Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018

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

For all the talk that the business cycle is teetering on the edge of a downturn, debt markets tell a different story.

Upgrades of corporate credit will prevail over downgrades this year, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp., who expect a flood of “rising star” promotions to investment-grade. Risk premiums for junk bonds are moving ever closer to those of higher-rated peers. And funds that profit from fallen-angel downgrades are underperforming, while those that specialize in distressed debt are scrapping over one of the smallest groups of tradable bonds in four years.

Sure, investors are receiving paltry compensation for economic and interest-rate risks. But corporate bonds aren’t signaling the doomsday scenarios laid out this month by some participants at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, dubbed the “Davos of the West.”

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For now, the expanding business cycle is trumping the more restrictive monetary environment, as evidenced by the bull market in junk bonds and low default rates. Higher oil prices and rising borrowing costs have spurred a hunt for shorter-duration bonds with cash flows linked to growth -- paving the way for the outperformance of high yield over high-grade bonds with longer maturities.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Baldwin]

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

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) which rose over 6% to $423.76. The stock��s 52-week range is $217.19 to $426.98. Volume was 1.7 million compared to its average volume of nearly 1 million.

• [By Chris Hill]

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

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

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

• [By Peter Graham]

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

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

• [By Logan Wallace]

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

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

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Trueblue worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Breaking news

  Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, but issued weak sales outlook for the third quarter. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reported upbeat results for its first quarter. Comparable-store sales rose 0.6 percent. Boot Barn Holdings Inc (NYSE: BOOT) disclosed a 7.2 million common stock offering.

• [By Chris Lange]

  Nordstrom Inc.’s (NYSE: JWN) most recent quarterly release is anticipated late on Thursday. The consensus forecast is $0.44 in EPS on $3.46 billion in revenue. Shares ended the week at $48.80. The consensus target price is $51.19, and the 52-week range is $37.79 to $54.00.

• [By ]

  Some reasons for my bearishness on retail stocks:

  Higher Energy Prices. Oil prices have rallied dramatically and back to 2014 levels, rising from about $35 a barrel in early 2016 to around $67 Thursday. That's bad news for U.S. retailers, as rising oil prices historically squeeze consumer disposable incomes. That's one reason why I've been consistently raising my short exposure to retail and plan to continue doing so. Shaky Same-Store Sales Growth. Recent improvements to same-store sales at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) , Urban Outfitters (URBN) , Dillard's (DDS) , Gap Inc. (GPS) and Macy's (M) come against downgraded expectations, and might not be sustainable anyway. No Deal for Nordstrom (JWN) . The Nordstrom family has apparently abandoned plans to take its namesake company private. I had expressed concerns that this would happen. Higher Interest Rates. A rise in the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) has recently accelerated. That's bad news for retailers, as many variable-rate consumer debts (particularly mortgages) key off of the LIBOR. This will likely put a damper on mortgage refinancings -- something that many see as an important ingredient for personal-consumption expenditures.

• [By Zacks]

  We have Macy's (NYSE: M), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) reporting this week.  While the earnings reports will give us the historical data, this week's retail sales data will give us some insight on how well the sector is doing overall in the beginning of Q2.

• [By ]

  On Thursday, earnings are expected from JCPenney Co. (JCP) , Action Alerts PLUS holding Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) , Nintendo Co. (NTDOY) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) .

• [By Chris Lange]

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

Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2018: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

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

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares were also up, gaining 20 percent to $119 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 3.9% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 1-day period ending at 20:00 PM E.T. on June 13th. One MediBloc token can now be purchased for $0.0083 or 0.00000131 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Coinrail, Gate.io and Bibox. During the last seven days, MediBloc has traded 36.5% lower against the U.S. dollar. MediBloc has a total market cap of $24.58 million and $216,935.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last day.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares jumped 29.86 percent to close at $2.87 on Friday. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares gained 28.87 percent to close at $8.75 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Mexco Energy Corporation (NYSE: MXC) gained 27.02 percent to close at $5.4744. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) climbed 26 percent to close at $23.94. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) rose 25.64 percent to close at $42.44 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.19 percent to close at $8.50 after reporting Q2 results. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares gained 22.45 percent to close at $31.58 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) gained 22.31 percent to close at $6.25 after reporting Q1 results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares jumped 22.27 percent to close at $121.46 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. (NASDAQ: JRSH) gained 20.86 percent to close at $8.46. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) rose 19.83 percent to close at $6.89 after reporting strong quarterly results. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 18.01 percent to close at $55.95 on Friday after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 17.73 percent to close at $21.25 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Schmitt Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMIT) rose 17.41 percent to close at $2.36. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares gained 16.78 percent to close at $12.25 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares rose 14.23 percent to close at $63.40 following Q1 result
• [By Joseph Griffin]

  MediBloc (CURRENCY:MED) traded 6.8% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 15:00 PM Eastern on May 27th. MediBloc has a total market cap of $73.40 million and $743,880.00 worth of MediBloc was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One MediBloc token can currently be purchased for approximately $0.0247 or 0.00000339 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges including Bibox, Gate.io and Coinrail. During the last seven days, MediBloc has traded 8.3% higher against the dollar.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r