the sport Teams from the NFL whose lucrative broadcast contracts are not comparable to any other league accounted for over half of the list occupying 29 spots in the ranking including the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 3 4 billion at No 6 The Cincinnati Bengals Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions were the only NFL teams that did not make the list MLB had eight teams on the list followed by the National Basketball Association and European soccer who each had seven teams on the list No ice hockey Formula One or Nascar teams made the cut
For the complete list visit |
T | Blumenthal asks antitrust pick to discuss White House role in AT T deal | WASHINGTON Reuters Senator Richard Blumenthal a member of the Judiciary Committee said on Wednesday that he asked President Donald Trump s top antitrust pick to meet to discuss any contact he has had with the White House regarding AT T s N T plan to merge with Time Warner N TWX Blumenthal told reporters on Capitol Hill that he requested the meeting with Makan Delrahim in the wake of a New York Times report that White House advisers battling television news station CNN mulled using a government review of AT T s merger plans as leverage Delrahim was nominated to be the assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department and is awaiting Senate confirmation The department s Antitrust Division will decide whether the deal is legal under U S law The White House is ethically and morally barred from intervening said Blumenthal a Connecticut Democrat The mere threat of it is a very serious potential violation of ethics On Tuesday Bob Quinn a spokesman for AT T declined to discuss the report Quinn said that AT T believes it can complete regulatory reviews and close the deal by the end of the year Blumenthal also said that he had written to the CEOs of AT T and Time Warner about the report Blumenthal s remarks echo those of Senator Amy Klobuchar the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee s antitrust panel who said last week in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that any political interference in antitrust enforcement is unacceptable Trump himself has not commented publicly on the deal since the election but during his campaign he said it was an example of a power structure that was rigged against him and too much concentration of power in the hands of too few
Blumenthal said that Delrahim had not yet responded to the request The Justice Department declined comment |
T | AT T 1 2 as BofA Merrill cuts to Neutral | AT T NYSE T is 1 2 lower after BofA Merrill Lynch downgrades the stock to neutral and trims its price target ahead of a heavy stock issuance tied to AT T s 85B buyout of Time Warner The firm s pulled AT T off its US 1 list The company faces seasonally challenged metrics in video and broadband subscribers notes analyst David Barden and investors have rolled back expectations on positive catalysts Corporate tax reform for one is among a number of priorities for the Trump administration hitting setbacks Meanwhile AT T faces a challenge with issuing some 40B in stock tied to its acquisition He s trimmed his price target on shares to 39 from 46 implying just 7 2 upside from today s lower price Now read |
T | U S attorney general urged to consider blocking AT T deal for Time Warner | By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Reuters Seven consumer advocacy groups wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday to ask him to consider blocking AT T s plan to buy Time Warner on the grounds that it will lead to higher prices and slow innovation in showing video online Common Cause Consumer Federation of America Consumers Union Public Knowledge and other groups echoed other critics of the deal including some lawmakers who say that the 85 4 billion deal would give AT T N T owner of DirecTV the ability to withhold Time Warner s N TWX content from other outlets and hurt the move to show television shows and movies on the Internet The groups argued that after buying Time Warner owner of HBO and TNT AT T would have the incentive to restrict sales of that programming to cable and online channels That could hurt DirecTV s rivals as well as AT T s competitors in providing video online the letter said The groups also worried that the deal would create incentives for AT T to refrain from showing independent programmers The groups said that the deal poses grave dangers to consumers and creators in mature and emerging markets and urged the government to consider stopping it If you conclude as appears to us from the available information that conditions and piecemeal divestitures will not be sufficient then we hope you will challenge the merger in its entirety the groups said in their letter to Sessions Aside from the Justice Department s antitrust review the deal is at the center of a controversy over allegations that White House advisers considered using the probe as political leverage Time Warner owns news station CNN which President Donald Trump has criticized
AT T did not immediately respond to a request for comment The Justice Department declined comment on the letter |
PFE | The Closing Of The Global Economy | I don t often write about global geopolitics because I think in general investors spend too much time worrying about things they can t control or aren t going to happen or wouldn t matter much if they did The best example is the Middle East which has been a mess my entire life and long before it for that matter Changing your investments based on the latest threat in or from the Levant is a recipe for constant chaos The only accurate prediction about the Middle East will always be that the various factions that have been fighting for centuries will continue to fight And that no matter who is in charge they will have to sell oil to make ends meet And make no mistake oil is the only economic reason we care about the region
The recent Paris attacks though have me thinking more about how global geopolitics is affecting the global economy The terrorist attacks Europe has experienced in Madrid London Paris and other locales are raising old barriers across the continent Borders where goods people and capital have crossed freely for the last few decades are now manned and monitored again Capital largely continues to flow freely but people and goods are starting to be restricted you can t restrict the flow of people without also obstructing the flow of goods For now the people and goods continue to flow just more slowly One can t help but think though that if the borders become literal barriers again it won t be long before the metaphoric ones protectionist policies return as well
If one also considers the antipathy toward Germany that permeates most of Europe and the perception and reality to some degree that the EU and especially the EMU are much more favorable for the Teutonic members than the Latin ones then one begins to see how the fragile union might devolve into its former squabbling fractured self The feared break up of Europe and the Euro has until now been based on economic considerations but physical security would seem a larger concern at this point If the EU can t guarantee physical security and has already failed at providing economic security it s raison d etre is what exactly To provide employment for feckless bureaucrats
The desire for physical security isn t confined to Europe obviously the Paris attacks have amped up the political debate in the US over immigration with Syrian refugees and physical security now replacing Latin Americans and economic security as the targets The emergence of Donald Trump as a right wing populist to challenge the near universally populist Democrats means that both parties are now pandering to the population s baser instincts of fear and greed That isn t to say that their fears aren t real or legitimate just that the solutions offered by populist politicians are simplistic and unlikely to achieve the intended results Indeed history says that walling ourselves off from the world is more likely to create less security physical and economic rather than more
The demonization of foreigners this emerging isolationist consensus a natural response in many ways to the jingoism of the last decade s Western governments is not confined to the debate over national defense or immigration It is also a part of the economic debate Politicians exploit our economic insecurities laying blame on foreigners the Chinese are the most often cited bogeymen for problems created by our own policies Donald Trump says he will be a tougher negotiator and get better trade deals but doing so will require threatening consequences trade restrictions that would please Smoot and Hawley and potentially repeat the mistakes that led to the Great Depression Jack Lew decries corporate inversions and announces new rules designed to prevent US companies from doing what our corporate tax code incentivizes them to do Meanwhile Pfizer Inc N PFE and Allergan N AGN pa look to structure a deal that has Allergan an Irish corporation with a low tax rate and the smaller of the two companies playing the role of acquirer to avoid the new rules Will the current administration or future ones regularly reject takeovers of US corporations unless they are carried out by other US corporations Will other countries follow suit
The inequality debate is rooted too in the discussion over trade policy globalization and outsourcing The decline of the American middle class the rise of the so called creative class and the consequences of the financialization of the US economy are all part of the same populist isolationist rhetoric Foreigners are demonized as stealing American manufacturing jobs polarizing the US between the haves largely in the coastal cities who benefit from free trade and the have nots largely in the interior of the country who don t It mostly isn t true productivity has reduced manufacturing employment much more than free trade but it has enough of a whiff of truth that it works as a political strategy even if it would fail miserably as an economic one Monetary policy has attempted to assuage the middle class angst with expanded credit but that has exacerbated the divide as financial engineers have been rewarded at the expense of real ones
We see this nationalistic impulse in the so called currency wars the devaluations intended to steal some of what is left of global growth for one s own country Rather than pursue domestic policies that would improve growth politicians are happy to leave it to central banks to try and gain a trade advantage by weakening the national currency seeking to enrich through impoverishment a policy doomed to failure The unintended consequences are reflected in money markets where conditions once thought impossible or at least illogical have become commonplace In the process of trying to recover from the last crisis we are creating the conditions for the next
Meanwhile global trade is contracting down for three years in a row and a major reason for the weak recovery from the last recession The growth and falling inflation of the 90s was in a lot of ways driven by the expansion of trade the liberalization of the global economy as former communist nations adopted more liberal free market economic policies and joined the world trade order That expansion appears to now be reversing in a cacophony of nativist rhetoric a global phenomenon that encompasses unites and animates the far left and the far right As I said in my
The political left is happy to see people cross borders but would gladly restrict the flow of capital and goods The political right is happy to see capital and goods cross borders but would gladly build a fence to restrict the flow of people I m afraid that the compromise might be to restrict people capital and goods
This political pandering has consequences for our society and economy that are hard to predict The recent college campus protests would appear to be another manifestation of this growing desire for security over all else Students want to create safe spaces where they are free to extend their childhood protected from harm both real and imagined With the random violence and economic upheaval that has marked their lives from 9 11 to Madrid to London to Paris to the dot com bust to the Great Recession is it any wonder that our young adults seek to be protected from the real world The intolerance practiced by our leaders is reflected in the intolerance of the students who shout down anyone who doesn t toe the politically correct line a feat that becomes harder by the day We have lost the ability to take a joke to distinguish between satire and seriousness In the process we divide rather than unite for fear of offending and being subjected to the modern day pillory of social media
As I said at the beginning I don t generally spend a lot of time thinking about geopolitics as it relates to investing because it isn t generally profitable This closing of the global economy this emerging trend toward protectionism in the form of currency devaluation and populist politics is already impacting the global economy but in the short term probably shouldn t impact our investment approach We don t know yet how far this will be taken if the rhetoric will turn into actual economy damaging policies For now the most obvious impact has been the rising dollar and falling inflation expectations with so far little impact on real growth expectations here in the US But the direction is disturbing especially with the US coming into an election year when the rhetoric may have more impact on market outcomes
As investors we have more immediate concerns Growth remains stuck at the secular stagnation new normal pace of 2 to 2 5 growth The economic data continues to point to weakness even as the Fed prepares to enter a tightening cycle Inventories are building as sales and investment stagnate The energy industry responsible for an historically large proportion of investment since the crisis is in deep trouble as the dollar rises and oil prices sink Earnings are falling and margins appear to have peaked Stock market valuations are extreme and market technicals are unhealthy with a small number of stocks leading the averages higher even as most stocks head south Investors have plenty to worry about that is real and now without delving into what is speculative and possibly far in the future
The closing of the global economy the reversal to some unknown degree of the globalization process has negative consequences for the lives to which we ve become accustomed Much of the disinflation since the early 90s is a direct result of increased trade and reversing the process will in time mean less choice and higher prices for Americans And no it won t despite what the protectionist populists would have you believe bring back high wage manufacturing jobs The giant sucking sound Ross Perot warned about isn t coming from Mexico but rather from Silicon Valley and we should be thankful for it not ruing it We should be preparing our young adults for the real world and the jobs of this century rather than coddling them and trying to bring back the jobs of the last one The closing of the global economy is not a fait accompli But we will have to resist with all our might the siren song of the politicians who tell us what we want rather than need to hear and push back against the monetary policies that are a poor substitute for better fiscal and regulatory policies |
PFE | Markets Decline Worldwide | U S Asian and European shares moved lower on Monday after the highly controversial merger between Pfizer Inc N PFE and Allergan N AGN pa The dollar moved lower against its major rivals as the market weighs in on the Federal Reserve s likely December interest rate hike
U S stocks erased more gains made last week when major benchmarks saw some of their best weekly results in months Trading volume was relatively low possibly reflecting the holiday atmosphere ahead of Thanksgiving Day during which markets will be closed The S P 500 shed 2 58 points or 0 12 to trade at 2 086 59 as six of its ten main sector finish in the red Consumer and energy sectors led the gainers although they were eclipsed by heavy declines in the telecom utilities and tech sectors The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 31 13 points or 0 17 to trade at 17 792 68 as more than two thirds of its components closed the day lower The Nasdaq Composite declined 2 44 points or 0 05 to close Monday s trading session at 5 102 48 Historically Thanksgiving week trading tends to have low trading volume despite the release of key economic data this week with pace picking up in December Despite expectations the 155 billion merger between Pfizer Inc N PFE and Allergan PLC failed to lift the markets despite the creation of worlds largest drug maker Both companies saw their shares decline following the announcement as criticism was pointed at some of the specifics of the deal which could be viewed as an attempt to evade U S taxation by moving operations to Ireland
Asian shares followed Wall Street s lead posting declines during early trade MSCI s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan moved between positive and negative territory and was up 0 2 as of this writing The Japanese Nikkei 225 dipped about 0 1 percent after a long holiday weekend but recovered to a 0 3 gain over the session Chinese shares also moved lower as the blue chip CSI 300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen was last seen 1 2 lower The Shanghai Composite Index was last seen down around 0 4 The focus in Japan is moving away from earnings reports and towards China The second largest economy in the world has recently taken some drastic steps in order to secure economic growth though August s sudden devaluation of the yuan resulted in considerable volatility worldwide Asian markets are also focused on the U S Federal Reserve and its likely interest rate hike next month
This week s major economic data releases continue today with the release of German GDP and business climate data and will continue with U S GDP and consumer confidence data U S personal spending employment durable goods orders and oil stock data will be released on Wednesday U S trade will be closed for Thanksgiving Day on Thursday |
PFE | Weekly Snapshot PFE And AGN Agree To Merge Manufacturing Still Weak | Top News Headlines
Turkey and Russia spar over airspace Russian promises retaliation for fighter shoot down
Brussels shuts down for days in terrorist hunt
Chicago policeman charged with murder
Stocks little changed on the week no follow through from last week s rally
Pfizer N PFE Allergan N AGN pa agree to merge for tax benefits politicians posture threaten
Economic News
Japan unveils new stimulus measures
US corporate profits decline nearly 5 year over year most since recession
Spain economy grows 3 4 year over year no one notices
Durable goods orders rebound for the month but ex transportation still down year over year
Consumer confidence tanks as expectations fall
Manufacturing data still weak Flash PMI CFNAI Richmond Fed all less than expected
Income up spending up 0 1 savings rate rises
Chart Of The Week
Corporate profits rarely fall outside of recession as they are now That s not a prediction but one probably ought to factor it into one s outlook
Broad Market Top 10 3 Month Returns
MOMENTUM ASSET ALLOCATION MODEL SPDR Sector Returns 3 Month Returns
SPDR SECTOR ROTATION MODEL Country Returns Top 10 3 Month Returns
Commodity Returns Top 10 3 Month Returns
Bond Returns Top 10 3 Month Returns
Stock Valuation Update |
PFE | Of Rotten Apples And Rotten Systems | Martin Shkreli the former hedge fund manager turned pharmaceutical CEO who was arrested last week has been described as a sociopath and worse
In reality he s a brasher and larger version of what others in finance and corporate suites do all the time
Federal prosecutors are charging him with conning wealthy investors
Lying to investors is illegal of course but it s perfectly normal to use hype to lure rich investors into hedge funds And the line between the two isn t always distinct
Hedge funds are lightly regulated on the assumption that investors are sophisticated and can take care of themselves
prosecutors went after Shkreli because they couldn t nail him for his escapades as a pharmaceutical executive which were completely legal although vile
Shkreli took over a company with the rights to a 62 year old drug used to treat toxoplasmosis a devastating parasitic infection that can cause brain damage in babies and people with AIDS He then promptly raised its price from 13 50 to 750 a pill
When the media and politicians went after him Shkreli was defiant saying our shareholders expect us to make as much as money as possible He said he wished he had raised the price even higher
That was too much even for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Big Pharma s trade group which complained indignantly that Shkreli s company was just an investment vehicle masquerading as a pharmaceutical company
Maybe Big Pharma doesn t want to admit most pharmaceutical companies have become investment vehicles If they didn t deliver for their investors they d be taken over by activist investors and private equity partners who would
The hypocrisy is stunning Just three years ago Forbes Magazine Shkreli as one of its 30 under 30 in Finance who was battling billionaires and entrenched drug industry executives
Last month Shkreli got control of a company with rights to a cheap drug used for decades to treat in Latin America His aim was to get the drug approved in the United States and charge tens of thousands of dollars for a course of treatment
Investors who backed Shkreli in this venture did well The company s share price initially shot up from under 2 to more than 40
While other pharmaceutical companies don t raise their drug prices fiftyfold in one fell swoop as did Shkreli they would if they thought it would lead to fat profits
Most have been increasing their prices more than 10 percent a year still far faster than inflation on drugs used on common diseases like cancer high cholesterol and diabetes
This has imposed a far bigger burden on health spending than Shkreli s escapades making it much harder for Americans to pay for drugs they need Even if they re insured most people are paying out big sums in co payments and deductibles
Not to mention the impact on private insurers Medicare state Medicaid prisons and the Veterans Health Administration
And the prices of new drugs are sky high Pfizer s N PFE new one to treat advanced breast cancer costs 9 850 a month
According to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal that price isn t based on manufacturing or research costs
Instead Pfizer set the price as high as possible without pushing doctors and insurers toward alternative drugs
But don t all profit maximizing firms set prices as high as they can without pushing customers toward alternatives
Unlike most other countries the United States doesn t control drug prices It leaves pricing up to the market
Which enables drug companies to charge as much as the market will bear
So what exactly did Martin Shkreli do wrong by the standards of today s capitalism
He played the same game many others are playing on Wall Street and in corporate suites He was just more audacious about it
It s easy to go after bad guys much harder to go after bad systems
Hedge fund managers for example make big gains from trading on insider information That robs small investors who aren t privy to the information
But it s not illegal unless a trader knows the leaker was compensated a looser standard than in any other advanced country
Meanwhile the pharmaceutical industry is making a fortune off average Americans who are paying more for the drugs they need than the citizens of any other advanced country
That s largely because Big Pharma has wielded its political influence to avoid cost controls to ban Medicare from using its bargaining clout to negotiate lower prices and to allow drug companies to pay the makers of generic drugs to delay their cheaper versions
Shkreli may be a rotten apple But hedge funds and the pharmaceutical industry are two rotten systems that are costing Americans a bundle |
AMD | This Semiconductor Play Just Flashed Sell | Investors should expect major downside on shares of Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD in the coming weeks Just days ago the stock had a huge bearish engulfing reversal candle at multi year highs Following that reversal AMD has put in a classic bear flag chart setup That means the stock is days away from its next leg lower
Target
The ultimate downside target is 9 15 This is a high reward low risk setup The stop can simply be any daily close above the 52 week high of 12 42 This gives double the reward on a short versus the risk |
AMD | For AMD Bulls This Is A Big Price Level Right Here | Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD corrected over the last two weeks finally The stock had been on a one way track from 2 in January 2016 to over 12 in December 2016 There had only been minimal pull backs all year long That changed in January 2017 The stock fell from 12 40 to a low today of 9 81 This is a corrective move of 17 5 More importantly the stock finally hit a major support level as seen in the stock chart below This now becomes a big level for the stock to hold and likely bounce trade Advanced Micro Devices will likely see a near term bounce off this level up into earnings on January 31st For bullish investors a buy at the current price is not a bad trade but make sure to exit prior to earnings |
T | AT T launches 5G DirecTV Now trial in Austin | AT T T 1 1 has kicked off its second trial of 5G using millimeter wave technology to hit next gen speeds in testing in Austin Texas A previous test focused on business wireless the new trial adds residential customers and tests DirecTV Now streaming performance The company had delivered DirecTV Now using millimeter wave earlier this year at its lab in New Jersey It expects the Austin trial to hit gigabit per second speeds using the spectrum It s a major step toward delivering 5G speeds as early as late 2018 AT T says Now read |
T | Fowler seeks rebound after near miss at U S Open | By Frank Pingue Reuters World number nine Rickie Fowler will look to rebound from a near miss at the U S Open when he headlines the field at this week s Quicken Loans National in Maryland Fowler who will be making his sixth start in the event will be eager to get underway in Thursday s opening round which will mark his first event since he squandered the chance of a maiden major 10 days ago The 28 year old American started the final round of the year s second major two shots off the lead but shot even par 72 at Erin Hills to finish six shots behind Brooks Koepka and in a tie for fifth place But Fowler a four times winner on the PGA Tour who has been grouped with Australian Marc Leishman and Canadian Adam Hadwin for the first two rounds is not about to hit the panic button I feel like golf wise I m playing at the highest level If you look at the negatives too much I mean you re going to be stuck doing that the whole time Fowler told reporters after his final round at the U S Open You have to measure success in different ways not just by winning just because that doesn t happen a whole lot I think Tiger Woods had the best winning percentage of all time at 30 percent and you re lucky to even sniff close to 10 Fowler arrives at TPC Potomac with six top 10 finishes in 13 events this season including a win at the Honda Classic in late February Despite a relatively weak field there are a number of players who are expected to contend including Justin Thomas who is seeking his fourth win of the season and reigning Players Championship winner Kim Si woo of South Korea Billy Horschel the 2014 FedExCup winner who triumphed at last month s AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson defending champion Billy Hurley III former winner Bill Haas and Swede David Lingmerth are among the other contenders
One person who will not be at TPC Potomac is Tiger Woods While the event is run by Woods s foundation the former world number one is currently receiving professional help on how to manage his medications for back pain and a sleep disorder |
T | Trump names Republican aide to open FCC seat | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters U S President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he planned to nominate a Federal Communications Commission attorney to fill one of two vacant seats at the nation s telecommunications regulatory agency The White House said Trump would name Brendan Carr a Republican who previously served as an adviser to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to an open seat Carr currently is general counsel at the FCC and also has worked at the Wiley Rein LLP law firm Carr did not respond to a request for comment The five seat FCC currently has only three members Earlier this month Trump nominated Jessica Rosenworcel a Democrat to another open seat at the FCC The U S Senate must confirm both Carr and Rosenworcel before they can be seated Rosenworcel served as a commissioner for the regulator until the end of 2016 when lawmakers failed to take up her renomination under former President Barack Obama giving Republicans a 2 1 majority on the five seat commission The FCC is working to reverse a number of Obama era regulations including the former Democratic president s landmark 2015 net neutrality rules prohibiting broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others Pai chosen by Trump in January to head the agency also has said he wants to dismantle other significant regulations as part of a sweeping review he said would remove barriers to business and modernize rules Pai also has proposed significant changes to local TV ownership limits and plans other changes to media regulations Pai praised Carr s appointment Brendan s expertise on wireless policy and public safety will be a tremendous asset to the commission he said in a statement Republican Michael O Rielly and Democrat Mignon Clyburn also serve on the commission Democrats insisted Republicans had agreed in 2015 to reconfirm Rosenworcel as part of a deal to confirm O Rielly Republicans denied there was a deal but the standoff had delayed consideration of telecommunications legislation in the Senate Pai would be forced to leave the commission if he is not reconfirmed by the Senate by the end of the year Under Pai the FCC chose not to review AT T NYSE T Inc s planned 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc NYSE TWX
The FCC must review Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc s proposed 3 9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co one of the largest U S TV station operators |
T | DirecTV Now adds local ABC NBC Fox affiliates | Live TV streamer DirecTV Now NYSE T is more than doubling its offering of local television coverage adding more affiliates of ABC NBC and Fox The changes start next week and bring DirecTV Now s live local coverage to nearly 70 of U S households By August s end DirecTV Now hopes to have tripled the offering since launch by adding still more affiliates It s adding ABC affiliates in 30 new markets including Atlanta Dallas Fort Worth and Boston NBC in four new markets and Fox in one new market Now read |
T | B2Digital signs agreement to acquire Hard Rock MMA | B2Digital OTCPK BTDG signed an agreement to acquire Hard Rock Promotions LLC for 100 of the equity interest in Hard Rock Promotions LLC for 49 000 in cash and 100 000 of restricted common stock in B2Digital The acquisition will become effective following the completion of B2Digital s reverse stock split that was previously announced on June 21 It is exciting for B2Digital to begin its quest in developing an MMA Minor league with the acquisition of a great MMA company like Hard Rock MMA which has produced over 89 events with a currently planned schedule of 14 LIVE Events through the end of 2018 The Hard Rock Events will form the nucleus of fighters to fight in the upcoming B2 Fighting Series Events The management of Hard Rock MMA has done an amazing job in Kentucky operating Hard Rock MMA and I am quite pleased that the current management will stay in place to operate the Hard Rock MMA group for B2Digital said Greg P Bell Chairman CEO of B2Digital Press ReleaseNow read |
T | AT T unclear what final merger conditions Justice Department will seek | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters AT T Inc was confident it would win regulatory approval for its 85 4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc N TWX before year s end as the Justice Department continues its review but was still awaiting details about any final requirements for the deal a senior executive said Bob Quinn AT T s N T senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs said in a C SPAN interview this week that the telecommunications company was unclear what final conditions the Justice Department may seek as part of any approval That conversation is just beginning really Quinn said We ve gotten through the point where we re produced all the data and answered all the questions and I think that process will kick off this summer In June a Senate panel voted 19 1 to advance the nomination of Makan Delrahim who was chosen by President Donald Trump to be the top U S antitrust regulator The Senate must still vote to confirm Delrahim and it is not clear when they will vote Until Delrahim is confirmed it is kind of hard to predict whether even the list that we see preliminarily will be the final list that they want to close on said Quinn without elaborating The No 2 U S wireless carrier still needs some foreign approvals In March it won the European Commission s nod for the deal Separately a group of Senate Democrats on Wednesday including Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken urged the Justice Department to closely scrutinize the deal We have strong concerns that the combined company s unmatched control of popular content and the distribution of that content will lead to higher prices fewer choices and poorer quality services for Americans they wrote Before initiating the next big wave of media consolidation you must consider how the 85 billion deal will impact Americans wallets as well as their access to a wide range of news and entertainment programing
AT T said in a statement it had previously addressed all the issues in the letter and argued that the deal would offer consumers more choice and will expand distribution and creative opportunities for diverse and independent voices |
PFE | Uptrend Line Support At Current Levels For Pfizer Inc | There is uptrend line support at current levels for Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE shares A rebound will help them register a new decade high Breaking below the trendline will drive price towards filling the gap 32 In such a case buy the dips Bullish outlook
PFE stock price 8 months |
T | Spieth birdies last for one shot lead at Travelers | Reuters Jordan Spieth ended an up and down round on a high note rolling in a 20 foot birdie putt at the last on Saturday to carry a one stroke lead into the final round of the Travelers Championship at River Highlands in Connecticut Spieth who has led since the opening round in a campaign for his first win since the AT T NYSE T Pebble Beach tournament in February had three birdies over his last four holes for a four under 66 to squeeze ahead of fellow American Boo Weekley The closing charge by Spieth followed back to back bogeys from the 13th and put him at 12 under par 198 while Weekley made five birdies in a bogey free back nine including the last two holes to shoot 65 for an 11 under total Three shots off the pace was American Daniel Berger 66 with C T Pan of Taiwan who fired a 64 for the low round on a breezy day Sweden s David Lingmerth 65 and Briton Paul Casey 66 another stroke back World number six Spieth who has struggled of late to regain his top form confidently poured in his right to left breaker on the last green with his sights set on notching a 10th PGA Tour title one month from celebrating his 24th birthday With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle Spieth told reporters That was a loud roar and those are really fun to experience Spieth heard some other roars notably at the par five sixth where he holed out a chip shot for birdie and at the short par four 15th where his tee shot settled in a greenside bunker and his sand shot stopped a couple of inches from making two for an eagle No player has ever won the Travelers wire to wire and Spieth will be trying for his second career win from start to finish following his 2015 maiden major triumph at the U S Masters The 43 year old Weekley who has slipped to 390th in the world rankings is gunning for his fourth tour title and first since winning at Colonial in 2013 World number three Rory McIlroy frustrated by his recent putting form auditioned five different putters before Saturday s third round before choosing a half mallet styled flat stick It did not make a world of difference for the Northern Irishman who shot 70 for an even par 210 total that was one stroke inside the cut for Sunday s final round |
T | Woods not attending his D C area event | The Sports Xchange Tiger Woods who has missed numerous tournaments the past few seasons because of ongoing back problems will not perform his usual duties as tournament host at this week s Quicken Loans National as he addresses his use of prescription drugs to manage his back pain Woods was not planning to play this week at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac Maryland but it was announced he would not be attending the event that benefits the Tiger Wood Foundation As Tiger said he is receiving ongoing professional help and because of that he cannot attend this year s Quicken Loans National Woods spokesman Rick Singer said in a statement Tiger will stay in touch with the tournament and receive regular updates during the week Woods was arrested on a DUI charge in the early hours of May 29 in Jupiter Florida when police found him asleep behind the wheel of his parked car at the side of the road several miles from his home After tests revealed no trace of alcohol in his system Woods said that he had a reaction to prescription drugs he was taking He later announced on Twitter that he is undergoing treatment to manage his prescription drugs use Woods DUI arraignment is scheduled for Aug 9 He s been in just immense pain for so very long that taking prescribed medication was a must just to be able to get up and move said Mark Steinberg Woods agent with Excel Sports Management I don t think it s fair to say there is an addiction This week marks the 11th edition of what started out as the AT T NYSE T National in 2007 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda Maryland to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation |
PFE | Oppenheimer Weighs In On Biotech Stocks OPK OVAS | of Oppenheimer rates stocks in the biotechnology sector and is one of the top 25 analysts rated on TipRanks Yesterday Vanjani made two news ratings for Opko Health Inc NYSE OPK and Ovascience Inc NASDAQ OVAS
Vanjani maintained a Perform rating on Opko Health Inc though he did not provide a price target The pharmaceutical and diagnostic company posted first quarter earnings on May 11 reporting consolidated revenue of 30 1 million higher than Vanjani s estimate of 20 4 million However Opko reported a net loss of 117 1 million for the quarter compared to a net loss of 44 6 million in the same quarter of last year The company also posted a loss of 0 26 per share compared to 0 11 in the same quarter of last year
Opko beat Vanjani s revenue estimate thanks to a collaboration deal with Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE which resulted in a 295 million upfront payment Vanjani commented Shares of OPKO have traded flattish in the current quarter We believe the recent EirGen acquisition was incrementally positive and could provide a small catalyst referring to Opko s acquisition of the specialty pharmaceutical company The analyst continued OPKO paid roughly 135M in cash and stock for an asset that potentially provides manufacturing capabilities for vertical integration tax incentives existing revenue and cash flow as well as pipeline products We should begin to see the benefit of EirGen in the revenue line beginning in 2Q15
Rohit Vanjani has rated Opko health 10 times since May 2014 earning a 100 success rate recommending the stock with a 69 2 average return per OPK rating
The analyst also provided a rating on OvaScience yesterday after the biopharmaceutical company released first quarter earnings on May 11
Vanjani maintained an Outperform rating on the stock with a 60 price target
The fertility company was happy to announce that the first baby had been born using the Augment treatment Augment is OvaScience s therapy to improve the health of eggs in women undergoing in vitro fertilization
OvaScience posted a net loss for the quarter of 17 2 million or 0 65 per share compared to a net loss of 7 8 million and 0 41 in the same quarter a year prior Aside from revenue Vanjani believes it is more important to focus on the future of Augment He explained OvaScience maintained its guidance for 1 000 cycles in 2015 which we view as positive
Although Vanjani usually makes cunning recommendations in the biotechnology sector he is not always accurate rating OvaScience Vanjani has rated OvaScience 14 times since May 2014 earning only a 20 success rate earning the stock with an average loss of 6 2 per rating However most analysts agree with this latest rating as the top analyst consensus for OvaScience on TipRanks is Strong Buy Overall Vanjani has a 73 success rate recommending stocks with a 35 2 average return per rating |
PFE | Delivering Alpha Highlights Part 2 | Surely John Paulson s discussion of merger arb with Melissa Lee counts as one of the highlights of this year s Delivering Alpha conference
In part it became a highlight through the luck of timing that is breaking news on the subject 21st Century Fox had just offered to take over Time Warner NYSE TWX bidding 80 billion Time Warner has also immediately rejected the offer but in the view of the market the fact of such an offer puts the company in play
A common pattern in such cases is that the offerer s equity falls in value in the wake of the offer and the target s equity rises That isn t what happened in this instance exactly Yes on the side of the target matters played according to Hoyle TWX spent the day Wednesday the 15 climbing from 90 06 to 90 60 then it leaped above 91 overnight
Meanwhile though FOX TA FOX opened Wednesday at 33 12 and after a day of wild hour by hour swings settled down at the same place at end of day Thursday though was when it discovered what the market thought of the idea of its acquisition of Time Warner it spent most of the day above 33 40
At the conference Melissa Lee began the interview by congratulating Paulson on the 20th anniversary of Paulson Co She observed that it started off as an arb shop though it has since expanded its scope
Drivers of Activity
Paulson accepted the congratulations and launched into a discussion of the three factors driving mergers and acquisitions activity today low interest rates record equity valuations these two factors together mean that companies can use either stock swaps or borrowed cash or a combination of the two in acquiring one another and finally the degree to which acquisitions have become necessary for executives in their own self defense the executives of a company that isn t business making deals will find that they themselves have become a takeover target Paulson called this the accretive nature of takeovers
As to the Fox deal Paulson didn t want to predict how matters will play out He spoke in general terms though about how he and his associates analyze such a deal especially when the initial bid is rebuffed and the prospect of a hostile takeover fight has arisen
There are of course risks Any piker can say aha This will cause a rise in the value of the target and rush in to try to ride that But the pikers might get in only after most of the spike has happened already ad just in time to take the other side of the roller coaster ride the one that gets scary when the initial bidder backs away
Paulson alluded to the Pfizer NYSE PFE bid for AstraZeneca NYSE AZN a little more than a year ago Speculators who bought in before Pfizer backed away lost money On Friday May 16 2014 AZN stock closed at 80 28 after an intraday high of 81 19 the next business day s close 70 64 That s a one day loss of 12
In the hope of avoiding such a loss Paulson assured Lee he will look closely at the 21st Century Time Warner deal
One consideration is that this bid doesn t lend itself to the prospect of a rapid fire auction such as one can get where two very larger bidders emerge for a single company that is of strategic value to both of them but has a low capitalization before put in play The this case the bidder and the target are roughly the same size so on the one hand there s a limit to how much cash you can pay and on the other there s also a limit to how much stock you 21st Century can provide before it becomes diluted
Valeant Allergan
On the Valeant Allergan matter Paulson Co has a stake in Allergan NYSE AGN pa which is almost inevitably identified as the maker of Botox It should be noted Allergan has other products as well some well known such as Restasis a treatment for dry eye syndrome and Juv derm an injectable anti wrinkle gel Still Botox is the blockbuster Heck the late Joan Rivers comedy legend titled a chapter in her memoir Botox Baby
Paulson Co has a stake in Allergan so it has obviously not escaped John Paulson s attention that Valeant wants to buy it
Ms Lee observed that a traditional merger arb play aims at making the spread then exiting the position once is deal is completed Paulson suggested that that wasn t what he was aiming at here In many situations today you can make far more than the spread by holding on to the acquirer s stock after the transaction is completed Valeant Allergan is a case in point because Valeant is a very serious acquirer Mike Pearson LONDON PSON is very cost conscious
What Paulson expects is that Valeant will acquire Allergan and reduce costs to such a point that it will be 25 accretive to Valeant s EPS If one presumes that Valeant s stock will rise by the same amount then Allergan prior to an acquisition by a stock and cash offer is worth as much as 2 20 a share
If Paulson were aiming for the spread in this situation he d be aiming for a gain of 1 72 a share But since his best is on Valeant s ability to attain cost synergies his goal is as much as 2 22 per share |
AMD | Advanced Micro Devices AMD Slides On Weak Earnings Revenue Up 23 | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD just released its third quarter fiscal 2016 financial results with its earnings breaking even accounting for non stock based compensation and before non recurring items and revenue coming in at 1 307 billion AMD is a Zacks Rank 2 Buy and is down about 2 to 6 82 per share in after hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released
Beat earnings estimates The company broke even for earnings in Q3 surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents per share This number excludes 50 cents from non recurring items
Beat revenue estimates The company saw revenue figures of 1 307 billion topping our consensus estimate of 1 204 billion and gaining 23 year over year AMD can thank record semi custom SoC and higher GPU and mobile APU sales partially offset by client desktop processor and chipset sales for its increase in revenue
AMD s Computing and Graphics segment revenue came in at 472 million increasing 9 sequentially and 11 year over year The sequential and year over year increases were driven primarily by increased sales of GPUs and offset by decreased sales of client desktop processors and chipsets The year over year increase was also driven by increased sales of client mobile processors
For Q4 2016 AMD forecasts a revenue decrease of 18 sequentially give or take 3
Our third quarter financial results highlight the progress we are making across our business said Lisa Su AMD president and CEO We now expect to deliver higher 2016 annual revenue based on stronger demand for AMD semi custom solutions and Polaris GPUs This positions us well to accelerate our growth in 2017 as we introduce new high performance computing and graphics products
Here s a graph that looks at AMD s price consensus and EPS surprise ADV MICRO DEV Price Consensus and EPS Surprise Advanced Micro Devices Inc is a world class company with the innovation execution and vision to grow our leadership position in the industry Over the course of AMD s three decades in business silicon and software have become the steel and plastic of the worldwide digital economy Technology companies have become global pacesetters making technical advances at a prodigious rate always driving the industry to deliver more and more faster and faster AMD s dedication to customer centric innovation and competitive spirit is an unbroken thread running from our early days in the integrated circuit business through an ever broadening product portfolio
Stocks that Aren t in the News Yet
You are invited to download the full up to the minute list of 220 Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buys free of charge Many of these companies are almost unheard of by the general public and just starting to get noticed by Wall Street They have been pinpointed by the Zacks system that nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 with a stellar average gain of 26 per year |
AMD | Advanced Micro AMD Achieves Breakeven In Q3 Earnings | Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD broke even in the third quarter of 2016 as against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents The company had reported a loss of 19 cents in the year ago quarter Revenues increased 27 3 sequentially and 38 6 year over year to 1 31 billion The increase was driven by higher sales of semi custom System on Chips SoC and better than expected seasonal graphics sales Moreover revenues were well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 21 billion However following the results sharesplunged5 8 in after hour trading Advanced Micro benefited from strong demand for its semi custom and graphics products However the company provided weak fourth quarter guidance due to seasonal weakness RevenuesAdvanced Micro has two reportable segments Computing and Graphics focused on the traditional PC market and Enterprise Embedded and Semi Custom focusing on adjacent high growth opportunities The details of these segments are discussed below Computing and Graphics includes desktop and notebook processors and chipsets discrete GPUs and professional graphics This segment accounted for 36 1 of revenues and was up 8 5 sequentially and 11 3 year over year to 472 million The revenue growth was driven by increased sales of Graphics Processing Units GPUs partially offset by a decline in sales of client desktop processors and chipsets Client mobile processor sales increased sequentially and year over year Client average selling price ASP decreased sequentially due to lower mobile and desktop processor ASP and was flat year over year However GPU ASP increased sequentially and year over year driven by higher channel and professional graphics ASPs Enterprise Embedded and Semi Custom includes server and embedded processors dense servers semi custom SoC products engineering services and royalties This segment brought in the remaining 63 9 of revenues up 31 1 sequentially and 41 year over year to 835 million driven by higher sales of semi custom SoCs Operating ResultsNon GAAP gross margin excluding Wafer Supply Agreement WSA charges was 30 5 which contracted roughly 50 basis points bps sequentially but was up 800 bps on a year over year basis Adjusted operating expenses of 376 million increased 3 2 sequentially and 5 1 year over year Non GAAP operating income was 47 million as against a loss of 110 million in the year ago quarter and 15 million in the previous quarter Shifting of HeadquartersDuring the quarter Advanced Micro announced its plan to move out of its Sunnyvale headquarters to a 220 000 square foot six storied building in Santa Clara featuring modern amenities and features The company intends to shift to the new facility during the second half of 2017 Read More GLOBALFOUNDRIES GF WSA AgreementDuring the quarter Advanced Micro recorded a charge of 340 million related to the 6th amendment of the WSA GF agreement This charge comprises a 100 million cash payment to GF and approximately a 240 million worth warrant to a Mubadala owned company to purchase up to 75 million shares of AMD common stock at a price of 5 98 per share by Feb 2020 Read More Balance SheetAdvanced Micro exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalent balance of 1 26 billion up 301 million from the previous quarter During the quarter the company raised approximately 1 4 billion in cash before issuance costs as a result of issuing 690 million of common stock and 700 million of Convertible Notes due 2026 Inventory was 772 million up from 678 million in the previous quarter Total debt short term and long term was 1 63 billion down 0 6 billion sequentially GuidanceManagement expects fourth quarter 2016 revenues to decrease 18 sequentially 3 primarily due to seasonal weakness in semi custom and graphics products Non GAAP gross margin is likely to be 32 Non GAAP operating expense is projected at approximately 350 million due to an increase in R D investments IP monetization licensing gain is expected to be approximately 25 million For full year 2016 Advanced Micro expects revenues to be up almost 6 from full year 2015 Our TakeThe decent third quarter results reflected Advanced Micro s improving position in key markets with the introduction of several Accelerated Processing Units and GPUs Moreover partnerships with the likes of Alibaba Group NYSE BABA for the supply of Radeon Pro GPUs for its cloud services will boost its competitive prowess Notably the company trails NVIDIA Corporation NASDAQ NVDA as the second largest manufacturer of graphics chips for high end computing Additionally upcoming new products like Zen will drive top line growth in the long run However weak fourth quarter guidance is disappointing ADV MICRO DEV Price and EPS Surprise Zacks Rank Advanced Micro has Zacks Rank 2 Buy A better ranked stock in the broader technology space is Ambarella Inc NASDAQ AMBA sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Notably the consensus estimate for Ambarella s current year moved up to 1 54 from 1 29 earlier over the last 60 days Confidential from ZacksBeyond this Analyst Blog would you like to see Zacks best recommendations that are not available to the public Our Executive VP Steve Reitmeister knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand |
AMD | Why Advanced Micro Devices AMD Could Be Positioned For A Surge | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD is a world class semiconductor company that could be an interesting play for investors That is because not only does the stock have decent short term momentum but it is seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate revision front as well These positive earnings estimate revisions suggest that analysts are becoming more optimistic on AMD s earnings for the coming quarter and year In fact consensus estimates have moved sharply higher for both of these time frames over the past four weeks suggesting that Advanced Micro Devices could be a solid choice for investors Current Quarter Estimates for AMDIn the past 30 days 3 estimates have gone higher for Advanced Micro Devices while 2 have gone lower in the same time period The trend has been pretty favorable too with estimates narrowing from a loss of 5 cents a share 30 days ago to a loss of 4 cents today a move of 20 Current Year Estimates for AMDMeanwhile Advanced Micro Devices current year figures are also looking quite promising with 3 estimates moving higher in the past month compared to 2 lower The consensus estimate trend has also seen a boost for this time frame narrowing from a loss of 28 cents per share 30 days ago to a loss of 25 cents per share today an increase of 10 7 ADV MICRO DEV Price and Consensus
Bottom LineThe stock has also started to move higher lately adding 14 7 over the past four weeks suggesting that investors are starting to take note of this impressive story So investors may definitely want to consider this Zacks Rank 2 Buy stock to profit in the near future You can see Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Tale of the Tape would you like to see Zacks best recommendations that are not available to the public Our Executive VP Steve Reitmeister knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand |
T | EU extends Crimea sanctions same seen for curbs on Russia | By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS Reuters The European Union on Monday extended for another year its trade sanctions on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and diplomats said they expected the bloc to do the same for its sanctions on Moscow soon Moscow s annexation of Crimea is not internationally recognized Along with Moscow s subsequent backing of an armed separatist rebellion in Ukraine s industrial east it has prompted the bloc to impose sanctions on the peninsula and on Moscow in sync with the United States EU sanctions on Crimea will now remain in place until at least June 23 2018 They include a ban on all imports from Crimea and exports to the peninsula that relate to transport energy and telecoms The sanctions also prohibit EU investment and the provision of tourism services there The bloc s sanctions on Moscow restrict the Russian banking sector s access to international money markets and ban most arms trading with Russia as well as the sale of some energy related equipment and technology These are due to expire at the end of July but sources in Brussels said they would be rolled over for another six months after the EU leaders summit on June 22 23 As usual the Italians have asked for a formal discussion at the summit but even they are not opposed to another six months said one senior EU diplomat He believed the conclusion of this exchange was all but foregone Italy as well as Greece and Hungary are among EU states more dovish on Russia They criticize sanctions as ineffective and causing harm to the European businesses as well The hawks include Poland Sweden and the Baltic states Despite the divisions the EU has so far been able to uphold its unity on sanctions Its resolve would be tested further should the new U S President Donald Trump deliver on his early promises of a broad detente with Russia However in May the United States joined its fellow members in the G7 group of major industrialized states in their stance that the duration of sanctions depended on Russia s complete implementation of a peace deal for Ukraine The implementation of the agreement has been stuck for more than two years T he duration of sanctions is clearly linked to Russia s complete implementation of its commitments in the Minsk Agreements and respect for Ukraine s sovereignty the G7 leaders said adding that the punitive measures can be rolled back when Russia meets its commitments Diplomats said they expected the move to extend sanctions to be formally finalised within days after the EU leaders summit Such a decision requires unanimous support of all 28 EU states |
PFE | Should Investors Trust Pfizer | It has been more than a year since we last wrote about Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE On March 28th 2014 the stock was trading around 32 40 but the was warning us about a probable reversal to the downside The chart below shows how things looked like when we published Our bearish outlook was supported by two consecutive patterns A in the position of wave 4 and an for wave 5 So despite Pfizer s multi year advance we decided to stick to the wave analysis Was this the right thing to do Find the answer on the next chart Yes it was The price of Pfizer s shares fell from 32 66 to 27 50 in less than seven months In October 2014 the bears got tired and the rally resumed Last week Pfizer Inc stock reached 35 40 But is it going to get even more expensive Is this the right time to invest in Pfizer In our opinion the answer to both questions is no The following chart explains why As visible Pfizer has drawn a nicely looking five wave impulse to the upside starting from the bottom in 2009 According to the theory every impulse is followed by a three wave correction in the opposite direction This means we should expect a significant decline once wave V is over If this is the correct count now could be the worst possible moment for an investment in Pfizer stock |
T | Time Warner chief confident in approval of AT T buyout | Then candidate Donald Trump spent a good chunk of his presidential campaign suggesting he d block AT T s T 0 5 85B takeover of Time Warner TWX 0 1 but Warner chief Jeff Bewkes is unconcerned now Speaking at Code Conference Bewkes said I don t think who s occupying the White House changes things We re not particularly thinking that s a significant fact DOJ has a pretty clear set of precedents and laws to follow Bewkes and AT T CEO Randall Stephenson have spent a lot of their public commentary arguing that the merger is a vertical merger that the government shouldn t have a problem with The two leaders appeared before a Senate committee together last year to respond to concerns at which Stephenson said We believe the benefits are straightforward and they re substantial Now read |
T | Wonder Woman could lift Time Warner shares 20 percent Barron s | Reuters The successful opening of Wonder Woman this weekend could fuel shares of Time Warner Inc N TWX to a 20 percent stock return over the coming year Barron s said on Sunday Time Warner owns Warner Bros the film and television studio that controls DC Entertainment the rights holder for Wonder Woman comics and with an expected merger between Time Warner and AT T N T that will pay 8 percent more than Time Warner s recent stock price Barron s analysts are expecting shares of the media company to soar As of Sunday morning Wonder Woman is looking at a 100 5 million domestic opening weekend and international receipts of 122 5 million from 55 markets That would bring its global opening to 223 million according to Variety for the third largest ever opening for a DC Comics film Barron s also believes Warner Bros is in good shape with its upcoming schedule of releases Kong Skull Island another Warner Bros Feature that opened in March has grossed 565 million according to Box Office Mojo including a strong showing in China That s important because Warner Bros has at least two more Godzilla and Kong movies planned over the next three years the magazine s Jack Hough wrote
Barron s recommended Time Warner shares a little more than a year ago when they were trading at 73 predicting they would jump 25 percent at the time The shares closed on Friday at 99 18 |
PFE | Dow Jones Analysis February 06 2015 | Dow Jones U S stocks climbed on Thursday as energy shares bounced with oil prices while news Pfizer NYSE PFE would buy Hospira in a massive deal also lifted investor sentiment Adding to the upbeat tone weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week The report comes on the heels of a private payrolls report that fell short of expectations on Wednesday and ahead of a monthly employment report on Friday |
PFE | The United States Decouples From A Deflationary World | With the investment community totally convinced the world is falling into a deflationary spiral the monthly jobs report became a focal point for corroboration the United States is afflicted with a similar condition Shock of shock when the number came in at 257k above expectations of nearly 230k plenty of skeptics probably are reconsidering their investment thesis The week saw plenty of volatility with Crude Oil prices as well only this time the loveable black substance rose 13 It seems Libya has cut back dramatically on production because of dangerous conditions in that country You could say the same thing about nearly every vacation paradise that is the Middle East Another group sure to bring a smile to investor s faces is Greece which is trying to renegotiate it s obligations to the rest of the European Union It s sugar daddy along with the rest of Europe Germany is not real pleased with the request but will try to do the best it can to accommodate the hard working Greeks More importantly it wants to save itself and the rest of Europe from beginning down the path of a potential currency blowup Interesting how self preservation takes full precedence in most cases eh
In conjunction with the volatility in the oil pits the ten year treasury actually budged a bit higher to yield an earth shattering 1 94 The large money center banks are helped by the slight increase in the slope of the yield curve so investors began to nibble on this long dormant group If our loveable Fed head ever becomes joltin Janet by announcing an increase in rates sooner than expected the big boy lenders will see more than just token interest
In tech world where the biggest bubbles don t reside in public markets but instead lie in the market prices of yet to be launched IPO s think Uber Pinterest and AirBnB there was plenty of action as well LinkedIn continued to grow its user base and revenue total and was viewed as the biggest victor of the week Twitter posted a very good revenue number and improved monetization metrics although the number of tweeters twitting truly tumbled GoPro also showed that plenty of people want their product probably to be placed in crevices we don t even know exist Still the street was not impressed but some of that has to because of it s shall we say interesting valuation
Showing there is always something going on with big pharma Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE bought Hospira for 17 billion to gain more access to the injectable and biosimilar markets In the media world Sirius XM Holding Inc NASDAQ SIRI impressed with good subscriber numbers Pandora NYSE P the free music and subscription entertainment offering was roundly seen as being in a world of hurt because of who would have thought competiton from other free services can you say Spotify A few cable companies saw their number of users increase as the idea they are going anywhere because of over the top services remains strictly an idea Finally in the quick service restaurant sector Dunkin Donuts was seen as having a poor result as apparently their new swill is pretty much the same as the old stuff
In the political universe the leader of Jordan showed there is politician in the world who has the will to take on Isis As he so eloquently stated the real question is will other countries hint hint have the courage to be all in as well
Y H C Investments Yale Bock and the family of Yale Bock own positions in securities mentioned in the blog post Investing in stocks can lead to the complete loss of your capital As always on any company mentioned here past performance is not a guarantee of future returns Investing involves risk of losses on invested capital One should research any investment and make sure it is suitable with your objectives risk tolerance risk profile liquidity considerations tax situation and anything else pertinent to your financial situation Also the CFA credential in no way implies investment returns will be superior for any charter holder |
AMD | Advanced Micro AMD Strong Industry Solid Earnings Estimate Revisions | One stock that might be an intriguing choice for investors right now is Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD This is because this security in the Electronic Component Semiconductors space is seeing solid earnings estimate revision activity and is in great company from a Zacks Industry Rank perspective This is important because often times a rising tide will lift all boats in an industry as there can be broad trends taking place in a segment that are boosting securities across the board This is arguably taking place in the Electronic Component Semiconductors space as it currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 19 out of more than 250 industries suggesting it is well positioned from this perspective especially when compared to other segments out there Meanwhile Advanced Micro is actually looking pretty good on its own too The firm has seen solid earnings estimate revision activity over the past month suggesting analysts are becoming a bit more bullish on the firm s prospects in both the short and long term ADV MICRO DEV Price and Consensus In fact over the past month current quarter estimates have remained unchanged at a loss of 2 cents per share while current year estimates have narrowed from a loss of 30 cents per share to a loss of 29 cents per share This has helped AMD to earn a Zacks Rank 2 Buy further underscoring the company s solid position You can see So if you are looking for a decent pick in a strong industry consider Advanced Micro Not only is its industry currently in the top third but it is seeing solid estimate revisions as of late suggesting it could be a very interesting choice for investors seeking a name in this great industry segment Confidential from ZacksBeyond this Tale of the Tape would you like to see Zacks best recommendations that are not available to the public Our Executive VP Steve Reitmeister knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand |
AMD | Top Stock Picks For The Week Of September 26th | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD is a world class company with the innovation execution and vision to grow our leadership position in the industry Today s world class companies share three essential characteristics First they deliver innovative products and technologies that customers want Second they have established a proven track record of fast efficient manufacturing execution And third they have a bold vision of where to take their business and often their industry Over the course of AMD s three decades in business silicon and software have become the steel and plastic of the worldwide digital economy Technology companies have become global pacesetters making technical advances at a prodigious rate always driving the industry to deliver more and more faster and faster AMD s dedication to customer centric innovation and competitive spirit is an unbroken thread running from our early days in the integrated circuit business through an ever broadening product portfolio
Interdigital Communications IDCC develops and markets advanced digital wireless telecommunications systems using proprietary technologies for voice and data communications and has developed an extensive patent portfolio related to those technologies |
AMD | Here s Why Nvidia NVDA Stock Is Gaining Today | Shares of Nvidia NASDAQ NVDA are up nearly 3 3 on Tuesday as its solid metrics along with a pair of new low price graphics cards continue to push the stock higher This Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy stock is showing no signs of stopping as it breaks into a new 52 week range
According to Korean computer site Nvidia is preparing to release two new graphics processors by the end of the year The new cards will be low cost low performance options aimed at cutting in to Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ AMD share of the value market
Both of the new processors will be based on a chip that Nvidia codenames GP107 The first titled the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is expected to include four gigabytes of GDDR5 video memory and will retail for 149 The second apparently dubbed the GeForce GTX 1050 will include just two gigabytes of video memory and will retail for 119
According to hwbattle com Nvidia is aiming for a mid October launch for the Ti version while the regular version will launch in late October
Nvidia remains one of the strongest large cap stocks on the Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy list Not only is the stock breaking into a new range but it also falls into a strong semiconductors industry that currently sits in the top 9 of the Zacks Industry Rank |
T | AT T Retreats Know This Trade Level | Telecommunication giant AT T NYSE T has come under selling pressure since late December 2017 At that time T stock traded as high as 39 32 a share Today it s trading lower by 0 50 cents to 37 33 a share It should be noted that AT T is trading slightly below its 20 and 200 day moving averages This puts the stock in a weak technical position near term Traders should now watch the 34 50 area for major chart support This level has been defended numerous times in past years and will likely serve as solid support when retested Please remember the company will report earnings on January 31 after the closing bell |
T | AT T Posts Q4 Earnings Beat Total Wireless Net Adds Top 4 Million | AT T Inc NYSE T just released its fourth quarter fiscal 2017 financial results posting adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share and revenues of 41 7 billion Currently T is a Zacks Rank 3 Hold and is up 2 8 to 38 50 per share in trading shortly after its earnings report was released
AT T
Beat earnings estimates The telecom giant posted adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share soaring past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 cents per share Net income attributable to AT T was 19 billion for the quarter
Beat revenue estimates The company saw consolidated revenue figures of 41 7 billion just beating our consensus estimate of 41 19 billion
AT T reported 4 1 million total wireless net adds with 2 7 million in the U S this was driven by connected devices postpaid phones and prepaid and 1 3 million in Mexico
Thanks to the passage of the tax reform bill the company announced over 200 million in bonuses paid to frontline employees as well as a 1 billion incremental capital investment in 2018
Looking at fiscal 2018 AT T expects adjusted EPS in the 3 50 range and free cash flow of about 21 billion AT T Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise AT T Inc is a premier telecom company Its subsidiaries and affiliates AT T operating companies are the providers of AT T services in the U S and around the world Among their offerings are the world s most advanced IP based business communications services the nation s fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide and the nation s leading high speed Internet access and voice services
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 |
T | Hahn grabs lead on Moving Day ahead of Horschel Day | Reuters Jason Day made the most of a frantic moving day at the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson on Saturday by firing a seven under 63 in the third round to move within two shots of leader James Hahn at TPC Las Colinas in Texas World number four Day began nine shots off the pace but made a run of five birdies in a row from the seventh and crowned a brilliant round with a 60 foot birdie putt at the par three 17th to reach 10 under 200 for the tournament Hahn made three birdies on each nine in a bogey free 64 to grab the 54 hole lead at 12 under par in his quest for a third PGA Tour victory Billy Horschel the 2014 FedExCup champion was alone in second place one shot back at 11 under after birdies at the last three including a holeout from the greenside bunker at 17 for his 66 Second round leader Jason Kokrak who led by five strokes after firing a 62 on Friday moved in the wrong direction shooting a two over 72 marked by a triple bogey six at the par three fifth hole Kokrak was tied for third with Day on 10 under par at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving Texas Hahn said his first birdie of the day at the third hole where he chipped in on the fly from off the green put him in a great frame of mind The chip in on three today kind of settled things down Hahn said after the round I just needed one of those good breaks to happen to keep the momentum going Hahn could have shot even lower as he narrowly missed birdie putts on the last three holes Day said the key for him was locking in on his routines Everything was kind of clicking said the Australian who won his first PGA Tour event here in 2010 The biggest thing for me was the process The pre shot routine was a lot smoother The process of thinking over the golf ball was a lot smoother as well When things like that happen you can kind of swing away at things and I was driving the ball wonderfully and I gave myself the opportunity to hole a lot of putts today Masters champion Sergio Garcia also moved up the leaderboard with a six under 64 that put him at eight under four shots back |
T | Horschel defeats Day on first hole of playoff | Reuters Billy Horschel made a par putt on the first playoff hole to defeat Australian Jason Day at the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson in Texas on Sunday World number four Day had a chance to extend play but missed a short par putt The miss from about four feet was the first three putt of the tournament for Day I don t want to win like that Horschel said after his first victory since 2014 The win marked a major turnaround for the American who had missed four consecutive cuts entering play at TPC Four Seasons Four missed cuts to come in here and I played this well someone is looking out for me Horschel said They had ended on 12 under par 268 in regulation Day shot 68 for the round and Horschel 69 Both players missed par putts on the last hole to force the playoff Horschel made the turn at even par after a bogey at the ninth hole while Day was one under Both bogied the 12th with Horschel adding another bogey at 13 before draining a 60 foot birdie putt at 14 for a share of the lead Day responded by chipping in from 26 yards to birdie 15 A birdie by Horschel on 16 helped set the stage for a playoff as both parred the final two holes Overnight leader James Hahn finished one stroke back at 11 under 269 after a 71 and fellow American Jason Kokrak was another stroke back World number one Dustin Johnson tied for 13th at 6 under after a final round 69 The tournament was the 35th and last at TPC Four Seasons in Irving Texas It will move to Trinty Forest Golf Club near Dallas |
T | Golf Another 27 players earn U S Open exemptions via rankings | Reuters Former U S Amateur champions Matthew Fitzpatrick of England and South Korean An Byeong hun were among 27 additional golfers to earn full exemptions into next month s U S Open golf championship officials said on Monday All 27 exemptions into the June 15 18 event at Erin Hills in Wisconsin were awarded to players who earned a place in the top 60 in the official world rankings and brought the total number of exempted players to 78 for the year s second major Fitzpatrick who won the 2013 U S Amateur is ranked 41st An who won the 2009 U S Amateur is ranked 56 Others earning exemptions included Spain s Jon Rahm and Rafael Cabrera Bello England s Ross Fisher and Lee Westwood Austrian Bernd Wiesberger South African Louis Oosthuizen Belgian Thomas Pieters Swede Alex Noren Japan s Yuta Ikeda and Hideto Tanihara Canadian Adam Hadwin South Korean Wang Jeung hun Italian Francesco Molinari and Australian Marc Leishman Billy Horschel was among a group of Americans also claiming exemptions after moving into the top 60 by winning the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson on Sunday in a playoff against Jason Day The winner of the May 25 28 European Tour BMW PGA Championship will also earn an exemption The number of fully exempt golfers may increase with the addition of others who move into the top 60 players from the rankings as of June 12 Other spots in the field will be filled through sectional qualifiers |
T | Curry leads Warriors to third straight series sweep | The Sports Xchange Stephen Curry scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors strolled to a 129 115 win over San Antonio Spurs on Monday to complete a four game sweep of the Western Conference finals Golden State moves on to play either the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers in a repeat of last year s title series or the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals The Cavaliers currently lead the Eastern Conference finals 2 1 Golden State will have nine days of rest ahead of that series which begins in Oakland California on June 1 The Warriors have swept all three of their playoff series and are the first team in NBA history to start the post season 12 0 eclipsing the record established by the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers It s a great run and we had an opportunity to get it done tonight but more importantly it was obviously just a closeout kind of mentality and trying to take care of our business and play a good 48 minute game Curry said For the most part we did We had some slip ups and some mental errors but for the most part it was a solid night Contributions from everybody Going 12 0 is great but it doesn t mean anything going into the next series and we have to understand that Golden State has won 27 of its past 28 overall games including the regular season and has won six straight road playoff games a franchise record Draymond Green added 16 points eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State in the easy win at the AT T NYSE T Center Ian Clark tallied 12 points and Klay Thompson scored 10 points on 3 of 13 shooting for the Warriors GINOBILI FAREWELL Golden State out shot the Spurs 55 8 percent to 42 3 percent had 53 rebounds to San Antonio s 41 and dominated despite 17 turnovers that led to 22 San Antonio points Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 points while Manu Ginobili added 15 in what may have been the last game of a brilliant NBA career Patty Mills and Pau Gasol added 14 each and Jonathon Simmons scored 13 LaMarcus Aldridge arguably San Antonio s most important player after injured star forward Kawhi Leonard scored just eight points and did not play in the fourth quarter Despite the fact that the Warriors have cruised to their spot in the Finals they are adamant that they can play better There are things on both sides of the ball that we can clean up and that s what s I guess got our guys attention or focus Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown said We ve been preaching certain things and for the most part they ve been doing it but to get to our ultimate goal of winning the whole thing we ve got to be better on both ends of the floor Ginobili left the game in the final minutes to chants of Manu Manu and one more year He has said he will take three or four weeks off before deciding whether he wants to return to the league next season when he will be 40 years old The opponent was in this case way better than us Ginobili said of the Warriors domination of the series
When you lose by an average of 20 points per game in the last three games you look at them in the eyes and say Congratulations man you beat us fair and square You were better than us It s the easiest thing to do |
T | Playoffs exit could spell retirement for Spurs great Ginobili | Reuters San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili walked off the AT T NYSE T Center court for perhaps the final time in his brilliant career on Monday showered with cheers from the home crowd and respect from both teams With Golden State completing an inevitable 4 0 series sweep over the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals the contest became an ode to Argentinian great Ginobili who may announce his retirement this off season after 15 years in the NBA With the end a possibility for the 39 year old Ginobili San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich put his veteran in the starting lineup for the first time this campaign Ginobili responded with 15 points seven assists and some vintage moments as the crowd chanted Manu Manu throughout the night I started him tonight out of respect I didn t want to miss the opportunity to honor him in front of our fans Popovich told reporters after the Spurs lost 129 115 to the Warriors who applauded Ginobili as he left the court in the fourth quarter He deserves to have that night of respect to feel we appreciate everything he has done over the years Drafted by San Antonio in 1999 Ginobili did not break into the league until the 2002 03 campaign but quickly made an impact with his left handed play making wizardry A four time NBA champion who willingly accepted a sixth man role with the Spurs despite his talent and profile Ginobili has yet to decide if he will return or fade off into retirement I always said I wanted to let it sink in for three weeks whatever Sit with my wife and see how it feels Ginobili said I have to choose between two wonderful options
One is to keep playing in this league at this age enjoying playing a sport I still love The other one is to stay at home and be a dad enjoy my whole family and spend time with them Whatever I decide to do I ll be a happy camper |
T | Redbox to rent some movies sooner | Warner Bros NYSE TWX will now let Redbox rent its DVDs and Blu ray discs seven days after they are available for purchase WSJ reports Redbox whose parent company Outerwall was bought by Apollo Global Management NYSE APO last year previously had to wait 28 days to rent from the movie studio Now read |
T | Spieth seeks rebound in form for Colonial title defense | By Frank Pingue Reuters Defending champion and Dallas native Jordan Spieth will try to shake off a rare bout of poor form when he competes at this week s Dean DeLuca Invitational where he will be the hometown favorite for the last leg of the PGA Tour s Texas Swing The American world number seven has missed the cut in three of his last five starts but will fancy his chances in Fort Worth playing a tree lined par 70 Colonial Country Club layout that he is comfortable on After a one week experiment using a putter he struggled with while missing the cut last week in Irving Spieth is returning to his old Scotty Cameron 009 this week I was having a tough time lining the ball up where I wanted it or getting comfortable with my set up with the old putter and that s why I made a switch to a putter that kind of lined itself up said Spieth I just lost a little bit of the feel that I had with the putter I ve been using for however many years But what it did was now I feel a lot more comfortable with my alignment and feel like I got my set up back to where I want it and I have that feel Despite his poor form Spieth who will start Thursday s opening round alongside Americans Zach Johnson and Pat Perez is among the top contenders in a field featuring U S Masters champion Sergio Garcia and Spaniard Jon Rahm Garcia has been inconsistent in his two starts since earning his major breakthrough at the Masters last month while Rahm has been one of the better players on Tour this year with a win and four other top five finishes Among the other contenders are 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner who has two runner up finishes at Colonial and finished equal sixth last year
Also competing are five times major champion Phil Mickelson Billy Horschel who won last week s AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson in a playoff with Jason Day and world number 18 Matt Kuchar |
T | Arrow ARW Collaborates With AT T For Expansion In IoT | Arrow Electronics Inc NYSE ARW recently announced a partnership with the Internet of Things IoT foundry of AT T NYSE T which is based out of Plano TX The foundry formed with the aim of assisting companies with innovation of IoT solutions offers a workspace and an incubation unit Arrow will be incorporating its sensor to sunset technical offerings including the likes of its on site based production and engineering technological solutions These offerings will aid the customers to rapidly introduce their IoT products to the market Per the press release the two companies will be complementing each other courtesy Arrow s engineering to manufacturing and product deployment capabilities which are anticipated to perfectly blend with the foundry s intent of simplifying the process of launching connected products for the end market IoT is anticipated to grow robustly on the back of consistently rising number of connected products usage in daily lives Per a recent report by MarketsandMarkets the IoT market is expected to witness CAGR of 26 9 from 170 57 billion in 2017 to 561 04 billion in 2022 Notably Arrow has been trying to make its mark in the IoT industry of late Its recent acquisition of eInfochips is another testimony to this fact We believe Arrow is slowly strengthening position in the market and is anticipated to gain from projected growth of the industry Additionally these initiatives are expected to be accretive to the electronic parts distributor s top and bottom lines going ahead consequently bolstering investors confidence and in turn share price momentum Arrow stock has gained 15 2 the past year substantially outperforming the 0 6 rally of the it belongs to Zacks Rank and Key PicksArrow has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold Some better ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Mellanox Technologies Ltd NASDAQ MLNX and EchoStar Corporation NYSE T each sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see The long term expected earnings per share growth rate for Mellanox and EchoStar is 16 and 18 5 respectively 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 |
T | Garcia moving on from Masters win at Byron Nelson | By Frank Pingue Reuters Sergio Garcia has thoroughly enjoyed his newfound status as a major champion but the Spaniard is finally ready to stop basking in the glow of his U S Masters triumph starting at this week s AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson Garcia is fresh off a share of 30th place at The Players Championship last week in his first start since his Augusta win and plans to get back to basics on Thursday in the opening round at TPC Las Colinas at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving Texas As nice as it is to be the Masters champion I need to keep improving on every aspect of my game and focus on the week that we are in right now because it s easy to start thinking about what happened a month ago and things like that said Garcia who is the defending champion this week We have to get going get back into where we were at Augusta and make sure that we get some good confidence Garcia shot a six over par 78 in the final round of The Players to drop well out of contention but given his overall form remains one of the favorites this week in a field that includes world number one Dustin Johnson The 37 year old Spaniard will tee off in the opening two rounds with 2010 Byron Nelson winner Jason Day the Australian world number four and world number 15 Patrick Reed Johnson who has three wins in his last five starts is coming off a tie for 12th at The Players that marked his best career finish at TPC Sawgrass Hometown favorite Jordan Spieth who missed the cut at last week s Players Championship has had an up and down season but the twice major winner will command the support of galleries as he plays the first two rounds with fellow Americans Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar Spieth whose best finish here was a share of 16th as an amateur in 2010 is eager to join the list of winners inscribed on a wall behind the Byron Nelson statue near the first tee before the tournament moves 23 miles 37 km away to Dallas next year
It s a very special place for our family and friends Spieth said of Las Colinas It s very bittersweet Obviously fantastic memories and looking forward to creating new ones this week and hopefully the best ones yet |
T | Johnson tames gusting winds to challenge for lead | Reuters World number one Dustin Johnson battled through tricky afternoon winds to post a three under par 67 and challenge for the lead after the opening round of the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson in Irving Texas on Thursday It was really difficult today the way it was blowing hard and it was gusty Johnson told Golf Channel after moving within three shots of co leaders James Hahn and Ricky Barnes in a large group tied at three under It was very difficult to judge the wind My short game was pretty good today I made some nice saves to keep the round going added long hitting Johnson who needed just 24 putts Reigning U S Open champion Johnson is gunning for his fourth win in six outings Hahn rolled in a 20 footer to birdie the 18th for his share of the lead while fellow early starter Barnes rode to the top of the leaderboard on the strength of five birdies on the front side Tied for second on four under par 66 were Americans Matt Kuchar Jason Kokrak and Cameron Tringale along with Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas Australian world number four Jason Day who had the misfortune of rolling off the green at the 16th after hitting the stick with his approach shot made a long birdie at 18 gave him a two under 68 to tie for 14th with 11 others including two times major winner and local favorite Jordan Spieth Defending champion and Masters winner Sergio Garcia bogeyed the last to finish the round at TPC Las Colinas at the Four Seasons Resort with a three over 73 The Spaniard was tied for 93rd and will be pressed to make the cut |
T | About 37 000 AT T workers go on three day strike | Reuters About 37 000 AT T Inc N T workers or less than 14 percent of the company s total workforce began a three day strike on Friday after failing to reach an agreement with the No 2 U S wireless carrier over new contracts This is the first time that AT T wireless workers are on strike which could result in closed retail stores during the weekend according to the Communications Workers of America CWA union The workers on strike are members of the CWA The workers are demanding wage increases that cover rising healthcare costs job security against outsourcing affordable healthcare and a fair scheduling policy Slightly over half of the workers on strike are part of the wireless segment and the rest wireline workers including a small number of DirecTV technicians AT T spokesman Marty Richter told Reuters The CWA had said on Wednesday that wireless workers across 36 states and Washington D C would walk off their jobs if an agreement was not reached by Friday 3 p m ET Wireline workers who work in phone landline and cable services businesses in California Nevada and Connecticut and DirecTV technicians across California and Nevada have also joined the strike A strike is in no one s best interest and it s baffling as to why union leadership would call one when we re offering terms in which our employees in these contracts will be better off financially Richter said The groups on strike represent four different union contracts the CWA said
In March about 17 000 AT T wireline workers in California and Nevada went on strike |
T | Kokrak seizes five shot lead Johnson lurking | Reuters American Jason Kokrak fired a flawless eight under par 62 to seize a commanding five stroke lead midway through the AT T NYSE T Byron Nelson in Irving Texas on Friday The 31 year old Kokrak who missed the cut at last week s Players Championship equaled the 36 hole tournament record at 12 under par and put himself in position for his first PGA Tour with four birdies on each nine in following up his opening 66 The stocky Kokrak may need the added cushion as the chasing pack includes world number one Dustin Johnson who shot his second 67 to be six under on 134 All week I ve been feeling better and better with the putter said Kokrak Dave Stockton Jr and his dad have helped me out the last few weeks and things are starting to kind of go in an upturn Billy Horschel the 2014 FedExCup champion was alone in second on seven under 133 after a 65 with Johnson joined at 134 by South Korean An Byeong hun 66 Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela 68 and Americans Cameron Tringale 68 Bud Cauley 67 and James Hahn 70 Johnson who won three tournaments in a row before withdrawing from last month s Masters after injuring his back in a fall before the opening round said he is still working on regaining top form Played a solid round said Johnson who gave a shot back with a bogey at his last hole I made a lot of good shots and rolled the putter pretty nicely Johnson said the back was no longer a concern There s no issues there he said Just need to keep practicing to get back I had to take almost four weeks off really didn t practice It takes a little time to get back in the form I was in leading into the Masters It s getting there The cut was set at two over par with 76 players advancing to weekend play One notable absentee will be local favorite Jordan Spieth who shot 75 for three over 143 missing his second successive cut Just disappointed said Spieth I ve got to figure out what I m doing on the greens first and foremost I ve got to get back into rhythm there Short game is just off but it s close The world number six will be defending his title at Colonial next week |
PFE | Pfizer Inc 5 Bonus Trade Ideas | Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE
Pfizer has been pulling back since a top in early March The last few legs suggest a bounce higher may be in the process now that could take it to 30 30 A shorter perspective sees a bull flag consolidation that could target 29 90 in short order on a move higher Either way with the RSI rising and the MACD following suit higher as well the bias is to the upside There is resistance at 29 and 29 80 before 30 60 and 31 Support lower comes at 28 70 and 28
The target move higher may not seem like much but using options you can look for a possible 100 gain or more by next week
Trade Idea 1 Buy the stock on a move over 29 with a stop at 28 70
Trade Idea 2 Buy the September 5 Expiry 29 Calls offered at 23 cents late Friday
Trade Idea 3 Buy the August 29 Expiry 28 5 29 Call Spread 36 cents
Trade Idea 4 Buy the September 5 Expiry 28 5 29 Call Spread and sell the September 5 Expiry 28 5 Put 25 cents
Trade Idea 5 Buy the September 5 Expiry 28 5 29 bullish Risk Reversal 13 cents
Disclaimer The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog please see my page for my full disclaimer |
T | AT T Finalizes Deal With Communications Workers Of America | AT T Inc NYSE T has recently finalized a year long pending deal with the Communications Workers of America CWA in relation with AT T Mobility Orange unit employees Following the announcement shares of AT T were up 1 15 to 36 90 on Jan 12 Announced on Dec 13 2017 the four year contract covers more than 20 000 AT T Mobility employees in wireless retail call center and tech segments in 36 states and the District of Columbia The deal also includes wage hikes healthcare benefits employment security for call center and retail sales employees and retirement benefits comprising pension and savings plan In fact it is likely to set new industry standards for pay rates and job security Notably the latest contract follows after 11 months of negotiations and public disputes between the company and workers In May thousands of CWA members held a three day strike at several locations in New Jersey including East Brunswick Toms River and Oakhurst The contract expires on Feb 12 2021 With the new agreement AT T reached 32 different labor agreements since 2015 covering about 165 000 employees This in turn is expected to help the service provider strengthen relationship with the union and encourage employees to continue working with the company This is not the first time AT T is trying to resolve issues with CWA Per a report AT T and CWA approved a labor agreement related to CWA represented former DirecTV employees in four states on Mar 6 2017 The agreement covered 280 employees in Delaware Maryland New Mexico and Oregon Again on Mar 3 2017 AT T and CWA reached a four year Apr 9 2017 to Apr 10 2021 tentative labor agreement with the company s Southwest wireline workforce This included 20 000 employees in Arkansas Kansas Missouri Oklahoma and Texas Till then AT T had a total of 19 different labor agreements for the 2016 2017 period covering more than 81 000 employees This included 10 agreements covering nearly 7 800 former DirecTV employees Between 2015 and 2016 AT T successfully negotiated 25 labor contracts covering a total of 102 000 workers In December 2016 AT T completed an agreement on a new contract covering 2 000 DirecTV call center workers Such labor negotiations help to avoid long labor strikes which are otherwise common in the wireless industry Similar Labor NegotiationsIn November 2017 Frontier Communications Corporation s NYSE T union in West Virginia Ashburn and Virginia extended their current contract till Mar 3 2018 The contract covers 1 600 CWA members and was originally set to expire on Nov 4 In June 2017 CenturyLink Inc NYSE T and CWA on an extension covering almost 25 of the company s total workforce spread across 13 states including Oregon Idaho and Colorado The company agreed to increase the annual pay from 2 5 to 3 while maintaining the existing pension and savings plan along with increasing employee contributions for health care in the deal Zacks Rank Price Performance AT T carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see AT T portrays an impressive price performance In the past three months shares of the company have rallied 1 9 compared with the s gain of 1 0 A Key PickA better ranked stock in the broader is Facebook Inc NASDAQ FB carrying a Zacks Rank 2 Buy Moreover it has an impressive earnings record surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the last four quarters with an average beat of 14 02 Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest StrategiesIt s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 18 8 from 2016 Q1 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 157 0 128 0 97 8 94 7 and 90 2 respectively And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 Q1 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 11X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
T | FCC website hit by attacks after net neutrality proposal | By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Federal Communications Commission said Monday that its website was hit by deliberate denial of service attacks after the telecommunications regulator was criticized by comedian John Oliver for its plan to reverse net neutrality rules The attacks came soon after Oliver on Sunday urged viewers to file electronic comments with the FCC opposing the plan unveiled by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reverse rules implemented under President Barack Obama that boosted government regulatory powers over internet service providers Pai s plan faces an initial vote on May 18 Oliver in his HBO show Last Week Tonight owned by Time Warner Inc N TWX urged viewers to use a website purchased by the show that takes visitors directly to an FCC page to file comments The proposal has received more than 100 000 comments since Sunday a sign of intense interest in a proposal that could reshape the future of the internet The FCC said it was subject to multiple distributed denial of service attacks These were deliberate attempts by external actors to bombard the FCC s comment system with a high amount of traffic to our commercial cloud host The FCC added the attacks made it difficult for legitimate commenters to access and file with the FCC The net neutrality rules which the FCC put in place in 2015 prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to speedy internet essentially a fast lane to certain internet services over others Pai wants comment on whether the FCC should retain rules governing provider conduct The rules reclassified providers much like utilities They were favored by websites who said they guarantee equal internet access but opposed by internet providers who said they could eventually result in rate regulation inhibit innovation and make it harder to manage traffic Pai said he believed the rules depressed investment by providers and cost jobs Oliver in 2014 helped galvanize support for net neutrality The FCC then received more than 4 million comments most in favor of the rules On Sunday Oliver harshly criticized Pai saying he plays dumb about why internet providers do not want net neutrality rules and called him deeply disingenuous An FCC spokesman did not comment on Oliver s remarks
One internet provider AT T Inc N T which opposed the Obama rules in October agreed to buy Time Warner for 85 4 billion |
T | U S regulator s throttling lawsuit against AT T to be reheard court | WASHINGTON Reuters U S government claims that AT T Mobility illegally slowed down or throttled data sent to wireless devices will be reheard a U S appeals court in California said on Tuesday after it dismissed the case last year The 9th U S Circuit Court of Appeals said in an order that it would reconsider the data throttling case before the full or en banc 11 judge panel A ruling in favor of the U S Federal Trade Commission FTC which filed the lawsuit could clear the way for the agency to assume jurisdiction over internet provider privacy practices in addition to websites which it currently oversees In August the court dismissed the FTC lawsuit saying that AT T Inc N T was a common carrier and because of this was not subject to FTC jurisdiction The FTC accused AT T of deception in the 2014 lawsuit saying it reduced internet speeds for customers with unlimited mobile data plans once they exceeded certain levels We have reviewed the court s order and we look forward to participating in the en banc review said AT T spokesman Michael Balmoris
The FTC declined to comment |
T | HC2 Holdings misses by 0 15 beats on revenue | HC2 Holdings NYSEMKT HCHC Q1 EPS of 0 36 misses by 0 15 Revenue of 390 57M 17 7 Y Y beats by 22 32M Press ReleaseNow read |
PFE | Europe Trading Higher Astrazeneca And Deutsche In Foucs | European markets are trading higher this morning despite having a very volatile week last week There is no doubt that the DAX IIndex and the FTSE 100 were able to record their highs last week but the sentiment remained on the seesaw on the back of the mixed economic data released last week We do know that the economy in the euro region has started facing serious challenges as per the GDP report and this will remain the main headwind for the bull investors The CAC 40 slipped sharply lower while the FTSE MIB stayed near the 2 month low and if the equity markets does not pick up its momentum together in the upward direction we may experience the bond yields go even lower for these countries as investors may prefer to invest in bonds rather than in the equity market Back in the UK the main focus will remain on the pharmaceutical sector and on the bank sector especially after the stocks such as Astrazeneca Plc NYSE AZN and Deutsche Bank NYSE DB are back in the spotlight Let s talk about the AstraZeneca first who has rejected the Pfizer Inc s NYSE PFE new offer once again which is a good decision from the shareholder because Pfizer is certainly undervaluing the firm and we do not think they are offering what the company really worth Moreover there is strong possibility that after the merger the company will spin off some of the business in AstraZeneca and sell them off separately What we do need is a decent offer from Pfizer which does not undervalue the performance and number of new drugs in the pipeline The Deutsche Bank has announced that is going to raise more capital ahead of the stress test Obviously the bank wants to make its balance sheet more stronger and with Qatari investment coming on board as a major shareholder the bank s position could become much stronger as compared to its peers
Disclaimer The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader |
PFE | Maybe Pfizer s Third Offer Won t Be Their Last | Last month analysts predicted that Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE had to beat 100 billion if it wanted to get its hands on Britain s Astrazeneca ST AZN Well its second proposal was turned down As of April 30 the markets responded well to Pfizer as it reigned as one of the S P 500 s best performers At that point AstraZeneca s U K listed shares had jumped nearly 15 since Pfizer s interest made headlines
Now fast forwarding to PFE s most recent third proposal On May 19 AZN rejected the 117 billion offer as well claiming that it still fell short of the company s value That day the company s shares fell as much as 15 intraday in London trading
They say that third time s the charm Well I guess in this case Pfizer is all out of luck
No Coming Back
What would have merged into the world s largest drugs company is now nothing more than an evaporating thought Pfizer has officially given up on buying AZN no last minute offers no nothing
Just a cooling off period required by British rules At the end of the day the deal was politically charged Pfizer was already given the courtesy of a conveniently reduced tax bill But you see the numbers just didn t add up Pfizer spent over 250 billion on takeovers over the past 10 years Yet it s now worth 185 billion So AstraZeneca probably kept its shareholders best long term interests in mind according to CMC s Michael Hewson
After this cooling off period there s a slight and we mean slight possibility that after three months AZN could contact PFE or vice versa after six months AstraZeneca s shares fell 2 as markets opened this morning This share drop coupled with shareholder pushback could be enough to persuade AZN s mind over the next three months Jeremy Batstone Carr of Charles Stanley argues that it ll be a big issue now I think for AstraZeneca to convince shareholders that 55 per share was undervaluing their business
The Bottom Line
It s apparent that Pfizer and AstraZeneca wanted different things While PFE had its eye on many cancer medicines AZN wanted to focus solely on growth as an independent company Some say politicians in Britain the United States and Sweden opposed the transaction afraid that thousands would lose their jobs
But in all honesty the deal fell through because of the bottom line dollar AstraZeneca wanted at minimum 58 per share And the 55 offer didn t cut it
For now Swiss firm Novartis N NYSE NVS reigns as the world s largest drugmaker that s only if AZN refuses to budge in the next three or six months |
PFE | Dollar Mostly Bid Sterling and Kiwi Offered | The US dollar remains firm against most of the major and active emerging market currencies The euro and yen have thus far remained confined to yesterday s ranges while sterling saw yesterday s losses extended following yesterday s reversal US 10 year Treasury yields have pushed back below 2 5 which seems to cap the dollar near JPY102 Better than expected Norwegian retail sales 0 5 vs 0 3 consensus helped the krone resist the dollar bid
The most important data however was the euro area money supply figures M3 grew by less than 1 in April 0 8 which is the slowest since September 2010 The March pace was revised to 1 0 from 1 1 The consensus was for an unchanged reading Credit to the private sector continued to contract as it has for the past two years The pace moderated however to 1 8 from 2 2 The report is not going to change anyone s view about the outcome of next week s ECB meeting
Separately there were three other pieces of the macroeconomic picture that the market received today and they were all unexpected First German unemployment rose by 24k in May The consensus was for a 15k decline Second it was reported that household consumption fell 0 3 in April The Bloomberg consensus was for a 0 5 gain The March data was revised a bit higher 0 6 from 0 4 but not enough to take the sting out of the disappointment And third
Third Spain s positive data stream continued with April retail sales jumping 0 7 year over year The market had a flat report after a 0 5 reading in March Separately Spain reported mortgage lending was up 16 in March year over year a reversal from the 11 6 contraction in February and the highest reading since early 2007
Taken together the picture is fairly consistent with what investors have already come to appreciate The German economic engine has begun moderating after a strong Q1 The French economy continues to struggle to sustain any meaningful momentum The Spanish economy is leading the periphery
Spain and Italy s bond and stock markets are performing well extending recent gains Over the past five sessions Spain s 10 year yield is off 17 bp and Italy s is off 23 bp with both pushing below the 3 threshold Italian and Spanish shares are the strongest of the major bourses in Europe Over the past five sessions those bourses are up 4 6 and 2 0 respectively Yet the euro itself is not finding much traction as speculators appear to be moving to the sidelines ahead of the ECB meeting where great uncertainty continues shroud next week s big event The 1 3640 area is now resistance Support is seen 1 3600 10 A break of that would target the 1 3520 45 band
Sterling has underperformed in recent days The Pfizer NYSE PFE Astrazeneca NYSE AZN cooling off period GBP60 bln deal may have weighed on sentiment and there is some talk of euro demand against sterling related to month end Sterling was already on its back foot when the CBI disappointed with a distributive trades retail sales report showing a 16 balance in May after 30 in April The consensus had looked for improvement The forward looking indicators also softened With the 1 6770 level now violated the next target is 1 6720 Euro resistance against sterling is seen near GBP0 8160
The New Zealand dollar is the weakest of the majors off about 0 75 sterling is second with a loss of about 0 25 near midday in London The Kiwi initially firmed in response to the Fonterra auction which set a payout of NZD 7 0 per kilo for 2014 15 and cut the payout for the current period by 25 cents to NZD 8 40 New Zealand appears to be producing more milk than can be absorbed presently and this appears to be the main reason for the 23 slide in whole milk powder prices over the 3 5 months The market consensus is for the RBNZ to continue its tightening cycle with a hike in June Indicative prices suggest another hike in July is largely anticipated but there is where we think the market may be a bit ahead of itself
There are no US economic reports of consequence today and no Fed officials scheduled to speak Tomorrow the US reports its second estimate of Q1 GDP It is widely expected to be revised lower from the initial 0 1 pace The Bloomberg consensus is for a 0 5 contraction but risk is to the downside It may not matter much for investors as the news is old and the more recent news is that the US economy is recovering smartly in the current quarter 3 0 However when the Fed updates its forecasts next month the poor performance in Q1 will likely see officials revise down their 2014 forecasts This is likely to be a simple accounting function rather than a less optimistic outlook |
PFE | AcelRx Likley To Receive FDA Approval Shortly | Summary
AcelRx develops Zalviso to treat acute and breakthrough pain
We believe there is a 90 chance the company receives FDA approval on July 27
Zalviso has several advantages over intravenous delivery methods
Obamacare and favorable product pricing should benefit the company in the long term
Written by Kyle Dennis AcelRx NASDAQ ACRX has been one of our favorite companies over the last two years which we have written on a few times during that period AcelRx develops therapies for acute and breakthrough pain that help solve the problems patients have with intravenous delivery systems The 2H of 2014 should be an inflection point for the company as its product Zalviso is expecting an approval decision from the Food and Drug Administration FDA July 27
Technology ZALVISO Sublingual Sufentanil Nanotab System
AcelRx is developing Zalviso which is designed to address intravenous patient controlled analgesia IV PCA problems which can cause harm following surgery Zalviso uses an already approved generic FDA pain medication called sufentanil Usually sufentanil is delivered intravenously with infusion pumps which can cause infections dosing errors and irregular gaps in treatment Zalviso uses NanoTab technology to deliver a high dosage of sufentanil underneath the tongue This delivery method eliminates the complications of an IV increases the drug s efficacy and provides patients and doctors with a safer treatment Top line data from the final pivotal trial treating pain after knee or hip surgery was of 2013 and highlighted many benefits Some Doctor and Patient Benefits
Patients experienced better longer lasting and more complete pain relief after orthopedic surgery
Nurses reported that it was much easier to use the Nanotab system
Traditional IV PCA is known for its confusing administering program and Zalviso avoids this problem
Increased mobility in the hospital
Decreased chance of IV related infections
Political pressure and the opioid market
The FDA has been under pressure recently because opioid abuse is becoming a growing problem the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC declared prescription drug abuse to be an epidemic of this year the FDA announced stronger warning labels for all extended released opioids The continued social pressure has negatively affected several small cap companies while leaving others with opportunity Because of this pressure the FDA has been more apt to approve drugs that tackle this issue head on AcelRx should benefit from this because it is improving the delivery system of approved drugs Zalviso should provide a safer more effective and a more cost effective solution with higher quality of care BioDelivery Sciences International NASDAQ BDSI is a company that recently benefitted from the recent trends BioDelivery develops several drugs that are in late stages of clinical trials in the pain and opioid dependence marketplace The company recently received FDA approval for Bunavail which delivers Subxone buprenorphine naloxone sublingual film as a therapy for opioid dependence Subxone was approved by the FDA in 2002 and has been very successful generating 1 4B in sales in 2013 BioDelivery is hoping to gain a share of that market using its BEMA BioErodible MucoAdhesive technology BEMA technology delivers drugs using a bio erodible film across a mucous membrane The film adheres to an oral mucosa membrane in about five seconds and takes fifteen to thirty minutes to dissolve The BEMA platform has been proven to work since the company already has received approval for its other product Onsolis BioDelivery recently on June 6 BioDelivery s platform has been shown to be safer and more effective which is certainly what Obamacare aims for in part BioDelivery is similar to AcelRx in that both companies are improving the delivery method for drugs that have been approved by the FDA and have a strong safety profile Recently Zogenix NASDAQ ZGNX has been in the news regarding its FDA approved drug Zohydro Since the drug s approval last October Zohydro has been under scrutiny by many physicians as some are calling Zohydro because it is a pure hydrocodone and not a mix of Tylenol 3 and hydrocodone Subsequently some physicians have been encouraging the FDA to rescind its approval Additionally there were bills drawn by the House and the Senate to recommending the FDA reverse its decision However proponents of the drug agree with the FDA and believe Zohydro serves a great purpose for a subset of pain patients who suffer from unbearable pain that the currently available opioids cannot effectively treat We tend to agree with Zohydro proponents and feel the FDA was correct in approving Zohydro Additionally Durect Coproration NASDAQ DRRX and Pain Therapeutics NASDAQ PTIE are two partnered companies that have also been in the news regarding its chronic pain drug The companies are developing Remoxy which is a sustained release oral gel cap of oxycodone The companies are also partnered with Pfizer NYSE PFE who is handling most of the development The FDA has rejected Remoxy multiple times to date and the organization is now asking for additional studies to be conducted before the companies can resubmit the NDA As a result the companies are currently conducting a Phase I safety study on the potential abuse factor The FDA did not require any additional efficacy studies but obviously was concerned with identifying any other potential safety issues with the drug
Catalyst Drug Approval Decision on July 27 2014
AcelRx in December 2013 that the FDA accepted the NDA for Zalviso and set a PDUFA date for July 27 2014 This date is extremely important for the company because it will be its first approved product and the first revenue generator for the company We believe there is a high chance that Zalviso receives approval because of the strong Phase III trial results Since AcelRx is using an already approved drug this significantly de risks the event Additionally the FDA has been highly focused on approving treatments that improve patient safety From the Phase III trial results we can see that patients experienced better safety and better efficacy profiles We give a 90 chance for approval with the only wild card being a CRL for manufacturing However given that the company has experienced management and board members we think this chance is relatively low The company began partnering and preparing to commercialize Zalviso worldwide over 7 months ago Recently to prepare for commercialization Although there is never a guarantee for approval these signs are very positive and show the company is well prepared to market Zalviso unlike many developmental companies who prepare poorly by not hiring the needed personal
Zalviso Economics and Obamacare
When it comes down to it the most important aspect of a biotechnology company is the profits Zalviso is poised to take a significant share of the acute pain market because it is not only safer but also more cost effective The company recently published a The study concluded that it would cost between 200 240 for two days of post surgical IV PCA s Zalviso has been projected as low as 140 Additionally Zalviso avoids the high cost of IV infections or other complications Since Obamacare is beginning to further subsidize the healthcare system the FDA and insurance companies favor more cost effective treatments This bodes well not only for approval but also for its long term commercial success Cost effectiveness and quality of care are important as Obamacare seeks to cut down on the volume of patients in hospitals Zalviso is certainly a product that can help hospitals achieve this goal Hospitals that comply by cutting down on patient volume and improve patient satisfaction are eligible to under Obamacare
Chart
Based on the chart above we think the stock price has a good chance here to see the mid 12 range We have marked on the top of the chart in white a cup and handle formation in the chart that is normally a very bullish sign Additionally we have also marked with the bottom white line a double bottom type pattern that shows up as a W in the chart also bullish Also when considering the risk on market condition with markets exceeding all time highs along with Zalviso having a strong chance at approval we think the 52 week high of 13 64 is possible here
Conclusion
We believe July 27 is an inflection point for the company and that Zalviso will be approved that day Given the strong trial results and political situation we think the chances of approval are very high On the rare chance the FDA rejected Zalviso the stock price would likely be cut in half We are also bullish on AcelRx management and are confident in the company s ability to market the product Zalviso may not be a blockbuster drug or a revolutionary treatment but it is a drug that should help provide significant revenue to grow this small cap company We believe AcelRx can reach 52 week highs in the near term and could see its valuation much higher in the longer term considering the advantages a product like Zalviso can enjoy under the new healthcare changes that Obamacare implements This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only and should not be construed as professional investment advice They are my opinions only Trading stocks is risky always be sure to know and understand your risk tolerance You can incur substantial financial losses in any trade or investment Always do your own due diligence before buying and selling any stock and or consult with a licensed financial adviser |
AMD | Increased Earnings Estimates Seen For Advanced Micro Devices AMD Can It Move Higher | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD is a Semiconductor company that could be an interesting play for investors That is because not only does the stock have decent short term momentum but it is seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate revision front as well These positive earnings estimate revisions suggest that analysts are becoming more optimistic on AMD s earnings for the coming quarter and year In fact consensus estimates have moved sharply higher for both of these time frames over the past four weeks suggesting that Advanced Micro Devices could be a solid choice for investors Current Quarter Estimates for AMDIn the past 30 days 5 estimates has gone higher for Advanced Micro Devices while 2 has gone lower in the same time period The trend has been pretty favorable too with estimates narrowing from a loss of 13 cents per share 30 days ago to a loss of 11 cents today a move of 15 4 Current Year Estimates for AMDMeanwhile Advanced Micro Devices current year figures are also looking quite promising with 9 estimates moving higher in the past month compared to none lower The consensus estimate trend has also seen a boost for this time frame with estimates narrowing from a loss of 42 cents per share 30 days ago to a loss of 38 cents today a move of 9 5 Bottom LineThe stock has also started to move higher lately adding 29 5 over the past four weeks suggesting that investors are starting to take note of this impressive story So investors may definitely want to consider this Zacks Rank 3 Hold stock to profit in the near future |
AMD | 4 Stocks To Watch Today ATW CWEI MXL SLCA | It was a pretty good start to the week on Monday That doesn t mean we are out of the woods by any means although they bounced from minor oversold conditions The oscillators have moved back up a bit We ll have to wait and see if there s an extension There s an awful lot of stocks still acting well and some breaking out
Atwood Oceanics Inc NYSE ATW had a huge decline from a high 2013 at 60 00 all the way down to 5 00 then it popped backed and filled for three months formed a big coiling base pattern broke out pulled back and popped 1 05 to 11 88 or 9 7 on 5 7 million shares closing at the upper end of the range on Monday A swing was put on it on Monday It has 4 76 days to cover Look for a move to 14 14 1 2 short term and then 18 intermediate term
Clayton Williams Energy Inc NYSE CWEI is a new swing of ours and is acting very well It has an inverse head and shoulders moving averages crossed over it consolidated for a month started to move four days ago moved up through the neck line of a head and shoulders on Monday closing up 3 05 to 22 85 or 15 4 on 683 654 shares traded It s significant in that it could test the 26 26 1 2 area short term followed by a big move up to 33 or thereabouts
MaxLinear Inc NYSE MXL had a beautiful pop on Monday up 1 00 to 19 41 or 5 4 on 2 8 million shares on a breakout day testing resistance Four days ago it popped out and broke out of a falling wedge Friday was an up day and Monday it followed through It ran up to an all time new high at 19 54 going back to the IPO days when it tagged 19 50 Targets are 21 and then 25 It has 2 92 days to cover
US Silica Holdings Inc NYSE SLCA is a swing trade of ours It has a beautiful chart with a big base a breakout wedge pullback retest and rising channel On Monday it was up 1 44 to 26 48 or 5 75 on 1 9 million shares Going back to March this stock was 21 69 and the target was 29 1 2 It got to 27 1 4 not quite a pullback The target remains 29 1 2 30 and then 33 34 It has 4 76 days to cover
Stocks on the long side included Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD Atwood Oceanics Inc NYSE ATW Clayton Williams Energy Inc NYSE CWEI Dermira NASDAQ DERM New Oriental Education Technology NYSE EDU Globalstar Inc NYSE GSAT Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ INO Direxion Daily S P Biotech Bull 3X ETF LABU Legacy Reserves LP NASDAQ LGCY Medivation Inc NASDAQ MDVN MGT Capital Investments Inc NYSE MGT MaxLinear Inc NYSE MXL NVIDIA Corporation NASDAQ NVDA Silicon Motion Technology NASDAQ SIMO US Silica Holdings Inc NYSE SLCA Sodastream International Ltd NASDAQ SODA Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ SUPN Targa Resources Inc NYSE TRGP Ubiquiti Networks Inc NASDAQ UBNT United States Oil NYSE USO and VelocityShares 3x Long Crude linked to S P GSCI Crude Oil Excess Return NYSE UWTI |
AMD | 4 Stocks To Watch NTRA OLED SLCA SUPN | It was a disappointing day on Wall Street on Monday and closed on the downside after being up in the morning A lot of stocks we follow did well Even during the pullback some of these stocks consolidated nicely and some actually broke out
Natera Inc NASDAQ NTRA has a nice base pop went right to resistance up 1 12 to 12 12 or 10 on 630 500 shares traded on Monday It formed a beautiful wedge low volume ebb and then the breakout It has 22 days to cover This could be a wild fire Keep your eye on this one The next target is going to be 14 followed by 16 1 2
Universal Display NASDAQ OLED one of our swing trades worked well pulled way back gapped up on Monday and ran 4 88 to 61 29 or 8 65 on 2 million shares There s still 5 days to cover The target is 68 70 and then the high 70 s
US Silica Holdings Inc NYSE SLCA one of our swing trades is acting nice and orderly in a rising channel The pullback three weeks ago came down to the moving average 50 day and trendline bounced had a 2 day pullback and popped again on Monday up 46 cents to 27 23 or 1 7 on 2 4 million shares Right now there is resistance at Monday s highs at 27 78 with a target of 29 1 2 and then the 32 33 range It has 4 76 days to cover
Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ SUPN has done very well in the last 3 4 months after the big reversal day in February going from under 10 to nearly 18 1 2 but the 18 1 2 level broke down which means Monday s high was the highest level since November up 44 cents to 18 41 or 2 45 on 457 000 shares traded and reaching as high as 18 54 The next target is 20 21 but ultimately I m looking for much higher than that It has 4 9 days to cover
Stocks on the long side included Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD Aqua Metals Inc NASDAQ AQMS Celator Pharm NASDAQ CPXX Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ INO Direxion Daily S P Biotech Bull 3X Shares NYSE LABU Natera Inc NTRA Universal Display Corp OLED U S Silica Holdings Inc SLCA VanEck Vectors Semiconductor NYSE SMH Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc SUPN Vuzix Corp Cmn Stk NASDAQ VUZI and Intrexon Corpn NYSE XON |
T | If US China Relation Turns Bitter Buy These ETFs To Profit | Speculation is rife that the trade tension between the U S and China will increase this year These signs have already started to build up in the space with the spate of news First the latest Blomberg report states that China may slow down or even stop the purchase of U S government bonds citing that U S debt has become less attractive than other assets Since China is the biggest buyer of U S sovereign bonds holding 1 2 trillion of U S debt the action could lead to a broad sell off in the equity markets However China s regulator called it a possibly fake news and denied the report read Secondly criticized the recent passage of two bills by the U S House Foreign Affairs Committee aimed at bolstering the critical U S Taiwan partnership The Global Times a nationalistic arm of the Communist Party media apparatus states Beijing s diplomatic retaliations toward Washington will come from all sides Since 1979 Washington has cut off diplomatic ties with the government in Taipei under the One China policy which recognizes the East Asian island as part of China Further the United States has blocked two Chinese high profile deals over national security concerns One is Ant Financial s 1 2 billion purchase of transfer firm MoneyGram International and the other is the Huawei Technologies deal with U S carrier AT T NYSE T to sell its smartphones in the United States The back to back Chinese investment setback in a week has threatened China U S trade ties The move came as the Trump administration is gearing up for new trade penalties against China in the coming weeks including potential tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and punitive actions against China arising from an investigation into Beijing s alleged theft of intellectual property The United Sates is also mulling to impose tariff or import duties on Chinese solar panels and washing machines manufactured in China and its neighbors If this happens this would lead to retaliatory measures from Beijing indicating the beginning of a trade war with implications for the entire world trading system Against such a backdrop investors could stash their cash in the following ETFs that offer stability or even profit as U S China relations continues to unfold SPDR Gold Trust ETF V GLD Gold is often viewed as a store of value and hedge against market turmoil The product tracking this bullion like GLD NYSE GLD could be an interesting pick in the current market turbulence The fund tracks the price of gold bullion measured in U S dollars and kept in London under the custody of HSBC Bank USA It is the ultra popular gold ETF with AUM of 35 3 billion and heavy volume of nearly 7 million shares a day It charges 40 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 Hold with a Medium risk outlook read iShares 20 Year Treasury Bond ETF NYSE T The products tracking the long end of the yield curve often provide a safe haven TLT provides exposure to long term Treasury bonds by tracking the ICE U S Treasury 20 Year Bond Index It is one of the most popular and liquid ETFs in the bond space with AUM of 6 9 billion and average daily volume of more than 8 million shares Expense ratio comes in at 0 15 Holding 33 securities in its basket the fund focuses on the top credit rating bonds with average maturity of 25 86 years and effective duration of 17 56 years The fund has an unfavorable Zacks ETF Rank 4 Sell with a High risk outlook Guggenheim CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust Yen is considered a safe haven currency in times of uncertainty Investors could tap this via FXY which appears a great way to play a future rise in the yen relative to the U S dollar It tracks the movement of the yen relative to the U S dollar net of the Trust expenses which are expected to be paid from the interest earned on the deposited Japanese yen The fund charges 40 bps a year in fees and sees a good volume of roughly 99 000 shares per day The product has accumulated 105 9 million in its asset base and has a Zacks ETF Rank 3 with a Medium risk outlook read ProShares Short FTSE China 50 A fund like YXI that offers to pay the opposite of the return of a Chinese benchmark will likely make profits if the trade situation worsens This ETF delivers the inverse return of the FTSE China 50 Index which offers exposure to the 50 largest and most liquid Chinese stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange The fund has accumulated 4 6 million in its asset base and trades in a light volume of 2 000 shares a day on average Expense ratio comes in at 0 95 Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis as well as top performing ETFs each week |
T | YOUR MONEY How to win the family data usage battle | By Chris Taylor NEW YORK Reuters If it were possible to develop Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome because of texts from your mobile provider Brett Anderson would be suffering from it The financial planner from Hudson Wisconsin used to get a little ping every time his family exceeded its monthly data usage Every notice meant he was being charged another 15 for more gigabytes it would add up to an extra 100 or so a month We got bigger data plans we put limits on the kids and it was never enough Anderson says reserving particular bitterness for his 18 year old daughter s use of Snapchat The struggle over sharing a data plan is a decidedly modern American lament Almost every family has a story about carefully dividing gigabytes and then sniping at each other when those allocations inevitably are exceeded Some 55 percent of parents have limited the amount of time their teenagers can go online according to a survey by Pew Research Center and 65 percent have digitally grounded them by taking away their devices at one time or another But it is emotionally fraught territory According to Pew smartphones are nearly ubiquitous among young adults And the youngsters tend to favor a vast array of data sucking apps Push back against that generational momentum and you have a classic parent child power struggle on your hands which is especially difficult to manage when the kids on the family plan are anywhere from 10 to 30 So how can families navigate this tricky business of data usage without going broke or killing each other or perhaps both Some tips Go unlimited This solution is elegant if not necessarily cheap Having largely gone away as cell providers capitalized on people s smartphone addictions unlimited packages are now back with a vengeance The Unlimited Freedom plan from Sprint offers one relatively affordable option 50 month for the first line 40 month each for two lines 30 month each for four lines and the fifth line free That means a family of four with additional fees and such should be covered for around 150 a month Unlimited is the route Brett Anderson finally opted for a couple of months ago since data wars were not a fight I wanted to keep having More specifically he did not wish to anger his wife with data usage criticisms and be relegated to the family couch Set parental controls Providers like Verizon and AT T NYSE T offer ways to digitally fence in your teen before they suck up every gigabyte on the family plan Verizon s FamilyBase and AT T s Smart Limits both available for 4 99 a month offer functions like capping your kid s data usage or limiting them to certain times of day Stand alone smartphone apps like Norton Family and Net Nanny offer similar services Educate the kids Some kids may not actually be aware that streaming videos while not on a wi fi network will eat up family data That is what happened with Philadelphia mom Claire McGuire recently when her 13 year old son Leo blew through a month s worth of data in just 10 days by enjoying the meme site iFunny while on the school bus Oops she says wryly A gentle reminder set him straight as did a docked allowance Make the kids pay There is no law against getting kids to chip in for their smartphone usage Indeed it can be a useful teaching moment On FamZoo an online family banking service parents get kids to contribute an average of 18 33 a month says Bill Dwight founder and chief executive Or you can drop the hammer and get them to pay for the whole shebang That is what Brett Anderson eventually did with his son who is 26 and living on his own but was still riding the family plan Since his son never answered his phone anyways Anderson got fed up with paying the bill and kicked him off If you don t have enough data and it s so important to you you can pay your own darn way Anderson remembers There s nothing wrong with saying that
The writer is a Reuters contributor The opinions expressed are his own |
T | Time Warner Q1 earnings beat estimates | Investing com NYSE Time Warner first quarter earnings beat estimates The U S company reported an 11 rise in adjusted Q1 EPS to 1 66 vs estimate of 1 45 Revenues were up 6 at 7 74 bn after successful releases Kong Skull Island and The Lego Batman Movie Time Warner said it was on track to complete its merger with NYSE AT T by the end of the year |
T | HBO exploring up to four Game of Thrones spin offs | With ratings hit Game of Thrones winding its way toward a conclusion next year HBO NYSE TWX is exploring the prospect of as many as four spin off shows There s no timeline yet but the network has deals with four different writers to pursue the idea Game of Thrones showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff and creator George R R Martin will be attached to the projects but won t write The show HBO s most watched ever drew 8 9M viewers in last season s finale and the season averaged 23 3M multiplatform viewers Now read Time Warner s Earnings AT T NYSE T Is Getting A Quality Asset |
T | Straight Path gets another buyout bid | Straight Path Communications NYSEMKT STRP has received yet another revised offer from a still unnamed multinational telecom company worth 184 per share in stock reflecting an enterprise value of approximately 3 1B While it has deemed it is superior to its earlier deal with AT T NYSE T worth 95 63 per share AT T has three days to respond and negotiate a possible amendment to its original agreement STRP 28 premarketNow read |
PFE | Will FX Volatility Finally Pick Up This Week | Market Drivers for April 28 2014
Cable at fresh yearly highs as Pfizer AZTA talks confirmed
JPY Retail Sales up 11 ahead of tax increase
Nikkei 0 99 Europe 0 46
Oil 101 bbl
Gold 1303 oz
Europe and AsiaJPY Retail Sales 11 0 vs 10 9 EUR GE Import Prices 0 6 North AmericaUSD Pending Home Sales 10 00 AM AMThe dollar was weaker across the board with the exception of the yen on the first trading day of the week as investors put aside the growing tensions in east Ukraine and focused instead on a string of M A activity in Europe that helped to lift European equities higher in morning Frankfurt trade Pfizer NYSE PFE confirmed last week s rumors of its interest in AstraZeneca Plc AZN L a deal that is reported to be near the 100 Billion mark The news helped push cable to fresh yearly highs as the pair finally cleared the 1 6850 level on the assumption that M A flows from the transaction could prove to be enormous The euro also kept pace but the reason for its rise was less clear The pair hit a high of 1 3876 on reports that Russian banks were heavy buyers It is unclear whether buying was simply end of the month flows or whether there was continued capital flight in Russia as a result of a new round of sanction set to be announced by President Obama Mr Obama is expected to issue new sanctions that will target individuals and companies and will target some high tech exports in Russia This is another gradual move to punish Russia economically but US has refrained from issuing full sectoral bans against banking or defense companies although it reserved the right to do so in the future The conflict in Ukraine remains at a slow boil as neither side is backing down and the prospect of further violence remains very real as Russian separatists have refused to surrender their positions Any military move by Ukraine that results in casualties of Russian separatists could prompt a full incursion by Russian armed forces but for now the markets remain non plussed by the events as consensus view continues to believe that the issue will be solved diplomatically In North America today the eco calendar is nearly barren with only Pending Homes on the docket Given the recent weakness in all the housing indicators the prospects of a downside miss are quite possible although the news is unlikely to have much impact on the market USD JPY continues to hover in a 102 00 102 50 zone as it awaits a slew of economic data later this week After historically low volatility over the past two weeks the currency markets appear to have finally come alive today and given the large amount of economic data along with the ever present geo political risks G 10 currencies look like they are finally ready to wake from their slumber |
PFE | Dollar Heavy To Start The Week | The US dollar is heavy to start the week Its gains are concentrated against the European currencies whereas the yen weakness is a notable exception Sterling has been lifted to new multi year highs with the help of more M A reports Pfizer NYSE PFE and Astrazeneca Plc AZN and ahead of Q1 GDP data tomorrow that is expected to show a modest acceleration in the economy over Q4 13 The euro shot up in European activity seemingly led by sterling s advance reaching 1 3880 an eleven day high Fitch s upgrade of Spain before the weekend BBB from BBB and the firm EONIA may be encouraging some buying of the euro We note EONIA was fixed above the repo rate last Thursday and Friday Barring month end squeezes last Friday s fix of 33 bp was the highest in a few months Spanish 10 Year bonds are bucking the heavier tone in the European bond market today Robust gains in European equities may be sapping some strength from the bond market German and Italian shares are leading the way higher and the Dow Jones STOXX 600 is up 0 6 led by healthcare and financials The Swedish krone though is the strongest of the major currencies today The surge in March retail sales 1 1 vs Bloomberg consensus of 0 2 has given participants second thoughts about the prospects for a rate cut which had been spurred by deflation March CPI 0 6 year over year Owing to a decision to reduce the number of meetings years the Riksbank will not meet again until July The pendulum of sentiment will likely swing back and forth but we suspect the key variable that the central bank s decision turns on is likely inflation deflation not the real sector The next CPI report is due out May 13 Nearby support for the euro against the krona comes in near SEK9 0440 last week s low and break could spur a quick move toward SEK9 0 The dollar briefly dipped below JPY102 before the weekend It has traded in a narrow trading range in the third of a yen range above JPY102 We suspect that offers will be found in the JPY102 50 60 area today that may prove sufficient to cap the greenback The somewhat stronger than expected March retail sales report 11 0 rise vs consensus 10 8 and 3 6 in February failed impress the foreign exchange market The retail sales tax increases changes everything The economic performance after the tax and specifically after the initial hit is the key The BOJ meets tomorrow but this is a non event The labor cash earnings report tomorrow may be more significant Cash earnings contracted on a year over year basis in seven months last year and have begun off this year by contracting in both January and February Lastly we note the Shanghai Composite fell for the fourth session today and by the most in seven weeks with a 1 6 drop Reports suggesting that the China Securities Regulatory Commission will approve at least four new IPOs at midweek may have weighed on sentiment In addition the country s largest life insurers reported a drop in profits There are also reports that regulators are clamping down on lending to the steel industry a sector that has been identified by officials as suffering from excess capacity This seemed to have been behind the 5 slide Chinese iron ore futures prices today Meanwhile the PBOC lifted the yuan s reference rate by 0 02 today to CNY6 1565 the highest since April 14 |
PFE | Euro And Sterling On The Move | After last week s painfully tight forex trading ranges and an historic seven year low in volatility it seems that dealers and investors are beginning this week on the front foot Both the Euro and the pound are on the move Potential M A activity Astrazeneca Pfizer seems to helping GBP on the margins pushing it to print a fresh 4 year high above 1 6843 Regarding the 18 member single currency the EUR there is no obvious reason for this morning s strength There has been reasonable retail demand and combined with market chatter that Russian Banks have entered the fray has managed to push the EUR above its two week high 1 3873 The Central Bank of Russia s recent comments that they would sell their dollar holdings has also the market front running the Central Bank s requirement of reserve diversification into the EUR
It may not just be reserve diversification talk that s supporting the EUR Some of the blame should also be passed off to the ECB s excess liquidity managing to hit a multi year low and the EONIA overnight interest rates at their second highest level this year Higher rates combined with greater Euro money market liquidity would suggest that markets are healing and segmentation abating This would obviously dampen the prospect for any immediate ECB action and keep the single currency somewhat supported across the board It will be difficult for Draghi s and his fellow cohorts at the ECB to have a lasting impact unless they provide more explicit signals to help clear market uncertainty over whether they will act in May or June The market is leaning predominately towards June but no one can rule out any liquidity enhancing measures being introduced next month
The market has little fundamental data to chew on today but there have been a few ECB speakers already on tap during the Euro session The ECB s Constancio is worried about disorderly increases in bond yields and stated that the central bank would act if it saw the need to do so While Noyer speaking in Frankfurt commented that the EUR s rise is equivalent to unwarranted monetary policy tightening The market is interpreting his comments as sufficient to support the prospect of a negative deposit rate However with the market already expecting negative deposit rates his comments have had little impact The ECB is required to walk the walk rather than repeating their desire to act
A squeeze in money market rates and reserve diversification is the likely EUR driver as the market heads stateside With so little actually going on this month this rally has more to do with a positional squeeze rather than a fundamental one The EUR bear got short of the currency on expectations that Draghi and company would be dovish and on the back of some stronger US data However the single currency has remained resilient to both and coupled with the major event risks this week is pressurizing most of those weaker short positions The tech traders believe that the 1 3910 threshold will provide strong resistance in the first time of asking especially ahead of German state CPI s tomorrow and the Euro zone s CPI and FOMC meeting on Wednesday If the April figure fails to improve the ECB would come under further pressure to take incremental monetary actions
Regarding the pound there was a modest cable dip to 1 6837 after the AstraZeneca statement stating that they were confident in their own strategy and rejected Pfizer talks However there is solid support at this morning s sessions low between 1 6777 1 6787 with laddered sterling bids all the way above the psychological 1 6800 handle Now with a new multi year high print 1 6855 it certainly exposes 1 6900 in the shorter term
Both the FOMC and BoJ meet this week The Fed meet finishes Wednesday and is almost certain to taper their asset buying program by another 10B The accompanying statement no press conference scheduled should indicate that the Fed intends to keep rates lower for longer The BoJ meeting finishes the same day and so far market consensus does not expect any immediate action from Governor Kuroda and company However it should not be ruled out but the general feeling is that the BoJ will stay on hold believing it s too soon to gage total effect of the introduction of the sales tax April 1st Governor Kuroda s press conference will be key expect it to shape the timing for when the BoJ will next take action |
PFE | Global FX ECB Comments Lift Euro | EUR USDComments from ECB s Knot over the weekend saying that he holds reserves on the effectiveness of QE despite the general pro QE sentiment coming from the ECB lifted money market rates and consequently the EUR The EUR USD pair saw a sharp upturn early in the European session as the ECB announced that liquidity in the Eurozone had fallen again holding below the EUR 100bln level to EUR 86 6bln marking multiyear lows This comes after the ECB balance sheet contracted following the large 3y LTRO repayment on Friday The pair then traded relatively range bound throughout the session with no scheduled tier 1 data releases The remainder of the session has no scheduled risk events as markets will now look towards German regional and national CPIs tomorrow
GBP USDGBP also saw a sharp upturn in the early European session adding to USD weakness as Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE confirmed interest in purchasing Astrazeneca Plc AZN in a deal worth an estimated GBP 58bln This move saw GBP USD at the highest levels since November 2009 The pair then traded horizontally through the majority of the session before later paring much of the gains reducing them to only 20 pips as markets correct for the earlier up tick The markets look ahead to UK GDP due tomorrow at 0930BST
USD JPYDespite USD weakness from the get go due to M A talk in the UK and the contracting liquidity in Europe USD JPY has been pushing upward today The JPY softened as the US unveiled its latest sanctions on individuals and companies in Russia which were less imposing than feared The pair was then lifted further as US pending home sales beat expectations at 3 4 vs Exp 1 0 This helped to relieve some of the poor sentiment from last week s disappointing existing homes sales data helping push USD JPY above 102 50 Markets in Japan will be closed tomorrow marking Showa day and the start to the Golden Week holiday |
PFE | Euro Higher On Draghi QE Dismissal Reports | Euro continues to sit closer to the 1 40 level in EUR USD than the European Central Bank would have wanted The single currency moved higher after Obama threatened further sanctions on Russia The EUR USD move is obviously a reaction to Russian banks efforts to diversify away from the USD a currency that may not be as easy to get in Russia in a few weeks The weakness of these additional sanctions on 17 companies and 7 inner circle individuals allowed Russian assets to recover some of their losses The remainder of the euro strength has come from a report in which the ECB President Mario Draghi has told German politicians that a QE programme is not likely at the moment This would match up with the rhetoric from the European Central Bank in the previous weeks a bank that believes in a period of low inflation but little risk of outright deflation GBP also moved higher yesterday morning as traders began to price in the mega merger in the pharmaceutical industry AstraZeneca AZN LONDON may be worth 100bn to Pfizer NYSE PFE but that is a heck of a lot of cable to shift even in a very liquid cross GBP USD was unable to stay as well bid as EURUSD given the strong buying of euro by Russian banks in the European session Q1 s GDP numbers from the UK are due this morning albeit the volatile provisional release and should confirm that the UK s recovery is continuing at a fair old clip Manufacturing construction and services output numbers have all been healthy throughout the quarter despite the softening of PMI measures comparatively from Q4 All in all we are expecting growth to increase by 0 8 in Q1 and around 3 2 on a year on year basis It is a matter of time until these strong figures start to see some form of dissent by the more hawkish of Bank of England members although we maintain the view that the PMI numbers later this week are more useful in gauging the strength of the UK s corporate sector The number is due at 09 30 with the more bullish of estimates at 1 0 consensus at 0 9 and the low at 0 6 Elsewhere the story of falling volatility in currency markets continued with overall volumes falling to a 7 year low Yesterday s slip was a continuation of the low rate trend that we have been seeing for years now but emphasised by an Interfax report that some Russian troops had returned to base overnight from positions close to the Ukraine border We have seen AUD and NZD come lower overnight as investors continue to shift price out some fairly aggressive rate rise expectations Overnight swaps markets have lost 40bps of increases in the past 2 weeks a sign that the 125bps of increases the RBNZ wanted through the year was a bit too rich German CPI will give us a fair sign of where tomorrow s Eurozone CPI number will be tracking Once again consensus estimates put Eurozone CPI at 0 8 through the past month 0 3 higher than March s and although still a fair way away from the ECB s 2 inflation target a lot healthier Anything higher and the market will be looking to take EURUSD to the 1 40 level and GBP EUR back towards 1 20 The German measure is due at 13 00 with releases from individual states due throughout the morning |
PFE | What to Expect From Pfizer s Earnings | Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE is set to report FQ1 2014 earnings before the market opens on Monday May 5th Pfizer is one of the world s largest pharmaceutical companies and is currently attempting to buy British Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca for up to 106 billion The pharmaceutical industry has a very high cost structure and right now we are seeing several potential consolidation deals to drive those costs down so the firms can benefit from a larger scale of operation This quarter Wall Street expects Pfizer s earnings to increase marginally compared to FQ1 of last year and for sales to fall by over 1 billion Here s what investors are expecting from Pfizer on Monday
The information below is derived from data submitted to the Estimize com platform by a set of Buy Side and Independent analyst contributors
The current Wall Street consensus expectation is for Pfizer to report 55c EPS and 12 016B revenue while the current Estimize com consensus from 13 Buy Side and Independent contributing analysts is 57c EPS and 12 265B in revenue This quarter the buy side as represented by the Estimize com community is expecting Pfizer to beat EPS estimates from Wall Street by 2c per share and 249 million in revenue
Over the past 6 quarters the consensus from Estimize com has been more accurate than Wall Street in forecasting Pfizer s EPS and revenue 4 and 3 times respectively By tapping into a wider range of contributors including hedge fund analysts asset managers independent research shops students and non professional investors Estimize has created a data set that is more accurate than Wall Street up to 69 5 of the time but more importantly it does a better job of representing the market s actual expectations It has been confirmed by Deutsche Bank Quant Research and an independent academic study from Rice University that stock prices tend to react with a more strongly associated degree to the expectation benchmark from Estimize than from the Wall Street consensus
The magnitude of the difference between the Wall Street and Estimize consensus numbers often identifies opportunities to take advantage of expectations that may not have been priced into the market In this case we are seeing a larger than usual differential between the expectations from Estimize and Wall Street
The distribution of estimates published by analysts on the Estimize com platform range from 56c to 58c EPS and from 11 779B to 12 537B in revenues This quarter we re seeing a narrower range of estimates on Pfizer than usual
The size of the distribution of estimates relative to previous quarters often signals whether or not the market is confident that it has priced in the expected earnings already A narrow distribution of EPS estimates signals more agreement in the market which could mean less volatility post earnings
Throughout the quarter the Wall Street EPS consensus fell from 57c to 55c while the Estimize consensus also dropped 2c from 59c to 57c Meanwhile the Wall Street revenue consensus remained relatively flat and ended the period at 12 016B while the Estimize consensus decreased from 12 644B to 12 265B Timeliness is correlated with accuracy and downward analyst revisions going into an earnings report are often a bearish indicator
The analyst with the highest estimate confidence rating this quarter is bonefishr who projects 58c EPS and 12 537B in revenue bonefishr is ranked 515th overall among over 4 400 contributing analysts Over the past 2 years bonefishr has been more accurate than Wall Street in forecasting EPS and revenue 71 and 43 of the time respectively throughout 7 estimates Estimate confidence ratings are calculated through algorithms developed by deep quantitative research which looks at correlations between analyst track records and tendencies as they relate to future accuracy In this case bonefishr is making a bullish call and also submitted an optional analysis citing a recent study showing efficacy in the Prevenar 13 preventative pneumonia drug for the elderly
This quarter the Estimize community expects Pfizer to come in ahead of Wall Street s expectations by a considerable amount on both the top and bottom line However revenue is expected to fall by over 1 billion compared to last year and Pfizer is picking up the pace on its efforts to acquire AstraZeneca for over 100 billion For more speculation about the AstraZeneca deal and to see other merger and acquisition predicts head over to our corporate actions platform at
Get access to estimates for Pfizer published by your Buy Side and Independent analyst peers and follow the rest of earnings season by heading over to Estimize com Register for free to create your own estimates and see how you stack up to Wall Street |
T | Asian equities edge up as Japan outperforms dollar regains traction | By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO Reuters Asian stocks shook off a sluggish start and edged up on Monday with Japan outperforming on upbeat earnings while the dollar regained traction as the U S government looked likely to avoid a shutdown MSCI s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan MIAPJ0000PUS added 0 1 percent Japan s Nikkei N225 climbed 0 4 percent with high tech blue chips gaining on strong earnings T Asian shares initially took their cue from Wall Street which dipped on Friday after data showed the U S economy grew at its weakest pace in three years in the first quarter The mood brightened slightly however on news that U S congressional negotiators hammered out a bipartisan agreement on a spending package to keep the federal government funded through Sept 30 thus averting a government shutdown Pointing to a higher open for the main market later in the day S P mini futures gained about 0 1 percent ESc1 while the safe haven U S 10 year Treasury yield US10YT RR rose after three successive days of declines Overall reaction was still limited as many markets in Asia and Europe are closed for Labour Day It is hard for markets to make big moves with holidays in so many places today and people are just waiting for more information to come out said Harumi Taguchi principal economist at IHS Markit in Tokyo While U S consumer spending has almost stalled a surge in business investment and wage growth suggested activity would regain momentum as the year progresses limiting Wall Street losses Moreover strong earnings have kept the U S equity market at or near record levels The main focus of the broader markets this week will be on the United States with the Fed s May 2 3 policy meeting and the jobs report on Friday said Masahiro Ichikawa senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo While many of the indicators in the first quarter were weak the jobs data could confirm that labor market conditions continue to improve and lift the dollar and U S yields Asian markets were little fazed by China s official manufacturing survey on Sunday which showed growth in the country s factories slowed more than expected in April to a six month low As trading resumed on Monday the safe haven yen initially rose against the dollar in response to Saturday s missile test by North Korea But the dollar gradually regained traction after the knee jerk reaction to the missile test faded The greenback was up 0 1 percent at 111 620 yen edging back towards a four week peak of 111 780 scaled last week when Emmanuel Macron s victory against anti euro nationalist Marine Le Pen in the first round of France s presidential elections reduced demand for the safe haven currency The runoff vote is on May 7 The euro handed back earlier modest gains and was flat at 1 0891 The common currency had been lifted on Friday after euro zone inflation data rose more than expected and returned to the European Central Bank s target The euro was still in range of the 5 1 2 month high of 1 0951 struck early last week on relief over the first round of the French presidential elections The pound was 0 3 percent lower at 1 2907 after climbing to a seven month high of 1 2957 on Friday when traders were seen to have closed off bets against the pound ahead of Britain s long bank holiday weekend GBP The dollar index against a basket of major currencies rose 0 1 percent to 99 143 DXY The Australian and New Zealand dollars were slightly lower at 0 7483 and 0 6856 respectively In commodities crude oil prices slipped amid lingering concerns that an OPEC led production cut has failed to significantly tighten an oversupplied market O R U S crude CLc1 shed 11 cents to 49 22 a barrel heading back towards a one month low of 48 20 plumbed late last week and Brent LCOc1 was down 16 cents at 51 89 per barrel
Spot gold gave back Friday s gains as the dollar bounced and slipped 0 35 percent to 1 262 90 an ounce |
PFE | Halozyme Therapeutics PEGPH20 The Next Major Value Driver | Investment summary Halo effectWith a positive CHMP opinion received for Herceptin SC Halozyme HALO is moved a step closer to being able to reap the full commercial potential of its rHuPH20 platform which is being used to develop subcutaneous sc formulations of leading IV drugs for Roche and other partners This opportunity currently drives Halozyme s valuation but we contend that the market is ignoring certain key pipeline assets notably PEGPH20 which is in a Phase II study in pancreatic cancer rHuPH20 on its way to the marketHalozyme s recombinant human hyaluronidase rHuPH20 technology enables sc delivery of biologic drugs that can otherwise only be given by IV infusion The positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP for Herceptin trastuzumab SC for HER2 positive breast cancer one of Herceptin s two approved indications is a major event and will pave the way for its approval and commercialisation over the next one to two quarters Herceptin IV recorded sales of CHF5 9bn in 2012 of which c 36 was in Europe Halozyme will receive a c 5 royalty on sales of the sc product We believe Roche will drive physicians to adopt given the potential approval of biosimilars PEGPH20 the next major value driverA major event on the horizon is data from a 124 patient Phase II trial of Abraxane nab paclitaxel gemcitabine PEGPH20 for pancreatic cancer This study has the potential to show added clinical benefit to this new standard of care Data from a single arm Phase II study presented at ASCO 2012 showed that PEGPH20 a pegylated version of rHuPH20 given with gemcitabine produced an overall response rate of 42 rising to 67 in patients with higher levels of hyaluronan the target of rHuPH20 This compares favourably to historic data for gemcitabine which indicates an ORR in the 5 10 range The nab pac gem combination showed an ORR of 48 in a Phase I II and a 29 in the MPACT Phase III trial Valuation New data would add valueHalozyme s EV of c 820m can in our view be accounted for by its future rHuPH20 based royalty streams from partners including Roche Pfizer Baxter and ViroPharma while the value of its pipeline drugs including Hylenex PEGPH20 and HTI 501 recombinant human cathepsin L is largely ignored by the market Thus future clinical data if positive could catalyse a significant increase in value To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below |
AMD | Tuesday s Pre Market Insights AMD BBRY LULU | Advanced Micro Devices Inc NASDAQ AMD shares are up 2 60 in pre market trading to 2 37 after pricing for the semiconductor company s entire Radeon 300 series was leaked Allegedly the least expensive R7 360 2GB will retail for 107 and the most expensive R9 390X 8GB will retail for 389 The average 12 month price target between the ten top analysts recommending AMD on TipRanks is 2 84 marking a 23 upside from where the stock is currently trading
BlackBerry Ltd NASDAQ BBRY shares fell 3 36 to 9 20 in pre market trading after several Wall Street banks and financial institutions announced that they will be dropping BlackBerry contracts Corporate contracts are a sizeable and reputable part of BlackBerry s business and many fear that recent contract cancellations will have a significant impact on sales
lululemon athletica inc NASDAQ LULU shares increased 3 06 in pre market trading to 63 40 after the athletic apparel retailer posted 1Q15 earnings The company posted quarterly net revenue of 423 5 million marking a 10 year over year increase The company also provided an updated outlook expecting to post 2Q15 net revenue between 440 million and 445 million with diluted EPS between 0 31 and 0 33 Out of the ten top analysts polled by TipRanks the average 12 month price target is 67 75 marking a 10 upside from where the stock is currently being traded |
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