A 100%-Accurate Indicator Is Flashing: Ignore It at Your Own Peril

Very few mainstream investors realize this, but there��s an indicator that has correctly predicted a recession every time it��s gone off going back to the 1960s �� seven times in total.

And right now, this indicator is flashing bright yellow.

Based on history, if it turns red we will see a painful economic contraction by next year.

So today, I want to give you a plain-English explanation of this critical measure called the yield curve.

In general terms, a yield curve shows how various bonds�� interest rates compare to each other.

But when most people talk about the yield curve, they are specifically referring to the rates offered by Treasuries with different maturities.

To get an idea of how this works, picture a continuum with very short-term Treasuries at one end and 30-year bonds at the other. In between is everything else, such as two-year notes and 10-year notes.

As you��d imagine, the standard shape has higher rates the farther you go out on the curve.

After all, the longer an investor locks up money, the more risk he��s taking�� and the higher his annual rate of compensation should be.

Here��s a pretty standard pattern from five years ago, during the summer of 2013��

As shown, investors were getting almost nothing for holding very short-term bills and substantially more the farther out on the yield curve they went.

This is an economic green light �� the market��s way of saying, ��Everything looks pretty good. We expect decent economic growth, stable interest rates, and moderate inflation.��

The standard difference between a three-month note and a 20-year Treasury bond has historically been about two percentage points, so the curve above was actually a bit steeper than average �� with 20-year bonds offering 50% more of a spread than they usually do.

But the basic idea was that the bond market saw blue skies ahead�� and we now know it was correct about that.

Of course, here��s what the same yield curve looked like back in 2008��

As you can see, the overall shape is much flatter.

In fact, investors who tied their money up for just one month in 2008 were getting a 3.31% yield�� while investors who tied their money up for 30 YEARS were getting just 4.35%.

That��s a meager one percentage point in additional interest for locking up money three decades longer!

This shape amounts to market uncertainty about the future, which makes perfect sense when you think about what was happening during the financial crisis.

And we have a similarly flat yield curve right now.

You can get official rates for every point on the curve right here via the Treasury��s website.

By doing so, you��d see that��

A three-month bill was recently yielding 2.00%��

A 3-year note was paying out 2.76%��

A 10-year bond was paying only slightly more at 2.96%��

A 20-year bond was almost the same at 3.03%��

And locking up your money for a full 30 years would get 3.09%.

So we��re talking about a total spread of less than .4% between a 3-year bill and a 20-year bond, which you now know is a fraction of the normal two percentage point spread.

That means we��re very much in ��yellow�� territory right now.

Should shorter-term rates go higher than longer-term ones, we��d be seeing a situation that led to a recession seven out of seven times since the 1960s.

The last time this happened, in November of 2006, here��s what it looked like��

Depicted above, it��s clear investors could actually get HIGHER interest rates by buying shorter-term bonds.

This is known as an ��inverted yield curve,�� and it means the market expects turbulence ahead.

In many respects, it actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Why?

Just think about the U.S. financial system for a minute.

The general way things work is that banks and other lenders borrow at shorter-term rates and loan that money back out at longer-term rates, pocketing the difference.

If everyone is making more money by holding cash rather than lending it, the engine for economic growth starts to sputter!

That��s a very simplified explanation, of course.

And we could still see the curve start heading back to a more normal shape�� especially given Donald Trump��s recent calls for the Fed to slow its roll on future rate hikes.

However, this is something that bears watching over the next few months because it has big implications for almost all the investments in your portfolio.

To a richer life,

Nilus Mattive
Editor, Rich Life Roadmap

US Oil Rig Count Down 5, Crude Price Set to Post Small Weekly Loss

In the week ending July 20, 2018, the number of land rigs drilling for oil in the United States totaled 858, down by five compared to the previous week and up by 94 compared with a total of 764 a year ago. Including 187 other land rigs drilling for natural gas and one listed as miscellaneous, there are a total of 1,046 working rigs in the country, eight fewer than a week ago and up by 96 year over year. The data come from the latest Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count released on Friday afternoon.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for August delivery settled at $69.46 a barrel on Thursday and traded up about 1.1% Friday afternoon at around $70.25 shortly before regular trading closed. Brent crude for September delivery traded at $72.86 a barrel, up about 0.4%.

The natural gas rig count fell by two to 187 this week. The count for natural gas rigs is now up by just one year over year. Natural gas for August delivery traded up less than 0.1%, at around $2.77 per million BTUs, up a penny compared to last Friday.

Crude oil prices have nearly fully recovered from a $2 a barrel drop in the first two days of the week. They might have recovered more than all the drop had President Trump not complained on Thursday about the effect of the Fed’s rate hike policy, which immediately caused the dollar to fall and oil prices to hold onto the gains of the previous two days. It promises to be a bumpy ride for crude oil in a narrow price range around $70 for the next several days.

Among the states, Baker Hughes reports that New Mexico added four rigs while Ohio and Wyoming added one each. Texas lost five rigs this week, Oklahoma lost three, Louisiana dropped two and three states �� Alaska, North Dakota and West Virginia �� lost one each.

In the Permian Basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the rig count now stands at 476, unchanged compared with the previous week’s count. The Eagle Ford Basin in south Texas has 81 rigs in operation, unchanged for a third straight week, and the Williston Basin (Bakken) in North Dakota and Montana now has 56 working rigs, down one for the week.

Producers removed eight horizontal rigs this week, and the count fell to 922, while offshore drillers reported a total of 17, two less compared with the previous week’s count.

ALSO READ: How Trump Is Trying to Lower Crude Oil Prices

Mahanagar Gas Q1 PAT may dip 9.9% YoY to Rs. 112 cr: HDFC

HDFC has come out with its first quarter (April-June�� 18) earnings estimates for the Materials sector. The brokerage house expects Mahanagar Gas to report net profit at Rs. 112 crore down 9.9% year-on-year (up 7% quarter-on-quarter).

Net Sales are expected to increase by 11.9 percent Y-o-Y (up 1.2 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 594 crore, according to HDFC.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to fall by 7.9 percent Y-o-Y (up 6.2 percent Q-o-Q) to Rs. 187 crore.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More First Published on Jul 19, 2018 06:19 pm

SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF (SPAB) Holdings Lifted by Creative Planning

Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:SPAB) by 66.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 967,412 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 385,739 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning owned about 0.91% of SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF worth $26,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARGI Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,109,000. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,455,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new stake in SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,324,000. Pure Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,296,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,019,000 after buying an additional 325,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,023,000.

Get SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF alerts:

NYSEARCA:SPAB traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.86. The stock had a trading volume of 5,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,416. SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF has a one year low of $27.57 and a one year high of $29.13.

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 3rd were given a $0.0689 dividend. This is an increase from SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF’s previous monthly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%.

Recommended Story: What do investors mean by earnings per share?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SPAB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:SPAB).

Curecoin (CURE) Trading 3.3% Lower Over Last 7 Days

Curecoin (CURRENCY:CURE) traded up 2% against the US dollar during the twenty-four hour period ending at 19:00 PM E.T. on July 9th. Over the last seven days, Curecoin has traded down 3.3% against the US dollar. One Curecoin coin can currently be bought for about $0.17 or 0.00002553 BTC on exchanges including Livecoin and Bittrex. Curecoin has a market cap of $4.06 million and $2,059.00 worth of Curecoin was traded on exchanges in the last day.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed over the last day:

Get Curecoin alerts: Litecoin (LTC) traded 2.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $81.03 or 0.01214810 BTC. Verge (XVG) traded 4.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0248 or 0.00000371 BTC. Bytom (BTM) traded down 7.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.35 or 0.00005279 BTC. Dogecoin (DOGE) traded 0.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0026 or 0.00000039 BTC. CyberMiles (CMT) traded 8.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.17 or 0.00002613 BTC. Polymath (POLY) traded down 6.8% against the dollar and now trades at $0.38 or 0.00005704 BTC. Syscoin (SYS) traded 0.1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.17 or 0.00002475 BTC. Matrix AI Network (MAN) traded 7.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.53 or 0.00007888 BTC. GameCredits (GAME) traded 3.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.55 or 0.00008182 BTC. BridgeCoin (BCO) traded 0.5% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.27 or 0.00018995 BTC.

Curecoin Coin Profile

Curecoin (CURE) is a proof-of-work (PoW) coin that uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm. It was first traded on November 11th, 2014. Curecoin’s total supply is 23,882,504 coins. Curecoin’s official Twitter account is @CureCoin_Team and its Facebook page is accessible here. Curecoin’s official website is curecoin.net. The Reddit community for Curecoin is /r/curecoin and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

Buying and Selling Curecoin

Curecoin can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Bittrex and Livecoin. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Curecoin directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Curecoin should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Gemini, GDAX or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy Curecoin using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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2 of Our Favorite REITs Just Flashed a Buy Signal

With the global trade war dragging down the markets, savvy investors aren't standing by waiting for a turnaround. They're seeking out the most promising sectors to move their money into immediately.

And we've uncovered two of the hottest investments in a breakout sector…

It may sound surprising, but real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the healthcare sector will offer explosive returns as the world's population ages.

The population of those aged 60 and older is expected to double from 962 million in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050, according to the United Nations.

"An aging population will lead to more money spent on doctors, nursing homes, and fun things like dialysis and colonoscopies. This is a trend that can't be exhausted or stopped by some new invention," Money Morning Special Situation Strategist Tim Melvin said on June 14.

Here's how this trend will create massive profits for healthcare REITs, especially the two we have for you today…

Why the Aging Population Will Boost REIT Prices

Back in 1919, the average U.S. life expectancy for a white male was 56 years, and the average for a white female was 58.

In 2011, that jumped to 76 for white males and 81 for white females, according to InfoPlease.com.

People are living longer than ever before, and more seniors will need to access elder-focused facilities to help them enjoy their golden years.

That includes wellness centers, medical offices, and senior-living communities.

A "Blueprint to Financial Freedom": This guy used this secret to become a millionaire. Now he's sharing it live on camera �� and you could learn how to set up a series of $822… $1,190… $2,830 payouts every single week.

And now the timing is perfect. Today, we have two REITs that just hit�perfect�Money Morning�Stock VQScores��.

The VQScore is our proprietary stock analysis tool, and it's your key to unlocking huge profit potential.

Here are the top two REITs we've found, with dividend yields as high as 8.32%…

REITs to Buy, No. 2: Ventas Inc.

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) owns a globally diversified real estate portfolio of inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing homes, and senior housing communities.

And the amount of properties Ventas owns as of Q1 is staggering:

730 senior housing communities 361 medical office buildings 29 life science & innovation centers 37 inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term acute care facilities 9 health systems 17 skilled nursing homes 3 international hospitals

With such a diversified portfolio, the company is ready for the senior boom.

Ventas pays a dividend of $3.16 (6.66% yield), and Morningstar Equity Research expects the VTR stock price to climb to $65 per share.

From today's (July 9) opening price of $59.08, that's a potential profit of 10.02%.

Remember, that 10% potential climb is just in the next year, and even bigger gains could be on the way for long-term shareholders as the global population keeps aging.

And while VTR has a perfect VQScore, we're also really excited about this next company that pays a monster dividend over 8%…

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

$308.15 Million in Sales Expected for Ingevity Corp (NGVT) This Quarter

Equities analysts expect Ingevity Corp (NYSE:NGVT) to report sales of $308.15 million for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have made estimates for Ingevity’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $312.00 million and the lowest estimate coming in at $304.30 million. Ingevity reported sales of $260.30 million during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 18.4%. The firm is expected to issue its next earnings report after the market closes on Wednesday, July 25th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Ingevity will report full year sales of $1.11 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $1.10 billion to $1.12 billion. For the next year, analysts expect that the firm will post sales of $1.24 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $1.19 billion to $1.30 billion. Zacks’ sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Ingevity.

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Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.16. Ingevity had a return on equity of 48.09% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm had revenue of $235.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of research firms have recently commented on NGVT. KeyCorp raised their price target on Ingevity from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ingevity in a report on Wednesday, May 9th. TheStreet raised Ingevity from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, April 30th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Ingevity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 15th. Finally, ValuEngine raised Ingevity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Ingevity currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NGVT. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ingevity in the first quarter worth $147,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Ingevity by 1,735.5% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ingevity in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ingevity in the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in shares of Ingevity in the first quarter worth $355,000. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Ingevity stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.03. The company had a trading volume of 248,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,210. Ingevity has a one year low of $55.07 and a one year high of $85.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.94.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells specialty chemicals and carbon materials in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Performance Materials and Performance Chemicals. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells wood-based chemically activated carbon products primarily for gasoline vapor emission control systems.

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

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

Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:ATHX,ALDR,XRX,

Small cap REIT Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE: SRG) has elevated short interest of 38.21% according to Highshortinterest.com. Seritage Growth Properties is a publicly-traded, self-administered and self-managed REIT with 230 wholly-owned properties and 23 joint venture properties totaling approximately 40 million square feet of space across 49 states. The Company��s mission is to create and own revitalized shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations that provide enriched experiences for consumers and local communities, and create long-term value for our shareholders.

However and pursuant to a master lease, 175 of the Company's wholly-owned properties are leased to Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD) and are operated under either the Sears or Kmart brand. The master lease provides the Company with the right to recapture certain space from Sears at each property for retenanting or redevelopment purposes. At 83 properties, third-party tenants under direct leases occupy a portion of leasable space alongside Sears and Kmart, and 37 properties are leased only to third parties. The Company also owns 50% interests in 28 properties through JV investments with GGP Inc., Simon Property Group, Inc., and The Macerich Company. A substantial majority of the space at the Company's JV properties is also leased to Sears Holdings under master lease agreements that provide for similar recapture rights as the master lease governing the Company's wholly-owned properties.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: Athersys, Inc.(ATHX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Media stories about Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) have been trending somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern ranks the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Athersys earned a news sentiment score of 0.20 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the biopharmaceutical company an impact score of 44.8155037155159 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Shares of Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHX) dropped 10.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $2.01 and last traded at $2.06. Approximately 2,886,300 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 278% from the average daily volume of 763,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.31.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.(ALDR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR) was upgraded by BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $28.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

• [By Cory Renauer]

  Migraines affect perhaps a billion people the world over, and it's been three decades since they had a new preventative treatment option. That means there could be enough demand to drive�blockbuster sales for a new class of treatments making their way to consumers right now, one of which could come from�little Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALDR).

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  BidaskClub cut shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

  A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Alder Biopharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. They set a neutral rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 28th. Cowen set a $23.00 price target on Alder Biopharmaceuticals and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Leerink Swann reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals in a research report on Sunday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Alder Biopharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Alder Biopharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $26.33.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Mizuho reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR) in a report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage currently has a $29.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  Shares of Alder Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALDR), a clinical-stage biotech focused on migraines, rose as much as 14% in afternoon trading on Friday. The jump was in response to the news that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA) is scrapping part of a late-stage study of a potential rival to Alder's lead compound eptinezumab. Alder's stock has since cooled off, but was still up about 6% as of 3:58 p.m. EDT.

Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2019: Xerox Corporation(XRX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Xerox (XRX) late Sunday terminated its merger with Fujifilm at the same time that it reached a deal to add five Icahn-backed directors onto its board and replace its controversial CEO. It marks a major victory for the insurgent investors at the document technology company's gate.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) has been in deep trouble for years. It did not make the train traveling toward the digital storage and sharing of documents and corporate data. According to rumors in The Wall Street Journal and other media, two large shareholders have begun to pressure the Xerox board to sell the company, which may be the only way Xerox has a viable future.

• [By ]

  A New York Judge late Friday issued an order temporarily blocking Xerox Corp.'s (XRX) plan to merge with Fujifilm. At the same time, the judge gave the document technology company's third-largest shareholder permission to move ahead with a change-of-control proxy contest to take over Xerox's board.

• [By ]

  Prior to agreeing to a blockbuster deal with Fujifilm, Xerox Corp. (XRX) received an inquiry from HP Inc. (HPQ) , according to people familiar with the situation, though no formal bid was ever launched.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) reversed course and said its CEO would stay after a battle that�cost him his job. According to CNBC:

  Xerox Corp said on Thursday its current board and management team, which included Chief Executive Jeff Jacobson, will stay, after a settlement agreement it had reached with dissenting shareholders to oust them expired.

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:BGFV,SIFI,PVH,CENX,GNE,

A month ago, Tesla��s closing stock price peaked at $383.45, and last week the stock closed below $330.

Tesla Inc. Powerpacks and inverters stand at the Southern California Edison Co. Mira Loma energy storage system facility in Ontario, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 1, 2017. The Mira Loma substation houses nearly 400 Tesla Powerpack units, in an effort to operate to state regulations on producing clean energy electricity. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Apparently, investors are beginning to catch on to the fact that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a severe case of a behavioral condition known as ��the planning fallacy.�� People who suffer from the planning fallacy are serial offenders when it comes to projects coming in over budget, late, and with fewer features than promised. The New York Times reported that Telsa's main problematic issues pertain to a slower timetable than expected for the introduction of the Model 3, along with problems that relate to the manufacture of its battery packs.

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation(BGFV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Those competitors would Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) and Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), owner of Fred Meyer stores, that have stopped selling assault-style weapons or making sales to people under 21 years of age. Stores that continue to sell all kinds of guns include Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (NASDAQ: BGFV) and Cabela’s, a sporting goods store that was acquired last year by privately held Bass Pro Shops.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Here are some of the news articles that may have impacted Accern’s rankings:

  Get Big 5 Sporting Goods alerts: Why Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV) Could Shock the Market Soon (zacks.com) Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) Cut to Sell at ValuEngine (americanbankingnews.com) It’s Time To Sell Big 5 Sporting Goods (seekingalpha.com) Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp Stock [FallsFell] as Big Money Exit, Sentiment at 0.82 (thecasualsmart.com) A Look at Some Alternative Metrics For Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NasdaqGS:BGFV) (derbynewsjournal.com)

  Several analysts have weighed in on BGFV shares. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Big 5 Sporting Goods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 13th. ValuEngine raised shares of Big 5 Sporting Goods from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.08.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Big 5 Sporting Goods Co. (NASDAQ:BGFV) by 5,069.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,559 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,258 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of Big 5 Sporting Goods worth $112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: SI Financial Group Inc.(SIFI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  There are 30 banks that qualify as systemically important financial institutions (SIFI), according to the Financial Stability Board’s most recent list. Half have seen their stocks fall at least 20 percent from the most recent peaks, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Notably, no large U.S.-based banks make the list.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  News articles about SI Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIFI) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern reports. Accern identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. SI Financial Group earned a media sentiment score of 0.03 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news stories about the savings and loans company an impact score of 47.0536892575283 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Press coverage about SI Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIFI) has trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. SI Financial Group earned a news sentiment score of 0.02 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news stories about the savings and loans company an impact score of 45.140703535879 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the immediate future.

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: PVH Corp.(PVH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Perhaps seeing the names of these companies begins to spark some memories. In short, clothing retailer PVH (NYSE: PVH) and beverage company Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) were taking heat over the rhetoric of a possible "Border Tax" -- a tax on goods made overseas and imported and sold in the United States.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) by 60.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,078 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in PVH were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By ]

  In the mid-level, Boss said that Urban Outfitters (URBN) is recovering, along with Kohl's Stores (KSS) . He also liked PVH (PVH) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) .

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

  Wall Street expects Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) to report quarterly earnings at $1.4 per share on revenue of $6.20 billion before the opening bell. Dollar General shares rose 0.13 percent to $96.65 in after-hours trading. Analysts expect Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) to post quarterly earnings at $1.67 per share on revenue of $31.51 billion after the closing bell. Costco shares rose 0.46 percent to $200.55 in after-hours trading. Crispr Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: CRSP) disclosed that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on IND for CTX001 sickle cell disease treatment. Crispr Therapeutics shares dropped 14.39 percent to $63.00 in the after-hours trading session. Before the markets open, Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.46 per share on revenue of $8.13 billion. Tech Data shares gained 1.52 percent to close at $82.40 on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) to have earned $1.23 per share on revenue of $5.56 billion in the latest quarter. Dollar Tree will release earnings before the markets open. Dollar Tree shares gained 0.66 percent to $96.99 in after-hours trading. PVH Corp (NYSE: PVH) reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter and raised its earnings guidance for the year. PVH shares rose 0.37 percent to close at $155.50 on Wednesday.

  Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Research analysts at Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of PVH (NYSE:PVH) in a report released on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the textile maker’s stock.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it would press ahead with 25% tariffs on roughly $50 billion in Chinese goods. As U.S. Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross prepares to head to Beijing to discuss trade this week, the Trump administration is demanding that China address ongoing theft of U.S. intellectual property. Ahead of Friday's jobs report, Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP) reported that private jobs increased by 178,000 during May. That figure was actually 12,000 behind what the markets were anticipating. Job growth appears to be slowing down as the firm also revised its jobs figure for April downward, from 204,000 new positions to 163,000. Three Stocks to Watch Today: KORS, HP, KMI Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.�(NYSE: KORS) stock was off 3.2% in pre-market hours after the company reported earnings before the bell. The luxury retailer reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.63, a figure that topped Wall Street expectations of $0.60. The firm also beat revenue expectations and reported an increase in same-store sales. However, the firm's earnings forecast for the year ahead came in lower than expectations, a factor that pushed its stock lower on Wednesday morning. Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE: HP) were up slightly after the company raised its full-year outlook and topped Wall Street earnings expectations on Tuesday. The company cited stronger demand in desktops and notebooks for its financial performance. The firm matched EPS expectations of $0.48. However, revenue came in at $14.0 billion, a figure that easily beat forecasts of $13.59. The Canadian government announced plans to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. (NYSE: KML) for $3.5 billion. The Canadian government said that the deal was the only way to ensure that the long-awaited project could proceed. The pipeline runs from the Alberta oil sands to a port all the way in British Columbia along the Pacific Ocean. The pipeline is designed to give Canadian crude grea

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Century Aluminum Company(CENX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  You can see why Century Aluminum (Nasdaq: CENX) commended the President for "acting swiftly and boldly to save the American aluminum industry." The company intends to ramp up operations at its smelter in Hawesville, Kentucky, putting 300 people back to work. In Illinois, US Steel (NYSE: X) is restarting a blast furnace that will employ at least 500 new workers.

• [By D.R. Barton, Jr.]

  According to industry leaders, including Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq: CENX) CEO Michael Bless, many of those jobs will be in jeopardy with the new taxes. And then there's the reciprocal tariff reactions from other nations that would definitely hit the billions of dollars' worth of U.S. agricultural exports with further jobs in jeopardy.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) was last seen up 16 cents at $14.97, but its 52-week range is $12.94 to $24.77. Its shares have a consensus analyst target of $22.80, and this traded at nearly $18 at the start of June.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares dipped 47.8 percent to $4.60. Check-Cap priced its upsized underwritten offering of public units at $5.50 per unit. VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ: VVPR) shares fell 41.5 percent to $2.57. Universal Electronics Inc. (NASDAQ: UEIC) dropped 35.1 percent to $29.50 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results. Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited (NASDAQ: CLWT) dropped 34.8 percent to $3.75 after climbing 155.56 percent on Thursday. Integrated Media Technology Limited (NASDAQ: IMTE) fell 25.2 percent to $24.01 after surging 46.29 percent on Thursday. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) dropped 22.5 percent to $45.73 after the company reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter and lowered its profit outlook for the year. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc (NYSE: AMN) shares fell 19.6 percent to $52.075 following Q1 earnings. Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVM) shares declined 18.1 percent to $5.20. Adverum Biotech disclosed that its CEO Amber Salzman is stepping down. Newater Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEWA) dropped 17.2 percent to $12.83. Basic Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: BAS) fell 17.2 percent to $13.65 following Q1 results. Xperi Corporation (NASDAQ: XPER) declined 15.8 percent to $19.40 after announcing Q1 results. Sharing Economy International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEII) shares fell 15.1 percent to $3.649 after climbing 22.16 percent on Thursday. Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: PFMT) dropped 14.2 percent to $2.65. Gogo Inc. (NASDAQ: GOGO) shares fell 13.2 percent to $8.32 after the company reported Q1 results and disclosed that it is withdrawing its FY18 outlook for adjusted EBITDA, airborne cash capex, airborne equipment inventory purchases and free cash flow. Technical Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: TCCO) dropped 12.2 percent to $5.05. Web.com Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WEB) fell 9.7 percent

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2019: Genie Energy Ltd.(GNE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  On Tuesday, the utilities shares surged 0.69 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Just Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: JE), up 4 percent, and Genie Energy Ltd. (NYSE: GNE) up 3 percent.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) was upgraded by TheStreet from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report issued on Monday.

  Shares of Genie Energy stock opened at $5.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $125.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 168.67 and a beta of 1.59. Genie Energy has a 12-month low of $5.06 and a 12-month high of $5.11.

Tata Power gains 1% on commissioning 100 MW solar plant in Andhra Pradesh

Shares of Tata Power gained 1 percent intraday Tuesday as company's subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy commissioned 100 MW solar capacity in Anthapuramu solar park, Andhra Pradesh.

With this, the overall operating renewable capacity of Tata Power Renewable Energy now stands at 2,215 MW in India.

Praveer Sinha, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Power said, " Tata Power is focused to constantly proliferate the group��s renewable energy portfolio and we plan to add around 1000 MW renewable energy capacity to our portfolio every year, scaling it to 45-50 percent in the next five years, largely through organic growth.��

The company has organically added 159 MW wind & solar capacity in FY17 along with the acquisition of Welspun Renewables Energy last year.

Annual General Meeting of the company will be held on July 27, 2018.

At 12:02 hrs Tata Power Company was quoting at Rs 72.45, up Rs 0.45, or 0.63 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil First Published on Jul 3, 2018 12:14 pm

Seres Therapeutics Inc (MCRB) CEO Roger Pomerantz Sells 26,492 Shares of Stock

Seres Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MCRB) CEO Roger Pomerantz sold 26,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.33, for a total value of $247,170.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 297,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,778,585.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Roger Pomerantz also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Seres Therapeutics alerts: On Friday, June 22nd, Roger Pomerantz sold 40,057 shares of Seres Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.36, for a total value of $374,933.52. On Wednesday, May 9th, Roger Pomerantz sold 233 shares of Seres Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total value of $2,097.00.

Seres Therapeutics stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.51. 597,401 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 177,517. Seres Therapeutics Inc has a 12-month low of $6.65 and a 12-month high of $17.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $367.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.30 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 3.60 and a quick ratio of 3.60.

Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.00 million. Seres Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 150.44% and a negative net margin of 277.79%. equities research analysts anticipate that Seres Therapeutics Inc will post -2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCRB. BidaskClub upgraded Seres Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. ValuEngine upgraded Seres Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut Seres Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Seres Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.89.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Seres Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Seres Therapeutics by 107.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 29,183 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 15,097 shares in the last quarter. A.R.T. Advisors LLC raised its position in Seres Therapeutics by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. A.R.T. Advisors LLC now owns 45,952 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 26,909 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Seres Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $358,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Seres Therapeutics by 153.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 35,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. 79.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Seres Therapeutics

Seres Therapeutics, Inc, a microbiome therapeutics platform company, engages in developing biological drugs designed to restore health by repairing the function of a dysbiotic microbiome. Its lead product candidate is SER-109, a bacterial spore ecology, which is in Phase III clinical study to treat multiply recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

China's Equity Market Is About to Score a Rare and Timely Win

For only the third time since 2016, China’s domestic stocks are on track for a monthly gain that outpaces those listed offshore.

While the margin’s narrow, it’s a small win for mainland shares that bodes well for their big debut on MSCI Inc.’s global benchmarks this week. The Shanghai Composite Index is up 1.9 percent in May, on track to halt a three-month losing streak, while the MSCI China Index has gained 1.6 percent.

Onshore stocks have been perennial laggards, struggling to recover from a boom and bust that shook investor confidence in the country’s $7.6 trillion equity market three years ago. With international money about to trickle into A shares, the rebound in May stands out at a time when emerging markets all over the world are selling off.

“It comes at a convenient time because of the scrutiny being given to the A share market by international investors," said Howard Wang, who oversees JPMorgan Asset Management’s Greater China fund in Hong Kong. It caught that tailwind just when it needed it.”

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To be sure, gains in Shanghai don’t tend to last. Just last week, what looked like a bullish start for the onshore gauge had unraveled by Wednesday, ending with its first weekly loss in five. The whipsawing shows just how much sentiment onshore is vulnerable to any shift in language on global trade, as well as policy changes elsewhere that can hit an entire sector as huge as oil.

From June 1, MSCI will feature distiller Kweichow Moutai Co., brokerage Guosen Securities Co. and more than 200 other locally listed Chinese companies in its benchmark equity gauges. While the weighting of the shares will initially be tiny relative to the size of the market, the index provider said last week that this will increase faster than expected.

Read more on why China’s MSCI inclusion matters

At less than 12 times projected earnings, the Shanghai Composite is about 7 percent cheaper than the MSCI China, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The discount is near its widest since 2014, a gap which Morgan Stanley strategists say will close as China’s capital markets open up, as long as trade concerns subside.

They see a 10 percent gain for A shares by June 2019, based on a 4,200 target for the CSI 300 Index, compared with the 1.9 percent decline they see for the MSCI China, according to a May 13 note.

“If and when investors do see some of their concerns alleviated, A shares’ relative valuation versus the offshore market is reasonable,” Laura Wang, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, said by phone from Hong Kong. “The A-share recovery is a fragile one and trade tensions remain a key risk. It’s still not the end of the situation at this point.”

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Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018

tags:JWN,TBI,BWLD,MED,ISRG,

In case you haven't noticed, there has been a great deal of strength in the stock market during the past month. But the rebound isn��t coming from the market leaders of the past several years. The high-flying growth stocks, especially in the tech sector, and the petroleum and resource stocks that once enjoyed great popularity have let many people down in recent months.

See Also: 8 Great Dividend Stocks for Retirees

What is holding up well are the mundane stocks that many consider too boring to own, such as food, utilities, and other consumer staples that represent the needs rather than the wants of the population. These are just the type of stocks that we have always highlighted in relation to dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs), a form of investing that was created out of the strength of well-known consumer brands companies like Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive and Kimberly-Clark, along with diversified industrials like 3M Company, Boeing and Raytheon. Even in the oil sector, the size and resources of Exxon Mobil make it stand out in sharp contrast to the master limited partnerships (MLPs) that have been decimated.

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Lange]

  The S&P 500 stock posting the largest daily percentage loss ahead of the close Monday was Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) which traded down about 2% at $51.92. The stock��s 52-week range is $37.79 to $54.00. Volume was 2.3 million compared to the daily average volume of 2.0 million.

• [By ]

  Cramer and the AAP team are sharing a positive research note on Norstrom (JWN) , and their analysis. Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS. 

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  This week brings a string of retail results with reports from Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) on Wednesday morning and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) after market close on Thursday. Next week, big-box retailer Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Inc. (NYSE: LOW) both report before market open on Wednesday, May 23. For a look at what else is going on across markets, check out today’s market update if you have time.

• [By Leo Sun]

  Nordstrom's (NYSE:JWN) shares tumbled 11% to a year-to-date low on May 18 after the�high-end retailer reported its first quarter earnings. That drop was surprising, since the company beat expectations on the top and bottom lines.

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A long term performance chart shows Dave & Busters Entertainment�tripling in value�before falling back while�small cap upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurant owner�RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: RICK) began taking off in 2016 and small cap�Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is being acquired by Arby��s Restaurant Group:

• [By Steve Symington]

  That's not to say it was a quiet day for every stock on the market. With earnings season ramping up, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) served as an exercise in contrast as investors reacted to their respective quarterly reports.

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) and Medifast (NYSE:MED) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

• [By Lisa Levin]

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 25 percent to $124.60 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares jumped 29.86 percent to close at $2.87 on Friday. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares gained 28.87 percent to close at $8.75 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Mexco Energy Corporation (NYSE: MXC) gained 27.02 percent to close at $5.4744. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) climbed 26 percent to close at $23.94. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 25.64 percent to close at $42.44 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.19 percent to close at $8.50 after reporting Q2 results. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares gained 22.45 percent to close at $31.58 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) gained 22.31 percent to close at $6.25 after reporting Q1 results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares jumped 22.27 percent to close at $121.46 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (NASDAQ: JRSH) gained 20.86 percent to close at $8.46. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 19.83 percent to close at $6.89 after reporting strong quarterly results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 18.01 percent to close at $55.95 on Friday after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 17.73 percent to close at $21.25 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT) rose 17.41 percent to close at $2.36. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares gained 16.78 percent to close at $12.25 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares rose 14.23 percent to close at $63.40 following Q1 result
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r

Top 10 Growth Stocks For 2018: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In the healthcare world, one of those has to be the impressive quarterly report from Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG). The company increased its revenue by 25%, and accelerated its sales of the da Vinci robotic surgical systems that made it famous. But it's not just the expensive hardware that is allowing it to prosper -- it's that every machine needs a steady supply of the disposable instruments and accessories used during its procedures. The Fools consider the recent numbers, the outlook, and the investment thesis for Intuitive Surgical stock. But in the, say, anti-healthcare space, cigarette slinger�Philip Morris International�(NYSE:PM) took a big hit as demand slackened in major foreign markets. Sales of its e-cig devices are also not growing the way management had hoped.

• [By Chris Hill]

  But there was more upbeat news elsewhere, with No. 3 airline United Continental�(NYSE:UAL) beating on earnings and freight rail titan CSX�(NASDAQ:CSX) delivering record first-quarter numbers. Also on the rapid growth train: Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG), whose da Vinci systems are selling at an impressive rate. And speaking of sales of tech products, the guys close out the episode by explaining why it's a win-win that Amazon.com�(NASDAQ:AMZN) and Best Buy�(NYSE:BBY) are joining forces to sell smart TVs.

• [By Anders Bylund, Leo Sun, and Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Read on to see why you should forget about bitcoin and Ethereum in favor of�Taiwan Semiconductor�(NYSE:TSM),�eBay�(NASDAQ:EBAY), and�Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG) -- at least when it comes to serious investments for the long term.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

  Earnings season is now in full swing, with today's key reports from�International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Intuitive Surgical Inc.�(Nasdaq: ISRG). Thanks to tax cuts, expectations are high. Analysts expect profit growth to top 18%, which would be the biggest jump in seven years. But there are a few bearish trends that are still lurking in the market. And if you're serious about making money, you need to know how to harness them and target individual stocks for life-changing gains.�Money Morning�Quantitative Specialist Chris Johnson explains.

• [By ]

  And stocks are following suit. Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) for example, has been on strong, steady climb for the better part of a year.

• [By Brian Feroldi]

  TransEnterix (NYSEMKT:TRXC) recently surprised investors on the upside when it reported its first-quarter results. The company's�Senhance�surgical system is off to a fast start right out of the gate, and it has attracted a lot of positive attention from the medical community. This just goes to show how much demand is out there for an�alternative to Intuitive Surgical's (NASDAQ: ISRG)�dominant da Vinci platform.�

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Acquires 2,289 Shares of Universal Forest Products (UFPI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Universal Forest Products (NASDAQ:UFPI) by 202.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,420 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Universal Forest Products were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Universal Forest Products by 370.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,942 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Universal Forest Products by 1.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 165,069 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,527 shares during the period. Parametrica Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Universal Forest Products by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Parametrica Management Ltd now owns 6,751 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Jefferies Group LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Forest Products by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Group LLC now owns 10,049 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Forest Products by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares during the period. 77.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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In related news, insider Jonathan E. West sold 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.64, for a total transaction of $86,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 40,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,237.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Allen T. Peters sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.50, for a total transaction of $50,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 91,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,076,305. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,440 shares of company stock valued at $717,865. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Universal Forest Products stock opened at $36.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.84. Universal Forest Products has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $39.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Universal Forest Products (NASDAQ:UFPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 18th. The construction company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.03. Universal Forest Products had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $993.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts predict that Universal Forest Products will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a semiannual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 31st. This is an increase from Universal Forest Products’s previous semiannual dividend of $0.17. Universal Forest Products’s dividend payout ratio is 18.48%.

UFPI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Universal Forest Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Universal Forest Products in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Universal Forest Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 2nd. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded shares of Universal Forest Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

About Universal Forest Products

Universal Forest Products, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets wood and wood-alternative products in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company offers preserved and unpreserved dimensional lumber; outdoor living products, including wood composite decking, and decorative lawn and garden products; and engineered wood components, which include roof and floor trusses, wall panels, engineered floor systems, I-joists, and lumber packages.

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Brokerages Expect Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Will Announce Earnings of $1.62 Per Share

Analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) will post $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Four analysts have made estimates for Kimberly-Clark’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $1.55 and the highest estimate coming in at $1.66. Kimberly-Clark posted earnings of $1.49 per share during the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 8.7%. The company is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will report full year earnings of $6.94 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $6.90 to $7.00. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the company will post earnings of $7.20 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $7.00 to $7.45. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Kimberly-Clark.

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Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.71. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.77% and a return on equity of 398.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 3rd. TheStreet lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, April 23rd. Barclays set a $119.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “in-line” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $117.00 to $108.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.33.

In other Kimberly-Clark news, SVP Sandra Macquillan sold 3,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total transaction of $321,643.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert W. Decherd purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $100.05 per share, with a total value of $200,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,546,672.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Violich Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 33.0% in the third quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,805,000 after buying an additional 5,920 shares in the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.1% during the third quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 76,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 511.6% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,174 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 36.0% during the third quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 14,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 3,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 199.2% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 45,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,313,000 after purchasing an additional 30,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark traded down $0.23, hitting $104.55, during midday trading on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,481,302. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $97.10 and a 52-week high of $134.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.21%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care, consumer tissue, and professional products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Depend, Plenitud, Poise, and other brand names.

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$1.90 Billion in Sales Expected for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) will post $1.90 billion in sales for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have provided estimates for Huntington Ingalls Industries’ earnings. The lowest sales estimate is $1.87 billion and the highest is $1.94 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries posted sales of $1.86 billion in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 2.2%. The company is scheduled to report its next quarterly earnings report on Thursday, August 2nd.

On average, analysts expect that Huntington Ingalls Industries will report full-year sales of $7.67 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $7.66 billion to $7.68 billion. For the next year, analysts forecast that the firm will report sales of $7.91 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $7.90 billion to $7.92 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of research firms that cover Huntington Ingalls Industries.

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Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The aerospace company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.59). Huntington Ingalls Industries had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 34.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HII shares. Bank of America set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from $335.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 16th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Huntington Ingalls Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.00.

In other Huntington Ingalls Industries news, Director Philip M. Bilden purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $265.14 per share, with a total value of $1,060,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,649.88. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Jennifer R. Boykin sold 2,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.50, for a total transaction of $699,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,907.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,260 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,086 and have sold 12,979 shares valued at $3,381,250. Company insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,727,701 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,114,317,000 after buying an additional 112,168 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 855,162 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $201,561,000 after buying an additional 38,150 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 727,735 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $187,580,000 after buying an additional 31,975 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 575,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $148,244,000 after buying an additional 36,203 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 550,536 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $141,906,000 after buying an additional 56,232 shares during the period. 86.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries traded up $1.08, hitting $222.75, during mid-day trading on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The stock had a trading volume of 348,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,981. Huntington Ingalls Industries has a 12-month low of $183.42 and a 12-month high of $276.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.01.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 25th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 24th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Huntington Ingalls Industries’s payout ratio is currently 23.72%.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Company Profile

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc engages in the designing, building, overhauling, and repairing military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding, and Technical Solutions. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships that include deck amphibious ships and transport dock ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S.

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Bought AT&T After Selling Verizon

5G technology is coming to limited locations in the back half of 2018 with hopefully a wider rollout in 2019 across most of the U.S. This technology is promising enough to disrupt and change many aspects of society including autonomous vehicles and virtual and augmented reality. Both AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Communications (VZ) are leading the charge in their areas for rapid expansion, and both should be focused on 5G in the back half of 2018, especially if AT&T's longstanding fight to acquire Time Warner Inc. (TWX) gets resolved on June 12th. With AT&T at markedly depressed levels from the uncertainty of the merger, it appears to be an especially attractive value at this time, compared to its main competitor Verizon, making it a potential better buy at this time, especially if you think the merger will go through for Time Warner.

As leaders in the move towards 5G, Verizon and AT&T are set to launch mobile 5G in over a dozen markets in 2018. This launch will be spurred on by the new radio standards from 3GPP, the international standards body regarding 5G. Setting up these standards was essential before the companies could build and deploy their technologies in key U.S. cities.

Hank Kafka, VP of Access Architecture and Analytics at AT&T said in a techblog article,

We��re proud to see the completion of this set of standards. Reaching this milestone enables the next phase of equipment availability and movement to interoperability testing and early 5G availability.

With new standards now set up for many aspects of 5G in place, AT&T believes it can be a first provider to almost a dozen markets later in 2018 after conducting 5G trials in Austin and Waco in Texas, Kalamazoo in Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana in 2017. 5G technology promises to bring much faster speeds and ultra-low latency while making future technology like virtual reality, autonomous cars, the IoT (Internet of Things), and immersive 4K video more mainstream options. Verizon also plans to launch in 3-5 key markets later this year after initial trials in 11 markets. Both AT&T and Verizon look to lead the charge towards 5G while the U.S.'s other big telecom companies, T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) and Sprint Corporation (S), focus on starting a complicated $26B merger process. Getting past regulators easily could take a year or two to complete, if it ever gets approved, while Sprint and T-Mobile try to consolidate their companies and build out 5G technology at the same time.

With 5G coming more into focus in the back half of 2018, AT&T is more than ready to end its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, which was first announced back in late 2016. This drawn out saga of AT&T versus regulators, even thought it is more of a vertical merger compared to a horizontal merger like the Sprint and T-Mobile looks to be, looks to finally be coming to a close on June 12th. The expected conclusion of the main antitrust trial, before potential verdict appeals, should help to clear up much of the uncertainty surrounding AT&T, as there will finally be an official ruling on the case, instead of the endless back and forth. Since the deal was announced in October of 2016, AT&T's stock has had a rough time getting any type of traction going while most of the rest of the market around it experienced a tremendous run.

T data by YCharts

I think now might potentially be a great time to get into AT&T stock as the uncertainty is officially about to end, and there is already quite a lot of downside built into the stock from an almost chronic underperformance over the past year and a half. Many of the fundamentals of AT&T are just as good as they were in 2016, but a long drawn out fight against regulators over what looked to be a done deal on paper has had its toll on the company. If the deal is approved in June, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10%-15% jump in the near-term price of AT&T's stock whereas, if it fails, I would think the downside would be most likely limited to the single digits for a short time, before an eventual possible recovery as AT&T turns its attention to other issues such as a new possible acquisition target or rapid 5G expansion.

Here are some of the main comparisons between Verizon and AT&T, according to Charles Schwab, which have helped in my decision to drop Verizon's stock as a core sector holding in favor of AT&T's, after its remarkable drop in value.

Comparison	Verizon	AT&T
Market Cap	$197B	$196B
P/E	13.67	19.08
Forward P/E	10.4	9.42
PEG	2.81	1.63
Dividend	4.94%	6.24%

Table by Trent Welsh

Right now both Verizon and AT&T are of similar size, with AT&T making a marked jump in size if its $85 billion Time Warner acquisition gets approved next month. Verizon on the other hand, has had its focus on more bite sized acquisitions including the former AOL for $4.4B and Yahoo for $4.8B now labeled under the brand name Oath. AT&T's growth looks to outpace Verizon's in the future with the company's forward P/E ratio under Verizon's while sporting over a full point lower PEG ratio marking its growth as "cheaper" than Verizon's, which is a good thing. Finally, after AT&T's drop in share price over the past year and a half, there is a very attractive difference between the two companies dividend yield, which is one of the main reasons to hold these kinds of stocks in the first place in my opinion. I sure didn't complain owning Verizon's dividend at approximately 5%, but I will be more than happy to now have AT&T's 6% + dividend now as a core holding in this sector.

Both AT&T and Verizon are at the forefront of 5G rollout amongst U.S. telecom companies, which could be a game changer for many U.S. companies in the future. After AT&T's acquisition issues concerning Time Warner though, its value is too much to pass up, as its prospects going forward look to become far more clear in mid June. One of the main reasons for me to own a telecom company, besides diversification exposure to the sector, is an attractive dividend yield. This noticeable difference in yield is what ultimately helped me switch my long term core holding from Verizon over to AT&T moving forward. Best of luck to all.

Disclosure: I am/we are long T.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.