Brazil tumbles as Temer arrest adds to uncertainty around pension reform

Brazilian stocks fell sharply on Friday as the arrest of the country's former president, Michel Temer, sparked worries that government debate over key fiscal reforms may be delayed.

The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) dropped 3.9 percent and was headed for its worst day since Feb. 6, when it fell 4.2 percent. The Bovespa index, Brazil's benchmark index, fell about 2 percent after hitting an all-time high earlier this week.

Temer was arrested in Sao Paulo on Thursday, with prosecutors alleging he was the head of a "criminal organization" that took more than $470 million in bribes or kickbacks.

Temer already faced ongoing criminal investigations against him before leaving the presidency. However, his arrest comes as current President Jair Bolsonaro tries to push forward major changes to the country's pension system, which investors largely bet will happen.

"The key question is whether or not his arrest affects pension reform. In theory it shouldn't," Dirk Willer, head of emerging market strategy at Citigroup, said in a note. However, "the period between the unveiling of the pension reform and approval by the special house committee will be filled with much noise and headline risk. [Thursday's] news was a good example of the sort of headline risks one should expect over the next months when pension reform makes its way through congress."

Brazilian stocks surged to start the year amid hopes the Bolsonaro administration would pass key changes to the country's social security system. Brazil's generous pension system effectively lets citizens retire in their 50s. This has led to massive government debt, which has stymied consistent economic growth in Brazil.

But while investors are still betting on some sort of reform taking place, they are realizing it could be a bumpy ride. On Wednesday, Bolsonaro unveiled a military pension reform plan that would save just $265 million on average over the next 10 years. These savings are well below those proposed by the country's Economic Ministry.

But it is key for Bolsonaro's broader pension-reform efforts as lawmakers indicated they could not debate the matter until they saw the president's plans for military pensions.

Now, Temer's arrest could delay that process even further depending on how his party — which holds 34 seats in the lower house — reacts, Citi's Willer said.

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Why You Need to Change Your Facebook Password Now!

Your Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) password needs to be changed as soon as possible as the social media site has reportedly been storing the passwords of millions of users in plain text.

Source: Facebook

Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security revealed the news, noting that the business was storing these passwords on the company’s servers without any form of encryption or concealment. The announcement comes less than a month after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company planned on improving its privacy and security measures.

Facebook and other social media sites often use hashes and salts passwords to stop any cybercriminals from reading user passwords easily. However, the list of passwords discovered by Krebs were easy to read for anyone with the knowhow on how to access it.

He adds that these passwords were on a server, which was accessed millions of times by about 2,000 engineers and developers, endangering the security and privacy of Facebook’s users.

In response to this issue, Facebook VP of engineering, security and privacy Pedro Canahuati wrote in a post that the site will be informing “hundreds of millions of Facebook Lite users, tens of millions of other Facebook users, and tens of thousands of Instagram users” to inform them that their passwords were made available in the server that has them stored as plain text.

Perhaps surprisingly, the news only caused FB stock to decline about 0.5% on Friday.

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Investors should be 'kicking the tires' on these undervalued stocks

Activision Blizzard and Spotify were among the stocks Wall Street analysts recommended to clients as undervalued this week.

CNBC combed through company research to find analysts discussing buying opportunities for stocks. Other names cited as possible values include: Newell Brands, Dollar General, Marvell, and Anthem

Activision "is down nearly 50% in the past six months and we believe investors should be 'kicking the tires,' given an improving setup in late '19 and 2020," Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson said.

Last month, on the heels of the wildly successful Epic Games' 'Fortnite', Activision issued a weak forecast and announced it was cutting 8 percent of its staff. But Olson is betting on a rebound.

"Newell shares continue to fade following a disappointing Q4 earnings report on 2/15. At this point, we believe expectations have been sufficiently rebased and that investor sentiment is now 'so bad, it's actually good'," wrote Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog.

On Thursday, Newell reported weak sales and announced that CEO Michael Polk will leave the company at the end of June. Shares of Newell Brands are about unchanged over the last week to $15.33.

If Spotify shares fall leading up to Apple's March 25th event, where the iPhone is expected to unveil streaming TV and subscription news services, it could be a reason to buy, noted Rosenblatt Securities analyst Mark Zgutowicz. "Net-net, we are buyers on any weakness in front of Apple's event," Zgutowicz said.

Earlier this week, the music-streaming service filed a complaint in Europe saying Apple Music has an unfair advantage.

The stock is down 0.2 percent over the last month.

Analysts finding cheap stocks this week:

PiperJaffray- Activision Blizzard, Overweight rating

"ATVI is down nearly 50% in the past six months and we believe investors should be 'kicking the tires,' given an improving setup in late '19 and 2020... We see five reasons to do the work on ATVI, including: increasing near-term talk on FGDL & streaming, potential E3 announcements, anticipation around improving fundamentals in '20, management's re-allocation of resources towards key franchises, and valuation... Investors are in 'waitand- see' mode on Activision and we think it's likely the company set a conservative bar for '19.... A low bar for revenue & EPS outlook should enable a hardening foundation of investor confidence as the company achieves or exceeds 1H estimates... While it may still be early, with a lack of new game catalysts in '19, we encourage patient investors to consider chipping away at a position in ATVI at current levels... Maintain OW, $52 PT..."

Rosenblatt Securities- Spotify Technology, Buy rating

"In front of Apple's March 25th reveal of an exclusive content platform, the Spotify+Hulu $9.99 bundle brings more than buzzkill to the Apple party. SPOT gets better economics with retention benefits and minimal negative impact on '19E premium gross margin, while Hulu absorbs the majority of its lost $5.99 subscription revenue (both our view)... SPOT makes a smart defensive call against an anticipated attractively priced Apple music/video bundle, while Hulu makes an aggressive offensive play for sticky OTT subscriber scale... We see a net advantage to SPOT/Hulu's music/content stack vs. what we know of Apple's content slate, with the exception of potentially attractive HBO and/or Showtime bundled pricing... Net-net, we are buyers on any weakness in front of Apple's event and raise our PT from $169 to $175 on updated DCF assumptions.."

Wells Fargo- Newell Brands, Outperform rating

"NWL shares continue to fade following a disappointing Q4 earnings report on 2/15 (-10% vs. S&P +1%)... At this point, we believe expectations have been sufficiently rebased and that investor sentiment is now 'so bad, it's actually good.' Overall, we believe the market has lost sight of the underlying value in NWL's businesses given all of the moving parts, which exiting FY19 should ultimately be a simpler, faster growing company, with significant exposure to e-commerce... While mgmt's credibility is deservedly low, we think the stock can work once NWL starts executing/delivering sequential fundamental improvement (next potential catalyst is Q1)... Importantly, we have increased conviction that there's upside potential to Q1/FY19 guidance based on our detailed, bottom-up analysis of NWL's seven continuing ops businesses... As such, we raise our FY19/20 EPS ests. to $1.70/$2.15 and our price target to $22, implying just a 10.2x FY20E P/E multiple... Bottom line, we believe the risk/reward is positive & reiterate our Outperform rating..."

Oppenheimer - Dollar General, Outperform rating

"We overall view the Q4:18 results reported by DG as mixed. Comps increased 4.0%, well ahead of a Street expectation of 2.6% aided by early SNAP benefits... Two-year comp trends accelerated to +7.3% from +7.1% in Q3... However, softer than expected gross margins and above-plan expenses led to an EPS shortfall... Management also introduced FY19 EPS guidance of $6.30-$6.50, below a Street figure of $6.64. Excluding the $50M in increased investments, the guide suggests a core business consistent with our expectations... Ahead of the print, we expected a below-consensus guide and recommended investors position to buy on weakness vs. playing for a positive catalyst... We would take advantage of the pullback this morning. DG remains a top pick for us..."

Needham- Marvell Technology, Buy rating

"MRVL's F4Q19 results were in line with revised guidance, but F1Q20 guidance was below expectations... Storage and Networking are expected to decline again Q/Q in F1Q20 driven by the weak macro environment and inventory digestion by cloud customers... Reflecting improving bookings post CNY and the 5G ramp with Samsung in F2H20, MRVL believes F1Q20 will represent the revenue trough... MRVL believes it undershipped HDD end market demand in F4Q19 and will again in F1Q20, setting up a possible recovery in F2Q20. MRVL announced it is engaged with a 2nd tier-one base station OEM for a 5G design based on a custom Fusion-M, which should sample in early FY21... While we lower estimates, we maintain our $23 PT (~18x our CY20 NG EPS est.) and are buyers on weakness given MRVL's valuation and 5G growth opportunities..."

BMO- Anthem, Outperform rating

"We reiterate our Outperform rating and raise our target price to $345 (vs. prior $335) on Anthem's higher 5-year growth targets... Credibility for these targets is driven by strong recent results, high visibility on lower drug pricing, and a range of growth and cost initiatives. Further supporting this is the evident reinvigoration of Anthem under CEO Gail Boudreaux... We see a buying opportunity with ANTM stock down [last Friday] on further selling of managed care (mostly driven by fear of radical health reform, which we think is misguided and therefore will not be sustained)..."

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now

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Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ubiquiti Networks, Inc.(UBNT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  Shares of Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ:UBNT) climbed 33.4% in February, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the networking hardware company released better-than-expected quarterly results.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ:UBNT) had its hold rating reaffirmed by analysts at BMO Capital Markets.

  Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) was given a $6.00 price target by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

• [By Nicholas Rossolillo]

  Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ:UBNT) recently reported fiscal 2019 second-quarter results, and shares have been soaring ever since. Over the past three years, the stock has risen by more than 300%.

• [By Leo Sun]

  One of those rivals was Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ:UBNT), a networking equipment company that sells long-distance Wi-Fi products for service providers and enterprise customers. In 2016, Ubiquiti followed Eero into the mesh home router network with its AmpliFi wireless system, which includes a sleek box linked to mesh point antennas plugged into wall sockets.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE: NOMD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $656.43 million. AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $2.2 per share on revenue of $720.14 million. Magna International Inc. (NYSE: MGA) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.7 per share on revenue of $10.11 billion. Univar Inc. (NYSE: UNVR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $2.12 billion. Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $5.78 billion. Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE: OMI) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $2.40 billion. Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PBH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.61 per share on revenue of $255.60 million. Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $457.67 million. ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) is estimated to report quarterly loss at $0.07 per share on revenue of $691.18 million. Genesis Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: GEN) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.34 per share on revenue of $1.32 billion. Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $10.14 billion. Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.34 billion. NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ: NICE) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $332.93 million. World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.94 per share on revenue of $147.32 million. MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE: MMS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $616.04 million. Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CH
• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Ubiquiti Networks Inc (NASDAQ:UBNT)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallAug. 24, 2018, 11:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PPL Corporation(PPL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By ]

  If this is, indeed, the case, investors have a handful of high quality names at attractive prices to choose from. One that has popped up on my radar is PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).

• [By Max Byerly]

  PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.41 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.07%.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  PPL Corp  (NYSE:PPL)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 14, 2019, 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Paul Ausick]

  PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) dropped about 4.3% Wednesday to post a new 52-week low of $25.73. Shares closed at $26.88 on Tuesday and the stock’s 52-week high is $39.90. The company goes ex-dividend tomorrow.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: FMC Corporation(FMC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  FMC (NYSE: FMC) and Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Olin (NYSE: OLN) and FMC (NYSE:FMC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Federated Investors Inc. PA grew its position in FMC Corp (NYSE:FMC) by 3,429.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,624 shares during the quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in FMC were worth $5,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• [By Max Byerly]

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

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

• [By ]

  FMC Corp (FMC) : "I like the way it's bottoming and I think this level is good."

  Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment (PEI) : "I think this REIT is cheap and they can pay that dividend, so you can own it."

• [By Beth McKenna]

  FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC) is planning to separate its lithium segment from its core agricultural chemicals segment so each business can have its respective top management's full attention. This move by the Philadelphia-based specialty chemical maker will provide an opportunity for investors to invest in a pure-play lithium stock that trades on a major U.S. stock exchange.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Carter's, Inc.(CRI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  One of the things I've always tried to do with this podcast is save the best for last. It's fun to go back in time and see how things have done, especially when you have a lot of time. Let's talk about Five Stocks to Feed the Bear. Emily, here they are, alphabetically: Carter's (NYSE:CRI), Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI), IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP), MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI), and Planet Fitness. 

• [By Max Byerly]

  Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 450,812 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,306 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.96% of Carter’s worth $46,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Wall Street analysts predict that Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) will announce sales of $684.12 million for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Four analysts have issued estimates for Carter’s’ earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $680.20 million and the highest estimate coming in at $689.50 million. Carter’s posted sales of $692.12 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year-over-year growth rate of 1.2%. The firm is scheduled to report its next earnings results on Thursday, July 26th.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Gross: All right. If little baby Argersinger is going to be a snappy dresser like his dad, I've got to go back to Carter's (NYSE:CRI), CRI, the leading manufacturer of children's clothing in the U.S. under names like Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh. As I said, they're the dominant player here. They've performed well over multiple market cycles, 2.2% dividend yield, buys back a ton of stock. They're digesting the Toys R Us bankruptcy, and there are some China trade issues here, so the stock has suffered, but that makes it awfully cheap.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tarena International, Inc.(TEDU)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  Shares of Tarena International Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:TEDU) plummeted 22.1% on Tuesday after the China-based professional education services provider announced disappointing first-quarter 2018 results. 

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Tarena International (NASDAQ: TEDU) and TAL Education (NYSE:TAL) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Tarena International Inc (NASDAQ:TEDU) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.21.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Teekay Corporation(TK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Shares of Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) are down 9.2% as of 11:40 a.m EDT after the maritime oil operations holding company -- parent of Teekay LNG Partners, Teekay Tankers, and Teekay Offshore -- reported a big loss for its fiscal first quarter 2018. At one point today, Teekay stock had fallen as much as 15.7%.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Teekay (NYSE: TK) and Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $120.51 billion. J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is expected to report quarterly loss at $0.2 per share on revenue of $2.63 billion. Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.77 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion. The Children's Place, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.21 per share on revenue of $444.14 million. Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) is expected to report quarterly loss at $1.35 per share on revenue of $193.67 million. Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) is estimated to report quarterly loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $296.76 million. KEMET Corporation (NYSE: KEM) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $306.72 million. Vascular Biogenics Ltd. (NASDAQ: VBLT) is estimated to report a quarterly loss at $0.21 per share. Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE: TOO) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.04 per share on revenue of $272.04 million. Albireo Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALBO) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.77 per share on revenue of $31.32 million.

   

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

  Follow Money Morning on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bravo Brio Restaurant Group Inc.(BBRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Noble Roman’s (NASDAQ: BBRG) and Bravo Brio Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:BBRG) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media coverage about Bravo Brio Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:BBRG) has been trending positive on Friday, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern scores the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Bravo Brio Restaurant Group earned a media sentiment score of 0.46 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the restaurant operator an impact score of 48.5554072096128 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Media coverage about Bravo Brio Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:BBRG) has trended positive on Saturday, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm identifies positive and negative news coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Bravo Brio Restaurant Group earned a daily sentiment score of 0.39 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the restaurant operator an impact score of 45.847415840944 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Edwards Lifesciences Corporation(EW)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ClariVest Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,204 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 24,100 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $46,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By ]

  Edwards Lifesciences (EW) : "They have the best devices. That stock is a buy."

  Align Technology (ALGN) : "The stock is breaking down. Let's wait a few days then pull the trigger."

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW). Sanford C. Bernstein issued a market perform rating on the stock.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Edwards Lifesciences (EW)

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

• [By Todd Campbell]

  It had also led to Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW), a medical device company, signing on to develop ZFP-based therapeutics for cardiovascular disease.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: “Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Edwards Lifesciences Corp (EW)” was first reported by Ticker Report and is the sole property of of Ticker Report. If you are viewing this report on another site, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright and trademark law. The legal version of this report can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4188932/sentry-investment-management-llc-decreases-position-in-edwards-lifesciences-corp-ew.html.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lennar Corporation(LEN.B)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  ValuEngine lowered shares of Lennar Co. Class B (NYSE:LEN.B) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Maximus, Inc.(MMS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)Q3 2018 Earnings Conference CallAug. 9, 2018, 9:00 a.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Maximus (NYSE:MMS) had its price target decreased by Canaccord Genuity from $65.00 to $64.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday. Canaccord Genuity currently has a hold rating on the health services provider’s stock.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Maximus (NYSE:MMS) updated its FY18 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.30-3.40 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus EPS estimate of $3.49. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.4-2.44 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.50 billion.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Maximus Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,197 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 5,365 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Maximus were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Truckcoin (TRK) Reaches One Day Trading Volume of $0.00

Truckcoin (CURRENCY:TRK) traded flat against the US dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on March 14th. Over the last seven days, Truckcoin has traded flat against the US dollar. One Truckcoin coin can now be bought for approximately $0.0006 or 0.00000016 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Truckcoin has a total market capitalization of $139,640.00 and $0.00 worth of Truckcoin was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours.

Here’s how similar cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:

Get Truckcoin alerts: Dash (DASH) traded down 1.4% against the dollar and now trades at $89.92 or 0.02295976 BTC. Enigma (ENG) traded up 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.44 or 0.00011304 BTC. CPChain (CPC) traded 3.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0201 or 0.00000512 BTC. I/O Coin (IOC) traded 0.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.17 or 0.00004458 BTC. Castle (CSTL) traded up 4,376.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.17 or 0.00004389 BTC. Xriba (XRA) traded up 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0233 or 0.00000596 BTC. WeAreSatoshi (WSX) traded up 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0876 or 0.00002235 BTC. Happycoin (HPC) traded 4.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0781 or 0.00001995 BTC. BitSend (BSD) traded up 4.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0502 or 0.00001279 BTC. EuropeCoin (ERC) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.11 or 0.00001755 BTC.

About Truckcoin

TRK is a PoW/PoS coin that uses the X11 hashing algorithm. Its launch date was July 29th, 2014. Truckcoin’s total supply is 236,400,723 coins. Truckcoin’s official Twitter account is @truckcoin_v2 and its Facebook page is accessible here. The official website for Truckcoin is truckcoin.net.

Truckcoin Coin Trading

Truckcoin can be traded on these cryptocurrency exchanges: Cryptopia. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Truckcoin directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Truckcoin should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, Gemini or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy Truckcoin using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Top Heal Care Stocks For 2019

tags:STAA,PETM,ADAP,

Markets are digesting news that Bitcoin futures hit an all-time high on Wednesday, according to data provided by U.S. exchanges CME and CBOE.

Roughly $670 million in contracts were exchanged on the markets. CME said that roughly 11,000 contracts (worth 56,100 BTC) were traded on April 25. Futures trading is up 44% in April compared to trading in March.

Here is a recap of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap as of 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Cryptocurrency Market Cap Price Change (24h) Bitcoin (BTC) $156,772,914,656 $9,220.77 +3.22% Ethereum (ETH) $66,530,143,084 $671.44 +5.72% Ripple (XRP) $33,211,912,986 $0.84 +2.59% Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $23,761,413,354 $1,389.79 +3.84% EOS $14,159,677,774 $17.25 +16.43%

Now here's a closer look at today's Money Morning cryptocurrency insight, the most important cryptocurrency updates you need to know…

Top Heal Care Stocks For 2019: STAAR Surgical Company(STAA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Three big healthcare winners this week were STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC), and Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTLA). Each of these stocks jumped more than 24% over the last few days. Are STAAR Surgical, Tenet, and Portola smart picks for investors after the stocks' huge gains?

• [By Keith Speights]

  Shares of STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) were up 21.5% as of 11:25 a.m. EDT on Thursday. The big jump occurred after the maker of implantable lenses announced its second-quarter earnings results on Wednesday evening.

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Staar Surgical Co  (NASDAQ:STAA)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 21, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET

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

  Operator

• [By Chris Lange]

  STAAR Surgical Co. (NASDAQ: STAA) shares made a handy gain on Friday after the firm announced a key approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• [By Max Byerly]

  Shares of STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.75.

Top Heal Care Stocks For 2019: PetSmart Inc(PETM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  An issue of PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) bonds fell 1.6% as a percentage of their face value during trading on Wednesday. The high-yield debt issue has a 8.875% coupon and is set to mature on June 1, 2025. The debt is now trading at $49.19 and was trading at $55.47 one week ago. Price changes in a company’s bonds in credit markets often predict parallel changes in its stock price.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  An issue of PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) debt rose 1% against its face value during trading on Monday. The high-yield debt issue has a 8.875% coupon and is set to mature on June 1, 2025. The debt is now trading at $67.50 and was trading at $66.25 last week. Price moves in a company’s debt in credit markets often anticipate parallel moves in its share price.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  An issue of PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) bonds fell 1.5% against their face value during trading on Tuesday. The high-yield issue of debt has a 7.125% coupon and is set to mature on March 15, 2023. The debt is now trading at $71.75 and was trading at $74.97 one week ago. Price changes in a company’s bonds in credit markets often predict parallel changes in its share price.

Top Heal Care Stocks For 2019: Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc(ADAP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Adaptimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADAP) was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

• [By ]

  Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) : "If you've speculated on this one, you've won. Let's move on."

  Icahn Enterprises (IEP) : "I don't really know what they own so I can't recommend it."

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Adaptimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADAP) was downgraded by stock analysts at TheStreet from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

• [By ]

  Cramer was bearish on Chesapeake Energy (CHK) , Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) , Icahn Enterprises (IEP) , Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) , Quad/Graphics (QUAD) , Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) and L Brands (LB) .

Why Getting Social Security's Maximum Benefit Is Almost Impossible

Many retirees have a hard time making ends meet, and the income that Social Security provides is essential for their well-being. Although the maximum Social Security benefit for 2019 is $3,770 per month -- an attractive amount for nearly any retiree -- most people fall well short of getting that much in their Social Security checks.

The reason has to do with the many hoops you have to jump through to qualify for the top benefit. Moreover, even if you think you've done everything you could, there's one thing that can still stand in your way.

What you have to do to earn Social Security's maximum benefit

If you want the most you can get from Social Security, here's what you have to do:

Work at least 35 years. Earn at least the maximum wage base on which Social Security payroll taxes get collected in those 35 years. Wait to claim your benefits until age 70.

If you do that, you can reasonably expect to get as much in Social Security as possible. Yet to pull every single penny out of the program, it turns out that there's an additional requirement: Your timing has to have been right.

Image source: Getty Images.

When you work also matters

For a long time, I believed that as long as you met the three requirements above, you'd be entitled to the absolute maximum Social Security benefit. But when a Motley Fool member named Jim discussed his situation with me, it revealed that there's an additional element involved.

Jim's situation was ideal for maximizing Social Security benefits: He was turning 70 this year and had earned maximum benefits in more than 35 years. Yet when he went to the Social Security Administration (SSA), it told him that his monthly benefit would be about $120 less than the maximum. That confirmed the numbers he had run using the SSA online benefits calculator, but it bothered him because he didn't understand why he wouldn't get the maximum.

The secret lies in the way that Social Security calculates its benefits. The starting point is your earnings history, but in order to make sure that early years in your career are treated roughly equally with later years, the SSA uses an indexing method to come up with the current-dollar value of earnings early in your career. So, for instance, if you're 62 this year and you earned $30,000 in 1999, then for purposes of determining your average indexed monthly earnings, that $30,000 would be increased by just over 65% to account for inflation over that time period. You'd therefore be credited with almost $50,000 in adjusted earnings.

Work until the bitter end

What most people don't realize is that the SSA doesn't index all of their earnings. Indexing stops two years before you first reach eligibility, which for most people is age 60. Therefore, if you claim benefits at age 70, any earnings you have between 60 and 69 aren't adjusted for inflation.

Because the wage-base limit increases over time, not working those final years will take your average indexed monthly earnings below the theoretical maximum. For instance, for Jim, not working in 2017 and 2018 took what would've been years with average indexed monthly earnings of $10,600 and $10,700 and forced him to replace them with years that had monthly earnings below $10,000 after indexing. That in turn will reduce his benefits slightly.

Don't sweat it

To be fair, though, even if you don't earn the absolute maximum, you won't typically see a huge cut in your benefits. Under the benefit calculations, you'll lose only $15 in monthly benefits for every $100 in average indexed monthly earnings you have below the theoretical maximum. That's why in Jim's case, the reduction amounted to just 3% to 4% of his overall benefit.

Nevertheless, it's useful to understand why Social Security's maximum benefit might be out of your reach. Even if you don't intend to work until the bitter end and therefore don't get the absolute maximum, waiting until 70 to claim for Social Security is a good way to boost the size of your benefit check substantially.

CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $4.46 Million Stake in Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SAND)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSEAMERICAN:SAND) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 962,780 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 283,504 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Sandstorm Gold were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 6.6% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,988,972 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $11,148,000 after acquiring an additional 185,038 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 8.0% during the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,923,100 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $10,903,000 after acquiring an additional 216,123 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 46.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,521,223 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $9,405,000 after acquiring an additional 803,505 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,720,079 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,929,000 after acquiring an additional 84,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,041,000.

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SAND opened at $5.46 on Friday. Sandstorm Gold Ltd has a 12-month low of $3.47 and a 12-month high of $5.89.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:SAND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01. The firm had revenue of $17.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.00 million.

SAND has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sandstorm Gold in a report on Monday, January 21st. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sandstorm Gold in a report on Thursday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sandstorm Gold in a report on Thursday, February 14th. Raymond James upped their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $5.75 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded Sandstorm Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Sandstorm Gold has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $5.75.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WARNING: This piece was posted by Ticker Report and is owned by of Ticker Report. If you are reading this piece on another website, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of United States & international copyright and trademark legislation. The original version of this piece can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/4205868/cibc-asset-management-inc-has-4-46-million-stake-in-sandstorm-gold-ltd-sand.html.

Sandstorm Gold Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold streaming and royalty company. It has a portfolio of 174 streams and royalties in Canada, the United States, Australia, Honduras, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Turkey, French Guiana, South Africa, Paraguay, Botswana, Sweden, Mongolia, Mexico, and Cote d'Ivoire.

Read More: Stop Order

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SAND? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSEAMERICAN:SAND).

$571.30 Million in Sales Expected for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts expect Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) to report sales of $571.30 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have provided estimates for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $577.40 million and the lowest is $565.20 million. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile posted sales of $574.80 million during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a negative year over year growth rate of 0.6%. The firm is expected to announce its next earnings report on Wednesday, March 13th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile will report full year sales of $2.34 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $2.27 billion to $2.40 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the business will report sales of $2.60 billion, with estimates ranging from $2.10 billion to $2.86 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile.

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Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Zacks Investment Research lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 16th. Citigroup lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $53.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank set a $50.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.17.

Shares of NYSE SQM traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.70. The stock had a trading volume of 880,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,366. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has a twelve month low of $36.57 and a twelve month high of $58.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.23.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,438,000 after buying an additional 1,098,410 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile during the third quarter worth about $89,882,000. Standard Life Aberdeen plc boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc now owns 1,927,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,008,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,449,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,510,000 after buying an additional 154,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 166.6% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,218,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,724,000 after buying an additional 761,708 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.84% of the company’s stock.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine and its derivatives, lithium and its derivatives, industrial chemicals, potassium, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty mixes, and other specialty fertilizers for crops, such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers under the Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, and Allganic brands.

Featured Article: How to calculate compound interest

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM)

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Corenergy Infrastructure Trust Inc (CORR) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $21.62 Million

Brokerages forecast that Corenergy Infrastructure Trust Inc (NYSE:CORR) will post sales of $21.62 million for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have provided estimates for Corenergy Infrastructure Trust’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $20.56 million to $22.68 million. Corenergy Infrastructure Trust posted sales of $21.55 million during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year over year growth rate of 0.3%. The business is scheduled to issue its next earnings report on Tuesday, May 7th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Corenergy Infrastructure Trust will report full year sales of $87.08 million for the current year, with estimates ranging from $81.53 million to $92.63 million. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will post sales of $81.76 million. Zacks’ sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow Corenergy Infrastructure Trust.

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Several brokerages have commented on CORR. Zacks Investment Research lowered Corenergy Infrastructure Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 9th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Corenergy Infrastructure Trust from $40.00 to $3.71 and set an “average” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call.

Shares of NYSE:CORR opened at $36.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 4.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Corenergy Infrastructure Trust has a 52-week low of $32.52 and a 52-week high of $39.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.30 million, a PE ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.58.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 14th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 13th.

In other news, insider Jeffrey E. Fulmer purchased 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.69 per share, for a total transaction of $27,752.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,865 shares in the company, valued at $168,766.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David J. Schulte purchased 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.64 per share, for a total transaction of $25,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 23,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,252.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY increased its position in shares of Corenergy Infrastructure Trust by 372.4% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 4,412 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corenergy Infrastructure Trust in the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corenergy Infrastructure Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $253,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Corenergy Infrastructure Trust in the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Corenergy Infrastructure Trust in the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Institutional investors own 62.97% of the company’s stock.

Corenergy Infrastructure Trust Company Profile

CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc (NYSE: CORR, CORRPrA), is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns essential energy assets, such as pipelines, storage terminals, and transmission and distribution assets. We receive long-term contracted revenue from operators of our assets, primarily under triple-net participating leases.

Further Reading: What is Cost of Capital?

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

Workday Earnings: 3 Must-See Quotes

Powered by strong growth in subscription revenue and momentum with financial customers, Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY), a human capital management software company, reported a strong fourth quarter last week.

The results were solid all around. "We were pleased to close Q4 with strong momentum across our key subscription revenue drivers, while delivering solid operating margins and record cash flows," CFO Robynne Sisco said in the company's fourth-quarter earnings release. 

While headline figures from the release are notable -- particularly its 35.4% year-over-year rise in revenue and its 46% jump in non-GAAP earnings per share -- there was more information worth investors' attention in the company's quarterly earnings call. Here are three quotes from the call.

Image source: Workday.

1. Workday's financial offering is winning customers

One common theme in Workday's recent earnings calls has been the success of the company's applications for financial companies. This continued in Q4, with the company adding 79 core financial management customers, four of which were Fortune 500 companies.

But Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri went further during the earnings call, highlighting how the company's financial management product is morphing into a key tool for customer acquisition: "One interesting new trend is that we are beginning to see large enterprise companies now starting their finance and HR journeys with Workday Financial Management. This is a new development, and something we view as a positive indication of the growing awareness of our Financial Management applications and the high levels of satisfaction our finance customers have experienced in the past several years."

2. The company is investing heavily

When asked about how management thinks its operating margin will develop over time, Sisco said the company still has a long-term target of a non-GAAP operating margin of 25%. But she also noted that the company continues to invest aggressively: "[W]e are still heavily investing, not only in Financials but in some of our other products such as Adaptive and bringing them into the Workday fold, Prism Analytics, Workday Cloud Platform, and building out a lot of our industry modules as well, such as inventory for healthcare and supply chain. So we're very much in investment mode..."

Sisco pointed to Workday's mature human capital management business, which already has a 25% non-GAAP operating margin, as evidence of where management believes it can take its consolidated business over the long haul. "[B]ut the proof of the HR business right now really gives us a lot of confidence that as we move toward those long-term targets," she said, "they are very achievable in the long run."

3. Broad-based growth drivers

Workday's momentum is supported by a broad base of growth drivers. The company's 30% year-over-year increase in revenue backlog during the quarter, for instance, was "driven by strong net new bookings, success with add-on sales into our customer base, and strong renewals, with net retention once again over 100%," Sisco said. In addition, she noted that the company continued to view its ongoing global expansion as a key growth lever, "with total revenue outside the U.S. up 41% to $184 million in Q4, representing 23% of total revenue."

Elon Musk Tweets Tesla Model Y Reveal on March 14

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter again on Sunday, with another big pronouncement. This one is expected to be good news for TSLA investors — and it’s not expected to draw the ire of the SEC.

Source: Tesla

According to the Tesla CEO, the company’s eagerly anticipated crossover SUV will be officially revealed on March 14. Mark that date in your calendar if you’re interested in the Tesla Model Y.

Tesla stock, which had been pounded on Friday, was up nearly 1% in pre-market trading.

Tesla Model Y to be Unveiled March 14

Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday afternoon to expect a “Model Y unveil event on March 14 at LA Design Studio.”

This isn’t just going to be a quick video or slideshow to drum up buyer interest and distract investors from issues like layoffs at the company. Musk says that detailed pricing and specs will be revealed at the event, and that rides in a Tesla Model Y will be available.

He did provide some high-level information on Sunday, tweeting that the Model Y will about 10% larger than the Model 3 and will cost “about 10% more,” and that it would have slightly less range for the same battery capacity. 

The Model Y will be the fifth electric vehicle released by TSLA.

Car Sales Have Been Slipping, But Consumers Love SUVs

U.S. car sales have dropped from the record highs hit in 2016, but there has also been a shift in consumer preferences. In particular, buyers are increasingly snapping up SUVs and trucks over cars. Ford (NYSE:F) and other automakers have been phasing out traditional passenger car sales in favor of SUVs and pickup trucks to reflect that demand. Ford’s overall U.S. sales were down 3.9% last October, but its SUV sales were up 6.7%.

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Rivian seems that it will beat TSLA to the market with an all-electric pickup truck, but the Tesla Model Y will mean the company has two SUVs in its lineup. And the Model Y will be smaller and less expensive than the Model X. Both are important factors. With TSLA’s buyer tax credits winding down, price sensitivity is an issue the company is now facing. And globally, compact SUVs have been the big sellers in the category, followed by mid-size.

Will the Model Y Boost Tesla?

The Tesla Model Y is supposed to share roughly three-quarters of its components with the Model 3, which should keep costs down, and at a 10% premium the Model Y should be relatively affordable — at least more so than the Model X SUV, which currently starts at $88,000. 

Musk left himself considerable squirm room in the pricing, though. By saying the Model Y will cost “about 10% more” than a Model 3, he never said whether he was talking about the Model 3’s target $35,000 starting price — or the $60,000 that’s been the Model 3’s average selling price. That is a considerable range and the actual price is likely to have a big impact on the new SUV’s mass-market success.

The China Factor

According to The Verge, the Model Y will initially be assembled at Tesla’s Reno Gigafactory, but there are plans to eventually produce the vehicle at the factory TLSA is building in China.

That could prove to be a winning move for Tesla. China is now the world’s largest auto market, and the demand for a vehicle like the Tesla Model Y is growing fast. In 2017, demand for electric cars in China grew 82%, hitting triple digits in 2018. At the same time, sales of crossovers and SUVs grew 13%.

With the Model Y set ride both those consumer demand waves, the Chinese market could prove to be a big boost for Tesla. Assuming the current trade war with the U.S. doesn’t escalate and derail the company’s plans…

Will the Tesla Model Y boost the company’s fortunes (and TSLA stock)? 

Given the direction consumer preferences are trending, the Tesla Model Y is going to be a very important vehicle for the company. It’s likely to be critical to its success in China as well. The elephant in the room is the actual price, but we’ll have to wait until March 14 to learn that.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforeme

Taxing Social Security Benefits Raises a Shocking Amount of Money

Social Security is undoubtedly a financial pillar for our nation's retirees and long-term disabled. Each month, approximately 63 million benefit checks head out to eligible beneficiaries, and more than a third of these folks will use this income to pull themselves above the federal poverty level.

But Social Security is also a program that tends to get under the skin of retirees and working Americans alike for a variety of reasons.

Image source: Getty Images.

For example, the 2018 report from the Social Security Board of Trustees forecast that the program was facing a $13.2 trillion funding deficit between 2034 and 2092. It predicted that soon-to-begin net cash outflows, caused by a slew of demographic changes, would whittle away at Social Security's nearly $2.9 trillion in asset reserves over a 16-year period, ultimately resulting in the complete exhaustion of its excess capital by 2034. Should this excess capital disappear, Social Security would be in no danger of going bankrupt, but an across-the-board benefit cut of up to 21% may be needed to sustain payouts through 2092.

Today's working Americans and retirees are clearly frustrated with the lack of effort by lawmakers to resolve Social Security's imminent cash shortfall, despite knowing about said shortfall for no fewer than 33 years. But at the top of the list, you'd struggle to find a sorer subject among existing beneficiaries than the tax imposed on Social Security benefits over certain income thresholds.

The taxation of Social Security benefits is a serious moneymaker

In 1983, with the Social Security program facing a complete exhaustion of its asset reserves by the end of the year if nothing was done, the Reagan administration passed the last major bipartisan overhaul of the program. The Amendments of 1983 led to the gradual increase of the payroll tax and the full retirement age, and it introduced the taxation of benefits, which officially began in 1984.

Under the taxation of benefits, single taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income, plus one-half of their Social Security benefits, surpassed $25,000 (or $32,000 for couples filing jointly) would have up to half of their benefits exposed to ordinary federal income tax. In 1993, under the Clinton administration, a second taxation tier was added that allowed up to 85% of an individuals' or couples' benefits to be taxed. The thresholds here were $34,000 for a single filer and $44,000 for a couple filing jointly.

Image source: Getty Images.

When these taxes were introduced in 1983 and 1993, they were only expected to affect about 10% to 20% of all households with seniors. However, neither of these thresholds has ever been adjusted for inflation, meaning that as time has passed, more and more beneficiaries are now exposed to this tax. A recently released analysis from The Senior Citizens League finds that 51% of senior households today report paying tax on their Social Security benefits. 

Perhaps the most staggering fact of all is just how important the taxation of benefits has become to overall revenue collection. Between 1984 and 2017, $474.2 billion, in aggregate, was collected by the taxation of benefits. But over the next decade (defined as 2018 through 2027 in the trustees' report), the taxation of benefits is expected to generate $561.2 billion. In fact, by 2027, this tax could make up close to 6% of all revenue Social Security collects annually, according to the trustees' intermediate-cost model. Just a decade ago, it made up only 2.7% of all revenue collected.

Lawmakers have a problem on their hands

This certainly creates a bit of a dilemma for lawmakers.

On one hand, the public, and especially senior citizens, absolutely detest this tax. Removing the taxation of benefits would provide an immediate boost in monthly income for upper- and middle-income households. It would also remove the perception of double taxation on Social Security benefits, which only happens if you also live in one of the 13 states that tax Social Security benefits, and you earn over your state's income thresholds for the taxation of benefits.

Image source: Getty Images.

On the other hand, as unpopular as the taxation of benefits has become, it's generating revenue that the program simply couldn't do without. In 2018, the program's asset reserves increased by just $3.2 billion, which is the smallest net cash surplus since 1983. Without the taxation of benefits, Social Security would have seen its asset reserves decline by more than $34 billion last year. Likewise, ending this tax would mean saying goodbye to $561 billion in future estimated tax revenue over the next decade. This would almost certainly move the asset reserve depletion date forward from 2034.

Some folks have proposed a compromise, whereby the income thresholds for both tax tiers are updated to account for inflation over the past 35 years and 25 years, respectively. But even this isn't a feasible alternative. Updating these thresholds would cost the program billions of dollars annually and could, presumably, expedite the aforementioned asset reserve depletion date.

In other words, going with the public's opinion would temporarily increase the take-home pay for certain beneficiaries, but it would ultimately worsen the long-term outlook for Social Security. There's simply no easy solution here to a complex and growing problem.

AT&T Stock is Cheap — But For Several Very Good Reasons

AT&T (NYSE:T) continues to trade sideways as the share price hit a six-year low in December. Even a recent bounce still leaves T stock about flat to where it traded back in mid-2012.

Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr

Admittedly, shareholders have benefited from healthy dividends,. But in a bull market, T stock has badly underperformed. In the past two years, the S&P 500 index has increased 17.4% while AT&T stock lost 27.3%.

And I’m still not sure why that is supposed to change going forward. T stock is cheap, and fundamentally I can see a case for upside heading into 2019. But there’s a core problem here: AT&T at this point is a collection of relatively unattractive businesses.

And unless the communications behemoth somehow is greater than the sum of its parts — which I continue to doubt — that problem should keep a lid on the AT&T stock price.

A Struggling Business

On its face, AT&T stock looks cheap. But it’s worth taking a step back and considering the business, not just the stock. Aside from Time Warner, revenue growth this year likely will be flat to down.

The Mobility segment will generate a bit less than 40% of that revenue. Wireless is a brutal business, one I’ve in the past called a “circular firing squad“. Competition is intense — and based largely on pricing.

In mobile, AT&T isn’t performing all that well, either. Net adds are well below those of T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), and fellow giant Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ). T-Mobile revenue rose 6% last year and Verizon grew sales nearly 5% in its wireless segment. AT&T? Sales rose just 0.4%.

Business Wireline should generate 13-14% of total sales. That business is in outright decline, with revenue declining more than 8% in 2018 after a 5%+ drop the year before.

The Entertainment Group — DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW, and U-verse — should drive around a quarter of 2019 revenue. Its sales dropped 7% in 2018; EBITDA (as defined in the AT&T 10-K) fell 9.6%.

The remainder of revenue will come from the WarnerMedia business, Xandr, and AT&T’s international operations. WarnerMedia did have a strong Q4, with revenue up 6%. But that’s in a quarter where the studio side of the business had a monster — and record — quarter, due to the strength of releases like A Star is Born and Aquaman.

Home Box Office (HBO) remains a valuable asset, but it’s worth remembering the operation drives just ~4% of pro forma revenue. Xandr is even smaller, created by the admittedly intriguing acquisition of AppNexus. The Latin America operations, too, are in the range of 4% of sales.

Overall, few of the businesses are growing — and several are in decline. That seems to be an obvious problem for AT&T stock.

Should the AT&T Stock Price Be This Cheap?

A closer look at the individual businesses also shows why AT&T stock should be reasonably cheap. Most stocks in similar industries are trading at rather low multiples themselves.

Verizon trades at about 12x 2019 EPS estimates, and T-Mobile about 19x. Both multiples admittedly are much higher than that of AT&T, but those two companies again are outperforming AT&T in terms of growth and have much less debt on the balance sheet.

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Wireline competitors, meanwhile, are struggling badly. Windstream (NASDAQ:WIN) is blowing up. CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL) just halved its dividend and trades at 10x forward EPS.

DIRECTV rival Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) trades at 13x earnings, and is down 60% from late 2014 highs. That’s despite the company’s accumulation of unused spectrum, which likely still has some value.

For WarnerMedia peers, valuations look about the same. AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX), even with a recent rally, trades at under 9x earnings. CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA), and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) all are at single-digit multiples.

On a consolidated basis, AT&T does look cheaper on a price-to-earnings metric. But considering the debt and the clear risk of declines at DIRECTV, U-verse, Turner networks, and the Wireline business (combined, close to half of revenue), it probably should be.

The Cases For and Against T Stock

To be fair, it is possible that even with these concerns, T stock simply is too cheap. I’ve long been a skeptic, but looking at 2019 guidance I do see some room for cautious optimism.

First, AT&T should make progress paying down debt this year. Free cash flow is guided to $26 billion; after roughly $14 billion in dividend payments, the remainder will go to reducing borrowings. With some help from asset sales — notably the company’s stake in Hulu, which likely will be sold to Disney (NYSE:DIS) — the company expects to get debt at year-end to 2.5x adjusted EBITDA. That’s a relatively reasonable figure, particularly given the solid base of revenue and profits from the wireless business (even if that segment isn’t growing).

Second, AT&T has the potential to cross-sell and drive value from subscribers across its businesses. A new streaming service, backed by WarnerMedia content, should arrive later this year. The existing base of subscribers – whether for wireless or the Entertainment Group – provides a ready-made group to which to market that product.

But there are worries here, too. WarnerMedia content doesn’t compare to that of Disney, which is rolling out its own streaming service. It certainly comes nowhere close to that of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson acknowledged on the Q4 conference call that the company wasn’t trying to take on either rival. And DIRECTV NOW clearly has lost out, which raises the question of why the WarnerMedia streaming service will perform much better.

As for cross-selling, that hasn’t really worked so far. While it was the rationale used for the DIRECTV acquisition, that now looks close to disastrous. 5G perhaps helps the cause — Stephenson has cited the potential for wireless to displace broadband — but price competition likely offsets some of that tailwind, and it’s far from certain that even 5G can manage rising bandwidths.

At the end of the day, it’s still difficult to make a compelling qualitative case for T stock. Large chunks of the business are in decline. The key growth initiative, by management’s own admission, is going to be a second-tier streaming offering in a crowded marketplace. Strategic efforts haven’t been great, with DIRECTV a miss and Time Warner acquired just as cord-cutting trends accelerate.

In the context, a cheap AT&T stock price isn’t enough and it hasn’t been for almost seven years. I remain skeptical that this time is any different.

As of this writing, Vince Martin has no positions in any sec

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:HQY,BWFG,JTA,CIEN,CYS,

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) has produced long-term success that most of its retail peers can only wish they had. Yet even though the company's warehouse retail business model has proven tougher than expected to emulate, Costco still has had to deal with the negative impact from online competition and a change in the way people like to shop. Costco will release its fiscal second-quarter financial report on Thursday, March 2, and investors want to see continued gains in sales and earnings that will prove that the warehouse retailer's business is still healthy.

Let's take an early look at Costco to see what investors are expecting to see and what you should look out for in its quarterly report.

Image source: Costco.

Key stats on Costco

Expected EPS Growth

9.7%

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: HealthEquity, Inc.(HQY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Dupont Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Healthequity Inc (NASDAQ:HQY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 4,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  Few companies can match the returns put up by HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) in recent years. Shares of the innovative provider of health savings accounts (HSAs) are up 450% since its 2014 IPO. That return crushes the S&P 500.

• [By Brian Feroldi, Timothy Green, and Danny Vena]

  Knowing that, we asked a team of Motley Fool contributors to highlight a stock that they think is a better bet than bitcoin from here, and they came up with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), and HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY). 

• [By Max Byerly]

  Here are some of the news headlines that may have impacted Accern’s analysis:

  Get Healthequity alerts: HealthEquity Inc. (HQY) VP Darcy G. Mott Cut 10000 Shares (bharatapress.com) Investors Love This Stock?: HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) (bitcoinpriceupdate.review) Insider Selling: Healthequity Inc (HQY) Director Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock (americanbankingnews.com) Notable ETF Inflow Detected – IJT, STMP, HQY, TREX (nasdaq.com) You Need to Watch this stock? HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY) (connectinginvestor.com)

  Several brokerages have issued reports on HQY. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $61.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. SunTrust Banks boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Healthequity from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.(BWFG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Shares of Bankwell Financial Group Inc (NASDAQ:BWFG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.33.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Bankwell Financial Gr (BWFG)

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Research analysts at Boenning Scattergood started coverage on shares of Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) in a report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Bankwell Financial Group Inc (NASDAQ:BWFG) EVP Laura Waitz sold 1,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.30, for a total value of $39,594.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ: BWFG) and Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Here are some of the media headlines that may have effected Accern Sentiment Analysis’s analysis:

  Get Bankwell Financial Group alerts: Should Income Investors Buy Bankwell Financial Group Inc (NASDAQ:BWFG) Before Its Ex-Dividend? (finance.yahoo.com) Zacks: Analysts Expect Bankwell Financial Group Inc (BWFG) Will Post Quarterly Sales of $15.20 Million (americanbankingnews.com) Bankwell Financial Group Inc (BWFG) Expected to Post Earnings of $0.61 Per Share (americanbankingnews.com) Garnett joins Bankwell Financial Group Board of Directors (darientimes.com)

  NASDAQ:BWFG traded up $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $31.46. 5,600 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,861. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.99 million, a PE ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.44. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52 week low of $30.11 and a 52 week high of $37.95.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Total Return Strategy Fund(JTA)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its holdings in Nuveen Tax Advantaged Total Re (NYSE:JTA) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,813 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 10,055 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.08% of Nuveen Tax Advantaged Total Re worth $150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CIENA Corporation(CIEN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.07), Bloomberg Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of $730.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.38 million. Ciena had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 27.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Clearside Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSD) shares fell 17.8 percent to $11.95 in pre-market trading. Clearside Biomedical disclosed that its Phase 2 trial of CLS-TA met primary and secondary endpoints met in 6-month trial. CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) fell 15.8 percent to $62.00 in pre-market trading after the company disclosed that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on IND for CTX001 sickle cell disease treatment. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) fell 10 percent to $2.89 in pre-market trading after the company posted a loss for the first quarter and announced plans to close 72 non-profitable stores. Urban One, Inc. (NASDAQ: UONE) fell 9 percent to $3.01 in pre-market trading after rising 78.38 percent on Wednesday. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) shares fell 8.6 percent to $88.05 in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and lowered its FY2018 earnings guidance. Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) fell 8.5 percent to $22.02 in the pre-market trading session after the company posted downbeat Q1 earnings and announced plans to buy Packet Design. Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) shares fell 6.6 percent to $90.11 in pre-market trading after reporting weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter. Vericel Corp (NASDAQ: VCEL) shares fell 6.5 percent to $13.05 in pre-market trading following announcement of 3.75 million share common stock offering. Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX) fell 5.7 percent to $26.19 in pre-market trading. Box reported upbeat results for its first quarter. The company forecast Q2 revenue of $146 million to $147 million. Co-Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) fell 5.7 percent to $3.15 in pre-market trading after declining 5.65 percent on Wednesday. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE: CHMI) shares fell 5.2 percent to $18.21 in pre-market trading after reporting a 2
• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.23 per share on revenue of $5.56 billion. Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) is projected to report quarterly loss at $0.02 per share on revenue of $466.25 million. Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.4 per share on revenue of $6.20 billion. Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.46 per share on revenue of $8.13 billion. Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE: BURL) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.09 per share on revenue of $1.49 billion. Ciena Corporation (NYSE: CIEN) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.3 per share on revenue of $726.56 million. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $806.17 million. Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) is estimated to report quarterly loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $276.27 bmillion. Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI) is projected to post quarterly earnings at $0.52 per share on revenue of $682.68 million. Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $92.08 million. Perry Ellis International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PERY) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $232.30 million. Kirkland's, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) is estimated to report quarterly loss at $0.09 per share on revenue of $140.83 million. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $90.20 million. J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE: JILL) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $160.50 million. Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK) is expected to report quarterly loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $89.35 million.
• [By Chris Lange]

  Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) reacted very favorably to earnings this week, as it turns out that analysts and investors seem like they just can’t get enough of Ciena, given the upgrades and target hikes that were seen. The massive trading volume on the day after the earnings report with the strong gains indicated that it’s much more than just analysts who see clear skies ahead for Ciena.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CYS Investments, Inc.(CYS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX) shares gained 86.76 percent to close at $11.00 on Thursday. Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CRK) shares climbed 47.06 percent to close at $7.00 after the company disclosed a deal with Arkoma Drilling L.P. and Williston Drilling, L.P. to buy oil & gas properties in North Dakota. Comstock announced withdrawal of tender offers for outstanding secured notes. Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: CDAY) gained 41.86 percent to close at $31.21. MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE: HZO) shares rose 26.5 percent to close at $22.20 as the company posted upbeat Q2 results and raised its FY18 outlook. Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited (NYSE: CCM) jumped 24.92 percent to close at $4.06. Mattersight Corporation (NASDAQ: MATR) shares climbed 23.26 percent to close at $2.65 after the company agreed to be purchased by NICE Ltd. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) rose 24.44 percent to close at $422.50 as the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Wednesday. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT) gained 17.75 percent to close at $18.64 following upbeat Q1 earnings. PCM, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCMI) rose 16.59 percent to close at $12.30 following Q1 results. Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYME) rose 16.06 percent to close at $15.25. Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) shares climbed 14.5 percent to close at $121.42 as the company posted reported Q1 beat And raised FY18 outlook. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) shares gained 13.7 percent to close at $11.04 as the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM) rose 13.21 percent to close at $3.00 after the company disclosed a positive outcome of the interim analysis of STRIDE-1 Phase 3 trial of AXS-05 in treatment resistant depression. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) jumped 13.06 percent to close at $257.40 following upbeat Q1 profit. BioTelemetry,
• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Mortgage real estate investment trust CYS Investments (NYSE:CYS) announced today that it had agreed to be acquired by fellow mortgage REIT Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO).

• [By Logan Wallace]

  CYS INVESTMENTS/SH SH (NYSE:CYS) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, June 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, July 11th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 21st.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ValuEngine cut shares of CYS Investments (NYSE:CYS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Comstock Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CRK) shares shot up 52 percent to $7.235 after the company disclosed a deal with Arkoma Drilling L.P. and Williston Drilling, L.P. to buy oil & gas properties in North Dakota. Comstock announced withdrawal of tender offers for outstanding secured notes. MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE: HZO) shares gained 24.2 percent to $21.80 as the company posted upbeat Q2 results and raised its FY18 outlook. Mattersight Corporation (NASDAQ: MATR) shares rose 22 percent to $2.625 after the company agreed to be purchased by NICE Ltd. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) jumped 21.3 percent to $411.871 as the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Wednesday. Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM) rose 17 percent to $3.10 after the company disclosed a positive outcome of the interim analysis of STRIDE-1 Phase 3 trial of AXS-05 in treatment resistant depression. Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCTT) rose 15.9 percent to $18.34 following upbeat Q1 earnings. PCM, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCMI) gained 15.6 percent to $12.20 following Q1 results. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) surged 14.4 percent to $260.3901 following upbeat Q1 profit. Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited (NYSE: CCM) gained 13.8 percent to $3.70. Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) rose 13.5 percent to $29.815 after reporting strong Q1 results. BioTelemetry, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAT) rose 13.5 percent to $38.30 as the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) shares rose 13.1 percent to $10.985 as the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter. SJW Group (NYSE: SJW) shares gained 11.8 percent to $63.59 following Q1 results. California Water Service Group made an offer for SJW. Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) climbed 9.8 percent to $278.40 following Q1 results. CYS Investments, Inc. (NYSE: CYS)