GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) Earns Daily News Impact Score of 0.08

Media coverage about GenMark Diagnostics (NASDAQ:GNMK) has been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern. Accern rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. GenMark Diagnostics earned a coverage optimism score of 0.08 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news headlines about the medical equipment provider an impact score of 46.8084316993639 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the near future.

GenMark Diagnostics traded down $0.04, reaching $6.75, during midday trading on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The stock had a trading volume of 123,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,495. GenMark Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $3.63 and a 1-year high of $12.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.03 million, a PE ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 0.47.

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GenMark Diagnostics (NASDAQ:GNMK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 1st. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.01. GenMark Diagnostics had a negative net margin of 97.90% and a negative return on equity of 77.35%. The business had revenue of $20.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.12 million. analysts anticipate that GenMark Diagnostics will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GNMK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of GenMark Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 24th. BidaskClub lowered shares of GenMark Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 4th. BTIG Research set a $11.00 price target on shares of GenMark Diagnostics and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of GenMark Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity increased their price target on shares of GenMark Diagnostics from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.80.

In other GenMark Diagnostics news, SVP Eric Stier sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.92, for a total value of $69,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,237.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hany Massarany sold 4,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.88, for a total transaction of $28,675.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 694,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,776,151.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,830 shares of company stock worth $369,572 over the last quarter. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About GenMark Diagnostics

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc, a molecular diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular tests based on its proprietary eSensor electrochemical detection technology. It provides ePlex instrument and respiratory pathogen panel, which integrates automated nucleic acid extraction and amplification with its eSensor detection technology to enable operators using ePlex system to place patient sample directly into its test cartridge and obtain results.

Featured Article: How do investors use RSI to grade stocks?

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2019

tags:OMER,VRTV,RRSSF, Investors have a lot to choose from when picking stocks to buy. But many are honing in on a handful of larger than life blue chips.

The 10 biggest companies in the S&P 500 index are collectively worth $4.36 trillion. The entire S&P 500 recently topped $20 trillion in value for the first time.

So the top 10 companies, a mere 2% of the 500 stocks in the index, make up almost 25% of the S&P 500's total market value.

That is astonishing.

The rise in popularity of index ETFs that track the S&P 500 is one of the reasons why these 10 stocks are so widely held. When you buy the SPY (SPY), for example, you get exposure to all 500 companies in the index, which is weighted by market value.

Bulls are running wild on Wall Street again. Check out CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index

But the outsized importance of the biggest 10 companies is also a reflection of how many investors like to follow the old motto of former Fidelity markets guru Peter Lynch: Buy what you know.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2019: Omeros Corporation(OMER)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Cory Renauer]

  Shares of Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ:OMER),�a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, are on the move following the company's first-quarter earnings report. Although revenue fell off a cliff, investors liked what they heard about this biotech's lead candidate enough to drive the stock 23.4% higher as of 12:48 p.m. EDT on Friday.

• [By Garrett Baldwin]
  Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Microsoft Corp.�(Nasdaq: MSFT), and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) received approval from the U.S. Transportation Department to begin pilot programs for drone delivery services. Missing from the list of approved companies was Amazon.com Inc.�(Nasdaq: AMZN). The tech giant has long been an advocate for drone delivery, and its absence came as a surprise to the tech community. It will be a busy day for economic data announcements. Most important will be a report on inflation at 8:30 EDT. Strong price growth has picked up to start the year. This has many economists anticipating that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to stave off additional inflation. Meanwhile, the Bank of England announced that it will hold its benchmark interest rate at 0.5%. The country is still facing economic uncertainty over Brexit. Three Stocks to Watch Today: BKNG, SHLD, F A weak guidance report has shares of Booking Holdings Inc.�(Nasdaq: BKNG) off 6% this morning. Although the travel site operator easily topped Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations, the firm once known as Priceline offered a weak 2018 outlook. That sent investors heading for the exits. Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) stock popped more than 16% on Wednesday afternoon. The news came after the embattled retail company announced plans to partner with Amazon.com�to sell tires. The plan is part of the company's broader turnaround strategy to make the retail firm profitable again. Ford Motor Co.�(NYSE: F) made a stunning announcement on Wednesday. The company said that it will halt production of its F-Series pickup truck. But the move will only be temporary. A fire at a Michigan plant temporarily caused the automotive giant to run out of parts for the top-selling U.S. vehicle. The shutdown could last several weeks, although the company said it has enough parts inventory to last about 12 weeks. Look for additional earnings reports from Nvidia Corp.�(Nasdaq: NVDA
• [By ]

  One such company is Omeros Corporation (Nasdaq: OMER). The company is a small-cap biopharma headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company develops small-molecule and protein therapeutics for application against inflammation, coagulopathies, and disorders of the central nervous system.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) jumped 36.2 percent to $71.82 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter. The company also issued strong second-quarter and FY18 sales guidance. WideOpenWest, Inc. (NYSE: WOW) jumped 30.4 percent to $8.80 after the company reported Q1 results. MoSys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) shares surged 28.6 percent to $1.9541 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results and issued strong Q2 forecast. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) gained 24 percent to $6.39. Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKCA) shares gained 19.1 percent to $24.60. Akcea Therapeutics, an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IONS) announced that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee, which met to discuss the safety and efficacy of subcutaneously injected volanesoren solution for patients with familial chylomicronemia syndrome, voted 12-8 to support its approval. Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) shares rose 17 percent to $10.31 after reporting Q3 results. ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) gained 16.8 percent to $43.1457 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) rose 16.2 percent to $8.60. Amtech posted Q2 earnings of $0.19 per share on sales of $32.783 million. Identiv, Inc (NASDAQ: INVE) surged 14.4 percent to $3.8450 following Q1 results. Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER) shares rose 14.3 percent to $18.43 following Q1 results. VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ: VVPR) gained 11.5 percent to $2.71. Intersections Inc. (NASDAQ: INTX) gained 11.4 percent to $2.55 after reporting Q1 results. Noodles & Company (NASDAQ: NDLS) shares rose 10.9 percent to $8.65 following Q1 results. Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VYGR) climbed 10.6 percent to $18.54 following Q1 results. Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) rose 10.4 percent to $5.739. Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ: IMMR) gained 9.6 percent to $12.69
• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Omeros (NASDAQ:OMER) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

  Several other research firms also recently issued reports on OMER. HC Wainwright set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Omeros and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Maxim Group set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Omeros and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Omeros from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wedbush downgraded shares of Omeros from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, March 23rd. Finally, WBB Securities restated a buy rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Omeros in a report on Monday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $25.88.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2019: Veritiv Corporation(VRTV)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.63 billion. Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $926.18 million. The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.71 billion. US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $5.98 billion. DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.7 per share on revenue of $3.50 billion. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $936.98 million. Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $1.06 billion. Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $1.21 billion. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $23.80 billion. JD.com, Inc. (NYSE: JD) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $15.65 billion. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.6 per share o

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2019: Neometals Ltd (RRSSF)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]

  Neometals [ASX:NMT] [GR:9R9](OTC:RRSSF)
  

  Neometals is primarily a lithium mining company in Western Australia. They own a 13.8% share of the Mt Marion lithium spodumene producing mine. The company has plans to develop a Kalgoorlie lithium hydroxide facility. You can read more on that here. The company also has the world's second highest titanium resource, and some vanadium.

• [By ]

  Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium [SHE:002460], Mineral Resources [ASX:MIN] (OTCPK:MALRY), Neometals (OTC:RRSSF) (Nasdaq:RDRUY) [ASX:NMT], International Lithium Corp. [TSXV:ILC] (OTCPK:ILHMF)

Amedica (AMDA) Sets New 1-Year Low at $0.45

Amedica Co. (NASDAQ:AMDA) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $0.45 and last traded at $0.47, with a volume of 35620 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $0.51.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMDA shares. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Amedica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 4th. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amedica in a report on Tuesday, May 8th.

About Amedica

Amedica Corporation, a biomaterial company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes a range of medical devices based on its silicon nitride technology platform in the United States, Europe, and South America. The company offers silicon nitride implants to surgeons and hospitals for use in cervical and thoracolumbar spine surgery under the Valeo brand.

Featured Article: Short Selling Stocks and Day Traders

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:EGY,BRK-A,RS,JAKK,

Oil futures set off on a positive start Monday as the first decline in U.S. oil-drilling activity since January gave the market a fresh tailwind after seven-consecutive sessions of price gains.

The drop in Baker Hughes�� weekly count, coming after a record 23-straight weeks of rising numbers of active rigs, helped stoke sentiment that shale producers may have hit a bottleneck amid prolonged low prices.

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Vaalco Energy Inc(EGY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARA) shares jumped 28.5 percent to $14.91 in reaction to a new licensing agreement with Europe-based Vifor Pharma. As part of the agreement, the biopharmaceutical company that alleviates pain licensed worldwide rights (except U.S., Japan, and South Korea) to Vifor Pharma to commercialize its KORSUVA therapy to Vifor $70 million. EVO Payments, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVOP) rose 21.5 percent to $19.44. EVO Payments priced its IPO at $16 per share. Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) jumped 16.3 percent to $118.92 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY2018 earnings guidance. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) shares gained 13.4 percent to $132.225 after the company reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. OneSmart International Edun Gr Ltd – ADR (NYSE: ONE) shares rose 12.2 percent to $13.52 Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares gained 11.4 percent to $2.2164 after surging 12.43 percent on Tuesday. USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAT) rose 10.4 percent to $13.02 after announcing pricing of public offering. KemPharm, Inc. (NASDAQ: KMPH) gained 10.3 percent to $6.725. Janney Capital initiated coverage on KemPharm with a Buy rating. Heat Biologics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTBX) shares rose 10 percent to $2.1894 after climbing 12.43 percent on Tuesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) rose 9.5 percent to $93.92. Lowe's reported downbeat results for its first quarter on Wednesday. xG Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: XGTI) jumped 9.1 percent to $0.829 after the company’s subsidiary IMT Vislink received a $1.4 million order from the U.S. Air Force. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) rose 8.6 percent to $2.34 after dropping 10.04 percent on Tuesday. American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE: AEL) rose 8.4 percent to $34.99. American Equity Investment Life confirmed preliminary talks related to a potential deal. Boxl
• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers SenesTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNES) shares surged 296.07 percent to close at $1.25 on Monday after the California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed to register the company's ContraPest for sale and use in California. AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAVS) shares gained 19.59 percent to close at $2.93. TransGlobe Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TGA) rose 18.39 percent to close at $2.64 on Monday. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOS) shares gained 15.91 percent to close at $2.55. VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) shares jumped 14.9 percent to close at $2.39. Resonant Inc. (NASDAQ: RESN) climbed 13.96 percent to close at $4.49. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) shares rose 13.55 percent to close at $4.61 on Monday. Lilis Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LLEX) surged 13.09 percent to close at $5.01. MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBFI) gained 12.9 percent to close at $49.28. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) agreed to acquire MB Financial for $54.70 per share in cash and stock. TransEnterix, Inc. (NYSE: TRXC) shares rose 12.83 percent to close at $3.43. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) jumped 12.52 percent to close at $57.86 on Reports that it has reached a deal with Fox for Its 'Smackdown Live' program. Eastman Kodak Company (NASDAQ: KODK) rose 12.38 percent to close at $5.90. NuCana plc (NASDAQ: NCNA) climbed 11.94 percent to close at $26.44. NuCana appointed Dr. Cyrille Leperlier to its Board as an independent non-executive Director. Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQMS) rose 11.83 percent to close at $3.97 on Monday. Huami Corporation (NYSE: HMI) shares jumped 11.27 percent to close at $10.17 following Q1 results. 21Vianet Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNET) gained 9.55 percent to close at $7.34. Boxlight Corporation (NASDAQ: BOXL) rose 8.56 percent to close at $7.86 after the company announced an exclusive partnership with Multi Touch Interactives to strengthen the de
• [By Money Morning News Team]

  And after taking a look at our 10 top penny stocks to watch, we'll show you a small-cap stock that just signed a deal with Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq:�FB)…

  Penny Stock Current Share Price Law Week's Gain Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK) $6.00 288.51% Enterprise GP Holdings LP (NYSE: EPE) $2.94 44.00% Opko Health Inc. (Nasdaq: OPK) $4.79 43.49% MYnd Analytics Inc. (Nasdaq: MYND) $3.15 38.84% Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARWR) $0.52 37.80% Mid-Con Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq: MCEP) $2.08 36.81% VAALCO Energy (NYSE: EGY) $1.49 36.04% Cel-Sci Corp. (NYSE: CVM) $3.16 35.04% WideOpenWest Inc. (NYSE: WOW) $8.41 34.52% Legacy Reserves LP (Nasdaq: LGCY) $8.43 33.61%

  While these gains are certainly exciting, it's important to recognize that investing in penny stocks is also a risky investment strategy.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.53, but opened at $2.59. VAALCO Energy shares last traded at $2.75, with a volume of 2086739 shares trading hands.

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Berkshire Hathaway�(NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Founder and CEO Warren Buffett and one-time student of Benjamin Graham would inherit the value-investing mantle from Graham. Buffett's folksy charm and homespun aphorisms like, "Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy," and, "It is much better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price," made him a favorite among individual investors.�

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Warren Buffett's primary mission as leader of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) is to find good investments to put his investing capital to work. That's been a struggle for the Oracle of Omaha lately, because it's hard to find deals that both meet the requirements that Buffett has for purchases and are big enough to move the needle at Berkshire's massive operation.

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are set to answer questions from Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) (NYSE:BRK-A) shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Saturday. While I'm not expecting any major surprises, here are four things I'll be watching for during the Oracle of Omaha's Q&A session.

• [By Jordan Wathen]

  Every company holds an annual meeting, but few compare to�Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B). Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger spend hours giving frank answers to questions about topics ranging from Berkshire's many businesses to their views on politics, making it one of the only meetings that even non-shareholders tune into.�

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  Warren Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) stake in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)�became even more massive during the first quarter. Specifically, Berkshire added about 75 million shares of the iPhone maker, bringing the company's total stake to over 240 million shares, worth approximately $43 billion as of this writing. This easily makes Apple the largest position in Berkshire's stock portfolio, according to the latest available information.

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.(RS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co (NYSE:RS) hit a new 52-week high and low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $97.41 and last traded at $94.18, with a volume of 15817 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.27.

• [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $34.66 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $5.24 billion. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.55 per share on revenue of $16.44 billion. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.74 per share on revenue of $7.91 billion. ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $8.81 billion. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $12.4 billion. American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $10.42 billion. Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $5.01 billion. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.8 per share on revenue of $34.52 billion. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.66 per share on revenue of $5.38 billion. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $3.76 billion. The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.4 per share on revenue of $1.94 billion. Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $1.56 per share on revenue of $2.94 billion. Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.92 per share on revenue of $4.63 billion. Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $3.54 per share on revenue of $3.72 billion. Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) is projected to report quarter
• [By Logan Wallace]

  Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,297,744 shares, an increase of 48.1% from the April 13th total of 876,450 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 568,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Top Low Price Stocks To Watch Right Now: JAKKS Pacific, Inc.(JAKK)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Headlines about JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) have trended somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment Analysis. The research group ranks the sentiment of media coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. JAKKS Pacific earned a news impact score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the company an impact score of 46.746095708984 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  ValuEngine upgraded shares of Jakks Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

  Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on JAKK. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Jakks Pacific from $2.70 to $2.50 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 27th. Zacks Investment Research cut Jakks Pacific from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and set a $2.50 target price (down from $3.50) on shares of Jakks Pacific in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Jakks Pacific has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $2.69.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on JAKKS Pacific (JAKK)

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

Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:SOL,CDTI,FMCN,NTES,

5 Ways to Make 2018 Your Best Year Yet

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5 Big Questions About Life Insurance for 2018

Officials at the Delaware Department of Insurance say they're still reviewing efforts by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. to acquire Genworth Financial Inc.

China Oceanwide has been trying to acquire Genworth since October. Once challenge the companies have been facing is resistance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

(Related: Saving LTCI and 9 Other Top Treasury Life and Annuity Projects)

CFIUS, a secretive agency that reviews international deals for national security concerns, seems to have raised questions about the possibility that China Oceanwide could get access to Genworth policyholders' personal information.

Genworth has been a major provider of life insurance, annuities and stand-alone long-term care insurance.

Delaware officials note Genworth and China Oceanwide are also seeking approvals from other regulators inside and outside the United States as well as from CFIUS.

Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  These are some of the media headlines that may have impacted Accern’s scoring:

  Get ReneSola alerts: ReneSola Sells North Carolina Solar Project To Greenbacker (solarindustrymag.com) ReneSola (SOL) Rating Increased to Neutral at Roth Capital (americanbankingnews.com) ReneSola (SOL) Q1 Earnings in Line, Revenues Top Estimates (zacks.com) ReneSola’s (SOL) CEO Xianshou Li on Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (seekingalpha.com) ReneSola (SOL) Releases Earnings Results (americanbankingnews.com)

  Shares of ReneSola traded up $0.08, hitting $2.76, during trading on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The stock had a trading volume of 124,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.11 million, a PE ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ReneSola has a 12 month low of $2.12 and a 12 month high of $3.79.

Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.(CDTI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Here are some of the media stories that may have impacted Accern Sentiment’s analysis:

  Get Molecular Templates alerts: Trading Center: Watching the Levels for Molecular Templates, Inc. (:MTEM): Move of 0.02 Since the Open (stocknewscaller.com) Molecular Templates (MTEM) Announces Clinical Data at 2018 ASCO Meeting (streetinsider.com) Gallbladder Cancer Treatment Sales Market Size by Players, Regions, Type, Application and Forecast to 2025 (exclusivereportage.com) ATR in spotlight EnSync, Inc. (NYSE:ESNC), CDTi Advanced Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTI), Molecular Templates, Inc … (stocksnewspoint.com)

  MTEM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. ValuEngine lowered shares of Molecular Templates from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 1st. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Molecular Templates from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.20.

Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Focus Media Holding Limited(FMCN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  An issue of Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ:FMCN) bonds fell 0.9% against their face value during trading on Monday. The high-yield debt issue has a 7.25% coupon and will mature on April 1, 2023. The bonds in the issue are now trading at $99.13 and were trading at $98.13 last week. Price moves in a company’s bonds in credit markets sometimes anticipate parallel moves in its share price.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  An issue of Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ:FMCN) debt fell 1.1% against its face value during trading on Tuesday. The debt issue has a 7.5% coupon and is set to mature on April 1, 2025. The debt is now trading at $97.63 and was trading at $98.50 last week. Price changes in a company’s debt in credit markets sometimes anticipate parallel changes in its stock price.

Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Netease.com Inc.(NTES)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) by 26.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,173 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 46,859 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of NetEase worth $35,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Here are some of the news stories that may have effected Accern Sentiment’s rankings:

  Get NetEase alerts: NetEase Inc (NTES) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts (americanbankingnews.com) NetEase Inc (NTES) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest (americanbankingnews.com) Hot Stock’s Trend Recap �� NetEase Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) (stockspen.com) Switching Three Stocks: The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES), CBRE Group … (thestreetpoint.com) US benchmarks shake off G7 jitters, ending the day on a positive note (proactiveinvestors.co.uk)

  A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BidaskClub lowered shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of NetEase from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of NetEase in a report on Thursday, April 12th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of NetEase from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of NetEase from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $327.21.

• [By Harsh Chauhan]

  Over the years, NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) has made the most of the opportunities presented by China's mobile and online gaming market, and has also diversified into fast-growing verticals like ecommerce to supercharge its prospects. Not surprisingly, NetEase investors have been a happy lot, as their investment in the Chinese internet specialist has experienced five�straight years of double-digit percentage gains.

• [By Max Byerly]

  KAMES CAPITAL plc decreased its holdings in shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) by 68.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,800 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 39,277 shares during the period. KAMES CAPITAL plc’s holdings in NetEase were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top Undervalued Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:CAAS,PCLN,USPH,

I believe Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) shares are currently an undervalued long-term buy at current levels, based on its high free cash flow yield of over 10% and significant discount to its fair/intrinsic value. Additionally, I believe the company will continue to enjoy high returns on capital invested because of its sustainable competitive advantages. In this article I will explain the company's economic moat and how I came up with the fair value.

Valero is the world's largest independent refiner. Valero owns 15 refineries, with a combined throughput of over 3.1 million barrels per day. Valero is also one of North America's largest ethanol producers with 11 plants. They produce a combined capacity of 1.4 billion gallons per year (85,000 BPD) ethanol production capacity. Valero is also significantly expanding its midstream assets through its master limited partnership Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE:VLP).

Source: Valero Investor Relations

Top Undervalued Stocks To Watch Right Now: China Automotive Systems, Inc.(CAAS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  News stories about China Automotive Systems (NASDAQ:CAAS) have been trending somewhat positive on Wednesday, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. China Automotive Systems earned a news impact score of 0.00 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the auto parts company an impact score of 47.4904091752746 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Tenneco (NYSE: TEN) and China Automotive Systems (NASDAQ:CAAS) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “Brokerages Expect China Automotive Systems (CAAS) to Post $0.18 Earnings Per Share” was originally reported by Ticker Report and is the property of of Ticker Report. If you are reading this news story on another site, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of United States and international trademark and copyright legislation. The original version of this news story can be read at https://www.tickerreport.com/banking-finance/3349149/brokerages-expect-china-automotive-systems-caas-to-post-0-18-earnings-per-share.html.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media coverage about China Automotive Systems (NASDAQ:CAAS) has been trending somewhat positive on Saturday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research group ranks the sentiment of media coverage by monitoring more than twenty million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. China Automotive Systems earned a coverage optimism score of 0.04 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media stories about the auto parts company an impact score of 45.9702420023483 out of 100, indicating that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

Top Undervalued Stocks To Watch Right Now: priceline.com Incorporated(PCLN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

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

• [By Jack Delaney]

  For example, owning just one share of The Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) would cost $1,921.53. But some of these stocks aren't quite as "expensive" as they seem…

• [By ]

  Will Target (NYSE: TGT) get its mojo back, or will shoppers flock to Walmart (NYSE: WMT)? Which travel agent books more snow ski trips this season, Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) or Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN)? Which video game console emerges on top, Microsoft's Xbox or Nintendo's Switch?

Top Undervalued Stocks To Watch Right Now: U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc.(USPH)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on U.S. Physical Therapy (USPH)

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

Why China Is Losing the Trade War

Just when the Dow Jones seemed poised to break past 25,000, news of an extra $200 billion in tariffs on China knocked it back down, and the media is in an absolute frenzy.

Despite the gloomy headlines, China may be on the verge of saying "uncle."

That's according to Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, who has spent much of the last 36 years finding the best investment opportunities in East Asia.

When he talks China, we listen.

Watch the video below, in which Keith tells FOX Business Network viewers Chinese President Xi Jinping's biggest fear when it comes to the trade war.

Right now, that fear is closer than ever to coming true…

Video  Conquer the Market with This Virtually Bulletproof Strategy

If you've been heeding Keith's recommendations, you'd never know the markets have been going haywire �� because his virtually bulletproof "Velocity" strategy has closed out 117 double- and triple-digit winners over the past 12 months (including partial closeouts).

All of those winners could have turned a small stake into over $700,000.

Those wins are already in the bank, but you can still have the chance to get in on Keith's next winners by clicking here right now.

Join the conversation. Click here to jump to comments…

Hot Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019

tags:BWLD,JWN,TBI,ISRG,

Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat producer, wants to get deeper into the snack game.

In its latest attempt to move beyond traditional chicken products, Tyson has put together a team of seven employees focused on snacks and product development. Their goal is to develop a new consumer product to put on store shelves in six months.

Sales of meat snacks have surged almost 30 percent over the last four years, hitting $2.9 billion in 2017, Nielsen data show. Consumers are embracing high-protein products as they cut back on sugar. Tyson is looking to capture some of that zeitgeist.

“We were looking for a way to deliver faster innovation -- new growth, increasing speed,” Sally Grimes, Tyson’s president of prepared foods, said in a telephone interview.

Meat Craze

U.S. availability may reach all-time high in 2018

Hot Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: 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 Watch For 2019: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  A lot has changed since then, however. J.C. Penney badly underperformed its own comparable sales target in the second half of 2016, as comparable sales fell instead of hitting the 3-4% mark the company had projected. Its peers continued to struggle -- Macy's�(NYSE:M),�Kohl's�(NYSE:KSS), and�Nordstrom�(NYSE:JWN) all reported declining comps in the fourth quarter, and Macy's said last year it would close 100 stores.

• [By Chris Lange]

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

• [By JJ Kinahan]

  DE was the second company to disappoint the Street since yesterday’s closing bell. Retailer Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) beat Wall Street analysts’ earnings per share estimates and raised guidance, but missed on same-store sales. That key metric barely rose (up 0.2 percent), and shares of JWN tumbled more than 6 percent in pre-market futures trading. The same-store weakness for JWN came after a bunch of other retailers reported growth in that area.

• [By John Ballard]

  However, whether because of the tax act passed late last year, or something else, consumers are starting to shop again. And that is starting to benefit traditional department stores like Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) and Macy's (NYSE:M). Both retailers have posted growth in comparable-store sales and have a strategy to increase their business online, where more people are choosing to shop.

Hot Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: 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 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.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Trueblue (NYSE:TBI) have trended somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Trueblue earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the business services provider an impact score of 45.3296498009881 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Hot Growth Stocks To Watch For 2019: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers vTv Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VTVT) shares surged 115 percent to $2.56. Seadrill Limited (NYSE: SDRL) gained 77 percent to $0.3935. On Tuesday, a U.S. court approved the company's plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy that includes raising around $1 billion in new debt and equity through a rights offering which will be led by its biggest shareholder. DropCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCAR) shares climbed 21.4 percent to $2.3301 after the company issued a preliminary Q1 update on its enterprise automotive business. The company disclosed that Q1 B2B automotive volumes rose 163 percent year-over-year. Teligent, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLGT) shares jumped 19.7 percent to $3.615 following the FDA approval of Clobetasol Propionate Cream USP, 0.05%. IZEA, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA) surged 19.1 percent to $2.62. IZEA posted a Q4 net loss of $743,000 on sales of $6.8 million. SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) shares gained 15.2 percent to $9.6180. SunPower announced plans to acquire SolarWorld Americas. LexinFintech Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: LX) climbed 10.2 percent to $15.20. CounterPath Corporation (NASDAQ: CPAH) shares rose 8.8 percent to $3.0033. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI) gained 8.2 percent to $6.685 after falling 0.80 percent on Tuesday. Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGC) shares climbed 7.2 percent to $5.93. Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) shares rose 6.7 percent to $63.96 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter. Sibanye Gold Limited (NYSE: SBGL) gained 6.5 percent to $3.59 after dropping 4.53 percent on Tuesday. Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALA) rose 6.3 percent to $6.75 after the company disclosed that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to CB-839 in combination with cabozantinib for treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) gained 6.1 percent to $60.01 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings
• [By Brian Stoffel]

  That's the basic business model behind the two companies in today's match-up: surgical robot maker�Intuitive Surgical�(NASDAQ:ISRG) and medical device maker�Medtronic�(NYSE:MDT). If you're interested in investing in this field, the question becomes: Which is the better stock to buy at today's prices?

• [By Chris Hill]

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

• [By Brian Feroldi]

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

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  Stock No. 4: Let's go to the "I" stock from our April stocks a year ago. That's one of my favorite companies, a stock that I own, and have held for more than a decade, and that would be Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), the maker of the da Vinci robot, the surgical robot.

Zacks Investment Research Downgrades Playags (AGS) to Sell

Playags (NYSE:AGS) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

According to Zacks, “PlayAGS, Inc. is a designer and supplier of electronic gaming machines and other products and services for the gaming industry. The company’s product line-up includes Class III EGMs for commercial and Native American casinos, video bingo machines for select international markets, table game products and interactive social casino products. PlayAGS, Inc. is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. “

Get Playags alerts:

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. ValuEngine upgraded Playags from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Playags from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank raised their price objective on Playags from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Playags from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.75.

Playags opened at $28.31 on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $976.92 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.59. Playags has a fifty-two week low of $16.66 and a fifty-two week high of $28.49.

Playags (NYSE:AGS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 3rd. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $64.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.83 million. equities analysts expect that Playags will post -0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AGS. Caledonia Private Investments Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Playags in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,447,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Playags during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,514,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Playags during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,988,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Playags during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,030,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Playags during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,052,000.

About Playags

PlayAGS, Inc designs and supplies electronic gaming machines (EGMs), and other products and services for the gaming industry in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: EGMs, Table Products, and Interactive. The EGM segment offers various video slot titles, which include ICON, Halo, Colossal Diamonds cabinet, and Orion; and conversion kits that allow existing game titles to be converted to other game titles offered within that operating platform.

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

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

How To Spot The Next McDonald's And The Next Starbucks

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-975968928&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/975968928/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;639&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES - 2018/06/15: Star bucks Coffee shop in Union Square in New York City. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

McDonald&a;rsquo;s and Starbucks made investors who purchased shares of the two franchises early on very rich. And they still have some room for further gains for value investors in the form of dividend payouts.

But the golden days, when their sales and stock values soared quarter after quarter, is over.

For an obvious reason: they have conquered every market frontier.&a;nbsp;So, there&a;rsquo;s no room for further growth.

Wall Street has taken notice. Both franchises have been underperforming the overall market in recent years&a;mdash;see table 1.

Table1

McDonald&a;rsquo;s and Starbucks&a;rsquo; Market Performance

&l;/p&g;&l;div class=&q;table-wrapper&q;&g;&l;table&g;&l;tbody&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Company/Index&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;2-year performance&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;5-year&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;McDonald&a;rsquo;s&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;28.66%&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;55.64&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Starbucks&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;-18.10&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;43.36&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;SPY&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;27.52&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;66.77&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;/tbody&g;&l;/table&g;&l;/div&g;

Source: Finance.yahoo.com 6/29/18

That&a;rsquo;s why it&a;rsquo;s time for growth investors to look elsewhere to spot the next emerging franchise that can make them rich.

But how can investors identify this sort of franchise? What are the key metrics to look for?

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

There are a couple of metrics.

The first metric is the business model -- the value proposition, the way the emerging franchise enhances customer value vis-&a;agrave;-vis the competition.

Once the business model passes the market test, the franchise can be scaled up by expanding in the domestic and overseas markets. And attain &a;ldquo;economies of scale,&a;rdquo; the cost savings associated with a larger production size.

That&a;rsquo;s what both McDonald&a;rsquo;s and Starbucks did, soon after their business model passed the market test. They opened up new stores in almost every corner at home and abroad.

The second metric is market saturation, the degree of market penetration. The lower the degree of market penetration, the higher the room for the franchise to grow by opening new stores.

Two good examples of two emerging franchises that satisfy both metrics are Dunkin Donuts and Chipotle.

They both have market-tested business models, and plenty of room to grow. Dunkin Brands have 10,858 stores and Chipotle has 2,250 stores, a fraction of McDonald&a;rsquo;s and Starbucks stores&a;mdash;see table 2

Table 2

&l;!--nextpage--&g;

Number of Stores For Major Franchises

&l;div class=&q;table-wrapper&q;&g;&l;table&g;&l;tbody&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Company&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;12-month performance&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;McDonald&a;rsquo;s&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;35,000&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Starbucks&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;28,218&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Dunkin Brands&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;10,858&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Chipotle&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;2,250&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;/tbody&g;&l;/table&g;&l;/div&g;

Wall Street has begun to take notice. In the past twelve months, Dunkin Brands and Chipotle are up 24.10% and 6.11% respectively, compared to 2.87% and -15.78% for Starbucks&a;mdash;see Table 3.

Table 3

Dunkin Brands And Chipotle Beat McDonald&a;rsquo;s And Starbucks On Wall Street

&l;div class=&q;table-wrapper&q;&g;&l;table&g;&l;tbody&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Company&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Number of stores&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;McDonald&a;rsquo;s&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;2.87%&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Starbucks&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;-15.78&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Dunkin Brands&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;24.10&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;tr&g;&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;Chipotle&l;/td&g;

&l;td width=&q;208&q;&g;6.11&l;/td&g;

&l;/tr&g;&l;/tbody&g;&l;/table&g;&l;/div&g;

Disclosure: I own shares of DNKN and CMG