Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2018

tags:USAP,FNV,IBM,

We made a big bet on biotech exactly one year ago.

At the time, it was one of the most unloved sectors on the market. No, the biotech bull never showed its face in 2016.

But in early 2017, we witnessed the beginnings of a powerful rally and hopped onboard for a long-term trade. A fast start out of the gate in 2017 was just what the ailing sector needed to spark a massive bull run, we reasoned.

Fast forward 12 months and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE:XBI) is higher by almost 50%. But this rally ain��t over yet. The beginning of 2018 trading is already flashing a new biotech breakout �� a move that could cement these stocks as some of the year��s most explosive market leaders.

The major averages have posted impressive gains to begin 2018 trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has already posted year-to-date gains of more than 2.3%.

But that��s nothing compared to XBI. The small-cap biotech ETF has stormed higher this week with a two-day gain of more than 4%.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2018: Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc.(USAP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Shares of Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAP) traded down 0% on Friday . The company traded as low as $24.22 and last traded at $24.53. 505,097 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1,278% from the average session volume of 36,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.53.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2018: Franco-Nevada Corporation(FNV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  ARP Americas LP cut its position in Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 35.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,167 shares during the period. ARP Americas LP’s holdings in Franco-Nevada were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) has done a good job recently of expanding its reach. After focusing almost exclusively on streaming agreements with mining partners in gold and other precious and base metals, the company decided recently to boost its exposure to oil and gas considerably. That's proven to be an important move, as weaker gold production has been offset by better performance in its growing energy portfolio.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) went public in the U.S. market more than a decade ago, and over that time, the company has established itself as a major player in an important niche in the natural resources industry. Franco-Nevada neither mines gold nor drills for oil, but by helping to finance projects that mining companies and oil drillers want to pursue, it ensures it can get a cut of the profits. That's been a winning business model lately, and throughout its history as a publicly traded company, Franco-Nevada has stood out for one thing that it's done consistently well: paying and raising its dividend regularly over time.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Although gold streaming is something of a niche in the precious metals market, the largest competitors have been in the business since the 1980s,�while new entrants are showing up as well (including hedge funds, private equity, and pension funds). Most investors, however, should probably stick with the largest, easiest to trade, and longest-tenured companies for now. Here are the top five.

  Company Market Cap Dividend Yield Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) $13 billion 1.3% Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) $9 billion 1.7% Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) $6 billion 1.2% Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. $1.6 billion 1.6% Sandstorm Gold Ltd. $800 million N/A Franco-Nevada

  The largest streaming company by market cap is Franco-Nevada. As noted above, it has investments in nearly 300 mines, 50 of which are producing. However, it has taken diversification further than its peers by investing in around 80 oil and natural gas assets (57 producing), following the same basic business model. It's not as pure a play on metals, but if you are looking for diversification, that non-precious-metals exposure is an interesting addition to the mix. That said, gold provides roughly 70% of its revenue, with silver at 15%, and oil and gas at just 7% (the rest is, effectively, "other"), meaning that gold is still the big driver of performance here. The company has increased its dividend annually for 10 consecutive years.

• [By David Zeiler]

  "If you look back to the 70s, 80s and 90s, in every of those decades the industry found at least one 50+ million ounce gold deposit, at least ten 30+ million ounce deposits and countless five to 10 million ounce deposits. But if you look at the last 15 years, we found no 50 million ounce deposit, no 30 million ounce deposit and only very few 15 million ounce deposits," Pierre Lassonde, chair of gold royalty and income stream company Franco-Nevada Corp. (NYSE: FNV), told German financial newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft last October.

• [By Reuben Gregg Brewer]

  Gold streaming company Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) offers investors a unique way to gain exposure to precious metals, but when you compare it to peers Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)�it looks relatively expensive. That said, if you are looking to gold for diversification you might still find that Franco-Nevada Corporation stock is a buy.

Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2018: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ]

  Earnings will once again dominate the early portion of the trading day, with first quarter reports from Dow components in Action Alerts PLUS holding UnitedHealth (UNH) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)  , Goldman Sachs (GS) and IBM Corp. (IBM) . 

• [By Jamal Carnette, CFA]

  By recent metrics, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) had a decent first quarter. The company beat analyst expectations of $2.41 adjusted EPS and revenue of $18.82 billion, according to data from Thomson Reuters, by reporting $2.45 and $19.1 billion, respectively.

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

  Through Tom's various strategies, followers had the chance to pocket gains of 195.36% in 16 days on Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN), 193.39% in 16 days on SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE Arca: GLD), 100% in eight days on International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and even 248.42% in 17 days on SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE Arca: DIA).

• [By ]

  In Pirates of Silicon Valley, an old made-for-TV movie about the PC industry's early days, the Bill Gates character quips (in reference to IBM's (IBM) willingness to let Microsoft (MSFT)  supply the OS for its PCs) that success is a menace, since it fools smart people into thinking that they can't lose. Bezos's remarks, as well as those made at times by other Amazon execs, suggest Amazon puts a lot of effort into making sure the company doesn't lose its edge on account of its success.

Miners’ Reward Token Trading 27.5% Lower Over Last 7 Days (MRT)

Miners’ Reward Token (CURRENCY:MRT) traded down 0.7% against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 7:00 AM E.T. on May 26th. Over the last week, Miners’ Reward Token has traded down 27.5% against the US dollar. One Miners’ Reward Token token can currently be bought for $0.0906 or 0.00001202 BTC on popular exchanges including Waves Decentralized Exchange and Tidex. Miners’ Reward Token has a market capitalization of $906,014.00 and $3,359.00 worth of Miners’ Reward Token was traded on exchanges in the last day.

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

Get Miners' Reward Token alerts: Ripple (XRP) traded 0.4% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.62 or 0.00008244 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded 1.1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.29 or 0.00003872 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded 2.2% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0723 or 0.00000960 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded up 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $1.53 or 0.00020260 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded down 1.1% against the dollar and now trades at $53.46 or 0.00709573 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded 0.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00013261 BTC. VeChain (VEN) traded down 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $3.62 or 0.00048084 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded up 1.4% against the dollar and now trades at $13.06 or 0.00173283 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded up 0.6% against the dollar and now trades at $0.12 or 0.00001633 BTC. Ontology (ONT) traded 0.1% higher against the dollar and now trades at $6.57 or 0.00087214 BTC.

About Miners’ Reward Token

Miners’ Reward Token’s genesis date was March 28th, 2017. Miners’ Reward Token’s total supply is 10,000,000 tokens. Miners’ Reward Token’s official Twitter account is @wavesplatform. Miners’ Reward Token’s official website is wavescommunity.com/miners-reward-token.

Miners’ Reward Token Token Trading

Miners’ Reward Token can be traded on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Waves Decentralized Exchange and Tidex. It is usually not possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Miners’ Reward Token directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Miners’ Reward Token should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, GDAX or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase Miners’ Reward Token using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019

tags:SSD,DCIX,LUB,PACB,

ProPhase Labs Inc (NASDAQ:PRPH) files its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2017. ProPhase Labs Inc is a manufacturer and distributor of homeopathic and health products. It is also engaged in the research & development of potential over-the-counter drug, natural health products, supplements, personal care & cosmeceutical products. ProPhase Labs Inc has a market cap of $32.830 million; its shares were traded at around $2.95 with a P/E ratio of 1.17 and P/S ratio of 2.14.

For the last quarter ProPhase Labs Inc reported a revenue of $4.15 million, compared with the revenue of $17.58 million during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $9.87 million, a decrease of 53% from the previous year. For the last five years ProPhase Labs Inc had an average revenue decline of 12.6% a year.

The reported diluted earnings per share was $2.67 for the year, compared with the loss per share of $0.03 in the previous year. The ProPhase Labs Inc had an operating margin of -40.44%, compared with the operating margin of -12.64% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of ProPhase Labs Inc is -16.54%. The profitability rank of the company is 3 (out of 10).

Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Simpson Manufacturing Company Inc.(SSD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Simpson Manufacturing (SSD)

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

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Simpson Manufacturing (SSD)

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

• [By Max Byerly]

  Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $64.25.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Diana Containerships Inc.(DCIX)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Carver Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARV) shares jumped 92.1 percent to $7.01. iPic Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: IPIC) gained 21.6 percent to $9.73. Baozun Inc. (NASDAQ: BZUN) shares jumped 18.7 percent to $53.49 after reporting Q1 results. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) shares jumped 15.9 percent to $50.50. The company's "Smackdown Live" may not be renewed at NBCUniversal network and the company's "Monday Night Raw" program could be worth three times its current value elsewhere, according to a report for The Hollywood Reporter. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) gained 14.7 percent to $ 20.46 after the company issued further details on Phase 3 ADVANCE study of ROLONTIS. Motus GI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTS) climbed 13.4 percent to $5.5009. Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) rose 13.3 percent to $ 14.23 after the company announced presentation of Phase 2 data from prostate cancer trial of 177Lu-PSMA-617 at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. Diana Containerships Inc. (NASDAQ: DCIX) gained 12.9 percent to $1.7499 after the company announced the sale of Post-Panamax Container Vessel for $21 million. Essendant Inc. (NASDAQ: ESND) gained 12.7 percent to $12.43. Essendant confirmed receipt of unsolicited proposal from Staples of $11.50 per share in cash. Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ: BLNK) rose 11.8 percent to $8.04 after surging 31.68 percent on Wednesday. OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPHC) gained 11.5 percent to $5.15. Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FTK) shares climbed 10.7 percent to $3.74. Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) rose 7.9 percent to $25.95 after climbing 7.90 percent on Wednesday. Minerva Neurosciences Inc (NASDAQ: NERV) rose 6.5 percent to $6.93 after Journal of Clinical Psychiatry published positive results of cognitive performance from Phase 2B trial of roluperidone in schizophrenia patients. Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) rose 5.6 percent to $40

Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Luby's, Inc.(LUB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

  Losers Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ: PRTA) shares dipped 69 percent to $11.48 after a disappointing update relating to the company's treatment for AL amyloidosis. Prothena, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on therapies in the neuroscience and orphan categories, said a Phase 2b study of its therapy called NEOD001 failed to achieve its primary or secondary endpoints. Prothena's Phase 2b study explored its NEOD001 therapy versus a placebo in previously-treated patients with AL amyloidosis and persistent cardiac dysfunction. Gridsum Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: GSUM) fell 44.3 percent to $4.06. Gridsum reported suspension of audit report on financial statements. Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FTK) shares declined 34.1 percent to $4.16 as the company issued weak revenue forecast for the first quarter. Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) dropped 32.3 percent to $13.35 after Fresenius terminated its merger deal with Akorn. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) fell 31.2 percent to $13.44. Subsea 7 made an unsolicited bid to buy McDermott for $7 per share. However, the acquisition offer is contingent on McDermot terminating its pending merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron. Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: VLRS) dropped 18 percent to $5.76. Controladora Vuela recently reported first-quarter results that showed a loss for the quarter. Imperial Capital downgraded Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from Outperform to In-Line. Atossa Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS) fell 18.2 percent to $2.8797 after declining 19.35 percent on Friday. Alcoa Corporation (NYSE: AA) fell 12.3 percent to $52.63. Luby's, Inc. (NYSE: LUB) shares declined 10.3 percent to $2.448 following Q2 results. Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ: ACET) shares tumbled 10 percent to $2.26. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) dipped 9.7 percent
• [By Max Byerly]

  Headlines about Luby’s (NYSE:LUB) have been trending somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. Accern rates the sentiment of media coverage by reviewing more than twenty million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Luby’s earned a news impact score of 0.10 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the restaurant operator an impact score of 47.2262144037183 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2019: Pacific Biosciences of California Inc.(PACB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

   

  Losers Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares tumbled 48.59 percent to close at $1.275 on Thursday after the company priced its $18,000,000 public offering. InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NVIV) fell 38.77 percent to close at $8.26 on Thursday. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares tumbled 27.43 percent to close at $8.81. Achaogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO) dropped 24.76 percent to close at $11.06 in reaction to a disappointing update from an FDA AdCom panel. The FDA panel voted favorably for the company's Plazcomicin for treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections, but also voted against the therapy to be used as a treatment for bloodstream infections. Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK) shares declined 24.68 percent to close at $34.80 after the company posted downbeat quarterly results. LSC Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LKSD) shares fell 24.22 percent to close at $12.64 following wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) fell 21.42 percent to close at $50.80 following downbeat quarterly profit. Horizon Global Corporation (NYSE: HZN) dropped 20.42 percent to close at $6.00 following downbeat quarterly earnings. Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE: HOS) slipped 20.11 percent to close at $2.90 following wider-than-expected Q1 loss. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPR) fell 19.28 percent to close at $36.93. Esperion Therapeutics stock lost roughly a third of its value Wednesday after the company reported mixed Phase III results for its leading drug candidate, bempedoic acid. JP Morgan downgraded Esperion Therapeutics from Neutral to Underweight. Laredo Petroleum, Inc. (NYSE: LPI) declined 17.77 percent to close at $8.98 after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. The Habit Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: HABT) dipped 16.1 percent to close at $8.60 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results. Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (N
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) rose 11.4 percent to $2.93 in pre-market trading. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) shares rose 6.3 percent to $4.76 in pre-market trading as the company announced the publication of CE Mark multicenter clinical study results on C-Scan® in Gut. Acacia Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIA) rose 6 percent to $ 35.20 in pre-market trading. Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (NASDAQ: APOP) rose 6 percent to $7.60 in pre-market trading. Hexindai Inc. (NASDAQ: HX) rose 5.7 percent to $12.70 in pre-market trading. MoSys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) shares rose 5.3 percent to $2.07 in pre-market trading. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) rose 5 percent to $58.20 in pre-market trading after reporting a $10 billion buyback plan. Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ: GOGL) rose 4.1 percent to $8.63 in pre-market trading. MorphoSys AG (NASDAQ: MOR) rose 3.5 percent to $26.99 in pre-market trading. Cyren Ltd (NASDAQ: CYRN) shares rose 3.4 percent to $2.90 in pre-market trading. after reporting Q1 results. Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX) rose 3.4 percent to $28.76 in pre-market trading. Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) shares rose 3.3 percent to $67.60 in the pre-market trading session after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Micro Focus International plc (NYSE: MFGP) shares rose 3.1 percent to $18.40 in pre-market trading.

   

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) slipped about 5.6% to post a new 52-week low of $2.52 Tuesday after closing at $2.67 on Friday. Volume of about 910,000 was about 10% above the daily average. The company had no specific news.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:HBI,PNFP,SPY,PDCE,ZSAN,

Danvers, MA, based Investment company Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC buys Lockheed Martin Corp during the 3-months ended 2017-12-31, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC. As of 2017-12-31, Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC owns 23 stocks with a total value of $72 million. These are the details of the buys and sells.

New Purchases: LMT, Added Positions: AAPL, AOR, VZ, Reduced Positions: DBEF, VWO, VNQ, EEMV, BSV, AOK, CWB,

For the details of Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Stonehearth+Capital+Management%2C+LLC

These are the top 5 holdings of Stonehearth Capital Management, LLCVanguard FTSE Emerging Markets (VWO) - 256,939 shares, 16.37% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 1.31%Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA) - 218,068 shares, 13.58% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 0.31%iShares MSCI Frontier 100 Fund (FM) - 247,185 shares, 11.36% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 0.89%Vanguard Small-Cap (VB) - 53,681 shares, 11.01% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 0.23%Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity (DBEF) - 228,074 shares, 10.06% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 7.75%New Purchase: Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT)

Stonehearth Capital Management, LLC initiated holdings in Lockheed Martin Corp. The purchase prices were between $306.6 and $322.82, with an estimated average price of $315.2. The stock is now traded at around $333.56. The impact to the portfolio due to this purchase was 0.31%. The holdings were 685 shares as of 2017-12-31.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hanesbrands Inc.(HBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Mackay Shields LLC bought a new position in Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 61,368 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,130,000.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) dropped about 0.7% Friday to post a new 52-week low of $16.38. Shares closed at $13.51 on Thursday and the stock’s 52-week high is $25.73. Volume of about 6.1 million shares was about 15% below the daily average. The company had no specific news but when it reported Q1 results earlier in the week, the outlook for the rest of the year was quite cautious.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

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

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

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Wall Street started the week on a muted note on Monday, as major benchmarks generally closed slightly down. Much of the attention among investors was on the bond market, where 10-year Treasury yields rose as high as 2.99%, signaling to some the possibility of much higher financing costs that could punish companies that overextended their balance sheets with debt when rates were much lower. Yet some individual companies had good news that sent their shares higher. McDermott International (NYSE:MDR), Box (NYSE:BOX), and Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

• [By Max Byerly]

  B. Riley set a $30.00 price target on Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) in a report issued on Monday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the textile maker’s stock.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Valeritas Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLRX) shares jumped 17 percent to $3.65. Cambium Learning Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABCD) shares rose 13.5 percent to $11.70. McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) gained 11.6 percent to $6.75 after the UK-based offshore oil service company Subsea 7 made an unsolicited bid to buy McDermott for $7 per share. However, the acquisition offer is contingent on McDermot terminating its pending merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE: NLS) shares jumped 11.2 percent to $14.95. Nautilus is expected to release Q1 results on May 7, 2018. Craig-Hallum initiated coverage on Nautilus with a Buy rating and a $19.00 price target. GEE Group, Inc. (NYSE: JOB) shares gained 11 percent to $2.2199. Check-Cap Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHEK) surged 10.8 percent to $4.50. Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FRSX) rose 10.1 percent to $3.39. Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG) climbed 9.6 percent to $32.10. Stars Group Inc (NASDAQ: TSG) announced plans to acquire Sky Betting & Gaming for $4.7 billion. Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) shares jumped 9.1 percent to $25.66. Credit Suisse upgraded Insmed from Neutral to Outperform. Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) rose 8.4 percent to $75.65 after the company posted upbeat Q1 results and raised its FY18 earnings outlook. Command Security Corporation (NYSE: MOC) shares gained 6.4 percent to $3.0960 after the company disclosed a $23 million five-year contract with LaGuardia Gateway Partners for LaGuardia Airport New Central Terminal Building. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) rose 6.2 percent to $2.41 after falling 10.98 percent on Friday. Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) shares rose 5.7 percent to $69.31. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced plans to acquire Vectren for $72 per share in cash. Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) gained 4.9 percent to $18.035. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hanesbrands from Hold to Buy. M

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.(PNFP)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP)

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

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  About 25 years after the debut of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY), the exchange traded funds universe finally has a bond fund based on the S&P 500. The ProShares S&P 500 Bond ETF (NYSE: SPXB) debuted Thursday.

• [By Wayne Duggan]

  As would be expected, the stock market tanked Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA) down 2.2 percent and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) down 1.7 percent in mid-day trading. The market leaders and laggards have been somewhat unexpected.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,649 shares during the period. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust comprises 21.0% of Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust were worth $85,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Sandy Spring Bank reduced its stake in SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,214 shares during the quarter. SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF makes up approximately 3.8% of Sandy Spring Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF were worth $42,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

• [By Wayne Duggan]

  Investors are clearly concerned with a potential breakdown in trade negotiations. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: SPY) is down 0.6 percent in the past two days, and the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (ETF) (NYSE: FXI) is down 2 percent.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PDC Energy, Inc.(PDCE)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on PDC Energy (PDCE)

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

Top 5 Value Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Zosano Pharma Corporation(ZSAN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Zosano Pharma (NASDAQ:ZSAN) will announce its earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, May 15th.

  Zosano Pharma (NASDAQ:ZSAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($3.80) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.80) by $1.00.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Zosano Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: ZSAN) dropped about 17% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $0.54 after closing at $0.65 on Friday. Volume was around 720,000, about 10% below the daily average of around 850,000. The company had no specific news.

Associated Banc (ASB) Sets New 1-Year High and Low at $27.85

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) hit a new 52-week high and low on Monday . The company traded as low as $27.85 and last traded at $27.72, with a volume of 68897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.25.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ASB. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Associated Banc from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 20th. Sandler O’Neill upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Associated Banc from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Associated Banc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.40.

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The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $300.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.49 million. Associated Banc had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 8.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. equities analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Associated Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.47%.

In related news, insider William M. Bohn sold 19,011 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total transaction of $471,853.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,290 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,577.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Flynn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.72, for a total transaction of $267,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 114,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,064,356.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,879 shares of company stock worth $3,971,509. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASB. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Associated Banc by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 924,610 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,486,000 after purchasing an additional 59,574 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,770,000. WoodTrust Financial Corp bought a new position in Associated Banc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Cubic Asset Management LLC raised its position in Associated Banc by 81.8% in the fourth quarter. Cubic Asset Management LLC now owns 30,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.39% of the company’s stock.

Associated Banc Company Profile

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses primarily in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. Its Corporate and Commercial Specialty segment offers deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; and lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending, and loan syndications.

Nordstrom, Inc.'s Post-Earnings Stock Slump Is a Buying Opportunity

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) returned to earnings growth last quarter, as the reduced corporate tax rate helped the upscale retailer post a double-digit increase in earnings per share. Investors still dumped Nordstrom stock in after-hours trading on Thursday, punishing the company for weak comparable-store sales growth.

However, Nordstrom maintained its full-year comp sales guidance and even improved its EPS forecast (albeit just slightly). As a result, Nordstrom stock's 7% after-hours decline seems like a massive overreaction -- and a nice buying opportunity for long-term investors.

Sales momentum slows

In the first quarter, Nordstrom's revenue rose 6.2% to $3.56 billion, boosted by store openings, the timing of a promotional event, and rising credit card income. Comparable-store sales -- a metric that excludes these three factors -- rose 0.6%. This was made up of a 0.7% increase in the full-line segment and 0.4% growth in the Nordstrom Rack off-price business.

Investors were disappointed by this comp sales result. On average, Wall Street analysts had expected 1.1% comp sales growth. Additionally, the 0.6% increase marked a sharp slowdown relative to the fourth quarter, when Nordstrom posted a 2.6% comp sales gain.

Nordstrom saw a sales slowdown in its Nordstrom Rack stores last quarter. Image source: Nordstrom.

On the other hand, Nordstrom's Q1 comp sales gain was roughly in line with its 0.8% full-year increase in fiscal 2017. During the company's earnings call, management attributed the modest slowdown to unseasonably cold weather during parts of the quarter and some changes to the company's marketing.

Profitability holds up nicely

Even if Nordstrom's sales performance was subpar, the company more than made up for it with solid profitability in the first quarter. Operating profit ticked up slightly to $153 million from $151 million a year earlier. A modest decline in gross margin and a modest increase in operating expenses were fully offset by higher sales and a greater than 20% jump in credit card income.

Thanks to the benefit of tax reform, EPS reached $0.51 last quarter. That was up from $0.37 a year earlier, or $0.43 excluding a special charge related to refinancing some debt.

Nordstrom's stable profitability and strong EPS growth was particularly impressive because the company opened its highly regarded flagship men's store in Manhattan last month. As a result, Nordstrom incurred substantial pre-opening costs during the first quarter.

Over the past several years, Nordstrom has experienced severe margin headwinds related to the long-term investments it has been making in its business. The fact that it was able to keep its profit margin roughly stable last quarter despite incurring pre-opening costs for the Manhattan men's store validates management's claim that Nordstrom is finally reaching an inflection point in terms of profitability.

The outlook remains solid

Despite its soft Q1 sales performance, Nordstrom maintained its full-year guidance for 0.5% to 1.5% comp sales growth. Additionally, the company's solid margin performance encouraged management to bump up the low end of the EPS guidance range by $0.05. Nordstrom's new forecast calls for EPS between $3.35 and $3.55 in fiscal 2018.

After falling 7% in after-hours trading on Thursday evening, Nordstrom stock trades for less than 14 times the midpoint of this updated EPS forecast. Furthermore, free cash flow has started to routinely outpace EPS as Nordstrom's capex has moderated, making the stock even cheaper than this earnings multiple would imply.

This makes Nordstrom stock a compelling bargain in light of its recent margin stabilization. As some of its recent investments start to pay off, the company has an opportunity to improve its profitability significantly.

Even if comp sales increases remain modest, a return to margin expansion would drive strong EPS growth, unlocking substantial upside for Nordstrom stock. As a result, I plan to hold on to all of my shares for the foreseeable future, while reinvesting the dividends to gradually add to my stake in Nordstorm.