David Looks Ahead: 1 Massive Trend, 10 Hot Stocks, and 1 Vital Piece of Advice

One of our favorite events at Fool HQ is FoolFest, when our members get the chance to gather together and learn about investing face to face with their favorite Foolish folk. And Motley Fool Answers co-hosts Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp think you'd all enjoy it, too. That's why, for this podcast, they're skipping their usual witty banter -- heck, Bro didn't even show up in the studio -- and instead sharing one of the conference's highlights: Chris Hill's interview with the fraternal fellows who founded the Fool in the first place, Tom and David Gardner.

In this segment, Hill asks David about which technologies and trends he sees as game changers in the next couple of decades, and asks for 10 more stocks he's recommending for Foolish investors. But perhaps more important than the picks and the trends is the tip he has about how to invest.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on July 24, 2018.

Chris Hill: "What new technologies, innovations, and trends are you most excited about moving forward?"

David Gardner: There's no question that artificial intelligence is going to be like Wi-Fi in 20 years. As Kevin Kelly was saying in San Francisco, 20 years ago not a lot of us knew what Wi-Fi was, and these days it's this invisible thing [this layer around all of us] that we hope is there and that we want to perform well for us and that's made our lives better.

AI is going to be like Wi-Fi in 20 years. There's going to be AI all around us. It's going to be in our phones or whatever we're using as phones at that point. It's going to be in the apps that we're using. It's going to be in tangible things around us as we walk past things. In the same way that we're hitting more three-pointers as NBA players these days than we were 20 years ago, we're all going to be a little smarter and better served, and the world will be more personalized and customized for us.

AI is huge, and that's a big part of NVIDIA's story that I wasn't counting on when we first picked it as a graphical processing gaming company in 2005. I love companies that evolve and morph -- technologies that do the same as genomics. Obviously Editas�(NASDAQ:EDIT)�and CRISPR technology. These are really important things.

The other thing I just want to make really clear is No. 1, we all have to be willing to lose and be wrong. What I just said about AI might look silly in 20 years. I don't know if anybody will want to see the Fool Fest video in 2038 of what we did today.

But we could be wrong, so you need to always be willing to be wrong. There's not a stock that I own personally [and I hope this is true of you, as well], that if it went to zero would devastate me financially. It would hurt a lot, because I have some seriously overweighted positions, but if any one of those companies went to zero, that would be still OK. It wouldn't change my life grandly.

I hope you're not on margin. I hope you're not loading it up on one stock or anything like that. I don't want you to do that, because we can be wrong. That's a big part of being a Rule Breaker and thinking about the future is always being willing to be wrong.

__

Gardner: All 10 of these are companies that are not presently, I don't think, featured in any other Motley Fool services. We just picked them, once or more, in Stock Advisor or Rule Breakers. I think I emailed you this list last night.

Hill: You did.

Gardner: So I need to go back to my email and get it. Let's go alphabetically. And yes, this is time to take notes because we don't have a graphic for this one. I'm just going to go through these 10 companies quickly and alphabetically. Some of them you'll recognize, I hope.

The first one is Adobe�(NASDAQ:ADBE). The ticker symbol is [ADBE]. The company is a worldwide leader for artists and graphical designers creating all kinds of great stuff largely in an online world which benefits from Adobe Graphics. Adobe Acrobat. Everybody knows Adobe. Of the 10 companies, this is the largest company. Its market cap is $119 billion as of yesterday.

I think it's been an outstanding stock in the past. I think it will remain one. They moved from a subscription-based software product -- people got annoyed by having to upgrade and rebuy each year in that old model that we remember from the nineties -- and they went to a cloud-based, subscription-based product. And they kept their worldwide leadership doing that, which is a hard trick to pull, and they've done it really well.

The next one is Dassault Syst猫mes (NASDAQOTH:DASTY). The company's ticker symbol is [DASTY]. This is the second-biggest company on the list. Alphabetically it's also second. Dassault Syst猫mes is a French company. There aren't a lot of great French stocks, in my experience. That's why I like to highlight Dassault as an example in a relatively socialist country of a really fine capitalistic entity that's created a lot of value.

And in particular, it's their CAD/ CAM software. It's their computer-aided design software. And in a world where we're moving not from lots and lots of graphics just on the internet, but toward virtual reality where there will be even more graphical components to our online experiences, I really like Dassault Syst猫mes.

Third and fourth are both "E" companies. The first is Editas Medicine. The ticker symbol is [EDIT]. It's the company that is behind the CRISPR technology. There are a few other players out there in the world. It's a fascinating technology. We don't have time to talk about it right now. Some of you already know it, and if you don't know it you should google it and understand gene editing and how it might change your life and mine and the world at large.

I hope we'll make good use of it. Like any powerful technology, it can be used for good or for ill. The internet is used largely for good, but often for ill. That can also be true of gene editing. But there's no question that this will be a net gain and will save many lives and improve the world at large. I really like Editas, but it's an early stage company. It's only a $2 billion market cap. It's the smallest of these 10 and so it is a company that you realize could vanish overnight if things change one way or another.

Then the fourth company is Etsy�(NASDAQ:ETSY). I think a lot of us know Etsy. [ETSY] is, of course, the ticker symbol. You can go to Etsy.com and buy somebody's handicrafts. There's a wonderful community of makers and then buyers. It's a tough thing to compete with, even in an Amazon-led world, and it's been a good performer. It's a $4 billion company over at Motley Fool Rule Breakers.

Next let's go to two companies, companies five and six, both of which have two-letter ticker symbols starting with the letter "I." The first one is [IQ], and that's iQiyi�(NASDAQ:IQ). And that's one of my most recent picks. That's in Motley Fool Rule Breakers. That's the Netflix of China. It's starting from a $7 billion market cap and there's never any pure analog.

Baidu is not actually the Google of China, but they're clear enough or fair enough that you can make these comparisons. If you like Netflix and you believe in that business model, you realize it's really hard if you're Netflix to get into China. China has a firewall up against a lot of incursions of big-time American players. Baidu's been the beneficiary of that. Google hasn't been able to get into China so well, so we've owned Baidu stock. It's done really well for us. I think iQiyi is maybe another example. That we'll see.

And then the other "I" is IT. And Gartner�(NYSE:IT)-- which I think a lot of us know -- is the tech consulting company. Today it's worth about $12 billion with its Magic Quadrants, if you know that, or the hype cycle, which I've talked about on my Rule Breaker Investing podcast. They're the company behind that. And what I like about Gartner is that in a world in which there's so much complexity and oncoming technology and development all the time, you can see the benefits of being the person, the company that explains to people that might want to use these technologies how the world's changing. With more and more tech coming online I like Gartner a lot.

And then my last four are an "L," an "M," a "P," and a "T." The "L" is Live Nation (NYSE:LYV)�[LYV]. Live Nation is a company that -- I think a lot of us know this -- in a world where lots of rock stars these days make their money off of their tours [not off of their album sales], Live Nation not only owns the venues where a lot of rock concerts happen and partner with and own some of the artists in those venues, but it bought Ticketmaster, so now it also sells you the tickets to go to the venues that it owns to watch the acts that it's partnered with. I really like Live Nation. I think it's a really strong competitive advantage and a tough one to compete with.

Similarly Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) [MTCH], which is the eighth stock and the "M" stock. I think a lot of us know Match.com, Tinder, etc. It took a little bit of a spill about a month ago or so [you guys talked about it on Market Foolery] because Facebook said, "Hey, we might want to start doing dating. We have a lot of data and [one way you might meet people is through] Facebook." And maybe you don't need Match.com, or Tinder, or the 40 or so other dating sites that Match Group owns, but I still really like Match Group's focus in this area. Their leadership. And the stock has almost bounced all the way back from that spill that it took. Match Group.

And then the last two. Palo Alto Networks�(NYSE:PANW) [PANW]. This is a company that's behind firewall security that offers that for a lot of its partners. Our wonderful team in the previous hour talked about the importance of security and companies like Okta. Palo Alto is in this world.

And I like it relative to a couple of my loser picks in computer security. I took a shine to a few companies like FireEye and Fortinet [which actually has worked out pretty well]. But I took a shine to these companies because I believe that obviously cybersecurity is going to be around for the rest of our lives. For the rest of our race. I really like a business that is going to be that constant. However, those companies were smaller caps, and Palo Alto Networks tipping the scales at a market cap of $19 billion is a more substantial, bigger player that I think is in a better position than some of the smaller fry.

The very last one is Teladoc (NYSE:TDOC)[TDOC] which I know you've talked a lot about on Market Foolery and Motley Fool Money, and I know Jason Moser has been a fan of Teladoc. I am, too. It's a pick in Rule Breakers. [We offer a lot of benefits to our employees, and those employees don't always have time to wait in line at the doctor's]. Just to pick up a phone and talk about something. Start a relationship with somebody who's part of your corporate benefits if you're employed and it's part of your health approach, your health strategy. I think that's a good business.

It's still small. It's a small company. Teladoc is the second smallest on the list at $3 billion. A lot of people have Teladoc but don't use it. It's a tiny percentage of people who actually use this service, but it strikes me as something that will only be increasingly relevant in the future. There we go. There's my next 10.

How Important Are LinkedIn & Office For Microsoft (MSFT)?

Microsoft (MSFT ) saw its stock price hit a brand new all-time high Friday as the company rides a wave of post-earnings momentum driven by strong top and bottom line beats. But, with most Microsoft talk surrounding Azure and cloud computing, Microsoft Office and LinkedIn played larger roles in the tech firm’s impressive fiscal 2018 growth.

Shares of Microsoft have climbed 44% over the last year and jumped 2.6% Friday morning to touch a new high of $108.20 per share. The move comes after Microsoft’s Q4 revenues surged by 17% to hit $30.09 billion, which also beat our Zacks Consensus Estimate by nearly $1 billion. At the other end of the income statement, MSFT saw its adjusted quarterly earnings pop approximately 15% to hit $1.13 per share. This also came in above our $1.07 per share estimate.

Some of Microsoft’s growth can be attributed to its Intelligent Cloud unit and the widely popular Azure segment. Plus, cloud will likely become even more vital to Microsoft going forward, especially as it competes against Oracle (ORCL ) , Google (GOOGL ) , and Amazon (AMZN ) . “Our early investments in the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge are paying off, and we will continue to expand our reach in large and growing markets with differentiated innovation,” CEO Satya Nadella said in a company statement.

However, Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes unit, which includes its Office offerings and LinkedIn, brings in more revenue than cloud today.

Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes division posted revenues of $9.67 billion, which marked a 13% jump from the year-ago quarter.  Last quarter, this unit saw its revenues surged 17% to touch $8.95 billion.

The firm’s overall Office commercial products and cloud services revenues popped 10%. Microsoft’s Office 365 commercial sales soared 38%. Office’s consumer side saw its total revenues climb by 8%.

Meanwhile, the company’s business-focused social media platform LinkedIn’s total revenues skyrocketed 37%. Lastly, MSFT’s Dynamics unit revenues popped 11%, fueled by Dynamics 365’s 61% growth.

Productivity and Business Processes revenues hit $35.87 billion in fiscal 2018, up 20% from 2017’s $29.87 billion. Overall, the division accounted for over 32% of Microsoft’s $110.36 billion total full-year revenues, which came in above Intelligent Cloud’s 29%.

Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars?

Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge.

With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research.

It's not the one you think.

See This Ticker Free >>

Brokerages Set Xylem Inc (XYL) PT at $79.78

Xylem Inc (NYSE:XYL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.78.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Xylem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 20th. Boenning Scattergood restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xylem in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Xylem from $86.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Xylem in a report on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity set a $78.00 price target on Xylem and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 24th.

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In other Xylem news, Director Curtis J. Crawford sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.39, for a total transaction of $550,425.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,063,592.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Xylem by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 48,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 7,748 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 1,690.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co. now owns 1,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Rathbone Brothers plc lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbone Brothers plc now owns 95,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 47,605 shares during the period. Atria Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xylem during the 2nd quarter worth $571,000. Finally, Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Xylem by 192.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. now owns 59,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 39,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

XYL opened at $67.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.42. Xylem has a 1-year low of $56.18 and a 1-year high of $79.83.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 18.31% and a net margin of 7.29%. The company’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. equities research analysts forecast that Xylem will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 23rd. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.00%.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and service of engineered solutions for the water and wastewater applications. It operates through three segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, and Measurement and Control Solutions. The Water Infrastructure segment offers various products, including water and wastewater pumps, and controls and systems, as well as filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment under the Flygt, Godwin, Wedeco, Sanitaire, and Leopold names for the transportation, treatment, and testing of water and wastewater applications.

Featured Story: What does EPS mean?

Why Zogenix Inc. Is Soaring Today

What happened

In response�to announcing upbeat results from an important phase 3 trial, shares of�Zogenix (NASDAQ:ZGNX), a clinical-stage pharmaceuticals company focused on diseases of the�central nervous system, surged 16% as of 10:41 a.m. EDT Thursday.

So what

Zogenix shared top-line results from its phase 3 study 1504 today. This trial was designed to test its lead compound ZX008 as a hopeful treatment for children and young adults with Dravet syndrome. Dravet syndrome is a rare form of epilepsy that leads to frequent�seizures.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here are the key findings from the study:

ZX008 achieved the study's primary endpoint, which was a statistically significant reduction in convulsive seizures when compared to a placebo. Specifically, 54.7% of patients who took ZX008 showed a greater reduction in mean monthly convulsive seizures than the placebo group. Furthermore, the median reduction in monthly convulsive seizure frequency was 62.7% in the ZX008 group. That was much better than the 1.2% rate observed in patients who received a placebo.�� ZX008 also showed statistically significant results in all of the study's secondary endpoints. These endpoints included a reduction in convulsive seizure frequency and duration between seizures. The drug was�generally well-tolerated by patients. The number of adverse events observed was consistent with earlier studies. 300 patients remain enrolled in an ongoing safety extension study to monitor potential cardiovascular events. The company affirmed that it is on track to submit ZX008 to regulators in the U.S. and E.U. in the fourth quarter of this year.

Given the news, it is easy to understand why share prices are flying high today.

Now what

Zogenix's CEO Dr. Stephen Farr was enthusiastic about the study's results and offered investors the following commentary:

"Based on these highly compelling top-line results from both of our pivotal studies, we are now focused on submitting applications for regulatory approvals in the U.S. and�Europe�in the fourth quarter of 2018.� We are excited about ZX008's potential to a have a major impact in the treatment of patients with Dravet syndrome and their families."�

When adding today's clinical news to the fact that ZX008 has already received Breakthrough Therapy designation in the U.S. and is designated as an orphan drug in the U.S. and�Europe, the odds look very favorable that the drug will go on to win regulatory approval. If that happens, then the stage is set for a showdown between ZX008 and�GW Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:GWPH) Dravet syndrome drug Epidiloex in 2019.

Microsoft unveils Surface Go to take on iPad

Microsoft is taking a stab at the cheap tablet market with the Surface Go, a 10-inch iPad competitor.

The Go offers the look and feel of Microsoft's larger Surface tablets in a 10-inch package that weighs just over a pound and costs $399. That's half the cost of the cheapest Surface Pro tablet and comparable to Samsung's 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2, but still $70 more than the 9.7-inch iPad.

Although aimed at all users, the Go could help Microsoft (MSFT) maintain momentum in its battle against Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) for a greater share of the student market.

Google's Chromebook laptops dominate that market, supplying almost 60% of all devices in the classroom, according to a 2017 report from research firm Futuresource. Apple devices account for about 17%.

Microsoft's new Surface Go.

The Surface Go is about the size of a composition notebook and runs Windows 10 S software. Like every other tablet out of Redmond, it has a detachable keyboard and supports the Surface Pen. It also offers a few features aimed at students: Portrait mode renders pages much like a textbook and landscape mode renders them side-by-side like an open book.

That said, J.P. Gownder, vice president at research firm Forrester, sees the Go's small size and Window's operating system as appealing to businesses.

"It equips mobile workers with a very light weight device that's extremely manageable and secure, and runs business applications in Windows," he said. "It should compete extremely well with the iPad. It's also got the design flair and usability workers want, but it has the applications that employees really need."

Gownder find the Go's appeal to mainstream consumers "a bit murkier" because people "love" their iOS and Android smartphones. That makes them inclined to stick with tablets that run the same software they're already familiar with. Getting them to switch can be a tough sell, especially if they aren't saving a ton of money.

"It remains to be seen exactly how the consumer market for this device will evolve, but the enterprise market should show strong demand," Gownder said.

Greenlight Capital Re (GLRE) – Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Greenlight Capital Re (NASDAQ: GLRE) in the last few weeks:

7/5/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating. According to Zacks, “GREENLIGHT CAPITAL REINSURANCE LTD. is an AM Best A- (Excellent) rated specialty property and casualty reinsurance company based in the Cayman Islands. The Company provides a variety of custom-tailored reinsurance solutions to the insurance, risk retention group, captive and financial marketplaces. Greenlight Re selectively offers customized reinsurance solutions in markets where capacity and alternatives are limited. With a focus on deriving superior returns from both sides of the balance sheet, Greenlight Re’s assets are managed according to a value-oriented equity-focused strategy that complements the Company’s business goal of long-term growth in book value per share. “ 7/4/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $16.00 price target on the stock. According to Zacks, “GREENLIGHT CAPITAL REINSURANCE LTD. is an AM Best A- (Excellent) rated specialty property and casualty reinsurance company based in the Cayman Islands. The Company provides a variety of custom-tailored reinsurance solutions to the insurance, risk retention group, captive and financial marketplaces. Greenlight Re selectively offers customized reinsurance solutions in markets where capacity and alternatives are limited. With a focus on deriving superior returns from both sides of the balance sheet, Greenlight Re’s assets are managed according to a value-oriented equity-focused strategy that complements the Company’s business goal of long-term growth in book value per share. “ 7/2/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. 6/30/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. 6/6/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating. According to Zacks, “GREENLIGHT CAPITAL REINSURANCE LTD. is an AM Best A- (Excellent) rated specialty property and casualty reinsurance company based in the Cayman Islands. The Company provides a variety of custom-tailored reinsurance solutions to the insurance, risk retention group, captive and financial marketplaces. Greenlight Re selectively offers customized reinsurance solutions in markets where capacity and alternatives are limited. With a focus on deriving superior returns from both sides of the balance sheet, Greenlight Re’s assets are managed according to a value-oriented equity-focused strategy that complements the Company’s business goal of long-term growth in book value per share. “ 6/5/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was upgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating. 5/29/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was downgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating. 5/12/2018 – Greenlight Capital Re was downgraded by analysts at BidaskClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.

NASDAQ GLRE traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.80. 223,200 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,584. Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $13.55 and a twelve month high of $23.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.26 million, a PE ratio of -11.40 and a beta of 0.88.

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Greenlight Capital Re (NASDAQ:GLRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported ($3.85) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.43) by $0.58. Greenlight Capital Re had a negative return on equity of 23.81% and a negative net margin of 40.65%. The firm had revenue of $0.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.20 million. sell-side analysts forecast that Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. will post -4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider Barry Brendan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total value of $310,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,838,648.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leonard R. Goldberg acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.25 per share, with a total value of $183,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 166,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,541,275.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 21.38% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Greenlight Capital Re by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 129,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Greenlight Capital Re during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Greenlight Capital Re by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 26,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Greenlight Capital Re by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 138,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Greenlight Capital Re by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,964,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38,317 shares during the period. 43.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of property and casualty reinsurance products and services worldwide. Its frequency business comprises contracts containing small losses emanating from multiple events and enables the clients to increase their underwriting capacity; and severity business includes contracts with the potential for significant losses emanating from one event or various events.

Why Clean Energy Fuels Corp's Shares Plunged 18% Today

What happened�

Shares of natural gas fuel company Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) fell as much as 17.8% in trading Thursday, ending the day down 15.5% as an analyst gave a negative review of the stock. But keep in mind that shares are still up 54.2% year to date, so this has been a winner of late for investors.�

So what

Today's move was driven by Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov, who cut his rating from market perform to underperform. Excitement about the equity investment Total�made in the company earlier this year was cited as a reason shares have surged, but Molchanov thinks shares have gone up too high too fast.

Image source: Getty Images.

Shares of Clean Energy Fuels have been very volatile this year, but they've been rising on news like the Total investment and rising oil prices. On the flip side, the company has actually been shrinking, and losses have been growing over the past year, so fundamentals haven't caught up to investor bullishness at the moment.�

CLNE Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

Now what

Intangible news items are really what's driving Clean Energy Fuels stock lately, and it's hard to tell if the company is coming or going on any given day. What investors will want to watch over the next year is how Total's funding and higher oil prices impact demand.

If they lead to more natural gas being used and higher prices at the pump, the company could be well-positioned to reduce losses and eventually make a profit. But if demand doesn't pick up while conditions are good, the company may not ever live up to expectations. This debate will keep investors on their toes as the year plays out.

pdvWireless Inc (PDVW) Position Raised by Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc.

Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in pdvWireless Inc (NASDAQ:PDVW) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,025 shares of the wireless provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares during the quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of pdvWireless worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chicago Equity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in pdvWireless during the 1st quarter worth $430,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in pdvWireless by 136.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,661 shares of the wireless provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 13,068 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in pdvWireless by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 646,386 shares of the wireless provider’s stock worth $20,749,000 after purchasing an additional 10,333 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new stake in pdvWireless during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in pdvWireless during the 4th quarter worth $108,000. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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In other news, EVP Richard E. Rohmann sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $25,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,066.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Owl Creek Asset Management, L. purchased 11,701 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.86 per share, for a total transaction of $349,391.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 152,721 shares of company stock worth $4,311,435 and have sold 2,700 shares worth $74,799. Insiders own 10.91% of the company’s stock.

Shares of pdvWireless opened at $25.40 on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The stock has a market cap of $363.46 million, a PE ratio of -10.90 and a beta of 0.63. pdvWireless Inc has a twelve month low of $22.50 and a twelve month high of $39.75.

pdvWireless (NASDAQ:PDVW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 5th. The wireless provider reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 million. pdvWireless had a negative net margin of 481.95% and a negative return on equity of 15.58%. analysts expect that pdvWireless Inc will post -2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PDVW shares. BidaskClub raised shares of pdvWireless from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of pdvWireless from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 4th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of pdvWireless from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.50.

pdvWireless Profile

pdvWireless, Inc, a wireless communication company, provides network and mobile communication solutions to infrastructure and enterprise customers. It offers The TeamConnect service combines pdvConnect, which combines pdvConnect, a proprietary suite of mobile communication and workforce management applications with digital network architecture and mobile devices supplied by Motorola Solutions, Inc The company's mobile communication and workforce management solutions enable businesses to locate and communicate with their field workers, as well as enhance the documentation of work events and job status.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PDVW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for pdvWireless Inc (NASDAQ:PDVW).

Netlist (NLST) Stock Price Down 6.3%

Netlist, Inc. (NASDAQ:NLST)’s share price traded down 6.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $0.17 and last traded at $0.17. 2,960 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 2,102,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.16.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. ValuEngine raised shares of Netlist from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 2nd. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1.00 target price on shares of Netlist in a report on Friday, June 1st. Roth Capital raised shares of Netlist from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 31st. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Netlist from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Netlist has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.55.

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The firm has a market capitalization of $17.08 million, a PE ratio of -0.83 and a beta of -0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -1.87.

Netlist (NASDAQ:NLST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 15th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $8.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.00 million. equities analysts anticipate that Netlist, Inc. will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

About Netlist

Netlist, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells modular memory subsystems for the server, high-performance computing, and communications markets worldwide. It offers Hybri dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a storage class memory product, which unifies dynamic random access memory (DRAM)and NAND flash in a plug-and-play module delivering terabyte storage capacities operating at nanosecond memory speeds.

Market Update: Nifty auto gains led by Maruti, Bajaj Auto; Jubilant Food hits new 52-week high

The Indian benchmark indices are trading on a�positive�note this Wednesday�afternoon�with the Nifty�adding�48�points and is trading at�10,748�mark.�The Sensex is trading higher by�195�points at 35,573.

Nifty auto is up close to a percent led by Amara Raja Batteries, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Motherson Sumi Systems and TVS Motor Company.

Bank Nifty�gained half a percent led by Kotak�Mahindra�Bank, IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank and Axis Bank.

Oil & gas stocks are also up led by Reliance Industries and Indian Oil Corporation.

related news Unichem Laboratories rallies 5% on USFDA approval for Montelukast chewable tablets Jiya Eco Products stock jumps 19% on setting up of new pellet plant

Selective metal names are also buzzing this Wednesday afternoon including�Hindustan Zinc,�Coal India, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Steel and Welspun Corp.

Nifty pharma is up close to a percent led by stocks including Cadila Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Labs, GSK Pharma, Lupin, Glenmark Pharma and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.

The top gainers among Nifty constituents were�Bajaj Auto, Bharti Infratel, Lupin, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Dr Reddy's Labs.

The most actively traded stocks on the NSE are Shriram Transport Finance which is down close to�14�percent�followed by�Sun Pharma,�Lupin, Just Dial and Maruti Suzuki.

The top NSE losers included�HPCL, Grasim Industries, BPCL,�Cipla and Vedanta.

Some of the top gainers on BSE are�Indocount Industries, Marksans Pharma, Sobha, Avanti Feeds and Bajaj Corp.

The top losers included Shriram Transport, SREI Infra, NBCC, Vakrangee and Kwality.

Britannia Industries, GSK Pharma, Godrej Consumer, Jubilant Foodworks and HEG�are�some�of the very�few stocks that hit fresh 52-week high in the�afternoon�trade.

On the other hand,�143�stocks have hit new 52-week low including�Finolex Industries, HPCL, HUDCO, Kwality, Mangalam Cement, Max Financial and Tata Motors among others.

The breadth of the market favoured�declines, with�804�stocks advancing, 895�declining and�365�remaining unchanged. On BSE,�1195�stocks advanced, 1286�declined and�133�remained unchanged.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. First Published on Jul 4, 2018 02:25 pm

KeyCorp Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM)

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) – Analysts at KeyCorp lowered their Q2 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of Akamai Technologies in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, June 26th. KeyCorp analyst B. Nispel now forecasts that the technology infrastructure company will post earnings of $0.60 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.62. KeyCorp has a “Sector Weight” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Akamai Technologies’ Q3 2018 earnings at $0.62 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $2.84 EPS.

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Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 30th. The technology infrastructure company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $669.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $654.37 million. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 10.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. ValuEngine raised shares of Akamai Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 2nd. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 18th. DA Davidson set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. Finally, SunTrust Banks raised their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies to $78.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Akamai Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.91.

Shares of AKAM stock opened at $72.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. Akamai Technologies has a 52 week low of $44.65 and a 52 week high of $83.08.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,743 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. We Are One Seven LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $160,000. Delpha Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $177,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.44% of the company’s stock.

In other Akamai Technologies news, EVP Robert Blumofe sold 8,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.81, for a total transaction of $593,316.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rick M. Mcconnell sold 7,382 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.64, for a total value of $536,228.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,052 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,777.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,879 shares of company stock worth $3,600,647. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Akamai Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $417.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology infrastructure company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Akamai Technologies

Akamai Technologies, Inc provides cloud services for delivering, optimizing, and securing content and business applications over the Internet in the United States and internationally. The company offers Web and mobile performance solutions, such as Ion, a situational performance solution; Dynamic Site Accelerator that helps in consistent Website performance; Image Manager that automatically optimizes online images; CloudTest to conduct load testing and other analysis of Websites in a pre-production environment; mPulse that provides real-time Website performance data to provide insight about end-user experiences on a Website; and Global Traffic Management, a fault-tolerant solution.

Whitestone REIT (WSR) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $33.52 Million

Analysts expect that Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) will report sales of $33.52 million for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts have made estimates for Whitestone REIT’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $33.64 million and the lowest is $33.40 million. Whitestone REIT reported sales of $30.21 million during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 11%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next earnings report on Wednesday, August 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Whitestone REIT will report full year sales of $134.87 million for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $134.10 million to $135.64 million. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will post sales of $139.96 million per share, with estimates ranging from $139.20 million to $140.72 million. Zacks’ sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Whitestone REIT.

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WSR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Maxim Group dropped their price objective on Whitestone REIT from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 5th. B. Riley set a $13.00 price objective on Whitestone REIT and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 5th. ValuEngine raised Whitestone REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 9th. Zacks Investment Research raised Whitestone REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 5th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price objective on Whitestone REIT from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Shares of Whitestone REIT traded up $0.17, hitting $12.49, during trading on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. 411,028 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 338,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Whitestone REIT has a 1 year low of $10.06 and a 1 year high of $15.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $490.27 million, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.04.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.095 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 2nd. Whitestone REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.20%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whitestone REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Whitestone REIT by 277.1% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 13,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Whitestone REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $193,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Whitestone REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, We Are One Seven LLC bought a new position in shares of Whitestone REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone is a community-centered retail REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops and redevelops high quality ?E-commerce resistant? neighborhood, community and lifestyle retail centers principally located in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt. Whitestone's mix of national, regional and local tenants provides daily necessities, needed services and entertainment not typically readily available online to their respective communities.

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

Northrop Grumman Just Became a Bona Fide "Space Stock"

Nine months in the making, Northrop Grumman's (NYSE:NOC) $9.2 billion acquisition of space company Orbital ATK is now a done deal.

Earlier this month, Northrop confirmed that having just received antimonopoly clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, it had immediately proceeded to close its purchase of smaller aerospace company Orbital ATK. Northrop wasted no time in stamping its mark on its new prize, renaming it Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) and designating it Northrop's "new, fourth business sector."

NGIS now supplements Northrop's existing specialties in aerospace systems (bombers and drones), mission systems (sensors and electronic warfare), and technology services (software and training). The company also confirmed that Orbital's former COO, Blake Larson, will head up the new division.

Orbital ATK owns the Antares rocket line -- and now Northrop Grumman owns Orbital ATK. Image source: Getty Images.

Why did Northrop buy Orbital?

Northrop CEO Wesley Bush tackled this question in his Q3 conference call with analysts last year: "If you look at the Northrop Grumman portfolio space capabilities, we tend to focus on the really big things. Think about us as observatories or in the national security domain, we tend to focus on the very large assets."

And yet, a lot of the growth in space lately has come not in the "really big things" -- such as large satellites and the larger rockets that put them into orbit -- but in�small satellites,�small rockets, and the industry that's rapidly becoming known as "new space." Over the next five years, space industry researcher StratSpace Intelligence predicts, more spacecraft will be launched into orbit than were launched in the last 50 years combined. StratSpace says about 3,500 space missions are currently planned through 2022, with the majority of these being "small missions and spacecraft."

Northrop Grumman's acquisition of Orbital ATK can be viewed in part as an effort to capture a piece of this growth market. "If you look at the portfolio at Orbital ATK, it's more the smaller, in many case, more-agile response capabilities that are going to be core to this future," Bush said.

Orbital ATK's fleet of Antares, Minotaur, and Pegasus launchers are smaller in capacity, and cheaper to purchase, than the large Delta IV and Atlas V rockets operated by its rival United Launch Alliance. Orbital is also engaged in cutting-edge projects like the development of a space "tow truck" service to repair orbiting spacecraft for its commercial satellite customers.

At the same time, though, acquiring Orbital ATK -- which is currently developing a heavy-lift rocket for the U.S. Air Force -- helps to lift Northrop into the realm of giant space stocks like Boeing�and Lockheed Martin�(the co-owners of United Launch Alliance), whose Delta IV (Boeing) and Atlas V (Lockheed) rockets have dominated the government space-launch business for years. Assuming Northrop brings Orbital's OmegA heavy-lift rocket to completion, it will itself become a contender in large space launches.

What does this deal mean in dollars and cents?

So Northrop Grumman is now a major player in both "big space" and "new space" with this acquisition. But is it a good investment? That's actually harder to answer than it seems.

Look up Northrop Grumman stock on Yahoo! Finance, for example, and you'll see little evidence that the Orbital deal has already closed. Northrop is still listed as having a $54.9 billion market capitalization, pulling down $26.1 billion in trailing 12 month sales, earning a 13.1% operating profit margin on those sales, and dropping nearly $12 per share to the bottom line.

But those numbers no longer reflect the real Northrop.

As detailed in its SEC filing made to confirm the merger's closing, Northrop now expects to end this year with sales of $30 billion -- 15% higher than its trailing sales figure and $3 billion above previous guidance, before Orbital. On the other hand, the company's operating profit margin, already retreating from record highs last year, is expected to erode further with the absorption of lower-earning Orbital -- falling into the upper 11% range. Still, adding Orbital's profits to its own, Northrop expects to end this year with per-share profits of between $16.20 and $16.45.

So is $54.9 billion a fair price for the new Northrop? Valued on this year's expected earnings, Northrop is selling for a P/E of 19.2. That doesn't sound too bad, given that the average P/E on the S&P 500 today is 25.1. Problem is, analysts are only projecting about 10% annualized long-term earnings growth for Northrop, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence -- and 19x earnings seems a bit much to pay for just 10% growth. On top of that, the stock's 1.8 price-to-sales ratio is about 80% above what aerospace companies have been averaging for most of this decade.

Long story short, even as Northrop's latest acquisition suggests it's setting its sights higher -- all the way to space -- the stock's valuation tells me there's more downside than up for Northrop Grumman stock.

Buy Coal India; target of Rs 375: Centrum

Centrum's research report on Coal India

We re-instate our coverage on Coal India (CIL) and rate it Buy with a new TP of Rs375. We are enthused by the progress made by CIL in last six months in successfully tackling multiple headwinds around employee wage costs and FSA realisations and we expect CIL to deliver strong earnings growth over FY18-20E led by i) better demand and volume CAGR of 6%, ii) robust FSA pricing on the back of recent price increases and better grade compliance and iii) strong share of e-auction volumes at 18% of total volumes coupled with higher realisations supported by favorable global coal prices. Stock trades at inexpensive valuations of 6x FY19E EV/EBITDA despite attractive return rations and we expect strong case of re-rating as earnings improve. Dividend yield of 7%+ is an added positive.

Outlook

We ascribe EV/EBITDA multiple of 7x to FY20E earnings to arrive at our TP of Rs375. Recommend Buy. Key downside risk is unfavorable use of high cash & lower volumes.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies 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 Jun 8, 2018 02:59 pm

Nationwide Layoffs Modest in May

Layoffs were moderate nationwide in May, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which is known for tracking the trend. There were 31,517 layoffs this month.�That number is down from 36,081 in April. One month does not make a trend, but it is still part of a national surge in jobs, which has sent joblessness to a rate of 3.9%.

John Challenger, the chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said: “On average, job cuts are at their lowest in May and June. Companies typically make their staffing moves at the beginning of the year or in the fourth quarter.”

The trend so far this year is not as promising:

So far this year, employers have announced 207,977 job cuts, 6.2 percent more than the 195,895 announced through the first five months of 2017.

Retail leads all sectors in job cuts this year, with 69,316, 4,946 of which occurred in May. Retailers have announced 24 percent more cuts than through the same period last year, when 55,910 cuts were announced. So far this year, Challenger has tracked 2,565 store closures.

Health Care/Products companies announced the second highest number of job cuts in May, with 4,003, for a total of 21,453 this year. Companies in the Services sector announced 19,363 cuts, with 4,698 in May.

No one should be surprised by the retail number as the brick-and-mortar segment of retail continues to fall apart and traditional retailers continue to close stores. Certainly, earnings from some of the largest retailers were bleak last quarter.

As late spring and summer progress, the Challenger number should be expected to range between 30,000 and 40,000, with retail layoffs continuing to lead the way. If the numbers go higher, there is good reason to worry that the jobs market may have turned for the worse.

Somewhat Positive Media Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Affect Prudential Financial (PRU) Stock Price

Media headlines about Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of press coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Prudential Financial earned a news impact score of 0.20 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned headlines about the financial services provider an impact score of 46.5607056190803 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next several days.

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

Get Prudential Financial alerts: Prudential (PUK) Presents At 2018 Deutsche Bank Annual Global Financial Services Conference – Slideshow (seekingalpha.com) Leston Welsh joins Prudential Group Insurance as head of Disability and Absence Management (finance.yahoo.com) Contrasting Prudential Financial (PRU) & Old Mutual (ODMTY) (americanbankingnews.com) Prudential again accused with unauthorised money deduction (vir.com.vn) An Application for the Trademark ��MULLINTBG�� Has Been Filed by Prudential Insurance Company (insurancenewsnet.com)

Prudential Financial traded down $5.05, hitting $94.97, during midday trading on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. 2,919,216 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,103. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.52. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $94.51 and a one year high of $127.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.68 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 12.15 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.03%.

PRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $132.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Prudential Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.50.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through U.S. Individual Solutions, U.S. Workplace Solutions, Investment Management, and International Insurance divisions.

Indian Hotels stock rallies 7% as HSBC raises target post strong Q4 nos

Indian Hotels share price gained 7 percent intraday on Monday after global brokerage firm HSBC retained its Buy rating on the stock with increased target price to Rs 165 (from Rs 155) following strong earnings growth.

The research house expects 2019 growth to be better than 2018. "Occupancy is already near record-high levels in major cities."

Net profit of the company shot up more than 70 percent to Rs 79.3 crore for the quarter ended March 2018, compared to Rs 46.53 crore in same period last year.

Revenue from operations during the quarter increased nearly 9 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,144 crore in March quarter.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) grew by 38 percent to Rs 245 crore and margin expanded by 450 basis points to 21.4 percent YoY.

Indian Hotels reduced its finance cost sharply by 33 percent to Rs 52 crore compared to year-ago period.

At 13:16 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 144, up Rs 6.90, or 5.03 percent on the BSE.

Gold struggles to retain grip above trend line at $1,300, but aims for weekly gain

Gold prices fought to advance in early Friday trade, with investors watching whether the commodity can defend a key psychologically trend line above $1,300, as a strengthening dollar and an ease in geopolitical tensions weighs on bullion.

June gold GCM8, -0.08% was little changed, off less than 0.1%, to $1,306.70 an ounce.

A mixed reading within the details of a durable goods report did little to counter a largely dovish set of Federal Reserve meeting minutes released earlier this week, which had already helped the precious metal rebound from the lowest levels of 2018.

Activity may be lighter than normal ahead of a three-day weekend, with markets shut on Monday for Memorial Day.

��A weekly close above $1,307, which is the 200-day moving average, is likely to trigger a rethink among funds holding the lowest net-long position in 10 months,�� said Ole Hansen, commodities analyst at Saxo Bank.

Prices for the metal found some support this week as minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve��s May meeting didn��t indicate a more aggressive pace of interest-rate increases was in the offing. Central bank officials backed longstanding market expectations for an interest-rate hike next month. Prospects for higher interest rates are typically dollar-positive and a drag on gold.

Chairman Jerome Powell was set to appear on a panel on financial stability and central-bank transparency at a conference in Stockholm Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the presidents of the Chicago and Dallas Feds, Charles Evans and Rob Kaplan, are expected to speak on a panel at a Dallas Fed conference on technology and disruption at 11:45 a.m. Eastern.

Investors will keep an eye on geopolitical headlines, which can be gold-supportive. President Donald Trump called off a June 12 summit with North Korea but a senior official from Pyongyang said its leader Kim Jong Un is still willing to meet. U.S. stocks briefly tumbled Thursday on news that Trump had pulled out, but traders seemed to be finding some reassurance in North Korea��s measured response, sending stocks higher Friday. Stock gains could help keep haven gold��s advance in check.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.45% �rose 0.3% to 94.11 after rising to its highest level since mid-December earlier this week and the 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.72% fell further below the closely watched 3% line.

In other trading, July silver SIN8, -0.61% slipped 0.1% to $16.67 an ounce, on track for a roughly 1.3% weekly gain.

��July silver futures bulls and bears are back on a level overall near-term technical playing field,�� said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst with Kitco.com. ��Silver bulls�� next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $17.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the May low of $16.07.��

July copper HGN8, -0.61% �saw muted action, trading at $3.097 a pound, as July platinum PLN8, -0.98% �fell 0.4% to $909.10 an ounce, but September palladium PAU8, -0.32% gained 0.5% to $970.50 an ounce.

Among exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Shares GLD, +0.04% �rose 0.1%, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV, -0.52% �down slightly, while the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, -0.79% �eased 0.4%.

4 Simple Reasons to Buy TJX Companies Stock

Shares of TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) rallied 70% over the past five years as the retailer continued to win over consumers and investors with its off-price business model. With the stock already up nearly 15% this year, investors might be wondering if they should wait for a pullback before starting a position -- but I think it's still wise to buy TJX at these levels, for four simple reasons.

1. It's Amazon-resistant

TJX uses its network of over 1,000 buying associates to purchase excess inventories from more than 18,000 vendors in over�100 countries. It then sells these products at 20% to 60% discounts through its brick-and-mortar chains, which include T.J. Maxx, T.K Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, Sierra Trading Post, and Winners.

Image source: TJX Companies.

TJX's scale enables it to sell products at significantly lower prices than Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). It also rotates its products quickly, which encourages shoppers to frequently go "treasure hunting" at its stores. That's why customer traffic at its stores rose for�15 straight quarters.

2. Consistent top and bottom line growth

TJX's revenue rose 12% annually to�$8.7 billion last quarter, compared to just 3% growth a year earlier. Its comparable store sales grew 3%. For the full year, analysts expect TJX's revenue to�grow 6%. Its closest rival, Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST), is expected to report 4% sales growth.

TJX's gross margin dipped 10 basis points annually to 28.9% last quarter, but its consolidated pre-tax profit margin rose 30 basis points to 11%. Those are impressive margins for a company that regularly undercuts Amazon and other brick-and-mortar retailers.

As a result, TJX's adjusted EPS -- which excludes a $0.17 tax benefit -- rose 17% annually to $0.96 per share during the quarter. Its diluted EPS, which includes that benefit, rose 38% to $1.13 per share. For the full year, TJX expects its diluted earnings to grow 18% to 20%. That's a robust growth rate for a stock that trades at just 18 times this year's earnings. Ross, by comparison, trades at 20 times this year's earnings.

3. Opening stores as others retreat

TJX also consistently opens new stores. Between the first quarters of�2018 and 2019, its total store count rose 7% to 4,141 locations in nine countries, with year-over-year openings across all seven banners. That expansion slightly outpaced Ross' annual store count�growth of 6% to 1,622 locations last quarter.

TJX's positive comps, rising earnings, and new store openings all indicate that it's much healthier than other American brick-and-mortar retailers, many of which are closing stores to stay afloat.

Image source: Getty Images.

TJX also generates high sales per square foot relative to its industry peers. Its stores, on average, generated $328 in sales per square foot in fiscal 2018, compared to just $300 in�2014. Ross generated $322 in sales per square foot in fiscal 2017, up from $286 in fiscal 2013.

4. Plenty of buybacks and dividends

TJX repurchased $400 million in stock last quarter, and plans to buy back another $2.5 billion to $3 billion in shares this year. It also raised its dividend by 25% in April, marking its 22nd straight year of annual dividend hikes.

TJX's forward dividend yield of 1.9% might not satisfy serious income investors, but its long streak of dividend hikes and low payout ratio (29% in fiscal 2018) indicate that its yield will likely climb over the long term.

The key takeaway

TJX's business model is built to last against e-tailers like Amazon. So long as other brick-and-mortar retailers get "Amazoned" and need to dump their inventories at fire sale prices, TJX's business will thrive. Therefore, investors looking for a safe retail play with a decent dividend should consider buying TJX at these levels.

New York & Company (NWY) Given $4.50 Consensus Target Price by Brokerages

Shares of New York & Company (NYSE:NWY) have received an average broker rating score of 1.00 (Strong Buy) from the one brokers that provide coverage for the stock, Zacks Investment Research reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a strong buy rating.

Analysts have set a 12-month consensus target price of $4.50 for the company and are forecasting that the company will post $0.04 earnings per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also given New York & Company an industry rank of 84 out of 265 based on the ratings given to related companies.

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A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. ValuEngine raised New York & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 4th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on New York & Company in a research note on Monday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company.

In other news, Director Arthur E. Reiner sold 10,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.00, for a total value of $42,116.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 53.80% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWY. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 6,395,586 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,291,000 after acquiring an additional 473,518 shares during the last quarter. Wynnefield Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company by 179.0% in the 1st quarter. Wynnefield Capital Inc. now owns 724,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 465,000 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of New York & Company by 2,019.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 460,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 439,141 shares during the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of New York & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $829,000. Finally, EAM Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of New York & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $482,000. 32.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NWY stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.85. 1,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,474. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. New York & Company has a 12 month low of $1.28 and a 12 month high of $4.31. The firm has a market cap of $245.43 million, a P/E ratio of 38.50 and a beta of 1.43.

New York & Company (NYSE:NWY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter. New York & Company had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 0.61%. The company had revenue of $278.71 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. research analysts expect that New York & Company will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New York & Company Company Profile

New York & Company, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of women's fashion apparel and accessories in the United States. It offers a merchandise assortment, including wear-to-work, casual apparel, and accessories comprising pants, dresses, jackets, knit tops, blouses, sweaters, denims, T-shirts, active wear, handbags, jewelry, and shoes under the New York & Company, NY&C, NY Style, Soho New York & Company Jeans, Lerner, Lerner New York, and Fashion to Figure brand names for women between the ages of 25 and 49.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on New York & Company (NWY)

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Somewhat Positive News Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Affect JD.Com (JD) Stock Price

Headlines about JD.Com (NASDAQ:JD) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern reports. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. JD.Com earned a news impact score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news coverage about the information services provider an impact score of 46.7225172033459 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

These are some of the media stories that may have effected Accern’s scoring:

Get JD.Com alerts: Can Vipshop Stock Bounce Back After Last Week’s 20% Drop? (fool.com) JD.com brings AR to Walmart stores and seeks to partner with other external partners (tamebay.com) JD.com deploys AR beauty mirror into bricks & mortar (essentialretail.com) Metcash Partners with JD.Com to Sell Groceries in China (which-50.com) NXP and JD.com partner to develop internet of things and artificial intelligence in China (roboticsandautomationnews.com)

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JD shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of JD.Com in a research report on Friday, March 2nd. ValuEngine lowered shares of JD.Com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase reduced their target price on shares of JD.Com from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 5th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of JD.Com from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Vetr lowered shares of JD.Com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.78 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.35.

JD.Com traded up $0.57, hitting $36.28, during trading on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. 9,484,264 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,351,558. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,628.00, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. JD.Com has a 1 year low of $34.88 and a 1 year high of $50.68.

JD.Com (NASDAQ:JD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 8th. The information services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.73. The company had revenue of $100.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.92 billion. JD.Com had a net margin of 0.31% and a return on equity of 3.62%. JD.Com’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that JD.Com will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About JD.Com

JD.com, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an e-commerce company in the People's Republic of China. The company operates in two segments, JD Mall and New Businesses. It sells mobile handsets, consumer electronics products, and auto parts and accessories; home appliances; and general merchandise products directly to customers through its Website jd.com and mobile applications.

Tepper's ��Do What's Right�� Advice Drawn From Goldman Experience

David Tepper’s advice to graduating Carnegie Mellon University students to “do what’s right” stemmed from his own experience at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The billionaire hedge fund manager, who gave the keynote commencement address at his alma mater Sunday, relayed a story from his early days at the bank, when he had to "refuse a powerful partner’s request."

The partner, who had started a new fund to invest in bankrupt firms, also controlled the list of companies that Goldman couldn’t invest in because of a conflict of interest or due to sensitive information, recalled Tepper, wearing a black graduation gown, blue sash and cap with gold tassel. The partner had asked Tepper to make a trade, buying a company that the partner had removed from the restricted list that very day.

"It didn’t seem right. In fact I went to our legal department and told them what was going on," said Tepper, who worked at the bank from 1985 to 1992.

After much back and forth, the legal team said the trade would be okay, but it still didn’t feel right to Tepper, he said. So he refused again to make the trade. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment Sunday.

"I didn’t get fired but when I came up for partner I got shot down and I was incredibly upset," he said under the sun at the university’s Gesling Stadium. "But you know what, you know what, it turned out all right. Because I didn’t end up as partner at Goldman Sachs, I started my own company in 1993 called Appaloosa, and ended up doing something that was a lot more fun and made my life better in so many ways."

This week Tepper, whose mother was in the audience as Carnegie Mellon awarded him an honorary doctorate degree, agreed to purchase the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers for a record $2.3 billion in an all-cash deal. His Appaloosa Management, which runs about $17 billion, is among the hedge fund industry’s top performers. Tepper has donated more than $125 million to CMU.

"In life, do what’s right. Really. Do what’s right. It won’t hurt you, just keep your priorities straight," he told the students.

But childhood wasn’t easy for the now-60-year-old hedge fund manager, who was raised in Stanton Heights, Pittsburgh. Tepper said his father was physically abusive. It may have been a cycle he got from his father, and his grandfather before him, Tepper recalled.

“In my young life there was nothing more terrifying,” he recalled, fighting back tears. “There was no greater adversity. But I prayed to God that I would never be the same to my children. And I am proud to say, in what I view as the greatest accomplishment of my life, that I broke that cycle.”

He took a gulp of water while the audience stood in applause.